My "Making Babies Plan of Action"

I recently have read a book titled “Making Babies” A Three Month Program for Maximum Fertility. Let me tell you, I’m not a reader…but I finished this book cover to cover in one sitting.

The basis of the book covers five different “body types” that women and men are characterized into with regard to their fertility. Then, it gives a three month “prescription” for how to manage each type. So many people are diagnosed with “unexplained infertility” and go on to try things like IVF before they even realize what their body is doing!

So my plan is to follow the “Making Babies Action Plan” perfectly for three months (or longer probably.)

The reason I felt the need to do something MORE than just take Clomid and BD is because I ovulated three months in a row, and didn’t get pregnant. This obviously could be a few things… I may have blocked tubes, a bad lining, hubby could have a low sperm count. The point is, I used to only think that I needed to ovulate in order to get pregnant, but there are so many other things that come into play.

In the book they describe five body types. They are titled Pale, Stuck, Tired, Dry, and Waterlogged. They give detailed checklists that allow you to easily determine which type you are. Here’s a very brief description of each type. (For women only.)

Tired: Slow metabolism, hypothyroidism, lethargic, overweight, perspire easily, crave carbs, bruise easily, low libido. Low progesterone levels. Period is heavy but short.

Dry: Experience night sweats, dry eyes, skin, hair, or nails, feel hot, wake up during the night, often thirsty, hard dry bowl movements, easily flushed, thin, restless and fidgety, little cervical mucus.

Stuck: Irritable, tense, stressed, long thing bowel movements, pebble like bowl movements, painful periods, mood swings, PMS, endometriosis, irregular periods, very heavy period, very light period, sawtooth pattern on BBT chart.

Pale: Face and lips are pale, gets dizzy easily, trouble falling asleep, feels shaky, light period, short period, late ovulation, long luteal phase.

Waterlogged: Trouble controlling weight, swollen hands and feet, feels tired, achy joints, feel bloated, yeast infections, endometriosis, PCOS, painful periods with mucus and clots, experience clear CM throughout cycle, erratic BBT.

By taking the tests on each type, I determined that I am DEFINITELY Waterlogged with a little bit of Stuck thrown in. Often times they say that people are a combination of TWO different types.

My Waterlogged Symptoms

Trouble controlling weight
Swollen hands and feet
Feel bloated
I have PCOS
Painful periods with mucus and clots
Clear copious cervical mucus throughout cycle
BBT varies from month to month
BBT forms a jagged sawtooth pattern, changing almost daily by.3 degrees or more (sometimes)
Anovulation
Ovulation unpredictably on a different day each cycle
BBT doesn’t change much after ovulation
BBT rises slowly after ovulation

My Stuck Symptoms

I feel better with exercise
I have cold hands and feet
Discomfort, cramps, and pain with period
Sore boobs premenstrually and also at ovulation
I have PMS
Irregular periods
Period is dark red or brown and clotted
BBT takes a few days to rise after LH surge
BBT is unstable and unpredictable

So what now? A PLAN and PRESCRIPTION for what I need to do for the next three months! The plans for each body type are SO different, I can’t believe that people generalize diet and nutrition so much. This plan will briefly go over what I need to do. In the book they explain why and how each thing affects your fertility, which is amazingly useful. But I’ll just summarize here.

Rx for the Waterlogged Body Type

Food: High in protein (30%), low in complex carbs (20%), lots of fruits and veggies (50%). Nutrient rich “green” foods. Whole grains. Avoid fluctuation blood sugar levels as much as possible. Eat barley. Green tea (I don’t drink tea, but for those who do…) Avoid all dairy products aside from yogurt.

HYDRATE! Ironically, waterlogged people tend to be dehydrated and therefore retain fluids.

To Avoid: Overeating, raw or cold foods, greasy foods and rich cream sauces, spicy foods, alcohol, dairy products made with cow’s milk, processed foods, sugar and artificial sweetener, yeast, fungi, mold, excessive salt, pork, fatty beef, saturated fats, soy, flaxseeds, yams.

About Soy and PCOS: (Not in the book.) Many PCOSers know that taking Soy Isoflavones just like you would take Clomid has the same effect! Clomid binds to the estrogen receptors in your body making you produce more estrogen at the right time in your cycle. But, unbeknownst to many, Soy also does the same thing! They are called phytoestrogens. Therefore it stands to reason that if your eating soy at random times throughout your cycle, it is royally messing up your hormones! This includes products, not just food. 60% of what you put ON your body is absorbed INTO the body. I took a look around my house, and I was slathering myself with lotion that had soy in it, drinking soy protein drinks, and even spritzing my hair with soy based leave-in conditioner! No wonder my hormones are out of whack!

