Please help me figure out how to tackle my New Year's Resolution

[Laurel]

My goal for this year is to try to improve my both my reproductive health and my general mommy health. No small task--I currently have 7 1/2 years of infertility under my belt. (No pun intended...) I have a 5 month old ds through adoption. When he is one year old we will try for #2, but I don't know at this point if it will be through adoption or ttc. Neither road will be easy and both scare me. I really want to know what it's like to be pg and give birth and nurse normally, and also I'm not getting any younger (33 on my next b-day).

What can I do in the meantime to try to get my body (and mind) in the optimal place it needs to be for possible future ttc? I have no diagnosis for my infertility. I have pretty regular cycles. If I were to go to a natural practicioner, what kind would be best to go to and what should I have them do? (Keeping in mind that I live in a small town with relatively few options.) Future ttc aside, I know that my overall health is not what it could be anyway. I struggle with eating--I'm at least 10-15 lbs underweight. My energy level is often low, and I know alot of it is because I don't eat enough. It just seems that by the time I attend to ds's daily needs, eating gets shoved on the back burner. I want to do something that will benefit me overall even if we choose not to ttc in the near future. I want my next adoptive nursing experience to be more successful (aka more milk and more energy), and figure this goal could help with that too. I guess I'm looking at fertility enhancing ideas that I can do withouth having the pressure of ttc just yet. If I am going to ttc again, I need to maximize mu chances as much as possible.

Oh, also, any type of relaxation or emotional health ideas would be welcome too. I struggle with anxiety and have battled depression in the past too.

[EnviroBecca]

Have you tried vitex? It's an herbal supplement (a/k/a chaste tree berry) that is thought to act on the pituitary and hypothalamus to balance female hormones and regulate cycles. I've taken it for 8 months and have seen considerable improvement.

Since eating MORE is difficult for you, try to eat calorically dense foods, things that have a lot of calories for their volume, like nuts, avocado, cheese, olives.... Also, try to drink beverages w/calories w/meals. After 15 years of being underweight, I got up to normal weight last year by keeping cashew nuts handy for frequent snacking and by drinking orange juice instead of water w/lunch and dinner.

Consider taking prenatal vitamins, or at least regular vitamins that include iron and calcium. That will make sure you have the right nutrients built up in your body.

Good luck!

[Aurora]

I don't have any good advice, but I wanted to give you this !

[Sahara]

Laurel,
I think a good vitamin would be a great place to start. My daily vitamin has Vitex in it, and lots of other good stuff too, and I definately notice my energy is lower when I'm not taking it.

Have you charted your basal body temps and fertility signs to see what your cycle looks like? I found that information very empowering, there's nothing like the first time you see the evidence that you are actually ovulating!! Now that I know my cycle is normal, I have dropped the charting because it has created too much pressure for us to 'perform' when we know I'm fertile It may or may not create that pressure for you, I wouldn't do it if you start to feel too obsessed!!!

It's so hard to take good care of yourself when you have a little baby you are caring for 24/7. Maybe just simple things like making a point to get outside for a walk with your baby every day the weather permits, or take a yoga class at a time when you can leave your DS with your husband. I've also found that some of the yoga videos are very good, especially the 20-30 minute ones you can do while your baby is sleeping. You can also do some light weightlifting at home to get a little exercise and build some muscle.

I don't know what kind of food you are eating, but I think a healthy diet all starts with your grocery list. You have to be able to reach in the pantry and grab something good for you without thinking about it. If you are ok with dairy products, I have found that one of those small organic yogurts they make for babies are a great, easy snack, and the only thing you mess up is a spoon! Maybe a nutrition book, or check out the Brewer diet that is recommended for pregnant women, it's high in protein and really healthy, maybe you could adapt that to fit your needs.
I think the most important thing is that you really want to make some changes, if you are motivated, that's half the battle!!!

[Laurel]

Becca, why didn't I think of that? (Eating higher calorie foods instead of simply more food.) That's such a lightbulb idea but it never before occurred to me.

I've taken prenatal vitamins on and off for awhile, especially while adoptive nursing ds.

Sahara, at one point in time I charted on and off for about two years. At the time, I wasn't O'ing. Then I went on Clomid for five months. My cycles got regulated, but I didn't get pg. That was about 3 1/2 years ago. My cycles have been completely regular ever since. I guess it wouldn't hurt to chart for a few months just to see what's going on. Charting was horrible. I wouldn't do it while ttc either, just for a little while to get a feel for how things are working.

You are right about me needing to just be able to grab something to eat without too much effort. Sometimes I think my problem is not so much my appetite as that taking time to prepare food is such a hassle. There are times when I'm kind of hungry, but will go without rather than have to figure out what to fix and then fix it.

I have an herbalist lady I've been taking ds to occasionally, and I think I'm going to see if I could see her once a month or so. She dabbles in alot of things (therapeutic massage, etc.). There's a world-reknowned naturopath/medical herbalist/iridologist that come to a city a few hours from me a few times a year. His specialty is infertility. He's got a 75% success rate for full-term pg. But it's $6000 to work with him for six months. If we don't adopt, that's what I want to put my money toward, but I want to be in tip-top shape before I spend that kind of cash.