Fit For Future Families - April 2011
Options
Replies
-
Dragon - a long cycle isn't itself a reason for concern. It can take a normal couple up to a year to conceive, which is why doctors typically don't start looking for issues until after that point, even with charts
You should be able to start seeing trends after about 3-4 months. If you don't, that could be cause for concern, not because of the fertiltiy aspects, but the other pieces as well and they may start looking at it, but not the fertility component (even if it is related). The fertility medication tends to be quite rough with side effects (as many here can attest). If you want to boost your chances, I always recommend SMEP (Sperm meets Egg Plan). It's really good for a 2-3 month program that will typically get most normal couples pregnant (although whether or not the pregnancy is viable is another story). The #1 reason for couples not getting pregnant is not enough BDing and not any infertility issues. Good luck - hope it helps. 0 -
I wondered what SMEP was! Now I can look it up. 0
-
Dragonairis: Check out PCOSchallenge.com. There is a TON of great info and there is a section with information on dieting. I also got a new book that I LOVE called "The Fertility Diet" and it talks about dieting to get pregnant with PCOS 0
-
I bought the cutest little onesie today and put it in a box and wrapped it up......I want to give it to myself when I find out that we're officially expecting. It might make things more difficult if the IVF doesn't go well, but.......I'm willing to take the shot!
Good night - my tummy is rumbling because my brain is saying it's starving because I have a fasting test tomorrow to redo my labs for the fertility clinic...........*sigh* I know it's mental....but that doesn't stop the tummy!!!0 -
Pam- Too cute! I hope the test goes well for you tomorrow! I have a fasting blood test on Friday and I'm already dreading not getting to eat breakfast, so I know how you feel...0
-
That idea sounds so cute! Good wishes for your tests!0
-
Morning ladies - it's been pretty quiet on these boards lately so I thought I might start a quick discussion
What are the most important 5 things that you're doing for your preconception health - whether your TTC or in a year......I've been doing a little bit of research and there are some pretty radical thoughts on the subject so I thought I'd ask around.
I'll go first:
1. Prayer - not so much prayer that I will become a mother, but more prayer that I will be able to see the right path ahead. That I'll be strong enough to get through this phase in my life and that we will have the wisdom to be able to make the right decisions for us.
2. Eating Clean - there's been lots of discussions on this lately here so I think I can say primarily for me, this means removing modernized foods from my diet. Right now my ratios are set to 45 protein, 35 carbs and 20 fats and I have upped my calories from the set 1200 to 1400 since I don't tend to lose at 1200. Lately I've also been reading up on the benefits of bone broths and healing soups so I might be tempted to give some of that a try.
3. Dynamic Movement - We need to get moving in order to get healthy. I'm planning on the changes I make now to carry through the pregnancy as long as I can. I am keeping them low key so I can strengthen my back to be able to stay mobile while pregnant, rather than just accepting that I'll have to be on bedrest.
4. Keeping the Connection - DH and I make a concerted effort to have a date night at least once a week so that we can not lose focus on the fact that we need to stay connected for this future child. I've found this also helps reduce the "burn out". This started with the alphabet dating last year and has translated through. I also have a core set of friends that I make sure to keep in touch with daily to make sure that I'm not losing my socialness and helps reduce stress...
5. Eye on the Prize - all the decisions I make are based on where I'll be in 5 years. This has always been my philosophy - we bought a 5 bedroom house,we have enough seats in our living room eleven people. It helps with the decision making process in the long run and helps reduce stress.
My happies for the day are: my lawn is "almost" ready for its first haircut I have lots of my yummy veggies in the garden already. This week we made our next order of organic meat delivery and today looks like it's going to be a great day outside! What are yours? 0 -
Pam, you're too much fun.
The most important 5 things that I'm doing:
1) Having unprotected sex
2) Using sperm friendly lube
3) Tracking my cycle
4) Seeing an OB (although currently, her method of Clomid has failed)
5) Not strangling my husband when I want to...
Do these count? I'm feeling a little cynical today!0 -
LOL - they do.......Maybe I should try#1......LOL just kidding, but that's a very important first step 0
-
Awesome idea, Pam!!
