Having a baby is easy they say. Easy for who? It definitely was not easy for me.
When my husband and I decided to start trying for a baby we were excited and thrilled that we conceived on only the second month of trying! Because I was young and healthy, my family physician saw no reason for having an early ultrasound done prior to the twelve-week nuchal. The first eleven weeks passed without a blip but then one morning I started cramping and spotting. This cannot be good I thought to myself. My fears were confirmed at that initial twelve-week ultrasound- a Missed Abortion- a pregnancy that had stopped developing around the sixth week. Christmas was just two weeks away, so my doctor suggested using a medication, Misoprostol to help pass the pregnancy rather than wait for nature to take its course. Two days later I was back in business and waiting the suggested two menstrual cycles before starting to try again.
We then tried for twelve consecutive months before we finally saw another positive result on a home pregnancy test, TWELVE long months! Around the sixth month mark the excitement had worn off, around the ninth month it started to feel like a chore, around the tenth and eleventh month marks I completed Intrauterine Inseminations using my husband’s frozen sperm as he was working away, on the twelve month I completed more fertility testing including an HSG. Countless hours spent trying and hoping, countless dollars spent on ovulation tests and home pregnancy tests. However, it was all worth it because nine months later we delivered a healthy baby boy.
Take two…or three…however you look at it.
Baby Boy is one year old, so my husband and I decide now is as good a time as any to start trying for a sibling. Just like the first time around we conceive right away in the second month of trying but I know better this time and insist on an early ultrasound at the seventh week of my pregnancy. No yolk sac seen, no fetal heartbeat- a Spontaneous Abortion- another round of Misoprostol.
We then tried consistently for around eight months before pursuing IVF (in-vitro fertilization). We made this decision based on multiple factors but primarily because my husband had begun working overseas and timing was becoming too unpredictable. IVF was a breeze; I possessed background knowledge on the process and with the help of the staff I am thankful to report we had a successful first round. Nine days of daily injections, nine oocytes retrieved, nine oocytes fertilized, and another healthy baby boy born after a not-so-smooth pregnancy.
Having a baby is easy they say…
- Sara
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