Hmm, interesting "food" for thought

Here is an article that says research out of Harvard's School of Public Health says that eating full/whole fat milk products will help fertility and conception.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/ice-cream-helps-increase-chance-of-pregnancy-438189.html

Basically, it says that the increase in infertility in the West is a result of all of the low-fat eating and products. It suggests that ice cream a couple of times a week will increase the chance of conceiving, because lack of dairy or eating too much "low-fat" dairy, increased infertility due to lack of ovulation. "The more ice cream the women ate the lower was their risk of infertility. Women eating ice cream two or more times a week had a 38 per cent lower risk of infertility than those who consumed ice cream less than once a week. "

Okay, I seem to have little trouble actually conceiving, but there is the issue of my late ovulation. Does this make a difference in the viability of the embryo? I do not ovulate until day 20 to day 26, depending on my cycle. If eating ice cream will change my hormones, and I actually could ovulate earlier, perhaps that would be better for my chances of sustaining a healthy pregnancy. I will be buying full-fat ice cream tomorrow, and giving it a chance. I have to eat less other food, so I don't gain weight, but that would be fine. I am willing to

Also, people online have been mentioning that peas may contain a natural contraceptive. Therefore, I should not eat peas when I am trying to conceive. That is a problem as I absolutely love peas!! I guess I can try to forgo them for now. However, I haven't tracked down a good scientific source, so I don't know if I should really worry yet or not.

I did not conceive in January. We didn't BD during my most fertile time because my husband was ill with a cold, and he didn't want to give it to me. I got it anyway. So, we will be trying for a Valentine's Day baby conception!!

Just need to vent

I am just feeling down. I think I ovulated either today or yesterday (based on a variety of symptoms) and we haven't had sexual relations in almost four days. Was that too early? On the other hand, it might work better to conceive a girl (I still want a little girl - healthy, too, of course - that goes without saying). You know, a healthy boy would be wonderful, too. Anway, I don't know if my husband will be have enough energy for sex tonight. I don't want to push or force. Maybe we just let it be, and if we conceive, we conceive this month, and if not, we try again next month. I am nervous about the possibility of not getting pregnant until March or April - the dute date would be around Sam's due date, and I don't know if I really want that. Still, if I would get through the Christmas concerts I'll be in before a baby is born, that wouldn't be horrible, either. But I do want a healthy baby before this next Christmas! Oh, so much to think about and consider.

And I just wish my Samnini was here. Yes, I know his spirit is around me, but that isn't the same thing at all. I want him here wobbling around with little wobbly steps, trying to wobble up the stairs. We'd have a gate on the stairs to stop him from doing that. We'd have to pack up our little things - like my minitature tea sets - so that he wouldn't be eating the little parts. I would be taking him to "mommy and me" swmming classes and when he was a little younger, "mommy and me" yoga. It would have been so, so much fun. Christmas would have be wonderful! He would have been delighted by the Christmas tree, and playing, ripping, eating wrapping paper. We could picture him so clearly on Christmas.

And I am still sad that we had a misscarriage. I haven't let myself think this way until today when I realized that I should be 8 and a half weeks along now. I should have a new little baby's heart beating away in me.

Samyar's Story (Our Winter Baby) Part 2

Sam was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), Double-Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV), Vein Atresia (he had the very rare occurance of just completely missing the veins that take the oxygenated blood from his right lung back to his heart), Hypoplastic Right Lung, as well as a cleft palate and undescended testes.

His HLHS and the associated DORV were found at the 20-week ultrasound. His vein atresia and and hypoplastic lung were not found until his Norward Sano surgery - well, sort of found then. Sam's surgeon said that he was sure the veins were there, but just in a different place, or something, after he had finished Sam's surgery. It wasn't until more than a month later, when Sam could not stay off the ventilator that they cathed him and discovered that not only was his lung indeed extra small, but that the veins were completely missing! Apparently eventually the blood would drift out of his lung to his chest wall.

Sam's microchromosomal tests came back showing that there might be some problems at first, so they had us, his parents, send in our blood, too. It turns out it Sam had a variation that my husband has as well, and probably Sam's grandpa - and they are "heart healthy", so really Sam's chromosomes are fine, even though he really looked like a "syndrome" (but nobody could fit it into a recognizable, known syndrome).

. . . I don't know if this story is really going to have a flow to it. . . I have to do it in parts, to get my feeling out.

Hopes for 2009, meeting with perinatologist

At the suggestion of the nurse practitioner my OB's office (when I went in for my post-miscarriage follow up on Dec 29), I went to a consultation on January 7 with their perinatologist. The nurse thought I had enough history - with Sam's defects and then this early miscarriage. The perinatologist did not have anything extra new to add that we didn't already know, except that he had an opinion on SSRIs! He thinks that it IS possible that my being on fluoxetine (generic Prozac) could have definitely caused Sam's problems. This is the first confirmation on what we've been thinking happened from a medical professional. It feels liberating in a way, though now I feel even more guilty. If only I'd weaned off before conceiving Sam. . .

I walked around the last few days of 2008, crying, saying that the year was terrible. Not everything was terrible . . . there were some good things. . . and I will write a post soon about the good things. . . but losing Sam and then miscarrying over Christmas was certainly not what I wanted to experience over the year. I am more hopeful now. Hopeful that we will conceive another baby, a healthy baby, that we will have a beautiful baby.

The other thing the perinatologist said: "Don't waste any time getting pregnant." He said that really I am still at a good age in terms of low chromosomal problem risks - so we should go ahead. He didn't see a reason why we should wait another cycle to try again! So, my husband and I have been having occaisonal sex in the last week without any protection. However, I don't know if I will conceive or have conceived already yet this month as his work schedule is leaving him exhausted, and we haven't done it in three days now. We'll see. . .