Yea, popping a pill does not fit into my lifestyle...

When we got married, there was a few things that we knew:

#1- We had to start managing our money wiser...bills?!?! Really!?!?

#2- We had to be responsible...even though my mentality was "I'm married- not dead!"

#3- We DID NOT want babies to be created on the honeymoon...reflect back on #1 and #2- #1 we could not afford babies and #2 we were not ready to be responsible thus #3 we DID NOT want babies!

So, when you don't want babies, what do you do? Take a pill? Take a shot? Ehhh- none of these sounded good to me. The pill scenario was ok- but I am terrible at remembering things like that unless I put it in my planner. So, was I going to have an alert and a highlight for "TAKE YOUR PILL, ERICA" every single day? I can hear it now, my Blackberry doing the "notify beep" while having dinner with my grandparents. They always question what the phone is doing...so, what would my response be? Oh, that's my pill popper reminder! Not to mention, I have heard far too many horror stories about how them small little orange/green/blue/white pills do not work. Then, the shots. Ok, so a shot...once every six or so months? I already dread going to the OB-GYN, I couldn't imagine my dread KNOWING I would be given a shot! Yikes! That was out of the question!

About the time that we got married (2008) a new (or maybe a more advertised) form of birth control appeared- the IUD. We studied IUD's at Wake Forest, there were positives (not having to remember a pill!) and there were negatives (they were RARELY used in women that had never had a baby). So, I asked my family doctor about it and she recommended doing the pill but I recommended that she refer me to an OB-GYN (I told you in an earlier post that I'm impatient, maybe I should have added that I am persistent too!).

After a meeting with the OB-GYN, we seen if my insurance (BSBC-NC) would cover the costs (its about $700 out of pocket). After a week, the insurance company said they would pay all of it except a copayment for the office visit. If you do the math (enter budget queen Erica), even the $700 is a deal. Why? Well, the IUD lasts for up to 5 years (unless removed). Five years worth of birth control (at $30/month) is $1800.00. So, even paying $700 would be $1100 cheaper than the pill. If you did pay the $700, to "break even" with your cost of paying for the pill...it would take you 23 months- not a bad deal! However, paying the $30 copay for the office visit was right up my alley! This means that I would saving money after having the IUD for only 2 months.

Even after calculating the money saved, there was still a hesitation. It was rare to put an IUD in women that had never had babies. The risks were that the IUD could permanently block the fallopian tubes (thus you could never get pregnant naturally) or the IUD would not "fit" in the uterus because it had never been stretched thanks to a child fitting in there! But, the risks were rare- and since 2008 they are significantly rarer.

So, a month before we got married, I went to get the Mirena. After a 20 minute visit and insertion I was on my way home. And, I was baby free!

We enjoyed 1.5 years of marriage before we resolved #1 and #2 from above. We were financially and mentally prepared for a kid- so the next appointment I made was to get the Mirena removed. After a 5 minute visit and removal I was on my way home. And, I was told that it would take up to a year to get pregnant after having an IUD (they said it took longer for your uterus to prepare itself after having an IUD)...fabulous we thought! We'll have another kid free year and time to prepare ourselves even more. WRONG! Exactly (to the day) one month later, there were 2 lines...we went to Vegas being a married couple, we came home knowing that we were parents! YIKES! So, what happens in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas- we have a baby to prove it!

I would HIGHLY recommend the Mirena for anyone and everyone. #1: It's a money saver. #2: It's more reliable. #3: You don't have to remember to take that darn little pill!

For your reading pleasure, here's the link to my favorite IUD- the Mirena. That little piece of plastic is a life saver (we could never handle TWO kids at the moment!).

Christmas in Vegas...

Our Vegas Jackpot! Our 1st Ultrasound Picture!

Have a great day!

Erica