Infertility Awareness Week

Since this week is Infertility Awareness Week I thought I might share our story.  Most of you know bits and pieces of this story but if it helps even one person to not feel alone during their journey then it’s worth putting it out there. 

Jared and I were married in June 2005.  We basically started trying right away to get pregnant.  A year went by and nothing.  I asked questions at my annual OB appointment and he did some blood tests and prescribed Clomid (an oral infertility medication).   After my blood tests came back I was diagnosed with PCOS and prescribed Metformin (also used for Diabetes patients).  This medication did a number on my stomach.  But I got used to it after a while. 

After 5 months of Clomid and numerous other tests, acupuncture and no pregnancy my OB referred me to an RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist).    We tried  Clomid with an IUI our first round with the RE and got pregnant!   We got to see the heartbeat at 5 weeks with the RE and were released back to my OB.  At 9  weeks we found the baby’s heart had stopped beating.  I had miscarried.  I had no symptoms of a miscarriage.  It’s what they called a missed-miscarriage.  I was at the appointment by myself and had to drive myself home.  I was a wreck.  I had a D&C the next day. 

We waited 1 month before we tried again.  This time we did injectable infertility meds with IUI.  We did this twice with no success.  In August 2007 I had to have a surgical procedure done to remove polyps.  We started IUI with injectable medications again in October.  Neither October or November worked.  Our RE stated that she’d do one more IUI then we needed to think about IVF.  Jared refused to talk about it.  His opinion was that you didn’t talk about the next “game” until the current game was over.  I on the other had wanted to know what we were going to do next.  I had little faith that this last IUI would work.  I didn’t want to try IVF, if we were going to spend that kind of money I wanted to move towards adoption.  But Jared’s heart wasn’t open to that at the time.  I let it go. 

We did the last IUI in December and on December 30th I got a positive pregnancy test.  I was excited but cautious.  In January (on a Friday night) I started bleeding.  I freaked out.  My RE’s office said that some bleeding could be normal and they scheduled me for an appointment on Monday.  Jared was helping my sister move to Des Moines that weekend so I was alone…again.   At Monday’s appointment we couldn’t see the heartbeat yet (too soon) but my RE could see blood clots in there and what was happening as the baby and my uterus was growing it was pushing the blood clots out.  I was so thankful that it didn’t look like another miscarriage.  I ended up having a very non-eventful pregnancy with Caitlyn and delivered her in September 2008.

With Cole we tried naturally for a year again and when nothing came of that visited the RE again.  It took 3 IUI’s with injectable medications to get pregnant the third time.   I had some morning/all day sickness with Cole’s pregnancy throughout the first trimester and the rest of the pregnancy was uneventful. 

This fourth pregnancy was a complete surprise.  Jared and I were on completely different pages.  He really wanted to try for a 3^rd and I felt like we were complete with 2.  I knew I didn’t want to do any type of treatment again so I told him that we could try naturally for a year and if nothing happened we’d stop trying.  A year and a half after that conversation I was trying to convince him we were done trying.  He wanted one more month.  We both prayed.  He prayed for a 3^rd child.  I prayed that God would give Jared peace with our decision to stop trying.  Three weeks later we had a positive pregnancy test.  Jared was so excited.  I was in complete shock.   I was more sick with this pregnancy and it lasted further into the 2^nd trimester.  I’m feeling much better now most days. 

If anyone reading this is going through infertility, please know that you are not alone.  It may feel that way because it seems to be a taboo topic but there are so many going through the same things.  I may have gotten through my hurdles but the pain and frustration is still there at times. 

God's plans were different than mine but they are better than we could ever imagine! 

3rd Times a Charm

This is so cliche...but true!  Our third IUI worked!  I tested on NYE and it was positive!!!  Our due date is September 9th, 2011.  This was Caitlyn's due date as well.  I truly believe that my mom is watching over us and had a hand in this...as September 9th was her birthday as well!

I'm working on an update of my first trimester and will post again soon! 

Third Go Around

When I first started writing this post a little over a week ago, I titled it Defeated.  I was feeling pretty down about our second cycle not working.  Especially because the numbers were in our favor.  The nurses and Dr's all thought this was going to work for us.  But it didn't. 
 
