I hope by sharing my natural pregnancy story I can provide support and inspiration for women who have had infertility challenges like me. I’ve been through the highs and the deepest of lows in my quest to naturally get pregnant. In My Fertility Blog I share the good, the bad and the ugly.
Here is a snippet from each entry…
My Natural Fertility Journey
I’ve spent many a night reading about couples having experiences with infertility, and it gave me strength and reminded me that I’m not alone. For that I am grateful, and I only wish that I can do the same for others.
My story has a beginning and a middle – but no end. I’m living it daily, and I’m writing about it. Along with millions of other women, I find that I’m in the midst of a struggle to conceive a child. I’ve cried, I’ve laughed, I’ve sobbed uncontrollably, I’ve had surgery, I’ve miscarried, I’ve taken herbs, I’ve been to mystic healers, and I’ve swallowed little white pills better known as Clomid.
My Natural Fertility Story (Blog) Continues…
Infertility Support Group
Studies demonstrate that psychotherapy alleviates anxiety and depression for women going through the challenges of infertility – probably something a lot of us could benefit from. But to be honest, this wasn’t reason enough for me to go out and join an support group and become one of ‘those’ people.
That is until I did in-depth research for the Stress Reduction Page and read numerous studies that gave me the all powerful motivation: psychotherapy seems to improve fertility.
I’ve done crazier things to try and conceive – like sit in the mud, drink olive oil, become a human pin cushion – but somehow going to a infertility support group wasn’t something I saw myself doing.
Infertility Support Group continues…
Vacation Fertility Food Plan Tested
My fertility diet was taking hold. The holidays came and passed with an outpouring of support from friends and family. They adjusted menus, stopped chocolate gifts, and gave me support instead of cookies. It wasn’t until I went on vacation that my fertility plan was challenged!
Eating right while on vacation is of course difficult. I knew that. But I did plan ahead. I packed the car with two big boxes of food for lunches, and a hot plate. Every lunch was carefully planned out and I contacted the hotel in advance to ensure the cook knew how to prepare gluten-free meals for dinner.
Vacation Fertility Food Plan Tested continues…
How fast can it take to get pregnant?
How fast does it take to become pregnant? I’ve asked myself this question many times, and I know I’m not the only one!
Fast is relative, so let’s consider the two main options to facilitate conception (a.k.a. hurry up and get pregnant): natural treatments vs conventional medicine.
How Fast Can It Take to Get Pregnant? continued…
Early Signs of Pregnancy
I felt exhausted, and the last thing I wanted to do was move furniture from one room into another. But Woods needed to move his stuff into my office that would soon to become his bedroom, so I mustered up all of my energy and began shlepping – first the bookcase, then the chair, the computer, the desk.
I stopped, out of breath. Before I could actually claim an empty room I collapsed onto the stairs just outside the door.
Early Signs of Pregnancy continued…
My First Pregnancy: Having a Miscarriage
How better to spend the holidays than trying to conceive a baby? We’ve been trying for two and a half years now without much success. We really wanted to focus on it. No, not by locking ourselves in the bedroom with whip cream, but by traveling to foothills of the Bavarian Alps for natural fertility treatments.
The princesses of Bavaria would come here to sit in mud baths when they were having trouble “producing” the next heir to the throne. Recently, it has been understood, that the mud from the marshes here have been scientifically proven to help in fertility.
My First Pregnancy: Having a Miscarriage continues…
Pregnant, or Signs of Miscarriage?
Last week in my blog about upgrading my fertility diet, I wrote about the “occasional bout of fatigue” that I was still feeling. Well it turns out that those occasional bouts of tiredness were due to the fact that I was pregnant and had experienced a miscarriage. So, how did I miss the signs of miscarriage? And how could someone who is trying so hard to conceive not even realize that she is pregnant?
Pregnant, or Signs of Miscarriage? continues…
Depression and Pregnancy
I was just a few weeks into my first pregnancy. I’d recovered from the shock and surreal feeling of learning that I had actually conceived and was carrying a baby. Waiting for the expected sensations of joy and electrifying excitement to erupt, but never came.
I began to experience frustration that I wasn’t feeling giddy about it, instead having a feeling of guilt for my unnatural lack of exuberance. It was all there in my head, the thoughts of excitement and gladness, but I just wasn’t feeling it.
Depression and Pregnancy continues…
Experiencing a Miscarriage
Last week was like no other. Monday started off with mid-cycle unusual cramps and bleeding that sent me straight to my gynecologist. Turns out I had been pregnant and I was experiencing a miscarriage.
Strangely, this was all OK with me. A miscarriage stinks, yes… but emotionally, I was relieved to know what was actually wrong (since I didn’t even know I was pregnant) and quietly happy that my body was showing it could get pregnant again.
That was Monday.
Experiencing a Miscarriage continues…
How Long to Wait After Miscarriage?
I need to know how long to wait after miscarriage before trying to conceive again? I mean, how hard can it be to take a short break from the whole fertility thing? Not so easy if you have a post miscarriage check-up scheduled in which your gynecologist wants to discuss your fertility planning.
