The things I will try in order to make a baby

So I mentioned on Monday that I am on a mission to gain weight. Right now I am somewhere between 4'11 1/2" in and 5' and I weigh between 96 and 102 depending on the day and the scale. In my quest to make a baby I started doing some research and found out that women with a bmi below 21.5 tend to have longer cycles and more difficulty conceiving.

Guess what my bmi comes in at?

19.5


Shoot!

I talked to my ob/gyn office today and the last round of bloodwork all came back normal. Actually my progesterone levels were the highest I've ever had for CD 21. That is a good thing. So basically after all this testing we have found     -      nothing. Other than my longer cycles everything checks out fine. I mentioned trying to put on 10lbs to the nurse and she agreed with me immediately that it would help. The basic science of it is - more fat equals higher estrogen levels, shorter cycles, better lining and the body is better able to support a pregnancy.

Now I will admit to you - putting on weight when you have to is hard. We have extremely fast metabolisms in my family. I probably burn all the calories I'm taking in by chewing alone! It's also difficult to force yourself to eat more when you just aren't that hungry. I know I should feel blessed to be able to maintain a small figure but I truly think any sort of diet is hard. I also have a hard time eating junk food so taking the easy but unhealthy route of fast food isn't even an option for me. I would rather have soup or salad for lunch. I snack on fruit without thinking about it. I have worn a size 0 for over 10 years now.

I'm working hard at it though. I've been having half a bagel with a hard boiled egg for breakfast, I snack on nuts, peanut butter and pretzels during the day. Lunch is leftovers from the night before. I take extra helpings at dinner. Eat ice cream sandwiches for dessert. And my least favorite - drinking Carnation Instant Breakfasts.

For anyone that has never tried these let me enlighten you now. These suckers taste like chalk. You pour the powder in a glass, add milk, and stir. Then you have vanilla, chocolate or strawberry flavored chalk. Nasty, don't want to drink you at all chalk. Then I remember - this chalk has over 200 calories in it. And suddenly - its come to mama you tasty drink!

So the next time you see a skinny girl like me and start shooting her a death stare as she sucks down the godzilla sized milkshake just think - she maybe having just as hard of a time sucking it down as you are that salad with dressing on the side. We all have our battles - just in different ways!