Getting Fit Before Baby

[miracleworker]

hi ladies..
i have been here reading and following up.... i just had a crazy first trimester and now things are cooling off at least.
Irym ; am glad u have a new doc who is checking on you seriously cause for a doc not to say anything on the multiple cyst that is bad. i feel for u, am so sorry about you furry baby i hope she goes through this without pain.
swimmy: wow only one month left that is some good news hang in there ,sure time do fly so fast.
mrs tigger: am happy for you congratulations...lol i feel for you and i was like that one minute am excited the other am worried. Sorry to tell u this that might not go away but its natural and when u are excited just go with the flow and let tomorrow worry for itself. i hope you get through this and get to hold a healthy baby i the end.
Fern: good job i just gaining 3kgs at least you also get to workout that is so good
Bronte; am so sorry dear it didnt work out and with all the frustration you get from the hospital
AFM well i have also managed to gain 3kgs in first trimester but could be cause eating had been a problem. But i couldn't workout at all, i wanna start now that i feel a little like myself, doc gave me a green light and he told me to swim its a good exercise. So am planning to start eating health more and walking during weekdays and swim during the weekend. i hope that helps, i wanna have a normal delivery in the end. I checked on this little one and it seems to have created that bond already so the doc told me chances of loosing it is so minimal i was relieved.

 

[ireadyermind]

Miracle - Good to hear from you, Miracle! Long time no see! I'm happy to hear that things are starting to cool off now. And good job only gaining 3kgs!

Fern - Man, I bet it gets really annoying when you're starving all day long! I know it does for me when I'm trying to cut back on carbs and that's all I want to eat 24hrs a day! lol. Hang in there, you got this!


AFM - My poor old kitty all of a sudden perked right up and is doing much better now. Without going into too much detail, I think it was all gastro-intestinal because she doesn't get a lot of fiber in her diet. She can't eat dry food because she has only 4 teeth (two canines/incisors and a couple of the tiny front teeth, nothing for chewing!) and I think that caused her poor little belly to get all stopped up.

We dosed her with some canned food and vegetable oil, and after a couple of days she managed to potty without trouble and was back to chowing down on her soft foods, drinking plenty of water and she even made the trek upstairs! She hasn't been able to climb the stairs in a long time.

I'm so relieved, it looks like she'll have another few years left before we have to say good-bye. Whew!


My weight was nice and low all week long, and then of course I step on the scale this morning and it's spiked up again. I swear my body hates Mondays as much as my brain does. lol!

 

[MissDoc]

Bronte-- Holy cow that is a lot of money out of pocket to feel like anything less than a queen in how they treat you. I'm sorry for your experience.

IRYM-- I am thrilled to hear about your kitkat doing better. I've had my fluffy guy for over 13 years and I can't stomach the thought of him not being around.

Fern-- Thanks! That is definitely the name of the game... just dust yourself off and get back to it. I was just out of town for the weekend and ate like a fiend, and am trying to get back to good solid behaviors now. I will be exercising tonight with a friend.

Tigger-- I'm just so freaking happy for you! I can totally relate to only ever seeing BFNs. I can't imagine how amazing it would be to see BFP! Can't wait for you to get home and celebrate with the hubby! Oh and yeah, I just had CD 3 bloodwork, and this Thursday I do a standard sonogram and will hear the results of the bloodwork. Hoping it's all for nothing and I get a BFP without any intervention, but starting the journey of looking at things just to be safe.


I am determined to reach 10k steps today, do my planned exercise (30 min high intensity video workout with lots of lunges, squats, burpees, etc and an ab video), and keep my eats well managed. Breakfast was coffee and a Kind protein bar. Lunch is whole wheat pita with hummus, spinach, tomato, and a side of carrots. Afternoon snack is siggy's yogurt with berries. Dinner will be lentil potato spinach stew with a glass of white wine, followed by a mini brownie and a couple brazil nuts. That's the plan anyway.

 

[beccabonny]

IRYM, sorry your kitty wasn't feeling well! Glad she's feeling better! I've had success using fish oil (which I take myself) caplets squeezed onto the food when those issues come up! they LOVE it, too...

Miss Doc - your plan sounds awesome! Food sounds delicious and healthy as well. I need somebody to come cater the healthy food - I have so much trouble planning anything out. Does anyone have any tips on motiving themselves to plan better?

Sorry I haven't been updating - I was all bloated last week and my pants were weirdly tight and I got really discouraged - it turns out as of Sunday I got a BFP, so I've of course gained 2lbs (probably just water retention). With my history I find it hard to get excited until we hear a heartbeat, but that's how it is now! I'm trying to stick with 30 minutes of exercise a day and eating healthy, and go in on 9 Aug to get a scan.

