Green Light // TTC

So, all my blood work (CD3, CD21, etc.) turned up completely normal in my first round of infertility testing. I spoke with my doctor’s assistant last week and -- unless I don’t get pregnant in the next six months -- we're free to just try and wait and see. It’s been over a year with a chemical pregnancy and missed miscarriage, so I would be lying if I said I’m 100 percent cool with this advice. At the same time, we did get pregnant on our own (which is a huge hurdle in itself) and . . . since nothing is glaringly wrong, we could just be victims of really bad luck.

I’m trying hard to start this first cycle of trying again with a relaxed attitude. It’s not easy with my personality and everything we’ve now been through. I want nothing more than to be pregnant again. I’m happy we waited a few months, because now it isn’t about replacing what we lost . . . it’s just moving forward with the process. And who knows how long it might take. Or if it will stick. I’m trying not to lose my mind because I realize many people have been trying much longer. Still, I guess I had hoped that something would have stuck out as a problem so we could fix it.

Since that’s not the case, I’m doing what I can do. I’m trying to help my body and our chances the best I can, though I know and truly now believe so much of the fertility and baby-making process is pure luck. I mean, have you guys seen The Great Sperm Race? It’s incredible babies are conceived successfully at all!



Anyway, I did a little self-research. I looked into the habits I had when I got pregnant with Ada. And a couple things surprised me. First, I had been “detoxing” for a few weeks and eating really clean, lots of fruits and veggies, and drinking tons of water. Second, I was coming off my double marathon training season where I ended up getting a horrible IT-band injury that had limited my running for almost three months. I was swimming, aqua jogging, and cycling a lot -- low impact with a few short runs as I healed.

Naturally, I’m wondering if trying this stuff out again might help. So, I have been stuffing myself to the gills with fruits and vegetables for the last couple weeks. It’s not that I don’t normally eat this stuff. It’s the volume that’s changed. You guys know I typically rely on lots of bread and sugar to power me through, well, life. Obviously my diet hasn’t always been ideal, but it’s a work in progress. With exercise, I’ve been keeping it short and light since my 10K race last week. I’m planning to do around four or five runs of 3 to 4 slow miles a week. Walking and cycling otherwise. If we were members of a gym, I’d do swimming.

I may have mentioned in another TTC post that when we got pregnant in late January, I had drastically changed my diet as well. I cut back on all processed carbohydrates, shunned crazy sugar high desserts, and drank a green smoothie each day. Not only that, but I also made exercise a priority, but I was doing a lot of Barre, cross-country skiing, and running when the weather was OK (which wasn’t a lot). Coincidence? Probably . . . but maybe not.

I’m not going to go on a limb and credit my diet change with getting pregnant, because we all know how that turned out anyway. But I have read a couple studies (1, 2) about blood sugar/carbs/lifestyle and fertility. The information is compelling, and at this point I’m willing to try anything. At the same time, I don’t think I’ll be able to wait another six months without checking in with the doctor again. So, I’m trying to take this one day at a time. Whether or not I’ll write many updates -- I’m not sure. Sometimes writing helps, but I also realize that this journey could be a long one . . . so I don’t want to turn this space into my personal rant zone.

Thanks for reading and for your well wishes.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!