There's a New 'Saur Up in Here!

Hello! I am Laughosaur, a new 'Saur, and I couldn't be more excited to have a place to share my journey through TTC. I am honest and open and don't mind sharing anything and everything, hopefully you're ok with that!

My husband and I have been married for 2 years. We live in a house with a cat and a dog that drive each other crazy, which seems natural to me. What I find unnatural is when cats and dogs like each other and cuddle. However, it is really cute and I would love to see our pets do that.

Anyway, we have been TTC since May for our first baby. We have lots of friends that have babies and toddlers or are pregnant. We used to enjoy being the only ones without kids but now it is getting old. Of course, it seems like everyone I know or see is pregnant. Isn't that the way!?

I would I could tell you that I wasn't naive when I thought getting pregnant would be easy. I had it all planned out in my mind. We'd get pregnant with in a month or so and we'd be celebrating the Holiday Season with me having a baby belly and enjoying all that comes with that. By spring we'd have a bundle of joy and life would be grand.

As many of you know, that hardly ever happens. Unfortunately, it wasn't until we find ourselves 8 months into it that I am realizing that there are in fact people I know that have not gotten pregnant the first or second month of trying. It is wonderful to know that there are other couples going through the same thing you are. Of course you wouldn't wish the stress and frustration of this magical time on anyone, but it is a relief to know you aren't the only one. It took this long to find out that I know people in real life going through many months of trying because people don't talk about it. Not at first. It takes a few times of you bringing it up and talking about yourself before they get comfortable and share with you their journey. I wish people were more open about it because it might give many people some relief because here I was thinking that it would be super fast for us based on the fact that "everyone" I knew had experiences like that. However, I realize how private an experience this is, so I can respect that.

So, what have we been doing throughout this process?

I've read Taking Charge of Your Fertility and pretty much know the text like the back of my hand.

I have been charting my basal body temp since last October.

*images from google.com

Not my chart, though I wish it were because that would be a good thing!

We have used Pre-Seed a few times.

We also started using OPKs this past cycle.

I look forward to sharing more with you all! Feel free to ask any questions about whatever you want because like I mentioned above, I am open and don't mind sharing!

Hello from a new Saur!

My introduction to this lovely world of TTC is going to be a brief one! I'm not keeping anything from you, it's just that we just started actively trying in May! My husband and I were married when in April 2009 when I was 34 (he was 32). Cougar! Okay, not really. Well, now I'm 35 and we're into our 4th month of trying. We have no reason to believe we shouldn't be successful in this journey, but I'm too old and jaded to think it would happen in the first month (or even 6 months) of trying.

Fortunately, we're still in the enjoyable stage of all of this. We can both still laugh when I tell him about how we're going to schedule 'the sex' for this month. :-)

So we're hoping with the help of temping, OPKs, exercise, and vitamins that it won't be too long until we get a BFP!

Oh, and we like to think we have the luck of the Irish on our side. ;-)

Imagine Source

Hello from a new 'Saur!

Had some coding problems before so here's my intro again :)

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I am so excited to be here! I have loved following the journey's of these ladies and I am honered to be the new "saur. Today I post as my introduction....

Hello, my name is Dreamersaur, and I'm an infertile.

Two years ago I lost my right fallopian tube to an ectopic pregnancy, I have hypothyriodism, and a luteal phase defect. Today marks my 10th cycle trying to concieve my third child.

Infertility hurts. We've all heard it, but let me explain.

Imagine wanting something so bad your heart literally aches when one passes you by. You're saving up for it but you're just NOT. QUITE. THERE. You save all your money in a little tim box. You count it every day to see if you've gotten there yet, but the answer is always "Not Yet!" Then one day the little tin box you've been saving your cash in... catches fire and you catch it when your money has all but burned up.

My body is like that money.

I use natural supplements to keep my body healthy. I use Natural Family Planning. I chart my morning temps. I chart symptoms. I chart things from places better left to the imagination. I use ovulation predictor kits (opks). I spend a small fortune on home pregnancy tests... only to see a single line staring back at me month to month when a second line that would change my world so much is all I am looking for.

I'm not giving up.

One day soon i will see two pink lines.....

Until then?

Hello, My name is Dreamersaur, and I'm an Infertile on cycle day 1 of yet ANOTHER cycle. Are you ready to ride this rollercoaster with me??

