This may sound crazy but caffeine can help sperm swim faster. Truly. Read about it:

Coffee makes sperm speed up
18:24 14 October 03
NewScientist.com news service
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994267

You might have your partner stop and get a double espresso before the next IUI or you get up early and make/get coffee for him and switch your BD schedule to the AM (as the coffee certainly would disrupt sleep if taken at night).

Just for everyone's information I thought I would share with you a reason why I thought we could influence our fertility in spite of doctors telling us that morphology is just something that you are born with and you can't change. We were working with a biotech company a couple years ago and they had developed a compound that would enhance a plants ability to both combat pests and disease and at the same time had the added benefit of increased fruit production of increased proportions. That was why I went looking for all those links in my sig for sperm maturation and morphology. I thought surely there has got to be a way to influence this process. Finally I got my partner to agree to try the extended supplement regime, thinking that at the very least we would be improving the opportunity to grow better sperm. Take a look at the PDF article at the link below when you have a chance and you can see what I'm talking about.

Messenger for Citrus
http://www.edenbio.com/documents/Eden+Citrus.pdf

Today I've been feeling mostly good but then burpy- yucky, then STARVING (at 11am after I already at leftover Thai food for breakfast and a banana and a glass of almond milk at work), so I had to go buy something pronto. I don't know what would have happened if I didn't but it sure felt desperate.

My partner and a good friend at work are both noticing the physical changes in my already (I noticed them two weeks ago). I've got a little extra fat around my belly button, I'm starting to be a little more rounded in the front as well, and still with the big boobs. I'm thinking about getting some new bras because the ones I have aren't really enough support but that was just based on what I own on not because I look like Busty Dusty (ever hear of her, famous porn star).

I thought I had regular PMS this cycle but there were a couple clues that it was different that I didn't pick up on at the time (these symptoms were around 10-15 day dpo):

Breasts didn't start to get less sore as AF approached

I was more bold in expressing myself, to the point that I was off-putting to others

My uterus was swollen which I only noticed because I've got a large fibroid and I can normally feel my uterus because of it. I was feeling a bit down because it felt larger and I thought that perhaps my fibroid was growing but it felt too squishy and I was confused.

When I was a day late I started having some odd itching on my right forearm and I started getting these tiny pin prick like itchy blisters on my hands and forearms. I'm still getting those and it seems like it is connected.

I felt good for a few days and then I had a lot of cramps that first week when my period was late so I kept thinking it was coming, even after the + HPT and blood test. Progesterone supplementation helped keep the cramps in check.

I've been feeling hungry and blech all week. Eating doesn't help the blech feeling much but not eating makes it worse so I'm going to keep nibbling. My breasts are less sore than over the weekend thank goodness. I'm such a total space cadet though. I forgot about two appointments this week (although you can be sure that I wouldn't miss a doctor’s appointment).

I wondered as well about what late implantation might mean. I guess the embryo had less fuel to burn. Progesterone increases the amount of glycogen, a type of sugar and fuel for growth, in the endometrium so that's why it might help the heartbeat.

Don't you all think it is weird how obsessed they are with how far along we are. What's a few days? Aside from clear health problems (which I don't have so far) I guess I feel like my body is going to do the best it can. Blood tests and the like aren't going to make this go more smoothly. Do you think you will have amniocentesis?

I've still got the m/s, I guess usually it starts around the 6th week which is this week which means it can only get worse. This article link someone sent me says that if you get motion sickness then you are more prone to m/s. It is a beautiful day here and I don't feel like doing anything except laying down. I might take the bus to another neighborhood to go look a baby knitting patterns and yarn to start working on presents for my friends twins. She told me I could wait until the Fall since the summer is too hot for knits in New York.

Other than getting up 3 times to pee last night I slept like a log which is good. I've been trying to do some cooking this weekend as well I made homemade pasta and sauce yesterday and today I baked blueberry muffins.

Someone asked about the supplements my partner was taking. Here's a list:

Daily Multivitamin that included selenium
Chewable Zinc tablets with Vit C
Grape seed extract 2 caps a day (cheaper than pynogenol and also a potent anti-oxidant)
Carnitine capsule

Selenium and zince are both found in highest concentrations in a man's body in the ejaculate so we tried to make sure that he had a good amount of both in his diet. Selenium is found in whole wheat flour usually and zinc is found in pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Walnuts were also recommended by my acupuncturist as something to boost male fertility.

