Fit for Future Families - June 2011

jalara

Hey everyone!

Katy - I just started my 5th cycle of Clomid in 1 year. 1 month was right after my surgery last year, then Feb - April, and now June - August. Thankfully my doc lowered my dose to 50mg though. She didn't like the side effects I was getting. But here's the funny part about side-effects: if I hadn't been SO aware of my cycle through charting and OPKs I wouldn't have noticed the ones that concerned her. She was concerned about my cervical fluid being reduced and my lining thinning - glad I pay attention.I'm lucky enough not to have other complications (cycsts, etc) but I can't say I'm a fan of Clomid at all, but she's so sure it'll work (I'm not).

So since we just hit the 1 year mark for TTC (ugh) it finally hit me - there's no OBVIOUS reason for me not to be pregnant... it has to be my weight. It just has to be. And for all the 'trying' I say I've been doing, the scale is the truth so.... :grumble:
I think this is what lead me to Weight Watchers.....who knows if it will work? But it should at least help me to choose better foods. (Still looking for your thoughts on this).

TTFN

peggy1209

Hey ladies - wow - so many new faces! Happy to see you all and welcome to the group

Karen! I do that! Nuts.... good for you for noticing the habit and breaking it! I have a hard time picking up and that stuff.

Also, I'm not sure this is working for me. When I try to follow the calorie count I am starved and then I binge. And for me to lose weight on my petite frame I've learned I need to be very strict with my calorie allowance.

I'm toying with the Weight Watchers idea. A lot of fruits and veggies are free so I wouldn't lose 80/1200 calories for an apple, you know? I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts!

How many calories are you adding with exercise/activity? If you've eatern your 1200, and are still hungry - take a 15 minutes walk around the block and have a snack or something.

sdavisneill

Happy Friday!!!! :drinker:

It's quiet at work this morning, so I figured I'd procrastinate a little more and spend a few minutes catching up here. I've never really been a board/chat person online, so it is surprising to me how quickly I feel close to all of you and look forward to reading all your updates. I guess that's the point of a support group, even if we don't know each other in person. Oh & WARNING: this will be a long post, there is so much to discuss!

Wow, so many new people! Yay! Welcome, welcome. I'm so glad you found us.

Pam, I completely understand about company and putting your house in order. We're having a big party at our place on the 4th of July for US Independence day and have invited >30 people! Granted, it is mostly friends, not family, but I'm dreading having to do all the prep work for it.

Carina, **HUGS** for everything. Here's the thing about doctors. It is a science, but it is also an art. They have a series of protocols they go through in diagnosing or analyzing every patient. It's trial and error until they find what works for you. You know that show 'House'? It is really a lot like that (only not so crazy & extreme or even entertaining), and sometimes they're wrong. The hardest part for me was learning to keep educated and stand up for myself without seeming like I was a crazy lady who believed everything I read on the internet. The next step in my doctor's playbook for me was exploratory surgery to look for endometriosis. There are so many other options that are less invasive, although maybe not so direct (like losing weight & getting healthy), I just had to tell her no for now. That was hard, because I pretty much did whatever she suggested. I may still have to do that, but it'll be when I'm comfortable with the decision. I wish you lots of luck & courage!

Alisa, sorry about your job. I don't think working at Starbucks would be a resume killer. You just have to be able to explain it effectively in a cover letter or an interview. I took a job outside of my career field recently because I wanted to learn the customer/sales side of the business (I've always worked in the back end, operations side). You could always say you really wanted to gain better customer service experience. Maybe you'd even get promoted pretty quickly to a shift lead or manager. That would definitely not be a resume killer.

Kim, DH will come around. It took mine awhile before he started to get curious about the process. Now he's the one bugging me about why we haven't gone to the info session at the IVF clinic yet!

Rhichi, weight is such a unknown factor. Some people have no issues and others it can be entirely attributable to that. The one constant thing though is that it is never a bad thing to focus on getting healthier. (At least that's what I keep telling myself!)

Karen, you go girl! It is all about feeling like you're in control of something.

