Cycle 5 begins

I always speak about my cycles as cycles not in terms of months. I have always been so irregular, that months is most definitely not applicable! So, now that cycle 4 has ended, I say, "bring on cycle 5!" :)

Today is the start of my 5th cycle since we began trying to bring our little bubby into the world. My goal this cycle is simply to ovulate! That would be great!! :):)




This weeks acupuncture session was all about my ovaries, stimulating them to start working properly. As well as a needle point to keep me happy and help my thought processes!

I've started a modified herbal mix and with no migraines yet, it is looking good. I see Queen Naturo on Wednesday for my regular massage maintainence, and I suspect she will probably add one extra herb to the mix and see how that goes.

The general headache I have been experiencing since my migraine adventure is still there. It is not at any level that I need to take anything for it, but it does persist and I need to talk to QN about it.

Naturally D is concerned. We know that the migraine and headaches are no doubt related to my hormones being stimulated in different ways. But he is right in saying that it is not normal that this headache is persisting. I think though, that what we are doing with my hormones is not something that will settle for quite some time, there are still changes to be made. And inevitably those changes will have some side affects. A mild pain in my head I can deal with! Nevertheless, QN needs to know and may have some better answers.

And on a fun note...

After no alcohol for over two months, D and I are opening a special bottle tonight now that I have my period. A celebration of our journey and goals and a reward for our efforts.

I am going to really enjoy this brief breaking of my no alcohol adventure before getting back on it again.

I'm going to savour every sip.

I'm going to enjoy the sound of the bottle opening,

the smell of the wine while it is still in the bottle,

the sound of it being poured into the glass,

the colour of the wine, the swishing of it in the glass,

the first sniff,

the sound of the clinking of glasses,

the taste of that first sip...

Dental care - during and before pregnancy

After two years, I have finally been back to the dentist!

It wasn't intentional to wait that long, it just happened. A cancelled appointment due to sickness and then time ran away from me! We all know how that goes!

What got me there eventually was what I learnt about teeth problems during pregnancy.

Any pre-existing problems before you get pregnant can be enhanced during pregnancy. Gum disease is the main problem. And if its there already, it can get worse. And I have known for a little while, that I have had some mild gum disease because of occasional bleeding when I brushed.

The dentist explained things further. Increased blood flow due to pregnancy, can cause gums to swell and make them more susceptible to infection. And if you do experience severe gum problems during pregnancy, there is an increased risk of premature delivery. That certainly provides me with strong motivation to have healthy teeth and gums!!

She advised me to come back either in 6 months for a regular follow up or in the second trimester - whichever comes first. The reason for coming in the second trimester is mainly due to comfort. Any morning sickness will have passed and you will still be able to comfortably lay in the chair - unlike in the third trimester! However, I think it is also a sensible time to check up on those gums and make sure they are staying healthy before there is any chance of problems with bubby!

So, I have gone from detesting flossing to doing so every night. And three weeks after my dentists appointment, it has now become a habit!

I have gone from dreading the dentist to looking forward to my next check up to make sure everything is good.

I am still bleeding just a little from the gums - but only when I floss, not when I brush.

So, I am keen to see if the six months of regular flossing I will have achieved by then, has made a difference to my dental health.

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From http://www.kidspot.com.au/

Morning sickness and your teeth
To avoid damage to your teeth after vomiting or gastric reflux, avoid brushing your teeth for about an hour after vomiting.
To freshen your mouth, simply smear some fluoride toothpaste over your teeth and then rinse off with water. Not only will it help wash away the potentially damaging acid but it will also re-mineralise your teeth.
Gagging can occur while brushing your teeth. If brushing makes you feel sick try using a very small headed brush, such as a brush designed for children, and concentrate on your breathing as you clean your back teeth.
Brushing without toothpaste may help. Rinse with a fluoride toothpaste and water twice a day but return to brushing with fluoride toothpaste as soon as possible.

A quick catch up.

