Eating Success

I have been going strong on my Paleo eating and I am starting to see the results of my resisting all those delicious sugary treats that I love when I want to eat my emotions!! I have lost 3 inches in my waist and 1 inch in my hips with very limited exercise. I feel soo much better and more alert during the day and sleeping more soundly at night which makes sitting at a computer and reading legal documents a lot easier to do!! I haven't noticed yet a decrease in facial hair yet but I am sure I will notice that again soon. I am not incredibly hairy but I do need to wax my upper lip which is obnoxious to say the least!!

I was visiting with my friend that just went through her first round of IVF she gave me a copy of the book "Making Babies" that Diva Bud was talking about so I am going to get started reading that and returned a great book that I forgot about called, "What to Do When You Can't Get Pregnant". This is a great book that explains all the processes that you could go through in diagnosing infertility, what your OBGYN will do, when to move to an RE and an excellent description of every procedure you may encounter from blood work to IVF w/ ICSI. I would highly recommend it to anyone that doesn't know much about the procedures or what their next steps should be in the TTC process.

The next few weeks I will be busy reading up on some more holistic TTC methods and getting my eating and weight loss goals met. Oh baby sounds like fun!!

Sitting in the Waiting Room.

Not literally...

I have to be honest... lately, my posts have really SUCKED :-/ I have had NOTHING interesting to say, except that AF is super late. You want stats??? Today is CD79, and I am 20 days late, based on my last funked up cycle. Thanks, Period Tracker. I can always count on you to keep things in perspective... o.O

So yea, I am sitting around waiting for AF to finally show up... and also waiting to see if I'll have a job next year. I am a Teacher in South Florida, and the job situation is a bit sketchy... Hopefully, I will get some good news this week. I NEED my Health Insurance coverage to continue so that I can visit a local IVF clinic nearby for a consultation... A former Bud, and friend, recommended them to me. Because of a very successful round of IUI, she now has a beautiful little boy to call her own :) So, hopefully they can help me see the "big picture" of my fertility, soon. :)

Since it's still Summer Break, I have been staying up VERY late... sometimes later than I even should. And of course, I get some time to watch TV, and watch whatever I like, I may add ;) I caught an Episode of Guiliana & Bill, based on Bill and Guiliana Rancic. As some of you may or may not know, they have struggled with their own infertility issues, and were planning to take a year off of TTC (because of all the stress and heartbreak it brought upon them). She mentioned this book called "Making Babies" which seems really interesting. So, I thought I'd share it with my fellow Buds and readers. The authors are Sami David and Jill Blakeway.

photo credit

I was trying to find a Kindle edition, but it is not available... however, the iBooks app on the iPhone and iPad does have it available. I haven't read it yet, but I have previewed it. It seems very promising and interesting. Have you heard about this book? Any positive (or negative) thoughts about it?

Anyway, I guess that's all for now... I kind of have to wait until I find out about my Job Situation before I can move on with my TTC and Fertility issues... which is extremely unfortunate. Hopefully, I will know what is going on (with both work and my health) soon.

Travels with AF

I have been very lucky to be on vacation the majority of July and enjoying being able to focus less on no baby. I have finished reading Unsung Lullabyes which I would say is a must read to anyone going through infertility. I loved reading the whole book and I thought was great how it went over all the emotional side of each stage of infertility even the mental/emotional parts after you have a baby.

So as for vacation I have been working diliegently on my tan and would say I am successfully dark and relaxing and enjoying friends and family. I got to go visit my friend in California who just had her baby and was able to help out so she could get some much needed rest. It is always fun to hold a newborn and have them snuggle up to you, I think that is my favorite stage by far! Then I was able to go to a family reunion and hang out with the little cousins around the ages of 2 and 4 which was soo much fun to see them discovering things and getting soo excited about stuff, probably my next favorite stage.

Inbetween my trips AF arrived and hung around for about 5 days which was pretty average and it has been about 70 days or 10 weeks. So at least there seems to be some consistency of an average 3 month span between AF. We will have to see what the RE thinks at our first appointment this Thursday.

