Saturday, July 30, 2011

Cycle Day 3 Bloodwork

Yesterday I had Cycle day 3 bloodwork done. Most of my numbers actually looked pretty dam good! The only issue is my LH (Luetenizing Hormone) is a little bit higher than it should be. That is normal with PCOS, and totally explains why my OPKs (Ovulation Predictor Tests) get a faint line EVERY time a take a test! I also had my regular lab work done at the same time. I am very happy to report that my new even healthier lifestyle decreased my cholesterol by 22 points, just in one year!!

I'm going to post my results I'm pretty sure I understand them, and know what they mean, but if anyone has any insight please let me know!!

CD 3 Lab Results.

FSH               5.4
 LH                  9.3
Estradiol     <20  
Progesterone  0.4
Prolactin      17.7

Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) Day 3 3-20 mIU/ml FSH is often used as a gauge of ovarian reserve. In general, under 6 is excellent, 6-9 is good, 9-10 fair, 10-13 diminished reserve, 13+ very hard to stimulate. In PCOS testing, the LH:FSH ratio may be used in the diagnosis. The ratio is usually close to 1:1, but if the LH is higher, it is one possible indication of PCOS.


Luteinizing Hormone (LH) Day 3 < 7 mIU/ml A normal LH level is similar to FSH. An LH that is higher than FSH is one indication of PCOS.

Estradiol (E2) Day 3 25-75 pg/ml Levels on the lower end tend to be better for stimulating. Abnormally high levels on day 3 may indicate existence of a functional cyst or diminished ovarian reserve.


Prolactin Day 3 < 24 ng/ml Increased prolactin levels can interfere with ovulation. They may also indicate further testing (MRI) should be done to check for a pituitary tumor. Some women with PCOS also have hyperprolactinemia.

Progesterone (P4) Day 3 < 1.5 ng/ml Often called the follicular phase level. An elevated level may indicate a lower pregnancy rate. If low progesterone levels are an issue for you, consider taking a natural fertility supplement like FertilAid for Women.






Friday, July 29, 2011

Josue's 28th Birthday Celebrations!

Josue turned 28 on July 21st! But he had a whole week of celebrations. We started with a family BBQ to celebrate his birthday along with cousin Erik's 19th bday. Then on his actual birthday we went to one of his favorite restaurants PF Changs along with his Mom & Brother Elliot. Then on the weekend we went out with best friends Temo & Cecia. Benihana's and downtown Long Beach, we had a blast! I hope my husband had a great birthday! I sure had fun celebrating with him :)





Josue got a grill and all the needed accessories, an Omaha steak GC, a hitch & hitch cover, and an iPod touch! He is one lucky guy!


Round Two


So here goes a second round, I start 100mg of Clomid tonight. I'm trying to stay positive, and be hopeful! Has anyone taken clomid before and then used estrogen? My Doctor prescribed me Estrogen to take after the 5 days of Clomid. I haven't heard of this before so just wondering if anyone else has had success with it.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Things I love right now

I read this blog Making it Lovely and every once in awhile she makes an Honor Roll post with some of her favorite things so I decided to make one too :)

1.) The look of my new blog, if you're on reader you might not see it but I've made some changes around here that I love. Plus I have this new found love for blogging since it is another outlet to vent, inspire, or whatever I want.

2.) The smell of fresh laundry. This product makes my sheets smell awesome! I really like Lavendar one.




3.) Summer TV 






 4.)  http://www.etsy.com/ I have an obssesion of looking for things with stars.

5.)  My iPad 2  I love playing with apps when I'm bored or Facetiming with my Mom when  I miss her.

6.) My new Tom's Shoes 

  


8.) Shave it Nation. It is this Hawaiian Shaved Ice place it isn't that close to the house but totally worth the drive. They even have yummy sugar free flavors. 

 

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

First round of Clomid was a....

........................................................................................................................................................................










Not even a BFN, just a big fat fricken FAIL!!! Had my U/S today that showed no ovulation and no follicular growth. So I'm starting prometrium again tonight and starting over. My Doctor has increased my Clomid dose this time and at the advice of a friend I think we are going to up my Metformin as well. Plus I plan to include eating low carb and try to exercising more. I knew I shouldn't have let my hopes get so high, I totally thought he was going to surprise me today and be like your 4 days pregnant! I'm trying to just focus on the next cycle and stay positive, but honestly it's tough!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

White Chicken & Potato Pizza

This is adapted from a recipe that my Mom made up. It's a family favorite, and a must try!


I have used many different pizza dough recipes but this one is my favorite. But using any pre-made dough is totally fine too. In fact the original recipe from my Mom is made with a Boboli Pizza Crust.


Pizza Toppings you will need;

Grilled & Sliced Chicken Breast (seasoned with Italian seasonings & garlic)

When grilling your chicken you can add some sliced purple onions if you'd like

Lite Alouette Garlic and Herb

Most of the time I also put some pesto in with the spread or while grilling the chicken

4 Red Potatoes Cooked and sliced (you can quickly cook them in the microwave and add a little garlic salt)

Mozzarella Cheese Shredded

Optionally you can add some fresh mozzarella which it makes it extra yummy!


Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees

After you roll your dough out on your greased stone spread the Alouette & pesto evenly



Place the sliced chicken, onions, and chicken all over the pizza. Then sprinkle the shredded cheese, and add the fresh mozzarella if you wish.





