First Midwife Appointment

Boy that was a long appointment, but it was really laid back so that was part of it. A few things I was annoyed with. I was there for my annual in Feb, but they still requested my insurance info and I had to fill out the same 8 pages of information I did last time. I hate paperwork! Then they ask the SAME questions during the medical history review of the appointment.

I am guessing that since it was a first appointment, and they are always known to run long, that they were wanting to move my appointment to an earlier time. I didn't get out of the office until close to 5pm.

During that time she examined my pelvic bones to make sure they were in proper place for birthing, which they were. They also swabbed for STD panel, which I am 100% positive will be clear. They also took about 4 vials of blood, which I am assuming is for a complete blood panel. I'm sure that will return fine, however I'm curious about my iron/hemoglobin level since I can be borderline anemic. Oh, yeah and there was the nice urine test and I did my first dipstick for protein and glucose. They asked me 4 times for consent for HIV, which I passed on because I've had taken a year or so ago and there is no way it would turn up positive. If I hadn't had it done before, then I would have signed. I also got to hear the baby on the Doppler. So easy to find! HB of around 150.

So this leaves one question up for debate. To test or not to test? We had a discussion with the midwife about the quad screen and we are on the fence. My stance is that I'm highly unlikely to go so far as to get an amniocentesis because of the risks and if we get positive markers on the blood test then that is likely where we would head after a level 2 ultrasound. She agreed and said there are often indicators in the blood test that result in false positives. My concern is worrying about a bad result for the rest of the pregnancy. My husband believes it is better to know now in case there is anything that can be done. He doesn't think finding out during birth or shortly after birth is the best time, that it would be traumatizing. We both agree that termination is not likely, and that there is nothing that we could do now to prepare ourselves if our child has down syndrome. I think the biggest concern is neural tube defects. We did not have an NT scan, but the RE did look at the spine and commented that everything appeared fine, but no measurement taken.

DH said it was up to me, but I hope he does realize that I am seriously considering what he is saying. I know we both need to do more research to feel more comfortable. I am thinking about taking it and just dealing with the stress until I hear the result, just so DH knows I take his opinion into consideration. I'm just not sure.

What do you think? Should I or shouldn't I?

Meeting Dr. Puzzle

My first appointment with the RE (Dr.Puzzle) went pretty smoothly, well until the morning after when a had a mini-freakout. More on that later. So, I think I really like Dr.Puzzle, but he also seems to be a bit hard to read. I felt very relaxed with him, which is great. I'm the kind of gal that only goes to women doctors for her annual poking and prodding. I thought it kind of sucked that the majority (Like 95%) of REs out there are male doctors. I thought it would be a problem, but he was very relaxed and I felt really at ease with him.

The reason I call him Dr.Puzzle is because during our consultation he'd give me these looks, almost like he's giving me the evil eye. Kind of like if he looks at me a certain way I'll give up the key to my problem. It honestly was a little off-putting. That's when it dawned on me that he sees it as a puzzle, trying to look at it from different angles. He loves a puzzle, and a puzzle is what I gave him!

So, a bit of our history he wanted. We're both healthy, under 30 and unsuccessfully TTC for almost a year. I showed my charts which easily show that I ovulate, on average, between CD14 and CD16. No spotting, no difficult symptoms, no low or high temperatures and LP is normal. In fact, he wrote "Excellent Charts" in his notes. DH's numbers are a bit on the low side, but still normal. I got acquainted with Wandy rather quickly, and unexpectedly. Ultrasound showed everything was perfectly normal and he even showed where I had ovulated from my right ovary and pointed out the follicles that were still visible. The best looking ovaries he'd seen all day.

My case baffles him. I have mixed emotions about that. For me, the unknown is more scary and more frustrating that anything else. The diagnosis I would loathe to hear, "Unexplained Infertility". I know it could be worse, which is why I am comforted that it still looks like we're good to go, just that our number hasn't come up yet.

