I'm alive.
I haven't done anything so far this cycle. No soy, no OPKs, no ferning microscope... hell, I only checked my cervix for the first time today. I'm still temping, obviously. I've never really been stressed by temping and it's so much an automatic habit anymore, so I'm fine with that.
I ordered a couple of things from Amazon. I ordered a book called Inconceivable by Julia Indichova and a yoga DVD set called Restoring Fertility. I found the book used for $4.87, which was a steal! The DVD was regular priced, but I'm a bit excited about it.
The DVD was designed by Brandon Horn and Wendy Yu, two of the most knowledgeable Chinese medicine practitioners working in the specialty field of infertility. They've broken down the sessions by phase of cycle, so there are 4 different sessions, one each for your menstrual phase, follicular phase, ovulatory phase and luteal phase.
They explain how we're always encouraged to exercise when TTC. Each session has postures that focus on supporting what your body is trying to accomplish during that phase (shedding lining, building follies, transporting egg through tubes, implanting, etc). I've seen plenty of Prenatal Yoga DVDs, but I hadn't seen much on fertility... let alone something that focuses so much on the individual phases of the cycle, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Granted, I missed out on the first 2 phases for this cycle, but no matter.
Inconceivable is about a woman who, upon trying for her 2nd child, discovers she has an FSH of 42 (ovaries not producing fertilizable eggs) While this is not my issue, this book hit home for me in so many ways. I identified with her in so many different places and different ways. The age issue she faced, her thoughts, her fears. I related to just about every experience of doctor's offices and waiting rooms, wondering if your Dr. actually knows who you are or if you're just another chart and overhearing conversations from other women.
I identified with her feelings of guilt for wanting "more" when she had so much already... The ups and downs and everything in between, she tells other women's stories towards the end and it seemed in so many ways that they were also my story. The same tests, the same drugs, the same procedures... all in the same order... all with the same outcome.
To make a long story short... she pretty much gets herself off of the Western Medicine roller coaster and starts looking at more natural approaches to bettering herself through the foods they ate, herbs, etc. I found a bit of kinship in that as well, because I was raised with a lot of natural remedies that were handed down from my Grandmother. The author tries a lot of stuff, some of which makes you laugh! But she makes some pretty serious changes to her family's life/diet/etc with fantastic results.
So, while I'm not tossing my chicken wings out the window and jumping on the next New Age Veggie wagon out of town... It was an uplifting read at a time when I needed lifting. It was both encouraging and thought provoking. It seemed to reaffirm thoughts I'd already had.
I've made mention of the digestive troubles I have and I've often wondered to myself if that is a road block on Baby Blvd. I've wondered if my body won't let me get pregnant while my digestive system is in such a state of flux.
Needless to say, I've got plenty of food for thought and topics for research...
