Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Welcome ICLWers!

This is my first time participating in the International Comment Leaving Week (ICLW). I thought this would be a great way to "meet" new people so I am looking forward to it.

For those of you who are visiting for the first time...THANKS! I am not a very witty or funny writer, but I hope you will stick around to see what life is like in the Patterson house. You'll see that I blog about pretty much anything - family, friends, activities, tv shows, and, of course, our infertility battle. You can find a timeline of our journey to the right, but I'll give you our info here, too.

As a teenager and young adult it was made very clear to me that having children before marriage would not get me my "big, white wedding" ... and, of course, who doesn't want their big wedding? So, naturally, I was on the bcp until we decided we were ready to start trying. I met my husband, Jason, in October of 2000, and we got married in May of 2003.

On our one year wedding anniversary, we decided we were ready to add to our family. I remember conversations about people who tried to have kids and when they quit trying they would get pregnant supposedly because "they just quit worrying about it" (at least that's what those people believed). I certainly didn't want to be categorized into that group, so I wasn't going to obsess over trying...and, I didn't. We were young, Jason was finishing his degree, we were traveling and enjoying life. After about two years, I began wondering what was going on, maybe we weren't really trying all that hard so I started tracking my cycles. (I didn't even know how long my cycles were before this!) They seemed to be okay, but a little irregular - ranged between 28 & 35 days.

After 29 months of BFNs (October 2007), I talked to my doctor about checking things out to see if there was something preventing us from getting pregnant. I had a blood test that day, and Jason had his semen analysis the next day. Lucky for us, everything came back normal. (FYI - my husband is a cancer survivor - so glad to know that the treatments didn't cause any problems) Their first recommendation was Clomid - the lowest dose (50mg). After 5 months of clomid with timed intercourse, an hsg (all clear), and 5 BFNs, we were referred on to our wonderful reproductive endocrinologist (RE)!

We met with Dr. J in April 2008 and instantly liked him. He was very knowledgable and had a genuine interest in helping us. Of course, he thought we would get pregnant right away. After 3 IUIs and 1 miscarriage, we moved on to IVF. Our first IVF was in January and resulted in a BFN, so we are on to round 2! We'll be starting stims at the beginning of May and are hoping and praying for our BFP!
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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Amber, I am here from ICLW. It's nice to "meet" you! I hope 2009 is your year, too!

Jill said...

Praying for your BFP, as well!!

((HUGS))

Nic said...

Thanks for leaving a comment. A great intro to your blog. So sorry for your long TTC battle. Hoping this BFP happens soon for you.

Hoping for our own Peanut said...

AND the second IVF is going to end in a BFP!!


..I just know it!

S said...

Thanks for your comment on my blog.

Good luck with IVF #2!

Hillary said...

Best of luck with IVF #2. DH and I are new to this whole thing. We started Lupron on 4/19, and will start stims in early May. Who knows, maybe we'll all be lucky in May?

sunflowerchilde said...

Hi Amber! It's great to finally read your story, you've been through a lot. I really identified with how you said the RE "of course thought we would get pregnant right away." I feel like I'm constantly getting told that by everyone - the OBGYN, the guy who did the HSG, and now my RE. Um ... why is it 16 months later, then?

Ashley said...

Praying that the 2nd times a charm!!

twondra said...

Thanks for sharing your story in more depth! And the second IVF will be the one. :)

How did you find the ICLW? Sounds really cool!

Misty said...

Hoping for a lucky May for us unexplained girls. Thanks for the comment!

My Endo Journey said...

Hoping for you a BFP soon!!! :) Hooray for MAY!!!

..al said...

Welcome to ICLW....I hope you get to achieve what you have set out for by participating.

I too am a 2003 wedding wicket (oooh, I like the sound of that). We have unexplained infertility and have been trying for 4+ years now. I have been through the IVF ring and intend to go for another in August.

Nice meeting you here. All the very best. Glad that you like your doctor. One must be able to trust that one is in good hands, if there is to be success.

All the very best again!

*ICLW*

Word Nerd said...

Thanks for stopping by. I hope this next cycle is the one for you guys. I'll be checking in and keeping my fingers crossed for you.
~C
ICLW

Triumph in Learning said...

Hi I'm new to your blog. Thanks for sharing your story. Hoping and praying that May is the month for both of us:) My husband and I are headed for our 1st IVF/ICSI Cycle.

I'll be checking in to see how things are going with you:)

Hugs,
Hannah
~ICLW

michaela said...

Good luck on your upcoming IVF cycle!! IF is such a hard road to be on but you will hold a little one someday!! Wishing you the best of luck!
ICLW

Frau said...

Hope #2 works for you. Keep up the details. I like looking at other people's details to distract me from my own.