IVF - Invitro Fertilization

Well, I'm sad to say, but I'm no longer a fertile woman. Or, at least, I can't get pregnant on my own....I need some help.

My body still seems to function like a woman's. All those lovely monthly "things" that we as women experience. I get to enjoy the monthly visitor, the exciting mood swings and skin changes that come with it. I also get to gain a few (or 10lbs) pounds a month! What a lucky gal I am!!

My DH and I have been ttc (trying to conceive) for almost 3 years now. We got pregnant and miscarried in 2003, that is what lead us to learn about our fertility or lack thereof! First we tried the whole temping and monitoring of my cycle. I charted, tempted, check my cervical mucus (such a gross word, isn't it?) daily and even noted the color and consistency of it! YUCK!! Don't ask me how you check it, it wasn't the most exciting thing to do, but we thought that would work.

After that didn't work for us, we sought out the assistance of our OB/GYN and the drug CLOMID. Now, Clomid makes women ovulate more than one egg a month. That's exciting. Since we are born with say 100,000 eggs; and we shed one a month (at the minimum) during our menstrual cycle, and we NEVER make more, we women will eventually run out of GOOD EGGS. When we start to run out of good eggs, we have fertility problems and have a difficult time getting pregnant Naturally. If clomid doesn't help, we just don't have enough eggies of our own to make that little bundle of joy!

Well, that's where we are at now. I didn't have enough quality eggs any longer. I wanted to have a baby and I wanted a baby RIGHT NOW!!

So, it just wasn't going to happen w/out some kind of help. Clomid was our first attempt at getting some extra eggies of mine to mature and fertilize by my DH's little swimmers...

After three rounds of Clomid, 15lbs and no pregnancy, we had to move on. During the clomid time, we were instructed to "do it" every other day; until an ultrasound, when we were told by the doctor to DO IT and DO IT NOW!!!!! It got to be a little stressful, "performing" on demand and not enjoying the deed any longer. Plus, it never worked!!

Now, we do have a son.....a wonderful boy who is just about 13. We are truly blessed by that and if that is all we get, it probably would be enough. It just makes a couple feel REALLY great to know that they can make a baby together and add to their family. It makes the MAN in the family really feel good and know that his swimmers are of GREAT quality!! That's important - we're not greedy, we would like a bigger family....and we are willing to work at it.

So, that's how it started.....I'll move on to the next step of infertility when I post again.....have I got ya hooked?