Products and books I use for my fertility awareness and health.

As I am sitting here researching other peoples blogs, pregnancy and infertility forums and drinking my tea, it dawns on me; whoever is reading this blog may be needing some information on fertility products and I can at least share the information I've gained from my experience. I hope it is helpful.

FertiliTea - fertilitea.com

FertilAid - fertilaid.com

The Fertility Diet - Amazon.com

Wondolfo Ovulation Predictor Tests - Amazon.com

Above are some of the products and books I am integrating into my daily life. Today was my first day taking the FeriliTea and I am supposed to consume 2-3 cups per day until pregnancy has been confirmed. Of course we are way off from that so I am hoping it helps regulate my cycles so my body can get on track hormonally. The tea has some of the same herbs as the multivitamin and is supposed to help regulate my hormones.

The FertilAid multivitamin is essentially a normal multivitamin for preconception with higher values of each vitamin and a few extra ones proven and tested to help regulate cycles, regulate ovulation and hormones as well as cervical mucus. The only negatives I have seen reviewed about either the tea or the vitamin is that for women with regular cycles and regular hormones it actually threw them off. I have been taking the vitamins for 3 months now, which the company states is the desired time frame to start to see results, I didn't track my cycle last month cause I was under a lot of stress from the wedding and then we went on our honeymoon for two weeks.

'The Fertility Diet' by Jorge Chavarro, Walter Willett and Patrick Skerrett is NOT a "diet" book at all. In fact it is very detailed and based on a scientific study called the Nurses Study all based on dietary restrictions or additives to see the affects they cause with women of varying ages and fertility problems. It does outline different strategies to help you on the road to conception with key points on; slow carbs, no trans fats, no sugared beverages, protein and fat from vegetables and nuts, and lessen red meat intake. Although it was a very complex and non-exciting book, it was nonetheless very informational and helpful since I want to do everything in my power, naturally, to conceive.

I have been temping, charting and testing since May 2013. I was told to try Wondolfo OPKs from a few sources. They are very accurate, small, easy to use/read as well as very inexpensive. Once you realize you have to pee on anywhere from 5-20 test strips per month you will be glad you bought those ones. I usually test twice a day; in the morning and in the evening to ensure I do not miss my LH Surge and I continue to test until I get a clear positive result. Then 7-8 days later I get my blood drawn to test my Progesterone levels.

I've also read 'Taking Charge of Your Fertility' by Toni Weschler, which I believe is a MUST READ for every women regardless of age or fertility situation. It gives you the no nonsense ins and outs of your reproductive self, health, natural birth control options, natural conception options, fertility tracking, charting, temping, testing and so much more! It seems kind of "anti-western medicine" at first but once you read through the first chapter you realize that's not her goal. If I haven't read that book I would have had no idea how to properly temp or how to check my cervical mucus nor would I have seen so clearly that there was a major hormonal issue brewing.

The only other book not listed or pictured is 'The Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians: How to Stay Sane and Care for Yourself from Pre-conception Through Birth' by Rachel Pepper. She is hilarious and unscripted in her details of her own journey to becoming pregnant and very informative on everything from just thinking about getting pregnant to where to buy the "goods' and what to expect through pregnancy and birth. Kate and I actually read this book two years ago on a whim. We were day dreamers at that point, but now that we are in the midst of reality I have been re-reading some of it's chapters and finding it helpful all over again. The only negative I find with this book is that it is from 2005, so pricing information is pretty inaccurate.

I hope that the information I've supplied is helpful to those wanting to know how to get helpful information on natural sources of fertility products and to those just wanting to know the details of my daily routines with waiting for my body to be healthy enough to try a go at conception.That's everything I can come up with for today, I think I need to get out of my PJ's and into some real clothes before the wifey gets home from work.