Fit For Future Families - July 2011

batgirlrox

Happy moday everyone!

Just got my period yesterday, finally after 7 days of being late. But that just means we are ready to try again soon!

Way to stay positive!! On one hand I'm sure ur glad the wait is over but were wishing for different results

jsmith2377

Hello girls, sorry I didn't post yesterday. We're doing some home renovations before I go back to work so I was painting all day yesterday and we're having carpet installed today so I wanted everything DONE.
This week I'm hoping to lose at lease one pound. I'm still so disappointed with how I was on vacation. I want to be back in the 130's before students starts back on the 15th.
I do have a quick question. My DH and I have planned out with the doc when I should stop taking my bc. I plan on stopping the 29th of Aug. for a due date of June 8th. (Hopefully). When my sister was trying to get pregnant (She has PCOS and took Clomid) her doc told her to have sex on days 12,14, and 16. It worked for her the second round. I've also heard we should go for it everyday so to speak. We're going for a girl and I've heard everyday ups those chances. What do you think?

MightyMae1

Thanks for the warm welcomes. You guys can call me Mae, not Mighty. LOL. That sounds so funny!! I think I need some lessons in abbreviations. DH? BFP? I've seen a few others that I don't know.

Julia, I wish you the best of luck in TTC, Most people I've talked to recommend every other day since sperm counts can be lower if you do it every day. The specific day of ovulation varies for each person, it depends on how long your cycle is. You can get those ovulation test strips so you'll know for sure. Good luck. I hope it's easy breezy for you.

jsmith2377

Julia, I wish you the best of luck in TTC, Most people I've talked to recommend every other day since sperm counts can be lower if you do it every day. The specific day of ovulation varies for each person, it depends on how long your cycle is. You can get those ovulation test strips so you'll know for sure. Good luck. I hope it's easy breezy for you.

Thanks! I have a pretty regular 28 day cycle (or at least before going on bc) I've thought about doing the strips. Think I might just look into them more now! Thanks!

rhondaredhead

Oops! I've been so busy that I completely forgot about Monday's check-in! At least, I forgot about it when I actually got time to do it....

Wow. There's a lot going on with everyone on this board, and I've learned a ton in the past week of reading each of your posts! Most of it (e.g., the Clomid) is stuff I hope to never have to have personal experience with. For all of you that *do* have to go through hoops TTC, I wish you luck. Bunches and bunches of it! And I'll send a prayer your way, too.

I've settled on a personal goal that you can help keep me accountable to (if you want). Although I've got close to 30 more pounds to lose to get to my long-term goal (I'm around 168.5 now, would like to get down to 140ish), I've been taking it slow and that really hasn't been my main focus. To me, this isn't a "diet," it's a lifestyle change. To that end, I've taken up running in the past year (I really love it—something I never thought I'd say!) and I've been trying to incorporate healthier things into my diet. I only weigh in 1-2x/month, so you won't see a lot of weight numbers in my posts. Instead, I want to focus my goals for this forum on my protein vs. fat intake—amp up my protein, lower my fat, but still within healthy USRDA %s for a woman my age. I figure that this will be good for baby, too, if I do get pregnant anytime soon (we start trying in 10 days!). So what I'll be listing will be the percentage of fat/protein grams, compared to my goal percentages, that I've ingested each day of the week and whether I was over, under, or met my goals (except maybe weekends—I typically don't get on MFP over the weekend simply because it's a lot of time away from the family).

GOALS:
Proteins: Meet or exceed 100% of protein goal daily
Fats: Go below or meet 100% of fat goal daily (and make those fats that I do eat healthy ones!)

PAST WEEK (and a half :
M 7/18: Proteins=58%, Fats=162% (ouch!)
T 7/19: Proteins=43%, Fats=125% (ugh!)
W 7/20: Proteins=47%, Fats=146% (doh!)
T 7/21: Proteins=119% (YIPPEE!), Fats=367% (This is the day I changed my preferences to 30% proteins, 20% fats—then went to TGIFridays. That place is NOT healthy!)
F 7/22: Proteins=62%, Fats=232% (argh!)
M 7/25: Proteins=64%, Fats=99% (WhooHoo!)
T 7/26: Proteins=73%, Fats=160%

As you can see, this is going to be quite a struggle for me! Any low fat, high protein ideas would be appreciated (other than chicken—hate the stuff!)! Happy Wednesday!

mustanggirl_2011

bump

ElizabethRN59

Hello ALL! Sorry i have been MIA for a week or so, been on vacation with the family... We went to a local amusement park camping for a week which is an annual trip for all 25 of us... yep 25 ppl camping! Such a blast! Today was my first day back at work... =(

I want you all to know that i am sending good vibes to those of you wishing to concieve soon! I know it gets harder and harder reading on FB about those around you getting preggers... I always hated reading those too, until this morning... I finally got a BFP (twice)!!!

