Mean to Green(er)

I am so excited to do this post! I am excited because this is a change that I've been wanting to make for a long time and finally did.

The change is.....Reusable Produce Bags!

Even Mikey had to take a look!


I'm excited and I know that some of you are excited to. Andre, not so much. Actually his exact words in Metro (where we bought the bags) were "Jenna, this is it! No more green stuff, we're not doing anymore!"

His issues were:
Andre: Produce bags are recyclable, why use bags that can be reused?
Me: Produce bags are plastic, even though it is recyclable, it is still waste, reusable means no waste!
Andre: They won't be able to see the stickers to scan the produce at the grocery store!
Me: ::showing him the bags:: Yes they will, stop whining!
Andre: People will think I'm weird that I'm bringing cloth bags to the grocery store!
Me: Tell them your wife made you do it.
Andre: Fine
Me: Can't you hear it? Mother Nature is saying Thank You!!
::Andre staring at me like I've lost my marbles::

So there you have it, if I can switch to reusable produce bags then so can you!

The ones we purchased were from Metro (A Canadian grocery chain). We purchased 4 large and 1 small bag for $4.99. I was going to check into the website that was on the cardboard packaging, but recycled it before I could check if it was a Canadian company or not. You can also find produce bags on websites like Etsy or you could make your own! Like with any reusable bag that you use for food I would urge you to wash them often to reduce contamination and bacteria!

Isn't it a beautiful sight?

The absurdity of it all

I was upstairs today watching 16 and Pregnant on my computer (I know, I know...) waiting the 10 minutes to get the full negative result on my OPK today (Ovulation Predictor test) and I thought to myself, How strange is this? I'm a 31 year old woman sitting waiting on an ovulation test (knowing full well it's too early, but you never know) watching a 16 year old raise her baby. It's just too ridiculous for words really.

I had my first follicle check on Thursday following my first round of Clomid. It went well in that there were actually follicles!! For those of you that are blessed to not ever have to take a fertility medication, Clomid works by helping my body to produce follicles which are the little "incubators" that will release an egg. The hope is that by taking Clomid, my body will produce at least 1-2 mature follicles that will release an egg during ovulation that we can hopefully fertilize, to create a baby. The reason for frequent monitoring, both by ultrasound and blood tests is to make sure that the medication has created follicles of an appropriate size, and that there aren't too many of them. If there are too many, then the doctor will make us abstain from sex because the risk of High Order Multiples (HOM) is too high. Clomid can also cause a whole other list of side effects including a thinned uterine lining. You need a thicker uterine lining to support embryo implantation. Oh so much to know!

The u/s tech didn't tell me how many follies there were, or how big they were, just that they were small. So I had to wait on pins and needles all day until I finally talked to them again at 3:30. They told me that they want me back on Monday or another u/s and more b/w. So I took that news as there is hope that my little follies could actually mature in time. With a stimulated cycle (like with Clomid) the follicles usually grow 1-3mm/day according to what I've found online. So we're keeping our fingers crossed that we have a shot at least this cycle. I will definitely be asking for the details when I go for my tests on Monday. I need to know more details!

So far so good

I am on the last day of the Clomid today. I've been taking them right before bed every night, so I will take the last pill tonight. I have been so lucky with this medication, I have not had one side effect (knock on wood!). I have noticed a little bit of dry mouth and increased thirst, but who knows if it's the Clomid or not.

I'm becoming more and more used to the Metformin as well, and the horrible side effects are less and less. If I do eat something that I know my stomach is not going to like I just make sure I stick close to home. Gone are the days I can have a bagel and cream cheese from Tim Hortons for lunch if I'm in a rush!

The treadmill is going great though. I've been trying to get on it 3-4 times a week for a half hour each time. My goal is to be able to jog on the treadmill like I was able to do before I met Andre. Right now I can only jog for about a minute before I get too tired, so I just stick to the walking and jog as much as I can. I've also been watching the snacking at night. That has been the hardest thing to do! I don't know why but it's like my body has been conditioned to expect to snack all evening long.

All the hard work has been worth it though, and in the two weeks since I started I have lost 2.6kg, or approximately 5.7 pounds. Not a lot, but a good start I think. I know that I need to incorporate some resistance training, but right now I want to get a good routine established with the cardio before I add something else to the mix. I don't want to stress about it, and then just stop all together.

Now the wait is on for Thursday morning. This will be the moment of truth in terms of the Clomid. I get the bloodwork and the ultrasound done to see if it has actually done anything. I don't know whether the lack of symptoms is an indication of it not working, so I'm trying not to read into that too much. I'm praying that there will be a follicle (or two) and that they will be mature enough to make me ovulate this cycle. It will make me feel like all the craziness with the Provera this cycle will have been worth it. I try not to dwell on it that much though. Otherwise it will make me crazy, and lately I don't need that much help with that!

Here goes nothing!

We (I) officially start Clomid tonight. I'm trying to remember that Dr C doesn't have much faith that 50mg of Clomid will work, but we're still being optimistic, miracles can happen right?

Cross your fingers and toes people!

Long time no talk!

As usual there has been a lot and yet nothing going on around here since I last blogged. The usual work/life stuff has been going on. Work has been steady this week, so the earlier mornings and later evenings mean I'm usually too pooped to do much blogging in the evenings. I was also too psycho to really do any blogging anyway.

The psycho-ness was due to round 2 of Provera. Andre was joking I was being a little like Cybil last weekend. It was horrible, absolutely horrible. The mood swings were crazy. But Andre and I survived the 10 day round of hell with our marriage, and lives intact, so I think that we did okay! Andre is always surprising me with his understanding, and calmness through all of this. He is definitely my rock.

