Our (TTC, IF, IUI) Journey

John and I met in September of 1998.  We were only 18.  We dated throughout college and tied the knot in October of 2005.  We like to take things slow, as you can see, so we didn't start trying for a baby until 2008.  After trying NOT to get pregnant for so long, we just assumed that it would happen fairly quickly and boy were we wrong...

At first, "baby making" was an exciting adventure, but after a few months I started to get concerned (have I mentioned that I'm not a very patient person).  By the end of the year we were both frustrated and worried that there was a problem, so I scheduled an appointment with my ob/gyn.  Since stopping birth control pills, my cycle had been completely out of whack.  This made timing "baby making" quite a challenge (I know, doesn't that sound romantic)!  John and I were put through an array of tests, which all came back normal.  However, my doctor thought that I might have borderline PCOS.  She prescribed Metformin to regulate my cycle. 

2009:  We continued "baby making" the old fashion way.  My cycles became much more regular, but after 12 months we still hadn't gotten pregnant...

December 2009:  My ob/gyn finally referred us to a reproductive endocrinologist.

April 2010:  We had our first appointment with the fertility doctor (she was booked out 3 months!).  After another fun battery of tests (including an HSG for me), she diagnosed us with unexplained infertility.  She said that I did NOT have PCOS and was appalled that I had been taking Metformin for so long (apparently it's pretty hard on your body).  She had me stop taking it immediately.  In it's place we would try 3 rounds of clomid + ovidrel + IUI + progesterone.

(This is where the fun really started…  I would stop at the doctor on my way to work, or over my lunch hour, several times a week for ultrasounds and blood draws.  Worst of all, now our "baby making" was happening in a doctor's office and my hubby didn't even have to be in the room!  This wasn’t quite how I had envisioned things…  Not to mention the fact that all of the hormones made me a complete lunatic.  It’s no joke that one of the side effects of clomid is “inability to cope”).

May 2010:  Round 1= FAIL.

(I added weekly, sometimes bi-weekly, acupuncture treatments after our first failed IUI attempt to help ease the side effects of all the meds and to increase my fertility.  My acupuncturist diagnosed me with a kidney yang deficiency.  She recommended that I make some dietary changes and taught me about the importance of slowing down and being mindful).

 

June 2010:  Round 2= FAIL.

(I have to admit that I was completely devastated at this point and not very hopeful that the third round would work.  We even scheduled an appointment to talk with our reproductive endocrinologist about the next step, IVF…).

July 2010:  Round 3= SUCCESS!!!!  (Needless to say, we were over the moon!)

July 30, 2010:  I saw our baby’s heart beat for the first time…  I also officially graduated from the fertility clinic!!

October 29, 2010:  We found out that we’re having a BOY!

March 24, 2011:  Jackson's due date!