Note: I am writing this blog partly as a therapy and personal/family history, and partly as a way to keep my family and dear friends informed. I didn't want it as public as Facebook, but if I am sharing this with you, just know that you have permission to share with anyone who might be interested or who you think may benefit.
Since my last post, I've found my Top Ten Guy(see previous post). I feel so very blessed and lucky to have married Hans Branch. When we first started dating, he asked if the fact that he had four kids was a concern for me. I told him no, as long as he was open to having more. He said he would be and he meant it. He said he wanted to have the experience of parenthood from the beginning with me. He said he could see how I light up when I hold a baby and how much I want to be a mother and he wants me to have that opportunity. He left no doubt about his commitment when he underwent a painful surgery(vasectomy reversal) a few months before we married.
Several months after our marriage, the doctor started me on a round of Clomid. Since we were both 39, we didn't feel that we could wait and hope for a full year before taking any action. This lasted about 4 months, with no success. I had also been tracking my temperature every morning and taking ovulation tests. So, just after our 1 year anniversary in March, we decided to take the plunge and use up everything I had saved to pay off my student loan debts to instead pursue IVF.
All of our tests have been good/normal: my HSG(x-ray of uterus and fallopian tubes), and blood tests, his semen analysis. This is good, because it means that there is no major concern to make us poor candidates for the IVF, but frustrating because we still don't know why we haven't been able to get pregnant naturally.
A friend of Hans's referred us to Dr. Richards, who was their IVF doctor. They traveled to CA for the procedure. Lucky for us Dr. Richards now practices in Utah, so we only have to travel to Logan.
The PROCESS
I have been taking Prenatal Vitamins with Zinc and Folate since we decided to pursue this. On April 27, I started taking Birth Control pills- only the red ones, no sugar pills, until the Doctor told me to stop on the 17th. Hans and I both had to take a week of an antibiotic, which I hated to do, but it is standard for all IVF couples, so I decided to trust the doctors and go ahead with it. I have also been drinking Kefir and eating raw sauerkraut to try and replace the probiotics.
On May 12, I started giving myself an injection every morning, which really hasn't been too bad. The tiny needle doesn't hurt at all, but I learned not too push the med in too quickly after bruising myself badly from the first one.
On Friday, I had an Estradiol blood test and on Saturday I had my first vaginal Ultrasound. Dr. Richards said the blood level(less than 25) was right where it should be. He also said that it looks as though I have a good number of eggs in there that we can work on growing over the next couple of weeks.
On Monday I will be adding two more injections to stimulate the growth of the egg follicles. Then, I'll have another Estradiol test and ultrasound this weekend.
If you have any questions about all of this, please feel free to comment or ask. I'll be updating once or twice a week until the end of June, after I take the pregnancy test.
We would be grateful for your prayers on our behalf.
Since my last post, I've found my Top Ten Guy(see previous post). I feel so very blessed and lucky to have married Hans Branch. When we first started dating, he asked if the fact that he had four kids was a concern for me. I told him no, as long as he was open to having more. He said he would be and he meant it. He said he wanted to have the experience of parenthood from the beginning with me. He said he could see how I light up when I hold a baby and how much I want to be a mother and he wants me to have that opportunity. He left no doubt about his commitment when he underwent a painful surgery(vasectomy reversal) a few months before we married.
Several months after our marriage, the doctor started me on a round of Clomid. Since we were both 39, we didn't feel that we could wait and hope for a full year before taking any action. This lasted about 4 months, with no success. I had also been tracking my temperature every morning and taking ovulation tests. So, just after our 1 year anniversary in March, we decided to take the plunge and use up everything I had saved to pay off my student loan debts to instead pursue IVF.
All of our tests have been good/normal: my HSG(x-ray of uterus and fallopian tubes), and blood tests, his semen analysis. This is good, because it means that there is no major concern to make us poor candidates for the IVF, but frustrating because we still don't know why we haven't been able to get pregnant naturally.
A friend of Hans's referred us to Dr. Richards, who was their IVF doctor. They traveled to CA for the procedure. Lucky for us Dr. Richards now practices in Utah, so we only have to travel to Logan.
The PROCESS
I have been taking Prenatal Vitamins with Zinc and Folate since we decided to pursue this. On April 27, I started taking Birth Control pills- only the red ones, no sugar pills, until the Doctor told me to stop on the 17th. Hans and I both had to take a week of an antibiotic, which I hated to do, but it is standard for all IVF couples, so I decided to trust the doctors and go ahead with it. I have also been drinking Kefir and eating raw sauerkraut to try and replace the probiotics.
On May 12, I started giving myself an injection every morning, which really hasn't been too bad. The tiny needle doesn't hurt at all, but I learned not too push the med in too quickly after bruising myself badly from the first one.
On Friday, I had an Estradiol blood test and on Saturday I had my first vaginal Ultrasound. Dr. Richards said the blood level(less than 25) was right where it should be. He also said that it looks as though I have a good number of eggs in there that we can work on growing over the next couple of weeks.
On Monday I will be adding two more injections to stimulate the growth of the egg follicles. Then, I'll have another Estradiol test and ultrasound this weekend.
If you have any questions about all of this, please feel free to comment or ask. I'll be updating once or twice a week until the end of June, after I take the pregnancy test.
We would be grateful for your prayers on our behalf.
I am so excited for you, Azure, and I hope that everything continues to go well. We will keep you in our prayers. Love ya!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kellie. :)
DeleteThanks for sharing this journey Azure. We are rooting for you guys. :) xoxo.
ReplyDeleteYes, thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea 😍😍😍 so excited to hear about your journey Azie!
ReplyDelete