Jalara, so DH & I are both working on losing weight. I'm on here and he's doing another online program that is based in Weight Watcher logic (i.e. points, etc.). This is just us, but I have definitely lost more consistently than him. He lost a lot at first, but is at a severe plateau now, and he hasn't gotten off track. I prefer this way, because I can see variations in sat fat, chol, carbs, etc. I think sat fat & chol are my big drivers of weight gain. But, a lot of friends I have do really, really well at WW. I think if the flexibility with the points helps you stay on track better, then go for it!

Katy, you probably are already, but if not, I would use the over the counter digital tests for o'ing for a few months before going back on Clomid. If your cycle is becoming more consistent, then you may not need the drugs.

Fiona, I am majorly impressed that you are working out twice a day! Keep up the good work!

AFM, I've gotten some exercise in every day this week and I feel great! Plus, that means I've been able to add an extra small snack into the mix everyday which seems to be a huge help to keeping my blood sugar consistent. I want to be down about 7 more pounds (<180) by my birthday (June 26). That's a little more aggressive than my regular planned weekly loss, but I think it would be a huge psychological boost, so I'm pushing myself.

Hope everyone has a super weekend! Check back in with y'all for weigh-in on Monday.

- Stephanie

kah78

Jalara--I looked at WW, but I just couldn't get into the points, etc. It felt like too much math and stuff to figure out point values. It just didn't hook me like MFP did. That said, my sister-in-law is ROCKIN WW, and she likes the fact that she can save points from day to day if she wants, so if she knows she's going to have a day of eating out, she can "save" points from other days. (I don't know if that is how it really works, but that's what she does and she's liking it, and dropping quite a few "bubbles" as she calls them.) She's just doing the online version, no meetings. if you go that route, don't forget about us...and check out the website skinnytaste.com--I plugged it before--she does WW so there are points values for just about all of the recipes, and it all looks to be "real" food, and she even has a gluten free section.

Sometimes you just need to try something new, to kickstart your brain, body, or whatever. If you are feeling like WW is the way to go--trust yourself and do it! You have nothing to lose--except the weight, and if it doesn't work, you can always stop. Plus, I've found that when I'm paying for something, it gives me an extra little nudge to follow the program--otherwise I feel like I wasted it, ya know? Go for it! Just be sure to keep us updated with how you are doing!

Katy-We've been trying for a little over a year now. I had one kid problem free, am at a healthy weight (now), and am over 30, so I started "asking questions" after 6 months of trying. I did 3 rounds of Clomid at increasing dosages--no effect, except that I became a snarly hungry emotional mess. (Ask anyone from the board about my posts then. Haha. I would have eaten a shetland pony if I had access to one, and referred to Clomid as "CLOM-ID, because it makes my ID (as in Id, ego, and super-ego) run rampant.) We are working with a Reproductive Endocrinologist now, and getting all of the preliminary testing done before we try a IUI cycle using Clomid, and some stronger injectable medications. Don't know how the blocked fallopian tube will come into play. We'll see. Insurance doesn't pay for any treatment, so we are trying to work on saving money for that. Other than that, we try to do the baby dance every other day around the time we think I might ovulate, but that's about it. My OBGYN suggested what worked for her with her three kids....clomid and margaritas. Didn't work for us, but it was still fun--hey, if you have to take clomid, at least enjoy the margaritas. Haha.

AFM: Weighed in at 132 this morning. Up slightly from last week--I think I'm really maintaining, not losing, but right now, I'm okay with it. I'd love to lose a few more, but honestly, I'm not willing to put the extra effort into it at this point, and if I am under 135 I am considered to have a healthy BMI. Son (age 2.5) is spending the night at his cousin's house tomorrow night (I have NO IDEA how that will go, but I'm going with it anyways.) so that means kid free DATE NIGHT!! We'll probably go to a movie (it's been years) and hang out, and sleep in on Sunday. Yeah, we are wild and crazy folks, I know. A kid will do that to ya....or at least mine does that to me. I'm so excited. Plus, I just had "pizza rice" for lunch. I threw some brown rice, pasta sauce, and mozz cheese in a bowl, stirred it up and nuked it. I highly recommend it--it blew away my pizza craving. (it is not the same as pizza, but it did the trick!) Another favorite- cheeseburger rice---same deal--take brown rice, lean cooked ground beef (or venison if you like it), some reduced fat cheddar, nuke and enjoy. SO EASY if you just make a batch of rice and keep it in the fridge ready to go. Like 30 second lunch...seriously. Okay, enough from me--I'm hogging the board. Have a good day ladies--we all have lots going on!!

