A Celebration of My Journey Through Charms

Each day I'm a different person than the day before.  With God's help, and all that I've made it through, I wake up a stronger person.  I wake up wiser with the knowledge of another day behind me.  And somehow I am getting to a place of acceptance concerning our journey to parenthood.

That's got to count for something.

To celebrate and represent my journey, I had the idea to make a charm bracelet.  I really like the look of the Pandora charm bracelets, but honestly cannot afford one right now.  So I looked other places to design my bracelet.  I was pleased when I found Michaels carries two lines that look similar to the designer brand.  Using coupons and buying items on sale, I made a charm bracelet for a fraction of what a Pandora bracelet would cost.  In fact my whole bracelet, beads and all, cost as much as one measly charm would from Pandora.  Nice, huh?

Each charm and bead are symbolic to me.  And I will wear this bracelet proudly as it represents part of who I am.

I adore my charm bracelet, but here's saying I wouldn't mind a real honest to goodness Pandora one too.  Maybe someday. (Nudge nudge, husband!)

When You Hit Rock Bottom and We're at the Bottom

I haven't posted in a while.  Physically, nothing has changed and I'm still very un-pregnant.

Life wise, that's another tale to tell.  Sadly our life situation is causing us to make some changes to our family plan.  Changes I don't want to have to make.

We have decided to put baby making on hold for the next few months.

Like I said, not a choice we wanted to make.  But things have gotten financially hard for us.  Money's gotten so tight that we need to move out of our apartment when our lease is up November 30th.  Thankfully some friends have offered to let us move into their rental house with them in Navarre.  We'll be going on their lease and living there for at least a year.  We're excited as many good things are going to come out of this.

So, I'm saving my fertility medication and we wont start actively trying until things become more stable.  Which shouldn't be long if the job offer from Lockheed Martin works out.  Did I just say that? Yes I did!  Chris had a job interview and got offered the job he applied for back in March.  We just need to hang in until that pay starts kicking in. (We should also be able to get health insurance through his employer as well, so treatments should start up again soon!)

Like I said, things suck now but good things are in store for us.

I knew God had a plan for us.  And that everything that happens has a reason.  Who knows, we might stop trying and BAM after a year and ten months of trying get pregnant on a natural cycle.  It's happened to other women.

No matter what you're going through, don't stop praying.  God is there and he answers prayer.

My Fertility Concoction

If you remember, I promised to post ALL the supplements I am currently taking to enhance my fertility and this is that post.  I still can't believe how many pills I swallow daily to give my body these essential compounds.  And trust me, it is not easy.  If you know how nasty multivitamins taste then you know my pain.  I tried gummy prenatals, and loved them, but didn't buy another bottle when I learned they lacked a lot of other vital nutrients.  Maybe I will try them in combination with other vitamins sometime soon.  For now, I'm just popping pills.

And the lineup...

Clomiphene Citrate (aka Clomid) 

This drug is gold to me. It is designed to induce ovulation in women.  It is taken cycle days 5 through 9, one pill per day.  I ovulate on my own, but I have low progesterone in my luteal phase.  Clomid gives a boost to the hormones all cycle long which causes progesterone to be higher in the luteal phase.  It works for me.

Evening Primrose Oil

I take this horse pill 3 times a day up to ovulation.  It is said to help make vaginal fluids much nicer for sperm to swim in.  Clomid is known to make fluids hostile to sperm, so this combats that.

Prenatal Vitamins

The one thing doctors want you to be taking when you first become pregnant.  I actually take a generic women's multivitamin, but it has the same exact nutrients in it.

B-100 Complex Vitamins

This supplement contains 100mg each of all the B vitamins.  I take the complex because the B vitamins work best when taken together.  B-6 is said to help balance hormones and aid a luteal phase defect.  I take 1 a day.

Guainefisin (aka Mucinex)

I take Mucinex around ovulation because it makes vaginal fluid easier for sperm to swim through and reach the egg.  Once again, I take this to combat the side effects of Clomid.  I take 1 pill twice a day.

Royal Jelly

Royal Jelly is what a queen bee will consume to become an egg producing powerhouse and provide offspring for the entire hive.  I have read that it improves egg quality in IVF patients.

I don't know why the Royal Jelly itself looks so orange in this picture.  It looks really gross!  It is actually a light yellow color in person [much like cloudy honey].  I take 1 teaspoon twice a day up to ovulation.  It is mixed with organic honey, so it is really very sweet.

Natural Progesterone Cream

I apply 1/2 teaspoon to my arms, legs, chest, neck, or stomach twice a day from ovulation to menses.  Even though the Clomid is supposed to boost my progesterone levels, I figure it can't hurt to supplement.  I feel my levels rise slowly after ovulation anyway, so this ensures my uterine lining is receiving the nutrients it needs to mature and prepare for baby.

There you have it.  I know something is doing it's job because last cycle I only experienced two days of spotting before menses [norm is 3-5].  Progress is great!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.  I will continue to hope and pray for a little miracle.