He asked me what I thought might be the problem, and I said I didn't know, that this is what is frustrating to us. I should have stated my position right there, that the reason I was there was to find a diagnosis and not just throw treatments at it. I was enamoured by the fact that I appeared to be fine (I was afraid I had cyst on my left ovary). Dr.Puzzle doesn't see the need to medically try to induce ovulation since I appear to be doing a capable job on my own. His recommendation was to head into an unmedicated IUI, and that he thinks the problem might like in the motility numbers and that IUI is all we'd need. At roughly $200 (!!!!!) a pop, not a bad deal at all.

We had a bit more conversation where we got to know Dr.Puzzle and his practice a little more. We met with someone from billing about insurance and fees and what not. That's where we learned that IUI is closer to $800 after all office visits, that the $200 was just the IUI procedure. IVF is $12,000-$14,000, which includes everything and cost depends on what stims are used. Insurance, of course, does not cover treatment at all. Then we waxed unpoetically about frustrations around the politics of it all.

I was instructed to call at CD1 IF it arrived (FX that it doesn't) and to call again the day I ovulate to get in for the IUI. It wasn't until after I left the office that I hadn't spoken about wanting a diagnosis and not just a treatment plan. Apparently it was bothering me more than I thought because when the cat woke me up the next morning I couldn't get back to sleep.

My biggest fear, that he had given an official diagnosis of infertility and that we'd go through with the IUI or several IUIs only to finally get an HSG scheduled and find out that I have blocked tubes. Almost $1000 a try, and then have to pay for the HSG out of pocket on top of it? It only makes sense to me to try the HSG first since insurance will cover diagnostic tests, plus HSG can help increase fertility by cleaning out the cobwebs.

So from 5am-8am I fretted about the fact that I'll probably not get the test done and that he's already flagged me for infertility. I left a message with the receptionist who called back a few hours later, and calmed me a bit. The visit was not coded for infertility and she'd pass the message to Dr.Puzzle after she got his dictated notes. Hopefully I'll hear something before CD1

Wordless Wednesday

Cycle Update, WTH Is Going On?

So as the chart would suggest, I ovulated yesterday. However I've come to know that TTC isn't an exact science. I'm about 99.5% sure that I didn't ovulate yesterday, but it's that .5% that kept me from going back to sleep this morning.

All other signs are pointing to NO, so I'm trying to trust that. I've been pretty busy and stressed with work. I can't really talk about what I do, and normally don't want to. The company I work for is regulated by the government and they've given me a lot to do. Normally it's great. I love having work to do, it makes my day go faster. Its just frustrating deal with things out of my control. Same with TTC!

The SA appointment went well. I told DH that I really didn't want to hear bad news because it would distract me from work and make BDing harder. I got my wish, numbers have gone up enough to satisfy the Urologist. He's no longer seeing DH. Numbers have started going back up which is confirming that the fever/hot baths were likely the problem. The picture that bother me though was the declining morphology. I'm hoping that vitamins will help with that.

So when it came to scheduling BDing, I had figured on Oing on CD14 (which is where the dip is on the chart). But when it actually came time do get down to business I wasn't interested at all. Honestly, it really worried me. I'm a bit of a control freak, so when things aren't working out right, it drives me crazy! After a relaxing few days, I've started seeing signs return. I think I will O, and I think it'll probably (hopefully) happen before the weekend.

The funny and great thing about that is that my best friend just told me that she and her DH are officially TTC and my delay would put me and her just about on the same cycle. It would be pretty cool if we ended up getting pregnant at the same time.

Thanks for putting up with this ramble. I know it's not organized real well but honestly that's how my brain's been working the past 2 weeks. Craziness!

Hormonal Imbalance

That's all I can describe what I am going through right now. I don't know it's even an imbalance, its just affecting my mood. PMS, only it's Post Menstrual Syndrome. I am on CD9 as of today and on this cycle day for the past 3 months I have noted emotional on my chart.Its the same emotion too, just a sudden mood drop. Not a bad mood, just really feeling down and sorry for myself.

