Unfolding Dreams

Intro 1.  Evaluate Your Love Life 2.  Get Rid of Any Baggage 3.  Intimacy Rules (When Its Okay To Skip Intimacy) 4 .  Intimacy Game Plan 5.  His and Hers Nights 6.   Getting in The Mood (When You Don't Feel Like It) 7. Spice Things Up Every Now and Again 8. Read about Intimacy (Articles, Books & Podcasts) Last edited: July 1, 2018

When I was expecting my 2nd, I converted that guest bedroom with baby furniture to be a toddler room / nursery. The toddler bed gave the room back its space that the king size bed took when it was a guest room. So that was an improvement!  This was my first real nursery, however, it left a lot to be desired. I had only half a room to be a nursery and my changing table was in the closet. We also changed our changing table when our old broke (I used my changing table for over 2 years, which came used from a relative before buying a new one). Our next one was slightly smaller, so we were able to move it to the closet to take less space in the room. Because it was a rental, we could not paint the walls a different color, so it had to stay white.  We just didn't have the space for our family to grow and couldn't alter the space we had for it to be more manageable. A trip down memory lane...

With my first child, I had a guest room that had a baby crib and changing table.  The bed was two twins pushed together to make a king size bed (the rental came furnished that way). It definitely did not look like a nursery. The bed with these two pieces of big baby furniture made the room look small and overcrowded. In my photo: The bed is in the middle, changing table to the left and the crib (not pictured) was beside the bed on the right.  Also, we had the closet that had the long hanger bar across, which isn't bad, but with the changing table against one side of the closet door, we only had one side of the closet door we could use. We also didn't have nursery furniture for storing clothes, so I relied on using plastic organizers. Yeah, wasn't my dream nursery, but we made it work as best as we could. It could always be worst, we thankfully had a 2 bed room rental instead of  1 bed room.

I read an article called Symptoms of Infertility. The author writes, " Low basal body temperature may also indicate an infertility problem. Low basal body temperature during the first half of your cycle could be indicative of too high estrogen, or a hypo-active thyroid. Low basal body temperature during the last half of your cycle is indicative of low progesterone.  High basal body temperatures in the first half of the cycle are indicative of low estrogen or hyper-active thyroid. " This made me curious if my low basal body temperature was a result of having Endometriosis. Bibliography Ramsey, Lori. "Symptoms of Infertility." - Fertility Concerns. N.p., 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.thebabycorner.com/page/1347/>.

Reading that Naturally Warmed Up article by Natural Fertility & Wellness, made me wonder, how can we boost our metabolism and does the metabolisms play a role in fertility as suggested by this article?  I decided to read on how to boost your metabolism.  I read an interesting article, about foods that can boost your metabolism naturally. The article was from Health.com, and is called Nine Foods that Can Boost Your metabolism Naturally . The nine foods were: egg whites, lean meat, water, chili peppers, milk, whole grain, lentils, and these that I had my doubts about being helpful: coffee, green tea.  Bibliography "9 Foods That Boost Metabolism Naturally." Health.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20746339,00.html> .

Health Avoid drinking water from plastic water bottles, when possible. According to the article, 7 Reasons to Never Drink Bottled Water Again, "Most bottled water is glorified tap water. 25% of bottled water is sourced from the tap. Some companies do radiate or filter the tap water with ultraviolet light before selling it to you. However, there have been studies shown that show bottle water containing molds, microbes, benzene, and even arsenic. Only more recently have the FDA been controlling bottle water for E Coli." To make a long story short, "Bottled water still contain other toxins even if they don't have BPA. Bottled water companies increasingly use BPA free plastic, but plastic bottles have other chemicals that can seep out of the bottles if they are exposed to heat or sit around for a long time." Article Link:  http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11193/7-reasons-to-never-drink-bottled-water-again.html Even if you're mildly dehydrated, your...

Water In Take According to Kelly Mom.com, "The Institute of Medicine notes that breastfeeding moms typically drink 3.1 liters (13 cups) of water. Non breastfeeding women drink 2.2 liters (9 cups) and pregnant women drink 2.3 liters (10 cups). It is not necessary to force fluid, drinking to satisfy thirst is sufficient for most mothers." Article Link:   http://kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-calories-fluids/ Live Strong.com says, "A simple way to figure out your hydration needs is to take your body weight and divide it by two. For example, If you are 120 lbs, you take 120 divided by 2. That equals 64. So that means you need to drink 64 ounces (8 cups)." Article Link:   http://www.livestrong.com/article/441119-how-much-water-should-you-drink-when-nursing/

Hydration plays an important role in trying to conceive for both men and women. According to Healthy Women.org article, Fertility Boosting Foods on page 4,"If you don't drink enough water, your cervical fluid becomes sluggish. The same goes for a man's ejaculate fluid" (Fertility Boosting Foods).  According to What to Eat to Conceive, an article featured on parenting.com, "You want to avoid alcohol during your follicular phase.  During this phase your body is working hard to develop a dominant follicle and estrogen levels are on the rise. Alcohol affects hormone balance, and is dehydrating. The loss of water in the body may make cervical mucus too thick" (Pautrel). Bibliography "Fertility-Boosting Foods." Healthy Women.org . National Women Resource Health Center, 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <http://www.healthywomen.org/content/article/fertility-boosting-foods> . Paturel, M.S., M.P.H, Amy. "What to Eat to Conceive....

One thing I think is connected for all women trying to conceive, but especially for breastfeeding moms are maintaining a healthy weight, have healthy body fat, and a healthy basal body temperature (BBT).  Why is basal body temperature (BBT) important? Well, there are healthy BBTs and low or high BBTs that maybe the symptom of a problem. Low BBTs can sometimes affect fertility in women. This is not say, that women have not become pregnant and maintained a healthy pregnancy with low BBTs. Some women with low BBTs may even have a condition called hypothyroidism.  Click on links for more information: My Experience with Low BBT Summary on Naturally Warmed Up: How To Raise Basal Body Temperature Boosting Your Metabolism

Natural Fertility and Wellness.com's article, Naturally Warmed Up: How To Raise Basal Body Temperature says, "Some signs of low BBT are cold hands and feet, chronic fatigue, constipation, low sex drive, abnormal menstrual cycles, hypoglycemia, to name just a few. However, this article suggests the more that you do the modern approach to treat this, dietary restrictions and lots of cardio exercise, the farther away you push yourself from a healthy metabolism. It is counter productive and worsens the underlying disorder. Also that when metabolism is low, fertility is poor.  Some steps this article gives is eating as much nutritional food as possible, the less unprocessed the better. Get as much rest as possible. De-stress, 12 hours straight per day without a meal (so dinner at 7 pm, breakfast at 7 am), emphasize saturated fats over unsaturated, avoid vigorous exercise until temperature is where you want it to be."   To ...

Maybe a Thyroid Issue? I had a midwife once speculate after reviewing my fertility charts from when I was trying to conceive my second, that perhaps it was my low BBT that made it take 6 cycles out of 9 periods for me to become pregnant with my second child while breastfeeding my first.   That midwife encouraged me to get testing from my OBGYN office when my husband and I started trying to conceive a third. The testing revealed, I was on the low end of normal for my thyroid based on the TSH and T4 tests. It took us 10 cycles to conceive our third with a low bbt. My BBT is Low?  I never even noticed that my BBT was low, I just thought it was normal for me. I didn't chart with my first, so I didn't have anything to compare my fertility charts to after we tried for a second. I do remember prior to the pregnancy of my first, I was always high 98-99. I was doing a nursing assistant class and as students we had to practice vitals on each other every day, and I ...

I heard that a woman will ovulate on alternating sides each cycle, and the fertility charts match up. I was also wondering if that could affect when you would receive your positive ovulation tests, meaning if when you ovulate on side, do you tend to get a positive ovulation test sooner or later. I decided to look from my fertility charts when I was trying to conceive my second and while currently trying to conceive a third. I went through my charts to get an idea of what cycles looked to match up before making a chart.  I am also inducing that all of my cycles have currently been while breastfeeding. 1. Breastfeeding could very well be affecting these results  and most of my cycles are irregular. 2. Some of the other issues with this theory is user error. We can mistake a close for positive for being positive  or be unaware of how many true positives we have  if we have multiple positive / positive looking ovulation tests. So we could call too m...

 There are claims that natural supplements can aid in ovulation, overall fertility and increase your chances of having multiples. Being a woman diagnosed with Endometriosis and the uncertainty that comes with having it, I wanted to know more about these natural supplements and if they really worked. Why spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on expensive fertility treatments when you can get natural products for way less?  I was not entirely convinced that the natural supplements worked when there is a lack of  success stories and studies about women getting pregnant or getting pregnant with multiples using some of these natural supplements. Not to mention, there is no way to verify that these internet success stories and product reviews are a hundred percent true.    However, it did appear as if the Vitamin B6 aided in my short luteal phase which helped me get pregnant with my second child and Vitamin C helped my egg implant properly to stay preg...

 I am not being paid to promote Cassava Root, this is just my experience with the product. I am not promoting Amazon, although I use it as a frequent source for online shopping. I am also not promoting twin pregnancies. I assume every person (because I have no way to prove otherwise) is an educated individual looking for more information on ways to become pregnant and knows what is involved with becoming pregnant, being a parent and is aware of the risks that can arise in single and multiples pregnancies.  As for why, we would try a product ourselves that "might" increase our chance for twins and result in a potentially high risk pregnancy, our answer is simple. We believe in God and believe if it is His will we will be blessed with whatever children He chooses to bless us with and that our trying to conceive efforts to become pregnant only play a small part in it, since trying a natural supplement is not the same as using fertility drugs / procedures wit...

This post is about organizing intimacy products and making sure little ones do not find it easily in your closets, cabinets or wherever you choose to store it when not in use. This one maybe an embarrassing topic for some women. It has taken me some time to write a post like this.  I've  had curious toddlers and preschoolers pull things out of the master bath cabinets when a baby lock broke and had to gently explain these intimacy related items were not things they could play with, along with the lotions, body sprays, feminine sanitary pads and so forth that were being stored under there. Everything looks like a toy to little ones. I hope I am not wrong in the assuming, I am not the only mom who has to find other places for intimacy products and lingerie, has had a child that stumbled across these things or just in general after becoming married, wondered how you organize, where to store, and ways baby proof intimate products. Organizing Intimacy Products ...

Before  I just use to have my items in a mini craft tote  or just thrown together in a storage bin. That didn't work out so well when the baby lock stopped working. Without a baby proofing lock and cabinet door,  it was too easy for my little ones to get into things  I frankly didn't want them in. After I organize intimacy products  into fold-able make up bags  that I place in a storage bin.  One thing I like is that  the products are out of sight,  so if your baby proofing lock fails  the items are not in an open bin,  giving an open invitation.  Also I like that the make up bags  have different pockets that  you can  store different products into.  So everything is not mixed together.  Making it harder to find things  you need during crucial moments. What is a bonus is these  make up bags stand up.  My bin actually has room  for more make up bags....

Trying to conceive women should avoid using benadryl to treat symptoms of allergies and cold, such as drainage, runny nose, and so forth. Not only can it dry the nose, it can also dry cervical mucus. I took two days of benadryl twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Those two days were enough for my cervical mucus that was creamy to go back to dry. In order to be intimate, a lubricant was required. I used preseed, which does not contain a spermicide and helps couples conceive by mimicking fertile cervical mucus. Buy here:  Pre-seed from Amazon . Fertile cervical mucus is needed to help sperm reach its destination to the egg. I have heard in fertility literature that you have to have cervical mucus to become pregnant. Also dry cervical mucus can make intimacy painful and uncomfortable. articles: What Medications Interfere With Cervical Mucus