Our first cycle in October we used the same protocol that we did to get pregnant with Caitlyn. I took Femara (pill) from day 3 through day 8. I started Gonal-F injections on day 6 of my cycle. I did these injections for 5 days. I triggered ovulation with an HCG trigger shot and we did the IUI on Oct 25th. I took Caitlyn to daycare that day but took the day off so I could go home and lay down and just relax all day. I didn't respond very well this time around to those drugs. I think I had 2 follies (eggs) that may have been viable. I was still optimistic. I had "symptoms" the whole time I was waiting to test. That cycle failed.


Our second cycle in November we used a totally different protocol. On day 3 I started Follistim injections. I did this injection for 7 days. Then on day 8 I used a Ganirelix injection in the morning and then I took 2 lupron injections 12 hours apart for ovulation. We had great numbers this time around. I responded really well (25 eggs) to the meds that they put me on. Jared's numbers were the best they've ever been while we've been trying (42 million little swimmers). Two Dr's and all the nurses were talking to me about multiples. I think they were all convinced I'd be pregnant. Jared said he had the same feeling that he did when we were pregnant with Caitlyn, so he was convinced that I was pregnant. I had no symptoms this month. We also added another drug (Estradiol) to the protocol during my 2 week wait that I had never had to take before. When I talked to Jared about the multiples factor we both kind of laughed about it. Do you know who we are?  We'll be thankful for one.  This cycle failed.


We are in the middle of our third cycle.  Almost the same protocol as last cy only instead of 75 units of Follistim they lowered it to 50 units every day.   I'm on day 8 of injections and as of this morning I'll have at least 2 more.  I have another follow up appt on Wednesday morning and then hopefully IUI will be either Friday or Saturday morning. 


We started this process because I had met my deductible this year. This is my last cycle before the end of the year and our deductible starts over. I'm not sure what we'll do if this third cycle doesn't work. When we were trying to get pregnant with Caitlyn we were on our last cycle that Dr. M would let us do the IUI. She was pushing for IVF after that and we hadn't decided what we would do in that situation. And thankfully we didn't have to make a decision.

We found out that we were pregnant with Caitlyn on New Year's Eve in 2007...maybe we'll have another New Year's surprise!  I'm hoping I'm meant to be surrounded by Virgo's in this house and this will be our month! 

Baby Making Train

I just realized I hadn't posted an update about our appt with Dr. M!  We met with her on Friday June 18th.  Let me just say first that I love her!  She is wonderful and I am so grateful that she is our Dr and the one helping us get pregnant again!  She is very confident that since we know what it takes to get us pregnant that it won't take us long this time.  We have a few tests that we have to do but she thought we should wait for at least two months after my surgery before we commence with the testing and then the procedures.  I had asked her if she thought I could put the surgery off until after we have another baby.  I really didn't want to have this surgery so I was trying to get out of it.  Even though I knew what her answer was going to be.  She didn't want to chance me getting another infection while I was pregnant.  I wouldn't be able to take the drugs I would need to fight the infection and the infection could spread to the baby.  We definitely wouldn't have wanted to take that chance.  I hadn't even thought of that possibility.  So I called Dr. O that Monday and they scheduled me for surgery that Friday.

So in September Jared and I will go in for blood draws and I'll also have a sonohysterogram done to make sure that my tubes are nice and open and ready to conceive a baby!  As long as all our test results come back normal we'll start the IUI process in October!  It's actually perfect timing because we'll be taking 2 long weekend vacations mid September and early October!  It's all falling into place very nicely!  Hopefully it keeps going this way!     

Here We Go Again!

So awhile ago I changed the name of this blog because I wanted to write about Jared and I as well as stories and milestones about Caitlyn. But I never got into the grove of writing about Jared and I. And I've been lacking with the Caitlyn stories as well! So I hope to be posting much more!