 

[swimmyj1]

Miracle - congrats 3kgs is not bad at all

IRYM - ugh that stinks that the scale went back up! so annoying. I have managed to stay the same this week so i'm pretty happy about that. At least i didn't gain more. Really annoyed though that my BS are back to being all over the place. I'm calling the office in the morning to see if there is anything else I should be doing. at least I don't have much longer. But i'm super freaked that the diabetes are gonna stick around post baby.

Doc - LOVE your meal plan! I have already started setting up weekly meal plans that I know I can stick too. my problem is snacking, i need to keep around healthy snack alternatives or just keep water with me all the time so I drink instead of putting food in my mouth haha. Did you make it to your 10,000 steps?


becca- congrats on the bfp fingers crossed this is a sticky bean that has a beautiful heart beat. I don't blame you for being on the cautious side. I think all women who have had losses air on the side of caution. keep us posted

AFM - got some disappointing news at my docs on monday. Baby is still breach and is very tangled in the cord so trying to turn her is not an option also my fluid levels are lower so they are gonna do another scan friday. If they are below 5 then I will have a c-section this weekend. If not then we still will schedule a c-section and I will get another scan right before just to see if by some miricle she has come untangled and flipped. The tech kind of scared me though. She said if I notice decrease in movement I need to go to the ER right away sense tangled cord with low fluid level babies can "easily" strangle themselves or compress the cord. I'm glad for the warning but at the same time now really worried that I could come this far and still lose her I wanted to scream then get her out now! But i know it's a fine balance between full development and safety. Fingers crossed gals. I can't wait to get back on the weight loss train with you again. I am at my all time heaviest and need to really work to get back down again.
Also its weird DH is really upset by the idea of a c-section. he wanted the whole "labor experience" i guess i never thought about his disappointment in not getting to be involved in laboring.

 

[BronteForever]

Oh Swimmy - how incredibly stressful. I hope she's alright and they are able to safely get her out. And DH will get over the C-section right away I'm sure once he sees your daughter. Keeping you in my thoughts that everything goes well.

Miracle - swimming sounds like a great exercise for you now. Good luck on getting back to healthy eating and hope everything progresses nicely.

IRYM - so glad your cat is doing better. Sorry for the extra pounds. I've put on extra ones during my stim cycle, so I have extra to lose now as well. Good luck! Hopefully it finally gets easier to lose some weight for you, since you are on some proper meds now.

AFM- my doctor thinks my failed cycle is to blame mostly on my BMI. Don't agree at all, but I do agree it's one of the things in my control so it's where I need to focus alot of my energy right now before my next IVF cycle. So I'm going to be back in full force with trying to lose weight.

 

[miracleworker]

IRYM am so sorry about weight gain, there was time when i was trying to loose weight and looks like it didn't workout i gave up on my scale because my clothes wer getting loose and when i compare my progress pictures i see the difference. Sometimes i dont really like scale

missdoc that sounds like a good plan hopefully will get you to your goals.

Bec congrats on your BFP am happy for you and its understandable , i was worried all the time up until my doc said now he is happy since my baby looks good and well attached so the chance of loosing it has decreased. But try to relax things will be fine.

Swimmy ooh so sorry i can imagine how you feel now but am sure its not that bad otherwise they would get her out immediately. My prayers are with you dear, am excited for you already.

Bonte am so sorry but on the bright side you just got something to make you keep on pushing

 

[miracleworker]

AFM am just here trying to eat health though the idea of eating itself drives me crazy.

 

[Fern81]

Just quickly popping in- all the best to you Swimmy, I believe with all my heart your little girl will be just fine. Will be stalking for your updates. X

 

[ireadyermind]

Hey guys, just dropping in to say that the temporary improvement in my kitty didn't last.

She passed away Wednesday night and we found her yesterday morning. I've been so out of it due to her increasing frailty and decreasing health that I didn't even know what day it was when I woke up today.

I had been feeding her hourly by dropper, giving her fluids and some jarred chicken baby food and even though she seemed more alert and aware toward the end, it just wasn't enough. She would have turned 17 this fall and had been battling kidney issues for several years.


I'm heart broken and taking things a day at a time. There's already a noticeable hole in our lives where Beans' big personality used to be, and it's been harder for me to cope with this than I originally expected. I'm usually very stoic about these sorts of things, but losing Beans was harder on me than miscarriage, and even the death of my own grandfather.

Words can not even fully explain it.

Anyway...

I'll probably be absent from the forums for a few more days while I recuperate.

In the mean time, the best I can do is try not to do a whole lot of emotional eating and try to find comfort in other things.

Hope you all are doing well.

