Teddy Roosevelt...

So my latest obsession has been pinterest....if you have not yet stumbled into this magnificent time warp, BEWARE. You log in and 3 hours (and 800 nutella recipes later) you snap out of it and realize that you have lost hours of your life which will never be reclaimed. Anywho, it is fun and a bit torturous...I have to admit that I have my own bambino folder with pictures of babies, nurseries, etc. It's fun to live in my imaginary Internet world once in a while. Now it's not all psychotic like that, I also have useful boards about crafts, recipes, home projects and m latest obsession....Nutella. I also have an "inspiration" board filled with scriptures, pictures and quotes to flip through if an when I need a pick me up. Tonight I found the PERFECT quote. I posted last week about my ability to compartmentalize my feelings about our struggle with infertility, especially with so many of my friends and loved ones expecting little bundles of their own. I certainly do not want to imply that I'm a saint or that I'm handling this better than anyone else....I had a hard time trying to describe the way my brain has chosen to cope with all of this. Then I found this quote by Theodore Roosevelt... "Comparison is the thief of joy" What wise words! And that is exactly how I have chosen to feel. I'm not going to let my own sadness or self pity allow me to steal the joy that I can feel for my blessed friends! Our journey is our own and I don't want to compare our path to anyone else's. I'll have to remind myself of thus as we take our next steps over the next month. Thanks for the reminder Teddy R! Sometimes inspiration comes when (and from where) you least expect it! Now off to enjoy tonight's episode of "Giuliana & Bill"...another inspiration for me...love watching their story too! Cheers!

Gulp...

Well, Aunt Flo arrived today which meant we had to make some decisions about our next steps. I'm not gonna lie, I was very tempted to put IVF off for a month. Work has been kicking both of our booties and with the Italian still being the new guy at his job it's just scary to think of what could happen if the economy decides to tailspin again. $20k plus the cost of meds (apps $4k per cycle) is NO joke!!!!!! Ultimately, our schedules made the decision for us...so we're set to start the suppression phase tomorrow. That means bcps until October 4th, then back to REACH for labs and ultrasound on the 7th, then starting the stimulation injections on the 9th. That would put us scheduled for retrieval anywhere between October 18 and 22 with the transfer anywhere from 3 to 5 days after the retrieval. Did I mention that we had to figure all of this out within a 2 hr time period (from the time AF arrived until the nurses leave the office for the day...no pressure)? I feel like I should be excited, but right now I'm just nervous. Nervous about money, nervous about giving myself all of those shots, nervous about daily dr.'s visits, nervous about balancing this with work, nervous that we'll go through all of this and it still won't work....I really am normally a very positive gal, but right now I'm just worried...about everything. I don't like this feeling...ugh. And it's all I can think about. If there is one thing infertility has taught me, it's that I am incredibly obsessive compulsive. I'm even annoyed by me. God bless the Italian for putting up with My craziness!

Fetal Explosion

That's right over the past two months we've dealt with hail, flooding, hurricanes earthquakes and more importantly, there has been a fetal explosion!  I have seriously had no less than 10 friends announce their pregnancies with joy!  (not here obviously, you all would know about that for real).  Now you would think that since my lady parts are busted that this would be a source of misery for me, but it really isn't...honestly...I'm not lying.  I don't completely understand how I am able to compartmentalize things so much.  I honestly feel JOY and EXCITEMENT when I hear the news (I'll probably hear 2 or 3 more over the next few days as well).  I really hope that no one feels the need to tiptoe around me or worry about hurting poor Kelly's feelings because the happiness that I feel when a friend announces her pregnancy only reaffirms my belief that good things happen to good people.  I can't wait to go to Gender Reveal Parties, throw Baby Showers and hold those sweet little bundles once they're here.  God is good and I'm ecstatic to hear that any (or many) of my friends are blessed.  Much love to all the mommies to be - I can't wait to celebrate with you all!!!! 

