Oct 2011 ICLW

Welcome ICLWers! Thanks for stopping by! Let me introduce myself: I'm Hope, and I've had 5 very early miscarriages, due to a variety of issues, including: mild thyroid imbalance, mild PCOS, three "minor" genetic blood clotting factors, and several immune factors.

Currently, we are working with a Reproductive Immunology (RI) center to try to correct the imbalances in my immune system so that I will, hopefully be able to maintain our next pregnancy.

Aside from my propensity to kill off any baby that tries to grow in my womb, I am also a volunteer music docent at a local public school, where I teach music in 2 Kindergarten classrooms each week. I am part of a team of Sunday School teachers at my church, where I teach or assist in the 3rd-5th grade classroom about twice a month. I also lead the children's choir at my church.

Most of the rest of the time, I am busy cooking and trying to keep up with the housework (when I'm not procrastinating by reading blogs). Because of my PCOS and my immune issues, Dr. R. (my RE) has recommended a low glycimic index (GI) diet that is also gluten and dairy free. This means that I cook all my meals from scratch at home, because it is nearly impossible to find pre-prepared food that meets all my dietary requirements. This type of cooking takes about 20 hours per week, sometimes more, sometimes less, but it's worth it to me to be healthy. I sometimes blog about exciting new recipes that allow me to enjoy again favorite foods. Coming soon--a post about gluten free, low GI crackers.


I know that RI can be a controversial subject, but I have been tested and treated for nearly every other possible cause for my miscarriages (there might be some I don't know about, but we've tested for just about everything I've ever heard of) and RI represents my last best hope of actually carrying a pregnancy to term, myself.

P.S. I know that RI can be a controversial subject, but I have been tested and treated for nearly every other possible cause for my miscarriages (there might be some I don't know about, but we've tested for just about everything I've ever heard of), and I now believe that RI represents my last best hope of actually carrying a pregnancy to term. I've made the decision to pursue RI treatment after more than a year of research and deliberation, and I would appreciate your support as I move forward towards my goal of having a baby that is genetically and biologically related to both me and The Mister, even if you disagree with my choice of treatment methods. Thanks.