WE ARE PREGNANT!!!
After nearly 2 years of trying to grow our family, we are so happy to report we are due to bring home our bundle of joy May 2013.
We are so thankful for our friends, family and doctors who have been there to support us through the last 12 months of fertility treatments. Our Baby Schultz will be brought into this world knowing how loved he or she was before they were even conceived.
We plan on using this blog to update friends and family on our journey to parenthood and everything we learn along the way- please feel free to comment advice or thoughts along the way and know that we will be planning to print out all blog posts, including comments and making our first baby book after our baby is born. What better story to read to our little one than the story of Momma pregnant and friends commenting along the way!
The Full Story
We knew we didn't want to wait long to start trying for a family, so after marrying in July 2010 we started trying to get pregnant on our own in January 2011. After 5 months, I noticed my cycle was very irregular and I made an appointment with our OB/GYN. Dr Seeker diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and prescribed me Metphormine to alleviate the irregular symptoms. It took several months, but my monthly cycles started coming naturally again, but I was not ovulating regularly. I had several blood tests testing my TSH level and had an HSG test where dye was injected into my fallopian tubes to make sure there were no blockages preventing me from ovulating. All tests came back "normal".
August 2011 I began taking my first fertility medication, Femara under Dr Seekers guidance. Femara is used in fertility to stimulate ovulation. After 3 months of trying to get pregnant with Femara and not tolerating the side effects well, Trae and I sat down with Dr Seeker and explained our desire to move forward to fertility treatments.
November 2011 I started taking the proper medications instructed from our dr.'s office and in December 2011 we had our first Intrauterine Insemination (IUI).
IUI definition
After we were unsuccessful with our first IUI, and after a lot of discussion and prayers, we decided to see Dr Hansard at Texas Fertility Center in Austin to continue our attempts at getting pregnant.
Dr Hansard was a breath of fresh air for us with her no-nonsense approach at fertility and black and white instructions. We had a plan and we were going for it!
Dr Hansard ran additional tests on both Trae and myself, changed my medication to match our blood results and continued with an IUI the next month.
We completed 3 additional IUI's with Dr Hansard with negative pregnancy results when Dr Hansard suggested I have a laparoscopy surgery performed.
Laparoscopy The purpose of this surgery is to find whether endometriosis is present in the patient, making ovulation or pregnancy difficult. After recovering from surgery, Dr Hansard reported she corrected a Stage II endometriosis found on and around my ovaries and was hopeful with the result.
July 2012 we had our 5th IUI performed with a negative pregnancy result.
Trae and I were heartbroken with the results. We knew we wanted to start a family and prayed about what path to take next. With our families support, Dr Hansard's support and a motivated attitude we moved forward in our fertility path and in August 2012 we began the process for our first In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
IVF
Medications began arriving at our doorstep within weeks and my medication schedule was rigorous, often resulting in my needing to slip away and take an injectable medication away from guests, meetings or even tailgates!
After 8 weeks of scheduled self administered medication, we went in for our Egg Retrieval where I was put under general anesthesia and Dr Hansard was able to retrieve all 19 follicles my ovaries had produced. Out of 19 follicles, 12 were mature and viable to be fertilized. After a day of "mating" we found that 9 of the 12 mature follicles had fertilized and were maturing in the IVF Lab.
After 5 days of maturing at the IVF Lab we went in to have our Embryo Transfer. It was then we learned that out of the 9 fertilized embryo's, only 2 were growing and maturing at the successful rate needed to make a baby. So out of the original 19 follicles- we had 2 lone embryos that made the cut! We weren't going to take any chances in freezing one of our 2 remaining embryos so we decided to transfer both our strong little embryos.
After a horrible anxiety-ridden 2 weeks, I went in for blood work and got the call we were pregnant!
Last week we went to our 7 week appointment with Dr Hansard where we were able to see and hear the heartbeat- the sweetest sound we have ever heard! We are over joyed to be able to finally tell close friends and family our news and look forward to every growth milestone in the future!