I'm scrappy and we Randazzo's will work this out.  I'm getting impatient about starting our IVF - ready to get this party started...but first we have to await the arrival of my dear Aunt Flow...who really seems reluctant to visit now that I'm off all of the meds (further evidence of my busted plumbing).  I've been taking OPKs for the past 3 weeks and no smiley face.  I think it's cruel the way they put the negative signs on OPKs and HPTs.  Instead of saying "no" or having that sad little empty circle (if it's positive there is a smiley face) they should make it more like a magic 8 ball with compliments along with the negative response:

● You look so pretty, but not in the pregnant glowing way, but still pretty, honest!
● You're free to drink!  Break out the vino!
● You are fabulous (just not pregnant).  Better luck next time.

And you should be able to shake it and each time you'll get a different version of that answer.  At least there would be some entertainment instead of just seeing that stupid empty circle and slamming it in the trash. 

Anyways, hopefully my long lost relative will visit soon so that we can begin our protocol and hopefully have good news to report in the next month or so!  :) 

Cheers y'all!

New Game - WIMBABM

Now, I don't mean to sound preachy or self righteous.  I'm searching for ways to entertain myself and keep things light around here, so that I don't slip into self pity-land.  So I've found a new game to play - It's called WIMBABM "Why I Might Be A Better Mommy (or mommy to be than some others out there)....

I'm certainly not perfect and have my shortcomings and too many imperfections to list, so this little game is all in fun.  And if your family or friends are pictured here, you should not feel comfortable admitting that in public.

Exhibit A -   I would always make sure that our electrical outlets have the appropriate child proof covers on them.

Exhibit B - I would never where white after Labor Day....

Exhibit C - no words - some parents need to know what photos NOT to post on the internet.  www.badparenting.org WILL find them....

And that's pretty much all I have to say about that.  I won't be a perfect mommy by any means, but knowing what NOT to do is sometimes more important than knowing what to do.  

Happy Labor Day y'all!!! xo

The Ice Cream Diet - infertility has it's privileges

For those who have not been following since the beginning of my blog, you missed the instructions from my doc which would be  a dream come true for most women: "drink two milkshakes a week and lay of the exercise".... I thought Dr. Katz had lost his mind.  So of course I delve back into the world wide web for verification.  I stumbled across article after article linking full fat dairy to increased ovulatory function in women.  Wow - I guess Dr. K's medical degree really is legit!  It must drive doctors nuts that we all think we're pseudo experts via our WebMD degrees.    


I've included an excerpt from a much longer article on The Daily Beast below. If you have time to read the whole thing, it really has great information regarding exercise, getting the right type of protein, and maintaining the right body weight. Which brings to mind, if you are going on the Ice Cream Fertility Diet, keep in mind that you only need 1 serving (=1/2 c. of ice cream) twice per week. It's not much - a whole pint should last TWO weeks! 

 
If you are having trouble getting pregnant and ovulatory infertility is suspected, think of ice cream sundaes as "health food". OK, maybe that's stretching it, but read on....

• A fascinating finding from the Nurses' Health Study is that a daily serving or two of whole milk and foods made from whole milk—full-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, and, yes, even ice cream—seem to offer some protection against ovulatory infertility, while skim and low-fat milk do the opposite.
• Removing fat from milk radically changes its balance of sex hormones in a way that could tip the scales against ovulation and conception. Proteins added to make skim and low-fat milk look and taste "creamier" push it even farther away.
• The more low-fat dairy products in a woman's diet, the more likely she was to have had trouble getting pregnant. The more full-fat dairy products in a woman's diet, the less likely she was to have had problems getting pregnant.
• Before you sit down to a nightly carton of Häagen-Dazs, keep in mind that it doesn't take much in the way of full-fat dairy foods to measurably affect fertility. Among the women in the Nurses' Health Study, having just one serving a day of a full-fat dairy food, particularly milk, decreased the chances of having ovulatory infertility. The impact of ice cream was seen at two half-cup servings a week. If you eat ice cream at that rate, a pint should last about two weeks.
• Equally important, you'll need to do some dietary readjusting to keep your calorie count and your waistline from expanding. Whole milk has nearly double the calories of skim milk. If you have been following the U.S. government's poorly-thought-out recommendation and are drinking three glasses of milk a day, trading skim milk for whole means an extra 189 calories a day. That could translate into a weight gain of 15 to 20 pounds over a year if you don't cut back somewhere else. Those extra pounds can edge aside any fertility benefits you might get from dairy foods. 
• Aim for one to two servings of dairy products a day, both of them full fat. This can be as easy as having your breakfast cereal with whole milk and a slice of cheese at lunch or a cup of whole-milk yogurt for lunch and a half-cup of ice cream for dessert. Easy targets for cutting back on calories and saturated fat are red and processed meats, along with foods made with fully or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
• If you don't like milk or other dairy products, or they don't agree with your digestive system, don't force yourself to have them. There are many other things you can do to fight ovulatory infertility. This one is like dessert—enjoyable but optional.