DH and i are still a little in shock, we were scheduled to started the fertility medications study next week (our initial appt was scheduled for next wed).... So i follow up with the MD tomorrow morning for blood work and TVUS to verify the pregnancy... Sending you all baby dust!! And thank you all for the support along the way!

taldie01

Hi ladies! Hope everyone is doing well. Ok So my hubby and I are ready to try again, how many days after the first day of my period should I be testing for ovulation? A general rule about what days you are fertile? Im on a 29-32 day cycle? Any advice would be appretiated.

kcurtis05

Hello wonderful ladies!

I am officially back! It truly feels like it's been forever, so I'm a little lost with all the new faces and the multiple topics stirring, but I promise to connect from today on. After a little lurking, I can see many of you are struggling on, but making some great changes in the process. Oh, and I can totally relate to all the FB posts. An acquaintance of mine has a baby progress app that posts the progress, which I hate seeing in my news feed.

Elizabeth!!! Congrats! Wish you the best!

So a little about me...
I'm Kim, 27; DH and I have been trying for #1 for 1yr and 3months (but who’s counting? LOL). After many years on the depo shot, my cycles were nonexistent for about 9 months after stopping. Started BBT Charting in Nov. once they came back, and no signs of Oing at all. Started using the Clear Blue Easy O Monitor and no peaks for months. So, I am getting to the end of my first cycle with clomid. Fingers are still crossed that it worked, but I guess we will see. My chart has been all over the place this month, so I really don't know what is going on.

I wish you all the best and can't wait to get to know the newbies (well new for me) :flowerforyou:

kcurtis05

For those that have been/are on clomid now...what advice can u give me? Are the side effects only prevalent when u are actually taking the meds or does it last the whole cycle? Should I expect to be a lunitic while I'm in Hawaii even though I'll be done w the dosage? I've also heard it dries u out so preseed has been recommended for me to take....should I take robitesson with the clomid and the preseed...I need ALL the help I can get!

As I said earlier, I am at the end of my first cycle with clomid, and I didn't experience any major effects. I did have a little lack of self-control when it came to sweets. But to be honest that is a hard thing for me to control even without clomid. LOL I didn't know about the drying out, but it seemed to do the opposite for me. I had to use preseed in the past and didn't even use any this month. Best of luck!!! Oh, and have an awesome time in HI!!!!

kcurtis05

Hi ladies! Hope everyone is doing well. Ok So my hubby and I are ready to try again, how many days after the first day of my period should I be testing for ovulation? A general rule about what days you are fertile? Im on a 29-32 day cycle? Any advice would be appretiated.

Here is a link that may be helpful! (this lady has way too much time on her hands, but I'm glad she does. LOL)
http://www.peeonastick.com/opkfaq.html

abeare

Julia, I’m surprised your Dr. didn’t suggest getting you off BC for a while before (using condoms till then) so that your body has a chance to regulate itself. Although you may have a 28 day cycle on the pill, won’t mean that that’s what you’ll have off. When I was on the pill mine was 28days too, now I’m a solid 30-31day cycle.
I agree with Mae that every second day during your fertile days is recommended by most Dr.’s, less or more depending on DH (Dear Husband)’s SA (Semen Analysis) count. The best ways to track your fertile days is with your BBT (Basil Body Temperature) or the OPK (Ovulation Predictor Kits). Good luck!

Mae, I’ll try sending you the Acronyms’ in a bit.

Rhonda, your goals sound awesome! I had started this site originally to track my protein (wasn’t eating any meat at the time) and since then have notice what my issues really are. Tracking your food gives you such accountability! Being vegetarian most of my life (eating chicken and fish 1-2 times a week now in case I do get preggers) all the suggestions I can give are meatless:
- low fat cottage cheese (2-3g fat, but 25-28g protein)
- eggs (24g fat, 31g protein)
- Greek yogurt (8g fat, 11g protein)
There are dairy suggestions, but even moreso I’d recommend beans & lentils:
- Chickpeas (4g fat, 15g protein)
- Lentils (1g fat, 18g protein)
- Black beans (1g fat, 15g protein)
- Red beans (0g fat, 16g protein)
You get the picture, look for low fat dairy and legumes as a substitute for protein. Since you’re looking to conceive I’d suggest to stay away from unfermented soy products (they’re high in hormones) but fermented soy is good (tempura, miso, soy sauce).
Best of luck, and hope this helped.