Jared and I have been talking about trying for #2 and it's getting pretty serious. For the longest time after Caitlyn was born when people asked when we were going to try for # 2 I would laugh and say never. I would joke that if we were to have another one we'd be getting a "Tony" (my brother). A child who doesn't sleep, and was a terror as a child! My dad jokes about this all the time. I was the perfect baby. I would sleep all night long almost from the moment they brought me home. I would wake up in the mornings and I would play in my crib until someone came to get me. I was laid back. I was potty trained by 18 months. Then Tony came along. I tell people that my daughter spoils me...not the other way around! Although she gets her fair share! She goes to bed at 7:30...sleeps through the night...and on the weekends usually sleeps until 9:00. She still takes 2-3 hour naps on the weekends in the afternoons. My girl can sleep! She's also pretty self sufficient. She can play on her own for periods of time or adjusts her play to whatever we may be doing around the house. It's awesome. So I worry that the next baby might not be as easy. But I'm to the point that that would be ok. That I wouldn't love that baby any less if he/she didn't sleep through the night. Or kept me on my toes a little more. So we are ready to start this journey again.

Last week I had my blood drawn to test my progesterone. The test came back border line and Dr. N said he thought that we'd need assistance again to get pregnant. So I called the fertility clinic and made an appointment with Dr. M for June. I could have made an appointment with her partner for April. I had started out with Dr. R the first time we were at the clinic. After my MC though I switched to Dr. M and I felt a connection. So I feel that it's worth the wait to be able to see her. Since it's been over a year since I've been seen we're basically starting from scratch. I'm hoping the journey towards # 2 is much shorter than our journey for Caitlyn. But Caitlyn was worth the heartache and the wait and # 2 will be as well.

I really debated about writing about this on this blog. But I figure I'm like an open book anyway. Most people knew / know what we went through with Caitlyn and we can use all the support we can get from family / friends! Plus writing has always helped me process information as well. I don't see how I could go wrong!

The Scare

On Wednesday January 9, 2008 I started spotting. I didn't have any symptoms with my last miscarriage but I thought for sure that I was having another miscarriage. I called the RE's office and they assured me that some spotting can be normal in early pregnancy. As long as I wasn't having any cramping they thought I was fine. On Friday January 11th I started bleeding more heavily. I told Jared that something had to be wrong. My sister was moving to Des Moines that weekend and we were supposed to help her move. Jared still went with them on Saturday, but I stayed home. We decided not to go to the ER as I didn't think there would be anything they could do. I was already taking progesterone supplements and I had put myself on bedrest. I wanted to wait until Monday to see my RE. I was sure the baby was gone at this point anyway. On Monday the RE fit me in right away. We did an internal u/s and come to find out I had some blood clots and as the baby was growing, it was pushing the clots out. It was still too early to see the heartbeat at this appt., but everything looked right on track as it should be. We went back 2 weeks later on January 29, 2008 for another u/s to see the baby's heartbeat...this was the best moment ever! The heartbeat was 167bpm. I had spotting off and on for the next 2 months as the blood clots were pushed out. I also got an appt. with an u/s every 2 weeks during the first trimester to keep on eye on what was happening.

Our Journey to Pregnancy

We stopped using birth control prior to our wedding. For the first year after our wedding we just waited for it to happen. I was diagnosed with PCOS in July of 2006 and started taking a drug called Metformin, I used this until I was 12 weeks pg. It was not a fun drug for me. Then in October 2006 I started using a fertility drug called Clomid. My main side effects of this was hot flashes and terrible mood swings. I tried this for 3 months and when we didn't get any results I was referred to an RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist). In the mean time I had started acupuncture in December of 2006. I love my acupuncturist and still have sessions - although not as often. She helped me in more ways than she can possibly know! January 2007 we had our initial visit with the RE. For the next month Jared and I went through all the testing. We did our first IUI (intrauterine insemination) on March 22, 2007. And wouldn't you know it we got pregnant with the first try! We were so ecstatic! Everything looked great. We saw and heard the heartbeat at 7 weeks through an u/s. It never crossed my mind that we could lose that baby. But we did in May 2007. I went for a regular check up and the heartbeat was gone. I had a D&C the Wednesday before Mother's Day. There are no words to explain how I was feeling at that time. We started trying again in June and it took us 5 more IUI's and a surgery to remove some polyp's before getting pregnant again. We got a positive home pregnancy test on 12/30/07!