gerbies

Katy,

I was about 100 lbs. overweight each time I got pregnant. Like others, I charted to get a sense of my cycle and used OPKs. In my second pregnancy, I purchased a ClearBlue Fertility/ovulation monitor (used) which was easier to use than the OPKs as you just pee on a stick first thing in the a.m., put it in the machine and it tells you if "it's time" that day to grab your husband . This helped me get pregnant the second month of trying after losing our daughter because I was able to really target when to TTC. As I shared, my biggest issue is with early labor and "keeping the bun in my oven", but I never tried to get pregant without charting or using the tests, so I'm not sure how long it would have taken me with just going with the flow (I was pregnant in month 2 or 3 of trying the first time, too).

I loved my ovulation monitor!

naesue

Hey ladies I haven't really been on this thread since April because I really wasn't TTCing! More just trying to lose weight so that my fertility would come back! And guess what it came back or at least my cycles came back! I went from august 9 2010 to may 29 2011 without having a cycle and all of a sudden they came back! The timing couldn't have been worse considering my anniversary is may 29 it was my one year anniversary and I was on a romantic weekend getaway with my husband because we had been away from each other the whole month previous. But it is good that it is back! We will see if it is back for good! Had a doc apt yesterday and my doc gave me high fives and thumbs up for my hard work and progress and suggested that I go on birth control for a while to make my cycles more regular and to allow me more time to get my weight under control before I conceive! I will hopefully be back to TTC in February of next year!

sugarcrystal8

Hi everyone! I'm new here!

Been married almost 4 years, was TTC for almost 2 and was diagnosed with PCOS 3 weeks ago. Next up for me is an HSG, but I thought I'd wait a few weeks to see if AF would start, if not, then it's Provera so I can schedule the HSG. Then i believe as long as everything checks out right, the plan will be metformin & Clomid, but we'll have to see.

2 weeks ago I decided to change my diet. I ate pretty healthy (no soda, not much processed foods, etc.), but now I'm gluten-free, super low dairy (really only greek yogurt) and low sugar (just fruit really). I've lost 4 pounds in 2 weeks just from the change! I'm currently trying different workout videos to see what I like and will not give up on, LOL. So hopefully I find something fun so I can keep it up!

jalara

cgoodison - I'm gluten free as well (Celiac). Please feel free to share recipes!

AlisaToth

Happy Friday ladies!! Well this week has not been a good week for eating. Ive literally eaten out every night this week and have not even looked or cared about calorie consumption. That all changes on Monday. I have the whole weekend to clean and reorganize the insidenof my house and that includes preping and packing lunches and dinners for next week! I also start back with my trainer next week. My boss decided not to let me go to an earlier shift so I am going to continue to get up at 530 and instead of going to work I'll go to the gym.

Stephanie- thanks for the tip! That sounds like a great spin! I reallynlike the idea and if we can financially swing it I shall be doing that as soon as harvest season is over!

Welcome to the newer ladies since the last time I posted!

Cgoodson- ur fertility story sounds exactly like mine- diagnosed with PCOS about a month ago- I'm on cd60 and just finished 10days on provera waiting to AF to show to up so o can schedule my HSG

peggy1209

I'm currently trying different workout videos to see what I like and will not give up on, LOL. So hopefully I find something fun so I can keep it up!

I am doing 30 Day Shred and loving it .. .

lukimakamai

Wow lots of new ladies- WELCOME!

So just when I thought I would be able to get back in the grove of posting I got sick...blah! Headaches have kept me not wanting to look at the computer screen and past week so I'm happy I'm feeling better. I wasn;t able to catch up with all the posts, but I wanted to post to say hi and now I'm officially back )

AlisaToth

Welcome back luki!