Elizabeth, glad to hear you had a good trip, I love camping! DH and I are doing that for our vacation too, on top of camping and kayaking this upcoming weekend! Hope all goes well with the clinic, keep us posted.

Taldie, you may want to start testing as early as CD(Cycle Day)12-13, but the best way to save money on all those sticks would be to start taking your temp and charting it, it’ll give you a really good idea as to when YOUR fertile days are. There’s a great site called Fertility Friend (often referred to as FF here) that can give you a run down on how to temp and chart properly, along with being able to plug in your temps so that their charts do all the work.

AFM (As For Me), I’m exited to see so many new people but am curious to know where all the oldbies are (yup Pam, I stole that from you). Hope everyone’s nice and busy with summer!
I figured with all the newbies I’d re-introduce myself. My name is Ashley, my husband and I got married two years ago and started trying immediately, not thinking I’d ever have issues. I’ve since had a myriad of tests done, all to tell me I’m perfectly healthy and should be able to conceive no problem. So we are one of the many “unexplained infertility” cases. We’ve undergone two failed IUI (intrauterine insemination)’s one medicated with Femera which is a FSH (follicle Stimulating Hormone), the other without (both with Ovidrel a trigger shot) and am looking to do my third next cycle. When I got married two years ago I was at my heaviest (no one wants to be at their heaviest for their wedding) but between the wedding photos and TTC I quit smoking and started watching what I ate, the exercise came a little later. I started my journey at 165lbs with a goal of 125lbs and as of this morning am at 142lbs, so I’m just a little more than halfway there. The best part of this journey was how much I learnt about myself.
Ok so I wrote a lot today, sorry for the long post everyone!

Ash

abeare

Welcome back Kim!

kcurtis05

Welcome back Kim!

Thanks Ashley!

Pam, where are you!? Hope you are doing well! I have missed your encouragment and support. :flowerforyou:

MightyMae1

Julia, I wish you the best of luck in TTC, Most people I've talked to recommend every other day since sperm counts can be lower if you do it every day. The specific day of ovulation varies for each person, it depends on how long your cycle is. You can get those ovulation test strips so you'll know for sure. Good luck. I hope it's easy breezy for you.

Thanks! I have a pretty regular 28 day cycle (or at least before going on bc) I've thought about doing the strips. Think I might just look into them more now! Thanks!

FYI: Just found them for much less $$ on Amazon. You can get 100 ov strips and 20 preg tests for $22.89. Score!!

MightyMae1

abeare, thanks for the acronyms in your post. Very helpful.

meggamix

Hello ALL! Sorry i have been MIA for a week or so, been on vacation with the family... We went to a local amusement park camping for a week which is an annual trip for all 25 of us... yep 25 ppl camping! Such a blast! Today was my first day back at work... =(

I want you all to know that i am sending good vibes to those of you wishing to concieve soon! I know it gets harder and harder reading on FB about those around you getting preggers... I always hated reading those too, until this morning... I finally got a BFP (twice)!!!

DH and i are still a little in shock, we were scheduled to started the fertility medications study next week (our initial appt was scheduled for next wed).... So i follow up with the MD tomorrow morning for blood work and TVUS to verify the pregnancy... Sending you all baby dust!! And thank you all for the support along the way!

Wow!! That's fantastic news!! I hope all goes well!

ElizabethRN59

:happy: Thanks for all the well wishes girls!!!!

godblessourhome

I know it gets harder and harder reading on FB about those around you getting preggers... I always hated reading those too, until this morning... I finally got a BFP (twice)!!!

DH and i are still a little in shock, we were scheduled to started the fertility medications study next week (our initial appt was scheduled for next wed).... So i follow up with the MD tomorrow morning for blood work and TVUS to verify the pregnancy... Sending you all baby dust!! And thank you all for the support along the way!

very exciting news! i am happy for you!

kah78

I'm detecting more hints of the "clomid effect"--namely, everything is ticking me off, and if my husband looks at me wrong I want to snap his head off like a twig. Luckily, most of this just occurs in my head...I've managed to keep my internal outrage and indignation to myself, realizing that in the real world, it's just not justified...even if it is in my clomid world. Tomorrow I do my first "shot", then Dr appt on Sat morning to check the "follies" and determine when to schedule the IUI.

