Desperate Times, Call for Desperate Measures

So when you are trying to make a baby, of course you try to make yourself as fertile as possible. Here is a list of some of the things we tried (remember, I am trying to be as natural as possible, so I wanted to try more natural interventions before I moved on to more intensive approaches)

For Me

1. Basal Body Temping- a way to become more familiar with my body's cycles, and to pinpoint when I was ovulating.
2. Ashwagandha- an herb that helps reduce stress, but it also helps with circulation (I have poor blood circulation, and I read somewhere that this might contribute to my fertility).
3. Cutting back on foods I am sensitive to: I know that I am sensitive to gluten and dairy, so I tried my best to avoid these. But, it was very hard, and I often found myself eating dairy.
4. Prenatal vitamins- Started taking these the moment we started trying, over a year ago. I had to find some without gluten.
5. Zinc- Heard this helps you be more fertile, and it also helps boost your immune system when you feel a tingle in your throat, added bonus!
6. Fish oil, Vitamin D3- vitamins that promote fertility, and keep you healthy overall.
7. Positions- yes, we tried different ones, and by the end we were more systematic about it. My nurse practitioner actually encouraged me to be creative in this area. So funny to have a 50+ woman telling me to be more sexually adventurous, but I heeded your sage advice :)
8. Legs up in the air- several people told me about the old-wives-tale about putting your legs up in the air after sex to help you get pregnant by helping the swimmers find their way to my cervix. Didn't do this every time, but enough times that it became a joke between my husband and I.
9. Ovulation Predictor Kit- Pretty self-explanatory. Didn't start using this until a year after trying, per the recommendation of my nurse practitioner.

For Him

1. Cold showers- this is to stimulate the swimmers.
2. Radiation reducing phone case- my husband likes to keep his phone in his front pockets, near his manhood, which has been shown to reduce sperm count, so this phone case is meant to protect him from that (and cancer too).
3. Zinc- same thing as me above.
4. Fish Oils, Vitamin D3- same thing as above.
5. Exercise, increase protein and healthy fat intake- these increase testosterone, a must in keeping the swimmers healthy and active.

My husband was also willing to have his swimmers tested, (I had already submitted urine and blood samples to have my own fertility more thoroughly examined) but it wasn't necessary because... We tested positive that same month!!!

I am not saying that these things worked. I have no idea if they did or not. This was not a kosher experiment. Some of the things listed above were done simultaneously, and maybe that made a difference, maybe not. I really don't know. I am just sharing things that I did, in my journey to not give up.

If I have to pin it down to one thing, I would say that I was able to truly release and relax that month. I was starting the infertility process with my OB/GYN. I felt so relieved to be doing that. I was finally going to have some concrete answers, and with those answers I could then make a plan for how I was going to tackle those troubles. And that month, all I had to do was wait on the test results. No worries in the world! I was actually excited to finally be able to have the answers I so desperately wanted. And I just sighed with relief that month, and told God that I trust him/her and that I knew he/she was with me. And my husband and I were both in agreement that we would come to the best solution possible for us in our lives whenever and whatever came.

And my body opened up, relaxed, and was allowed to just be. My nurse practitioner told me that this happens frequently. I was so glad to hear it. Yay for those other women!!! And yay for us!!! And yay for my little one growing within, bigger and bigger, out of love...