Originally I thought, I have to be there anyway so what’s a twenty minute fertility chat? Oh, the ramifications.
How Long to Wait After Miscarriage? continues…
Fertility Mud Bath
Mud baths are thick, black and muddy! This much I knew before I clambered into one, but there is certainly much more to this mud bath than that. In this post I share my fertility mud bath experience.
Mud baths have been used in the Bavarian Alps to treat infertility for over 150 years. Recently, scientific studies conducted by Dr. med. André-Michael Beer back up this claim that they help with fertility. His studies show that the peat there contains substances that impact the regulation of hormones, stimulating circulation and activating metabolism.
My Fertility Plan Revisited
This is not how either my husband or I really wanted to spend our Monday night – settling into an oversized movie chair for Ron Howard’s new movie, Frost/Nixon, sounded like a much better idea. However, we both know the benefits of making, and then reviewing my fertility plan.
Last September Richard and I created our initial fertility plan whilst on a skiing trip on the top of a mountain.
So we settled into our usual planning area, a couple of cushions on the living room floor, and looked at the fertility plan we drew up last year after my miscarriage.
My Fertility Plan Revisited continued…
Fertility Liver Detox: You Did What?
I’m tired and weak. But then I knew this is how I would feel today after doing a liver and gall bladder cleanse for fertility.
Last night, right before bed, I voluntarily drank half a cup olive oil mixed with three quarts cup grapefruit juice. Disgusting? Not really. Nausea inducing? Absolutely!
So the million dollar question: Why? Why would I subject my body to this – not once, but twice? (December last year and again now). All in the name of flushing my gallbladder and detoxing my liver, of course.
Fertility Liver Detox: You Did What? continued…
Celiac and Infertility
I’m going to say it… Infertility Sucks! Today I want to share the ups and downs I have with managing my celiac and how it effects infertility- especially during Christmas time!
The holidays do not make this any easier as pregnant women appear to be out in droves and you wish you were hanging ornaments on your tree that said ‘My First Christmas.’
No ornaments, no big round belly – just a fertility diet that clashes with tasty Christmas buffets like Crocs with an evening gown.
Celiac and Infertility continues…
How Diet Affects Fertility
Over the past few months I’ve been looking into how diet affects fertility and continuously modifying what I put into my mouth in an effort to kick-into-gear my reproductive system.
It’s been interesting.
Some of the changes have been greatly welcomed by my body and others have been, well.. rejected!
How Diet Affects Fertility continued…
Fertility Foods- Keeping Track Of What You Eat
I was reading Fertility Foods by Jeremy Groll, who wrote about one of his patients who uses an online food log to help her keep track of what she’s really eating. With a daily count of calories in terms of carbs, protein and fat, she found it to be an important part of her low-carb fertility lifestyle.
Now this is what I needed to know!
Fertility Foods- Keeping Track Of What You Eat continued…
Probiotics and Fertility Part 1
In this post I’ll be discussing probiotics and fertility- that is, the little beneficial critters that live in our digestive system!
Life is returning to normal, so I’m back to upgrading my fertility diet plan. I mentioned in my blog, Digestive Enzymes, Probiotics and Fertility, that I’ll be adding two critical components to my fertility diet: probiotic bacteria and enzymes.
Probiotic bacteria are the friendly bacteria that live in our gut. Doctors and nutritionists agree that these bacteria are one of the most important aspects to peoples’ overall health and well being.
Probiotics and Fertility Part 1 continued…
Vegetarian Diet and Fertility- Will It Work?
It’s official. I’m no longer a vegetarian. Not because I crave meat, not because I changed my mind about animal treatment, but because I believe that a vegetarian diet isn’t the best diet for fertility.
This is not the ideal conclusion I wanted to come with having been a vegetarian all these years. But at the end of the day the facts and evidence point to animal protein as being important for a healthy fertility diet. So after avoiding poultry and red meat for many years, I’m putting them back on my plate.
Vegetarian Diet and Fertility- Will it Work? continued…
Fertility Diet has Taken Hold!
I’ve been researching, testing and tweaking for over seven months now in order to find the perfect food to get pregnant. Finally I’m there.
- I have energy
- My digestive system is back on tract
- My acne has completely disappeared
- No more muscle cramps
Fertility Diet has Taken Hold! continued…
HCG Test for Pregnancy
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a hormone mostly produced by the placenta. If I am pregnant, the test will find this hormone in my blood. Today I’m having an hCG test for pregnancy.
The value didn’t go up on Wednesday and if it doesn’t go up today then I will have broken the increasing hCG pattern every three days. If that is the case, it will remove the last hope I have that somehow this pregnancy will work and the possibility of a dangerous ectopic pregnancy is eliminated.
HCG Test for Pregnancy continued…
Signs of a Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy, or Hope?
