Trying - Week 1: Drink more water

There are subtle, but important, changes to your body and sense of well being when you start drinking more water. Your skin looks better, you’re more alert though the day, your body eliminates toxins better and faster, all the systems of your body just work better. And you have fewer (real) headaches... very important when you're Trying!

My Nurse Midwife, JoAnna, has me drinking 75 ounces a day to get in the habit. That's the water equivalent to a little more than six 12 oz pop cans. I can totally do that! Here are some ways I've made water a part of each day as I try to conceive:

1. Added a water bottle to my "accessories">
   *What I did: requisitioned two lidded tupperware juice containers from the house, 58 and 64 ounces each. I bring them and a favorite cup to work every day. Not glamorous, but free, and they do the job nicely.
   *Other ideas: Travel cups, thermos, stainless steel, high tech plastic
   *Get creative:
   Make a bottle cover: crochet, sewn fleece, knit
   Make a cup: Go to a pottery studio, like The Canvas here in Juneau, and take a class.
   
2. Cube it.
   *What I did: I'm bad about eating citrus, but lots come in our box from Full Circle Farm (a Community Supported Agriculture farm in Washington State), so oranges and grapefruits sit around getting a bit old. Once every week or two week I spend 15 minutes juicing them all, then freeze them in ice cube trays and store them in freezer bags. I add some to my water bottle each morning before going to work.
   *Other ideas: Make cubes from water, fruit juices or concentrates, fresh citrus that grows in your area, or just keep lemon & lime wedges in the fridge for a quick squeeze.
   *Get creative: Find juice recipes in cookbooks or online (I just Googled "juice recipes" and got a bunch right away) and cube them.
   
3. Get a good source of water
   *What I did: Nothing. I live in a pristine rainforest, the Tongass National Forest, which offers my city a pure source of drinking water. It gets treated before it gets to my tap, of course, but not much needs to be done to it.
   *Other ideas: Find out the quality of the water in your area. If you’re unsure, or know your water source is below minimums, buy a filter pitcher for the fridge or a filter system for your sink.
   *Get creative: Please do your utmost not to buy bottled water. Not that the water is bad (though it's rarely any better than tap water) it's just that the number of plastic bottles in our world's landfills is unbelievable. There are lots of sites that focus on this, but here's a good one I found: Lighter Footstep.
   
4. Where to go from here...
   *Make your bottle a regular addition to your bag or car, take it everywhere.
   *Pass up sugar drinks and high caffeine drinks whenever you can… your bottle will help and restaurants often serve good lemon water… for free!
   *Drink! If you forget your bottle for a few days… don’t fret, just clean it out and start again.
   
   
   

   Of course, drinking more means peeing more... but that's something you'll have to get used to also, if your Trying is successful!

   
   
   

   Kampai, a sante, cheers, slainte! Drink up.