Thermometer Question

I'm a little confused- are you supposed to chart to the 10th (97.2) or 100th (97.24) degree? I found a thermometer online that had good reviews, but it only charts to the 10th and I remember reading (online? in a book? eh, somewhere) that BBT charting needs to be to the 100th degree.

Anyone know which is correct? What do/did y'all use?

New Lesbian Pregnancy Blog Launch

I don't know if anyone else has stopped by Lesbian Lifestyle recently, but according  to this post they are preparing a new blog specifically addressing lesbian pregnancies. Its set to launch next month and they're currently looking for lesbians and lesbian couples to send in their stories to share. I don't know how it will all turn out in the end, but I think the concept is great! The online community is a powerful one and anything that makes it easier for us to find each other is awesome. I will definitely be on the lookout for the launch!

Reflection: Article on Gestational Environments

Yesterday morning I received my weekly T.IME magazine and right on the cover is a (beautiful) picture of a very naked, very pregnant woman. Naturally, I was intrigued and immediately flipped to the story. Its a pretty good article centered around the field of fetal origins- which asserts that the first nine months of gestation and the conditions we experience in-utero contribute to the most consequential period in our lives. Basically the whole idea is that everything the mother encounters while pregnant (the air she breathes, what she eats/drinks, the chemicals she's exposed to, her emotions) sends information (which they refer to as "bio.logical postcards") from the world outside the womb- letting the fetus prepare for what is to come once they are born.

Overall, this is not shocking news.  And if I know my readers at all, I know most (if not ALL) of you have done tons of research on how to provide the best fetal environment possible. But unfortunately, I think that is the exception rather than the rule as far as expectant mothers are concerned. I bet we all know some straight women who "accidentally" got pregnant, right? How many of those women do you honestly think were already taking pre-natal vitamins, altering their nutritional intake, exercising, and limiting/ceasing exposure to things like smoking, drinking, etc? Yeah, probably not many. Just saying.

The article focuses on the big health issues- cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and mental illness (specifically schizophrenia and depression). What I found interesting was how pre-natal behaviors can affect fetal genetics. We all know we're genetically predisposed to certain things that "run in the family" and for the most part, we accept that as our doomed fate. What this article proposes, however, is that "fate" may not be as final as we thought. Their research suggests that by altering the fetal environment (through a process known as epi.genetic modification), women can influence their babies genetics.  Pretty intriguing information for those of us who get half our kids DNA from a donor, eh?

For example, obese women who got pregnant post-weight loss surgery gave birth to children that had faster metabolisms than their siblings conceived pre-surgery, when their mothers were still obese. This goes beyond your basic nature/nurture school of thought and suggest that the intrauterine environment is a "third pathway" by which we are shaped. There was a similar study done on the Pima Indians (who experience a grossly disproportionate incidence of diabetes among their population) in which scientists recognize that by severely controlling the mother's sugar levels during pregnancy, they could greatly reduce the risk of passing along the disease to their children. Additionally, there were two studies done which linked starvation and high-stress levels during pregnancy to the development of schizophrenia and depression.

The article goes on to say that if given this information, women may be more likely to take pre-natal behavior seriously because they wouldn't feel so helpless to genetics. I agree with that as much as I don't. I think education is always a powerful factor in creating change, but I also think women tend to be egocentric and self-entitled when they're pregnant, believing that their own comfort level and autonomy should take precedence over how their behavior affects a developing fetus.

For me, however, I will do anything and everything possible to ensure that my future child is given the best start to life. I don't want to spend all nine months (and the time spent ttc) worrying about every little thing I encounter, but I do believe there are many basic, important changes a woman can make to create a safe and healthy fetal environment. For someone with DNA riddled with heart disease, diabetes, & mental illness, and a partner who's adopted and thus unaware of their hereditary, I am thrilled to learn that my child is not helpless to these diseases just because of their genes.


(source: Oct 4, 2010 T.IME Magazine)

Fear of: Multiples.

As mentioned earlier, I adore the Gosselin children. They really are adorable, but to be honest- the thought of having eight kids is nothing short of terrifying, especially having six at once. Insanity.

So all this adoration of other-people's-kids got me thinking about multiples. Prudence and I will more likely than not be jumping right onto the IVF wagon since we really want to use her eggs and my uterus. She's not too keen on the idea of being preggo (whereas I really want to get knocked up) and we agree it would be incredible for our children to have both our genes. So if all goes well, our future children will be conceived in a petri dish with my brother's sperm and Pru's eggs. And while that sounds fun and fancy (and admittedly, kinda weird) written down, I know it will be a bumpy and complicated process. I also know that IVF has a much higher rate of multiples. Enter mild (and premature) panic attack.

When discussing the possibilities of multiples, Pru said very calmly, "I bet we'll have triplets." Umm, what? I asked her to elaborate and she just replied, "I dunno....its just a feeling I have- that when we get pregnant, we'll have triplets." I don't know how accurate her instincts are, but thats a scary thought. I'd love three kids. But not at once. Twins, maybe. But triplets? That sounds dangerous. I already have an overload of pregnancy anxiety, I can't even imagine how that would skyrocket with the discovery of multiples floating around in there.

From what I understand about recent developments in IVF, doctors are beginning to veer away from the idea of transferring a lot of embryos, specifically in women under 35 (like me). I've also read about minimal stimulation IVF (or just Mini-IVF) which requires less drugs (and sometimes none if you go the "natural" route) and decreases the risk of multiples. Apparently its more along the lines of natural ovulation, where they start by giving you a C.lomid pill to take for about a week (they don't suppress the pituitary beforehand with Lup.ron like normal IVF)  followed by a "booster" of gonado.tropin and then they retrieve a few high-quality eggs. And as an added bonus, its also several thousand dollars cheaper.

The pros are obvious: less drugs, money, and risk. The cons are also pretty obvious: its newer, so the success rate is probably still not clear; plus you run into the issue of not having extra embryos if it doesn't work. In the long run, it could potentially cost more to do the "cheaper" ivf.  On the other hand, if you don't have any problems with ovulating or getting those embryos to stick, you might hit the baby jackpot right away and be $10,000 richer for it.  Hmmm.... what a conundrum.

Also Known As...

Upon discovering the wonderful world of lesbian TTC/family blogs, I immediately decided that we needed one.  The support is amazing and I am the type who really benefits from writing stuff down.  I mentioned this idea to my partner and she thought it was a great idea- thus "Project Buddha Baby" was created.  We already have another blog tracking the daily adventures of our life, but its available to family and friends so we use our real names.  However, we don't want people to stumble upon this blog while google-ing and suddenly discover all our deepest TTC secrets.  Awkward.  Eventually we will probably share this or start another baby blog for "real-life" friends, but until then- we've decided to use aliases.  After a short brainstorming session, we voted upon a Beatles' theme.  So for the duration of our anonymity, we will be happily known as "Lucy" (myself, the main blogger, and owner of future womb of Buddha baby) and "Prudence" (my partner, co-blogger, and othermother of said baby...which btw is also a nod to her asian-ness, from the movie "Across the Universe").

All You Need is Love.

Letter From the President

I just read this post about sending birth announcements to the President. Apparently, if you do- they send back a cute little letter like this one here and here.. what a great idea!  We will definitely have to keep that idea in the back of our heads for the future.  Well...if the President is still a Democrat, anyway :)

Maybe Kate can spare one?

The Gosselin children are adorable.  Like, I can't even stand how cute they are!  I've followed the show on and off for a few years now (mostly because they're a interracial white/asian couple like us!), but just began watching older seasons via Netflix.  I totally admire Kate for all she does- I mean, it was crazy enough with the twins and sextuplets, but when you add on all the marriage drama and media storm...it gets even crazier.  Watching older episodes is making me realize that Jon & Kate weren't all that compatible to begin with, really.  Their personalities are totally opposite and while that can sometimes work out to be complementary- in their case, I think its mostly just clashing.  But I digress...

Prudence and I were watching season 2 the other day and we both constantly exclaimed how awesomely cute this little kids are. They are obviously part Asian, but we weren't sure which nationality.  I heard through some (misinformed) grapevine that Jon was half-Pacific Islander.  Um, fail.  About 5 minutes after I tell Pru this, Jon proceeds to talk about how he is in fact half-Korean.  What?!  Awesome!  So here we are, falling over ourselves over these cutie pie kids and it turns out they're quarter-Korean!  It honestly made me love them all that much more!  I cannnot wait to have my own (though mine will be halfiies) part-asian kids!  In fact, maybe Kate can spare one... :)

Here's a pic of the ridiculously cute sextuplets from this season:

And here's all of the kids from a while back: