No

by Cheryl Oliver

Created on: July 10, 2008   Last Updated: April 07, 2011

It was 4th of July, 2007. I could hear the whispers of our friends and family behind my back, "Is she pregnant again?". When we arrived back home I had to ask my husband if he thought I looked like I had gained weight. He reluctantly answered, "Yeah, maybe a little, but just in your stomach."

I couldn't believe it! I had been working so hard to take off the baby weight. Cooper, our 4th child, was almost 9 months old and I was finally starting to feel like myself again. Sure, I was packing on a few pounds, but at almost 40 years old, I knew it would be harder to shed the baby weight this time around. I went to bed feeling a little sad, but vowed to wake up early and hit the gym - determined to focus on those abs!

I hate to admit it, but I too had noticed a bump starting to develop. Perhaps I had a tumor? "Maybe you are pregnant," my husband said a few days later as he watched me struggle into my favorite jeans. "I am NOT pregnant! You can not get pregnant while you are nursing. It's a well known fact. Besides, we've only done it once or twice in the past year anyway."

Fast forward to August, my husband and I sitting in the doctor's office. A place that had become all too familiar. "Do tumors move?" He looked totally puzzled by this question. I repeated myself, this time saying it slower, as if he were the stupid one. "Do... tumors... move? I mean if I have a tumor, could I feel it kicking me?"

"When was your last period?"

"February 2006. I still haven't gotten my periods back from the last baby."

"Any chance you might be pregnant now."

"Nope. I've been breastfeeding."

"Let's take a look shall we?", grinning at me as if he already knew the answer.

The good doctor turned on the ultra sound machine, and before I even had a chance to look up at the screen, I could hear the familiar sound of that sweet little heart beat. "I'm pregnant?"

"Yes. Very. I'd say about seven months."

The room went completely quiet, my head was spinning, my ears ringing, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I thought you said seven months."

"Yes, give or a take a couple of days."

I will take this moment to point out that on the day we conceived, Cooper was only 3 months old. He was breast fed exclusively and about every two hours.

Baby number 5 came that October, just 12 months and one week after his brother. Luke was unexpected, a huge surprise actually, and the biggest blessing of our lives. I learned a few things to be true that day. Facts, if you will.

Number 1: TUMORS DO NOT KICK 2. YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND MORE LOVE TO GIVE, even when you thought couldn't possibly. 3. HOSPITAL FOOD GETS A LITTLE BETTER EVERY YEAR.

And last but not least... BREAST FEEDING IS NOT A RELIABLE FORM OF BIRTH CONTROL!

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