Real Food: milk

I've been drinking raw milk from grassfed cows for over a year and a half now. Something I've noticed is that pasteurized, grocery store milk doesn't look right to me anymore. It's unnaturally white. I saw a cup of it at a friend's house and I thought they had a cup of white paint on their counter and I couldn't figure out why.

Real milk is an off white color.

TTC: IUI update

I had my 2 of 2 IUI this morning. As my loyal and regular readers may recall, I've been through two IUI cycles in the past at a different clinic. They do things differently here.

The net net is that everything looks good. The samples from Husband were "good enough" and my cervix/mucus was excellent. My temperature went up this morning, so I probably ovulated some time between yesterday morning and this morning. Which is good since the spermies can make it to the egg in 15 minutes.

I just hope they can survive in my hostile environment for that long.

TTC: Another test, another negative

Sooooo. I meant to have the previous post posted on Friday and then talk about the post coital test we had today. But it took a lot of time to do those pictures of my chart. The version of paint I have at work doesn't work right. Not that I would ever work on my blog at work. That's just not ethical.

Update: That post actually did post on Friday, even though I finished it and posted today. Go look at Friday for that post. Weird.

Hence, two TTC posts in one day. Lucky you!

Soooooo. Post. Coital. That means after sex. We had to do it in the doctor's office so they could see what was going on right after we did it.

Not really. That's what I *thought* it was. Much to our relief, we just had to do it one or two (or both!) days before the test. I had an ultrasound to check out the ovaries. I have a well-developed follicle on my right side, I'll have you know. Then a sample was taken of my cervical mucus. We looked at it under the microscope right then (well, after I put my clothes back on). There were no spermies. None. Zee. Row.

Soooooo. That's not good. But it's also not the end of the world. Chances are still good that we can conceive through IUI. Which we will do. Twice this week. Wednesday and Thursday. IUI days.

Also, previous to this appointment, we found out that Husband has epididymitis. It's an infection in the epididymis. That's a man part. He's on a round of antibiotics to clear that up. Then he needs to do a sperm test. Then we will get him on the HCG shots to increase his testosterone.

Sooooooo. There's still hope. Husband's sperm may get better. IUI may work. We may get pregnant.

Habit forming

I like to form habits. Well, good ones. I like replacing bad ones with good ones. I'm also a fan of lists.

I think you see where this is going.

Here is a list of habits I've formed and ones that I want to form. I'll note my progress occasionally or never. I should probably put "update blog" on my list.

• Read bible every morning for 15 mintues - Complete!
  This habit has been well-established. I'm currently in Acts and will have read the entire bible in about a year. When I'm done, I'm starting over again, only this time I'll take notes.
  
  
• Ten minutes of prayer
  I'm trying to decide on morning or evening for this one. Praying in bed before I go to sleep is not working. I need to be awake. I'm not sure how God takes it that every time I talk to him, I fall asleep in the middle. I'm pretty sure I'd be offended if someone did that to me.
  
  
• Eat breakfast every morning - In progress
  I've eaten breakfast the past two mornings. Oatmeal. I like it. In the 5 mintues it takes me to heat it up, I can unload and/or load the dishwasher. That's a bonus habit.
  
  
• Take vitamins in the morning
  This includes a multi-vitamin, cod liver oil, coconut oil and a teaspoon of vinegar. I need to get used to breakfast first.
  
  
• Exercise every weekday for at least 15 minutes - In progress
  I'm very lucky that a dear friend of mine is attempting this with me.
  
  
• Take a lunch to work four days of the week
  This is a financial necessity.

Wish me luck!

TTC: Prolactin maybe not so high anymore?

As you may recall, I tested high on prolactin. This will cause stair stepping temperature rises and probably prevents actual ovulation. Here is an example of my temps right after I started taking the bromocryptine to counter the high prolactin.


Notice how there is no clear temperature increase and no ovulation.

Here is my chart after I'd been taking the bromocryptine for a month or so.
Notice the red, stair-stepping temperature rise, but this time with a egg.



And finally, here is my latest complete chart. Notice the temperature jump. Yeah!


Alas, I still did not get pregnant. But progress is progress!

Report on Hair Removal

Okay. So. Laser hair removal.

The first thing you should know is that everything needs to be shaved prior to the visit. The laser can't get to the root of the hair if there is hair in the way. I had to shave *everything* in the bathroom at the spa with a bic razor. Yes, that crappy kind that you used when you first started to shave in middle school. I had to use that in my area. My Brazilian area.

The second thing you should know is that the pain is not that bad. Granted, it didn't feel good, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as waxing. It goes pretty quickly. The worst part was the Brazilian area. It felt a little bit like someone jabbing me with a steak knife. Not stabbing, just jabbing about skin deep.

The third thing you should know is that the hair removal is not instant. It takes time for the hair to fall out.

So, all in all, I'm excited about my next visit. I understand the results will be gradual. I can see some improvement now. I can't wait to see what it will be like after round 2.

And there you have it.