So one day being off the provera and AF shows up....which would be awesome except its Saturday and scheduling is closed...so I called and left a message so they KNOW I called on cd1. So I should be able to have the the HSG done either Friday or next Monday.

Tonight is another halfway thru deployment outing...a late night of eating and drinking and then my trainer decided to schedule a session first thing in the morning...yay.....oy...

AnneElise

Hey ladies. My sister has been TTC for 6 months and just found out that she has PCOS. She is thin and runs marathons but also found out she had a thyriod issue. She will start on clomid next month. I just wanted to say that talking with her and trying to support her made me think of some of you. Just wanted to send you my love and my baby dust!

kah78

Morning ladies!

I ate bad last night, but I didn't eat a LOT of bad, so whatever. It was date night, and I was going to have part of that pizza turnover if I wanted it! And raisinettes at the movies---but it was just a little snack size one that I snuck in my bag. I figured that was a good compromise. Had a very enjoyable evening last night--my son is at a sleepover at his cousin's house, so we went out and painted the town. By painting the town I mean dinner at a pizza place (we both love pizza), a few hours at Ikea (my treat--I got a filing cabinet--so romantic, I know.) and a late movie--X-men (his treat.) Haha. It was fun, relaxing, and tiring--I have not gotten out of a movie theater at midnight in a LOOOONG time.

This morning we are skipping church and having "playtime". By that I mean my husband and I get to do whatever we want with the time. Together or separately. I think it will be separately, actually. We had a date last night, and this morning is about uninterrupted "me" time. (By uninterrupted, I mean by a 2 year old.) My husband is going to do "bee stuff"--he's a beekeeper, and I think I am going to fiddle around with my sewing machine all morning and see what I can make.

More deep stuff: In this whole TTC process for #2, even while I'm still hopeful that we will conceive, I also know that it may not change, and I may just have one child. Not the way either of us saw it happening, but then again, who sees any of this coming, right? So, as some of you know, I'm trying hard to focus on the good things about having one child, instead of the bad things that I constantly think of. In any case, last night, as we dropped our kid off at his cousin's house for a sleepover, I realized one: Reason #167: It is SO much easier to get opportunities for "me time". It's a whole lot easier for someone to watch one child for you, than find caregivers for 2 or three. (BTW--I haven't thought of 167 other reasons yet, but I'm optimistic that they are out there and I'm just still waiting for them to be discovered. Haha!)

Okay--enough from me. I'm just enjoying having time to sit here any type uninterrupted or without Mommy guilt. Have a good day everyone!

fitterpam

Hiya guys - my "free" week is over....I start logging and exercising again this week - fully committed and all that jazz. I don't know if the week off helped me at all, but I did check in over the course of the week. I'm sorry to say that I probably won't be able to get back on all the comments..... I do know that someone (I think it was Ashley) asked about our progress before I kind of dropped off the planet, so I will get back to that one

Our current process.....DH did his genetic testing downtown a few weeks ago. The lab didn't do all the tests they were supposed to, just the one that costs money. So he has to go back tomorrow to our clinic and get a new req. for the second part and get that done tomorrow. Plus he has to do his 6 month SA since the surgery. He was supposed to do it in May because his test with the specialist was supposed to be next week. So we had to bump back the specialist into July. We don't HAVE to wait for the results to start with the IVF stuff because I need to be on hormones and stuff for a month. With the travel and falling off the wagon etc. this cycle has been the first screwy one in 6 months. I took the provera for 10 days and am now just waiting for AF to show her face. I'm definitely having the some of the right symptoms for PMSing for me (sensitive teeth and skin, dry scalp, irritation, bloating, weight gain) but am missing breakouts and have added cramping......so I have no idea what is going on......GRRRRRR We do have to wait for DH's new bloodwork to come back before we can have the clinic appointment. And I'm pretty sure the doctor is on vacation until the second week in July so....blah. One good thing I realized this week is that I have 22 days vacation available to me approximately (we have 2 floater days) and I've only used 1.5 so far this year. I have a week booked off coming up while my inlaws are in town and I'm waiting to find out transfer dates and stuff for the procedure. I figure I have the time, I might as well use it when I'm going to need to stay relaxed and sane......Hopefully our transfer will happen in August (since I have to start it on cycle 1 and do the transfer midway through cycle 2....but it might be September now...... Or maybe some miracle that DH's SC shot up and we can now do IUI or just hormones for me...or maybe even naturally........I'm just getting to the point where I'm getting sad quite a bit again........I just want a baby

kah78

.I'm just getting to the point where I'm getting sad quite a bit again........I just want a baby