Warning: Food Porn ahead. I had a ton of chinese food and ice-cream for dinner tonight. Like, lo mein, General Tsos, chicken and veggies, white rice, ice cream with chocolate syrup and sprinkles-a lot. Granted, we were having a college student over for dinner, and rather than cook, I decided to take the easy way out--what college student doesn't like chinese food and ice cream. Well, everything was going great till I decided to eat like a college student. Ugh. I'm feeling it now! Weigh in on Friday morning is not likely to be great, but at this point I'm about where I expected to be, given the clomid. Just hoping I'm not up too much!

Congrats to our BFP!!! Yay!!!

batgirlrox

Hello ALL! Sorry i have been MIA for a week or so, been on vacation with the family... We went to a local amusement park camping for a week which is an annual trip for all 25 of us... yep 25 ppl camping! Such a blast! Today was my first day back at work... =(

I want you all to know that i am sending good vibes to those of you wishing to concieve soon! I know it gets harder and harder reading on FB about those around you getting preggers... I always hated reading those too, until this morning... I finally got a BFP (twice)!!!

DH and i are still a little in shock, we were scheduled to started the fertility medications study next week (our initial appt was scheduled for next wed).... So i follow up with the MD tomorrow morning for blood work and TVUS to verify the pregnancy... Sending you all baby dust!! And thank you all for the support along the way!

OMG YAY YAY YAY. This is so exciting especially after all the stress and decisions of the trial. Congrats. Hope the Doctors appointment goes just as well!

rhondaredhead

Elizabeth—I'm a newbie so I don't know you, but congratulations! I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

Ashley—Thank you for the food suggestions! I've been doing the cottage cheese and skim milk helps a lot, too, but I hadn't moved on to the beans/legumes, mostly because of the sodium content in canned beans. Soaking and cooking my own seems so time consuming, but I'm thinking I'll have to look into it more. I'm a salt lover, and as I told my husband the other day, it seems like unless you want to raise, grow, pick, and butcher all of your own food on top of preparing it (like we don't have enough to do already), it's pretty hard for an American to eat a diet balanced in protein, fat, and sodium (not to mention everything else) these days. No wonder the majority of us are overweight.

kah78 (oops, forgot your name)—Eating like a college student now and then is completely acceptable. Sometimes you just need to—and it does your body good to switch it up now and then! (P.S. Not every student likes Chinese food and ice cream... I realize that I don't qualify as the "typical" college student since I teach them and am working on my doctorate, but ewww...I would have gone for pizza, beer, and potato chips. At least your meal was healthier than my choice would have been!

AlisaToth

Rhonda- im a pizza and beer kinda girl myself :-) although my college years were spent eating ramen noodles and PBJ's...ahh the days where I could eat whatever I wanted and it didn't stick to me in a most unflattering way...

Karen - you are actually giving me hope for the whole clomid excursion I am fast approaching bc even though you WANTED to snap hubs like a twig u didn't!

Kim - missed you girl!! Hope the clomid I'd the trick and ur not here too long :-) thanks for letting me know about the dryness factor, I'm bringing preseed w me to Hawaii just in case but after 7months of military informed abstinence I don't think ANY sort of lube will be needed either :-)

Elizabeth - congrats on ur BFP!! I could have told u by signing up for the trial that you were basically signing ur baby's birth certificate! That is how life works :-)

AFM - starting to migrate into FREAKOUT mode! I have 5 weeks....5...that's it....an I have SOOOO much I still have to do!! It has been SOOOOO nice having my friend here. I came home to a clean kitchen And vacuumed livingroom! She knows how tired I am when I get home from work (I tell her every afternoon she needs to motivate me to DO things in the evenings but then I get home and we just lay on the couch bc I'm so tired...) I start meeting w my trainer twice a week next week. I'm going to hard core buckle down on the food and really step up my gain. I would LOVE to lose 10lbs in 5 weeks but I'm not holding my breath. And this point I'll just be happy if I don't look like a hot mess on the beaches in Hawaii....

abeare

Karen, I’m with you! Give me Chinese food (or Thai, or Vietnamese, all good options) over pizza any day!

kah78

Karen, I’m with you! Give me Chinese food (or Thai, or Vietnamese, all good options) over pizza any day!

It all depends on the mood. When I really want chinese, pizza won't do...but I could eat pizza everyday if I had to. I just don't get sick of it. EVER. Mmmmmm....pizza.

Tonight is the shot, and I'm up 2 lbs--I'm guessing the sodium from Chinese, but tomorrow's weigh-in probably won't be very pretty in either case. I'm expecting it.