It looks as though my body is gearing up to O on CD14 again, like last month. DH's SA is tomorrow. I have second thoughts about having it right before O, for two reasons. First, it kind of cuts in a bit on our timing, and second for not doing it is that I don't want to feel hopeless before BDing. This SA will probably give us a solid diagnosis. If numbers go up, then the fever is the culprit but if they don't then it's male factor infertility (as far as we know, it could be me too but we haven't done the testing yet).

We haven't discussed yet, or thought much yet, about what we're going to do if we do need to see an RE and if we do decide to participate in ART. I think partially because we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, partially denial that we are having problems. It weighs on me, but it's something I will force myself to think about after this weekend.

I really feel the need for some time off to sort through some feelings. I've been so busy with work lately, I really need some time to decompress. It might just fit in with some plans before we decide to go through with ARTs, or perhaps a second babymoon (which might be a bad thing considering the first one delayed O, which we likely missed).

*sigh*
I just feel so stretched, so thinly spread. I'm so tired.

"SA"mple Experience

The day of my appointment to give a "sample" for analysis came and went without much trouble. I wasn't as anxious as I had assumed I might be. We met a very nice nurse that was currently going through a similar situation with her husband. It was funny but she told us more in 5 minutes than anyone else has in the entire time we've been looking into this.

The experience wasn't exactly how I imagined it but I'm not really sure what I expected. They take you to a room not unlike any other room in a doctors office. They leave you a cup and shut the door. When you are "finished", you leave the sample in the office with the door open and go the receptionist for any remaining paperwork. If you have any "problems" giving a sample you can let them know and you can try again another time. That was it.

I understand that is a medical office and everyone was very professional. It just felt odd. I guess part of me expected they might have something for "inspiration" etc. Everything was just very rigid. Go down the hall into the room, masturbate until you reach ejaculation and collect your sample. Thank you Mr. Roboto. I consider myself lucky and grateful that my wife came with me. Just her being there made me feel a lot less awkward.

After speaking with the staff we went ahead and scheduled an appointment with the Urologist there. Contrary to what we were told I was able to get an appointment rather quickly. The Dr. will go over the results of my semen analysis at the next appointment as well check my hormone levels.

Note added from Randifity:
This is where we found out the idiot receptionist really frustrated the experience. For future reference, abstinence is required 2-5 days prior to giving a sample, or low results could be found. We also found out that the time we scheduled for the SA was the time the Dr. had available for an appointment. D'oh! The next SA appointment will be more like what can be expected, SA and then wait to meet the Dr. an hour later for results.

Witty Title About SA

Yeah, I couldn't come up with one either.

So, DH finally got a script for an SA. We picked it up from the doctor's office when he went in for his cold/flu thingy we've been fighting. It gave us a giggle because the nurse there opened up the sealed envelope (it was waiting to be picked up, we just happened to get an appointment later and picked it up) to double check that it was right. She said, "and this lab work for a blood, err, umm, a test". I'm sure they are not accustom to these tests, but it still made us both giggle for most of the day. DH was completely alright with their little faux pas, and try to make them feel at ease about it.

The process it took to get the actual script for the SA is not as easy or as humorous, however. It was quite frustrating really, partially us being uninformed and partially a 3rd party being uninformed.

See, the whole process started with DH considering getting checked out. I'm not sure what prompted the move but since he talked about it, I tried to do what I could to give him the resources without actually doing it for him. I want to empower him through the TTC process so he doesn't feel like he's just a donor.

He found some research and decided on some lifestyle changes, ones I had recommended a few months ago. Mostly they have to do with limiting hot showers/baths, stop using the heating pad, and start taking a daily vitamin. Typical guy, he doesn't believe me until someone or something backs it up. Anyway...

Shortly before Christmas I "bugged" him into calling the GP to figure out if they would write the script or if they would refer to a urologist. They informed us that our insurance doesn't require referrals (already knew that but thanks), but gave us a few phone numbers for urologists in their hospital network. I also gave DH a list of Urologists covered in our network.