Unsung Lullabies

Photo Credit

I have started reading "Unsung Lullabies" and so far I think it will be an awesome book for me to read. It goes through the emotional trauma that people go through when the find out that they have fertility problems and how you can deal with those struggles. It also goes over how fertility problems affect the male and ways to help them cope with there feelings. I know that Mr. Explorer Bud is always trying to be strong for me and not express his sadness about not being able to have kids the "Normal" way. I hope that after reading this book I can be a bit more aware of what Mr. Explorer Bud is feeling, of course we talk about it a lot, and how to help him express himself and know it is alright for him to let those feelings out. We are only able to really heal after we allow ourselves to express our thoughts, feeling and emotions.

My friends always ask how I am doing and how I am handling not being pregnant and having so many friends and family that have new babies and I can honestly say it is getting better. I feel like I am at a point where I am not so jealous and angry at everyone for having what I can't. Not that I don't still want to be pregnant but I am embracing where I am here and now and being happy with it. It has taken me a while to honestly feel that way but I am glad I have reached this point and hope that I can continue to find happiness in our lives in whatever stage of TTC we are in.

IVF Reading

As I stated last post I have been frequenting the library quite a bit and I have found two new books to read about IVF that I had heard about but couldn't find till now.

Photo Credit
The first one which I am currently reading is "When Nature's Not Enough: Personal Journeys through In Vitro Fertilization" which follows four or five couples through thier infertility journey. I have been loving reading this book becuase it is always interesting to see what other couples feel, decisions they make regarding thier treatment path and the results of thier experiments. I love when I am reading one of the stories and can totally relate with how they were feeling. It also has felt like a healing process as I go through the stories and can relate and feel like I am not alone in how I feel about the process and the ups and downs. I find that I get teary during some parts and laugh out loud at others which I think make a great book!! I would recommend it for anyone that is interested more in the emotional side of IVF not the procedural stuff which if you are doing IVF you feel like you've read it all already!!

The second book is "Unsung Lullabies: Understanding and Coping with Infertility" which I haven't started but had read it along the line of the previous book. I am excited to get into that one as well.

10 weeks

I have made it into double digit weeks! I haven't had much to report since being released from the RE at 8 weeks. I have had no morning sickness but have felt queasy from strong smells. I added some B6 into my daily vitamins and I think that has been helping.

Tomorrow is my first OB appointment. I'm not sure what to expect but Mr. Sassy Bud is coming just in case we get another ultrasound or get to hear the heartbeat with the doppler.

Although I am not ready to make any baby purchases yet (maybe after the NT scan), I have made some pregnancy purchases:

Preggle

Photo Credit

This is amazing! I was sleeping pretty well still before I got this, but it makes a big difference in comfort. I wanted a pregnancy pillow that still allowed me to use my regular neck pillow and this one definitely works for that.

Angel Sounds Doppler

Photo Credit

I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a doppler, and this one got great reviews for the price. It's still too early to use it so I haven't even tried it yet. I am not the type of person that will get upset if I can't find the heartbeat myself so this is a safe purchase for me.

I also stopped at Borders for some books: The Baby Name Wizard, Consumer Reports, and Baby Bargains. I was having a hard time figuring out where to start when comparing baby products so I think those 2 will be a good start. We definitely haven't picked out any names for sure yet, so the baby name book is a must.

I will update after my appointment tomorrow. Hopefully all is well with baby SB!

Excitement about TTC "supplies"

Let me preface this by saying that because we have been waiting for what seems like EVER to TTC after getting bitten by the baby bug, I am very serious about my efforts to TTC once it's time. Although I'm a very impatient person. So all of this may relate to that too.

I got the most exciting packages yesterday! One containing 25 HPT's and two books, and one that had my CBEFM and 60 test strips inside!

I'll start with the CBEFM. This was a purchase from an online "friend" who got pregnant before she started using it. Lucky for her, lucky for me! I'm super excited to start peeing on sticks next cycle! After reading the manual, it looks like you program it on CD1, and then it tells you when to start testing--the first cycle will start testing on CD6. Can't wait!

