No News Is Not Good News...

But it isn't the worst news either! Unfortunately we are not pregnant, but I do feel like we have gained a ton of ground since my last post! After our 5th failed IUI in April, Brad and I decided to switch doctors and look into adoption all at the same time! We jumped right into research on both and prayed that we would be directed down the right path. That path is with Dr. Bopp at Midwest Fertility! We felt like we would always be pulling the "what if" card if we didn't exhaust our options of having our own child. We met with Dr. Bopp at the beginning of June and instantly felt reassured. The office is day and night from our last doctor's office. Dr. B spent an hour with us going over our chart, answering a million questions, and using analogies to help us understand things. Our choices were to try a few more IUI cycles or we could start a round of IVF. He said with IVF we would be able to tell if Brad and I can make healthy embryos. This will be the last piece in the puzzle to our unexplained infertility. Dr. B also took our Alloimmunity test results and said if he could he would throw them out the window. He said there is not evidence or research that supports this diagnosis. His exact words were "I went to Harvard and they don't even teach it there." This will be hard to get out of the back of our heads but were very excited at the same time. That diagnosis was a huge weight on us. So Dr. B sent us home with a huge binder on IVF and said to call him back with the direction we would like to go. After a few days of prayer and conversation Brad and I have decided to start our first round of IVF!!! I cannot believe I just typed that! :)

Since our June 5th appointment I had gone back on the pill. On July 7th I started suppression injections called Lupron to help level out all of my hormones. These injections also help prevent over stimulation later in the cycle. I take these once daily before bed and they are relatively painless. I have had a few bruises but nothing horrible yet. I started my period this past Tuesday the 16th and called the doctor's office to schedule my baseline ultrasound, bloodwork and teaching lesson on how, when, and where to administer all of the shots. That appointment was today and everything went really well! I got the green light to start my stim meds tomorrow night. I will be on 150 units of Follistim and 75 units of Menopur each night. I continue the Lupron injection as well which keeps you from ovulating early and ruining the cycle. So starting tomorrow evening I will be taking 3 shots each night! Let's hope my tummy can handle this! Thank goodness I have gained a few lbs and have a nice little muffin top to inject these shots into! :) As of now I go back to the dr on Monday the 22nd to get a follicle scan ultrasound and bloodwork to see how I am progressing. They will change up my meds from there depending on how everything looks.

Brad and I are very excited and nervous all at the same time! This will be the best chance yet we have had at bringing home our own baby or maybe even babies! :) Please feel free to comment on the blog, text us, call us, anything you feel. Trust us, it is not bugging us! It feels so good to know people are behind you! We in no way could get through this alone! We have been open about our entire experience so far and hope we can somehow be an encouragement to others through this whole process. This has been the biggest test of faith for both of us in our lives. I feel confident saying we are currently passing the test and so excited about the renewed hope that is inside us again as we start IVF!

I will be updating the blog daily with how the injections are going and how we are feeling through the next week leading up to the egg retrieval.