MY STORY (written Nov 25, 2007)

Hello! I've been married for almost 3 1/2 years to a wonderful man. He and I live in a town outside Toronto(Ontario, Cananda). We had tried to become pregnant on our own before we moved to this town. When we moved to this town I knew I would need to find a doctor and decided to start the referral process to an OB-GYN (I got my referral from my new family doctor). My OB-GYN is such a busy man. His office is so chaotic. He confirmed that I have PCOS (something that was really confirmed years before by my Endocrinologist). He put me on Metformin and Clomid. I did several cycles of Clomid without any of my cycles showing successful ovulation. At the end of 2006 my OB-GYN referred me to a Fertility Clinic. My consultation at the Fertility clinic was on my birthday in January 2007. A couple of months later my husband and I went through some testing then at the beginning of May I began my first monitored cycle at the clinic. I was placed on Letrozole (Fermara) and continued with the Metformin. My folicles were developing very nicely thanks to the Letrozole. My body didn't look like it was going to ovulate on its own so I was prescribed an Ovidrel injection. My husband and I "got busy" when we were told to and... 13 days later on a home pregnancy test I got my BFP!! We were soooooooooo elated!! I got pregnant during my FIRST cycle!!! Unfortunately, in July 2007 I ended up miscarrying. During my 7th week ultrasound the technician was unable to see a heartbeat. I was also measuring 6 weeks not 7. I was asked to return a week later to repeat the ultrasound. Unfortunately, I didn't receive good news after that ultrasound either. I was told I could either wait for the miscarriage to start on its own or book for an emergency D&C. I waited a couple of days before I put in a phone call to book a D&C. Before I received my booking (I had to wait for a return call from the clinic) I started spotting. I bled for an entire month straight (towards the end it was very light). I got my "period" then everything seemed to get back to normal. My husband and I started trying again the next cycle. I even began ovulating on my own! I no longer needed to use the injections! What a relief! I was however asked to go on yet another medication. This time, Eltroxin for a newly developed thyroid problem. I guess I was no longer "borderline" in the thyroid department. It took a couple of cycles but I became pregnant again!! We are very happy, but I can tell you I am SOOOOOO paranoid and anxious about this pregnancy. I need to wait another week until I have my 7th week ultrasound appointment (Dec 3). I will only be able to take a true breath once a heartbeat can be detected on the ultrasound. Keep your fingers and toes crossed, please!! Congratulation to all of you "mothers-to-be", and to those who are trying to conceive... I wish you well during those sometimes turbulent moments.

December 3, 2007

Hello, again! It's time for an update... Today I had my first u/s to check to see how things are coming along. I was a nervous wreck heading to the fertility clinic as I knew how I would feel if the technicians couldn't locate a heartbeat. I'm not sure how I would fair if once again I would be going through a miscarriage. Thankfully, the technician discovered a heartbeat upon the internal u/s test. The little bean's heart is beating strong at 130. I am measuring 3 days earlier than originally hoped. Today's results puts me at 6w6d and my EDD will be July 22nd. I got teary several times during the exam. I can't possibly tell you just how much this pregnancy and baby means to my husband and me. Not only can I breathe a slight sigh of relief but I think tonight I'll be able to sleep soundly (for a few hours anyway until I need to get up to pee). Thank you ALL so very much for your support and kind words. I'm so happy that this web site exists; I hope many of us can chit chat and share information. Until next time... take good care.

January 5, 2008

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all love, health and prosperty throughout 2008! I haven't written in a while. I've wanted to wait for my next ultrasound and first IPS appointment before writing but I re-thought and decided now is as good time as any. For a while there I thought my energy level was starting to increase somewhat... then WHAMMO... I was hit with a cold on the second of January. Overall I feel miserable and frustrated that I can't take anything to make myself feel better. I've been doing the tea and honey thing along with a good helping of vapor rub and no-sugar added lozenges but I still feel crappy. Last night was the worst as I couldn't sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time comfortably. To add to my misery my husband is also sick with a cold. Two cranky, hacking, coughing and sniffling adults don't make for a good night's sleep anyway. I was really hoping that I wasn't going to catch a cold this year. It sounds strange when I say this but it's so true: every year, around my birthday, or at least sometime in the month of January I get sick! I pray that next year around this time I'm not stuffing tissues up my nose and coughing away while needing to attend to a little one! Ok, so my next u/s appointment is on January 9th. I've tried to keep my mind occupied on other things but I'm still nervous. I just hope everything will be okay. If everything looks positive then I can let the cat out of the bag and tell my boss. I have a feeling she's got an inkling that I'm pregnant anyway. I know one person noticed that my belly has been getting rounder and I had to pull him aside to promise not to tell anyone else. That was pretty awkward. I was feeling really rotund before the holidays and I was aware of a couple of people "eyeing" me. However, I didn't think anyone would come right out and say something to me! Anyone else out there in their 30's and planning to do any prenatal screening? I'll be turning 35 on January 19th. I can't lie, my age does make me a little more nervous and I tend to have less positive feelings that everything will turn out okay. If the testing comes back with good news then I can relax. Even a great looking ultrasound on the 9th will put my mind at ease somewhat. I want to be able to feel more excited about everything. Right now I feel that is just not within my grasp entirely. I'll post again on the 9th. Wish me and the little beanie luck! Regards!

