Fertility Part III

Gosh, I can remember the moment we started this whole journey.

We went to the urologist at about 7 months of trying. Yes, I know that's not very long, but I just knew something was off. So Clay went to go check his sperm out. A few days later the office called saying his specimen was abnormal (but didn't say why) so they told him to come in for some bloodwork. After the bloodwork came back, the office asked us to come in and talk to the doctor about the results.

At this point, I knew a low sperm count was very common, perhaps that was it. But when we went in, I felt like I wasn't really there as the doctor explained that Clay did not have a low sperm count, but in fact, there were NO sperm in the specimen. The blood test concluded he had azoospermia and needed to go see a specialist if we were serious about having our own child.

Looking back I'm so glad I listened to my gut. I'm so thankful we didn't spend the whole year or two just aimlessly trying because doctors want you to try for at least a year. Keep in mind too, that Clay is 5 years older than me. I'd be lying if I didn't say a slight panic went through me about this whole timeline deal.

But in that office, I kept my cool and just took it in stride. Ok, so this isn't going to be your conventional pregnancy story. But we'll go see this specialty doctor and see what our options are.

It's just crazy being where we are now, compared to when we started. You just get so wrapped up in the middle sometimes. It's just a good reminder where you started.

So here we are up to speed now, August 2019. We decided to go forward with our 2nd IUI attempt in May 2019.

We were discouraged from the last IUI attempt, but we wanted to move forward. All you can do is try again. So back to the doctor, getting the month lined out and planned. We picked out a new donor this time because we didn't like the numbers from the last one. We went with a different sperm bank as well. More profiles, pictures, genetics, and voice interviews to sort through. Let's just say it's not the highlight of the journey 🙂

Got the sperm picked out and ordered. Got my oral meds in place, and things are moving along. I go in for an ultrasound to see if it's ovulation and trigger time yet - sure enough! I'm to come the next day for the insemination. They check on the sperm and while they do that I have a moment of terror as I don't remember getting a confirmation that my sperm made it here safely (because they had to be shipped). So while the nurse is gone to check on the sperm, I'm frantically searching through my emails and discover I ordered it to be shipped on the WRONG DAY!! And it won’t be here early enough!! The sperm was going to miss my ovulation!

But after a couple calls to the sperm bank and some overnight fees, all systems were a go! Phew! That definitely got my blood pumping.

The next day was the IUI procedure. Clay went with me and everything went according to plan. We prayed afterwards that if this was God's plan, we wanted it to work! Swim sperm, swim!

Now the dreaded 2 week waiting period…Tick Toc, so S-L-O-W…..

The morning I woke up to take the test, I had a dream that night that I took the test and it was positive!! AHH, so crazy. So Clay and I get up and I pee on the stick, set it down and set the timer. Clay and I crawl back in bed as we waited. We prayed together as I snuggled up in his arms.

I remember trying not to get my hopes up this round because I just didn't want to go through such high highs and low lows.

The timer goes off. Clay and I look at each other. I didn't want to go in there and look! But we got up and walked slowly into the bathroom like we were sneaking up on something. I stared at the test and THERE WERE 2 LINES!!!!!!

Neither one of us said anything for what seemed like forever because we were in shock and couldn't believe it. I was completely blown away and started ugly crying.

It was an early AM, we were barely awake!

IS THIS REAL?! Haha what an incredibly sweet moment I will remember forever!

We are so thankful for a loving, compassionate, and faithful God.

Fast forward to today and Clay is stressing over if it's a girl because of the teenage years and I'm over here living my best life! I'm over the hump of feeling sick all day long, so life is freakin good!

We’re doing all the baby things like getting the house ready, the nursery (well, we haven’t quite started that one), talking baby names, breaking the news to Charlie girl (our lab) of course, and just trying to soak in this amazing journey!

The day we saw the baby for the first time!

During our 2 IUI’s I was overwhelmed with support and encouraging words!! The BEST part about sharing this and opening up was connecting with you guys, getting to know your stories, and knowing I’ve got a team behind me. We’re never as alone as we feel.

Between that and my husband, my family, extended family, friends, strangers…..I’m beyond so grateful. Yes, I experienced pain and struggles through this, but nothing compared to the love + support + goodness I’ve received. Especially this tiny miracle growing inside me.

So a big thank you and much love!!