PS: Here's a picture of Beans sleeping beside me on the couch last summer.

 

[BronteForever]

Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss, IRYM. Love the picture. She was adorable. I know for us our dog is pretty much like our kid so I can't imagine all you are going through. Sending you lots of hugs.

 

[Fern81]

Oh IRYM....my heart is breaking for you. My first cat looked just like Beans and I still have loads of photos of him everywhere. He was my baby. He died while I was in rehab and I couldn't even be there for him. That was almost 10 years ago and I still grieve for him. I get how you feel. After all they are our family! Hun at least your kitty was loved and well looked after until the very end, and they KNOW they're loved. Sending you so many hugs. Xxxxxxx

 

[MissDoc]

IRYM, I'm so, so sorry. I would (and will) be devastated for my cat. It may sound silly but he's one of my biggest connections in life (other than husband) and I get it. I hope you take some time to just let yourself grieve and be sad, but remember all of the immense joy that Beans brought into your life.

Bronte, I'm sorry your doc seems to blame the failed cycle on BMI. That really sucks. I hope you feel great this go round and make any little changes that feel manageable.


Today I am utterly, deeply sad. The results of my testing were not good. While hormones are fine, I have a small polyp (which I don't think is much of a big deal), but more seriously, I have low ovarian reserve, with an AMH level of .6 (normal would be 1.5-11 for my age). My eggs, despite me being 32, are more like 42 yr old eggs. Getting pregnant and staying pregnant will be harder, and higher likelihood of abnormalities. Being sent to an RE straight away, and my OBGYN said they'd likely recommend IVF or donor eggs. This is crazy to me. Like, I can't even process it. I don't want donor eggs. I have no clue how to pay for IVF with no insurance coverage of it. AND the success rates are low with diminished ovarian reserve. I'm freaking 32. This is just mind boggling and devastating. I fully expected them to tell me everything was normal. Would have never in a million years thought low/bad eggs because I ovulate so well with cycles that are totally normal. I was doing this testing way too prematurely and expected it to be fine. Glad I got it done, but damn. This sucks.

 

[BronteForever]

MissDoc - oh Hon, I'm so sorry. Hugs. Low ovarian reserve is not fun at all and there are a few ladies in my other IVF groups that are dealing with them. Some have moved on to donor eggs and some haven't. You can still have success with IVF, but it very well could take more time and attempts.

I don't have low AMH per say, but my eggs appear to be bad quality as well and we didn't know that until going through IVF, which was a super expensive way to find out. It's so hard to deal with and I'm sorry you are facing this now.

Once you have come to grips with it and if you want to talk any about IVF, feel free to ask me any questions you might have. I didn't think we could afford it either, but when we started to think about it just as another payment, such as a car, we wanted a kid more than we wanted a car, so we just worked around stuff to try it. They have great lending programs for it.

 

[swimmyj1]

Irym - I am so so sorry keeping you in my thoughts. Losing a fur baby is devistating, sending lots of hugs.

Doc - I'm so sorry about your lab results. A friend of mine went through IVF with very very low reserve and is having their rainbow baby. So it is possible. Take some time to process your options and feelings Hun. But I definatly agree with bronte looking into lending programs is a good idea. When we were looking at IVF we found some good programs.

Afm. - I'm annoyed. My fluid level was exactly 5 ... So I was admitted to the hospital over night they gave me the steroid shot to help babies lung development. Then some Doctor (not my doctor) said he didn't agree with a c-section at 37 weeks if we can keep baby in longer. So did fluid replacement over night and if my level didn't come up to 7.5 then we could do a section in the morning. Well level was almost 8 so they said I was ok to go home. I hate this about ob, you and your doctor have an understanding/plan but if they aren't the one on call for the hospital they are not making the choices. Ugh! Calling her office in the morning to schedule my c-section and schedule another ultrasound to recheck fluid. (Sorry I know I'm just whining and should be happy she gets a little longer cook time, but I'm just scared something bad will happen and I'll lose her last minute)

 

[ireadyermind]

Thanks for the kind thoughts, everyone. It's still hard not being greeted first thing in the morning with her bossy meows and demands for love and food, but I didn't cry at all yesterday, so I guess that's progress.

MissDoc - I'm so sorry to hear about the eggs! You're right, that's a horribly expensive way to have to find out about their quality. There ought to be an easier way to test that before someone makes it too far into the infertility testing/treatments, you know?

Swimmy - Yikes! Well, at least your fluid levels are back up, but I agree -- I'd be worried that something bad would happen and be pushing for that c-section! I hope you can get a hold of your usual OB and they can make things work for you.



AFM - My weight didn't budge this week. I admit I did some emotional/comfort eating most of the week due to Beans's failing health. It was easier to grab junk food that didn't need cooking, rather than try to prepare something healthy.

