Yet Another Reason to Eat Candy Corn

I was so pleased to see Erin's post about National Candy Corn Day just after I received a package full of fancy Halloween candy from my in-laws. I think this series of events sparked my epiphany about why my shots have been more painful this time around--I am too skinny.

I am not bragging about my current weight. The last time I started fertility treatments, I felt stronger and healthier. My posture was better. I was also several pounds healthier. I started losing those pounds during my three days in the hospital during my miscarriage, when the doctor kept me on a regimen of morphine and ice chips because of the possibility of emergency surgery. After I left the hospital, I did not exactly maintain an appetite while watching my father vomit from chemotherapy and waste away. And finally, for the last ten days of my father's life, my mother stayed in his room with him around the clock, relying on the kindness of strangers (and friends) to bring us a meal or two a day.

(Note that I do not recommend this as a weight loss strategy.)

I am not the healthy, strong, toned person I was before I started fertility treatments the last time around. And most importantly, I do not have the same amount of belly fat.

So when you give yourself the subcutaneous injections, what you are doing is pinching the skin and fat of your belly (avoiding a two inch radius from your belly button). Today, I finally realized that I just don't have as much to pinch, and that is making the process more painful. So I will now feel free to eat a little candy corn on Halloween, in the hope that by the time I am up to three shots a day I will have gained a little more belly fat without increasing my risk of gestational diabetes.