Our Road of Infertility

So I have been thinking a lot about this article that I had come across on Pinterest a few months back.  I have told several people about it, but I feel like I need to post about it as well.  As many of you know it took Doug and I several years before we were able to conceive David.  It was a very frustrating and trying time for me as an individual and for us as a couple.  I just couldn't get over the fact that my body was not doing what it was meant to do.  In 2010 I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).  (You can read about it here http://women.webmd.com/tc/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-topic-overview)  Basically all of my hormones were out of whack

Shortly after being diagnosed with PCOS, I ended up having surgery to remove one of my fallopian tubes due to another test showing that it was needed.  Although, once they cut me open it was found that I could keep both of my tubes, and that removal was not necessary.  So everything was deemed good except for the fact that I didn't ovulate.  After I recovered from my surgery our specialist gave us two options.  The first being artificial insemination, and the second putting me on clomid.  We had done both of these options before with no success.  But I felt very strongly that we should try clomid once again for two cycles and then move on from there if that didn't work.  The first cycle was not a success and so we moved on to the second cycle with really no thought that it would work.  We were just going through the motions.  During the second cycle I had a very strong prompting that I needed to give up caffeine completely.  I have to admit I drank a lot of Diet Dr. Pepper at the time.  It was what got me through the day, and I loved it.  But once I had this voice tell me that I needed to stop, I listened.  And it was that cycle that I became pregnant with David.  A complete wonderful shock it was!  Before that I was beginning to think that pregnancy was just not an option for me.  But I know that it was all in Heavenly Father's timing, and by listening to His promptings my body was finally able to ovulate and conceive. 

Now back to the article I found on Pinterest, which can be found here http://wellnessmama.com/5425/balance-hormones/, in the article she gives tips on how to balance your hormones.  After reading the article I realized that I had already made some of those changes that she suggests in the months leading up to me getting pregnant.  At the time I had no idea they were even linked to hormones.  I thought that I would always need clomid or some sort of intervention to get pregnant.  But I am now 32 weeks pregnant with #2 that I conceived all on my own.  So now I am a huge believer that making some of the changes she suggests in the article could help others to regulate their hormones as well.  Below are some of the changes I had made prior to getting pregnant. 

1. I stopped using margarine and only used real butter in all my cooking and baking.  Before this I never used real butter.  I had actually preferred the taste of margarine.  It grosses me out now to think that I actually liked margarine at one point, Yuck!  I also had started using more olive oil and cut back on all other oils.
2.  I stopped using caffeine, just as I had stated above.  This was the only change that I had made for only a few weeks prior to getting pregnant.  All of the other changes I had made at least 5 to 6 months prior.
3.  I got rid of all of my plastic food storage containers and switched to all glass containers.  This was all of Doug's doing.  He hated it when I would put plastic in the microwave and so because of that we switched containers.
4. I started taking a daily magnesium supplement.
5. I stopped exercising as intensely as I had been previously.  I was no longer running for extended lengths at a time.   

I know that I am not the only one that has had issues with infertility and PCOS.  I hope this can give some help to those searching for ways to help them.  Even if you don't need help regulating your hormones, it is still a very interesting article to read.  Enjoy!!!

David's T-Ball Set

So David got a t-ball set for his birthday and has been obsessing over it.  I took him to the park today and he had a blast.  Just thought I would post a video of him and some pictures!  Gotta love this little guy!!!

Birthday Boy!!! A BIG Whopping 2 Years Old!!!

