My Baby Trek

I was trying to find a better word for “journey” or “timeline”.  Something a little more fitting.  Trek works.  Trek seems arduous, sounds kind of annoying, and I think would involve some bumpby, zig-zaggy paths that might make me cry.  Ya with me?  So here it goes.

Mr. Mags and I started trying to conceive right when we got married.  I was actually off the pill a month before we were married.  I had just turned 24 (holy cow that’s young!) and Mr. Mags was 34.  After about a year we thought maybe I should go to the Dr.  So I did and was told, “all you need is Clomid.”  Sweet.  Problem solved.  We thought, when we get really serious, we will pick up some of that Clomid stuff and have a baby. *insert raucous laughter here*

So, the timeline (with way too much detail) goes as follows:

• Mr. Mags and I marry October of 2004.
• TTC for 1+ year.
• Clomid will solve all our answers. 
• Wait, it’s 2006, how’d that happen?!?
• April 2006 Mr. Mags and I move to our new house ready to start a family!
• Go to new Dr. that doesn’t have dogs in their office who barge in right in the middle of your yearly lady parts exam. (I kid you not.  And I love dogs.)
• Again, Clomid will solve all of our problems!  Try 5 rounds with absolutely no monitoring. *what a newbie I was* Oh yea, and I have PCOS.
• Mr. Mags does SA-all normal.  In fact, very impressive. *high-fives himself*  Big sigh of relief.
• September 2006 go to Dr. because of terrible pain in my lower abdomen.  Receive first vaginal ultrasound.  Proceed to feel very adult and grown up because of this.
• September 26, 2006 (I remember because it was so close to my birthday) get a call from my Dr. telling me I had an ovarian cyst that ruptured and also I have a bicornuate uterus.  A bicornu-what?  Proceed to cry for hours.
• October 2006 have HSG – Yep, severe bicornuate uterus.  Proceed to cry on the exam table while my Dr. tells me, “it’s ok honey, that’s what surrogates are for.”
• Take a break from TTC.
• Adopt our beloved B-Dog, after all I need something to take care of.
• Mid 2007 meet with RE. He suggests we go straight to IVF.  Cry the whole way home from the appointment.  How can people put a price tag like that on having a family?!? Start saving money.
• October 1, 2007, I become a product of the ever crashing housing market and get laid off.  Proceed to cry.
• October 31, 2007, Mr. Mags becomes a product of the ever crashing housing market and gets laid off.  Cry some more.
• Crap.
• December 2007 Mr. Mags and I decide to move to my home town (yippie!) since that is where we really wanted to settle anyway.  We take B-Dog, Z-Cat, P-Cat and G-Cat and move in with my parents.  (yippie…?)  Put baby making plans on hold.
• January 2008-new jobs!
• February 2009 we move into our own place-finally!
• March 2009 make an appointment with new RE and get a plan mapped out. 
• New RE orders MRI to confirm Bicornuate uterus.  Diagnosis: NOT severe, very mild, shouldn’t be an issue.
• April 2009 Mr. Mags gets laid off…again.  (Seriously, you would think we would learn to stay OUT of the housing market by now.) Put all baby making plans on hold…again.
• September 2009, holy crap, I’m pregnant-naturally!! 
• September 11, 2009, miscarry at a 1 year olds birthday party.  Cry like a 1 year old.
• Go to new OBGYN (love him!) and try 5 rounds of monitored clomid with estrogen.  Ovulate once.  BFN.
• Meet with new-new RE (love him!).  From here on out we will call him Dr. T. *hello gorgeous*
• October 2010 begin 3 rounds of IUI with Femara and Estradiol.  Grow follicles each time.  All BFN.  These were “special” holidays, very fun.
• February 16, 2011 Begin acupuncture and stims.  Gonal F 300 IU, Luveris 75 IU, baby Aspirin and prenatal.  Later introduce Ganirelix.
• February 27, 2011 egg retrieval – 22 Eggs!!
• Hello OHSS.
• Fertilization report – 12 mature, 10 fertilized-7 normal.  3 “good” make it to blast. 
• March 5, 2011 – transfer 1 blast, freeze 2.  Transfer involved a shot to my cervix and a cervical clamp.  Yowch!
• Beta Day – 26.  Next beta – 95! Wha-hoo!  Next beta-70.  Doh. Chemical.  More tears.
• May 2011 – FET
• Smooth transfer-thank GOD.
• Beta Day – 120 *Squeel!!*  Next Beta – 260  *Squeeeeeeeeeeellll!!!*  Start spotting.  Miscarry at 6 weeks.  Big giant crocodile tears.  For days.
• OMG this is a long timeline.
• WTF appointment – most likely the luck of the draw, although my egg quality is not the greatest.  Toss around ideas for the next cycle.  Leave feeling very defeated.
• New plan of attack: Lose weight, exercise, continue with acupuncture and have sex for FUN (huh?) until IVF #2 in January 2010.  

So this is where I am now.  In the limbo stage.  Waiting to cycle again, trying to work on myself.  And seriously, if you read this whole timeline you’re super nice.  And I sincerely thank you. 

Question for you though.  How do you guys get through the limbo time?  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.