My Journey to Become a Mother......Part One

This is my story....

2002
After a year of trying to get pregnant at age 32, I asked my OBGYN if I should go see a fertility specialist. His answer was no. “Just relax and give it some time, maybe in another year if nothing happens,” he said. I went to the specialist anyway and it’s a good thing I did. Our infertility issues were so complicated that we skipped the use of oral stimulant drugs and inseminations and went straight to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). We chose our infertility doctor by reputation. We had heard that he was aggressive in his practices and had a high rate of pregnancy, the fact that his office was two miles away would prove to be convenient when I started to have daily appointments/bloodwork/ultrasounds, sometimes five days in a row.

2003
1st cycle
Our first cycle cost $16,500 (Doctors fee $7,500, Lab fee $4,000, Drugs $5,000). Our insurance covered nothing.
The drugs (hormones and stimulants) gave me panic attacks.
The small shots (that Kipp administered) in my thighs gave me bruises.
The big shots (that Kipp administered) in the back of my hips made it hard to move and hard to stay still.
There were countless doctor visits, ultrasounds and blood work.
Once I was “stimulated” and had produced enough eggs, there was an “egg retrieval,” a surgical process.
The eggs were then fertilized and monitored in the lab. Not all of the fertilized eggs survive; the ones that do are transferred back inside. I was sent home for 24 hours of bed rest.
Two weeks later: Positive pregnancy test.
The next week we had an ultrasound and a due date.
A few weeks later we had a heartbeat.
At 12 weeks I was considered a “normal pregnant woman” and had seemingly cleared the danger zone.
We had a miscarriage at 14 weeks. Everyone knew.
To be continued......

Love much,
xob