Hello... My name is Lisa

I have not blogged about my TTC adventures in quite some time... but a lot has happened since last I wrote. Here is a quick history... My husband and I decided to start trying for a baby in August 2005. I decided that if we were doing this, I was going all out. I took my BBT, did the OPK's... the works. The second cycle trying we were lucky enough to get pregnant and 7 months later, my son was early, Mikey was born at 31 weeks 5 days.

Come August 2006 I really wanted to get pregnant again. I have always wanted my children to be close in age. We were not trying, but we were definitely not preventing. So, I started with my OPK's again and made sure we baby danced at all the right times. Each month I got a little more saddened when the witch made her appearance.

By June 2007 we actually talked about actively trying for baby #2. I told my husband that unbeknownst to him we had been trying and I was really surprised we hadn't gotten pregnant by this point. In December of that year I went to my yearly Pap test and discussed it with my OB/GYN. He thought perhaps it was because I had just stopped breast feeding 2 months prior. I thought it was more than that. I knew I was ovulating, it just wasn't happening! So now it is February 2008 and I went to get some preliminary blood work done. Had the blood drawn at two different times in the month and came to find out everything checked out perfect. Then came the nearly $1,000 medical bill because I found out the hard way that my insurance does not cover anything related to Infertility. So, this sucked because I felt there would be no way we would ever have another child.

Mid-2008 my husband had an Sperm Analysis done and everything checked out. Ph was a little high, but nothing that was to alarm us. Now it is August 2008 and my husband got a great new job that we knew would change his life careerwise... but then best of all it had incredible health insurance that covered INFERTILITY TREATMENTS!

So once we found that out we decided to meet with a Reproductive Endocrinologist. That appointment was October 30, 2008. Based on all of the information provided, he put us in the dreaded "Secondary Infertility" category. Basically there was no explanation of why we were not getting pregnant. To me, I wanted a reason this was not happening... I wanted something the RE could fix! He said it is not always better to have a reason for this, because then there is something that you indeed, need to fix. I did understand his logic... but a small part of me still wanted answers!

I was scheduled for another round of blood work and then I was to have an HSG performed. Again the blood work came back normal, then on to the HSG. In an HSG they perform an X-ray while injecting dye into your tubes to make sure they are open and not blocked. They started the procedure and I heard them talking about unicorunate and what not. Then they wanted me to lay on my left side to see if the dye could make it into my left tube. Which it eventually did. The obstacle... it was determined that I had a bicorunate uterus or what is commonly called a heart shaped uterus. It was also referred to as a septated uterus.

My RE said normally he would not recommend his patients do anything when it is discovered that they have one. But then he said the problems they can cause are miscarriages and premature labor. Ding, ding, ding! That is me! So we decided to investigate it further with an MRI and I had a surgery in December to correct it. After surgery, we had to wait 2 cycles to try again.

In our first meeting with the RE we discussed the plan of action. He decided we would do 3 IUI's with progesterone supposititories (for a shorter than my normal Luteal Phase) and then jump right to IVF. This was exciting but nerve wracking at the same time. We did have health insurance that covered infertility treatments, but we also had a $10,000 cap on procedures. We knew that the insurance should cover about 6 IUI's and 1 IVF Cycle... and after that, we would be done, forever.

We started in February 2009 with our first IUI. It was an unmedicated cycle and I was just to call when I got a positive OPK, then they would do the insemination the next day. That cycle was a bust.

Onto IUI#2 - March 2009... This cycle I was to do 100 mg Clomid. I was excited because I really wanted us to get more aggressive with treatment. I "passed" the Clomid Challenge Test and reacted well to the medicine. Had the IUI done on March 26 and then I started my progesterone the next day and my dreaded 2 week wait had begun!

Being who I am I obsess over all symptoms, but at the same time I try not to read into them too much as I have similar symptoms every month. I am also addicted to testing early so just for the heck of it I decided to pee on a stick (POAS) the night of 8 DPO.

Now let me tell you, I have peed on far too many HPT's in my lifetime and I know what a negative test looks like. This test I took that night had the slightest "oh my god I think I am hallucinating" line on it. I stared at this thing, I squinted, I held it to the light, turned my head sideways.... the works. I still thought I saw something! I finally put it down and went about my night.

Right before bedtime I looked at it again, which I know you are not supposed to do, but who are we kidding girls? Who does not look at their tests again, even if they are in the garbage can. Anyhow, I still imagined this beautiful line.

I could not sleep that night and woke up around 7 am to take a FRER. Within 2 minutes I saw something, I really saw something! I immediately began crying my eyes out! It has been over 2.5 years and I think I am holding a positive pregnancy test at 9 DPO!

This is the beauty at 9 DPO....

Update from that afternoon, with one my the tests I sell ....

And here is 9 DPO on top, with 10 DPO on the bottom!!!

And on 11 DPO I decided to bust out the big guns... that's right, the digital pregnancy test!

So needless to say, that second IUI with Clomid did the trick and I am due December 17, 2009! I have also had 2 blood tests to confirm my pregnancy. One drawn at 14 DPO with a result of 215 hcg and the last one drawn at 21 DPO (today) that measured 2,589 hcg. I am doubling perfectly and have my first ultrasound scheduled for April 28.

We are BEYOND THRILLED!!!!