September 20, 2001 – If only this were an Olympic sport!

I feel like I am in training.  It started around April with prenatal vitamins and baby books.  Of course, if you are taking prenatal vitamins you should also take DHA, so 2 pills already.  All of this was, of course, doctor recommended for a woman of my age (apparently the Friends stars lied, 33 is old in reproductive years) to start vitamins before we started trying.  Done. 

Then came blood work… lots of blood work.  After that we added a thyroid med and additional iron.  I’m the only person I know taking 400% the daily recommended amount of iron just to have a “normal” blood level.  Yes I eat red meat (now) & love leafy greens; I just have abnormally low iron.  Anyone who has ever taken prenatal vitamins or additional iron can tell you they tear your stomach up!  I spent 2 full months with daily stomach aches.  Awesome, but if it helps with the baby-making I’m all over it.  Of course the increase in iron meant we needed to increase fiber too.  Oh joy! 

I also gradually increased my daily activities.  While I loved being a therapist, it didn’t encourage a lot of activity.  I sat in a chair or on the floor working with kids all day.  While we had excellent facilities to engage the children in more active play (basketball court & track), it turns out depressed kids just aren’t that into physical activity.  Now that I’m home I can take the dogs running, go for long walks, clean, and do all of the other things I was neglecting before. 

All of these are good things to do, especially when trying to conceive.  And so we happily tried.  It was very casual at first, a bit romantic even.  The thrill of doing something new.  Then a month went by… no baby.  We decided to get a little more serious with our efforts & plotted everything on the calendar.  I had a good idea of when our trying would be most successful, then we took an every other day approach.  Most people don’t realize that an ovum is only viable for between 24-32 hours, but sperm can remain in the uterus for up to 5 days.  So, trying every other day was a pretty safe bet… no baby. 

I realize the doctor told me this wouldn’t be easy, but I’m hopeful by nature, so my hopes were being crushed monthly.  As time passed, we continued to get more and more serious about our efforts.  We are currently up to daily efforts along with lots and lots of tests.  Home pregnancy tests, followed by fertility tests, rounded out with daily ovulation tests. All this so that we can one day see 2 pink lines!  

Over the last 6 months I’ve made numerous and sweeping changes in my life, all to improve our chances at successfully creating life.  It is hard to be the woman in this equation.  I’ve changed everything from the pills I take daily (I’ve given up any OTC med that my doctor hasn’t ordered me to take), the amount of sleep I have, my overall stress level, the amount of exercise I get, the water I drink, and the food I eat.  Doc has had to increase his water consumption and in the process of conception his orgasms are far more important than mine.  So, when it comes to the fertility Olympics, it kind of sucks to be a girl.  J