On a random note, I find it humorous and insulting that my blogger spell check does not recognize "ovulatory" as a correctly spelled word.  

September is National PCOS Awareness Month

I wonder if I get a prize or something?  If I lived in Houston, I'd participate in the PCOS Awareness 5K on September 25th :)  Sadly, Charlotte has no PCOS Awareness race.  Maybe I'll start one (in all my free time).  

I was first diagnosed with Lean PCOS by Dr. Katz in February.  He told me at that time not to go home and google PCOS because I would read all sorts of things that would freak me out....he was right.  Like a good little patient I went home and immediately grabbed my computer and began reading about how PCOS women are usually obese (okay that hurt my feelngs...I know I'm about 5 lbs or so from my cheerleading weight, but I wouldn't ever consider myself obese), some have mustaches, horrible acne, male pattern baldness....ACK - I thought infertility was bad enough and now I have to worry about all of this craziness!?!?!?!?!  


After a few deep breaths and some common sense talk from The Italian, I started to calm down.  I do not, nor have I ever had a mustache, I've been blessed with pretty decent skin (most of the time) and he assured me that I was far from being obese.  I felt better however that did NOT stop me from continuing my internet research.  It is VERY hard to find information about LEAN PCOS on the internet - most studies and information that you find is related to obese or overweight women diagnosed as PCOS.  Us Lean PCOSer's are the forgotten soulcysters - even though 40% of all women diagnosed as PCOS are lean (ie at or below normal weight/BMI).   


It took several hours of searching, but I did find this post that helped to explain a lot to me.  I've included a few of the excerpts pertaining to Lean PCOS below with my comments in bold... 

• For heavier women, PCOS occurs because of the excess production of male hormone, which results in the abnormal androgen/estrogen ratio. Thin women don’t really have excess androgen production. Instead, they typically have normal androgen levels. However, at one point in time their estrogen levels were low. 
• (Estrogen comes from two places – the ovaries and the fat cell.) 
• In young, thin athletic women with very low percent body fat, estrogen levels are low. 
• The end result of this is that the androgen/estrogen ratio is altered just like that in the heavier women (the androgen level is normal but he estrogen level is low). 
• The absolute levels are lower in the thin women, but the ratio is still altered. 
• Two of the standard questions we ask are 
• “What is the least you have weighed in your adult life?” and 
• “were you an athlete?” 
• We want to know if there was a time of low estrogen production that may have “set up” the pattern of PCOS. There is excellent evidence that once this ratio is altered, it sets up a pattern of functioning in the ovaries that will persist into adulthood, i.e., PCOS.  

This explains A LOT - 

1. I was always a skinny minnie as a child.  I hated how boney my legs were...I could (and did) eat 10-12 Taco Bell crunchy tacos in one sitting and never gained an ounce.  
2. I was in dance classes 4-6 days a week so that would definitely qualify as an athlete (no smart comments - unless you've spent 4-7 hours a day (after school mind you) in a leotard and tights in a dance studio, you are NOT allowed to begin to insinuate that dancers are not athletes - I've got a grand battement that will knock you across the room, so don't mess with me.).  
3. Even going into adulthood, I have experienced times where my weight would drop near 100 lbs without any effort.  (I'm 5'7" so that is not a good or even remotely normal thing).  

So it would make sense that the patterns of me being a skinny, active child and also being far too light for my height at various points in my adulthood could have set up the pattern of PCOS in my body.  Don't know if this makes me feel better or worse that this could have been something that I did to myself.  The research continues....