Exercise: Is vitally important. 30 minutes of aerobic activity per day.

Lifestyle: Keep the environment mold free.

Supplements: Chromium, probiotics.

Rx for the Stuck Body Type

I’ll only follow the parts of this regimen that coincides with the Waterlogged type, or the bold items, since that’s more “me.” But here are the basics of this plan.

Food: Whole unprocessed foods. 60% fruits and veggies, 30% complex carbs, 10% protein. Lots of fiber, especially during phase 4 of the cycle during implantation. Cruciferous veggies like broccoli. Essential fatty acids like evening primrose oil, especially during phase 4 of the cycle. Calcium rich foods. (Or supplements in my case.) Plenty of vitamin D. Nautrally sour foods like citrus, pickles, vinegar for liver function (limited, but still necessary. A little goes a long way.)

Avoid: Overeating, eating on the run or while upset, large or frequent servings of red meat, products treated with hormones, caffeine, coffee (decaf or regular), (both of which inhibit implantation and are not recommended for any type), salty food and hard cheeses, fried and fatty foods, dairy products, alcohol.

Exercise: Get regular moderate exercise that increases blood flow. Do lighter exercise during menstruation. Walk, do yoga. Lighter workouts that last longer. Don’t swim in cold water.

Lifestyle: (I'm not a very "stressed" person in general, but it wouldn't hurt to...) Reduce stress, laugh, breathe deeply. Use pads not tampons (which impede blood flow).

Supplements: Zinc, Vitamin B Complex, Megnesium, Calcium, evening primrose oil, red raspberry leaf, low dose aspirin once per day (which is good for anyone TTC, but espcically good for Stuck types.)

I will report on how it's going, and give detailed stats regularly!  I hope this can help others too!

Adoption

Before we all freak out and say "OMG you're adopting?!!!" - just relax. Like I said, we are taking a little break before trying again. But...

Since Brad's heart attack we've been thinking about many things. Probably more on my mind than his is our health, and genetics, and what we will be passing on to our children. First, let me get this out of the way and say that if every couple had to consider family history and genes before they started trying to have children - no one would ever have children. Nearly everyone has a family history of something, or a condition that can be passed on to a child. Trying to have a child regardless of these is not selfish in the least in my opinion.

So we (meaning I) kept thinking... Brad had an basically inexplicable heart attack (two of them actually) at 28 years old. As a child he had many problems with his growth, a misshapen pituitary, countless corrective surgeries on his legs, and other things I probably don't know about. His mother has diabetes and literally probably 4-5 other diseases or conditions I don't even know the name of. But she is basically bedridden and being cared for by Brad's father. All these things may or may not pass down to our future children. I am also not without problems...my mother has Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis and in inoperable brain tumor. As of right now, I don't think I have any of these! But I still may be a genetic carrier for any of them.

Anyway, this has lead me to consider the almost unthinkable for me. Adoption is truly a blessing for MANY people...birthmothers and adoptive parents alike. But the thought of not ever being pregnant, having cravings and midnight pickle runs, not feeling the little kicks inside me, feeling that bond, breastfeeding, having a child with someone else's nose, eyes, hair, entire genetic makeup...honestly feels like the end of the world for me.

I sort of thought about it more, and remembered what it was like when I was younger. I was very naive and even sitting on a toilet after a boy sat on it would put me into a frenzy..."Please God don't let me be pregnant..." Because that, for me, would also have been the end of the world.

Life obviously throws us all curveballs, some more than others. Birthmothers and adoptive parents are like little missing puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly. Perfect solutions to one another's needs.

As I read more and more birthmother stories, and stories from adoptive parents...I'm becoming more and more aware of what I'm really in this for. I try to stop the feeling of sadness I get for the adoptive parents...Are they infertile, too? Why do they 'have' to adopt? Or for the birthmother.... Why did that teenager have to have sex? Why didn't they use protection? Why did they have relations out of wedlock? I swallow the lump in my throat and my judgement and look at the baby I realize it's all for them. It's not about the parents, it's not about the birthmother. It's about the child, who is a human, and will grow up and be an adult. What will that adult say about his or her life? "Dang I wish I had been raised by my 20 year old mom who didn't get a chance to go to college because of me?"

As the website clearly conveys, It's About Love. Not about me, or my want to be pregnant. Not about just wanting my baby to look like me or act or talk like me and my husband. It's about more than that. While I still wish more than anything to be pregnant one day - I am willing to sacrifice my own wants for that of my child. And I think that's probably a good step towards motherhood, eh? There are many more facets of adoption to consider like open or closed, and what age to adopt, etc... But for now, I'm just trying to grow up a little and realize that not everything is perfect, and some things are just meant to be.