Hugs Pam!! You are always so strong and upbeat for all of us...I hope we can be that for you when you are going through a "down" time. It stinks being stuck in an "in-between" time, not knowing how or when the next step is going to happen...but just knowing that you want it so badly...

MsRES

Hi all:

Just wanted to say hello and join this thread... or perhaps just lurk for a little while! This place seems like such a great community and resource- I am eager to read through past threads.

My husband and I are hoping to give TTC a brief chance this fall, and if we don't have luck we'll be holding off for another year. :ohwell: I'm still early enough in my teaching career to want to plan for a summertime labor and delivery. Mother nature may have other plans, however.

My IUD is coming out in two weeks and we'll be using the Fertility Awareness Method to avoid pregnancy until it''s go-time this September. Charting will commence once my Mirena is gone!

As far as fitness and weight loss are concerned, I'm on a mission to just be a healthier version of myself. I hope to avoid numbers on a scale and use my clothes and level of fitness to measure my progress. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway... Hello!

lukimakamai

Karen- I love your positiveness and your reason 167

Pam- You are such a strong source of information and reassurance for all of us. How ever he/she joins you, your child will be blessed with wonderful parents that understand how special they are.

MsRES- Welcome to the group! I'm a teacher too. Being TTC as long as I have I don't really think there is a wrong month, but if I could pick an ideal month I have always said March or April, giving me the end of the school year ans all summer at home.

AFM- Took my dog for an awesome walk with his new gentle leader. WOW such a GREAT iinvention! Tomorrow I'm picking up my parents dog from the airport- he will be living with us until my parents move up to Oregon (hopefully within the year- they are currently selling my childhood home :indifferent: ) I have to get the house ready for him...

jalara

Pam, I'm sorry to hear that you have been feeling sad, but the silver lining may be that this process is still near and dear to your heart, and you aren't being hardened by the trials of it. I, like the others, often regard you as an inspiration - so I'm sending hugs to you (seriously, I would drive to you to give you one if I were in Ontario).

Karen - sounds like you and DH enjoyed yourselves Yay

AFM: Tomorrow is the annual Pap - ugh. I forget what the hours rule for sex beforehand, but if she can't do it then too bad - I need to be BDing this week! I've started feeling doubtful about getting pregnant lately; it seems like it just won't happen. And then, as hard as it has been to conceive, maintaining the pregnancy may prove difficult for me.... so... yeah. Bleh.

So I joined Weight Watchers and so far the day-to-day food part of it is pretty great. I feel like I'm eating so much more! But the new system really encourages me to eat fruits and vegetables (which are now 0 points) so I've already (in 3 days) had more of those than I normally do in a week. As a result I feel like I'm eating a lot more than I was and I feel more than satisfied. With that feeling, however, comes the doubt that I will lose when I weigh in on Friday at my meeting (I'm doing the online part and the meetings - in hopes of being held accountable). So who knows? I know there are some others on MFP that follow WW, so no worries, I'm not going anywhere! I need you ladies far too much!

DH and I recently transferred our debt from to a interest rate that is 12% lower than what we had (yay) so life just got much more comfortable, and less stressful with me attending school full-time in September. Yay!