My mega super long introduction

Thump, thump…is this thing on??

Before I even begin I want to make a disclaimer. I do not consider myself to be witty or eloquent. But I do surprise myself once in a great while. Just didn't want you to get your hopes up too high...

I also have a LONG ttc history, so if you want to stick around and read it, feel free to pull up your easy chair.

Okay, now that I’ve cleared those things up…

Let me formally introduce myself. The name is Shortysaur, betcha can’t guess why I chose that name! Yep, I’m a little vertically challenged, but I don’t let that stand in my way. I embrace it!

So why am I the newbie at Pregosaur? Well, I thought I could add a little something to the prego-pot since I didn’t see anyone else on the roster who has dealt with my situation; I thought I may be able to contribute in a positive way. You see, I already have a little girl who is 5 years old and the sunshine in my life, but my little one wants a sibling ... that’s actually an understatement. She prays for a sibling multiple times a day! My DH and I have had trouble conceiving a second child for quite some time now. You would call what I’m experiencing 'secondary infertility' although I really despise that term. It’s hard to make sense of why we haven't been able to conceive again after we've already had one perfect pregnancy and an even more perfect child. Not to say that conceiving our DD was easy, it did take some time, but soon after I started charting my bbt and getting in tune with my body cycles I got that ever elusive BFP. What an amazing experience that was! I can’t wait to see that again someday (Lord willing, soon!).


Mr. Shortysaur and I have been married since 2002 and our daughter was born in the summer of 2004. We have been ttc off and on since our DD was 18 months old. But there’s a catch. My husband is a former soldier, who has been deployed twice in our daughter’s lifetime. Once to Iraq for a year and the second time to Afghanistan for 15 months.



Talk about throwing a monkey wrench in our ttc efforts! (Hence the reason we've been trying "off and on"). When he returned from his first deployment, we began ttc right away with diligently charting my bbt daily and trying to get that timing just right. We tried for a whole year. What an emotional year that was! One of the most difficult things was that we were book ended by deployments, so the pressure was on! We had a ttc deadline people!



But every month it was the same roller coaster ride of emotions…up, down, up, down…I'd get all emotional right before AF was scheduled to show up, and he'd say things like "is this normal? This can't be normal!" It also didn’t make it any easier on me that my best friend was pregnant with her second child at the time. Talk about a strain on a friendship…if you’ve ever been through that, you know what I mean. (Beware of the green-eyed monster!) My best friend and I are now closer than ever, in part because we went through those trying times together.

So after a long year of ttc and dealing with the stress of another pending deployment, we were still without bun-in-the-oven. And we were without prospects for trying again for another 15 months! (Well, except when he came home for 2 weeks on R&R, but that’s a crap shoot at best trying to time it right). My focus shifted dramatically from “baby on the brain” to “husband is in danger daily” ahhhhhh!!!

Thankfully while he was deployed that second time, we decided that once he returned he would get out of the Army. What a RELIEF!! Wow, I can’t even tell you how big of a weight that was lifted off our shoulders knowing that he would never deploy again. Don’t get me wrong, I grew tremendously through it all and my relationship with DH is stronger than ever because of everything we went through, but thank God it’s in the past!

Once DH returned from Afghanistan we started planning a strategy for ttc again. Our DD was almost 4 at the time, so the space between kids was getting greater and greater. I was not anywhere near too old, but I wasn’t getting any younger either! We decided to take the “chill mode” approach to ttc this time, thinking that it may have been the stress that prevented it before. I wasn’t going to chart my bbt or focus on ttc too much. We were in the category of “whatever happens happens”. Well, you know what happened?



Zip, zero, nada… a whole year later after he got home, we still had no BFP. Hesitantly, I decided to start charting my bbt again. You know when that was? 9 MONTHS AGO! UGH! How frustrating! I’m SO frustrated!! Ok, I’m done venting…sorry. Case in point why I decided to start blogging about my situation, I seriously need an outlet. For real.

You’re probably thinking “Well Shorty, it’s about time you go see a doctor and find out what the heck is going on!” I’m about ten steps ahead of you. Been there, done that. DH and I decided back in October that it was time to find out if there was anything “wrong” with us. He was particularly concerned about his “little swimmers” and if they were performing up to par. He kept saying “what if I’m shooting blanks?” and “it’s probably my fault”. I felt so bad that he was always blaming himself, so I knew it was time to get some answers.

