Time for a Shellac-ing!

One of the unexpected downsides to cycling with IVF (in my opinion) is the absence of nice things. Things which us girls do regularly to feel, well, girly! Awhile back, before starting down the ricketty bridge of ART, I read a blog post titled Things I have learnt from and about IVF, an honest to the bones account of one woman's journey thus far. Prior to reading this, I had immersed myself with information about what I shouldn't partake in whilst cycling, everything from dyeing my hair, drinking coffee and alcohol, eating acidic foods, to not spritzing myself with SJP's Lovely and exercising (you would have thought that last one would be the ultimate excellent order....not so Dear Readers!). So, up until this point, I had been compiling a mental list of sorts, the "probably shouldn't's", holding hands with the "better not's". Oh what a fantastic pair they made!

Actually they sucked. Big Time. Whilst I'm the first to say that I'm not a slave to scheduling regular appointments investing in my physical upkeep, when I do these things for myself every couple of months, it makes me feel happy, and dare I say, it's sometimes the little things which can be a catalyst for big improvements in mood and confidence. What was an infertile to do?

Read on, that's what, because along came the abovementioned blog post just at the right time to set me straight. It offered a different perspective on the idea that we have to accept all of the advice given to us regarding how we should live during IVF. Although the article didn't mention beauty treatments, I found a certain truth to the tone of what the author was trying to get across, and here's an example:

"There is really very little you can do

It’s good that some women find cutting out alcohol and coffee helps, or doing post-embryo transfer meditation, having acupuncture, giving up work, or any number of things that make them feel better from one minute to the next. (Giving up coffee may possibly help with implantation, but the improvement is vanishingly small.) But none of these things improves outcomes as much as not being fat, not being old, not being poor, living in the right local authority area, picking the right clinic, or, sometimes, just using a different drug or protocol."

So whilst I hedged my bets a little by avoiding coffee, not dyeing my hair and exercising, I feel better prepared for my next cycle to not be so damn neurotic about my day to day practices. It may just be the antidote to the accompanying nervousness and fidgets which seem like a package deal when you purchase an IVF treatment plan.

So, here is what I really wanted to say in this post but somehow got sidetracked by my stream of consciousness..

Today, I got a hair cut, dye job, tried Shellac for the first time, and got pampered at the beauty salon...and it felt bloody great!