When September Ends: Our Journey thus far

When Jeff and I got married in May 06.. I was pretty much ready to start a family. Jeff wanted kids too.. but he wanted to wait awhile.. Enjoy being married, get used to our financial situation.. all of that.. So we compromised and decided we would start trying to concieve around our first wedding anniversary.

My history lead me to believe I'd get pregnant right away.. Before going on birth control pills I always had perfectly regular cycles.. 29 days like clock-work.. my period even usually came at about the same time of day each month. So... I figured we'd start trying to concieve in May 07 .. have a baby perhaps by February 08..

I went off birth control in late March 07. My first cycle off the pill was picture perfect. Got my period 28 days later. We weren't trying yet.. but I was thrilled that my cycles seemed normal. So.. my next period was due around mid-may.. meaning our anniversary would have been prime baby-making time.. Problem is.. my period never came.. My second cycle off birth control pills was 42 days long, and most likely anovulatory. We did throw protection out the window in early may, but it was to no avail. Finally my period showed 2 weeks late... At that point I decided if
I was going to get pregnant, I'd have to start tracking my cycles.

So I started taking my temperature and charting that, as well as using ovulation predictor tests. My first two months that I was charting never showed a clear ovulation pattern.. and obviously I didn't get pregnant.. Here are all my charts if you're curious, they go from the newest to oldest. My cycles were also on the long side.. ranging from 34-38 days.. Finally, my third cycle charting and my 5th cycle off birth control my chart showed ovulation. This was in September by the time this finally happened. I had two more cycles that showed ovulation, but it was a LATE ovulation, on cycle days 22-26... meaning more long cycles and I didn't end up pregnant from them. We were starting to worry.

In late October, I made an appt to see my OB/GYN. Told her we'd been trying for about 6 months, told her about my charting and all and that my last two charts had showed ovulation, and about my long cycles. She ordered me Cycle Day 3 bloodwork which tests the hormones that regulate my cycle.. FSH, TSH, LH, Prolactin, and Estrogen. Due to my long cycles, I didn't get to have the bloodwork done until Early December. It all came back pretty normal. The only exception was the TSH.. which is Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, which showed slightly elevated.. However, I followed up with my Primary Care Physician who repeated the tests and also tested my thyroxine levels and it came back normal the second time.

In the midst of all of this, in Early November I started taking the herb Vitex in hopes it would help my late ovulation/long cycles. In my cycle in October/November it didn't help at all.. I actually ovulated even later than normal. However, in December, right after I had all the bloodwork testing done, I miraculously ovulated on Cycle Day 17.. which is almost "normal".. Needless to say, I had very high hopes for that cycle, and our "timing" was pretty good.

I took my first pregnancy test Christmas morning. It was probably too early to get a +, it was only 9 days past ovulation.. It was negative.. So much for a christmas present.. I usually only test every other day.. but for whatever reason I decided to test again the day after christmas.. I had used one of the cheap test strips you can buy on the internet. www.babycreation.com if you're interested. At first I really didn't think it was a real positive test, I was convinced it was an error, or I was seeing things or something. I was lamenting to my best friend on IM that I didn't like those tests because I couldn't tell if there were lines or not.. Long story short..about an hour later, I used a First Response Early Result (Best pregnancy tests ever).. And got a definite positive! We were thrilled.. We started telling people within a couple of days.. I had my first Dr's appt scheduled for January 21st. Unfortunately, this pregnancy didn't stick. I miscarried at 4 weeks 3 days.. Devastating doesn't even begin to cover it.. This is a blog I wrote on myspace about my miscarriage a few weeks after it happened.

Life goes on, however.. Jeff and I decided we didn't want to wait at all before trying again.. Granted, throughout the cycle I had mixed emotions. I think I hit a whole bunch of the stages of grief within the first month or so.. I think sometimes your body knows what you're heart is ready for. I didn't ovulate that cycle until day 33.... which was February 3rd.. Superbowl Sunday.. The latest I had ever ovulated. I don't think I was ready before that. Honestly.. I didn't think we'd get pregnant again that cycle. I honestly believed I'd be seeking the help of a fertility specialist within a few months.. But.. our timing was okay, even given the late ovulation..
So I had a shred of hope.. Sure enough, at 7 or 8 days past ovulation I started having the extreme fatigue I remembered in the days leading up to Christmas las t time.. Surely it couldn't be. I was trying to wait until 10 days past ovulation again since I figured taht was the earliest I could see something.. But on the evening 9 days past.. which was 2/12/08 ... I was feeling especially tired.. I still had some of those internet strips left.. what the heck.. And what do you know.. (if you can't see the line.. don't worry, I don't know how I did, to be honest.

Of course, a lot more peeing-on-sticks ensued over the next few days.. its always nice to see this

So.. made the Dr's appt. I got a new dr after a very bad experience with my old Dr. concerning the miscarriage. I really can't rehash all of it again, but it was awful. However, thus far my new Dr's office has been wonderful. My first appointment was scheduled for 2/26/08.. I was 5w2d pregnant. And I got an ultrasound.

Unfortunately, the ultrasound didn't show much.. Only an empty gestational sac. I have read that by 5 weeks you should see a yolk sac inside of the gestational sac and this is also what my Dr. told she might see. So we're a little nervous again. Okay. Honestly.. the day it happened, I was DEVASTATED.. Convinced I was going to lose another pregnancy. However, I went home, did some more reading and Its really more common than I thought to just see the sac. So I am still nervous, but staying optimistic.

My Dr. ordered my HCG levels tested via bloodwork. I got my first level taken on Wednesday 2/27 and got the results back in today. It came back at about 3100.. which is pretty much almost exactly the median range according to www.betabase.info . I'm pretty happy with that. I had my bloodwork repeated today. I should know the results of that on Monday and am expecting to have an ultrasound again sometime next week and hopefully our little one will have a heartbeat!

Here are a couple of ridiculous early shots of my fat belly. :) .. I wish I could blame it on a baby..