We made an appointment with an OB/GYN who also deals with infertility. (Truth be told, I chose this clinic because they have a midwife on staff *wink, wink*) The doctor was very nice and very thorough in explaining to us the battery of tests we would have to go through to diagnose if anything was wrong. Needless to say I was a bit intimidated, but knew at the same time that I needed some peace-of-mind.

The very first test we underwent was the good old 'semen analysis'. DH was thankful that we were able to get that over and done with right away. Guys have it so easy when it comes to this stuff, don't they? I was very pleased that the doctor had our test results within 24 hours, so I didn't have to wait long at all. The results: DH has abundant, very motile spermies. Woohooo!!

About a week after that, I found myself lying on the x-ray table getting an HSG, which stands for hysterosalpingogram (what a mouthful! I might as well have just said it’s a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious). For those of you who have never heard of this lovely test, it’s where they use our favorite instrument, the speculum to go inside your who-ha and then they open up your cervix just a bit (you’ll feel a pinch and some cramping…ya, you betcha!). Then they squirt a sticky glucose solution through your uterus and blow up a little balloon thingy (sorry I don’t know techy-term). All this is happening while they are looking at the x-ray video on a screen to see if the fluid will flow freely through your fallopian tubes. The test is ultimately to see if you have open tubes and that there are no obstructions. First test complete. Results: normal.

I was actually very hopeful that we would conceive after I got the HSG because it’s also been known to increase fertility for the first 3 months after the test. Bonus! But alas, that didn’t happen. Moving on to the next fun test….this one was called the “clomid challenge test.” I’m sure the word “clomid” made your ears (or actually, your eyes) perk up. They had to give me fertility medication for this test!

This was a bit of a reality check for me because the way you take clomid for this test is the same way you take it to try and get pregnant. Up until this point, I had never actually pictured myself taking fertility meds. My reality was quickly shifting. The process for this test was to give me a blood test, then I took clomid from days 5-9 of my cycle and then tested my blood again. The test is specifically to look at hormone levels, namely estrodiol (estrogen) and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). Second test complete. Results: normal.

The doctor did say that they didn’t give me clomid specifically to help me get pregnant then, it was just for the test, but sometimes that can be a side effect. Bonus #2! So I was hopeful that maybe the medication would do the trick. Nope. I got my hopes up, and then crushed…again. The last test I had to undergo was called a Hysteroscopy. (No, not a hysterectomy, lol.) The process for this one is similar to the HSG, but this time they put a camera through my who-ha to see my womb real time on the big screen. They were looking for any fibroids and things of that nature that would prevent pregnancy. Third test complete. Results: normal, once again.

Yes people, I’m NORMAL, totally normal. Don’t get me wrong, I am so thankful! But it’s also a bit confusing, as I’m sure you can imagine. The doctor told me the next step is to go on clomid for 4-5 months and see if anything happens. Wait and see. Sounds like fun, huh?

Now I sit here on my couch next to my 5 year old who is trying to tickle my neck, and I'm baring my soul to this online community. Here’s my status today: second round of clomid, cycle day 27, 5 DPO (O was totally ambiguous this month...ugh!) waiting to see if AF will rear her oh-so ugly head in a day or two.

I’m looking forward to sharing my continued journey (and hopefully, success!) with you all. Let’s ride this lovely roller-coaster together, shall we?

Let Me Introduce Myself

Hello all!!

My name is Joggersaur!! I am super excited to be a part of Pregosaur!Let’s start from the beginning.

I have struggled with my weight my entire life. It’s never been something I could kick.

Until now.

Mr. Joggersaur and I have embarked on a new eating lifestyle that took six months to get down, and increase our physical activity!

I have rediscovered a love for running. Well, jogging.

I used to run a lot playing soccer. And then before Mr. Joggersaur and I got married, I ran 5K’s, 10K’s, and half marathons.

After Mr. Joggersaur and I got engaged in December 2008, I cut back on my races and my running to plan our wedding that was just three months later.

And no, we weren’t pregnant, which we got asked a lot.

We had known each other almost nine years. And we are both close to thirty.

We married in March of 2009, and after about a month, we decided to take up something we could do together, because we didn’t want to be one of those couples that either A) does their own thing, or B) sits in front of the TV. So, we took up Jogging.