1. Prayer - This is my #1 too for many reasons. I pray that God will bless me and send me down the right path. I pray about my fears and frustrations. I pray about how badly I want to be a mom and have a baby with my husband and about how sad it makes me that we can't concieve naturally on top of everything else. Sometimes I feel selfish but I figure that God really does care so thats ok. I pray about whether trying so hard to have a baby is right for us. I pray about my confusion because of the hubby's life expectancy... he's in remission now but his history is that the cancer will come back and his life expectancy is about 10-30% of making it through the next year and half. I pray because I feel like because of his health we're in a "rush" but at the same time I'm scared because if things go badly, I'm afraid I won't be strong enough to be a single mom. And I pray that even if its not meant for us to have a baby soon that I can keep the hubby around for a very long time-- he's my world, even if it meant no baby, I would be happy with keeping him forever. And I pray that we're chosen for the grant we applied for because it would VERY tough to come up with enough money to do IVF on our own... anyways, that got a little personal but oh well. lol
2. Eating Healthy- I've been focusing all my energy on healthy choices and I'm crazy about it!! I've read a bunch of books on eating for fertility, eating to lose weight, eating right for IVF and for women with PCOS. But mostly, I'm doing it so I can be healthy again and so I'm in a habit of eating this way so that our children will eat this way.
3. Exercise- I'm not always great at this but I'm trying to get better! I do yoga for fertility DVD, take the puppies for long walks, and swim a few times a week. I tend to be "too tired" most days but I'm working on it!
4. Parenting- So, the hubby and I are in a marriage bible study and this time around, we're doing a study on "effective parenting in a defective world." Its been fun to talk about the decisions we might make in different situations and how we would raise our kids. It's really enjoyable and its opened up a lot of great discussion between David and I!
5. Focusing on bettering ourselves and our goals- We are working on getting rid of all of the medical debt we have, put money into savings and are hoping to buy our first house in January 2012. We are focusing on making ourselves and our marriage as strong as it can be!!!0 -
Morning all! This is a good idea - I'm loving seeing everyone's list.
1. Spiritual Growth - Prayer is big for me, but I feel like I ask for a lot and don't give my share back. I need to relearn how to trust and give thanks for what I have.
2. Food Overhaul - I'm looking into so many ideas right now for what kinds of food to eat, but our whole notion of food and how we get it, cook it and eat it needs to change. I want to provide the same healthy meals my mother did for our family, and that means learning to shop and cook. Fast food almost never came into our house, fruits and veg was always available, and so forth. My husband moans when I say I'll just make dinner instead of going out to get something - he's addicted. All of that needs to change, so I'm really working on that.
3. Do More - I want to be able to move around without fatigue or pain. I want my days to feel full of fun and vacations to seem exciting instead of exhausting. Part of this is affected by my food intake, but part of it is just getting up off the couch and doing more. In fact, I'm contemplating not buying a couch for our new place, and replacing my computer chair with an exercise ball, just so I'm forced to really want to sit down and watch TV or surf the web instead of just flopping down.
4. Stress Management - I seem to have lost my stress coping skills.
I've always been the friend that you could turn to, the rock for family and friends. But slowly, all of that unraveled and people have commented about how stressed I seem to be over small situations. I working on scheduling me time, doing yoga, listening to music, journaling, and other things to help me regain the balance I once had. I was really stressed when my m/c occurred, and while I know it probably wasn't the reason, it sure didn't help matters. I want to have nothing but joy for my next BFP!
5. Communication - DH and I have a great marriage. We agree on most things, but I need to stand up a bit more to him and let him know when he's being ridiculous. Since the m/c I've been afraid to talk baby stuff with him, just because I didn't want him to tire of hearing it. It's ok for me to talk about things like that, as it's the next step for us. We also need to have more discussions about where our finances are headed, and our long term goals. He doesn't like to plan that far out, when I'm always doing so. Communication will help us meet in the middle.0 -
Hi all, been away so just a quick post while I catch up. Hope everyone is well and happy xx0
-
This is fun- I also like seeing everyone's top five...
Here are mine- definately some overlap...cutting it down to only 5 was HARD!
1. Give it to the Lord in Prayer- I have been doing great at this recently and my stress has gone way down. I need to remember that I'm on God's timeline, not on the timeline I wish God had for me. I will get pregnant when God wants me to be pregnant, we will have our adoption match when God wants us to have our child, I have not done anything "wrong," it is not my job to question God... As I said these are hard for me but I'm doing really well with them recently and I'm feeling so much BETTER!
