When you see a pregnant woman, are you happy for them or do you wish that was you and seethe jealousy that it's not?
I am happy for people. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of miracle to make a baby. I have two friends that are pregnant and due in September. When I found out, I was excited for both of them. One told me in person, the other I found out on Facebook.
I haven't exactly kept in touch with them both because life is busy and we live in different parts of the city. It's hard to get together and their life is changing dramatically.
I got the opportunity to go to one friends baby shower. She did hers a couple weeks ago and looks so beautiful pregnant. She was relaxed, happy and waiting. I made a point to get to her shower and be there to support her. She has such a sweet soul. We played a few new games I hadn't played before, and it was great to catch up with her. I asked her all sorts of birthing questions and what her plans were. Who better to learn from than someone going through it? We are very similar so it was great to hear what she was planning and know that I could get information from her when our time comes.
My other friend had a surprise at 35 weeks. Her baby girl (they didn't know the sex at the time) wanted to meet them sooner than expected. I still don't have all the details as I think they are swamped and need some time. Their daughter is in the NICU for a week or so because she was early, but from what I have seen and heard from them, everyone is doing well.
It makes you see how different every pregnancy is. Every mom, every dad, every baby.
I love feeling joy for friends and smiling at strangers. There is something magical about that.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
The Two Week Wait
Two weeks is such a short time in our busy lives. In reality, it is. We can accomplish a lot in 2 weeks. That's two weekends to enjoy. 10 days of work. But when you are waiting for those two weeks to end so you can pee on a stick, they are LOOOONNNGGGG!
Charting makes the Two Week Wait (TWW) better and worse at the same time. Every day I get another high temperature after ovulation, I do a little skip for joy. Another day closer. It also makes it worse. You have an exact date of when you can test and when you are "late". When you know what day past ovulation you are, it makes the weeks longer. Plus you are used to charting all your symptoms. The worst part is that PMS and pregnancy share a lot of the same signs. Frustrating!
The new home pregnancy tests say you can test up to 4 days before your expected period. I know exactly when that is! But do you really want to spend $20+ on a test that may/may not give you an accurate result, when a missed period will tell you pretty much everything you need to know? I thought so last cycle. Husband thought it was too early, and it was.
We ended up not conceiving last cycle, and that's ok. God's timing wasn't right for us. There was a lot going on stress wise and I'm not surprised it didn't happen. Sad at seeing a Big Fat Negative (BFN) but also felt a little relief that we get to try again. This time is special and bringing us closer together as a couple.
Having been the crazy TWW lady that analysed every single "symptom" and used up 3 home pregnancy tests, I feel like this time around I'm more relaxed. I have faith that it will either happen, or won't. Either way, it's the divine plan.
Does me being more relaxed mean I won't pee on a stick at 12 days past ovulation? Likely not. Who wouldn't want to know as early as possible? Thank you dollar store for having cheap pink dye tests.
Charting makes the Two Week Wait (TWW) better and worse at the same time. Every day I get another high temperature after ovulation, I do a little skip for joy. Another day closer. It also makes it worse. You have an exact date of when you can test and when you are "late". When you know what day past ovulation you are, it makes the weeks longer. Plus you are used to charting all your symptoms. The worst part is that PMS and pregnancy share a lot of the same signs. Frustrating!
The new home pregnancy tests say you can test up to 4 days before your expected period. I know exactly when that is! But do you really want to spend $20+ on a test that may/may not give you an accurate result, when a missed period will tell you pretty much everything you need to know? I thought so last cycle. Husband thought it was too early, and it was.
We ended up not conceiving last cycle, and that's ok. God's timing wasn't right for us. There was a lot going on stress wise and I'm not surprised it didn't happen. Sad at seeing a Big Fat Negative (BFN) but also felt a little relief that we get to try again. This time is special and bringing us closer together as a couple.
Having been the crazy TWW lady that analysed every single "symptom" and used up 3 home pregnancy tests, I feel like this time around I'm more relaxed. I have faith that it will either happen, or won't. Either way, it's the divine plan.