• PCOS can often occur in women with normal androgen levels and no evidence of hirsutism (excess hair growth).  Praise the Lord - no excess hair growth or mustaches for me!!!! 
• Many thin women with PCOS exhibit only irregular periods or less than optimal ovulation.   True           
• Unfortunately, clomiphene does not work very well in thin women with PCOS. The anti-estrogen effects are profound enough that although egg development and ovulation may occur, pregnancy will not. (This is just an observation, but women that experience side effects from clomiphene such as hot flashes will not conceive on clomiphene.)  Well that would have been handy dandy info to have had back in 2009 when my GYN/OB first started me on Clomid....
• It is pretty clear that if pregnancy does not result within the first four cycles of clomiphene use, it probably is not going to – something else has to be tried.  85% of all clomiphene pregnancies occur within the first three months of treatment with clomiphene. After four months, very few additional pregnancies result.    My GYN/OB kept me on Clomiphene (aka Clomid) for nearly 9 months before I referred myself to REACH!  YIKES!

You can read the entire study here if you'd like.  Since I published my first post, I've had MANY acquaintances, friends and friends of friends who have reached out to share that they also have been diagnosed with Lean PCOS.  Knowledge is power.  If you have Lean PCOS and your doc has you on Clomid, find a new doc!  Dr. Katz put me on Letrozole (you can read more about it in the article) - Letrozoloe has been proven to be much more effective with women with Lean PCOS.  When dealing with infertility every second counts and to waste 9 months on a treatment that was not right for my body and would basically not work is very frustrating.  

So that is the end of today's lesson!  If any of you readers have been diagnosed and have found other info, please feel free to share by leaving a comment!  

By the way, I was checking my blog audience stats and noticed that I've developed a rather large following in Romania....so "mulţumesc" my Romanian friends!  :)  

It's Wheatgrass Wednesday!

So I'm now on my wheatgrass kick - I'll be sharing a little bit as I learn more. The more I read about it, the more amazed I am.

To be honest, my first wheatgrass encounter was not good...not at all...I had my first wheatgrass shot in a green drink while grocery shopping at EarthFare this weekend. I almost barfed. Their green drink is served room temp which totally grossed me out. However while I was shopping I found awesome little frozen wheatgrass cubes. They're about $15.00 for 20 little "cubes" - you cut them out and gently thaw them in the sealed tray in warm water then I add to my Dr. Oz Green Drink in the mornings. No offense Earth Fare, but Dr. Oz's Green Drink kicks your green drink's A$#. (You can get the recipe - here)

One thing to note, if you buy these, you need to try to drink your wheatgrass within 15 minutes or so to preserve all of the nutrients. I haven't been brave enough to try the wheatgrass on it's own. Looked up more info and wanted to share for your knowledge. Good for everyone - even those not TTC (trying to conceive - come on you guys, did you really read my acronyms post? I told you there would be a quiz later! :)) If you missed it, you can read "here" Drink your wheatgrass today - keep yourself healthy and well.

The history of wheatgrass:

1930: CHARLES F. SCHNABEL

The consumption of wheatgrass in the Western world began in the 1930s as a result of experiments by agricultural chemist, Charles F. Schnabel. Schnabel conducted his first experiments with young grasses in 1930 after experimenting with various mixture of feeds that would increase chicken health and egg production during winter months. After trying various mixtures of vegetables, grains, etc., in his chicken feed, he found no differences in chicken health or egg production and nearly gave up. Noticing that hens searched out the young nutritious cereal grasses when available, he included dehydrated wheatgrass and oat grass with their feed. Schnabel was amazed to find the cereal grass mixture boosted the chicken's health significantly. He stated in his research, "even a child can see the bloom of health in the grass-fed hens." Additionally, the grasses increased egg production by150% per hen.

Schnabel was so fascinated with his discovery that he fed his family with dehydrated grass. That was the beginning of the human consumption of grass. His family consumed grass for eleven years and he reported that none of his children suffered from serious illness, not even with tooth decay.

Schnabel started promoting his discovery to feed mills, chemists and the food industry. "Two large corporations, Quaker Oats and American Diaries Inc., invested millions of dollars in further research, development, and production of products for animals and humans. By 1940, cans of Schnabel's powdered grass were on sale in major drug stores throughout the United States and Canada."

Charles Schnabel is the person who coined the statement "15 lbs. of wheatgrass is equal in overall nutritional value to over 350 lbs. of ordinary vegetables." In the 1940's, wheatgrass and other cereal grass tablets were the best selling "multiple vitamin" and mineral supplements in the nation.

