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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

here we are

 

 

Yup, that’s us. Or more accurately, that’s me.

 

How odd that I Googled an image for “Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor High Fertility” just to include a little illustration on this blog that lacks so much – lo and behold! – I find an image with my exact cycle day displayed.

My “high fertility” status started yesterday on CD 11 and continued today. Needless to say {but I’ll say it anyway} we’ve been doin’ the dirty =) This little machine is most definitely releasing me from the annoying game of guess your fertility. Though I have dumped the temperature charting and microscope licking, I did utilize both today, just for the fun of it without the annoying afterthoughts that come with my overanalyzing female tendencies.

and whaddya know? My temp is very low {definitely haven’t missed the big “O” yet} and the fertility scope was full of ferns(!)

 

I cannot help smiling every time I’ve looked in that little microscope and seen a slide full of ferns. Seriously, it gets me every time. There’s something about the way estrogen ferns in your spit, it’s gloriously heartwarming and reassuring. I do, I really really do, I ♥ my spit.

 

If I still had any doubts about being fertile on day 11 like the little man made gadget swears to me – the fertility scope has now backed it up. Who can deny both pee and spit reassurance? What more do I need – perhaps a stool sample test?

Technology: please don’t go there

 

But back to me and my day 11 high fertility… Who woulda thunk it?  I thought I was a late ovulater until last month and even then I declared it a fluke. Previously, I would have thought doin’ the dirty on day 11 would have only been for kicks and giggles - not part of some baby makin’ strategy.

But now I know better. Hubs still doesn’t.

He doesn’t know about “day 11” or that our fun wasn’t purely spontaneous. I’m trying my hardest to keep it that way…to not announce the most recent findings of my pee soaked adventures and suck all the fun out of our romantic romps. He needs not know what the little monitor says and that my flirty ways are all part of a plan.

After all, he got the package from FedEx, he put the batteries in it for me, he knows all about it and hasn’t asked the first question since – that’s a man for you. I’ll let him stay that way, all man, while I remain all woman –  a ticking biological time bomb of a woman ready to test even my stool sample if need be ;)

 

 

I’m crossing my fingers we’ll see the pretty “peak” days with the funny looking egg soon.

 

And yes, that is supposed to be an egg, though it looks more like a delicious deviled egg than the kind I’m supposed to be growing. I like my eggs in more of an upright position, ready to get to work hatching a youngin’, not laying down on the job. Perhaps even gold plated would be nice.

 

Or perhaps I’ll take an egg, especially a fertilized egg, anyway I can get it…

 

 

Now that I’ve shared {far too much as usual}, I have questions for you!

 

Tilted Uteruses UNITE!

Question #1:  I’ve previously been told, years ago, that I have a retorverted uterus (a.k.a. “tilted/tipped uterus”) and that it may make conceiving more difficult. {Actually, one doctor said I was tipped – the other said I wasn’t – leaving me not really sure about this one…} I’ve read conflicting articles that it shouldn’t have any bearing on fertility while others say it does. My questions: Any other tilted uteruses out there? Care to share whether it hindered the reproduction process?

 

Empty Uterus Seeks that “Special Someone”

Questions #2: I’ve been forced to look for a new OBGYN :( My previous doctor, whom I would have paid twice the price to see, moved 8 states away. As I am not able to pay the plane ticket to stalk her down and spread my legs {or the bail money I would need after such an act}, I am now on the search for a new girly doc. *Hoping* to be with child soon and past due for my yearly smear, I’m putting much more thought into this than ever before. The practice she use to be associated has several doctors and several midwives {what level/degree/certification the midwives have, I’m still looking into}. Now, I know a room full of woman with vaginas are gonna have opinions on this one – so let me have it – what are your thoughts on the midwife/OB search? Not only for a yearly, but especially when it comes to prenatal visits and delivery.

 

I hope you have the time, I’d love to hear from you!

and if you’d like to email instead, PLEASE DO!

baby-momma {at} live {dot} com

22 comments:

  1. I have a tilted uterus (I don't usually even bleed at night during my period). It took me 4 months to conceive my second child. The only thing that I felt changed my pregnancy, due to the "tilt", was that the doctor could never find my cervix during exams. I had to sit on my hands to tilt my bottom up. This was NOT fun. Especailly when he was tryinh to break my water and couldn't quite get that evil hook in position. Sorry if TMI!! Good luck. I'll be saying prayers that this is your lucky month;)

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  2. I hope you get the cute lil egg! I never, ever even got it..{I will be so jealous of you!}So I was worried, but then a week later, I was testing positive! :)

    Now, I am completly biased and a little uneducated on the midwife.. but here is what I think...

