I have 4 children and I've been pregnant 6 times (we had two losses). I'm the type of person who is very in tune with my body, so I have a pretty good idea of my body's cues and what it is like to "feel" pregnant.

Here is the kicker, though ... my husband had a vasectomy 3 years ago - 3 weeks after the birth of our 4th child. We knew our family was complete, so we took permanent measures.

I have been using Arbonne's PhytoProlief natural progesterone cream for over 2 years, and because of that, I don't have any trouble with PMS, bloating, breast tenderness, etc. So when I started having these symptoms as well as other early pregnancy symptoms, I became very concerned! I have heard of vasectomy failure, but my husband's surgeon assured us that it would not happen because of a certain surgical technique used. Still, there is a small percentage of men who have vasectomy failure.

In any case, I bought two Confirm brand pregnancy tests because they are very sensitive and able to detect smaller amounts of HCG than other tests (25 miu)... and I wanted to know as soon as possible.

Using the Confirm test
The instructions are straight-forward, not complicated at all. The company states that test can be performed at any time of day.

1. The test is a very thin, pink, plastic wand. It comes sealed in a foil pouch. Take the test out of the pouch and you will see that there is a window containing absorbant material at one end and the result indication window is at the other.

2. Hold the absorbant end in urine stream for 5 seconds. Alternately, collect some urine in a cup and hold the absorbant end in the urine for 10 seconds.

3. Lay test on a flat surface and allow 5 minutes for results to develop. One line indicates not pregnant. Two lines indicate pregnancy (the second line will show up under a heart-shaped window).

My experience
I performed the test at 10 days post ovulation and according to the instructions. I used the collection method. The control line developed first fairly quickly. I watched the test to see how it was progressing and I thought I saw a second line develop immediately. Well, it was actually a shadow cast by the result indication window. The shadow made the test difficult to read, but after 5 minutes (and by the light of a sunny window), I interpreted the test to be negative.

Whew! I set the test aside but for some reason, I looked at it again an hour later and there were two lines (one was quite faint)!! I read through the directions again and there was a FAQ that specifically asked "What if I allow the test to run longer than 5 minutes?" The instructions state that you can let the test run longer and the results will be accurate even 24 hours after using it. OMG, so now I'm freaking out!

I performed the next test 2 days later, the exact same way and I got the exact same results. So now I had two faint positives ... or did I? I always heard that the Confirm brand does not have an evaporation line (a line that develops after the initial test run time), but 2 days later, my period came like clockwork so I would say YES, Confirm definitely does have an evaporation line, even though their instructions plainly state that you can allow the test to run longer.

This goes to show that a pregnancy test should not be read after the test time has elapsed. Forget what the Confirm instructions say ... don't read it after the initial 5 minutes it takes for the results to develop. If you do, you better buckle up because it is going to be a roller coaster ride!

I'm not sure why I "felt" pregnant. The only thing that was different about that cycle was that I had some bad, nagging ovulation pain. I spoke with some girlfriends who told me I could have had an unusually large follicle, which may have caused exaggerated symptoms.

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