David turned 2 last Tuesday (May 28th).  I just can't believe how these last two years have flown by.  He started out big and is still a big boy.  He weighs in at 33 lbs and is just under 36 inches tall.  He is becoming Mr. Independent and has been testing his limits a lot lately.  But he can still be very sweet and cuddly when he wants to be.  His vocabulary is growing but he still signs a lot of the time.  He loves playing outside, especially with the dogs.  He can spot a ball a mile away, and when he jibber jabbers, it is almost always about balls.  Pretty much he is obsessed with them or anything that resembles one.  He loves helping me around the house and gets super excited when I ask him to do something.  I know this will wear off soon, so I am enjoying it while I can.  Very seldom does he want me to rock him to sleep anymore, which makes me a little sad.  But I know I have to let him grow up.  He loves being the center of attention and loves going to new places.  He is always waving and smiling at people.  He is overcoming his need to be clean all the time.  He is truly turning into a boy and loves to get dirty when he is outside.  All I can say is that he has been the biggest blessing that I have been given.  I am so grateful I get to be his Mom and watch him grow!   

May Happenings

Just thought I would catch you all up on the ins and outs of what we have been up to.  The month of May was pretty busy for us.  Doug spent a week in Wichita for work and so David and I went down to Shelton to spend time with Diana.  And anyone that knows me, knows there is no way I could spend 5 nights alone in a house.  I would go crazy!  So it was perfect that it ended up working out that I could go down there the whole time.  

For Mother's Day, we celebrated on Saturday instead.  With the weather so nice out all I wanted to do was hike.  The hike I had planned was a pretty short one, since we didn't have a hiking backpack to carry David in.  But it ended up being too far away and it just didn't work out.  We did end up coming across Wallace Falls and decided to check it out.  The hike itself was about 4 miles round trip.  It was beautiful!!  The only problem was we started the hike later in the day and so we had to hike it rather quickly instead of taking our time.  It was worth it though.  And David did awesome!  He rode on Doug's shoulders most of the way, and I carried him a bit as well, although he would have much preferred to walk it all himself.  After this adventure we decided to invest in a backpack.  And we are so glad we did since we did the same hike just a week later with the Anderson's.  After our hike we came home, we fed David and put him to bed.  Then Doug picked up some Mexican food, and we just enjoyed the rest of the night together.  The next morning Doug made a big yummy breakfast.  We went to church later in the day and had a relaxing night afterward.  It was such a nice weekend!

The Anderson's came up the following Saturday.  We went and hiked Wallace Falls again.  Can I say what a difference a backpack makes!  It did take some coaxing on the way up for David to stay in it without screaming, but on the way back he was so comfy that he fell asleep.  Again the views were breathtaking!  We had thought it would be fun to pack lunches to eat at the falls, and it was, but we weren't the only ones with that idea.  There were a ton of people there.  I thought the rain might keep people away, but not here in Washington!  It was pretty much just drizzle, with one short downpour while we ate (luckily there was  cover).  So it turned out to be not so bad.  After the hike we all came back to our house where Celia and Devan joined us for a BBQ and games.  It was a fun Saturday!

Memorial Day weekend we again saw the Andersons!  I am sure they are pretty much sick of us at this point.  We went down on Friday night.  Doug was wanting to work on the truck and so Saturday Ben helped him with that.  Sunday we went to church and had a nice dinner of ribs.  I haven't eaten a lot of ribs in my life maybe once or twice, and I didn't realize how good they can be. (If you can't tell, all of our family get-togethers revolves around food)  With David's B-day on the following Tuesday we decided to celebrate with the family and so I made some cupcakes for David.  He sure enjoyed eating them, but when we started singing Happy Birthday he started crying.  He did the same thing when Doug and I sang to him on his actual day.  Sort of funny.  The boy hates the song.  On Monday we drove up to Port Townsend and went to Fort Warden.  We had a picnic there and played on the beach.  They also have tunnels where they had kept firearms that we were able to walk through.  Although I thought those were sort of creepy.  Port Townsend is a cute little town.  The weather wasn't the best so we didn't get to walk around, but I sure would love to go back and explore some more.  We ended up driving down to Kingston, and taking the ferry back home.  Celia and Devan also took the ferry.  We had about an hour wait and so we got some crepes at a restaurant nearby and had our own tailgate party while we waited.  I say it was a pretty nice way to end the weekend!  The only downfall was I didn't have my camera with me and so my pictures were limited!