1940: ANN WIGMORE

In the beginning of 1940's, Ann Wigmore continued to contribute to the popularization of wheatgrass. When Wigmore was a child, she watched and learned the power of natural healing from her grandmother, who helped heal the wounds of World War I soldiers with grasses, herbs, and plants.

In the 1960's Ann Wigmore "re-discovered" wheatgrass and was able to cure her own 'untreatable' colitis through her consumption of wheatgrass, raw greens, blended seeds, and grains. Within a year, she was cancer-free and began researching the healing properties of grasses, and began to focus on the healing properties of wheatgrass. Wigmore claimed that her wheatgrass diet could cure diseases. She shared wheatgrass with several sick friends and each recovered from their sickness. She went on to found the 'Hippocrates Health Institute' based on the principle "Let Food be your medicine," and treated countless people with serious health conditions. Wigmore died in 1993, but her Creative Health Institute is still an active institute.

In the 1940's, a man by the name of Charles Kettering (former Chairman of the Board of General Motors) donated money for the study of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll was studied intensively by medical doctors using FDA required standards i.e. double blind studies, etc. (There are currently over 40 articles written up in medical journals about the healing effects of chlorophyll.) These medical doctors found that chlorophyll was a great healer and used it as such for quite some time.

In 1931, Charles F. Schnabel discovered that grass achieves its peak nutrition when grown to the jointing stage. This is the point when the plant stops being a vegetable and starts reproducing. This point which for the most part is achieved in 3-7 weeks depending on the growing conditions, enables the prodigious root system of this plant to develop and pull minerals up from the soil. Immediately after jointing, there is a dramatic decline in nutrient content. Almost all bottled grass powders are grown this way. Although the Wigmore style, 10-14 day old greenhouse-grown, fresh squeezed grass juice is the grass of choice used at the healing centers for treating illness, the bottled dehydrated juice powders reign as nutritionally superior. They have more protein than meat, fish or eggs, more beta carotene than carrots, more calcium than spinach and are rich sources of vitamins A, C, and K, chlorophyll, RNA, DNA, antioxidants, nitrosamines and a full complement of amino acids and trace minerals.

Information from: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=115138243706

Secret Language

So I've introduced you to a few of the acronyms that us infertile myrtles use to describe our experience, procedures, feelings, etc. Here's a more comprehensive list so hopefully you can start understanding this cryptic language :)