My partner is a vegetarian who eats fish and very rarely freerange chicken and pork wontons. He eats a lot of beans and rice. We were also eating more leafy greens to help with hormonal balance for us both.

I'm feeling queasy today, sort of like the edge of car sickness. Blech! I would love to work from home for the rest of the week but my team needs me.

To an online friend...

It isn't up to doctors if we get pregnant or not. The human species has survived millennia without help from doctors. As I said before they told us that based on the statistics we had a 2% chance of the 25% chance that most couples have on average. That's so small that I need my calculator to figure it out (sorry I'm not good with math!).

I think that God has a lot to do with it too. I feel blessed that I didn't have to have the IUI and that we were able to conceive. I also always think of this story someone posted to a buddy group I was on months ago and it ended like this "what is impossible for man is possible for God" (evidently from the Bible, Luke 18:27 "And he said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God")

You keep your hope, even if it is in a very small place. Take your vitamins, meditate, eat well and exercise. Also, find another doctor who is more supportive.

(and to another person)

What you need to remember is that it takes more than one sperm to fertilize an egg - each sperm had enzymes in its head that they use to weaken the shell and collectively a large group of them help dissolve it, it really is a team effort. You will want to maximize your opportunities by loading up when you have EWCM, prior to since sperm can survive in EW for days. Once ovulation occurs the biological valve into your uterus is already closed and it is too late. Eggs mature ongoing inside the ovaries so nutrition and hormonal balance have a big affect on how they mature (I looked into this in my big medical text called Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility a couple months ago to help out some women I know with ovulatory problems). Have you had hormonal work done to check your prolactin and progesterone? Do you ovulate regularly?

---

I've been feeling just icky, like barely getting car sick and I'm hungry a lot but eating doesn't help stop that feeling very much. Thank god I'm not puking like some of the girls I've met with Feb due dates.

Two years ago when we were starting to TTC I was having some odd spotting around ovulation or so. It wasn't normal for me and yet it kind of fit the description of ovulatory spotting from TCOYF. A couple months later I was having pelvic pain and my doctor found a fibroid. I then switched to a naturopathic doctor for treatment and the spotting stopped. She had the full basic hormone work done, but not the CD 21 progesterone test. I had to change my diet, my stress level, my lifestyle to help my body to be healthy. I was on herbal supplements for several months as well and on iron to help combat anemia that was hanging around for years.

At the beginning of this year I started seeing an acupuncturist and he helped balance my hormones further. It was a little ouchy at times but amazing. I think he helped even my cycles more than anyone I have cycles that are so regular.

I also saw 3 REs and had more hormonals tests, an HSG, and several u/s (for my fibroid). I have to say that the combination of alternative therapies combined with traditional western medicine helped me to feel like I had all bases covered. I talked to a lot of docs because they wanted me to have surgery and I didn't want it (for the fibroid). Talking to lots of different practitioners was really valuable, though time-consuming. My insurance covered all but the co-pay but that fibroid was helpful in validating the consultations.

Doctors gave us miniscule odd of conceiving on our own but we did it. I think acupuncture had a lot to do with it.

Here is a link to a page that references many studies about acupuncture for use in fertility issues:
http://www.easternharmonyclinic.com/medart/medart.html

I was feeling awful today so I worked from home. I had a major crying fit last night due to work stress and the upset feelings lasted all night and into the morning. My stomach was upset as well, I'm really not certain if it was something I ate or what, sometimes emotional upset can do that to me. I'm feeling more reasonable now though. It was interesting trying to explain to my partner this morning that he needs to leave me alone when I tell him too, that was what triggered the problem last night but I was already feeling weepy before that so maybe my hormones hit some new threshold that was a bit overwhelming. I don't like feeling like that and I hope I can avoid going there again.

At least it is a beautiful summer day today.

Since it is on my mind I thought I would point out that the every other day plan didn't seem to work for us. I have lots of EW normally so we decided to take advantage and load up ahead of time by BD'ing (baby dancing) every day and sometimes twice a day. Hard to keep that pace up and yes, it can be sore but no it didn't dry me out as that web link indicated. Instead what it did was get us pg.

Doctors told us that we had a really small chance of conceiving on our own and that we would need some major interventions (abdominal surgery to remove my fibroid and then IVF with ICSI -- where they inject the sperm). We instead worked with natural healthcare providers -- naturopaths, acupuncturists, chiropractors to improve our health and balance. We also consulted with 3 REs and 2 Ob/Gyns and my partner has a UR as well since he had a reversal.

I'm amazed that we were able to conceive but based on our experience I would say throw in a few tries with as much BD as you can bear plus vitamins.

Wow, I'm feeling fortunate compared to some of the other pregnant women I know who are experiencing bad nausea and vomiting. I did remember reading about someone who was so sick through her pg that all she could eat were frozen blueberries.

I just have to eat when I get hungry or else this car sick feeling starts creeping up. If I eat there isn't any problem. I also wake up in the morning and my breasts kill, I have to hold them on the way to the bathroom to stop them from moving and I'm only normally between a B and a C cup. I think I'm pushing the C-cup now.

Today work was stressful with a couple of clients and I was having a hard time holding it together. I either wanted to cry or I was having to hold back grouchiness -- not good for consulting. I felt depressed and anxious. When I came home I took the dog for a walk to wind down.

So it seems like many women are confused by the difference in counting -- either from ovulation or from LMP. I don't care what any doctor says, I know when I ovulated and they aren't going to shift any dates for me. 26 cycles of charting tells me more than they can by my LMP.

I still wonder too about being able to keep the baby. My mother had 3 miscarriages before she had my older brother. She is allergic to iodine and has thyroid trouble so that's the likely cause and I don't have any thyroid trouble. I don't think God (sorry to anyone who isn't religious) would let anything happen to this baby though, I really feel as though God finally decided that it was time for us as strange as that might seem.

My MIL was in town this weekend and I wasn't online that much. We've also been having amazingly nice summer weather here and I've been trying to take advantage of it -- in between taking naps. I love weekends because I can rest in the afternoon. I'm thinking of working afternoons at home when I can to help manage the fatigue. I think it is the thyroid going overtime and keeping my temps high that is taking a lot of extra energy.

I don't temp religiously so I'm not doing so now either. I figure that I'll keep eating whole foods, taking my vitamins, drink lots of water, and supplement progesterone. Aside from keeping down my stress level I figure that the baby will either stay or go based on genetics and I've done all I and anyone else can do.

I'm surprised at how much "fluff" I've got around my middle already. Another woman I know who is about 30+ weeks along right now told me that she put on most of her weight in the first 10 weeks and is now at the lower end of her weight gain category. I shouldn't worry and I know I shouldn't cut back or diet. I've always been thin and this is a bit of a difficult adjustment.

I've got to go eat something before I feel yucky.

Okay, but here is the totally wild news. My sister-in-law who lives in town just told us last night that she's due also in February, about a week after us. Two weeks ago we were walking around the neighborhood with her toddler and complaining how everyone seemed to be pregnant except for us (all the stars and then tons of women about town for some reason -- I think Seattle is having a baby boom). Low and behold that even as we were feeling sorry for ourselves we were both already pregnant!

No m/s here I'm just hungry in the morning and tired in the afternoon. I wake up hungry and absolutely have to eat before I leave the house. I've also been craving more iron rich foods, I'm taking iron supplements as well since my iron stores are lower from my heavy periods.

I find that when I'm feeling crummy that exercise helps but I have to push through feelings of quitting until the relief happens. A long walk, dance class, etc. are all helpful. My breasts were killing me yesterday and this morning. I put on a sturdy athletic top for modern dance this morning and that completely helped.

I'm struggling with my wardrobe since I was already needing to invest in some new pieces and weed out some of the older ones. The big boobs and full abdomen are a little interesting to decorate. I don't want to be a frump the whole time though so I think I'm just going to buy a few fun things and I can always wear them next summer (note to self: plan ahead for breast feeding).

I've been considering making some maternity clothes myself, and starting to prepare the nursery. I'm working so I can use the lead time to help make sure things are ready when they are needed.

With my almost 4 weeks pregnancy my uterus has enlarged so that my
fibroid feels just about a centimeter below the surface on the right
side of my abdomen when I'm lying down in the morning with a full
bladder. I read in the Merck Manual this morning you aren't meant to
feel the uterus above the pubic bone until 12+ weeks but as I have
mentioned previously, one gyn in December said that I was the
equivalent of a 14 week pregnancy.

I'm feeling good aside from the general feeling of malaise and sore
breasts. The progesterone (suppositories!) are helping to keep the
contractions in check which is great. I'm starting to believe that my period isn't coming ;) No morning sickness but I absolutely HAVE TO eat something in the morning, I can't get on without it. I'm also
thirsty and am drinking a lot.