Put it in the oven for about 20 mins



This one is made with a Fresh and Easy pre-made dough



This one is made with Pioneer Woman's pizza dough recipe




Enjoy :)

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Keeping it Real

Sex and Trying to conceive a child can sometimes become tedious, or so I've heard. Not to get too personal, but so far making a baby hasn't become a chore yet in this house.






Josue and I's schedules clash so sometimes we like to plan dates, I think the dates really help our sex life and relationship in general. Planning the dates for each other are fun and we really connect while on them. So I'm throwing out a couple of our fav "date nights" in hopes that others will start dating their husbands too. (if you do already, great! maybe some of these will be fun new ideas to try)



I'm sorry if some of these ideas are So-Cal related, but a lot of them can be applied anywhere.



Also a disclaimer some of these are full of cheesetasticness. But hey a little cheese never hurt any one's relationship :)






Dinner & A Movie, a twist on a classic





Plain old dinner and a movie can be a great escape from reality and a fun date, but Josue and I like to turn it up a notch. We found the little gem of Vineland Drive-In a few years ago and have gone back many times. You can see two movies for eight dollars, and you can bring in your own food! Sometimes we bring in Little Ceasers, we make a picnic, or a full blown dinner. Whatever we do we have fun, plus we can talk during the movie and no one will shush us ;) If you have a SUV or truck and you're brave you can always make it Dinner, Sex and a Movie.









Another place we've just come across is Gold Class Cinemas.



We've only been once since at 22/ticket plus food this place can get pricey, but for a true date night it is a must try! This place is like a hotel, with a check-in, concierge, and lounge. You can order your dinner, and a server will bring it to your movie seat. You can order a "real" drink at the lounge and even appetizers before hand. Cold, want a refill or dessert? Just push the light on your table and your server will be right over. The seats are situated well so you don't even notice the servers, and when we went there were no children which made for a nice experience.





Outdoor Activites




One of our favorite outings are the ones during the day time where we can be out, maybe get a little exercise and bonus if we can bring our dog Bentley.


We love the Long Beach Farmer's market, it is a rare treat since usually one of us is working, but when we get a chance to go we take it! We walk Bentley up and down the aisles and pick up lots of fresh organic fruits and vegetables.







We also really like riding our bikes (teaching Bentley to tag along is out next goal) sometimes we take them to the beach and pack a picnic. Other times we just ride around our neighborhood for short trips.



We even make our dog park trips fun. Most of the time Josue or I take Bentley on our own while the other one is at work. But once in a while we pack some sandwiches or grill some burgers and head to the park with B-Man. We sit a bench by the lake and give Bent some food. It is nice to just talk and eat with the breeze. After a nice walk we give Bentley some time with the other dogs. He seriously has a blast. I'm not sure why but when Josue and I go together it almost seems like he has more fun. Seeing him happy gives us great joy.










Theme Parks




A self expalnitory section, but if you have a theme park near you and you have an extra day with your guy go live a little. Every year we get annual passes to a different near by park. And since we have so many it makes it easy for us. It cuts down your costs too. This year we have Universal, and last we had Disneyland so it is fun to go to a new place each year.




Double Dates




We have a few friends that are couples that we like hanging out with, Johnny and Kristal, Yeimy & Ronald, Kristel & Jason, any couple from TKN, the list goes on and on. But there is this couple (Temo & Cecia) that we seem to click with and hang out with the most. Josue works with Temo and Cecia and I just hit it off. We have a lot in common even though they aren't ready for marriage and babies just yet. Bowling has been our favorite activity. If you have a bowling place near you I highly suggest it. We order drinks, get competive, it's great! We've also gone roller skaitng, ice skating, and gone to theme parks together. We love going on double dates with them, we do things with them that we wouldn't have tried on our own and vice versa. Our favorite dinner spot is Benihana. Have you ever been to a teppan cooking place? If not put it on your list of things to try, it is so yummy! We also have fun traveling with them we've gone on Vegas trips, to Big Bear, even Maui with them and they are fun travel partners. Anyway I guess the point of this was to try double dating. It may seem like your back in high school, but it can be fun and open up your eyes to things, or discuss topics that would never be brought up with just you and your spouse.

Church




This one is definetly not Josue's favorite date, but when it is my turn to pick he has to abide :) He isn't a brat about it so I love him for that. Church can be a nice time for the two of you to connect to God and eachother.







Weekend Getaways





OK now this one can be extravagant or not. Josue and I try to go away at least 4x year. I'm sure this will change when baby comes but for now we like the little escapes. We get to forget about reality and just have fun together. Some of our favorite spots are Las Vegas & San Diego. But Camping various places has become a great time too. We also like to one big trip at least once every two years, but I think the little get aways are important. Especially when going through something so emotionally draining such as TTC. I even give my self permission to leave the thermometers, and OPKs at home :)









Staying In





I realize that based on all the above information it must seem like we spend a lot of money, and yes maybe we do but we like to have fun :)





That isn't to say that we do it all the time, and that we don't have fun just hanging out at home. Some of the best time we have together are our lazy days at home. We love to cook together and watch a movie on TV. Sometimes after the farmer's market we scour the internet to look for yummy new recipes to make together. Or other times Josue makes me a candle-lit dinner, and I make him a yummy dessert.




Whatever it may be have fun together, try new things, and enjoy being married!








Also, I realize that we don't have children and things will change once we do. But for now we like to live it up and hope you can too. I believe that I can still in one way or another Date my Husband once a little miracle comes in to our lives.