    I am biased because my dad is doctor, so I always find myself listening and trusting the doctors I pick, completely. That is probably why it takes me a while to find one, but once I got the one..I am sold! Soo, I just find comfort in a doctor. Plus, I found a OBGYN that didnt rotate me through his practice. He wanted to be the one that saw his patients everytime, no matter what! I LOVE that!

    Plus, I am baby, and I want meds! {just being honest!} And I know midwives prefer more natural ways..

    And from watching each and every episode of baby story on TLC 30 times... {great reference huh?!?} I keep seeing couples still having to go to doctors in the end anyway, because of all sorts of reasons..So my conclusion has always been, might as well see a doc and take the guess work out of it!

    Again, I realize that is a totally uneducated answer..and may be totally blasted by someone else reading this comment.. but hey, its ok, because you know what they say about opinions! :)

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  3. I have a "slightly tilted" uterus according to my doctor. Once I went off birth control, I got pregnant immediately (as in, before my next period). I never charted or monitored my fertility. My doctor is an OBGYN, I prefer this type of set-up because she knows all of my history and it's kind of like one-stop shopping! There are three other doctors in the practice that I saw during my pregnancy (for monthly/weekly appointments), but my main doctor performed my c-section (necessary due to breech position of the baby).

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  4. I too suffer from a tilted uterus, my ob laughed and said way back in the day that a tilted uterus was a symptom of schizophrenia!! I have three boys and will pray for you that your uterus will start being a little more hospitable

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  5. When I went in for a check up one time, she told me my uterus was retroverted, and that it was completely normal...but that I could come in next time and it might not be that way. She made it seem like a day to day or week to week thing??

    Per the ob search, I would ust make sure they are board certified. I used to only want to see a female doctor, but the practice I go to has 5 different doctors...two female, three male...and my favorite is a woman, but my next two favorites are male! So I don't think that matters at all :)

    Good luck in your search!! Hopefully we'll be seeing a BFP in a few weeks!! Praying for ya!

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  6. My baby making days have been over for years but I am so fascinated with your quest! I can't wait to see that positive pregnancy test, I just know it's coming:)

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  7. *New reader*
    I have a tilted uterus...I went off BC and decided to wait 3 months to see if I was "regular". Like clockwork, every 28 days - I got my period.
    We "tried" on August 1st and got pregnant the first try. I'm now 19 weeks.
    Good luck and don't worry about the uterus.

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  8. Mine is slightly tilted, and even though we had issues conceiving, it wasn't because of that. My OB said it wouldn't be a problem since it wasn't a huge tilt.

    I hope you can find a new OB you like! Ask around to see if your friends really like theirs. I think word of mouth is a great resource to utilize!

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  9. I supposedly have a tilted uterus. We're going on 1 year of trying and nothing. But, I also have been having problems with irregular periods and ovarian cysts. Where did you get this monitor? I think I need one!

    I am searching for a new doc too. Mine is good for yearly visits, but I really don't thinks she cares about me and my issues. Let us know what you discover.

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  10. Tipped ute, no problems here.

    As for the new OB/MW, find someone you are comfortable with. You're going to be seeing a lot of them!!

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  11. I love your honesty about the whole crazy process of making a baby! I wanted to weigh in on the whole OB/midwife question....I went to a practice that had 5 docs and 5 midwives, and I saw both drs and midwives in the early pregnancy stages. I decided halfway through that I would deliver with a midwife, and I AM SO BEYOND GLAD THAT I DID! My midwife was with us almost the entire time, answered all of my questions, and was an awesome, awesome cheerleader. Not to be graphic, but she even made sure I didn't rip "down there" during the delivery. Okay, that was TOTALLY graphic and TMI....sorry! The drs I saw were great too, and definitely knew their stuff, but I guess in the end, I wanted the extra attention that a midwife has time to give.

    GOOD LUCK THIS MONTH! : )

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  12. I'm excited for your new methods! It sounds totally awesome. I can't wait to hear some good news! Will be keeping my fingers crossed! :)

    As for the OB... like someone said above, I'm also slightly biased toward a physician (vs a midwife). It sounds bad, but I don't trust midwives. Maybe it was because several of my nursing classes were taught by a midwife and after seeing them "perform" in practice, I was turned off by the whole thing. :( I guess I just don't feel comfortable knowing that if something goes wrong, the midwife won't be your provider any longer and a physician will be stepping in at a critical time (if he/she is there on time) and you have to explain everything from the start. I want someone who knows me and my history... kind of thing...

