Getting Healthy

All the experts tell you that being a good parent starts before you become a parent. I want my kid(s) to have a much healthier lifestyle than I did as a child. As I've got some unfortunate epigenetics on my side, and some not-so-good habits of my own, I'm resolving (once again) to get as fit as I can, both before and during my eventual pregnancy. So far, this has been a decidedly mixed effort.

Here's the good:
1. Downloaded some prenatal yoga and aerobic exercise videos.
2. Signed up for Janathon.
3. Added 1 orange to my daily breakfast, and subtracted 1 slice of toast. (Leaving 1 slice of whole wheat toast, 1 mug of South Indian tea, 1 orange, and 1 400 mcg. folic acid tablet.)
4. Found some free running clubs and yoga/pilates classes in my area.
5. Discovered that I still have 1 month left on my gym membership!
6. Resolved to cut down on butter in general.
7. Actually managed to only have dessert once or twice a week since returning from vacation. (Until Thanksgiving, of course.)
8. Have bought/will buy much less alcohol than normal this holiday season. After all, I may or may not be able to drink it anyway, so why have it around?

And here's the bad:
1. The Lindt Advent calendars that the mister brought home the other day.
2. Thanksgiving pies + Christmas parties + Christmas + Boxing Day.
3. Keep forgetting to sign up for those free classes/running clubs (which you have to do each week). The one time I did remember, I felt too sick and crampy on the day to even go.
4. Only actually did the yoga and exercise videos once each so far.

So, what's the plan? That's a really good question. At the moment... get changed and go for a run as soon as I stop typing this. Here's the plan, longer-term:

1. Dessert-wise, eat only the Advent chocolates and stuff we have at home. (This still means 1 chocolate per day, plus cookies, mince pies, and hot chocolate. But, hey, it's December. Almost.)
2. Run 3-4 times per week, even if it's only a few miles each time.
3. Go to the gym once per week, through the end of my membership (end of December). Use this time to do some interval or tempo training on the elliptical.
4. Once gym membership ends, Janathon begins! This means running daily, and blogging about it. (Don't know which will be harder.)
5. Keep up the folic acid, add some iron (both through food and vitamins).
6. Do yoga 1-2 times/week, either the free class or the free video variety.
7. Start doing push-ups and core training again, while I still can.
8. To keep myself accountable, and as training for Janathon, blog about it all.

So... I'm not.

I was all set to write a post about how I bought a pregnancy test, in preparation for a really exciting Thanksgiving. And how I was having trouble keeping my hands (and other things) off of it. It's a good thing I restrained myself, though, because this morning I got a little surprise.

Well, not really a surprise. Just an unwelcome, unhoped for bundle of un-joy. I tried to kid myself it could just be a little spotting, but that only worked for about two minutes.

No need for the test now. At least not until next month.

So, now instead of anticipation and butterflies, my abdomen (and back) is filled with horrible cramp, and instead of going to yoga class in town, I'm stuck at home on the sofa, watching The Indian Doctor.
 
Boo. Well, here's to next month. (And The Indian Doctor. It's quite good, really.)

So... am I?

Last month my husband and I went on a trip. This was a big trip in many ways, but the only one relevant to this blog is this: that trip was when we were gonna start trying. Ya know. Trying for real.

But we hit a few snags. After being on a nice regular 23-24 day cycle for the last six months or so (yeah, I didn't really bother to do things like "track my period" until six months ago), my period decided to arrive 4 days late. Which threw projected prime baby-making time right into the week when we'd be splitting our time between visiting relatives and doing some sight-seeing on our own. Neither the husband or I really felt comfortable getting it on at the in-laws'. In the end, we did manage to have a little us-time, and on peak-fertility days, too. At least I think so.


I mean, what happens when your period is late? Is it due to delayed ovulation? Or is stress (like the stress leading up to a long vacation) just putting the beginning of your period on hold for a few days? And how does all of this affect your fertility?



And what does it mean for your next cycle? Will it slip back into its normal time slot right away? Will there be additional delay next time, or maybe it'll try to play catch-up and come a little early?

I've never wondered or cared about any of this before, but it all of seems highly pertinent right now, because--if it had come on time last month--my period would have started around last Sunday. If it's back on a ~24 day cycle, it should start this Friday(ish). Of course, maybe it'll be slightly delayed.

So I'm doing lots of period-math (ugh, two of my least favorite things) and there's an anti-hope brigade fighting a losing battle in my mind. (Have you noticed that I can't bring myself to use the p-word? Not period, duh, because clearly that's no problem for me. The other p-word.) How do I know this is a lost battle? Because both a baby and a bird pooped on me during our vacation, and this, according to my MIL means that I will a. have a baby soon and b. have good luck. And I kinda believe this nonsense.  These are the straws I'm clutching at.


If I hadn't been experiencing some symptoms, I probably would be tripping about carefree, with nary a thought of period-math or anti-hope campaigns, let alone baby poop. But the nausea I've been experiencing off and on, particularly while preparing food, can't all have been in my head (could it be smell sensitivity?). The headaches, unfortunately, have all been in my head, but in a different way. And I definitely didn't imagine the wave of vertigo that washed over me for a few seconds last night.


There are, of course, problems with this. First, all or some of the above-mentioned symptoms could be a million other things, like a. malaria (yes, this is a possibility, though thankfully remote), b. some weird flu that doesn't cause muscle ache, c. just a bunch of random, unrelated stuff, or d. (despite my protestations) wishful thinking that has taken a weirdly masochistic turn. Second, according to everything I've read, this is pretty early on to be experiencing such signs. Not unheard of, but not exactly common.


So, what's left to do? Wait, I guess, and I'm not so good at that. Which makes me wonder how I'll handle it if the answer turns out to be no this time. It also makes me wonder how I'll handle the 9+ months to come if the answer is yes!


I know I can't be the only one out there who has experienced these confusing thoughts and weird period-related equations. Does any know how pi should factor in? Why does the answer always end up being infinity?* Any help, ladies? (Or men? Hey, the BabyWorm doesn't hate. Or, possibly, you know, exist.)


*That's just a little quantum physics joke for you all. Hey, no problem, any time.