He called around and got some mixed messages from people. The idiot receptionist wanted to know what his symptoms were (uhh, lack of pregnancy?) then couldn't give any details about the SA and what is required and said they don't have a doctor that does that. Called back and got a different receptionist, the helpful one said there is a doctor 30 miles away that can do it, but we'd have to make an appointment and that the doctor wouldn't want to or need to see him but won't just order and SA so we'd have to have our GP write it. But of course when we called the GP first, it was just going to be a referral, no script.

By the time DH was able to call GP to explain the situation, the office was closed. Upon calling the next day and talking to a nurse and describing the situation, we got a script written from the GP but the office would be closed until the new year. When we get it we will need to call helpful receptionist to schedule an SA at one of the offices 30 miles away. And no, they don't allow drop off so we actually have to go in. Being the nice wife that I am, I agreed to go in with DH to help him, kinky.

GP's office is 30 miles away. I love my GP and so does DH. He's been my doctor since I was 12. I grew up and moved away, but we love him so much we kept him even though it's absurdly long way to go for a doctor. We've been sick since the 1st and it was also my fertile period so no SA. I'm not putting a cycle on hold, and we wouldn't get real good results during that time anyway. But at least we have a script, now we just need to schedule it.

I'm hoping that we'll get a BFP before we get the results back. ;)

Hold On Just A Dang Minute!

After a few days of thinking about our situation, my feelings haven't changed much. I'm still feeling frustrated and discouraged, but will changes make me feel better? I guess only time will tell.

Will I likely become pregnant by the end of the year? I feel doubtful. AF likely has a 'gift' addressed to me for Christmas. Will it happen within a year? That I am hopeful for, almost desperately so.

At about 11DPO I knew in my heart that my cycle was a bust, even as I willed my temperatures to increase each morning. Each morning I watch it fall. The usual month I won't know for sure until 13DPO.

I feel like a failure, DH and I sat down yesterday and I told him that I was giving up on TTC for now. It's too much pressure, especially when he goes out and tells his family that we're trying. So in a way I am dreading the holidays and the questioning looks that will inevitably tag along. What do I tell them? Technically we're taking a hiatus, but I don't really want to or like the idea of sharing bedroom antics with relatives. Awkward.

I'm still charting some signs for reference, but no special supplements or temperatures. It's evident that I am ovulating and that we're timing things well, so it's not a big deal if I stop with the BBT. I'm just going to rely on what mother nature tells me.

It just stinks that it really takes a year before anyone in the medical field will take this seriously. I'd just like a few tests, blood work or SA just to tell us that it's not all for naught. Its a lot of pain and stress to go through for a year to find out nothing would have happened.

All I can say is that it's been a hell of a year and not just because of TTC. I'll be glad if the year end on a good note. So for that reason, I'm going to try extra hard to enjoy the holidays on my terms. It'll be nice to start over with a clean slate at the beginning of the year. I know it's cheesy to think that, but it feel like it to me, even the beginning of a week feels the same.

Thinking of the future gets me feeling hopeful...gets me out of the mood of dwelling on current problems. I'm even, gasp, listening to a Christmas carol station on Pandora!

Soy Isoflavones

Another experiment on the docket for this month.

Soy Isoflavones are what's considered a phyoestrogen. Soy, and several other plants, contain these chemicals that trick the body into thinking it is not producing estrogen, thus producing more. This bumps up FSH which affects the maturation of follicles (which ripen the egg).

In general, soy is recommended to be avoided during conception because it can affect the balance of estrogen in the body. However, studies have shown that a short burst of soy isoflavones can help boost ovulation. It works similar to how the fertility drug Clomid works, and even taken similarly. For several good follicle development take during CD1-5, for one large follicle take CD5-9, or for a mix of the two, take for 5 days starting between CD1-5. The dose that I am taking is probably considered pretty light, 80mg a day. There is not official dosage for this use although I have heard 2 days on 80mg and then 3 days on 160mg but have also heard it up to 100 and 200mg.

Soy isoflavones can be found in the supplement section of pharmacies or health food stores. I went to 4 pharmacies and found it at 1, Walmart of all places. I did find a version at all 4 for menopause, which is the usual treatment.