I've actually never taken a home pregnancy test in my life. I'm SO EXCITED to even own them, let alone be almost to the month where I get to use them. I ordered the cheap strips that you dip into a cup (seriously--they were cheap, under $6 for 25 at Amazon). Once I read the instructions, I had the urge to use one. I can't imagine how difficult each 2WW will be! After I finished obsessing, I hid them under the bathroom sink so I wouldn't think about them until next month.

I also received "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and "The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy." Now, some of you may think I'm jumping the gun a little. But I'm a) a big fan of preparedness, and b) a big fan of super saver shipping from Amazon (which I got, thanks to the books :) ).

I sat down with each and read the pre-conception chapters, along with the chapters about the first month and nutrition. Overall, I'm putting more stock into the Mayo book as I go along. I think they both contained great advice, but What to Expect was definitely geared toward the woman who has not been charting, and who may not have done her homework in figuring out how one's body works. What to Expect was the easier read of the two, and did have some good nutrition pointers and tips (although different guidelines than the Mayo book, and anything that recommends switching your nachos and cheese sauce for anything else with cheese sauce gets the side-eye from me to start).

The Mayo book (the parts I've read, at least) has been easy enough to read (more meaty than WTE), and I think it presents an educated, well-rounded overview of what to expect. It also includes a handy nutritional chart that I hope will be helpful once we do get that +HPT.

Lots of Love and baby dust...

Magnolia Bud

Books on my Nightstand

Image Source

If you are having/ or think you may have infertility issues, this books is a definite must read. I didn't know too much about this book when I first saw it and assumed that it was more of a book on the struggles of TTC, but after about Chapter 3, it dives straight into the world of infertility. I kept reading it because it was very good. If you are just starting to TTC, I wouldn't go out and purchase this book, however...

I would DEFINITELY recommend this book to those struggling with infertility treatments!

Faith, Love, and Baby Flutters

Mrs. Brainy Bud

Books on my Nightstand

Image Source

Onto book #3 on the nightstand. Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy was something that I definitely wanted to read. I needed the truth and nothing but the truth, but with a sense of humor. This is a really quick read, about 2-4 hours for me (I'm a slow reader). I would encourage you to read it to your husband, especially if he knows very little about what happens to a woman during pregnancy. I read the first 6 chapters to Mr. BrainyBud and we laughed and he even got freaked out at some things with me. Of course, I read this before TTC, but I was really happy to know that I won't be the only "Psycho Chic" there ever was.

Two Thumbs Up!

Faith, Love, and Baby Flutters

Mrs. Brainy Bud

Books on my Nightstand

Image Source

Ah, the second book that changed my outlook on the female body. Yikes! I didn't learn this much in 3 sex-ed classes in school. Instead of paying lots of money for the newer version, I found this 1995 edition at my local used book store for a quarter! I love that store. :) Although I haven't seen the newer versions, I can't believe that they have better information than what is in this book. It took me about a month to get through it, just by reading a little each night, but it really helped me to understand that conceiving a baby isn't just about having sex everyday (much to the dismay of Mr. BrainyBud I might add). I felt so relieved after reading this book and taking the online course through FertilityFriend that I wouldn't loathe my husband after the fact. LOL.

DEFINITE MUST READ if you are TTC.

Faith, Love, and Baby Flutters
Mrs. Brainy Bud

Books on my Nightstand

As a 'brainy' person, I had to start my research into parenthood early. I started picking up books to read to familiarize myself with the entire pregnancy process, so I thought I'd share some short reviews with you. The first book I read was

Image Source

After a few reviews telling that the "What to expect when your expecting" book would be a rather scary way to look at pregnancy, I was turned to this book instead. I must say that the formatting of this book was very easy to read. A look from pre-conception to birth, this book was able to relate the aspects of pregnancy without completely scaring me to death. I was able to skip over chapters that were graciously left toward the end of the book that spoke of multiples and possible emergency situations. It was here that I first learned the importance of folic acid before TTC and began to take the supplements then. (Doesn't hurt that they boost metabolism too!)

I would HIGHLY recommend this book!

Faith, Love, and Baby Flutters
Mrs. Brainy Bud