Gosh, I am so far behind in documenting this journey. Life has simply run away from me and the opportunity to sit down and blog hasn't presented itself! In fact, I should be working now!!

So, I thought I would do a quick catch up on whats been going on. (I apologise in advance for not being able to document where I got these photos from. I think it was from a local photographer who put her pictures up on Facebook. I will look into it and make the necessary acknowledgments)

One

According to the Maybe Baby, I still haven't ovulated this month. Two months in a row now. That is a concern, but it is early days still. Acupunturist L is sticking needles into all the right spots and also told me how the ovaries take turns in releasing the eggs, but not always alternate turns. One ovary could release for a few months in a row. So, it could be possible that one ovary isn't working as well as the other. And two months isn't enough to really tell.

The good thing is that I haven't felt like I have ovulated either and I always seem to know. So, it is a temporary glitch. The month before we started tracking, I know for sure that I did, so there is hope!! In the meantime, I keep going to get stuck with needles every week!

Two

After getting the results of the saliva testing a couple of weeks ago, Queen Naturo gave me a new herb mix to boost my baby making ability. (I will go into this in more detail in another post). However, I had a reaction to the new herbs and experienced my first ever migraine. What fun - not! So, now we need to play around with the mix and found out what is causing the problem.

We are both eager for me to take the necessary herbs, but it might take some time to sort it all out.

Three

I am doing everything right, except for the one area in my life that I have always struggled with. Eating well. It really is a struggle for me. I was hoping that the desire to have children would really help, but the old annoying voice in my head still manages to win the battle and overcome my healthy eating desires.

I am trying to not to get stressed about it. That will only make things worse, of course. I know how important it is to cut out the sugars and high GI food. All I can do is keep trying.

In the meantime, I still exercise regularly, take the right supplements, no alcohol, no deli meats, no soft cheese etc etc, all in preparation.

Four

I get the results of the blood tests from the doctor on Friday. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

Well, thats it for today. I really should get back to work!!

I'm looking forward to catching up on everyone elses blogs soon!

Love and light

A

Acupuncture and conception

I had my first acunpuncture appointment last week. Not my first ever, my first one to help us conceive. L is an amazing acupuncturist etc and always helps heal whatever symptoms we have.

He has worked with many women over 40 to help them become pregnant and has had success in all cases. He and S (Naturo Queen!) have a 100% success rate. He has had women come to him after up to 7 unsuccessful IVF sessions and within a few cycles, conception has been achieved after receiving acupuncture. Awesome!

He has suggested that D come and see him as well as he can help with both sides of the fertility angle and ensure that everything is working optimally.

I will be seeing him once a week for this cycle and then we will see where things are. With any luck that's all that we will need! :)

He needled me for a few things. One was to completely clean out my womb, so a whole new fresh lining can begin to form. As a result, my current period is now 7 days long! It's been very light these last couple of days though and I'm grateful knowing that the old is being completely released and cleansed ready for the new! It's amazing to see the affects of just one treatment.

He also did a point to help the egg travelling properly down the fallopian tube, a point to keep me happy and stress free, a point to help me eat well and I think another to assist a generally healthy reproductive cycle.

It's encouraging to be feeling the affects of it already and I am looking forward to my next treatment in 2 days time.

A new cycle begins!

I very much doubt that I have ever been so happy about starting my period! :) But today I am! It's the start of a new cycle and I am excited.

With no ovulation in my last cycle, I am eager to begin the new one. One of the disadvantages in not ovulating was that I didn't know when I would begin my period. And as my cycles are irregular, I was in a pattern of simply waiting to be able to start again. Now it is here! And sooner than I expected. An almost normal cycle.

I am so looking forward to seeing what this month brings. I am hopeful and have one of those good feelings about things going well. Yet, I am also not worried if our dreams aren't realised this month. Acceptance as well as hopefulness are all part of the game!

As I write this, a smile has emerged. Excitement, hopefulness, a good feeling of success. Such good emotions. I'm smiling!