I am currently on day 4 of 5 and I must say that I am glad I am ending this on a weekend. I didn't think that I was experiencing any side effects until they were in full bloom on Friday. It was just your typical everyday PMS issues, but they were rather unexpected. Headache, fatigue, emotional sensitivity, carbohydrate cravings/chocolate.

Oh yeah and BTW, this is just my experience. I'm not in the medical field. The stuff I try is just stuff I have found through research online.

Y'know I've never had a problem with passing tests except for one

At least the "studying" is fun.

Another cycle has come and gone without success. I was upset and frustrated this morning, but nothing a cup of coffee, some chocolate and ibuprofen couldn't handle.

I'm feeling better this afternoon and I have to give props to my support system for helping make it through the rough patches. I figured out a few things. 1. If we have a successful next month, we'll likely have a 4th of July baby, or perhaps peanut will share a birthday with my doula. 2. We could tell family as a Thanksgiving/Christmas surprise. 3. I'd be out of the sickness of the 1st trimester by the holidays.


In the meantime, I WILL find SOMETHING to get my mind off things baby. I have a scrapbook and some photography projects to work on. There's also a quilt I'm going to try and sew. Also plenty of football games to watch and fall yard work to accomplish.

The thing that I am concerned with that will derail thar plan would be charting. I most definitely do not want to stop doing that. However I am finding that it is affecting my mood during the TWW day by day more than anything. How do I chart without actually seeing the results every day?

Tussin For WHAT?

Last cycle I had heard about Robitussin to help with CM. WHAT? Guaifenesin, the active ingredient in plain Tussin acts as a mucus thinner. The primary component of Cervical MUCUS is mucus (semen too).

Everything I've read suggests taking 200mg 3 times a day. So I go to my local pharmacy (Walmart) and pick up an 8oz bottle of Tussin for $2.50. It should last me near two cycles. Take it for the 5 days prior and including the anticipated date of the big O and you'll notice a difference.

Things to keep in mind when trying this. Use the plain formula or you may find you get the opposite result. Antihistimine medication can actually dry up CM, and some other active ingredients may cause birth defects. Also be sure to drink extra fluids during this time. Caplets might also help since liquid cough medicine tastes pretty nasty.

I'll update my findings!

Symptoms...PMS or Pregnancy?

The problem with early pregnancy symptoms is that most of them are the same for any other stomach ailment or PMS. I have a few PMS symptoms that I experience every cyle, primarily depressed feelings or sadness for a day or two, mood swings, and craving for chocolate. They always occur almost exactly 1 week before, on the dot.

However a few things have been occurring which are a bit unusual for PMS.
1. Cat has been clingy. He's normally a cuddle kitty but he's found a new favorite spot, my stomach. He usually clings to me in the morning, and DH in the evening, but he's all but ignoring DH now. He sleeps with me, cuddles with me on the couch, and watches me drive away. I know animals can sense things before we can, so maybe I should take these changes into consideration.

2. Increased appetite. Not only am I eating more, but I am eating faster too. About 30 minutes before my normally scheduled meals, I'll get really hungry. It doesn't grow, it just hits me that I feel starving. I also get hungry on my way home even though I have an afternoon snack at work. I've also had cravings, the latest being butter cookies.

3. Temperature increase. I have noticed that I have what is called a triphasic pattern on my BBT chart. I have a third increase in temperatures. They are holding steady, which differs from the last cycle

4. Upset stomach. This might be related to allergies, but I am not sure. I noticed that my stomach is more sensitive lately. When I get up in the morning my stomach does not feel well. Its not what I would consider nausea, but it is an unusual feeling. I also feel this way before I eat.

5. Weird smells/tastes. I have noticed that some things smell differently, or I have weird tastes in my mouth. On the way home from lunch I was commenting to a friend that my stomach was upset and I was going to take some tums. Then I had a weird taste in my mouth similar to the tums aftertaste. Then when I did have a tums it made me feel really sick. I managed to swallow it down but I've never had that problem before. The same thing happened with dinner. I've made it before but this time I thought it smelled disgusting while DH thought it smelled good.

