DIETING

Jacksonville, FL :)

    I finally got my tentative schedule for our next cycle. If I said that I was excited about it, that would be a fierce understatement! I am seriously looking forward to it. I am eager for a new start. Originally my coordinator planned on doing the exact same protocol as before. The more I thought about that I just became so incredibly uneasy. I prayed about it constantly. Knowing that we have had 5 monitored natural cycles that haven't worked for whatever reason, I couldn't get that out of the back of my head. So I dug down into the sassy part of myself to push for a more evasive procedure. And I feel very grateful that they were understanding and agreed with me.

    Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd I will be having my first Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) in a few weeks. Yay!!! I've been been hoping for an IUI since we first came to my clinic. To gear up for this I am going to be using estrogen patches, having shots of Menopur & HCG and multiple ultrasounds to know if I am staying on track. Oh, plus my daily Aspirin and prenatal. And two blood draws. And, for now, birth control. And- just kidding- I'll stop being annoying. The point is, there are many things to be done.

    Since our other cycles weren't successful I've had a lot of time to really think about the why. Of course, some of it I truly believe is Heavenly Father's timing. But surely there's more- I can't just accept there isn't anything else to be done. What could I have done better? Where am I lacking at? Am I doing all that I can? And at the back of my mind I thought, duh, straighten up your diet.

     Anyone who is familiar with me knows that my eating habits are poor. The best way to describe it is: 1) very, very picky 2) craving sugar constantly 3) almost entirely against trying new foods 4) not a fan of many vegetables. It makes my life hard! But it's also very hard for me to overcome, I have a lot of anxiety around trying things out of my comfort zones. Combine that with the fact that I don't like having any food restrictions and you'll see why I realize that I must at least try to change it up. My most favorite foods are starchy, sweet and unhealthy. But I want to give this all I've got.

     Last night Graham and I decided that we would begin our "lifestyle changes" today. We spent a great deal of money shopping around for groceries. It's truly so much more expensive to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables and healthy conscientious goodies. But if it is one step closer to my baby and to a healthier Lacey I'll drop it like it's hot with a smile on my face. And we really did leave with a full trunk of delicious things.

    My personal gameplan is to try to eat more fresh produce, snack on healthier things and really focus on how I cook/eat meat. I know that I can't, and really don't want to, completely quit with sweets so I'm allotting one fun sized Snicker (or an equivalent) throughout my day. I want to drink half a gallon of water a day and cut down on my milk quantity. Graham and I are also writing everything down to post on our fridge, just some added accountability for each other. 

    I think this is achievable and will still let us eat things we enjoy. My main goal is to find a nice medium between wasting away as I nibble on carrot straws & gorging myself with pasta and chocolate. And I'll guarantee that there will be times when I slip up (like at my birthday weekend in 3 days) but I am determined to give it a go! I want to do all I can to be better, for a baby and myself. So yep, that's our newest adventure. I can't help thinking that our life never slows down!