The difference between running and jogging? Nothing really, but I enjoy the slower pace of jogging rather than running so fast I can’t breathe. But that’s just me.

Now we jog three or four times a week, and both of us plan to keep jogging throughout my pregnancy when it happens, as long as we can.

That’s right, we’re TTC.

We got married in March, and originally had planned to just let things happened once we got married.

A few days before the wedding, Mr. Joggersaur began having second thoughts. Not in a bad way, but in a too many big things are happening at once kind of way.

So we agreed to wait until we had been married six months.

And thank goodness!!!

So many things have happened in our life, that if had become pregnant right away, things would have been a lot harder.

That brings us to now.

We hit the six month mark in September. We've been waiting patiently for AF, so that we could stop preventing immediately after.

It is our goal, to TTC naturally, without temping, or taking tests. Mr. Joggersaur and I want to make this as fun and enjoyable as TTC can be.

His motto is, “If it happens, it happens.”

Mine is, “I really want it to happen.” LOL.

For the past six months, I have been keeping track of when AF comes and goes, CM, and other PMS symptoms, so I have a good idea when I am ovulating and how long my cycle is.

This month, I got so anxious in waiting for AF to get here because I knew it was my last cycle before we stopped preventing, I was a week late.

Doh!

But here we are, officially taking that next step.

And I couldn’t be more excited!!

I look forward to sharing our experiences with you!
Love,
Joggersaur

Introducing Pharmasaur!

I am happy to be joining the Pregosaur blog. I am the new 'saur on the block - Pharmasaur.

Mr. Pharmasaur and I live in Canada, in a suburb of the city of Toronto, Ontario. We are fast approaching 40 years old this November and we have just recently started our TTC journey.

I married Mr. Pharmasaur in September of 2006. We are what you could call "late-bloomers." We were both almost 37 when we tied the knot. For a while, we were not sure if we wanted kids. Then last summer, we had a serious TTC discussion. Since we had recently moved into our first house together, we decided that the time was not yet right for us to TTC. We wanted to get settled in first.

Shortly after we got married, I had an IUD inserted. That was our method of contraception for the next 30 months. At the removal appointment, the Ob-Gyn said that we could try to conceive at anytime. This was in May 2009 and Mr. Pharmasaur and I were again discussing the possibility of trying to have a baby. Two days after the IUD removal I finally realized that I really DID want to TTC. I wasn't sure if Mr. Pharmasaur was on the same page so I was feeling a little nervous about telling him my thoughts. When he arrived home from work that day, he told me he wanted to TTC before I even brought up the topic. The right time had finally arrived!

We were concerned about the fact that we are both 39 and how that would impact our ability to conceive. I started on prenatal vitamins right away. The IUD was removed on the first day of my period so we started trying that cycle. I went to see my family doctor and she did some blood tests. I had asked her how long we should try to conceive before asking for help and she said not to wait. She put in a referral for a fertility specialist.

We kept our TTC experience very simple. We did the "baby-dance" every other day for about a week in the middle of my cycle. I also remained lying down with my hips elevated for about 20 minutes after sex. I'm not convinced that really helps but it made sense to us. I did not take my BBT. I paid attention to my cervical mucous but didn't formally chart.

Imagine our surprise, joy and shock when we got a BFP on June 15! I went back to my family doctor and had it confirmed. I really was pregnant! I was pretty nervous, amazed and overjoyed. I religiously took my prenatal vitamins, improved my diet dramatically and tried to avoid any potentially toxic foods, chemicals and skin care products. The fertility specialist called and I happily cancelled it. My doctor referred me to an Ob-Gyn in case I was unable to find a spot at a Midwifery clinic. I did finally get an appointment for an information session with a Midwife. But things were about to change for us.

On July17, Mr. Pharmasaur and I went to our first ultrasound. I should have been 9 weeks along at that point. Unfortunately, a heartbeat was not detected and another ultrasound was scheduled for 2 weeks later. The doctor explained I could have ovulated later than I thought or it could be a missed miscarriage or a blighted ovum.

A week later, on July 24, I did miscarry. The baby had stopped developing at 5 weeks and I miscarried at 10 weeks. Mr. Pharmasaur and I were devastated and in shock. It was a roller coaster of emotions for several weeks. I went through grief, anger, shock, disbelief, guilt, fear - a full gamut of emotions.