6. Fatigue. I have pretty bad fatigue lately. I try not to take naps because they take too long and then they mess with my sleep schedule so I'll go to bed at 2 or 3am and be up a few hours later for work. When I do take naps they are almost always 2 hours exactly. The past 2 I have taken have been closer to 4, and that is with a full night's sleep and they haven't been disturbing my bedtime.

I will mention that I've noticed several signs of depression or other medical conditions prior to even possibly being pregnant this cycle, and made an appointment with my doctor to discuss them. These symptoms I've listed above have either popped up in the past week or have gotten worse while my mood has actually lightened considerably. However I am also not blind to think that these could also play into depression.

Because of school starting and an increase in appointments for immunizations and physicals my appointment had to be scheduled a week out. The appointment was early this week and I was ordered to have some blood work done to rule out anemia, thyroid, and blood sugar issues. All came back normal and my doctor is diagnosing me with depression and wrote me a prescription with strict rules not to take it if I am pregnant.

Many people consider it too early to even have pregnancy related symptoms, as much of the medical information out there says the symptoms should not manifest until 4 or 6 weeks of pregnancy. So, who knows if they are really pregnancy related, or psychosomatic, or PMS, or what. We'll find out in the next few weeks!

FAMtastic!

FAM stands for Fertility Awareness Method. It is a natural way to prevent or induce conception. Many confuse it with the Rhythm Method, which any Catholic family would know is better for causing pregnancy than preventing it.

Rhythm Method works by taking the average days in a woman's cycle to produce a period of time in which the woman is most fertile. This method is not so accurate when it comes to a woman with irregular cycles, like me. My cycles are not that irregular, but I have been known to miss a month or be late by a few weeks several times a year.

FAM works by charting several indicators of fertility including BBT (Basal Body Temperature), Cervical Mucus (or also referred to as cervical fluid), and Cervix Position. This method helps a woman understand when ovulation has occurred, and by comparing previous months, helps them be better able to predict when ovulation will occur. The book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great resource to getting into the world of FAM charting.

I started charting BBT the first month after we started TTC partially because of the delay that travelling caused. Every day I found it interesting to track what happened to my temperatures. I take my temp every day before getting up and it takes about 30 seconds. Easy. In fact it's helped me pinpoint that my luteal phase (or the later half of a woman's cycle) is longer than the average 14 days.

Delayed/Late Ovulation

Doctors like to say that in a 28 day cycle, ovulation usually occurs on day 14. In longer cycles, ovulation occurs 14 days before the start of mensturation, however 14 is just the average. It could vary between 10 and 16 days.

I get delayed ovulation occasionally due to stress, travelling, or illness. It makes it really hard to predict ovulation using just a calendar. I was supposed to OV on May 22nd, but it ended up being a little over a week later. In May we had travelled overseas which is a well known cause of late ovulation.

Implantation Bleeding

There is a normal, but often not documented, phenomenon when a couple is TTC (Trying To Conceive) called implantation bleeding. It often goes undocumented because many women do not know about it, don't observe it, or mistake it for something else. Implantation bleeding is a light spotting of blood roughly a week to 10 days after ovulation. If the egg is fertilized, it implants into the uterus and could cause a bit of bleeding. Often this is mistaken for the start of a woman's period.

The difference, with woman with a normal cycle, is the time. Implantation bleeding usually starts 7-10 days after ovulation whereas early menstrual spotting would occur on the 14th day or soon thereafter. Also, implantation bleeding is just a slight pinkish or brownish discharge instead of heavier bleeding. Implantation bleeding is thought to occur in 20-30% of pregnancies and is considered common.

Source

The Ending, or The Beginning?

The period.

As I was growing up and learning about grammar and physiology, I learned that the period designated the end. The end of a sentence, the end of a cycle. Then, it starts over again.

However I have a new outlook. After studying about conception and pregnancy, I have realized that it's not the end but the beginning. It's the shedding of the old and starting anew. As odd as it seems, the outlook almost seems refreshing. Chemical reactions and hormone changes, it all seems so magical that everything works in tandem.

