Taking Charge of Your Fertility: A Book Review

I'll admit, it's been many years since I've read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" (aff link) cover to cover.  But, I still think it's a great book, and I still consult it on a regular basis when I answer questions over at the Christian Family Planning Network. So, I thought I'd do a little post about it here.

One of the main reasons I like "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" (hereafter TCOYF) is that it teaches women to interpret their natural fertility cycles, giving them a viable alternative to hormonal birth control.  I think TCOYF should be required reading for every engaged woman, at least until someone comes out with a book that covers the material from an evangelical Christian perspective.

And that brings us to my first caution in regards to TCOYF. It is written by Toni Weschler, MPH, from a secular standpoint.  She doesn't say anything against religion in the book but in the chapter on practicing the Fertility Awareness Method responsibly, it is clear that she views sex as something that can be shared between two consenting single adults, and not solely within a marriage relationship.

If you can get past the author's stance on sex outside of marriage, then you will find TCOYF to be a very helpful book. Weschler does an excellent job of laying the ground work for the more complicated concepts through sections on changing the way we view our fertility and reproductive health, explanations of the natural fertility cycle, using FAM as birth control, achieving pregnacy, and even practical benefits of charting your cycle.

Within each section, she breaks the issues down into chapters, and covers the material in manageable chunks.  Many women are intimidated by the size of TCOYF, as it's 473 pages long, including the index, but the chapters are short, with many pictures, diagrams and sidebars.  Weschler writes in an easy to read, humorous style. When I read TCOYF for the first time, I found it difficult to put down!

All in all, TCOYF is a great resource for any couple who is looking for a natural alternative to hormonal birth control, if they can look past the pitfalls of the secular perspective.

Leaving a Legacy

Friday would have been my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary.  Grandpa passed away four and a half years ago though. I still try to make a point to call Grandma on that day every summer to let her know I'm thinking of her. I also called both my siblings to remind them, and they were able to call Grandma as well. My sister let me know that Grandma's neighbor stopped by with a plate of brownies and was going to visit for a little bit, so Grandma didn't have to be alone.

I didn't really think about this on Friday when I talked to my grandma, but she really did set a great example for us grandkids in how to live out the "in sickness" part of our marriage vows. Grandpa had a number of strokes when I was a teenager, and Grandma cared for him at home until I was in college. Eventually it did become too difficult for her to care for him at home, and he did have to go into long-term care, but even then, Grandma visited him multiple times a day, and still took care of brushing his hair, washing his face, cleaning his dentures and doing his laundry. We even celebrated Thanksgiving at the long-term care facility with Grandpa.

Remembering how Grandma took care of Grandpa the last decade of their marriage, despite Grandpa not really being able to "give back" to her beyond words of thanks inspires me. When I reflect on everything that they went through, our dietary issues don't seem so big and scary anymore.

So... Thank you Grandma for setting a great example for the rest of the family on what it means to love your spouse in sickness and in health. I love you!

We survived our first dinner!

So, in our quest to become a gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free, corn-free, peanut-free household, last night for dinner we had mashed cauliflower and hamburger patties.

Image source

It wasn't EXACTLY like mashed potatoes, but it was close enough that it wasn't a horrible substitution.  We were also able to test DH's potential reaction to tomato, with some organic ketchup he picked up.  And.... we discovered that he could eat it, so it looks pretty likely that the culprit that started all this was the high fructose corn syrup IN the tomato sauce, and not the tomatoes themselves.  :)  Yay!

Friday's Letters

Another week gone, means another set of letters!

Dear Facebook "Likers",

Thank you for liking my blog's Facebook page!  I do hope you've made your way over here to read my full post!

The newbie blog author

Dear friend,

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, for being patient with me while I learn, and most of all, for being my friend!

Your friend

Dear gluten, soy, and corn,

It is with deep sadness that I must bid you goodbye. I hope you have a happy existence... in someone else's stomach.

The one who no longer wants to feel icky

Dear casein,

If you promise to be nice to us, you can stick around a little longer.  We really like our ice cream and cheese.

The one who doesn't want to see you go

Dear UWMC,

It looks like you forgot to send us half our bill.  Oh well, I know I shouldn't worry. I'm sure you'll send the other half soon.

The one who owes you money

Dear Husband,

Thank you for coming on this adventure with me, and for running to two different stores tonight when I forgot  various food items.

Your loving wife

Some Answers!

We have SOME answers!  The doctor from Urgent Care just called with his allergy test results from Monday.  Apparently my wonderful DH is allergic to: Soybean, Wheat, Peanut, Corn, Shrimp, Sesame seeds

I'm sure we'll be adding to that list once he gets the major test done.    FWIW, his mom is sensitive to soy, and corn, and his dad is allergic to shrimp, so all of that didn't really surprise me. 

Image source

And life continues...

Well, DH is STILL breaking out in hives, but we think we know what is causing it this time, so we're changing our diet yet again.  Some of it we're changing for my health, and some we're changing for DH's health.  No more gluten (me), no more casein (both of us), no more soy (me), no more corn (DH), no more rice (DH), no more tomato (DH, at least until we get his allergy tests back).

I called our naturopath today and asked if they would take DH on as a patient so that we can get a more comprehensive allergy test than the little dinky one they ordered at Urgent Care on Monday.  They are going to take DH on, so they'll order those tests, and two others we need run.  He has an appointment on August 6th with the ND to talk about his test results.  We're praying for some answers so we can figure out what all DH can eat!  :P

Yesterday...

How about another story about Life in Little Hispaniola....

This past Saturday, DH broke out in hives about the same time we were sitting down to eat dinner.  He took one dose of Benadryl before bedtime, and we figured we'd see how things looked in the morning before we decided if we were going to church or not.

On Sunday morning, he was more broken out, so we just stayed home for the morning and hung out together.  In the early afternoon, we headed to DH's brother's house, and had lunch with them.  DH crashed on their couch while the rest of us watched Numb3rs on Netflix. :P

We left their place after DH had another dose of Benadryl (his third), and came home, and went to bed after a fairly calm evening.

Image source

Monday morning, it was obvious that the hives were not letting up, so we decided to go to Urgent Care.  We were there for probably close to three hours, waiting, and then talking to the doctor.  We're fairly certain that the hives were caused by something DH ate, so we asked her to order an allergy test, which she did.  She also prescribed him some prednisone.  We went directly to the lab for the blood draw, and then went to Wal-mart to fill the prescription and get some groceries.

Once we got home, we made lunch, ate, and then DH took his first dose of prednisone.  Two hours later, it was VERY obvious that the prednisone was NOT helping, and may have even made the hives worse.  So, I called the Urgent Care location we had been at in the morning, and they said to take him to the ER.  I called DH's brother and sister-in-law, and sister-in-law drove us to the ER.

Image source

The physician's assistant at the ER took one look at DH's hives, his eyes widened, and then he prescribed a bunch of different medications, including a shot of Benadryl, Singular, Zantac, and Vistaril.  The RN gave him the shot of Benadryl, and then we got to sit there for an hour.  DH got pretty drowsy, but he didn't fall asleep.  Within the hour, the hives went away almost completely!

We finally got to come home, where DH rested on the couch for a bit longer, and then we had dinner.  When we were sitting down to dinner it looked like the hives were picking back up again, this time on the bottom of his feet, but he took some more Benadryl, and they were gone this morning, so he went back to work.

And that was our weekend.  How was yours?