Re: fertility, ? for

[Guest guest]

I had an interesting fertility experience as well. I conceived easily the first two times, and my first two children are 2 years apart. There is an obvious (to me) difference in their level of health, as my second-born has more allergies (at nearly 4 he *still* has cradle cap!), especially to wheat and also has my sugar addiction and low blood sugar problems, neither of which bother his older sister as much.

Anyway, after my menstrual cycle returned at 22 months postpartum (I nurse my children at least 3-4 years, and subsequently have 1-2 years without cycles), we weren't using any contraceptives and yet I didn't conceive for long past a year - which seemed odd to me because with my first two I conceived almost instantly. I began the course of reading that has finally brought me to NT, via books teaching about good fats and necessary protein and the "evils" of carbohydrate-heavy diets. After reading "Before the Change: Perimenopause" and figuring out that too many carbs were knocking my hormones out of whack (perimenopause at age 35!), with elevated estrogen levels and subsequent suppression of ovulation, I decided to try the Atkins diet. After 1-1/2 years of not conceiving, I got pregnant TWO WEEKS after starting Atkins. I am convinced that I had 18 months of cycles without actually ovulating, but eliminating carbs and trying to get more good fat and protein got my hormones back in line. Unfortunately, I didn't discover NT until just a few weeks ago, so this baby also will be born (in 5 weeks) without benefit of traditional eating, although I am working to find sources and get these things into my diet.

As for family history, my father was raised on a Texas farm with a real old-fashioned root cellar and lots of raw milk and cream and butter (and bare feet and outdoors and few if any vaccinations), oh and was breastfed for over a year. He has absolutely perfect, beautiful teeth (maybe one or two small fillings?) and wide, lovely bones in his face. He is never, ever sick, and at 63 is only just beginning to feel his age and he did get reading glasses in his mid-50s, although he also discovered eye exercises and doesn't need them as much any more.

My mother was not as lucky. Her parents were from the country and were very healthy, so she had very good bone structure and straight teeth, but had quite a few cavities. She was not breastfed and was born in the city and ate grocery-store food, and was not nearly as healthy as my father, with allergies and other health problems. She died at age 54 from breast cancer.

My older sister and I have our father's wide bone structure, but our younger brother's face is somewhat narrower. We all have some allergies; my older sister the least and I the most (my mother had less time to recover, with less than 2 years between my sister and me, and more than 4 years between me and my brother, so his allergies aren't as bad as mine). None of us needed braces or glasses (although we all had to have wisdom teeth pulled, no room), but our children are certainly showing signs of deteriorating health! My sister's #2 child has severely crowded teeth, asthma, and very narrow features, with an almost completely flat bridge on her nose and very narrow nasal passages.

I already mentioned that my #2 has worse general health than his older sister, but my oldest is the one who is in glasses for far-sightedness and in vision therapy for inability to use binocular vision (both eyes at once), and she is the one with crowded teeth. She is also the one who was severely colicky as a baby and is still very "touchy" and overly sensitive - I think, probably fatty acid deficiency? Especially if mother eating more fat will help calm a colicky baby! Boy, do I wish I had known that 6 years ago!

I have been considering having my daughter looked at as a candidate for spreading her palate as her teeth come in (so far she has only 2 permanent teeth; she is 6). , please tell me more about your daughter's palate widening on its own! Is she really getting more space for her permanent teeth? My daughter had perfect-looking baby teeth without the wide spacing between them. It looked great, but of course didn't leave enough room for her permanent ones! Her two adult lower front teeth are in, and are a little crooked, and you can tell there's just no room for all her bigger teeth! I would be thrilled to think that all the good butter and cream I'm giving her now could actually help it widen on its own!

Carma Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught. - Wilde - carmapaden@...

[Guest guest]

It's only been a little over a year and yes there has been a change. Her

front two teeth don't overlap as much as they used to. Her front two teeth

are still a little larger than the others and the ones on each side are each

turned slightly inwards. She may still need braces at some point to correct

this however according to our dentist the correction is much simpler and not

as crucial as what we were originally dealing with. I can't say for a fact

that it's the diet that has created the change. What I do know is that

something is encouraging the palate change and our diet is one thing that

we've altered during that time so why not keep doing it. For me the teeth is

just an added bonus, the overall health has improved so dramatically and that

I can document as to the dietary changes that I'll keep it up. I just cringe

when I see the cardboard some of the other kids consume!