2. Keeping using this site and coming to this thread- yes this is my number two! You all help me so much- I know I'm not the only one TTC, I know there are others that have been TTC just as long as me and there is success, I know other our adopting and as excited as me, I know I can come a vent here and get advise here and I love it! So thanks everyone! Please MFP keeps me honest, eating well, and exercising
3. Continue to discuss with my husband our hopes and plans about our current TTC and adoption journeys
4. Take my multivitamin EVERYDAY!
5. Continue to TTC :bigsmile:0 -
Hi all--
Love the lists! Top Five--no particular order--it depends on the day:
1) Prayer--similar to many others, this seems to be what I turn to when I feel out of control. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Haha. I woke up yesterday so stinkin mad at the world and everyone in it. I was mad because I can't get pregnant (yet), I was mad because I'm not losing weight, and I was mad at myself for the lousy food choices I had made in the last three days--even though I enjoyed them a LOT. I went for my jog in the morning and I got so worked up I almost started crying. So, I just prayed for God to take the anger away...because I just didn't know what else to say. And by the time I got back from my little jog, I felt much better. i was still not on top of the world, but I wasn't "seeing red" angry anymore. Most of the time, I pray for the strength and courage to handle however this turns out--whether we have a baby or not. Both paths will have big challenges and big rewards, so I try to keep that in mind.
2) Exercise. This has always been a hard one for me, and it seems to be the lynchpin in so much else for me. If I exercise, I eat better. If I get pregnant, I want to stay more active and not gain as much weight. If I don't get pregnant, i want to keep it off, because at least that will be something I can be proud of when I don't have the other kid I want.
3) Taking prenatals. I hate taking pills and I'm horrible at remembering them. So, this is harder for me than some might think. I stopped taking the mini-pill for birth control after I had my son (while I was BFing) because as irrattic as I was taking it, I didn' think it was doing any good. Ironic, now, huh?
4) Trying to keep perspective. I've gotten to the point now where I actively think of the positives to only having one kid. It's a way to counteract the negatives I keep dwelling on otherwise. For example: Positive: I won't ever need to drive a minivan to haul all my kids and their junk around.
5)Staying active on this board. It really does help me to keep perspective and keep my sanity. I'm sure I have you guys to applaud for my 120 days in a row logging in--Lord knows I didn't complete my food journal all those days. HAHA!
The eating has still been not so great today. I did good till I got home from choir practice and just had to have a snack. And that awoke the beast....it's not in my log, so don't bother looking....I"m too tired to try to figure it out.
Still, better than yesterday, so even if I'm gaining this week, I'm still moving in the right direction food-decision wise. AF is going hit in the next few days...I have a feeling much of this is PMS, so I'm hoping control will come back sometime in the next few days.
Good luck to all of you....0 -
Pam, that's a great idea! I really haven't thought about it that much, to be honest. I'm fairly new to TTC so...
1. Trust... I'm trying to just trust that God has a specific plan for me and I just need to let Him do what he does.
2. Relax... I went through a period of time where I was obsessed with TTC and it was a bit stressful thinking of it all the time. I'm coming into a very stressful time in my work, so this is the time where I really have to focus on staying relaxed and not let life effect our TTC efforts. I have been quite discouraged lately (as you may remember my previous post...), so I just need to relax and not take a plateau as a time to quit.
3. Get moving... I started going to Zumba about 2 years ago to get moving again after not dancing on a regular basis anymore. Now I continue to zumba to strengthen my body before pregnancy and during. Now, I really need to focus more on abdominal strength to support my back.
4. Better food choices... This is were I REALLY need to put some energy into! It is time to start planning and eliminate the availablility of poor choices. Planning is key for me.
5. Keep TTC! I would like focus on keeping TTC fun instead of a "task." I know that the SMEP is the best way to get preggo, but it can be daunting. So we are going to try to keep with the plan the best we can and try to keep it interesting. 
Thank you for this topic!! This has really helped me think of what my priorities are, even though these are not In any particular order. I, also, ran into the issue narrowing it down to only 5.
Cheers!0 -
Great Idea Pam! I haven't posted in a while, but I have been checking in. I love following everyone's stories, even if I am not as good about replying to each person as many in this group are. I love that about this group-how everyone replies and keeps up.