Officially May marks the start of my husband and I trying to conceive. We have just celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary and feel it's time to get on with it. :) What I am most nervous about is my husband's mentioning to family that we'll be having a baby soon. I really must protest at his wording. I'm not preggers yet! I don't want to give anyone a false sense just in case there are any hiccups along the way.

While my perfect vision of events sees it happening quickly, I know not to stake everything on immediate conception. Only 20% of pregnancies are conceived during the first month of trying to conceive.

Allergies, Medicine, and Pregnancy

Yesterday I had a check up with my allergist. I started seeing him roughly 9 months ago and had my 6 month follow up yesterday. I have an allergy to various tree pollens, a few weed pollens, and a strong allergy to dust mites. That means I treat my allergies all year round, but notice it gets worse in early spring and late summer.

It is mostly allergic rhinitis, which means when it gets bad I can't breathe through my nose which can lead to sinus infections.Luckily I do not have asthma which isn't uncommon with allergies. A lot of times it is the allergen that will set off an asthma attack.

Antihistamine tablets do not seem to do much for me, and ones with decongestants make me jittery. Allegra-D works great for me, but it turns me into a zombie. So after trying a few medications, we found a routine that works for me. Nasonex, a steroid spray to reduce inflammation, in the morning, and Astelin, an antihistamine spray, before bed. I have been doing this for 6 months now and it's working out pretty good. I really feel it if I forget to take either one. This year I had no colds, no sinus infections, no bronchitis!

I asked my Dr. a very important question yesterday. How does this medication affect fetal development and is it okay to use during pregnancy. The next part is a bit confusing and left to interpretation. Both drugs are Class C drugs, meaning that they have not been tested to determine if they cause birth defects or not, but they are also not known to contain ingredients that do cause complications.

They also said that since the medication is a spray and has a less concentration entering the bloodstream, that it was probably okay. If it was a pill, they definitely would change me to Claritin (not Claritin-D) because it is considered a class B drug. Class B drugs do not have a connection to birth defects in animal studies. They also said that the most important time is the first trimester and if I am feeling uncomfortable taking the medication while pregnant, that I could start it back up after the second trimester without any problems.

Ultimately they said it was a decision that my OB and I would have to determine. After doing some research on the drugs and pregnancy, I have decided that once we decide to try and conceive, I will stop taking my allergy medication. I'm under the group that feels that no medication is safe unless it increases the health risk of the mother. Since I do not have asthma, the allergy treatment is a matter of quality of life. I can put up with the allergies for a while. If my doctor and I determine later that stopping the medication puts me at risk for infection then we can revisit it at that time.

The most important thing, if you're on any medication or any supplements, be sure to talk to your doctor before planning to become pregnant. Some medications require weaning or take a few weeks or months to clear out of the system. Your doctor will be best able to provide the information you need and whether you're at a greater health risk by ending treatment.

To Be, or Not To Be........Organic

I've been seeing a lot of organic items for babies lately, and wondering if it's really worth it. What stands out to me is the 3-4X mark up. Is Organic really that beneficial in materials or is just a passing fad?

I have seen a brand of onsies (one piece suits) that sold both types. The organic one was $10 each and the non-organic one was closer to 5 for $10 (or $2 each). Baby's skin is thinner and more sensitive than ours and the chemicals can irritate baby's skin. However, does washing no rid the material of these chemicals?

Pill Form

Today I switched from my regular woman's multivitamin to Spring Valley prenatal vitamins. So far, so good. I hear it's not uncommon for prenatal vitamins to cause nausea, either due to the iron content, folic acid, or the binding in the capsule.

Folic Acid it essential prior to pregnancy to deter birth defects, yet the body has a hard time absorbing it naturally. Iron is needed due to the increase in blood supply, and calcium needed to replenish the calcium taken from the bones as the baby grows.

400mcg of folic acid, 30mg of iron, and 1,000mg of calcium are essential. I get plenty of calcium, so I am not so concerned if my multivitamin contains 100% recommended value. More often than not, it will not because of the bulkiness of the mineral. A glass of milk is 300mg of calcium.