Which is it?

I spent so much of my life on the pill that I was very curious how my body would react to being off birth control.  When I saw my doctor, she told me to call her in 6-8 weeks if I hadn't had my period - because either my cycle wasn't regulating yet (which it should be) or I'm pregnant.  I've heard many stories about people not getting their regular period the first month after going off the pill, so in my head this was bound to happen to me. 

Last night, I had some light cramps and discovered a little spotting.  In that I was quite sure that I hadn't ovulated yet, I figured that this might actually be ovulation.  While not everybody feels ovulation (a/k/a "mittelschmerz"), about 20% percentage of women do.  I have a close friend who told me that she could very distinctly feel it, but only on her left side.  Spotting can be a symptom of ovulation, while other symptoms also mirror menstruation, such as abdominal pain, headache, bloating and breast tenderness.  While looking up ovulation symptoms, for the umpteenth time, I also came across symptoms associated with implantation, which occurs when the egg burrows into the lining of the uterus.  Implantation and pregnancy symptoms can also be similar to menstrual symptoms and up to 30% of women have light spotting during early pregnancy. 

So, what's the take away from this?  Both ovulation and implantation can actually mimic menstruation in certain ways and the spotting I was experiencing could be one of several things.  Needless to say, I woke up this morning with my period. It occurred to me that if I were still on the pill, my period would have been due yesterday, so yay for having a nice regular cycle at least.  What I'm not as happy with is that my body decided to go the complete opposite from what I was expecting and has delivered a very heavy period (excuse the TMI).  This is one of the reasons I went on the pill in the first place (although I'm thankful for manageable cramping that hasn't involved copious amounts of OTC drugs so far).

Now that I have the first month and first cycle out of the unknown, looking forward to starting tracking everything all over again.  :)

Pilates, the return

As far as I'm concerned, Pilates is like magic.  Many years ago, I sustained a shoulder injury in a car accident and years of physical therapy, sports medicine and chiropractic visits weren't as affective as a couple of mat pilates classes at my gym.  I ended up finding a chiropractor who is all about alternative healing - pilates, massage, reflexology, acupressure etc.  He is the only doctor who's ever told me that I have strong buttocks, and for that I thank him. 

I had been doing reformer pilates once a week until about 2 years ago when they changed health insurance plans at my job, and he ended up out of network, which meant no more pilates classes for me.  Then a phone call came last week that they're now in network and I'm psyched for my first class tonight.  I suspect it's going to seriously kick my ass seeing as I've not done it in so long.

The question of course is whether pilates will be a good option for me to continue should I become pregnant any time soon. Pilates is designed to really strengthen and work the core muscles of the body - abdominal, pelvis, and back - which is key both during and after pregnancy.  The types of movement and exercise work muscle tone and endurance, which can help with posture, balance, and general comfort as the pregnancy progresses.  Also, the breathing techniques used in the exercises can be helpful during the final trimester and labor.  There are several things to keep in mind though.  Many pilates moves are performed lying on the back, but this isn't suggested past the first trimester as it can cut off oxygen to the baby.  It's also a good idea to be careful with not over-stretching movements because pregnant muscles and tendons are more prone to injury!

One thing to keep in mind are the modifications necessary for preggos and, if you're seeking out a pilates class to try, it's worth checking if the instructor is aware of the positions and exercises to avoid.  I'm going to be back with my original instructor from when I started.  There have been various pregnant ladies in the class previously and I know she's very aware of the dos and don'ts.  Of course, best thing to do is talk to your doctor before starting something like this.  I was able to talk to my doc about both pilates and swimming for exercise when I went in for my check-up and got the green light for both!

A quick check-up

I went in to see my gyno today for my annual visit to get my "lady bits" checked, which conveniently coincided with going off the pill a couple of weeks ago.  I adore my doctor.  The woman is able to pop the speculum in, get the swab, and tell you you're done quicker than you can fold the crappy magazine you were reading, while swaddled in over-sized paper clothing, and pop it back in the rack.  I had some questions that I wanted to ask her in mind before heading over there - i.e. How long before my cycle regulates so that I know when to call you if it doesn't?  Anything in particular I should avoid eating/drinking?  Having confirmed that I'm not a crack addict, alcoholic, or chain smoker; I passed with flying colors when it comes to exercising regularly, eating balanced as much as possible, and general awareness of maintaining good habits.  She gave me a little warning to be mindful of certain fish that are heavy in mercury, and also suggested keeping away from super processed meats (i.e. deli meats and hot dogs).  She was nice enough to say that she doesn't really need to tell me to cut down on anything in particular seeing as I'm not really doing any of those things anyway.  Gold star please! 

It'll be about a week before I get my results from the blood work, but she isn't anticipating any deficiencies, especially considering I've been on a pre-natal vitamin for months already.  So, now that I've had my annual tune-up, let's hope everything else goes smoothly!

My cup of tea?

It seems that there has always been some disagreement as to the amount of caffeine that is permissible during pregnancy.  The good news for coffee fiends is that, more recently, it's determined to be pretty safe to drink about 200mg of caffeine per day during pregnancy without any ill effects, so you don't have to give it up completely.  At the same time, that 200mg limit can easily be met by a single 8oz cup of coffee.  Seeing as it's suggested to cut down on caffeine intake from trying to conceive through pregnancy, I figured I should weigh out my options here for what is ok to drink.

Fortunately for me, I actually cut down on coffee and soda several years ago.  75% of the time, I'm drinking water or green tea.  The problem is of course that caffeine appears in lots of places.  The 3-4 cups of green tea that I usually drink daily each contain 30-50mg of caffeine which, when added to my one morning coffee each day, already puts me over the 200mg mark.  That's interesting considering I don't think of myself as somebody who drinks a lot of caffeine.

Seeing as shots of whiskey are also off the table, what are my options?
- Decaffeinated coffee/tea?  Truthfully, I really don't find decaf coffee anywhere near as tasty.  My mother in law drinks double shot decaf espresso, which seems to be an oxymoron.  She says she likes the flavor, but I can't seem to garner the same joy from it.  I'd be down to give some decaf teas a try though. 
- Herbal tea could be an option, but you do have to be very careful that the herbs do not have any adverse affect on pregnancy and fertility either.  Safe ingredients (in small doses) include ginger, lime blossom, peppermint, roasted barley, rose hips, and thyme.  Meanwhile, the list of unsafe herbal tea ingredients is much longer - including (to name a few) anise, catnip, chamomile, comfrey, ephedra (a/k/a ma huang), European mistletoe, hibiscus, horehound, Labrador, lemongrass, licorice root, mugwort, pennyroyal, rosemary, sage, sassafras, stinging nettle leaf, vetiver, and yarrow.  Rasberry leaf is a tea that some use closer to being full term, but isn't suggested earlier on in the pregnancy. 
- "Clear" sodas such as 7-up, Sprite should be ok for that one soda a week that I drink.  I also love Ginger Ale, which has a secondary purpose for reducing nausea as a result of morning sickness.  I'm also glad that orange Fanta is caffeine free.  It's not clear but it's delicious!
- Juice seems like it would be a good plan given that it contains nutrients good for the body.  However, there are also limitations because the juice must be pasteurized to kill any bacteria (so no fresh squeezed).

It's funny how important something seems just because you're not supposed to be doing it.  For now, I'm glad that I should still be fine drinking one cup of coffee and one cup of green tea a day...alternative beverages to be explored soon!