Sunday, January 31, 2010

A Miracle in 2010!?!

There has been a flurry of exciting news in the IF blogosphere recently and I am humbled to be able to add my own. The Friday before Thanksgiving I found out that I was pregnant! I had just gotten back in town from a business trip. I had expected to start my new cycle while on the trip. I filled up on all my medications for the month and packed my bag with feminine products, heating patches, and ibuprofen. The night I returned home, I pulled out my chart and realized I was already 20 DPO! Whoa, what infertile woman goes 20 DPO without noticing it (one who doesn't take her chart with her on business trips)! The next morning I went into the bathroom, thinking I had an extra test in the closet – nope, just a full pack of ovulation predictors. I went to the store, telling myself I couldn't be pregnant – a pregnant woman couldn't hold her first morning urine for long enough to go to the grocery store to pick up a test. But the test immediately came back positive!

So, here is the briefing of the info I know all of you will be most interested in, and if you want to read the full story of how I got through the first trimester, and how Dr. Kwak-Kim in Chicago helped me, you can read the longer post below.

We had started the month thinking it would be a break cycle. I had just had my surgery for Ashermans at the end of September and we thought we would wait one month to recover post-surgery and then hit things full force in November. Obviously that didn't happen. Dr. Stegman had ordered an ovulation ultrasound series. I wanted to make sure that my uterine lining was thick enough for a baby to implant (thin linings can be a symptom of Ashermans). It also meant I could check the ultrasound series off of my list of IF tests, as this was one thing that we hadn't done yet since we knew, with three conceptions, that I ovulate at least some months. During the ultrasound, everything looked great – my lining was measuring nice and thick, and I had several follicles growing. So we threw caution to the wind and gave it one shot…and it worked!

In the past, I have always gone a year-plus between pregnancies. This was the equivalent of getting pregnant two months in a row, though spaced out over a 5-month period due to pregnancy/miscarriage/post-miscarriage complications. I totally credit Dr. S for clearing my endo – I have gotten pregnant quickly two times since my laparoscopy in January. I credit Dr. KK for helping prevent a miscarriage this go round. It has been a crazy three+ months.

What I was doing:

  1. Eating really healthy
  2. Exercising a lot – increasing my variety and intensity
  3. Taking Folgard for the first time (because of my MTHFR blood clotting disorder)
  4. Baby Aspirin
  5. Multi-vitamin
  6. Flax Oil

What I wasn't doing:

  1. Femara
  2. Mucinex
  3. B6
  4. Amoxicillin
  5. Progesterone

As you can tell by this belated announcement, it has taken me awhile to get used to the idea that I might actually carry to term. I am finally starting to pull out pregnancy books that have long been banished to the basement and I am trying to stop saying "if we have a baby in July." It is hard to transition between the IF/miscarriage world into the pregnant world as other pregnant bloggers have stated recently. I am also feeling a lot of "post-IF" blogger guilt. I don't understand why me and not so many of you. I so very wish that all of you will be in my position soon. Please know that you are in my prayers daily and that now that my prayers for myself have changed, I am able to focus my prayers even more intently on each of you.

At mass this morning, this verse stood out to me thinking about the process of TTC and all of you. "It [love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13:7 If that doesn't sum up what each of you ladies goes through day after day, I don't know what does.

11 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you...on to read the next post!!

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  2. Wow, congratulations! I'm so happy that Dr. K-K's treatment has help to keep this baby healthy.

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  3. You know we are so happy for you! We are storming heaven for you!

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  4. Congratulations!!! I just read the longer post and am just so thankful that Dr. KK is so on top of everything! What a blessing to have her expertise this time around!

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  5. How wonderful! We'll be praying for you :)

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  6. Congratulations...yes...2010 has been full of great news. Such blessings for many of you!

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  7. Congratulations. Praying for many more blessings to come.

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  8. How did I miss this post? I am so HAPPY for you! I am so happy to hear you have been under Dr. KK's care. WONDERFUL! Congratulations to you and your sister. Gosh, I am just speechless! Just so happy :)

    Praying for you both,
    Amber

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  9. Congratulations! I am so happy for you! I am very, very intrigued by your insights into Dr. Joanne's practice. I have been reading a bit about her since TCIE mentioned she was starting to go there. I too have suffered 2 early miscarriages and I am bit at a loss for what to do next. My question - did you ever get checked for endo? The reason I am asking is I am wondering if I should get checked out at Omaha for endo / complications first and then try Dr. Joanne, or go straight to Dr. Joanne. I don't think I have endo - no debilitating pain, normal periods - like clockwork, no PCOS...but then again some people don't have any symptoms. I was just going to e-mail you this, but I couldn't find an e-mail address. I live in the upper midwest, so Omaha or Chicago are about the same distance either way and we can easily drive or fly. I just don't want to waste anymore time if the problem really is immune related vs. other issues. I am not sure if this makes sense, but any thoughts you have on the topic would be appreicated - if you have time that is. God Bless and Grow, Baby, Grow!!!! gaudium08@gmail.com

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  10. I just ran across your blog a few weeks ago and my heart ached for you as I read your story. Now visiting again just a few weeks later, I am overjoyed! I understand your reserve in being too optimistic. It seems like every time I get pregnant, I just tell myself that I will miscarry just so I won't be so disappointed when it does happen. I really hope you are out of the water now and that you can enjoy the rest of your pregnancy! I will be praying for you!

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