• 2WW = 2-Week Wait - this is the worst one. It's the period of time between "IT" and when Aunt Flo (AF)does or does not make her appearance.
• AF = Aunt Flo (menstruation - unwelcome visitor)
• AO = Anovulation - this is part of my diagnosis. For some reason I'm anovulatory - combination of exercise induced, being moderately underweight and incredibly active as a young'un (darn you ballet classes!), and PCOS in one ovary, blocked tube for quite a while on the other side, my acupuncturist says "you have a very complicated case indeed" - thanks for the comforting words...just stick the needles in me and let me hang out with my Chinese music please...
• AWOL = A Woman On Lupron - this is a med that you take which basically shuts your hormones down completely forcing you into menopause. Giving your body time to "rest" and giving your doc total control over your hormones when you start back up.
• BBT = Basal Body Temperature - I've never been into tracking this. Doc says that by the time you detect a temperature change, you've already ovulated, so it's too late to do anything with it. Definitely not effective tracking mechanism for someone with all of my issues and irregularities.
• BCP = Birth Control Pills
• BD = Baby Dance - i.e. sex, IT, doing the deed, or as Marvin Gaye so eloquently put it, "Let's Get It On". This sounds well and good until you get a call during the middle of the work day while TTC and says that according to your 7am bloodwork results it's time and NOW...do not pass go, do not collect $200...get your booty home 10 minutes ago!
• BFN = Big Fat Negative - I'm WAY too familiar with this. It sucks.
• BFP = Big Fat Positive - maybe some day!!!!
• BW, b/w = Bloodwork - I'm a human pincushion, needles have no effect on me anymore.
• CD = Cycle Day - Cycle Day #1 starts with AF's arrival...
• CM = Cervical Mucus - you can look this up on your own...
• COW = Curse of Womanhood (menstruation) - not so much a curse for those of us who are AO (see above)
• DPO = Days Post-Ovulation - self explanatory
• DPR = Days Post-Retrieval - self explanatory
• DPT = Days Post-Transfer - self explanatory
• ENDO = Endometriosis - I have this - had surgery to remove as much as possible, however it is known to come back, the only way to know is to go in and have the surgery again.
• EPT = Early Pregnancy Test
• ET = Embryo Transfer
• FET = Frozen Embryo Transfer - my doc actually supports FET, he says it gives the woman's body time to recover after all the stimulation meds and gives the embryo's a more nurturing environment to implant. We'll see. He does 90% fresh embroy transfer b/c most of us infertile myrtles are impatient and want to do it "right now". Also the Attain Fertility plan covers up to 3 fresh and 3 frozen transfers, so you're required to try fresh first go round.
• FSH = Follicle Stimulating Hormone
• FTTA = Fertile Thoughts To All - sending to some special ladies who should hopefully be receiving good news soon!!!!!
• FV = Fertile Vibes - ditto
• hCG, HCG = Human Chorionic Gonadotropin - a hormone secreted early in pregnancy. It helps maintain high levels of progesterone which is critical for the success of preganancy. hCG is also the hormone detected by urine & blood pregnancy tests. I took this (via muscular injection) prior to my IUIs - it helps the mature follicle release. It can also cause a false positive on your HPT (see below), so you're not supposed to test until after the 2WW
• HPT = Home Pregnancy Test - love seeing pics of these on my friends' blogs and facebook pages with BFP's!!!!!
• HSG = Hysterosalpingogram - have had 2 of these. 1 unmedicated (yowza!)...1 with valium....valium makes everything all better :) I highly recommend the medicated HSG over unmedicated. You lay on an x-ray table while they shoot die into both fallopian tubes to detect potential blockage. I had a blocked tube which they cleared on the 2nd HSG.
• ICSI = Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection - this is part of IVF where they actually take the sperm and inject it into the egg in the petri dish rather than relying on the two to combine on their own.
• IF = Infertility - ugh, hate this label
• IM = Intra-muscular (WRT injections) - awesome
• IUI = Intra-uterine Insemination - 3 strikes and you're out for us.
• IVF = In Vitro Fertilization - our next step. Tons of meds to stimulate follicles (i.e. eggs), then they retrieve the eggs perform the ICSI and wait a few days to see how many grow and how many (if any) pass away :( Then they place the growing embryos (up to 2 per my doc's instructions) back into the uterus and pray that one or both implant.
• LSP = Low Sperm Count - not an issue for us
• MFI = Male Factor Infertility - not an issue for us
• OHSS = Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome - during IVF there is a chance that your Ovaries may become overstimulated and this can result in a hospital stay. Extremely painful.
• PCOS = Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - one or both ovaries produce too many small follicles which prohibits any one follicle from fully maturing and releasing (i.e. ovulation). I have this in one ovary which partially explains my why I am AO
• PG = Pregnant - hopefully someday???? soon???? :) :) :)
• RE = Reproductive Endocrinologist - Dr. Katz at REACH is my RE...we think he's great! :)
• TESA = Testicular Sperm Aspiration - YOWZA! The Italian is SO thankful that he doesn't have to deal with this....OUCH!

Alright, there will be a quiz later!

Loss for words...not in a bad way

First, I'll apologize for the extended absence. I've honestly been at a loss for words over the past month. And not in a bad way - I just haven't had anything to say (interesting or not) on the topics of fertility, TTC (trying to conceive for people who don't have to worry about this stuff - us "infertile myrtles" have acronyms for everything - I'll post about that later), work, life in general, etc. Too much going on with work to even think about IVF, infertility or the fact that I am rapidly approaching "Advanced Maternal Age" - i.e. 35.

We decided to postpone our IVF plans - want to give the Italian some time to settle into the new job. Luckily his boss knew about our IVF plans before he accepted the position so they'll definitely be willing to work with him on his travel schedule when the time comes. I also need some time to get things situated at my job. We're a man down on our team, so I'm anxious to get that position filled so I can go back to working 6 days a week instead of 7 :)

So we're thinking October or November for the actual procedure. I can't remember if I posted or not but his insurance does NOT cover infertility but we're ok with that.