Hope everyone has a good day on Monday!

fitterpam

2011 SW: 241.8

Week 19: 227.7 lbs (-0.5lbs)
Week 20: 226.0 lbs (-1.7lbs)
Week 21: 230.1 lbs (+4.1lbs)
Week 22: 232.0 lbs (+1.9lbs)
Week 23: 231.5 lbs (-0.5lbs)
Week 24: 231.0 lbs (-0.5 lbs)

Awww thanks guys I figured out one of the reasons....yesterday was CD1, the day before was CD42 and I had to take provera....BLAH so much for my regulated cycles since November. But I wasn't eating right and travelled in there, so I'm hoping that with the re-committment starting this week that I see that come back to ~34 days. The weird thing is I don't get all sad around babies...it's older children. I think I got sad last week because of the lifestyle I was witnessing vs the children per se. The lady I buy 90% of my garden stuff from and I have done a lot of talking over the last few years about organic & healthy eating. She is also the only place I buy most veggies in the summer because of those discussions. We were there on Thursday when her kids got home from school. She has 9 children, eldest is 19. She and her husband bought the farm so she could stay home and provide them with food that wasn't contaminated. Hubs and I always wanted a large family......that's what I think I was sad about.....I deal well with the families with 1 or 2 children....it's the large family part that I doubt we'll have (I can't handle 3 sets of twins....LOL)

Luki - glad you're finding the gentle leader works. My big guy broke his.....*sigh* So now I just struggle through. I think I'm a pushover though - both of ours walk well for DH and pull until they're tired for me....which is usually around the 1 hour mark.....

Jalara - good for you - doing what you need to for you. I haven't officially joined WW before, but I did follow the plan etc. The thought of physically weighing in in front of others made me nauseated My fingers are crossed for you!

jalara

Thanks Pam, and hugs for you

sdavisneill

Good morning everyone!! I'm having a good feeling about the week, DH is on a business trip today and tomorrow and I had no meetings on my calendar, so I decided today would be a great day to work from home. I'm not usually very productive when he is here (he works from home most of the time), we end up talking too much! Plus, now I can get a bunch of laundry done, since I can fit that in pretty easily between work stuff. It was also a good loss this week, guess all that exercise last week paid off. I just crossed the halfway mark for my first goal. I just sort of randomly picked it to be 160 when I signed up, I don't know, maybe it just sounded good to lose 50 lbs. Since I've been doing this I've learned more about my specific healthy body weight and I will probably reset it and aim to keep going to around 135 after that, but that just seems overwhelming right now. Just one goal at a time!

SW: 211 (March 2011)
Calendar week 19: 193.6
Calendar week 20: 189.8 (-3.8)
Calendar week 21: 189.2 (-0.6)
Calendar week 22: 187.4 (-1.8)
Calendar week 23: 186.2 (-1.2)
Calendar week 24: 184.0 (-2.2)

Pam, thinking good thoughts for you! Jalara, glad WW is starting off well for you. Best of luck!

Have a great week everyone!!

fitterpam

WOO HOO!!!! Awesome on being past that halfway mark Steph!!

BTW to all the newbies, I didn't mean to exclude to you before!!! WELCOME!! May your stay with us be short and painless!!!!

AlisaToth

Happy Monday!!! I like Monday's.....(love is a strog word but in trying tonkill it with kindness)

Pam- hugs for u!! I know what u mean that the families make u sad, I get a little sad when I see a kid wearing a "I'm the big brother" shirt or something like that bc my son is just as ready to have a little brother or sister as we are to give him one!

Jalara- I've heard good thigs about weight watchers...and I think the accountability is good. I like the idea of fruits and veggies not "costing" anything....I mean if ur hungry u should eat and if ur going to snack on something it might as well be a peoce of fruit or vegetable!

AFM- I called first thing this morning to make my appointment for my HSG. They initially told me how adimate they were about scheduling it on CD7-10....and when so they schedule it? Cd11 bc CD7 is a Friday and CD10 is a Monday and they're booked up thru those days....so next Tuesday I'll be going in for the procedure.

I weighed in at 148 the morning which is +2 from my last official weigh in a few weeks ago but considering the massive amounts of carbs and garbage i put in my face last week I'll take this A's a small victory. Today is also day one of no smoking. I have smoked off and on for the past 10 years, pretty consistently since my husband has been gone. But. I know I need to quit. This is one thing I do have control over in the fertility department. So....pray for my household and it is probably going to be ugly!

fitterpam

Alisa - I know my FIL used Champix and finally quit after trying every year for 20 years....he said the nightmares were pretty intense, but the cravings were gone.....Hopefully you can do it on your own, but if you need help, this is apparently the best out there.

