When my husband Greg and I were little, we imagined getting married, having babies and living--you guessed it--happily ever after. After all, that is what we heard about in stories. That is what we saw around us. We went to college and I went to graduate school and then walked down the aisle together. We thought we would have a … [Read more...]
Adventures in Fertility, Part II
Once we had our diagnosis of 'unexplained infertility' it was time to begin treatment. The first course of action is usually IUI or intrauterine insemination. This involves taking the medicine Clomid which stimulates the ovaries to release more follicles, which contain an egg each. Otherwise, the ovaries … [Read more...]
Adventures in Fertility, Part III
After our referral for IVF, we had to wait about six months for my body to recover from all the medications from the previous IUI cycles. We were referred to a wonderful doctor who was empathic and committed to helping us begin our family. We did our first in vitro cycle and my body responded well to the medications, which resulted in many high quality … [Read more...]
Adventures in Fertility, Part V
I began to take low dose aspirin for my own health due to the blood clotting issue. As we waited for the embryo transfer, Aunt Flow made a very brief visit. Her stay was so short that I had to wonder why she changed her routine. The day before her visit, I had the mother of all migraines. That hadn't … [Read more...]
Adventures in Fertilitiy, Part VI
The day of our transfer arrived. Our embryos had been thawed the night before and nurtured by the embryologist until the big moment. Our surrogate allowed for me to be in the room during the transfer and my husband waited outside. We watched on the screen as our embryos nestled into her uterus. This could be seen by the fluid … [Read more...]