ME: On A Diet

I know, I know...It's been awhile. Sorry - I have been laying low. I am enjoying my much needed break from all things IVF related and though I am still on a message board break, I decided it was high time I catch up with my blog. There is lots of news to report!

First things first! I had my WTF appt for IVf #2 almost 2 weeks ago. No big surprises from Dr. P, but he does want to make a few tweaks to IVF#3. The biggest change is that we will definitely have a blastocyst transfer next time around. At this point he is not going to make any major med/protocol changes because he said that it is doing what it is supposed to do - great # at ER, lots of mature eggs, great fert rates and fantastic embryos. He does not feel further testing is necessary at this time. He did make one more suggestion to further stack the deck in our favor and I totally knew it was coming and I was half dreading it & half looking forward to the kick in the pants... He wants me to lose 5-10% (MINIMUM) of my body weight before we go for #3. Though he does not believe it is "the" reason for implantation failure, he wants to take it out of the equation and pointed me to mucho research that proves body weight below 185 results in higher success rates and lower PG complications. He warned me that it could be an issue before we ever started IVF #1, but he left the ball in my court. This time he was much more direct about the situation and although he still left the ball in my court, I felt there was an urgency to what he had to say. His ultimate recommendation was to take the summer off, get started on the diet and exercise and check in with him late August. At that point, we'll see where I am with the weight and decide whether to go ahead with #3 or keep losing...

I know he is right and I have been in some denial recently about the fact that Sean & I have become lazy slugs who eat out all the time and park ourselves in front of the TV wayyyyyy too often. For me, this has translated into major weight gain in the 4 years since we got married - to the tune of 60ish pounds. That is crazy - average gain of 20lbs a year - 1.5ish pounds per month...YUCK! I know that I need to lose the weight not only for my fertility but for my overall health and well being. Although I am young and relatively healthy now, I know that I am destined for hypertension and diabetes if I do not make some changes ASAP. What better motivation do I have then to increase my success rates and have a baby???


Sean & I have kicked things into high gear. We have been following the YOU: On a Diet meal plan by Dr. Oz and are already seeing success. Basic summary - whole grains, lean proteins & the biggest part - NO high fructose corn syrup or added sugars in your diet. We have done this before and loved the plan & we are back on track. We have been grilling meat and veggies like they are going out of style and have been walking on the treadmill or at a nearby park daily.

Week 1 results: I lost 6lbs 2oz and Sean lost 4lbs!!! GO US!!!!! WHO-HOOOOOO!!!!!!

We both feel better already & our wallets thank us too - we were spending mucho dinero eating out 4+ times per week.

In other news, I celebrated my 29th birthday over the holiday weekend and we had a wonderful time. We spent the day in Wilmington, Delaware at the Winterthur Estate and Gardens and then we had a yummilicious dinner at our favorite spot- Ruth's Chris. Sean got me the sweetest gift ever. He took Libby, our mini-schnauzer to a place called Paw Posies They took her paws, dipped them in paint and then made floral painting out of them. They do mail order business as well, but we live close by so he went right to the artist's studio. I absolutely love it. I was bawling my eyes out. He is already the best husband a girl could ask for, imagine what an amazing father he will be??? Libby thinks he is #1 dad for sure!

Adding to my wonderful b-day weekend was the thoughtfulness of Christi and Jill.
I got beautiful cards from both of them wishing me a Happy Birthday! Christi also sent me an Angel coin that says, "Never Lose Hope." It is perfect and I love the sentiment. I keep it with me every single day. Hope is a beautiful thing and there are many days that is the one thing that gets me through. Thank you Jill & Christi for being such amazing women! You are an inspiration and I am thankful that this crazy, painful journey has brought your friendships into my lives! Thank you for brightening my day!

In the words of Katie, we booked a FUCKET LIST vacation. We are going to Vegas for 5 days in June!!! First, we will head up to Buffalo for 4 days. We will get to see our nieces' dance recital. Out of 6 nieces, 5 of them are dancing in the same show, so that will be a nice treat. Then, we will celebrate Father's Day and catch up with family and friends. Libby will stay with her Gramma and Papa and we will fly out to Vegas on Monday morning June 16th!

We had 2 Rapid Reward flights from Southwest so we are flying out to Vegas for free! We also had a crap load of Marriott points so we are also staying for free! Marriott could not honor points for 2 nights of our vacay so we are also redeeming some comps to stay at Red Rock Resort also for FREE! Could it get any better than that??? We have "done" Vegas many times, so we are looking forward to staying offstrip at the JW Marriott also in Red Rock. We have been squirrelling away spare change for about 2 years now & have a little bit of "fun money" socked away so that will be a good chunk of spending money. I can't wait to lounge by the pool with a fruity adult beverage, relax at the spa and eat delicious (yet reasonably healthy) meals....ahhhh heaven! Just what the doctor ordered! We also bought tickets to see Kevin James and Ray Romano at the Mirage. T-minus 17 days until VEGAS!!!

I think that wraps up the high points of the last few weeks. Though I have not checked in with many you in awhile, I think about each of you everyday and no matter where you are on this IF journey I wish you HOPE and happiness! Can't wait to catch up on every one's news!