Anyone with a penis should stop reading now...

When I was a teenager, I had terrible periods. Flo's visits were long (7-9 days) and fraught with horrible cramps, nausea, migraines, exhaustion and, ahem, heavy flo. You know the old joke, how can you trust something that bleeds for a week and doesn't die? Yeah, that's me. There is just no way I wasn't anemic after that.

I went on the pill at 16, largely to help control these horrible monthly experiences. And it worked. All I can say is thank goodness for Gregory Pincus. With just one wee little pill a day, Flo's visits were shortened (3 days) and, frankly, a real breeze. No more pain. No more pads and tampons. (Yeah, it was that bad.) And it did good things for my skin.

I was on the pill for the better part of 17 years. Obviously, I stopped taking it when we decided to have a baby, but then I didn't have periods during that time, so it was no biggie. After Sophie was born, I began taking a mini pill. I didn't have my first period until Sophie was 8 months old (breastfeeding ROCKS!) and even after that it was another 3-4 months before things really got back to normal. Unfortunately, the mini pill didn't work for me, so I stopped taking it when Sophie was about a year old.

Now, we're 18 months post-partum and my body has finally gotten back into the swing of things. Unfortunately, despite the fact that no other part of my body in any way reflects my teenage self (sigh), old Flo has reverted to her teenage ways. I can't go back on the full pill until I am completely done with breastfeeding, which will be in the next few months, until then I have to live with the pain, mood swings (poor Neil) and cravings (I came home from the grocery store yesterday with a dozen donuts, cake mix, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and a Hershey Bar - so much for the diet). Not loving it.

It's almost enough to make me want to get pregnant again. Almost.