Which Jagged Little Pill Should I Choose?

Okay, the time has come for me to go shopping. I love shopping, especially the kind of shopping done in mass amounts. You know the major outdoor outlet kind or the seasonal wardrobe kind?  I really do love it. It's thrilling to know that you start the day off empty handed and when you end it and return home it's like Christmas morning! Now, normally I would be thrilled beyond belief to hunt down the sexiest pair of stilettos  or a discounted designer handbag, or the latest and trendiest outfit shopped for locally at my favorite TJ Maxx or Marshall's store. Wait ...lets pause for a second... ahhh... TJ Maxx...let me emphasis how I love TJ Maxx. In fact, shout out to TJ Maxx and my good friend Tia who put me on to " the Maxx" like 15 years ago. TJ Maxx is a winner in my book because they have stylish brands and designer finds at more than 40% off their regular price. They also offer, wait for it... lay-a-way...which is rare to find in any department store. The last reason why I love to shop at TJ Maxx is because you can buy home goods, clothing, and a snack at the register all at one time. TJ Maxx is better than Ross and a bit trendier than Marshalls.  Okay, back to the matter at hand, now a-days I have to settle for a different kind of shopping. Now a days you can find me shopping for the latest in baby products and apparel at Babies R Us.  Walmart is another store I frequent quite a bit now too. At Walmart you may spot me grabbing a canister of soy powder milk formula while struggling with my baby bag (not a designer hand bag) as I look for a coupon (coupon, yikes) which allows me to save a $1.00 off this purchase and an additional  $.50 cents off the next one. These are my shopping adventures now. However, today I'm not even shopping for those things. Today, I am shopping online for a jagged little pill called birth control. Now before I had Jonathan I was obviously living fancy free with no such regard for controlling things like pregnancy, or my diet or my weight for that matter (sigh), but alas there comes a time when you have to say there are no more options even for someone like me who believes in a woman's right to choose.

At my follow up appointment six weeks after giving birth to Jonathan my GYN asked me about birth control. She asked what method did I plan on using... at which point I wanted to answer back "the rhythm method like always" but I didn't want to appear stupid. So, I told her I would take the pill and I would make my decision on what brand later after doing some research online. She said "Good luck" with raised eyebrows and a lingering stare. I walked out with one script for PFD and a thought on why she looked at me that way. Come three weeks later I now know what that look meant. Shopping for a birth control pill is now like shopping for a new car. A lot of theses pills have different features, different colors, and different sizes, some buy you more protection time than others, some are considered earlier models and are not so efficient on things like gas, some require a year long period lease option while some others offer a monthly financing of your period. It's enough to literally drive you crazy! I mean how is a consumer supposed to choose? After using the following key search words different brands of birth control pills the below is just half of the list I came up with.

Some of the brand names include:

• Alesse
• Beyaz (similar to Yaz but with a form of folate added)
• Brevicon
• Demulen
• Desogen
• Levlen
• Loestrin
• Norinyl
• Ortho-Cept
• Ortho-Cyclen
• Ortho-Novum
• Yasmin
• Yaz (contains 24 active pills and four placebo pills)

Now there is this new pill called Seasonique where it only allows you to experience a period 4 times per year. Yeah...uh huh... I don't know how I feel about that because as much as I hate getting a period I do like to know that I am getting my period. Does that make sense? Anyway, after reviewing these little baby preventing pills in a jar (well pack really), I decided to go with Trinessa. Trinessa is a simple no frills pill that is white (the placebos) and blue that is simply old school. You take them everyday and your period comes like clockwork. It does have one little beauty perk though... if taken regularly it does prevent acne. So I'll be taking Trinessa out on a test drive but I'm keeping my options open for trade-ins.

The jagged little pill I chose.