So I'm still drinking/eating my "Green Drink" - I had some extra this morning so I made the Italian drink a little and I honestly thought he was going to vomit. He said "I don't know whether to drink it or chew it...ugh". He's right (the taste is fine, it's 100% the texture that bugs me), but it does get easier with time and it is a great way to get some extra organic veggies in!

I'm looking into wheatgrass shots as well. Earth Fare has them for $1.99 per shot and I've read that whea grass is really a miracle food - not specifically for fertility but for overall health in general. I figure that whether we get preggers or not, I might as well try to be as healthy as I possibly can be. You can read more about the benefits of wheatgrass at the following website: http://www.hippocratesinst.org/benefits-of-wheatgrass

To all my friends who have recently announced their pregnancies, you should start drinking wheatgrass immediately! :)

I tried to buy wheatgrass and blend it in my blender...don't waste your money it doesn't work. I even watched YouTube videos of other people blending it then straining out the juice (apparently our bodies can't digest the actual "grass" - so you just have to get the juice). I've even got a pretty good Cuisinart blender, so I was surprised when it didn't work. I'll just buy pre-made at EarthFare....I heart EarthFare!

Promise I'll update more frequently. I'm still researching when I can, so I'll post updates on that info as I come across it.

And finally, I'm asking for prayers for 3 very special ladies who are in the midst of their IVF cycles RIGHT NOW! Praying for BFP's (Big Fat Positives) for all of you!!!!

The Green Monster

I've developed a great little support group of girls from various circles of my life and we're all going through this sort of at the same time. It's awesome how we all found each other and is so nice to have friends going through the same thing. My girls were kind enough to share a natural tip with me - Dr. Oz's Green Drink. (see photo and yes, it really does look that disgusting). I'll include the recipe at the bottom of this post for those who are interested. This miracle "drink" (if you can call it that) is FULL of antioxidants and fiber. Warning, I would be reluctant to call this a "drink" - it is THICK (hence the spoon in the glass). I treated it more as a chunky soup and choked it down that way. The flavor was not bad at all - it was a texture thing for me. Anyway, it's definitely HEALTHY and if I'm willing to pump my bod full of hormones and chemicals, I'm certainly going to give this a shot as well! I will tell you, I drank about 6-8 oz this morning at 7am and still am not hungry at 2pm...that is not normal for this girl...me likes to eat! Dr. Oz apparently drinks this regularly in the AM - love me some Dr. Oz!

Anyways, I will be lagging a little behind my girls on the IVF schedule due to some exciting new developments at the Randazzo Estate. The Italian was actually recruited for a new job (he wasn't even looking for a new opportunity - when does that happen in this economy). Well not only does the job include a SUBSTANTIAL pay increase, but there is a chance that their insurance plan will cover some or all of the IVF costs....SAY WHAT????? We'll find out early next week about the insurance, so we decided to be good stewards of all that God has given us and wait until we find out before we schedule our next steps for IVF. It's hard not to believe that God is shining down on us favorably for some unknown reason right now.

Anyway, I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted anything. I hate to say it but I have thoroughly enjoyed the last month - no shots, no pills, no counting days....it's been a welcome break! Work has been crazy enough - we're at peak wedding season, so I can't imagine having been on my injection regimine and trying to keep up with everything at work! Time is flying by and I'm realizing that I'm getting closer and closer to being of "advanced maternal age" - that's such a lovely term that they give to expectant mothers 35 or older. Awesome. Oh well, if I'm lucky enough to get preggers soon, I'll rock the title proudly! Peace out friends - chat soon!

Dr. Oz's Green Drink

2 cups spinach

1 -2 medium cucumber (approx 2 cups)

1 stalk celery

1/2 inch ginger root (or 1 teaspoon)

1 bunch chopped parsley (approx 1/2 cup chopped)

2 apples, cored

1 lime, juice of

1/2 lemon, juice of

Optional ingredients

raw carrot

unsweetened fruit juice

banana

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend completely. Do NOT use a juicer as it will remove the pulp and all the nutrients contained within. I had to chop things up before blending and it took a lot of manhandling the blender in order to get it all mixed up. The texture will be THICK, but you should blend until smooth (no big chunks). Next time I will add a little water or a few ice cubes to loosen it up a little bit.

BON APETIT!