Things to avoid before and during pregnancy

There have been a few minor changes in our household in regards to chores since we began on this road to pregnancy.

A couple of months ago, my parents came around and we began our usual together job of gardening. Halfway through poisoning the weeds, I suddenly realised - "hey, I shouldn't be doing this anymore! What if I'm pregnant?" As we are not telling anyone, including my folks at this stage, that we are trying, I finished the job and kept my fingers crossed. As it turned out, I wasn't pregnant.

It's hard with some things to change the routine. The gardening for example, is a difficult one for D to find time for around his schedule. We are not green thumbs by any means and the garden isn't our priority. But things like the weeding and mowing need to be done. The weeds are far too prolific in our garden at this stage, to find the time to always do them by hand. Yet, I can't handle the poisons anymore.

Fortunately I switched to Enjo products rather than using cleaning chemicals a long time ago, so there aren't strong cleaning supplies used in our home anyway. And I have read about particular types of paints that you can use that don't have the fumes. I can look at that in more detail when it comes to paint the baby room.

Another one I discovered is cleaning the kitty litter. There is a risk of disease with cat faeces and all pregnant or pre-pregnant woman are advised not to clean up after their cats. Some sources go as far as to say to give the cats to a friend or family during this time. THATS not going to happen!!! :):) Don't these people know that my cats are my babies too!!!! Geeeeez! :)

Anyway, D has taken over that job. It was strange at first. They are my cats and it has been part of my daily routine for the last 5 years, to clean their tray either before bed or first thing in the morning depending on when its needed. D has taken over the task quite happily though. He is such a good man!

I still find it weird to walk in there, see that it needs to be done and not just do it. However, D is more than happy for me to let him know that it needs doing. So, at least I can still act in some way towards getting the job done by telling him! Weird I know!!

My furry babies

I'm still completely alcohol free. I think its been a month now! It's not very often that I miss it anymore so that is good. Often it is more the idea of it now than anything else. A drink with dinner or over a movie. When it comes to socializing though, D has introduced me to de-alcoholised wine and thats has solved the problem of not wanting to tell anyone that we are trying as well as my desire to enjoy a casual drink with my friends!

Fortunately, I don't drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, or take drugs. So those ones are easy!

And I have already talked about reducing stress in my life. A constant working goal that one! And in changing the diet, I have reduced my sugar intake as well. This is an important one for me also.

There you go. The list of things I'm avoiding!

Next time I will do a post of the things that I am DOING now - with exercise and healthy eating being the most obvious!

Clutter clearing to reduce stress

One of my continuing goals is to reduce stress in my life and create a calm and happy environment within me with which to create, grow and raise our child. To that end, I've set about clutter clearing.

Goal 1 - the kitchen cupboards.

I haven't taken photos of these but they are so much better now. The pots and pans cupboard, the baking utensils cupboard (there is one now instead of things being scattered over several cupboards!)... There are three cupboards now in much better shape.

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to shut the door properly on the pots and pans cupboard! Wonderful! It is also much easier to access things and to KEEP it tidy! Woohoo!! Some more sanity!

Goal 2 - the linen press.

This is the biggie! Last time I did this was before D moved in. And of course, he came with all his linen and while there was some sorting and throwing out etc at the time, it had gotten chaotic.

Because I've been sick, it has taken me three days to do this. A little bit here, exhaustion, a little bit there, exhaustion! You get the idea. But I have persisted as I could and it is now done.

Here are the before photos.

What a mess it was!

And here are the after photos!

If you look closely, you can even see that I got the labeler out and labelled what was on each shelf. I remember the last time I did the linen cupboard, thinking that is was going overboard doing that. But not this time, no, this time it stays organised! :)

Ah, on my way to a calmer mind and body. And a happier baby to be!

I don't feel that way yet. But I know that I am on the way. And when I fully recover and get back into life, particularly into exercising, then it will begin to emerge more fully.

Goal 3 - the spare room

Oh dear...

...to be cont.

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