So my top 5 are:
1. Prayer/Acceptance-I am also praying for another baby, but also praying for acceptance if that is not God's plan for me. I am also trying to focus on the positives of having one child (one thing I wish MFP would change-I wish we could see the previous posts as we are writing our response-I can't remember now who said they were also focusing on the positives of one child)
2. Weight loss - By exercising most days, eating healthy, taking a prenatal etc
3. Counseling with my husband to work on our issues and grow closer.
4. Charting-I'm learning so much from fertilityfriend.com and just following my own cycle.
5. Baby Dancing :-)
So obviously I didn't get a bfp last cycle, and O is coing up soon for me, probably this weekend-crossing my fingers for a bfp this cycle. At least I have continued to (slowly) lose weight and get stronger. I feel more energetic, and this morning in bed my hand was on my thigh when I was moving my leg, and I noticed some actual muscles there! Haven't felt those in a while! :-) Today when I weighed in I have lost a total of 15 lbs! I am down one size, and the new size is a little loose!
Good luck and sticky babydust to everyone else ttc!
Kate0 -
Love the lists so far - for the lurkers - keep em coming.
I'm SOOOO bad at the multivitamin thing.....I'm easily taking pills 3x a day right now and because I have to take the multi as a 4th right before bed.....thanks for the reminders ladies I'm definitely looking at a few of the other lists and thinking of things I can do better.....
Tomorrow is a better day and I will be better too Primarily because the candy is all out of the house. I am going to miss Aquafit though. The pool chlorine is not good for the eczema......I've been soaking them 2x a day in baking soda and water and that seems to have help cut down the itchiness a lot, but I scratched the heck out of my feet......putting polysporin on them to keep them from getting infected......two new patches today, but that's better than the 6-10/day since Sunday.... 0 -
Keep the lists coming, I'm loving reading them!
Kah, I should have thought of the prenatals - I'm so bad at taking them! I guess not putting them on the list tells you how bad I am at thinking of them.
Pam - Eczema sucks! And I know you've been drinking that distilled water - it's for getting rid of toxins? Let us know how that goes, I would love to hear.0 -
Last night was a quiet one for us....major thunderstorms came and went in 5 minutes all evening.....just had another one now. It's way better when you're at home curled up on the couch veggie out with your sweetie!!
I decided this week to start randomly choosing 5 people/day to send a little pick up on here People seem to really be responding to it.....It's so nice I think to log in and see something about how well you're doing that you didn't have to initiate. So all of you need to look for a post on your wall, cause it's coming (I'm so proud of all of you!!!) 0 -
hi all!!
i was just told about this site from the ladies on fit, fabulous and pregnant and wanted to join in:flowerforyou:
little bit about myself...i am 26 and married my best friend last summer and we just started TTC last month. i know this is a long process that does not magically work over night...but i have to say that i think about it all the time. and i was reading "ckurtis05" and how you are trying to relax...i am definitely going to take some of those words to wisdom because i want this to be a fun process! but i am so looking forward to being pregnant!!! the whole experience...growing closer to my husband through the process...it all means the world to me. i am so happy i was brought to this site and can not wait to stay in touch with you ladies!
just a couple quick questions off the bat as i was reading through. could someone please catch me up on the acronyms:
DH
SMEP
BFP
i am sure there are a bunch of other ones out there...but those are the ones i caught from this last page and had no idea what they are
and for my top 5 (love this idea!!)
1. prayer - like most of you. i was raised catholic and while i was at school i lost touch of my faith and just recently over the past year have been practicing regularly. it makes me so much calmer, more appreciative of what i have in my life and also focuses me on the type of life i want to live. i want to be the best wife, daughter, sister, friend and someday mother i can be and living through the Lord is the way for me.
2. health & exercise - i have always been on the healthier side (i do have my mega weaknesses - sweets!) and have exercised fairly regularly. but since my husband and i have been TTC i have really started to focus on treating my body the way i am supposed to. we only get one...i want to treat it right, especially when i have a peanut on board...i want to give them the best nutrition for healthy foundation!
3. focus - not really sure what to call this one...but i want to stay focused on the process but with that said...i do not want it to be a 'task' like someone said before. i want to have FUN TTC...i mean come on...its one of the main thing us humans were made to do! i want to keep the romance and not look at it like a chore.
4. vitamins - got to get all those nutrients into this body!
5. love - just loving myself, my husband, family and friends. i never want to lose sight of our relationship and i want to foster the best environment we can for the lil peanut to come!
i know this was a long one...but wanted to get myself out there!!!
looking forward to staying in touch!!!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 998 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions