By the way…

Many of you know, but I am 26.5 weeks pregnant with another little princess! She is due February 25, 2013. We feel very blessed and are beyond excited!!!!

This is a picture from my 19 weeks sonogram.

Since this is my version of a journal, I just want to document our story. Many of you know that getting pregnant has been a challenge for us. We found out that I had a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), when we were trying to conceive Kimball. PCOS can make it difficult to conceive, so we started fertility treatments with Clomid. After several rounds of Clomid and playing with dosage, we found the right ‘cocktail’ of drugs and found out we were pregnant with Kimball. We were so thrilled and were grateful for that miraculous blessing. Although that time was very trying and rough, we knew that Heavenly Father had a different timeline for us than we did. The timing of Kimball was perfect!

Since we knew it would probably take a while to conceive our second child, we started trying again when Kimball turned one. I went into my OBGYN June 2010, to get started on the wonder fertility drugs of metformin and Clomid. Since we thought we found the right dosage and combination of drugs with Kimball, we thought it wouldn’t take as long with #2. We were sorely mistaken. After no success with 5 more rounds of Clomid with my OBGYN, she referred me to a Reproductive Endocrinologist. I went in for an initial consultation and several more tests in February 2011 to determine the right treatment for me. The doc was confident that within 3 rounds of Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), we would be pregnant. Kevin was in his last few months of dental school and we didn’t have the means to pay for these fertility treatments, since they are not covered by insurance. Plus, Kevin was interviewing for jobs and we weren’t sure where we would be living in a few months. So, we decided to just wait for a few months and let my body detox from all the fertility drugs.

We found out that we were going to be living in Corpus Christi. We moved to Corpus June 1, 2011. I had my first infertility consultation with my new OBGYN in July. She was great and tried helping me in whatever way she could. Unfortunately, after 4 more treatments of Clomid, my body didn’t respond to any of them. I was referred to a second Reproductive Endocrinologist in San Antonio in February 2012. The only problem is that San Antonio is a 2.5 hour drive one way. After much thought and discussion with Kevin, I decided to go back to the same clinic I went to a year prior.

I met with my new specialist, Dr. Aimee Browne at RMA of Texas. She really took the time to hear about our several attempts and recommended we try a different drug, Letrozole with an IUI. She put me on the largest dose of letrozole. I was grateful to try a different treatment. The one tricky thing was that I had to be monitored frequently by ultrasound, to see if I was responding to the medications. The latest monitoring appointment they had all the time was 9:00 AM, which meant Kimball and I would wake up extra early to be at my appointment on time. We would leave our house at 5:30 or 6 AM to make our appointment time. I am so grateful for my dear friend, Heather O’Brien! She was great and offered to watch Kimball during my many appointments and even offered for us to stay at her house when I needed to. I couldn’t have made the trips up to San Antonio without her! Thanks, Heather!!!!

We tried our first round of letrozole/IUI in February/March 2012. My body did respond to the medication, but the end result was not achieved. We tried another round in April 2012. My body did not respond to the medication. They recommended that we come in and meet with Dr. Browne again. This time Kevin came up with me, since I knew she would want to discuss other treatment options – Invitro Fertilization (IVF). Dr. Browne said that we could try another round of IUI or IVF. She recommended from a medical standpoint that we try IVF, but the decision was totally up to us. I was more eager to try IVF because I was tired of going through so many cycles of fertility and IVF would greatly increase our chances of conceiving. After discussing it with Kevin many times, he said that he felt that we should give the IUI one more time and if it didn’t work, then we would consider IVF. After much second guessing, I decided that he was right. It was significantly cheaper and it was worth one more shot.

Round three of IUI was in May 2012. I didn’t get my hopes up because my body didn’t respond at all during the second try. I went into Dr. Browne for an ultrasound appointment and she said that my ovaries didn’t look ready yet, but there was one follicle that looked promising for some growth. She wanted me to come back for another ultrasound 4 days later to see if it had grown. My mom came down for Kimball’s 3rd birthday and was leaving out of San Antonio the same day I was supposed to go up for my ultrasound. We woke up early to make it to my appointment by 8:30. My poor mom had to wake up early on her vacation. She was in the room during the ultrasound and the doctor said that my follicle had grown like she hoped and scheduled an IUI for a couple days later. Again, I didn’t get my hopes up, since the first round didn’t take. The time between the IUI and taking a pregnancy were the longest 2 weeks of my life. During those two weeks, I really felt like this round was different. I decided to take a pregnancy test a couple days earlier than I was supposed to while Kevin was out running some errands. My heart was beating so fast during the 2 minute waiting period. I went in to check the pregnancy test and saw that it looked like a positive. My eyes immediately filled with tears and I was overcome with great feelings of gratitude. However, I couldn’t believe that it was real. Kevin got home and I told him that I had a positive pregnancy test. He was in shock and immediately stood up and gave me the biggest hug I will never forget. His eyes started to tear up as well. I was touched by his emotion. We found out on Father’s day weekend that I was pregnant.

It felt like an eternity that we were going through all these treatments. When we got the positive, we thought back over the 2 years and it felt like it went by so fast. We learned the same thing we did with Kimball. We know that Heavenly Father is aware of us and knows the perfect timing for everything. We don’t fully understand why we had to wait these two years to add another member to our family, but I am sure we will soon. There are many people who wait even longer or are unable for whatever reason to have children, and we hope that they will feel love of our Father in Heaven as they put their trust in Him.  Trials in our lives are not always easy whatever they may be, but we feel like our faith is strengthened when we endure them.