Evidently we've been growing the vascular system this week and start
working on organs next week.

In two weeks I'll have a follow on appointment and ultrasound and I
will be sure to let you know what comes of that.

My partner is so sweet, he's already giving me kisses on the belly at night. I've been going to bed before he has by at least 2 hours now (he's been working late and I've been more tired and with that wacky sleep schedule - 5am today! I feel like I should be a farmer's wife!!!)

We did tell our families over the weekend. They were all in disbelief since they thought that we couldn't do it. When my mother visited early in May she started talking about how she knew people who had adopted children from China, as if we should keep our options open. I think ultimately they are all thrilled.

REs are so curious that I couldn't tell you if they always do u/s but mine is going to.

Today I've been feeling weepy and less tired, my nipples are aching right now. Can someone please explain why the boobs get so big right away when they won't be put into service for 8.5 months?

My biggest conundrum right now is the care provider question and I bet a lot of you are thinking about that as well. I've thought for years that I would use a nurse-midwife, or a ob with a midwife, in a hospital/birthing center setting and have a doula. My sister is in training to become a doula so that would be neat to have her there to support me. But after all I've been through I finally found an RE who respects me as a patient and isn't patronizing or threatened when I ask questions. A good care provider counts for a lot in my book. So I guess I'll have to prepare my list of questions for him to ask at our next appointment like:

C-section delivery rate
Willingness to work with a midwife and/or doula
When he/she does interventions and when not
etc.

How are you all today? I've been supplementing my progesterone with natural progesterone cream since the Rx for the suppositories was messed up on Friday. I started the suppositories last night. Today I'm feeling a little tired and achy, my breasts are sore and there are fewer contractions (which could be because of the progesterone).

I woke up before 5am this morning for no reason in particular. My partner stroked my back for a while until I fell asleep again but then I still woke up at 7am -- still early compared to me before last week. It's like the pg hormones have triggered my circadian rhythms to go to a different pattern or something.

I also have to get up in the middle of the night to pee whereas before I was sleeping like a rock all the night through.

I get a little faint queasiness in the morning so I have to eat but that doesn't count as morning sickness in my book.

When can they see the heartbeat do you know? I'm wondering if anything will show up on my 7/1 appointment u/s. [I found this link which describes the various things they are looking for in the ultrasounds of early pregnancy: http://radiology.creighton.edu/ultraofearlypreg.html]

My partner's mother left a message on his phone yesterday saying that she had a dream that he told her I was pregnant; I think she's pretty excited for more grandkids than just my dear nephew.

We had doctors tell us along the way that SSRI meds for panic-anxiety that my partner took didn't affect fertility but when I read the fine print their tests on rats left a question mark. He got off of Paxil and his count increased.

Then they told us that morphology was something that you are born with and there is nothing to be done about it but he had a vasectomy and reversal and I found it hard to believe that might not contribute.

They also said there was nothing you could take, or do to improve MFI but we didn't give up. My partner saw a naturopath and was Dx as being hypoglycemic so he changed his diet and eating habits and he's felt a lot better since.

They told us IVF/ICSI was the only way but they would take us through a progression -- abdominal surgery for me with 3 months recovery (and 3-4 weeks missed work) before we could try again, then try naturally for 3 months, then try IUI/Clomid for 3 months and then move on to ICSI. We were devastated.

We watched and read the stories of the other couples online who succeeded in spite of similar low morphology and had hope. I noted every instance of slight improvement and finally looked up all of the anti-oxidents and nutritional supplements that people were trying. He's been taking those for 6 months and coincidently hasn't had any problems with panic-anxiety. He started walking to work each day as he was able and he's feeling great.

Then we just tried to maximize the odds (plus I did a bunch myself to improve my fertility since my fibroid was an issue as well) and kept our fingers crossed but I thought for sure it wouldn't work, we were hopeless and intervention might be the only way. But then my period was late and my breasts were large, my body was hot and I took the test and we got our first positive pg test.

I waver between not wanting an ultrasound (fewer are better, less possible interferance) and wanting to know how close it has implanted to the fibroid.