    As for looking up a good OB. There are several ways. The best way (biased here) is from hear-say of someone you know who can recommend you their OB. The best would be a physician who recommends HER OB (not her med school friend or a friend of a friend). I'm biased because my parents are both physicians and that's how my family always finds doctors - they ask who THEIR internal medicine, OB, dentist is and we go there.

    Maybe (if it's worth it to you) try getting in touch with your former doc and see if she would recommend HER OB. Most likely that person has similar views as her (which would be a good match for you). Or (if it was a he) who his wife's doctor was. I would write your former doc a small letter (their former practice should have an updated address) and ask for that small favor. Most likely the office won't mind mailing your letter to your former doc.

    You can also look up through the American Society of Gynecologists: http://www.acog.org/member-lookup/disclaimer.cfm They have a directory and you can get their last name to make sure they're covered by your insurance. (or you can also look up the doc who's recommended to you there).

    On a personal note, I would also stay away from practitioners who work at a university hospital (ask if they deliver elsewhere). Only because during your delivery (since that's why you're looking for an OB), you will have residents, medical students, nursing students and all those "who want to be taught" "practicing" on you doing checks, talking to you for histories and etc. I'm not against any of that, but I work with all of the above because I'm a nurse in a university-hospital setting and it's fun to work, but I wouldn't want to be the patient. You can say "no" of course, but it makes things a little difficult to for everyone involved. You can ask the OB you see if they deliver at a university-based hospital or a private hospital. The doc will of course assure you they will be there and that you can say "no" to residents and such... but most likely they won't keep their promise because your admission paperwork signature and contract includes a provisional statement saying that you "agree" to be a pt at a teaching hospital. Period.
    This is just a professionally personal advice. :)

    Otherwise, I really hope you find a good doctor. :)

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  13. I was told I had a tilted uterus. I was also told that it had no effect on fertility. It took us two years to conceive. I was told I had PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome - which I don't think I ever had but that's another story for another day) I spent 18 months on fertility meds and getting my blood taken once a month. Only to get fed up with it, stop all meds and get pregnant 3 months later!
    I don't know if the tilted uterus affected my fertility but I'm confident that it wasn't PCOS that was my problem. I feel like we wasted thousands of $$$ treating something I didn't have....

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  14. Oh, and I agree with the previous comment about staying away from a "teaching" hospital.
    When my SIL was young she was hit by a car (seriously!) and was taken to our local university hospital. While the doctor was in the waiting area talking to her parents, an intern, who had no business being in the room with her, was going to "take a look" at her leg and attempted to move/straighten her badly broken leg and out of joint hip.
    When her and my brother got married, they bought their first house with the money she had in the bank from THAT settlement!!

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  15. 1. Retroverted uterus here, too! The only think you really need to remember if you have a tilted uterus is that you don't have to prop your butt up on a pillow after the deed because the sperm will have a harder time getting there..haha!

    2. I also ovulated early....I conceived on CD 11 (with my tilted uterus...haha)

    3. I am a nurse at an OB/GYN office that employs both MD's and Midwives. Both are fantastic and in our practice, and pretty much perform the same duties except midwives cannot do C-sections if needed. I would completely feel comfortable using any of our providers!

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  16. This all sounds so exciting! I'd love to learn about your little first-hand..Maybe one day I'll be able to get my own!

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  17. I have a majorly tilted uterus but have never heard that it makes it harder to conceive although my son and my daughter were both over 13 months of trying before we finally got preggo so I might have to google that! The only other issue I had with the tilt was that the babies heartbeats were near impossible to find until 17-18 weeks gestation and this time around the Dr. scared the crap out of me and made me think we lost the baby at 13 weeks (he didn't know I had a tilted ute and I was a wreck-fast forward to STAT U/S and she is just fine!) anyways, congrats on the new buy and I hope it saves the some of the heartache that we experienced!!!

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  18. Okay. I have a tilted uterus and my husband and I tried for four months before conceiving our first child. I did the pee-on-the-stick ovulation kits for two months. This is going to sound very weird...but after you've "done the deed", someone told me to hold my legs up in the air to let it "sink in". I have no idea if it worked but while hubby went to use the restroom, you better believe my toesies were skyward. ;) Who knows if that's true or not!

