Fertility Friday: Keeping up your Routine

Usually we can come up with more reasons not to work out then to get up in the morning and hit the pavement.  It can be helpful to focus on the real goal for continuing to work out. Whether it's the mental clarity, the alone time, the increased cardiovascular effects, or the weight loss, keep reminding yourself of why you work out.  I remember when I was striving to achieve a goal weight, I put a picture up of Christina Aguilera in the movie Burlesque.  I wanted to get as close to that as my genetic make up would let me. This way when lack of motivation strikes, you can remind yourself of why you keep going.

Tip Tuesday: An Apple a Day

Apples are great for many reasons 1) they taste great. 2) they come in a number of different varieties 3) they have high antioxidant properties 4) they can increase immune functioning and brain functioning 5) they can help with heartburn in pregnancy.  How you like them apples?

Fertility Friday: Distractions

When trying to conceive, fertility can be on your mind all the time. Running around from doctor's visits to appointments to acupuncture appointments and eating a modified diet can make us think about fertility endlessly.  Good tools for distractions, are activities or tasks that take a lot of concentration, such as a sport or a class. A patient once told me that hitting golf balls helped her relax because it took a lot of concentration as well as physical strength.  Reading an engrossing book, doing a crossword, or creating something, such as a craft or project can be great distractions.

Tip Tuesday: Avoiding Vaginal Infections

Pregnancy can make us more prone to infections. Physical changes such as increased vaginal secretions, decreased gastric emptying, and increased urination can make us more prone to vaginal infections. To fight infections, practice good perinal hygiene.  Buy new underwear, or wash your underwear with boiling hot water. Don't hold your urine. Urinate after relations. Drink plenty of fluids and consume antioxidants daily, from vitamin C, garlic, apples etc. These are just a few tips to help keep you infection free.

Fertility Friday: Changing up the Routine

One way to fight work-out boredom is to change up the routine. Try a new class. My new favorite is super-amped up step aerobics. The 80's are back.   For classes in New York try Myles Hart.

Tip Tuesday: Financial Considerations

While not much in labor can be planned there are a few things that can be planned ahead when it comes to welcoming a new life into your home and planning financially.
Think about parental leave.  Talk to your provider and discuss what your plan for leave will be. Also have your partner discuss parental leave with his/her employer and find out what your employer allows and expects.  Work with your state to find out what your disability benefits will be.  Budget ahead of time or even put a little bit of money aside each month during your pregnancy to be prepared for time off work and additional expenses.

Fertilty Friday: Take a break from Stoires

When trying to conceive everyone wants to tell your their own story and recommend why you should take some remedy or product. If you are working with a health care provider, try to focus on their plans for you as much as possible and don't let other's get into your head with their stories and antidotes.

Fertility Friday: Positive Affirmations

Positive affirmations are an important part of training our mind for positivity.   The evangelical pastor, Joseph Prince, writes about: "The Power of Right Believing."  While his message is spiritually based, it has much value. Getting the mind to think and believe in something is a powerful step toward achieving that goal.  Affirmations are the first step in changing your belief about something. It's having your mouth say something that the brain has not fully taken hold of yet. I often tell women that even if they think they can't they should say that can. Some affirmations for fertility include:

Affirmations:
My body is a fertile place worthy of conception.
I am grateful for and love my body and all it does for me.
My life is a blessing.
My womb is strong and fertile.
My eggs are healthy and developing perfectly.
I have the ability to heal myself.
I feel safe, supported and loved through my fertility journey.
My thoughts are peaceful and calm. (Great for stressful situations)
I am already healing my body, everyday it heals more.
I am grateful that I am a woman.
I support and love my partner through our fertility journey.
My menstrual cycle connects me to all women.
I am working with my body in a loving way to get my menstrual cycle back.
I am worthy of love, life and happiness.
My fibroids are dissolving with each loving thought I have for my fertility.
My womb is a healthy place that will nourish my baby.

Affirmations are taken from naturalfertilityinfo.com

Tip Tuesday: Skin Changes

There are so many skin changes that take place during pregnancy, there could probably be an entire book written on the subject. Know that most skin changes like linea negra (the brown line on your belly) go away after you delivery.  Hormones wreak havoc on our skin, we remember from puberty.  Get a good face wash, use a good concealer, and remember it's only temporary. 

