It Worked

All the work we went through to get pregnant was a million times worth it.

Pregnancy and labor suck but you get the most wonderful prize afterwards. I had a very normal pregnancy despite all the issues getting there and gave birth to a completely healthy and wonderful baby boy.

Motherhood is everything I hoped it would be.

We Have Achieved Pregnancy!

Two and a half years has led us to this amazing point. We are five and a half weeks pregnant and everything is looking good so far!

I'm amazed and delighted that WomanCode really worked for us.

I'm not a success story quite yet since there's a long way to go before a healthy and happy delivery. But we're well on our way. Despite PCOS and hypothyroidism we got pregnant naturally.

Only five weeks in it is already tougher than I expected in some ways. I haven't thrown up but my stomach often feels unsettled and the thought of food disgusts me. I'm sleeping a lot and don't feel much motivation to do things (like write this blog post!). I'm also having emotional issues with the hormones bringing up a lot of my fears, insecurities, and depression.

It's all going to be good, though. I know this journey will be worth it.

There's five more weeks to wait before I can see my midwife and get my first scan but the pregnancy has been confirmed with blood work and the hormones are rising appropriately.

If you are struggling to get pregnant because of a hormone imbalance or irregular cycles, you should definitely give the WomanCode diet a try. You've really got nothing to lose!

Erratic Temps After Chemical Pregnancy

My temperatures this cycle have been weird. In fact, they look a lot like the temps I was getting before I got on the WomanCode diet.

Back then my temperatures were all over the place and I couldn't really detect any patterns. I kept thinking maybe the battery was bad on my thermometer, or I was sleeping with my mouth open, or I wasn't getting good enough sleep.

Then I went on the diet and immediately my charts started looking like a normal person's!

Those erratic temps were all the PCOS. With my hormones in balance, my temperatures started making sense.

So when my temperatures this cycle have been all over the place, I have been feeling very upset. Have I not been doing the diet well enough? Do I need to refocus and work harder at avoiding sugar?

But then I think, I know this is weird, but I haven't been constipated. It's a good sign for the diet working if I'm able to go regularly because it moves the excess hormones out of the body without giving them the chance to get reabsorbed.

My thermometer was starting to sound strange so I went to replace the battery (and ended up buying a new one since that's easier and cheaper than finding the right battery).

But when my temp was still low this morning I realized that maybe it's the aftermath of the chemical pregnancy.

A chemical pregnancy isn't supposed to effect things that much. You're supposed to go straight back to normal and it seems that lots of people get pregnant immediately after. But there are those who find that hormones are out of whack for a cycle.

There are those who aren't sure they believe I was actually pregnant since I didn't go to the doctor for confirmation. I think this is a big sign that I was. That and the way my temps looked during that cycle and the change in the way I tasted food. Those all indicate to me that I really was pregnant.

So this cycle what's happening is that I had a very consistent and normal low temperature for 15 days. Then I got a positive OPK. Last time I got a positive OPK it took a full 48 hours to ovulate, remember, and it was cycle day 18. So I was expecting another O on day 18.

Then my temperature shot up the very next day.

But then it dropped again. And then went up. And went way down. And stayed down. I'm at day 22 now and my temps are low. So I don't think I've even ovulated yet.

I've also had a mild cold this cycle and I had a very low-grade fever for a day. So that also may be having an effect on my temps.

It's very frustrating and I feel flattened by it all. Sick of the effort, sick of the trying, furious at how unfair life can be. Pregnancy announcements continue to pour in from friends.

Part way into year three of trying I wonder when it's going to finally be our turn.

Hold Still, Ovulation!

After a really lovely and perfect cycle last time I was ready to recreate it and maximize our chances for this cycle. Just as I was gearing up to that, ovulation seems to have already happened. And so I'm left with an out-of-control feeling and nothing to do but wait another four weeks to try again.

We did "baby dance" a couple days before and the timing was probably really good but I don't think I had enough CM. Who knows? All I can do now is wait and see.

I got a smiley face on OPK yesterday afternoon. But then I had to go to work. So I tried to drink a ton of water and took my expectorant cough medicine. But then we were too tired when I got home. Considering that last time I got a smiley OPK it took almost three days for ovulation I thought we had another day or two. But then my temperature went up this morning.

It could be a fluke. We'll have to see what my temperature does tomorrow. But I did have a temperature dip the day before and then the positive OPK and now a temp rise. It looks like this cycle is already over.

Never Take A Blue Dye Test

Astoundingly when I retested today at 11 DPO, the test was unambiguously negative.

I'm pretty upset that I could get a positive on Monday and a negative on Wednesday. So far no blood so I don't know if I miscarried (seems unlikely) or if I got a false positive.

My understanding was that false positives were not really a thing. The only potential false positive was user error. But that can't be true because I followed the directions extremely carefully.

I had been hearing rumors that the blue line dye tests were not as reliable as the pink. I scoffed at that. Why would companies still be selling them?

Now I'm thinking those people must be right. A blue line test gave me a positive and a pink line test gave me a negative.

I need to see a doctor to confirm what's going on but I'm quite worried that I was never pregnant and so I'm still pretty much as square one.

***

UPDATE: I went ahead and tested with another of the blue dye tests and it was also negative today. I think that suggests that this was a chemical pregnancy, meaning a super early miscarriage.

That would actually be a very good sign, meaning we are able to get pregnant. I need a doctor to confirm it but evidence suggests that's what it was.

Taste Changes

I knew pregnancy came with things like cravings but I am surprised by this subtle effect of changes in the way things taste.

It's a little frustrating.

I've spent the last few months building up meal plans and lists of menus that will be healthy for me and give my body everything it needs to function properly.

Now a lot of those foods I loved are not tasting right.

It's extremely subtle but it's like just about everything I eat tastes a shade or two to the left. My go-to sweet potato fries are no longer good.

And trying new foods is a mixed bag because I know that if I like it then I probably/might not when I'm not pregnant!

This is my PCOS Success Story

I am astounded at the amount of effect diet can have on one's health. WomanCode changed my life, is changing my life.

At 9 DPO I broke down and took a pregnancy test and there is a faint positive.

It's super early days, about three weeks, so the miscarriage rate is still high but still. I have never been pregnant before. To even know that it is possible is a miracle.

I have PCOS and now because of diet my cycles are normal and I was able to get pregnant without interventions.

The only thing I did special this cycle was take the Musinex stuff to help improve my cervical fluid.

I'm still kind of in shock. Will be taking more tests in the coming days! I also have been working on a video diary.