    With the whole girl dr. thing - I've had two children with two different practices that had several dr's and midwives. My personal experience? Female dr's/midwives are horrible during routine visits. They're not sympathetic and they don't baby you. In fact, I wanted to slap a few when they made comments about my weight-gain. Male dr's are much more sweet when it comes to bedside manner in the dr's office. With that said, I've delivered with both a female and a male dr and when I'm in the trenches, I want that girl there! She was the most encouraging coach I could've had. She was tough beforehand and I would've never guessed but when it all came down to it, she struggled and battled right there with me. The male dr? He came in, caught the baby, and left. Very sweet man and I love him dearly but not the best when it came to labor. I don't know if that helps you at all but that's my two cents!

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  19. 1. I have a retroverted uterus and conceived the first month I wasn't on the pill. In fact, we used another form of contraception and STILL got pregnant, so trust me...the retroverted uterus won't screw you over at all!

    2. As for the midwife/ OB GYN debate, I only have one piece of advice and I'm sorry if some people disagree. A midwife and fine and dandy, but when things go wrong (if unfortunately they do) the midwife can't do a damn thing about it. OB's, yes some might not have the best bedside manner, but they train for YEARS and I mean YEARS AND YEARS to do what they do. If something god forbid goes wrong, you want someone that will respond immediately and not say "hmm, I've never even been to anything closely resembling medical school, let me go TRY and find someone that knows what they're doing." I admit, this comes from a very biased opinion because my husband will graduate med school in 5 months, but you can find an OB with a GREAT bedside manner that WILL be there for you, mine was. He was amazing, and had something gone wrong, he would have known what to do. And I could not have on my conscience that something might have happened to my baby if I hadn't been smart enough to get a properly trained professional. Anyway, just my VERY LONG two cents. ; )

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  20. SO I went out a did a Google Search on fertility and I found an article that recommended SoftCups. Have you seen these? Tried? Do they work? http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/softcup.html

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  21. new reader here -

    I also have a tipped uterus. Never had kids, so I'm not sure how my fertility issues would go with that, but I also have heard that if you tip your butt up in the air after intercourse, the sperm can potentially more easily find their way to your eggs... Don't know how well that works, but it's worth a try!

    As for the OB vs. midwife, I'm a bit biased as a NICU nurse, but if it were me personally who was pregnant, I'd totally go the OB route. There are lots of OBs out there who accept birth plans, who are more than happy to deliver a baby with no epidural, etc. etc. But giving birth is unfortunately not a controllable situation, and even in a completely normal pregnancy, things can go wrong. I personally would want someone who could put me under and get that baby out as fast as humanly possible were something to happen (decreased fetal heart tones/placental abruption/blood pressure issues being a few of the culprits...) But, like I said, I'm biased, and a lot of the deliveries I see are complicated because of where I work.

    Good luck! Hope you get that positive result soon!

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  22. I totally have to comment... Interview different care providers. Figure out what type of prenatal care you would like, and the type of birth that is right for you. You have the opportunity to do your research before pregnancy brain sets in, I suggest you do so. Try reading the book, The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth. by Henci Goer...

    I'm biassed as well, I'm a midwifery student.... I'm not sure where the notion that midwives are uneducated or untrained comes from. Sure, you run the risk of transferring care to an OB if you have complications outside your midwife's scope of practice, but you're still going to generally get midwifery care with a midwife, and obstetrical care with an OB. With a midwife, you know who will be at your birth (excluding the rare occurrence of complications which require transport).. with an OB- it will be someone in the practice, whoever is on call. CPM's are educated, trained, and pass a national licensing exam, they're qualified to care for normal healthy pregnancies, often try to help you to prevent or manage complications like pre-eclampsia before it gets to the point of needing to transfer care. They're also trained to handle emergency complications, including neonatal resuscitation in the event of an emergency. The complications that require an emergency c-section usually have pretty good warning signs that your midwife will pick up on, and she will transport you to the nearest hospital. The chances of having complications that would require you to be 5 minutes from the OR with zero prior warning signs are almost unheard of. The idea that midwives just sit their with their thumb up their butt if something doesn't go according to plan is pretty ridiculous, we always have a back up plan. The point is a SAFE and healthy pregnancy and birth for mother and baby, and if you want to get down to statistics, you are SAFER with a midwife birthing at home than you are birthing in the hospital.

    http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/technologyinbirth.asp

    This is a great article written by an MD- Doctor Marsden Wagner, he was also the director of women's and children's health at the WHO (world health organization) for 15 years.

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