The Metformin was extremely rough for the first few days as well. Hormones and nausea along with other bowel related side effects equals a very cranky Jenna. I'm slowly learning what foods I can tolerate well and what ones I can't. I'm also discovering that forgetting to take my Metformin right after I finish my last bite of dinner is a bad thing as well. This was the case last night. I will try not to make that mistake again any time soon.

I am trying my best to follow the RE's orders and I started exercising. We've talked forever about getting a treadmill for the house for me to use, and now seemed like as good a time as any. So it's set up in the basement, and starting with 3 days a week I get up an hour early, turn on my MP3 player and walk for a half an hour. It's going really well, and I don't know whether it's the exercise, or the Metformin leveling out my insulin levels but I have been sleeping so well at night. For the longest time I would toss and turn, and the last 4 or 5 days I have slept like the dead at night. It is wonderful. Next on the list is curbing the evening snacking. This is my downfall. Cutting that out will be the hardest thing so far.

Next on the list is waiting for good old Aunt Flo to arrive. I took my last Provera late last week, so now the waiting game is on. I'm a little nervous and scared, because this will also be our first medicated cycle. I know Dr. C wasn't too optimistic about it working, but wouldn't it be awesome if it did? I try to be cautiously optimistic about it all, and not make myself any more crazy. Some days are easier than others.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

That pretty much sums up our day yesterday. Yesterday being another appointment with Dr. C our RE. We had both been walking on eggshells since last week. First in anticipation of Andre's Semen Analysis (SA) on Monday, then the results on Wednesday. It's been a rough few days with most of it spent constantly nit-picking at each other. We were both so frustrated, nervous and on edge and we took that frustration out on each other. Not fun.


So first off at the clinic was a full round of ultrasounds for me. Yeah, more quality time with the dildo cam! (this is sarcasm people!) The ultrasound tech was a wonderful woman, she joked that I could still smile and laugh even though she was pushing on my full bladder. I told her I've had so many u/s over the last year that I've discovered the ideal amount of water to drink so my bladder is nice and full, but not so much I'm grimacing in pain on the table.


Now you may remember reading that I've had two other u/s done, one from my family doctor when I first approached her with what was going on, and other time with my gyno who specifically sent me for u/s's to rule out PCOS. Well I don't know what happened when both of those doctors said that everything was clear, because clear as day were a bunch of tiny little cysts on my ovaries. Here is a picture of a poly cystic ovary:

From what I saw on my u/s picture mine were more bunched together, but you get the picture. The picture above is pretty much textbook Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome findings. So after all this time, 18 months of wondering why I was not ovulating I know the reason. I have PCOS. At least now we have a diagnosis. Since Andre's SA results came back and he passed with flying colours, we can now move on to the next step: treatment.

In addition to some lifestyle modifications that I need to make, Dr C has prescribed Metformin to help manage some of the symptoms associated with the PCOS, Provera to end this never ending 80+ day cycle, Clomid that I am to start on Cycle Day (CD) 3 as soon as the next cycle begins. This medication will help to stimulate ovulation, but he is doubtful that the doseage he recommended will do the trick. He said he was going to "give me the benefit of the doubt". Finally he changed my regular OTC prenatal vitamin to PregVit5 which is a higher dosage prenatal to counteract the nasty side effects, and possible malabsorption of nutrients of the Metformin, and my IBS. All I have to say is thank goodness for health insurance! Even with our coverage, we ended up paying over $100 for all the medications.

I started taking the Metformin and the Provera last night. Today I'm feeling pretty good, but not 100%. I don't feel any nausea, but just feeling blah, and a little off. Hopefully that's as bad as it gets today.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much for this upcoming cycle especially when Dr C doesn't feel that it will work, but I just can't help it. I know Andre is excited, he was a little bummed when I told him that the medication might not work and I might not ovulate at all. I don't know who will be more disappointed by a big fat negative (BFN), me or him. Until then we have faith. Faith that we are in good hands, and that we are on the right path to becoming parents.

(The source of the image used was found here)

Without faith a man can do nothing;

with it all things are possible.

~Sir William Osler

Mean to Green (er)

I was at my local Shoppers Drugmart picking up a few things and realized that I needed to pick up some all purpose cleaning wipes. I'm standing in the aisle, scanning the shelves, and cannot for the life of me find my plastic tub of Method biodegradable all purpose cleaning wipes and I discovered that they're in a plastic pouch. I was a little bummed out but picked them up and brought them home. I was bummed because I was thinking to myself that at least the plastic tub I could throw in the recycling bin, with this pouch I will have to throw it in the garbage.

Well those clever people at Method had done something absolutely fabulous, not only had they created fabulous wipes that I can use all over my house then throw in my compost bin (!!!) that smell like pink grapefruit (yummy), they had improved on the packaging and put them in recyclable pouches that use 60% less plastic than the regular recyclable tubs they usually come in. How great is that?!

Now onto the review!

For a long time I have been a fan of cleaning wipes. Really, who isn't? One thing that I didn't like about some of the others out there was that a)they contain nasty chlorine bleach and b) they were not biodegradable. I just felt horrible throwing something out in the garbage. So when "green" became popular I decided to try out some new products. I started out with Green Works wipes, but honestly, I try and steer away from these products if at all possible simply because they are made by Clorox.

Then one day while out shopping I found the Method wipes. They are fabulous! I have tried some of the their other products and liked them so I figured I couldn't go wrong. I have used these wipes in the kitchen, the bathroom, wherever. They are just as strong and effective as the other wipes out there, and they smell so yummy. The best part is that after you're done cleaning you can throw them in your compost bin!

I've always picked up my favourite Method products at Shoppers Drugmart, but they are also available at Canadian Tire and Sobeys.