Milestones

Welcome to February 2011!! 

In approximately 3 days it will be 2 years since the loss of our daughter Lilly.  Two years may seem like a long time but there are moments for me when it seems like just yesterday I heard her first cries.  I miss her dearly and wish that she had the chance to experience so many things, like laughter, sunshine, meeting her cousins, the scent of a flower, the sound of music.  We only had her for about 45 minutes but they were the jam packed with all the love and hope we could give her.   I promised her that I would live my life the way she never had the opportunity to do.  I have been somewhat remiss in doing so, in that I have allowed a bit of depression to take over.  I am not so clueless as to think that there is no time in life for sadness, depression or feeling sorry for myself, but I do try to limit this time.  Like with exercise it is easy to give yourself permission to slack off every now and then and have that lead into more and more time, until your life becomes one big pity party.  I haven't gotten that far but some days it feels like it.  I have decided that like with exercise anything is better than nothing, so with that in mind, I will attempt to use every minute of the day that I am awake to make the most of my time.

With that in mind I release all guilt I have been feeling regarding being unemployed and lack of exercise and healthier living over the last two years and move ahead looking to the unknown excitement of my life to come.   In approximates 26 days it will have been one year that I have been unemployed.  Of course only about five months of that time have I spent actually looking for work.  Since making the move to California I have been searching for work every day, working with various recruiters/ temp agencies and talking to everyone I can. 

During this time I've also been taking some time to do some extra reading and make some changes in my life.  I have (as I mentioned earlier in other posts) cut out wheat and I have recently started bike riding again.  I'm feeling a difference just not seeing much of one yet. 

So last week I took a little time to read through a few books while sitting at the local bookstore.  Within those books I found some interesting tidbits.  One of the first tidbits that comes to mind is that you shouldn't eat peas if you are trying to get pregnant (at least you shouldn't eat huge amounts of peas).  This is for both potential parents not just mom.  Apparently there is a chemical called m-xylohydroquinone.  It is a naturally occurring chemical that cuts the rate of pregnancy by up to 60%; Sperm counts drop by 50 %!  I can honestly say that I had no idea about this.  I have not done the fact checking on this yet since I don't really eat lots of peas; it is an easy food to put on the back burner until I have the opportunity to do further research.  The book I found this in is: Getting pregnant what you need to know right now – by Niels H. Laursen, M.D., Ph.D., and Colette Bouchez.  Feel free to check it out it is a great book and has lots of information.  It is great for a reference book as well as an easy read. Most of what I looked at in that book was in chapter 11 titled Fertility Diet 2000.  Another tidbit that I got from this book is to increase protein intake by about 10 to 12 percent with lean red meat and poultry.  I also read that soybeans and foods containing soy are usually good for women's health, but can interfere with pregnancy.

The authors also have a great list of nutrients and recommended amounts.  This is great and will help you to make the best choice regarding multivitamins and supplements. 

This information is paired nicely with the super nutrient information found in:

SuperFoods Rx– Fourteen foods that will change your life by Steven Pratt, M.D., and Kathy Matthews. 

Here the authors list 14 super nutrients and the amounts recommended along with where you can find those nutrients within your daily menu.

As I have mentioned in previous posts if you are experiencing difficulties in fertility, check out wheat-free/gluten free diet.  I have found that the more I stay away from gluten the better I feel.  I have not gone 100% gluten free yet because I'm waiting to see a doctor for formal testing to see if I am gluten intolerant or if I have celiac

Well that's my latest rant and whine session hope you are all enjoying my writing and antics.  Post comments either way.  Hope and love to you all and thanks for reading.

Jen