Fertility Struggles

It only took a few months before we decided we were ready to try again. We were both so ready for parenthood, and after the tragic loss of Joseph, we felt like the best thing we could do would be to get back on that path. But while we conceived Joseph without even really trying, getting pregnant when consciously making an effort didn't prove to be nearly as easy.

After a few months without success, we got the excellent book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. We learned a lot about the biology behind conception and felt much more in control. We tried charting and using Ovulation Predictor Kits. Laurie peed on a lot of sticks. Through the charting, we learned a lot about Laurie's cycles--notably, that they had very inconsistent lengths, anywhere from 29 to 49 days. This helped us understand why another baby wasn't coming easily, and helped us time our baby-making efforts better, but ultimately didn't lead to conception.

After about 9 months of trying on our own, Laurie went on the much-dreaded Clomid. Clomid worked great to keep her cycles regular, but we still didn't conceive, and the side effects made Laurie miserable. Finally, after 3 failed Clomid cycles, we turned to a Reproductive Endocrinologist. A battery of tests on both of us didn't reveal any obvious reasons why we were experiencing infertility. The doctors said that Laurie's irregular cycles were the primary factor, but were never able to explain the irregularity. Fortunately, the drugs really did seem to keep her on a clockwork schedule.

After a 2 more failed Clomid cycles with the RE, in October of 2011, a year and a half after we lost Joseph, we decided to take the next step and try injectible fertility drugs (Follistim and Pregnyl) with an intrauterine insemination (IUI). This was the magic combination for us, working on the first cycle. On Friday, November 18th, Laurie got the call that her pregnancy blood work came back positive. Finally, we were back on track.

Next: Read about our next pregnancy

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