Conceiving Naturally - Against the Odds - Finding the Right Doctor

So, I've been slacking on the blog.  Thanks for still following.  Lately my online activities have been strictly inboxes, pictures, iChatting with the hub, and oh yes...Pinterest.  Oh my law.  I feel creative just looking at everyone else's creativity.

Diving back into the Conceiving Naturally Series.  Here is what we've covered/will cover:

Series Intro
1. Prayer and Submission
2. Finding the Right Doctor (you're on it!)
3. The Role of Hormones
4. Diet - Hers
5. Diet - His
6. Herbs, Extracts, and Supplements
7. Exercise
8. Chiropractic
9. Acupuncture
10. Massage
11. Timing: Ovulation Calculators, Ovulation Predictor Test Kits, and the Rhythm Method
12. The Fun in Trying :)

So very many Doctors.  How in the world does one find the "right one?"  I don't have the perfect answer for you because we each have different desires and things that are most important to us when it comes to our health.  This step was a snap for me because I got a great recommend.  You would think in DFW metroplex, one would have a superfluous amount of choices when it comes to a doctor ... nope.  Not when it comes to finding an MD or DO that prescribes holistically first ... it's feels a little like looking for a republican in Portland.  In fact if you google "republican in portland" your computer will crash.  If you don't "know a guy who knows a guy" then google is your friend.  Here are some helpful searches:

-Holistic Doctors (your town) - Natural Doctors (your town) - Doctors who prescribe supplements (your town) - Holistic MD or DO (your town)

If you want to venture off the MD/DO territory and see a ND (Naturopathic Doctor) well alright!  I think googling "ND (your town)" goes without saying.

These searches will most likely lead you to some sites that have reviews and ratings.

Sometimes finding the guy who knows the guy is easier (and better) than finding the guy via the world wide web of confusion.  If you don't have a chiropractor, I suggest getting one.  Chiropractic is a step we will cover later and they usually know and refer patients to other doctors who have similar philosophies.  Other sources would be massage or acupuncture clinics, and health food stores.  Even small mom-and-pop health food store owners and employees can be a HUGE help.  Most of them I come across have been around town longer than your friendly Whole Foods Market and are staples in the community.  They have history, therefore, they know people.  Just ask.  They love what they do and will love to help you.  I can almost guarantee it.

If you live in a small town with like 1 doctor who hasn't even heard of Centrum Silver ... well my advice to you would be to put some mileage on the ol' tractor.  Your health is worth it. 

Once you have found one you think might be a good fit, you probably want to go in for a consultation before turning your arm over and letting them into your veins.  You can bring a list of questions if your memory doesn't serve you correctly.  Treat it like an interview.  You know what you want.  Don't be shy about asking where they stand on it.  Better to not to be surprised a couple months later when they suggest a new drug that they've only tested on mice that snakes wouldn't even eat.

Dr. Nina Cahan in Coppell, TX is who I ended up hiring as my doctor.  That's right.  You're the boss.  They work for you.  You have a choice and you don't have to settle on any old candidate just because they have initials after their name.  She showed me her closet of supplements that she prescribes and I swooned.

I think it best not to put words in your mouth, so I will just advise you to make a "conception" plan like you would make for the birth of your baby.  I don't think I'd be putting words in your mouth by saying the obvious question to ask is at one point the Dr. suggests medical intervention, and what kind.  What steps have you, and will you take before you consider this?  Will you consider this at all?  Sit down with your husband and discuss what's important to you both, and what you would like to ask.  I suggest your husband go with you to the doctor as much as possible in regards to conceiving and when you do get pregnant, it is important for him to go with you to your prenatal appointments.  Here at Super Natural Mommy, we love and support the daddies too.  It's not all about you.  This is an important lesson to learn as soon as possible ... especially once you are a parent.  You are in this together.  The savior has already been born, so pretty sure yours won't be an immaculate conception.  Just sayin'.  I mean, she was carrying God incarnate and she was still given a husband.  Their voice matters and the more that sinks into your soul, the more supernatural you will be.

