This blog will primarily be about my ttc (trying to conceive) journey. We are ttc in our 30's as full-time working professionals, and trying for our second baby. We have been blessed with one wonderful child.

I decided to start this blog to record my experiences and express myself, to give information and support to others, and to receive information and support from others. Please understand that although this blog is public, my husband and I plan to keep it anonymous. Please feel free to leave comments or ask any questions. I hope you will share this journey with us!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

TTC methods for #2



I am using the Fertility Awareness Method, focusing on primary fertility signs of basal body temp and cervical mucous.  I generally have egg-white cervical mucous, EWCM, for 3 days and ovulate on the third day.  Along the way, I've learned my other signs of ovulation: including a high energy day right before ovulation, changes in libido, changes in wanting to look prettier/dressier around ovulation, and usually ovulation pains the day of ovulation.  I can even tell which ovary I ovulate from.  My ovaries tend to take turns each month, and I've always thought my right ovary was the better one, that was the one I had ovulated from when I got pregnant with DD.  If you had asked me prior to TTC if I ever had ovulation pains or could detect ovulation without an OPK, I would have said, "no!  what are you talking about?!" 

And with temping, I am fortunate enough to have an ovulation dip on the day of ovulation.  Temping is my favorite.  It tells me: the day I'm going to ovulate, if I've ovulated (which OPKs do not), when I have an estrogen surge (changes in hormones) after ovulation, when it is looking good or not for pregnancy, and if I'll probably be getting my period soon.  It gives new meaning to having your "hopes up," as long as the temps are up!  Whenever someone signs up for fertility friend through my page, it gives me 5 free VIP days.  This has happened twice recently, so I really appreciate it!  If you sign up, please do so through mine or someone else's page.  Thank you!!

Since we have a girl, and would be interested in having a boy (of course, we would be thrilled with either, and the most important thing is having a healthy child) we are very casually trying the Shettles method for gender selection (I haven't read the book).  This involves timing bd close to ovulation, and even changing the Ph balance in the reproductive tract, via diet, etc.  So I've been eating more bananas and drinking more orange juice.  Interesting to note that everyone on both sides of our family has had a girl first, and then if someone has a second child, it is a boy.

How else is TTC different with #2?  Of course, there is less time and less energy to give to TTC, already having a young child.  I suppose there is a little less urgency or pressure.  There is some familiarity with ttc and what worked previously.  However, it also really messed with my head the first month ttc, because I was having all the same symptoms I had when I was pregnant, and I swore I was pregnant!  It just goes to show, there is really no way to know if one is pregnant during the two-week wait, even with prior pregnancy experience!!

Coincidentally, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays fell during my two-week wait.  Holiday cocktails were offered to me, of which I drank a little bit.  We were also out of town around the time I was expecting to test or get AF for both holidays, a little odd but not so bad.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Reflexology

Natural aging and having a baby have changed my body and health, I feel different. So, I had been thinking about getting a check-up.  I was fortunate enough to happen upon a coincidental and unsolicited word of mouth referral, to a real Chinese doctor, and one to whom Western doctors refer their patients.  He does not advertise, he does not need to.  He has clients from all over the country come to him.

Reflexology is very similiar to acupuncture, and associated with (TCM) Traditional Chinese Medicine. The feet, hands or head can be worked. Most of what you will see about reflexology on the internet says "it is not diagnostic," there are a lot of non-medical people getting certified, they will just give you a foot massage and address some pressure points.  This doctor, however, did do a diagnostic for the first session.

He was great!!  He asked for no information over the phone or prior to the session except for demographics and referral source.  So the only clinical info he knew about me was my age, and obviously, that I'm female.

He went through each pressure point on my foot, and a few around the foot, with either his hands or a wooden massage tool, and small dab of lotion, and told me accurately about each system in my body!!!  I gave him my left foot first, but could just as easily have given my right. He had not specified.

When he activated the pressure points, it was obvious if I felt nothing, if I "could feel it a little," or it was painful.  He was tremendously reassuring during the session.  He pressed several points to begin, and then in his thick Chinese accent, "Ahhh, good news.  Your heart is fine, it is soft (meaning arteries not hardened), strong."  The next point was the adrenals, and boy, was that painful!  "Don't worry," he said smiling, "most people this hurts them, it means stress, you are stressed."  Other systems that were good: immune system, kidneys, lungs, brain, eyes, muscles, joints, intestines, thyroid.  He could tell that I've been having problems with insomnia.  I don't usually have insomnia, but had been for weeks prior to the appointment!!  He noted I had some very mild allergies/sinus problems.  True.  He noted there was something mild with my ear, either some small hearing loss or inner ear problems - true again.  He also noted something about headaches.  I don't usually get them, and I actually told him "no," that "wasn't correct."  But in the days that followed, I realized he had been right!  I had thought they were dehydration headaches, and had dismissed them.  I don't remember if he told me what was causing them, probably not, since I denied having them.  He noted there were some very minor changes to my Pituitary gland after having a baby.  He also noted I had some very small fibroids in my uterus and my breasts, "no serious problem, no cancer.  uterus is okay."  He noted my outer hips were fine, but my inner hips were a little off, also stated that is normal after childbirth.  I asked him if he thought I would have any problems getting pregnant again, or if stress would be a problem for me.  He indicated there shouldn't be any problems with that.  Although, he could work with me on it if I wanted.

He didn't go through the other foot like the first one, instead used it to double check/confirm what the first foot had told him. 

Overall, I felt reassured that I am still healthy.  He would have encouraged me to come back if I needed it, but instead he offered, "you don't need to come back.  but you call me, if you want to come back."

In the days that followed, I felt energized, happy, and relieved.  I started going to bed earlier and doing relaxation techniques every day.  Partly because I had wanted to make these changes, and partly attributable to the reflexology itself.  It marked a transition from an unhealthy lifestyle to a healthier one.   
Bottom line: Reflexology has my hearty endorsement!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Thinking about #2

 Hello everyone, I'm back!  So happy that I have more followers with whom to share this journey.  I hope everyone gets their BFPs soon!

We plan to start trying for #2 soon.  Our daughter recently turned 2 (she is awesome!).  Now that the production of her birthday party is past, I can hopefully turn my focus more to ttc. 

Let me catch you up, in a nutshell:
  • I loved being pregnant (and I miss it).
  • had the best possible labor and delivery (6 hours of labor and no epidural).
  • breastfeeding was harder than childbirth and didn't work out, I realized too late that I was not drinking enough water- DUH!  I have a lot of regrets with this and yearn to get another chance to get it right. 
  • Returning to work and juggling work with motherhood has probably been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, still struggling.  In my experience, there is no way to be a full-time working parent of a young child, and "have it all" - something is always getting shortchanged, and you just constantly juggle what you focus on and what you drop.  The opportunities for guilt are endless.  There is truly not enough time in the day.  I've already dropped the ball in multiple areas of my life and I am not healthy like I was prior to having a child.  How does TTC and a pregnancy possibly fit into my life now?  This has been a barrier to trying for #2- lack of time, lack of energy, and poorer health. As you can imagine, I won't be blogging as much or as involved this time around, because there is just not the time for it- wish there was.  
  • I started hinting at wanting #2 around the time my daughter was turning 1, and it took my husband until just recently (the better part of a year, after having called for a moratorium on the subject) to agree to try for #2.  And it took a lot of convincing!
  • I am now in my mid-30's.
Also this time around, I'll be approaching TTC differently(1)  No longer vegetarian and no clomid.  One thing that has happened is I haven't been vegetarian since getting pregnant with my daughter.  And eating meat has shortened my cycles from an average of 36+ days down to 32 days.  I am also ovulating mid-cycle, this is much improved from the last time we TTC'd.  So, I am hoping to get pregnant without clomid, and willing to try it without clomid.  By the way, clomid did get us pregnant with twins, or at least two gestational sacs.  We found out at 5 months there was a second sac with nothing in it or it was a cyst, and by the end of the pregnancy it had reabsorbed and was gone, thus confirming it had been a sac.  So we don't want to get pregnant with twins (again) if we can help it.  (2)  No OPKs necessary.   I learned so much during the last TTC, I can tell when I ovulate based on body signs, and will not need to use OPKs.  I think I might still temp because I enjoyed it, it is so easy, and it does give helpful info.   (3)  I need daily stress management during TTC AND pregnancy.  Coincidence that I got pregnant the month I did stress management/relaxation every day?  During pregnancy I ended up having an "irritable uterus" and going into preterm labor (fortunately we stopped it and I went full-term), but in retrospect, I believe this was all stress-related.  So, I plan to do daily relaxation during TTC and pregnancy.  I am nervous about going into preterm labor again, and will still need to talk to my obgyn to see if she has any suggestions.  When I was pregnant, I needed a fair amount of bed rest because whenever I stood up from around 25 weeks on, I had contractions.  We have an active toddler who demands all my time and attention, plus she constantly wants me to pick her up, and she uses my body like a jungle gym.  So, I worry about being pregnant with a toddler. 

You can see we will still have challenges, and challenges unique to #2.  Please wish us luck.  Let me know if you have any questions or any requests for blog post topics to consider, thanks!