National Infertility Awareness Week 2016

Hey there - I know it has been a while since I've posted. I have been super busy since starting with LuLaRoe.  This past week was Infertility Awareness Week, and I took some time to reflect on my journey these past couple of years.  I just posted my video on WHY I do LuLaRoe for my Facebook Group, and I am so surprised at how many people are either touched by my nervous chat down memory lane about how I am using my profit from LuLaRoe to fund our journey to IVF.  I thought I would recount my journey thus far. This is important to not let infertility be the giant elephant in the room, as I feel it has become. It is important to know the options and be knowledgeable every step of the way on your journey.  This is not something that should be pussyfooted around or swept under the rug. Speak up and let your feelings be validated. 

So most of you know, I have the most precious little boy alive.  Who loves me unconditional and is a people pleaser in every way, who at the ripe ol' age of 10 has learned how to speak up and make his ideas known.  This year for Mason he has started playing on an advanced travel team, had his first girlfriend and has been able to be so incredibly flexible in so many ways.  He is truly the light of my life! So Mason is an incredible blessing bestowed on me. I have embraced every magical moment of being his mother.

So about 6 years ago, I met the most wonderful man.  Yes, I am talking about Mr. Bedford. I am so lucky and blessed to have him come into my life. He truly takes all of my crazy ways, bad days, and feelings of inferiority and turns them around to build the best me.  

So we were married in 2013 in Jamaica, and didn't want to rush anything, according to Mr. Bedford we already rushed into getting married after only knowing each other for 3 years! ;) Yep, he was totally cool with dating forever.  So to start we just started with not trying to prevent to have a baby. 

After a year of that, and not seeing anything a double pink line on the stick. I started to feel as if something was awry, so I started tracking everything.  I tracked what I ate, I tracked ovulation, tracked that I didn't ovulated, tracked Mr. Bedford and I's time together.  I had so much data, but NOTHING was happening.  At that point I went and spoke to my midwife and go a general female physical.  At that point I was perfectly healthy and there was no reason why I should be having any problems.  At that point we tried clomid for the next 4 months.  This was August of 2014 and we continued that through January of 2015.  Which at that point we were noticing even with clomid I was still having a hard time registering that I was ovulating every other month. So at that point Mr. Bedford was tested and we were referred to see a fertility specialist. 

So off we went to The Jones Institute.  We tried a lot of the same things that we had done before with the midwife. Lot of data and doctors' appointments.  Finally we were referred to have a hysterosalpingogram or HSG, which is an x-ray procedure used to see whether the fallopian tubes are open and to see if the inside of the uterus is normal. HSG is an outpatient procedure that usually takes less than 5 minutes to perform. However when I had mine, we ended up doing this 3 different times.  The Tylenol that they told me to take before the procedure really did nothing at all to tempt the pain to stay away.  So after three times of them trying to blow out my tubes, we stopped and waited for the next doctor's appointment.  

Next Dr. Appointment encouraged the idea of surgery.  They were sure they could fix the tube.  However, I took the first week off of school, so that I could go ahead and have laproscopic surgery completed.  It was so hard not being able there for Mason's first day of school. The surgery was not very much of a success but gave very many answers to so many questions. I was then told that I have endometriosis.  Not a huge surprise, but I was glad to know.  So my right tube could could not be repaired, but they did make my left more optimal for future endeavors.   So after that we were told we would be more susceptible to becoming pregnant without proceeding medically.  

So the next month we were back into the doctor's, starting with IUI.  Lots of shots and new medicines and new hope.  We did two cycles, and I decided in December that I was done trying with IUI's, and medicines.  With each of those cycles there is an approximately a 30 percent chance of being pregnant.  So we have chosen to take a break.  Hey, everybody says as soon as you aren't trying, you become pregnant. lol.  So we haven't been doing any fertility treatments since December and I can say I finally feel normal.  Being on various fertility medicines for the past 2 years on and off, can certainly do something to how you feel about yourself and how you cope with everyday situations.  

However, bringing up to present day.  I have been with LuLaRoe since the end of January. I started with LuLaRoe in hopes of saving enough money for the cost of in vitro fertilization or IVF.  Things have been going relatively well.  I am never one to sit idling and wait for things to happen, so here I am, trying to make the most of my situations and means!  

I just wanted to write out my story as menial as it may seem, helps me to cope with the fact that it has been so extremely difficult to get pregnant when all I want is, to hold my own baby.  

Thanks for listening. Have a blessed day!