AFM: Hubs did his next SA today. He has some additional bloodwork for the clinic to do, but couldn't this morning because they were really booked and he had a dentist appt to get to across town. I think he's going to try tomorrow (I have a training class tomorrow and Wednesday so I'll be in the office from 6am to 6pm pretty much - YUCK!) After this we have to arrange the partial financing for the process. We could cover the whole thing, but I'm hesitant to completely drain my short term savings when I could finance some of it and pay that off before I go on mat leave.

Speaking of mat leave have you guys thought about how you're doing it? How much you're entitled to? I think this was one of the reasons the adoption didn't happen was because I do make more than DH (which he's totally okay with) it doesn't make sense for me to take most of the leave. The way it works here is the first 17 weeks is mat leave @ 55% of your salary (with a max salary cap applied) and is for the mother to "heal" from pregnancy. Then the next 35 weeks is considered parental leave and either parent can take it (or it can be applied to adoptions) at the same 55%. So the way we were going to do it is to have me take the first 17weeks and then DH take the rest. It's a much smaller drop of income if we do it this way, but it seems like a lot of people think its weird that I'm not the one taking most of the leave (to be honest, a lot of people are judgemental). If I were to take the mat leave for the whole time, it would reduce our income not by 23% (which would be what the total would be IF I were eligible for that but I make more than the cap) but it's more like a 50% reduction.......I'm hoping to use some of the savings to bolster us on those months where the shortfall is too much.

sugarcrystal8

Alisa - Please post how the HSG procedure was after you're done. I"m kind of nervous about it and plan to take some tylenol or something stronger since they say it may be uncomfortable. Also, did you have any side effects from the Provera? I'm picking up my prescription tomorrow to start it.

jalara - another G-Free'er! it's been difficult, but I've found some great recipes online at simplyglutenfree dot come and simply sugar and gluten free dot com. I'm planning to pick up both of their cookbooks as well. i did make a nice honey panna cotta this weekend from almond milk & raw organic honey, and I just paired it with some fresh blackberries and cherries and drizzled it with honey. It was really good and light! I've got a sweet tooth, so I need to be able to still eat dessert, LOL.

AFM - not much, I'm down 4 pounds in total in 2 weeks, which I'm happy with. This week my goal is to exercise at least 4 days. I do like the 30 day shred, it's only 20 minutes, which I can squeeze in. I also ordered some exercise bellydance DVD. I used to bellydance about 10 years ago and remembered how much fun it was and how I loved it. So I thought that would seem less like exercise and I could switch it up throughout the week depending on my mood. Still no AF, it was a long shot, LOL, so I'm picking up Provera tomorrow and getting another blood draw (not sure what they're checking for this time). So after AF starts I can get my HSG scheduled. My hubby's semen analysis was dropped off, so after my HSG is done we can sit down with the doctor and make a plan.

kah78

Pam--don't talk too loudly about the maternity leave benefits you got up North....I'll get incredibly jealous. ;-) Hubby doesn't get anything---will save a week of vacation for that time if it happens, and most places here, it's like 6 weeks Maternity leave (unpaid, unless you use vacation,etc). Can't let family time get in the way of capitalism! (Sorry--it's a rant if I let it.)

Jalara--I hear that the first weigh-in is the worst, of course, but it also gets much better as everyone there becomes a support too. Good luck!!

cgoodison-I'd suggest ibuprofen if you can take it, rather than tylenol for the HSG. My understanding is it works better...and I was REALLY glad I had taken it when I had mine!

Alisa--good luck with the smoking. That's just a really rough one, but if you can kick it now, the pregnancy when it does happen will be so much more enjoyable.

To everyone else--welcome to all the new people, congratulations to all of you who had a loss this week! The weather here is gorgeous today, so I'm hoping to get out and enjoy it some. Didn't exercise this morning, so that's a bummer, but I just could not get out of bed in time. It happens.

abeare

Wow did I miss a lot or what! I’ll try to get everyone in, but if I don’t I’m sorry.

