How We Got Here

Don't worry! It's not a "too much information" post like you might be thinking!

I just wanted to talk a little bit about what we went through to start our family. We (actually I) had some fertility problems. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). This is a medical condition with many implications, but for the purpose of this blog the important thing to know is that it can prevent a woman from ovulating. Obviously, my ability to lay an egg would be a bit important in the whole trying-to-have-a-baby process. We were fortunate that we didn't have to contend with any additional factors.

We saw the fertility specialist (RE) and had some preliminary testing (I'll spare you the details). To be honest, I was a bit embarrassed and ashamed at first. I think that when a woman wants to be a mother, the inability to do so really does a number on her psyche. As I learned more about how common this was, and did more research, I felt more frustrated than embarrassed. We told very few people. This was primarily because I didn't feel that I could handle the pressure of many people knowing what we were going through and asking for updates, despite the good intentions. I was afraid that I'd become too wrapped up in feeling like I was letting others down. At the same time, I felt like staying quiet about it was perpetuating the stigma of infertility. So, I'm hoping that by being more open about it at this time I can help some other folks who might be going through a similar situation.

Back to our journey. First, they tried an oral medication to make me ovulate. Despite higher and higher dosages I never responded. So, we moved on to injectable medications to make me ovulate. I gave myself two shots every day, and went in for frequent "monitoring appointments." We were seeing a specialist who believed in being safe and sensible. We were not trying to have a litter of babies and have our own cable show. The goal was one healthy baby at a time, with the knowledge that we would have a slightly higher chance of having twins. This meant that I went in for bloodwork and ultrasounds every few days. If at any point I was developing too many follicles they would have canceled my cycle.

The first two injectable cycles were negative. Towards the end of our third cycle, we went into the RE's office to discuss what our next steps would be if this cycle was also negative. According to the RE, most couples would conceive within 3 injectable cycles. After that, the chances started to decrease with each successive cycle. He said we could try 1-2 more injectable cycles and then to IVF if we still weren't pregnant. Or, we could move straight to IVF.
We had a long conversation about what would be best for our family. We had been researching adoption, since we had discussed adoption even before we were married. I was leaning heavily toward adoption, and Edward/Alex was (to my surprise) leaning more towards IVF. There were pros and cons to each (financial concerns, emotional strain, health risks, etc). I won't go into all of them here (this post is getting to be long enough), but just understand that it's not an easy decision to make! We ultimately decided we'd try 1-2 more injectable cycles while we did more research and tried to decide which road we wanted to take.

Three days before I was scheduled to go in for my blood test, I "peed on a stick." Actually....I peed on 4. I had 5 but I didn't want to get carried away or anything ;-) They were all positive, and I couldn't believe it!

I realize how fortunate we've been. I didn't go through nearly as much as some women must go through. But infertility is painful no matter how you slice it.

Adoption may very well still be in our future. We still really like the idea of becoming parents to a child who needs a home. Right now, however, we're pregnant. Welcome to our story!