Deciding to not get pregnant revved up my sex life up in more ways than one!

Guest Blogger Emily: Back in my single days, I spent a good amount of time (and money) trying to NOT get pregnant. Condoms, birth control pills, the good 'ol "pull and pray" method ... Thankfully, these forms of contraception all worked and when I was in fact ready to make a baby that worked too. In fact, I had no idea it would "work" so fast. Within two months (of the best, naughtiest and most frequent sex of my life), I got pregnant. A little bummed that our romp fest had come to an end, I did, however, feel lucky that my girls were so inviting and his boys could swim like Michael Phelps.

It was such a pleasure to not have to think about birth control while I was pregnant, but soon after our son was born, it was time to face the annoying decision again. I refused to go back on the pill because a) I had been on it for a hundred years already and b) I'm convinced it made me fat and crazy. Plus, my husband (and previous boyfriends) never felt entirely comfortable "letting the river run" inside me because we had always heard those "I got pregnant on the pill" stories, so they'd pull out. We opted for condoms, but let's face it: Condoms suck. My husband complained that a 34-year-old married man should not be wearing condoms. Not only that, but he was so paranoid that the condoms would break or have a hole in them that sex (or at least the end/best part of it) was always very guarded.

Something had to be done.

After seeing my OB/GYN, I decided the best solution was to get an IUD. IUDs have always had a bad rap --  back in the 70's women were getting terrible infections and pregnant with them. But my doctor assured me that it was the safest and most effective solution if I didn't want to take or inject anything with hormones and if I wanted to avoid getting pregnant for a while. In fact, the IUD I had put in, could actually keep me sterile for 10 years. I opted for the Copper-T IUD called Paragard. This IUD has zero hormones and the amount of copper that's absorbed in my body is less than what's in a daily amount of food. Basically the IUD creates a sterile (meaning not with bacteria) response which sperm cannot live or survive in (take that Michael Phelps!). Unlike the pill or patch, I could get pregnant within a week of taking it out because this IUD isn't disrupting my cycle at all, as I will still ovulate. Once it's taken out (by my doctor), I would just need to wait a week to get the copper out of my "environment" and then it's back to makin' babies.

Well, I'm two weeks in and let me tell you: My sex life has completely changed. I feel like a new woman. I don't know what it is but it's like this IUD opened up our world. It's so nice to have sex and to not think about not getting pregnant or trying to get pregnant. I can have sex start to finish without putting something on, taking something off, or pulling something out. I never knew birth control could have this affect on me, but man, it's like I've been given a new lease on (sex) life and I want it more and I want it now! (Okay, not now, but maybe after I get home). The point is, it's a method of birth control that I think women, especially ones who would like to get pregnant (again) but want to wait a year or two, should consider.

Of course, there is one downside: You can't blame getting fat during the holidays on it. That's all you.