Does me being more relaxed mean I won't pee on a stick at 12 days past ovulation? Likely not. Who wouldn't want to know as early as possible? Thank you dollar store for having cheap pink dye tests.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Stress
Stress. It's a nasty word that can mean something different for every single person. For me, it's a horrible thing that I deal with and has significant consequences to my health and family.
I have been through a lot of health issues, and I am now a firm believer that they all relate to stress and my inability to deal with a lot of it. Stress can be good and bad. Stress of a wedding = good! Stress of a job issue = bad. Stress of a new puppy = good. Stress of a death in the family = bad. And on we go. Stress can be good or bad but to your body, it's all the same. The chemical reaction inside is the same.
Last November, I noticed my charts went completely out of the norm and I was able to know that something wasn't right. I was losing focus, couldn't concentrate, was having really crazy cycles, temperatures and a general feeling of unwellness. I was sure that I was suffering from depression but reluctant to go on anti-depressants. My medical doctor at the time didn't think there was anything wrong with me, ran some tests and found nothing out of the ordinary. We were avoiding conception and therefore it was not a huge deal if I wasn't ovulating properly or had a long enough luteal phase to potentially allow implantation of a fertilized egg.
I sought a second opinion from a Naturopath. She sent me to a new Dr to get a series of blood tests that were far more in-depth and was able to determine my hormones were completely out of sync. Low progesterone, low iron (anemic levels) and a few vitamin deficiencies. She looked at my charts, and put me on a plan to get my hormones back into sync, assist my depression and help me relax.
The reason they were whacky? Stress, depression, anxiety.
It took about 3 months of supplements for everything to start functioning better. I was still having a few cycle issues, but things were starting to even out. Depression/Anxiety was still a problem that would need some serious intervention on my part. I wasn't ready to make the decisions I needed to make yet, so all we could do was support my overstressed body.
My Naturopath was aware of our future plans for a family and was in agreement that it's important to get things working BEFORE trying to conceive. When your body is in a state of extreme stress, the chances of getting pregnant is low. The chances of keeping a pregnancy is lower. As I was told, the chances of my body having a miscarriage are high because of my stress, depression and hormone levels. This isn't something you want to hear, but it sure makes you take stock of your life and start to eliminate things that are unnecessary.
I have been through a lot of health issues, and I am now a firm believer that they all relate to stress and my inability to deal with a lot of it. Stress can be good and bad. Stress of a wedding = good! Stress of a job issue = bad. Stress of a new puppy = good. Stress of a death in the family = bad. And on we go. Stress can be good or bad but to your body, it's all the same. The chemical reaction inside is the same.
Last November, I noticed my charts went completely out of the norm and I was able to know that something wasn't right. I was losing focus, couldn't concentrate, was having really crazy cycles, temperatures and a general feeling of unwellness. I was sure that I was suffering from depression but reluctant to go on anti-depressants. My medical doctor at the time didn't think there was anything wrong with me, ran some tests and found nothing out of the ordinary. We were avoiding conception and therefore it was not a huge deal if I wasn't ovulating properly or had a long enough luteal phase to potentially allow implantation of a fertilized egg.
I sought a second opinion from a Naturopath. She sent me to a new Dr to get a series of blood tests that were far more in-depth and was able to determine my hormones were completely out of sync. Low progesterone, low iron (anemic levels) and a few vitamin deficiencies. She looked at my charts, and put me on a plan to get my hormones back into sync, assist my depression and help me relax.
The reason they were whacky? Stress, depression, anxiety.
It took about 3 months of supplements for everything to start functioning better. I was still having a few cycle issues, but things were starting to even out. Depression/Anxiety was still a problem that would need some serious intervention on my part. I wasn't ready to make the decisions I needed to make yet, so all we could do was support my overstressed body.
My Naturopath was aware of our future plans for a family and was in agreement that it's important to get things working BEFORE trying to conceive. When your body is in a state of extreme stress, the chances of getting pregnant is low. The chances of keeping a pregnancy is lower. As I was told, the chances of my body having a miscarriage are high because of my stress, depression and hormone levels. This isn't something you want to hear, but it sure makes you take stock of your life and start to eliminate things that are unnecessary.
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