I think when you have had infertility troubles it is just standard for REs to do -- especially if one had undergone fertility treatments (which we did not other than naturopathic and acupuncture care).
quote:

From the FDA site:
Certain tests are routinely done to check the well-being of the fetus during pregnancy and labor. The most common of these, ultrasound, uses sound waves that bounce off internal organs to project images of the organs and the fetus on scanners. There have been no reports of harmful effects associated with ultrasound, which has been used for more than 20 years. Ultrasound does not use radiation, drugs, dyes or chemicals and is beneficial in providing valuable information. For example, it can reveal the number of fetuses and age, size, fetal position, some birth defects, and other information vital to the health care of the pregnant woman and her baby.

There are three types of ultrasound, each used during pregnancy for different purposes. The most common is real-time ultrasound, which takes still pictures in rapid succession and detects the heart-beat, placenta, movement of the arms and legs, and the number and position of the fetus(es).

The second is the Doppler ultrasound, used before and during labor to provide electrical signals that are converted to audible signals of the fetal heartbeat.

The third, vaginal ultrasound, can help diagnose the cause of bleeding and pain or an ectopic pregnancy, in which the fertilized egg grows outside the uterus. It can also detect some birth defects early in the pregnancy.

Also, FYI the FDA advises against keepsake 3-D ultrasound images

I've also heard less is better but it is hard since we have technology available now that can help us understand more what is happening to us when we are pregnant.

Even with being pg my temps aren't that high. I've taken it twice since Wednesday and I've only been at 98.6 and 98.4, although normally when I'm in the first half of my cycle the temps are like 97.7 usually and during my LP my temps are usually 98.4. That's a big enough jump for now though.

I already had 2 blood tests (#1 435 @ 17dpo, #2 985 @ 19dpo) as I was already scheduled to see my RE last Wednesday to check up on my fibroid.

My symptoms so far:
* thirsty
* sore bbs that are large (but still less sore than during PMS)
* waking up early at 6am or earlier and wanting to go to bed at 8:30pm
* tired (can't I take a nap at work?)
* smelly - my sweat was pretty strong last week
* sensitive to smell of car exhaust and cigarette smoke (and cooked brown rice -- I had all the windows open on Saturday to get rid of the smell
* little queasiness
* little headaches
* argumentative (I thought it was the PMS being weird this cycle but I guess not)
heavy feeling in lower abdomen
* mood swings that pass quickly (feel like crying and then it passes)

I'm feeling really tired right now like I need a nap. I'm also feeling a little warm right now as well as a kind of a general malaise. If I wasn't pg I would think I was getting sick. Here's another weird one, I keep feeling like going BLECH and sticking my tongue out -- how's that for weird (and no I'm not actually doing that).

I'm feeling pretty good this morning. I wasn't on the computer over the weekend much, we were trying to have a life (we work on computers all week long and then some).

My blood tests came back in the normal range. I got the second HCG test result on Friday afternoon and the level had doubled appropriately.

This weekend I decided to not go to New York at the end of the month since traveling that far would be stressful and I'm really sensitive to stress. Besides, I don't know how I'll be feeling then. I called and told my parents, brother, grandmother, great-aunt (she'll be 96 in Sept) and the mother of the bride -- my mom's cousin (I was going east for this wedding). I thought my mother was funny, she asked me when I told her "Are you sure?" My goodness, what does she think? I told my dad first and he replied excitedly "tell your mother". My brother was blown away. They knew we were trying for a long time but maybe they thought we couldn't do it.

We also told my partner's mother, brother and sister-in-law, aunt, uncle and cousin. The clan has been notified and activated on both sides.

When my bladder is full in the morning and I'm lying on my back I can see my fibroid faintly on the right side because of my uterus being swollen. The fibroid isn't feeling active so I hope there isn't any competition for blood supply going on so our baby can get all it needs. My breasts are really full and dense, that's the biggest symptom by far. I have noticed that I tend to feel more cramps, queasiness, and waves of emotions in the afternoon so that will be the biggest challenge at work until we are ready to tell everyone.

I'm feeling pretty good so far. My PMS is enough to contend with and this seems a lot easier to deal with -- just feeling a little queasy (almost barely) and then there are I guess some light cramps. My breasts are a little fuller but you would have to be intimate with them to notice, they actually hurt less than they did last week when I was PMS-ing.

Honestly for those of you who haven't been pg before it isn't earth shattering necessarily (which in my head it always seemed like it was). It is like a natural progression of the menstrual cycle which I usually describe as being a test cycle each month to help things tuned up and ready to go.