First and foremost, welcome to all the newbies! For those of you looking TTC right away I wish you baby dust and a short and sweet time here.

Pam, I’m sorry to hear you were feeling down the other day, I get spurts where I just feel down on myself because I don’t have the “family” I’m trying for. Sometimes it hurts more than other times, but hopefully you soon remembered that you WILL one day be a mother, and a fantastic one at that. It may not be nine kids, but it will happen.
As for the maternity leave question, it’s too bad you’re getting judgmental reactions from people. Disregard them, there’s nothing wrong with you giving the parent leave time to your husband, it doesn’t mean you love your child any less, it means your mature enough to make the best decision for your family. DH and I make almost the same amount so that isn’t part of the equation for us. I will probably take the entire time; he’ll still get his 5 weeks paternity leave (which I’ll be anxious to see if he manages to take it all, it may get split up) but DH is a workaholic, he has a really hard time not taking on everything himself. He was working really long hours, but is getting better at delegating the work, and saying no to his boss (something he could never do before). So I anticipate him working while I take the full parental leave. Oh, I thought you worked for a relatively large institution? Do they not top up what the government gives you? I know mine will top up the first 17 weeks to %100 and the remainder will be at %80.

Alisa, congrats on quitting smoking! It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done (I was a pack a day smoker for over 10 years). I quit the day after my wedding/the day we started TTC. It wasn’t easy, but it can be done. My biggest advice is to not allow yourself a cheat. Unlike in weight loss attempts’, cheating is the worst thing to do when trying to quit smoking. You convince yourself that it’s only one, or that you can be a social smoker only, but the truth is once you start cheating you don’t stop. If ever you just want to talk about it or get some feedback from someone that went through it (and for the same reasons) feel free to msg me.

Jalara, I’ve seen great results with WW in other people, I’ve never done it myself but know several people that swear by it. Best of luck!

Steph, I’m so jealous! I wish I could work from home some days, for the exact same reason you mentioned. I’d love to be able to be switching loads over or starting the dishwasher, etc… while working. Enjoy your productive workday and congrats on the 25 lbs!!!

Karen, I love Ikea, and that sounded like the perfect date night to me. I love the fact that you got to turn your date night into a TTC silver lining too. I know you want more kids and hope that you get to have as many as you want, but think it’s great that you can think of all the benefits to having an only child. You are stronger than you think.

I also want to say a little something to a friend that I know stalks this thread. She had started TTC now rather than later while her father was battling cancer in hopes he’d get to meet his grandchild. His fight came to an end this past weekend, and she lost not only her father but her best friend. My thoughts are with you and your mom. You two had the most envied father daughter relationship, keep all those memories close to you and take it one day at a time. If you need anything at all call me, you’d be surprised how fast I could make it to Ottawa for you.

Afm, well, a couple days after getting my BFN I got AF. Since my clinic is closed until mid July, I won’t get to do anything until my August cycle. So I’m taking this time to work on my fitness, and enjoy the summer of course. Although it can still happen naturally, after two failed IUI’s and many natural months (almost two years) of attempts, I don’t feel too confident in that happening. I also want to take this time to look into acupuncture and maybe doing that with the next IUI. Has anyone tried that?

Ok this post is long, my apologies.

fitterpam

LOL - sorry.....I get jealous of government employees that get it topped up (I believe to 90%) and I've heard rumors that there is a 2 year mat leave in Quebec (not sure if that's true...awesome if it is!!!!!) Don't get too jealous though....LOL we pay into the fund that pays that 55% so it's only partially subsidized

Christina - sounds like a great plan to me!!! That's kind of exactly where we are (for the 10th time though LOL) too....

abeare

I've heard rumors that there is a 2 year mat leave in Quebec (not sure if that's true...awesome if it is!!!!!)

I've never seen anyone here with a 2year mat leave, i wish! I did hear that each parent can take the full parental leave in the case of multiple births now. I dont remember if thats Quebec only or all of Canada.