Fertility Friday: Take a Beauty Break

Women need alone time. We also (many women, anyway) enjoy beauty.  Inner-beauty, outer-beuty, external beauty, nature-beauty.  So take a break and enjoy whatever you find beautiful.  Go on a hike. Get a great hair cut. Paint. A great friend once told me "if it's not beautiful or functional what is it doing in your life?"  Spend today on something beautiful.

Tip Tuesday: Expect the Unexpected

If you are like most women, labor will surprise you. Expect to be surprised.  If it's hard for you to be surprised, do everything you can to be prepared. Take classes. Pack. Get everything ready. Get organized. Read inspirational stories. And go with the flow.

Fertility Friday: Letting go of Perfect

When working through fertility, women may feel a need to see themselves as imperfect or flawed. Sometimes confessing our imperfections to our spouse, a friend, or even a stranger creates empathy. And empathy is great way to let go of perfectionism.  Each of us is like the perfect ingredient to the perfect meal. We need each other. We balance each other,. We compliment each other. Think about who you compliment and why and see that as the perfection it is.

Tip Tuesday: Don't Give Up

If something is important to you, don't give up on it. Don't let someone talk you out of what is right for you, tell you it can't be done, or that the path is too long or hard to get there. In 1954, Sir Roger Bannister broke 4 minutes when running the mile, a feat that, until then, had never been accomplished. Within a few months of him breaking this record, several others also ran a mile under 4 minutes.  If you ask any runner, why all of a sudden several runners were also able to accomplish this feat, the majority of them will say that 4 minutes was a mental road block. Once others knew that it could be done, they had confidence in themselves and were able to far surpass even this goal. The current record for one mile is 3:43.

Tip Tuesday: Still eat your Greens

Experiment with some of these greens to give you some great nutritional beneftis:
Collard Greens: Very high in fiber. Eat them with ham or pork. Try raw with a favorite sharp cheese
Spinach: Antinflamatory and high in flavonioids. Can pair with almost anything
Boy Choy: High in Vitamin C and antioxidants. Put in almost any soup, salad or slaw
Mustard Greens: Very strong flavor. Add to meats or sauces in which you would use vinegar, mustard, or horseraddish
Beet Greens: High in Potassium. Good for salads, or pair with cheese, brussel sporuts, and beets.
Swiss Chard: High nutritional value like spinach and Kate. Use in pastas or smoothies
Arugula: High in fiber and potassium. Add to a salad, omlet, or mix with Parmesan cheese

Fertility Friday: Be Spontaneous

When planning for a baby, we can sometimes lose some of the spontaneity of life. Take a step back and plan to be spontaneous, especially when it comes to romance. Don't fight it if the mood strikes, even if its just playful and fun.

Tip Tuesday: No Need to Rush

As we have immediate access to many things in our life, messages, foods, movies, we may feel the rush to jump into something when we are not ready. When it comes to planning a pregnancy and delivery, don't rush. In most cases, you have weeks or months to decide what is best for you, whether it's your provider, your doula,  pediatrician or what to pack for the hospital. Fight the pressure, take a step back, and don't let anyone rush you.

Fertility Friday: Vitamins for Guys

Men can greatly benefit from taking vitamins too. Vitamins like zinc and selenium can promote fertility in men. Men also need micro-nutrients like iron and calcium to produce adequate amounts of semen. Adequate amounts of micro-nutrients can aid in the development and maturation of sperm.  Some men are pill adverse because it isn't on their radar to take a daily vitamin, but diets high in seafood, color rich food, and plant based proteins like nuts, soy and legumes can ensure that men get all of these essential vitamins and minerals.

Tip Tuesday: Go on a Date

Planning and prepping for baby can sometimes let a loved one get sidelined.  Ask your significant other out on a date, get dressed up and plan sometimes special, even if it's just a trip to a local sight or an old favorite. If you are single, plan a night with your best friend. Emotional connection is important for health and well being. Planning a fun activity and looking forward to it can also enhance relaxation and promote happiness.