Before sharing with you my experience revisiting the clinic for more pregnancy tests- the place where I had lost my pregnancy before- let’s look at the main signs of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
- Sudden, severe abdominal or pelvic pain
- Pain in lower back
- Pain in the shoulder due to the leakage of blood into the abdomen, affecting the diaphragm
- Dizziness or fainting
Signs of a Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy, or Hope? continued…
Laparoscopic Surgery for an Ectopic Pregnancy
My mind is trying to grip reality: I have an ectopic pregnancy that could explode at any moment. The mass in my tube has grown to approximately two centimeters in diameter. With urgency in his voice my Doctor asks when I had last eaten. I tripped over my words still trying to swallow my diagnosis, “About ten minutes ago.” I will soon be undergoing laparoscopic surgery for an ectopic pregnancy.
Laparoscopic Surgery for an Ectopic Pregnancy continues…
Post Surgery- An Angel in the Night
I guess I didn’t give it much thought, but that first night following my surgery after my ectopic pregnancy is a very long one. My body is exhausted – not interested in sleep, just in survival mode. Nurses come and go throughout the night to read my blood pressure, empty my drainage bag, and to give me pain medication.
Post-surgery- An Angel in the Night continued…
A Day of Visitors After Surgery
The rain splattered my window outside and the grey sky showed no signs of getting lighter. It was by all means a dreary day. Before long my husband and his Mom came with fresh croissants from the bakery. Getting visitors after surgery is nice to have, but tiring.
We talk and, when my husband, Richard, leaves the room briefly, my mother-in-law insists that I take part in her religious healing procedure. She has offered this to me on many occasions, but I have always thanked her and said, “no.”
A Day of Visitors After Surgery continued…
Coping With My Emotions After Miscarriage
As of today, the stitches are out. I feel new. The laparoscopic surgery is all done. That’s the physical procedures, but what about my emotions after miscarriage?
It would be great if it were actually that easy, but I think there will be bumps along the way. Like this afternoon. Just a few hours after the procedure I felt this renewed feeling, no longer being held together by some thread, I felt a deep sad feeling.
Coping With My Emotions After Miscarriage continued…
Taking a Break After My Ectopic Pregnancy
My hormone values dropped last week, meaning that my miscarriage is likely that it is not another ectopic pregnancy. Saying that I’m relieved doesn’t seem to fit. I mean, to think that I’m sitting here typing away on my laptop instead of lying in a hospital bed in pain from a procedure to remove an ectopic pregnancy absolutely overwhelms me with feelings of gratitude.
Except for a couple more visits to the doctor – to make sure my HCG values go back to zero – I consider this miscarriage to be behind me.
Taking a Break After My Ectopic Pregnancy continues…
Grieving After Miscarriage
I get to go back home today. It sounds awesome: a beautiful garden, a soft bed, and my cats to curl up next to me. But I can’t help but feel empty. Very empty. Images are flashing in my head of what it would be like to leave the hospital with my newborn. I shake my head to leave this dream. Grieving after miscarriage is not a nice feeling.
My husband will be by in a few hours to take me home. I just need to pass the time myself until then. I’ve done enough reading; I’ve listened to all my podcasts and watched a stack of movies on my friend’s iPod.
Grieving After Miscarriage continues…
Fertility Massage Experience
This must be the hardest post to begin. I’m going to let you in on a little secret I’ve been keeping about my fertility massage experience.
Strange, really when you consider the topics I’ve poured my heart out over so far – my health, my infertility, my miscarriages.
So what’s with the hesitation to write about my massage? Well, it’ll become clear shortly.
People may judge me, and I am as they say, making myself vulnerable by sharing something so private. But there’s a feeling inside me just to write it like it is.
Jamie Lynn Spears Pregnancy- a Parent’s Point of View
Kids grow up. They develop into teenagers. Parents have the responsibility to guide them as they begin to explore their sexuality. In this post I discuss teenager pregnancy and how Moms and Dads can approach this topic with their teens, and I question the media publicizing of Jamie Lynn Spears Pregnancy at 16 and the real risk of teen pregnancy for other young teenager fans who aspire to be like her.
Jamie Lynn Spears Pregnancy continued…
Digestive Enzymes, Probiotics and Fertility
Why would I want to improve upon a fertility diet that has been awesome for my body so far – like it has shortened my menstrual cycles, increased my energy, eliminated my acne and regulated my digestive system?
Because it seems like there’s still something amiss.
Let’s look at the connection between fertility and digestive enzymes and probiotics
Digestive Enzymes, Probiotics and Fertility continued…
What Does Labor Feel Like?
Pregnancy is a wonderful experience, yet many couples become anxious leading into labor. A woman going into labor for the first time, may be unsure on what to expect when entering the hospital. Not knowing what labor feels like and how intense it may become causes anxiety. So, what does labor feel like? In my post I share my labor experience to help expectant women understand what the process will be like.
What Does Labor Feel Like? continued…
Fifteen Weeks Pregnant
I’m 15 weeks pregnant! I don’t feel as being very far along in the pregnancy because at this stage I don’t have the big recognizable pregnant belly and I can’t feel the baby moving around. But I actually realized that by the end of this week, that’s fifteen out of just forty already done!