January 2010 Highlights

January 21st

Welcome to all of those visiting for ICLW week! I hope that you all made it over here from my old blog…looking back switching blogs earlier this week probably wasn’t the best idea I ever had!

I am Kate, my husband is Chris and after 4 years of ttc we are pretty much at the end of our unexplained ropes. Early on we tried a few clomid and clomid/IUI cycles, these resulted in a bfn, chemical pregnancy, and a missed miscarriage at 8 weeks. I also had a spontaneous pregnancy and blighted ovum miscarriage along the way. We tried IVF twice…at two clinics using two different protocols and both attempts failed to make even one decent embryo, which is interesting to say the least since I clearly have gotten pregnant a few times. They aren’t sure if my ovaries just can’t handle the heavy stims or if the allergic reactions I have to the medications are lowering my egg quality.

My doctor now has me on a good carb/no sugar/workout plan that is supposed to increase egg quality although they have nothing to back this up aside from my mentor saying it worked for her. One thing also to note about this is that I have a healthy bmi combined with good glucose and insulin levels so there truly is no evidence that my issue has to do with sugar. We found out last week that my AMH levels are in pre-menopause range, but we are right on the cusp of being normal so the doctor doesn’t think this has anything to do with our issues.

So what do we do now? I have no idea. I am still doing the nutrition/workout plan but definitely not as strict. I have no desire to do IVF again since I have no hope it will turn out differently. Doing a few more clomid cycles is on the table but I am just not sure if I have the steam for them anymore plus again I have no more faith that those will work versus us trying on our own(and my faith that will ever work is at about 3%).

Even though this is no longer a just IF blog I hope you enjoy it!


January 27th
Let’s talk about the positive things going on in my life now…

We must first go back to 2008 after my first failed IVF when I was told that my eggs are so bad they must be toxic…:gasp: What, toxic eggs? What the hell even is that? I did my research on Dr. Google and went to Kate extremes to remove sulfates, parabens, ect from my life. I really wasn’t doing it for my health though, it was for some crazy belief that all of my problems stem from the environment. When I look back now if my eggs truly are toxic, nothing is going to change that so what the hell was I doing? See, extremes person.

Fast forward to 2010 and the blood sugar plan…I read up on what blood sugar does to your hormones and somehow got ended up reading about pesticides in your food, which then lead to chemicals banned in the EU but the US still uses, to watching Food, Inc(rent this), ect. I decided I wanted to make some changes, but to be a healthier person and not for some whacked out toxic egg belief. I know I can’t and won’t even try to eliminate it all but I figure if I am only using/eating 3 “toxic” things a day versus 12 then I am all over it.

This leads us to the point of my post…Dr. Bronner’s 18 in 1 pure castille soaps. You read that right, this soap has over 18 uses and is completely safe for you, your kids, your pets, ect. I first bought the unscented baby formula and using essential oils I made my own foaming hand soap. You would be amazed at how little soap you actually use in a foam dispenser!

Next up I tried the tea tree scent to clean my kitchen floors and they were sparkling 20 minutes later AND the dogs could roam around without me worrying about what would get on their paws. I also put some in a spray bottle with water and used it around the house as an all purpose spray which I was also very pleased with. Now all I have under my sink is baking soda, vinegar, borax, lemon juice and Dr. Bronners. How simple is that? I would also like to mention that I still have bleach in the laundry room…some things just need bleach.

Uses I am still waiting to try…shampooing Buca and Peanut, shaving cream, body wash, toothpaste(seriously, you could lick this and not get sick) and washing my car. I can’t see using it as a toothpaste on a regular basis but I still am going to give it a whirl!

Toxins out of the house…triclosan(anti-bacterial/pesticide in hand soap) and way too many to name off of the back of the windex/409 bottle!