Okay.  You're ready.  Go find that Dr. you can put some trust in.  If at any point they start venturing off into an area you aren't comfortable with, speak up.  Don't compromise your health.  If they suggest something you hadn't planned on doing, research it.  Think/pray about it and tell them you are doing so.  If you have conflicting views on something you just can't budge on, see if they will come to your side to see how it works out.  It may give them time to research it too.  Newsflash, you aren't perfect and neither is your doctor.  It should be a working relationship based on mutual respect.  If it isn't.  Seek another.

Go to the next section: The Role of Hormones

Conceiving and Birthing Twins

So, I said I would blog about my twins. (This is Dr. Kristi blogging by the way!)

When my husband and I decided we were ready to start trying to have a baby. we figured it would be pretty easy. After all, I was getting regular chiropractic care, eating somewhat better, and taking nutritional supplements. Only problem was my cycles were psycho (it runs in the family). I'd have a period that lasted 2 weeks, then nothing for 2 weeks. This would then repeat. So, after a good 8 or 9 months of trying to conceive, I had to figure out things that would help with my hormones and regulate my cycles.

First, I started on a medical food from Metagenics. It was horrible tasting in water, so I put in in orange juice instead and it ended up being quite tasty. I started taking it according to the package directions and it seemed to work too well and I would have a 3 day period and then nothing for 4-5 weeks. That's still not normal, so I backed off a little on the medical food and got it to more of a normal cycle. But still, no getting pregnant.

The only other thing that I did at this point was change my meat. I started shopping for my meat at Sprouts or Whole Foods and got meats that were free from hormones and antibiotics. Within a month or so, I was pregnant.

The pregnancy was uneventful for the most part. You would think with twins that I would've been quite sick, but that was not the case. At 12 weeks we had our first prenatal appointment with Jean Sala, CNM at Inanna Birth & Women's Care. Everything seemed to be right on track up until my 20 week appointment when I started measuring about 4 weeks ahead....still with no idea we were having twins. Jean reprimanded me for eating so many mashed potatoes (that was my craving with that pregnancy). But early that next week, we had our sonogram and found out we were having twins. No wonder I was measuring big!

And so, the uneventful pregnancy then turned into an eventful pregnancy. A week after my sonogram, I went into the hospital for a kidney stone. My stone measured 3 cm. Now, that doesn't sound like much until you understand that kidney stones are typically measured in millimeters. YIKES!!! So, I was hospitalized and put under while they put in a stent. From this point forward, it is important to note, my urinalysis at each visit with my midwife showed up with protein in my urine (also a sign of pre-eclampsia). So, now I start to become more uncomfortable with the pregnancy, not because of the pregnancy itself, but because of the stent and how it's irritating my bladder all the time.

At about 32 weeks, my blood pressure went up, I was swelling, and I still had the protein in my urine so my midwife suggested I see an OB as my provider from here on out. She was going to refer me to her back-up doctor (who is the greatest OB in the DFW Metroplex), but his dad passed away the week she was trying to transfer me and he was out of the office. So, I was transferred to another OB, who I grew to like and who I have a professional relationship with now. Each week, my blood pressure continued to show up high at my visits. But as long as I stayed on bedrest as instructed by my doctor, my blood pressure would remain normal. She was fine with me letting these babies grow as long as we could keep them in there, and I am ever so thankful for that.

At 37 weeks, my OB informed me that she would be on vacation the following week. If I had the babies while she was gone, she was fine with that, but if I didn't, she was happy that she'd get to deliver them. Most OBs would've c-sectioned or induced by this time with my situation. At my Monday appointment the following week, her partner decided that she was going to hospitalize me until I had the babies. She kept trying to convince me to induce or have a c-section. I wanted no part of either choice and I let her know that. I even went so far as to ask for a second opinion with the OB that I was originally going to be referred to (at that point he was back from leave after his dad passed away). His opinion was that there was no reason that I needed to be induced or scheduled for a c-section. So, I sat in the hospital bed from that Monday until Sunday morning at 4am when my water finally broke on its own. During this time, I had my chiropractor coming in every other day to adjust me and do acupuncture on me. I looked forward to those visits!

