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INFERTILITY JOURNEY
From the beginning:
I have always known that I wanted more than anything to be a wife and a mother. I'm still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up, but being momma was never a question... well, that was until we started trying to make that a reality.
Mr. and I dated for almost three years before we got married. He is nearly nine years older than me, so we knew we didn't want to wait too long to start a family. We decided to toss out the birth control pills about three months after we got married and just let nature take its course. Everyone around us was getting pregnant or having baby showers, but I was yet to have my first period after tossing the pills.
From November 2007 to February 2008 my period never showed. I spent a small fortune on ovulation predictor kits and pregnancy tests. I had my annual OB/GYN appointment in late February and talked to my doctor about what was going on. He started me on progesterone to have a period and asked me to chart (BBT) my cycle. My chart was a mess, so we started fertility medication in hopes for a (+) pregnancy test. After 5 months of ovulation inducing mediation with my OB/GYN we decided it was time to see a specialist.
May/08, 50 mg Femara - No Ovulation. BFN. Started Progesterone for next cycle.
June/08, 50 mg Clomid -No Ovulation. BFN. Started Progesterone for next cycle.
August/08, 100 mg Clomid - No Ovulation. BFN. Started Progesterone for next cycle.
September/08, 150 mg Clomid -No Ovulation. BFN. Started Progesterone for next cycle.
In September 2008 we met with our Reproductive Endocrinologist, and finally had some answers. It turns out that my problem getting pregnant was all in my head. Literally, my pituitary gland doesn't talk to my ovaries. The diagnosis was premature ovarian failure, POF. We almost immediately started an injection cycle and were so blessed that our first cycle with the RE resulted in a beautiful baby boy!
Jackson's Cycle:
October 2008
CD5 - 25mg Femera
CD7-12 - 75iu Follistim Shots
CD13 - HCG Trigger Shot
CD 14-15 - Timed Baby Making:)
CD 26 - 11 DPO positive HPT, 30 Beta
CD 30 - 15 DPO, 196 Beta
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The time has come for us to now start documenting our journey to baby Wilson 2.0. We have had high hopes that we'll be able to conceive without medication this time around.
When Jackson was 10 months old, I started my very first period (without hormones, the pill, or progesterone) since I was in high school. And shockingly enough, I had a very irregular and unpredictable cycle every 30 - 47 days thereafter.
In April of 2011, we unofficially started trying to get pregnant. By June, Mr. and I decided to start charting my cycles and really start trying to get pregnant on our own {we have never prevented, but we weren't necessarily "trying"}. But, with each passing month staring down at a stark white pregnancy test just got harder and harder.
I had my annual appointment with my OB/GYN in July, 2011, which quickly took us from casually trying to get pregnant to slight obsession. Charting got more serious, and I may or may not have thought about peeing on a stick as a profession.
On September 29, 2011, I was driving home from a business meeting yesterday and had such extreme pelvic pressure and pain that I called my doctor. Knowing that he was adamant on me doing whatever it took to get pregnant while I still had a chance, he ordered an ultrasound for me. The best I could explain what I'd been feeling for almost the last month was that my ovaries felt like they were turning to stone. Weird, yes. Painful, exceptionally. If I could have worn sweatpants to work, I would have.
As luck would have it, the timing of my ultrasound and appointment with my doctor was pretty amazing. The ultrasound showed that my left ovary was within a normal size range and had a few very small follicles. My right ovary showed to be my dominate ovary, and it appeared that I had either just ovulated {CD 17} or was in the process of ovulating with a 18mm follicle. It also showed a bit of fluid, which would support both ovulation and our consensus that I had most likely had a cyst as well.
A week later, a blood test confirmed that I did ovulate, my level was a 17. However, this wasn't our cycle. I started my period and pregnancy tests were all negative.
At that point, we decided to make the call for an appointment with our RE. This process didn't move quite as quickly as it did with Jackson. Since I was still having a cycle on my own, there was a lot of wait time between cycles for different consults, blood tests and ultrasounds. The biggest barrier, for me, was a newly mandated HSG test. For some reason, the test just completely terrified me and I put it off until after the holidays and new year. Not to mention, at the time Jackson's health condition and expenses were my number one priority.
On February 13, 2012, I finally had my HSG test and a had plan to move forward. We started our first cycle with the RE in March, which unfortunately didn't result in a pregnancy. You can follow along about that cycle here:
CD1
The Schedule
Shot One
Go Time
The Deed Is Done
Just Keep Swimming
If at first you don't succeed
Our second cycle, this second time around, turned out to be a bit of a roller coaster! The good news is that it was a ride worth taking...Baby Wilson 2.0 is due January 3, 2013!!!
The schedule started out about the same, only a cycle day 4 start date as opposed to day 3... and the addition of 7 nights of injections as opposed to 5. I prayed for a cycle just like Jackson's, and well it was pretty damn identical!
Posts listed here:
My Eggs
My Golden Eggs
Hormonal Rage
The Teaser
Big Brother
It's a Girl