Alisa--seriously--don't wig yourself out over the Clomid. I just ramble on about it because it's a coping mechanism for me in the forum. My experience is not everyone's experience--you will probably be fine! A word of advice though:

If you get an urge to bite your husband's head off, just remind yourself that it might be the meds influencing that before you open your mouth and say something that is going to take a long time to clean up and work through. This is my 4th cycle, and my husband thinks it is going much better than the other 3 did. I told him it probably is....for him. I've just learned to control what actually leaves my mouth better this time.

The patience thing is really getting to me though--I have none of it when I'm on Clomid, and I'm afraid my son is getting the raw end of the deal on that one. If you have no patience with an almost 3 year old, you are sunk. I put him in time out yesterday because he did some little thing, like annoy me. My husband came in and said "What's he in time-out for?" I told him it was for my son's safety. (Clomid also makes me a tad melodramtic, apparently.) Hubby took DS out of time out and put sent me to my bedroom for my own time-out. I totally needed it.

ElizabethRN59

First off, i want to thank all of you wonderful ladies for the support through everything! this is an amazing group of woman and i am so happy to have gotten to know some of you along the way! This board is a great place for support and friendship!!

AFM: I had the appt with the Dr today. The pregnancy has been confirmed by blood work, all of my levels look "great" thus far. I am scheduled for my first u/s next wednesday... So now to make it through the next 8 weeks into the second trimester and away from the scariness of the first trimester...

Baby dust to all those who are praying to concieve soon! I am proof that even though the dr's told me i only had a 2-4% chance of getting pregnant naturally, i did! It can and will happen for all of you! I know it will!!

Thanks again for everything girls!

redheadmommy

Hi ladies,
I am wondering if any of you did infertility treatments with injectable drugs before. Have you exercised during the treatments? How much and what intensity level? I got my AF yesterday, and I am starting my in vitro treatment now. It will be short protocol, and tomorrow is my baseline bloodwork and ultrasound, and starting with the drugs.
When we conceived our son 3 years ago , I did stop all sport activities and did nothing during the treatment, and kept doing nothing during my pregnancy too. Endresult = 70lb gain. I do not want to end up like that this time, so I want to keep exercising. At the same time I am paying 12K for this procedure , so I definetely do not want to do anything that may worsen the outcome. Also the high dose hormones enlarge the ovaries, and very high intensity can cause the tube to twist. The problem is I have no idea what level considered ok and what not. Any suggestions?

batgirlrox

AFM: I had the appt with the Dr today. The pregnancy has been confirmed by blood work, all of my levels look "great" thus far. I am scheduled for my first u/s next wednesday... So now to make it through the next 8 weeks into the second trimester and away from the scariness of the first trimester...

I'm praying it's a sticky one! Congrats. I hope to join you in the pregnancy forums soon

batgirlrox

The patience thing is really getting to me though--I have none of it when I'm on Clomid, and I'm afraid my son is getting the raw end of the deal on that one. If you have no patience with an almost 3 year old, you are sunk. I put him in time out yesterday because he did some little thing, like annoy me. My husband came in and said "What's he in time-out for?" I told him it was for my son's safety. (Clomid also makes me a tad melodramtic, apparently.) Hubby took DS out of time out and put sent me to my bedroom for my own time-out. I totally needed it.

This made me laugh out loud. Thanks!

AFM- Took the dogs for a run outside today. Really didn't realize how warm it was until I started running, definitely sweat out my fair share today . Counting down 4 days until our Vacation and 5 more days of Prednisone *happy dance* Hope everyone has a wonderful day!
Amanda

fitterpam

Sorry I haven't been around guys I am lurking around but not posting a whole lot. I'm climbing back on the wagon slowly but surely and battling a huge workload Kind of excited. Doctor's appt is on Tuesday to sign the papers and finally start IVF process. On top of everything else, I've been planning my vow renewal for our 10th anniversary. I've struggled with it for a few months and today one of my BFFs suggested that I don't do it in October (when the IVF and stuff is going on) but to do it around Christmas (my favourite time of year). I made the decision this morning to do it and since then I've booked the restaurant (okay, so it's a bar....I'm getting remarried in a bar), planned the decor, decided on the menu, purchased my dress and started telling family and friends....) LOL I planned the first wedding in 2 weeks, since I've already done it once and it's not as fancy, this is a piece of cake. Looks like it's going to be around 70 people at this point (just close family and friends - eek!!!).

I really wanted to do it because hopefully we'll be starting a new phase of our marriage after a lot of struggles and we thoguht it was important, but with everything else I didn't know if it was going to be a good idea....now I don't care....I really want to do this...I need to do this for us and for our families.....I have never heard so much squealing over the phone!!! LOL And that was the guys!!!

Congrats Elizabeth on the BFP!!!!! I'll try and get something more substantial in soon