Most people who have been trying to get pregnant(ttc ("c" is for "conceive")) for awhile know there are food no-nos and food maybes and food "did you try this?"
Within two months of our ttc journey I read an article about how wheat can affect fertility.
Guess who stopped buying baguettes? One night, Mr. S was like "Why is there no bread in the house?"
In this world of dos and don'ts it often feels like we who are ttc have a lot of of don'ts!*
No (or little) caffeine
No artificial sweeteners(I thought this was easy, until I looked at my gum packaging)
Not too much sugar
Reduce Wheat
Cut out "white"crabs- white bread, white rice...
Reduce or cut out dairy
No (or little) alcohol
Avoid soy products(hard when you're vegetarian)
Reduce amount of fish you eat- (scary-mercury!)
Don't eat sushi in the two week wait.
Don't exercise too much, but do exercise.(confusing)
Into this world we have some additions:
Take a prenatal or at least folic(my dentist recently told me that is why my teeth got yellower this past year)
"If you take B6 you're luteal phase will lengthen" rumor
Drink half your body weight in water(easiest one for me)
Eat more leafy greens(kale, chard, spinach)
Eat an organic egg every day(I like this one!)
Eat pineapple (rumored to help implantation, but some say it hurts!)
Eat full fat dairy(I make sure it is organic)
Eat more citrus and strawberries(I currently love this one)
Get proper omega fatty acids
Increase whole grains
Do acupuncture
And then there is the third list, for men dealing with Male Factor Infertility:
Do eat more protein
Do take supplements- zinc, l-arginine, l-carnitine, folic acid, vitamin c, omega-3's
Do acupuncture
Don't eat soy
Don't drink alcohol(Mr. S is planning a beer party to announce our pregnancy to his friends)
Limit or cut out caffeine
Don't go in hot-tubs
Don't wear briefs
Don't ride a bike too much
Don't get kicked in the balls(ok that last one isn't on the don't's, but shouldn't it be?)
Then, on ttc sites there are things people write about that they say made them get pregnant(usually herbs like maca, vitex...) "I stood on my head after sex and now we're pregnant!", and a whole bunch of people try, and a few of them(who probably had only tried 2 months anyway) get pregnant. Fun times.
It can be hard to eat and drink like you are pregnant, and then NOT be pregnant. Very aggravating. Making so many choices/changes every day, it becomes hard to relax!(I already wrote about the "relax" advice, and leave it off those lists for a reason.)
Personally, we are mostly vegetarian(I eat some fish, and Mr. S just started a month ago- to help his "swimmers"(yes, I went there) out), mostly organic eating people, so we eat pretty healthily, but the dos and don'ts still get really tiring.
What one thing have you cut out that you really miss?
For me it is beer. I didn't like it until I was 28, and I've been making up for lost time ever since! Until the whole wheat/alcohol double-whammy.
*
annoying disclaimer- these are just things I've been told, not medical advice