So, all day Sunday I did everything I could do to be up and squatting during contractions. I was being monitored every 15 minutes for my blood pressure. So knowing that my blood pressure was high when I was up and moving around and that it was down when I was laying down, I had my husband watch the monitor to let me know 2 minutes before the machine was going to take my blood pressure so that I could hop into the bed and relax before it checked it. Then after it checked it, I would get back up and begin more squatting. Labor was quite bearable while squatting. When I would have contractions while resting in the bed, they were quite a bit more painful. I was dilated to 8 cm by about 5pm, and then I stalled. I labored for another 5 hours and made no progress.

At this point, we chose some medical intervention. I decided to have an epidural, because it was explained to me that my perineal muscles were extremely tight from all the squatting I had been doing. She said that the epidural would cause those to relax and I would probably have that baby out in no longer than an hour. Sure enough, about 30 minutes after having the epidural (11:07pm to be exact) A1 was born vaginally weighing 5lbs 11oz.

Next comes the part where medical intervention turns into more medical intervention. After A1 came out, the OB broke my water with A2. A2 was sitting very high in my belly, so once the water was broke, she had no fluid in which to move further down into my pelvic bowl. My body actually thought I was done delivering a baby. My cervix started closing up. We pushed and pushed and pushed for a good 30 minutes to try to get her down, but she wouldn't come far enough down and my cervix reverse dilated back to 8cm. So, I labored for another 5 hours to see if she would budge and nothing happened. I was stalled at 8cm again. At this point, the first baby has come out, the OBs hands have been inside me, and the stick to break the water had been inside me. My risk of infection was now greatly increased. I was thankful that she was willing to let me labor for those 5 hours, but she wasn't going to let me go any longer. Thus, A2 ended up being born by c-section at 5:07am weighing 8lbs 5oz.

So, lets take a look at this:
- twins
- born 6 hours apart
- born on two different days
- one vaginal, one c-section
- one small, one large

Yep, what a story! And I'll tell ya, they are just as different today as their birth story. I'll come back later and add a picture of the cuties!

Introducing Contributor: Kristi Corder

Hello.

I'm Kristi (or Dr. Kristi as some call me).

Thanks to Jennifer for allowing me to be a part of her wonderful blog. I'm new to all this blogging stuff, so bear with me.

I am 33 years old. I was born and raised in Hobbs, NM where I went to elementary school, junior high, high school, and college. I was 22 when I finally moved here to the DFW area. The reason: chiropractic school....which started my journey into natural healthcare. I am married to my hubby of 9 years and we have 3 wonderful kiddos...lets call them A1 (3 years old), A2 (3 years old), and baby boy (8 months). Yes, that's right, we have twins, and they were conceived naturally. I'll have to blog about their birth story later. We live in Savannah, TX and I have an office both in my home as well as in Irving, TX.

My parents took me to the chiropractor even when I was young, but I didn't really know much about the chiropractic philosophy when I started chiropractic school. I just knew that I wanted to be a doctor without having to be in school forever. But by the end of the first trimester at Parker College of Chiropractic, I knew this was the profession for me. I was just amazed at what our body was capable of doing if we just treated it right. More blogging to come in regards to chiropractic care.

I'm not perfect, my family is not perfect, nor do I expect anyone else to be, but we try our best to live healthy in our household. The kids have all been adjusted since birth and we all get adjusted on a regular basis. They have all been breastfed...the twins until 2 1/2 years old, and baby boy is still currently nursing. We introduce fruits and veggies as their first foods...the girls took to purees just fine, but with baby boy we are doing baby-led weaning. We all take quality nutritional supplements from Standard Process and Mediherb. We all drink water primarily. And we continuously try to substitute non-nutritious ingredients with more nutritious and healthy ingredients in our meals. This weekend will be our first time to buy raw milk from a local farmer...our kids have never drank milk bought from the store. More on that later!

It's so awesome to be able to show people how healthy children can truly be. My girls are almost 4 years old and they have never had a single medication, a hospital visit, or a sick visit to their doctor. I truly believe that this has only been accomplished because of our healthy lifestyle and our use of natural/homeopathic remedies for minor illnesses.

I'm so excited to be a part of this blog and can't wait to contribute more!