January 11, 2008

Sorry for not updating like I said I was going to on the 9th. Here's the update... My first stop was my fertility clinic on Wednesday. My appointment was at 1:00 and I made it right on time. Unfortunately, I was feeling my absolute crappiness with a miserable cold and a nasty bout of laryngitis. I needed to wait about 15 minutes before they were ready to take me into "Ultrasound Room 3". I was so concerned that I was going to pee myself when I coughed. I had one technician and one tech student in the room with me. They started the external ultrasound and saw the baby as lively as could be! It may have been due to all my hacking and incessant coughing or possibly due to the Life Saver candy I sucked on before I went into the ultrasound room. I bet the little bean was enjoying a nice sugar surge! Unfortunately, such a lively baby makes it more difficult for the techs to do their job. All I could get out of my mouth was, "Do you see two arms and two legs?" After some manipulation of the ultrasound transmitting device, the tech counted each limb out when she came to see them one by one. *WHEW!* They got some pictures for my records and some measurements but not enough. The technician turned the monitor around so I could see what was on the screen. I was in complete awe! How amazing. Not only did I get to see the two arms and two legs but I saw fingers and toes too!! They tried for quite sometime to get more pictures before they told me to go ahead and empty my bladder. They took one more shot externally before deciding to go ahead and do an internal ultrasound. My cheeky little bean kept boppin' around until he/she decided to turn its back to the "camera". The tech gave out a sigh. I giggled. Now she had to poke and probe around a bit in order to coax it to flip back over. Eventually, he/she did and we got more pictures, including 3 for me to take home. Some details of the visit: - CRL (CROWN TO RUMP LENGTH) = 6.71 - BPD (THE BIPARIETAL DIAMETER) = 2.05 - new EDD = July 15, 2008 --- Baby had a growth spurt! I was originally due on the 19th of July then was moved to the 22nd now it's the 15th. We'll see if the date remains the same at the next U/S. It was an absolutely amazing experience that I cannot possibly put in to words that justify the meaning of what I saw and experienced. I teared up several times and laughed as the little darling was moving about. He/she even demonstrated a nice big stretch! The technology really is amazing and I'm so thankful it is available. I can honestly say I am not only relieved after seeing the baby so lively on the monitor but also now I can say I'm excited about the weeks and months to come. Everything now is sooooo REAL! The next stop was my family physician's office. I was originally booked for the 11th but due to my cold and laryngitis I was worried about infection. My doctor did some of the usual prenatal tests and told me I needed to make a decision that day as to who my doctor was going to be. Unfortunately, my fertility doctor, I was told just an hour before, cannot take any more patients on. What a grrrrrrrrreat fertility doctor... getting all his patients pregnant! I was really disappointed. I was told by the clinic's receptionist that I could try and plead my case but would be futile. My blood pressure test showed that I now have high blood pressure (140/90). My family physician said in part it may be due to my infection thanks to my cold and laryngitis but I told her it was only a matter of time for me to get to this point. I knew that at the age of 30 that I was following in my father's footsteps. Since the age of 30 my blood pressure has been rising no matter how much exercise I was getting (I never was a person to add salt to anything and I've been an avid label reader for years). The high blood pressure combined with my PCOD gave me a silver lining.... a referal to a high-risk clinic at a hospital I would like to use. I'm just at the waiting stage now to see if I get accepted at the clinic and what doctor will take me on. WISH ME LUCK. I'm now on high blood pressure meds. Just lovely, another drug. My newest fear: being placed on bedrest for an extended period or time. All in all though, I'm excited and will try not to worry about anything until my appointment with whatever physician I end up with tells me the news of what to expect. The next step in the IPS test will be the second blood test which will be taken on January 30th. I've added the three ultrasound pictures to my photos section if you'd like to take a look. I'll add more updates as I have some news to share. I think some belly pics will be added soon as well as an update of my appointments, physical adjustments and emotions. Best of luck to all of you who are still waiting for your appointments! I wish you all the best. Try not to worry, I know at times this can be extremely difficult but realize that worry does not do yourself or your little bean any good. Try to relax and take care. Please leave me a message if you'd like further support from me. I'm more than willing to lend an ear (or eyes). Thanks be to all of you who have supported me thus far. You've helped me through some trying times. Best regards, Amy