Wisdom from college girls

My son was born in September of 2007. My husband and I had eagerly anticipated getting pregnant, even though it was soon after our wedding, and technically, the "smart" thing to do is wait at least 2 years after marriage to begin your family.

Anyways, we were so excited through the whole pregnancy and with the birth of our son. After him, I wanted to wait at least a year before trying to conceive another baby. But, that didn't quite happen.

At my 6 week checkup, the doctor asked me about using birth control and I went ahead and agreed to take it, not really sure if I would use it or not. It felt weird when I held the paper bag containing the pills. I felt so. . . wrong. It's like I was telling my yet-to-be-fertilized children that I didn't want them. I know that probably sounds really crazy, but that's how I felt.

So, I ended up not using them. And just relied on breastfeeding as my birth control. I did my research and found that you can't go more than four hours without breastfeeding to not get pregnant. This lasts up to six months, but can go on longer. Unfortunately, I went back to work part-time to teach, while my husband was with the baby for five hours each day when he was almost 3 months old.

My cycle returned two days after I started working. I should have tried to pump while at work, but it was very inconvenient to do so, since I didn't have a classroom of my own.

Surprise, surprise . . . though not really. So, I ended up getting pregnant while also having a 3 month old baby. The weird thing is, I felt so embarrassed about it. I felt like I was an unwed mother or something, because I was pregnant so soon after giving birth. I didn't tell anyone for awhile, because I didn't want to hear a lot of negative comments.

My parents had mixed feelings about it at first, but then were happy later. The interesting thing was when my mother told me she told my sister, who is a 19 year old college student.

My sister was ecstatic that I was pregnant. She told all her friends about it and they were just as excited as she was. When my sister relayed to them that I didn't want people to know, they said what she said to my mother when my mother told her,

"But, she's married. Why would she feel embarrassed? It's not like she did anything wrong."

And, they are right. I shouldn't be embarrassed. Here I was caught up in what I knew others would say about it happening so soon, and my younger sister put my pregnancy in it's proper perspective. It's a blessing from God, and I am very thankful for it. I eagerly anticipate the arrival of my precious baby, and I know not to ever lose sight of what a blessing I have.