But DH and I found some good online meal plans that are easy to do, so that's what we're starting this week.

On the TTC front, today is CD32 and still no +OPK or sustained temp shift. This is going to be another looong cycle. Ugh. I am even more determined to get some weight off in the hopes that I'll move closer to a 30 day cycle instead of farther away from it.


-----------------------------------------
WEIGHT LOSS GROUP UPDATES
-----------------------------------------

Does anyone have some non-weight related progress markers they'd like to share? I've noticed that when I climb the stairs lately, I'm not as winded as I used to be. I've also been sleeping better lately than I have in many years.

What have you ladies noticed about yourselves besides weight loss?


EDIT: remember, today starts a new month! Don't forget to get your chart posts updated.

 

[drjo718]

Swimmy- sorry to hear you're getting different answers from different doctors. That's always frustrating. If you were at my hospital, and we found out your fluid was 5 and you were term, you would have a baby. We don't give steroids after 36 weeks, and with oligohydramnios, we deliver. That's not to say the doc you saw was wrong, just a different practice, but I can see why you're ready. Hang in there.

Iread- so sorry about your sweet kitty. I hope you're on the mend.

 

[MissDoc]

Hi there, ladies. I'm starting to feel slightly less crushed by my stupid low egg count. I haven't gotten the appt scheduled with fertility clinic yet, waiting on a call back. I did start ravenously reading "It Starts With the Egg", written by a genetic microbiologist who had low egg reserve herself. It's very informative. I saw lots of books about lifestyle changes, but I wanted one that tells me the science of each little thing, not just a million wishy washy recommendations. This one does a good job at either confirming or debunking stuff that circulates around.

While I can't bring up my egg count, I can affect quality of eggs with lifestyle changes, and I'm going to try my best to do just that. Either naturally or with IVF, I want the best chances I can possibly have in my situation. So starting yesterday I went to a very very clean eating routine. No dyes, no preservatives, no nitrates, no added sugars or white flours, etc. Also working hard to limit my exposure to BPA and phthalates as there are some good clinical studies showing the affects of these toxins on egg health and fertility. It's hard to do though, because this stuff is everywhere. But even a week of dropping your exposure can drop the levels in your blood by half, so that's promising.

I also am going to switch out my crappy CoQ10 for a better more bioavailable option (should arrive tonight or tomorrow) and start supplementation with medical grade microlized DHEA. This one is controversial because it's a hormone, but more and more fertility clinics around the country are recommending it as standard for women with low ovarian reserve and are seeing really amazing stats in trials, both with naturally getting pregnant and with IVF rates. So I'll start it when it arrives and if the RE is against it, I'll stop.

I am going to be as awesomely proactive about enhancing my egg health as I can possibly be.


Bronte-- I'll wait until I meet with the clinic before I start picking your brain too much about IVF, as I don't know if they'll recommend that yet (good chance they will, but we'll see). For now, do you mind telling me how long it took to get going with it and move into the first cycle once you decided on it? Thanks!

This cycle was totally shot for me. Still no positive OPK but Fertility Friend thinks I o'd on Thursday, which would suck, because that's the day of my crappy news and we didn't bd that Wed or Thurs, so chances of conception aren't great. I won't be symptom spotting or obsessing over HPTs this cycle as I feel that I'm already out. Maybe that will be a nice break.

 

[BronteForever]

MissDoc. I've heard several other women recommend "It Starts with an Egg," so I also have my copy coming from the library. My doctor did not recommend DHEA for me. Strongly discouraged it, but I do not have low ovarian reserve, my issue is just egg quality. I know that will strongly affects what they recommend. But I'd be careful with that one without talking with your doctor since it affects hormones.

In terms of starting IVF, it could have happened quicker but we waited a bit to lose more weight and get a tad healthy. So it took a few weeks to get in to initial appointment and then we waited about 3 months to start. But we could have done it starting on CD3 of my next period.

If you are just now starting ubiquinol (the higher quality CoQ10), I'd honestly give it 3 months to see if it improves stuff. It's easier to want to jump right in, but given how poor my egg qualities were, I wish I would have done more now. I mostly focused on diet changes for IVF and not supplements, which I now regret. I'm also going to start fertility massage and acupuncture.

Also, what dosage recommendation for ubiquinol did they say in the It Starts with an Egg book? I've read a lot of varying info and right now I'm going with 400 mg per day (which is comparable to about 800 mg of regular CoQ10).

 

[BronteForever]

Swimmy - I think you have every right to be nervous and hopefully your doctor listens to you. I can imaging that is incredibly frustrating having different doctors throughout the process, each with a different opinion.