Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner to share infertility stories. Ours is not as long as most and has the best ending :)
Nathan and I tried to have a baby for 3 ½ years before we ever were able to get pregnant. We tried on our own for 7 months and at a regular yearly exam my doctor recommended we start on Clomid to help with the process. Clomid is only recommended for a few months before your body tends to get used to the drugs and they are not as effective. Every month I would take the drugs, then I would have to get blood work done to see how many eggs I had produced, and then wait to see if I get pregnant. This never happened over the next year, every month was a disappointment. My doctor stated that it was unusual for me to produce so many eggs (10 times the normal amount) and still not have any luck. Over that year we also had Nathan tested and I had a dye test done to make sure there were no blockages in my tubes - and they were clear. We had several people saying to just take time off from the drugs and it would just happen on it's own. So, we had to make the hard decision to just give up on the Clomid and decided to just take a year off of the drugs and tried on our own. Well, with ovulation kits as our only help, we tried for another year and still had no luck. We then decided to take the doctor's referral to the fertility clinic.
It was June 19, 2009, my 27th birthday! I was even more excited that year than normal because what I did was going to change my life forever. Nathan and I went to Little Rock to Arkansas Fertility & Gynecology to our 1st infertility appointment with Dr. Batres. He went over our options with us and said he thought he could get us pregnant within 3 months. He said the first 2 months we would try progesterone to help fertilized eggs implant and another drug to help me produce a few more eggs. They did blood work and had reason to believe I had a brain tumor causing my infertility. They did a retest and figured out that I didn’t have a tumor, thank goodness. Dr. Batres said if the drugs (experimental cancer drugs that is - a little scary) didn’t work then we would do a round of IUI (intrauterine insemination) after that. The drugs didn’t work the first month. The second month however was a different story!
Nathan and I tried to have a baby for 3 ½ years before we ever were able to get pregnant. We tried on our own for 7 months and at a regular yearly exam my doctor recommended we start on Clomid to help with the process. Clomid is only recommended for a few months before your body tends to get used to the drugs and they are not as effective. Every month I would take the drugs, then I would have to get blood work done to see how many eggs I had produced, and then wait to see if I get pregnant. This never happened over the next year, every month was a disappointment. My doctor stated that it was unusual for me to produce so many eggs (10 times the normal amount) and still not have any luck. Over that year we also had Nathan tested and I had a dye test done to make sure there were no blockages in my tubes - and they were clear. We had several people saying to just take time off from the drugs and it would just happen on it's own. So, we had to make the hard decision to just give up on the Clomid and decided to just take a year off of the drugs and tried on our own. Well, with ovulation kits as our only help, we tried for another year and still had no luck. We then decided to take the doctor's referral to the fertility clinic.
It was June 19, 2009, my 27th birthday! I was even more excited that year than normal because what I did was going to change my life forever. Nathan and I went to Little Rock to Arkansas Fertility & Gynecology to our 1st infertility appointment with Dr. Batres. He went over our options with us and said he thought he could get us pregnant within 3 months. He said the first 2 months we would try progesterone to help fertilized eggs implant and another drug to help me produce a few more eggs. They did blood work and had reason to believe I had a brain tumor causing my infertility. They did a retest and figured out that I didn’t have a tumor, thank goodness. Dr. Batres said if the drugs (experimental cancer drugs that is - a little scary) didn’t work then we would do a round of IUI (intrauterine insemination) after that. The drugs didn’t work the first month. The second month however was a different story!
On September 19, 2009 I took my first ever positive pregnancy test! (We had also been on Kelly's Korner prayer list for a month) Our doctor said that our official diagnosis would be unexplained infertility. He said the drugs that he gave me would have helped the fertilized eggs to implant and that my cervix may have just not been letting them attach properly. I had to use progesterone injections for the first 3 months of my pregnancy to help prevent miscarriage.
On May 21, 2010 we were blessed with our son Noah Atlee Stillwell - he came so fast that I did not get a chance to get any drugs and the doctor barely made it there! Once Noah was one we decided to start trying for a second baby since it took so long for us to conceive the first time. After 7 months of trying we successfully conceived our second baby. On September 14, 2012 we were blessed with our beautiful daughter Ryan Maelynn Stillwell. Ryan's birth was very dramatic! She had a prolapsed cord (meaning it was hanging below her head and if she were to put pressure on it she would cut off her blood supply and be stillborn) so the nurse had to reach in and hold her head off the cord until the doctor cut her out via c-section. The doctor then said she had velamentous insertion of the umbilical cord, meaning it was attached to the placenta in the wrong place and unprotected the entire pregnancy. This condition usually results in miscarriage, stillborn, or bed rest at 24 weeks. So, the fact that Ryan came out perfectly was amazing! (All her birth details are here if you want to read about it). I know this link-up was about infertility - but I strongly recommend you have your ultrasound tech scan for both a prolapsed cord and velamentous insertion during your ultrasounds - these things can be detected and could save your babies life!
I remember watching this video several times during my struggle with infertility and it really gave me hope:
I pray nightly for those struggling and will pray for anyone by name that asks. Just know you are not alone and your feelings are totally justified. It is not fair, it is not easy, and you can be mad. There is a child for everyone out there - some get to conceive and carry them, others have them brought into their lives in other ways. Just don't give up. I was always questioning why God made me want kids so bad, but we were not able to have them - infertility is hard and brings up so many emotions. Just remember, God knows what he is doing and he will help you find the right doctors and methods for you.
Here are some pictures of my miracles over the last few years:
How sweet is your family? Just precious!!!! Thanks for sharing your story!
ReplyDeleteIf you are facing the problem of unexplained infertility and want to overcome this problem then you can go with IVF treatment. With this treatment, you can get the healthy pregnancy.
ReplyDelete