Fertility Friday: Genetics

The field of genetics is a fast evolving field and what we are learning on a week by week basis is fascinating. We are reinforcing an assumed knowledge that we've had for years: we are all different, and we react differently to different environmental triggers. Because of this, we have to understand that what works for some doesn't always work for others. For example, while some women thrive off of pit fruits, other women may be allergic, or while some women thrive on dairy others may be intolerant. 
Knowing this, what we can do in the interim, until a blood test will tell use exactly what to eat, how to exercise, and who to marry, is to utilize our family history, intuition and trial and error. Also, many holistic practitioners, including nutrition, osteopaths, and acupuncturists are trained in taking seemingly benign symptoms like constipation or sinus pressure and coming up with a holistic body diagnosis.  The takeaway is to keep in mind our differences when trying to conceive and promote overall health.

Tip Tuesday: Simplify

Easily said and less easily done. A good way to simplify is to sometimes go for less instead of more. Sometimes a few white roses makes such a better statement than an entire bouquet.  When cooking sometimes a dish with less ingredients can be tastier and easier than a smorgasbord of items in one dish. A lot of times we can spend hours on something for someone else, when all they really needed was a few minutes. Another way is have others help you out. As a co-worker to pick something up for you at the store, or fax a letter while they are already standing at the fax.
A good tip is to ask yourself:

• Do I need to purchase that?
• Do I need to go there?
• Do I need to keep this?
• Do I need to do this?
• Can this be done easier, in less time, in other way?
• Can someone else do this instead?

Fertility Friday: Whole Milk

When trying to conceive, it's best to avoid dairy products that have the fat removed. Eating yogurt, milk, and cheese in it's natural state maintains the integrity of the food.  Skimming the fat off the top chabes the chemical balance of hormones and proteins in the milk making it a hindrance to ovulation and therefore fertilty.  So, just for the short term, enjoy a good ice cold cup of whole milk.

Tip Tuesday: Get Organized

Now well into the new year, a great way to beat the winter blues is to get busy organizing. Organization can bring feelings of freshness and energy. During the winter when we can't go outdoors as much, it's a great time to clean out clutter. Start small, with the goal or a closet or a room and work up from there. A great friend once told me: "If it's not beautiful or functional, throw it out."

Fertility Friday: Soy Love

Soy was a wonder food of the last decade.  Many studies found that it had profound health effects like a reduction in menopausal symptoms for women, weight loss, lower cholesterol, and a reduction in osteoperopsis and certain types of cancers.  The real benefit of soy comes from eating it in its natural form, usually beans or paste, as seen in many Japanese restaurants in miso soup or edamamde.  As a nation, we may have overdone it on soy, eating it in all kinds of forms, including the fermented kind, isolates, concentrates, and flours. Anytime we over-process something it becomes less nutritions and more harful for the body.  Soy is great in it's plant based natural form, but once it has a shelf-life that extends beyond a few weeks, it's best to consume in moderation.

Tip Tuesday: Learning How to Relax

Relaxation is actually something that many people must learn. There are several ways to learn how to relax: meditation, guided imagery, even dance and moment classes can all teach relaxation. Relaxation is about learning how to control your mind and body. Some relaxations exercises involve tensing and relaxing of each muscle group in a coordinated series. Some ways to relax include breathing or rhythmic movements. Others can even involve hypnosis.  Practice relaxing so that you are very comfortable with your ability to relax yourself.  If you find it difficult, consider taking a yoga class, talking to a health care providers, or reading material on relaxation to get some technique tips.

Fertility Friday: Plant Proteins

Animal proteins have long been favored over their plant protein counterparts.  Animal proteins have more satiety, due to their higher fat content and then are often complete proteins in themselves and do not need to be complimented. This was an excellent way to maintain a good metabolism and appropriate amount of fat and calories when food was less abundant. Today, with food so abundant it is easy to consume the right compliment of plant proteins to get a complete protein.  Eating animal proteins can increase the amount of insulin like growth factor 1, contributing to infertility and poor ovulation.  So substitute a few animal based proteins a week for eggs, legumes, or soy.