We are now ready to try again. I got my period back 6 weeks after the miscarriage. We have just returned from a European vacation and we started to TTC again on our trip. I am glad to be here to share the next phase of our journey with you.

Hello! This is my intro

Hi there my name is Relaxasaur. This is my first post on Pregosaur. I am very excited to be a part of the group. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am 26 years old I have been married for 2 years. My husband and I just bought our first home (a townhouse) in April we live in the Chicago suburbs. I have my BA in Sociology and I have been considering go back to school for my masters so I can become a professor, although I do not know what I want to teach. I am the oldest of three girls (I know my poor dad). My youngest sister turns 21 in November and they have been bugging me to have a baby. My answer is always don't hold your breath......until now.

See I never really wanted children at least not in the near future. My husband was a different story. He thought we should be married for a year and then start TTC. I told him that it is not my plan and after we lived with our niece for the first year of her life and that seemed to change his mind. He said we can wait until we are both ready. See Mr Relaxasaur is around kids all day for work. He coaches kids sports classes at park districts with ages ranging from 3 to 11 so he gets his kid fixes. I on the other hand have never really been kid friendly. I am just not that comfortable around children. Living with my niece has helped me a little bit but I still prefer adult company.

Lately I have had some issues with my body, specifically my cervix, which I will go into next time because that is a long story so we have been TTC since the beginning of July. I was on birth control for 7 years so it may take some trying which I think my DH (dear husband) is OK with.

Intro Luckysaur Style

Hello all! I’m Mrs. Luckysaur and I’m so excited to be the newest ‘saur on the blog.

I had a really hard time deciding on a ‘saur name for myself. I now have a little inkling of how hard it’s going to be to come up with a name for a baby! I chose the name Luckysaur because even though I’ve worked hard for some of the things in my life there are some things that I think I’ve just lucked out in getting. I have a wonderful, loving, and supportive family. I have some very close friends that I consider part of that group as well. I have the best husband a girl could ask for that is 100% on board, probably even more than I was at the beginning, with TTC. Last but not least, I’m lucky to have stumbled upon this blog and to be given the opportunity to share my experiences with all of you.

Mr. Luckysaur and I became husband and wife on April 25^th (yep, only a little over 2 months ago) at our beach wedding in Florida. We knew that we wanted children and that we didn’t want to wait too long after getting married to start TTC. I went off of BCP’s on June 14th after being on them for 15 of my 32 years. I still can’t believe that hormones have regulated my cycles for almost half of my life! I remember my cycles being very regular prior to starting BCP’s, but it’s been so long ago now that I haven’t a clue as to their length. I’m currently at day 16 in my cycle and facing my first two week wait. Only time and my chart will tell of we’re inching closer to a BFP on our first TTC cycle. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

I look forward to sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly of our journey towards parenthood with everyone…stay tuned!

PS- One of the Luckysaur's fur babies is also named Lucky!

Hi, it´s me Lillysaur

I´m excited to be joining this blog, but before I start blogging just a few stats:

Lillysaur: thirty-something

Mr Lillysaur:thirty-something

TTC since 09/2007 (have lost track of total number of cycles)

Miscarriages: 3-4 (what, don´t you know? Yes, I know how many times I saw a positive, but the
doctor decided not to count one of them because the test wasn´t positive for here anymore…)

Cycles Charted: 10 (in celcius)

Drugs: 100mg Aspirin, and heparin after pg confirmed with ultrasound

Testing done: kareotype for me &DH, clotting disorders, immune disorders, hormones, etc.

What next: SA for DH and penetration test

After my last miscarriage on Christmas Eve 2008 we are ready to try, try again. The RE informed me today that there is “nothing wrong” with the Lillysaur. In fact, Lillysaur´s hormone levels were just fine, even great. However Lillysaur´s estrogen level was so high that it appears that there are two follicles this cycle. I only remember seeing one huge one measuring 22 or 23mm at my ultrasound last week with the RE, but if he says so, then he says so. I´m somewhat confused, but what´s new!
After my three minutes with the RE this morning I was instructed to a) come back next cycle on CD13 with the DH to do a SA and a penetration test using my CM (thank goodness he has decided not to do a post-coital test) and b) come in as soon as I see that my temps are staying up so I can start progesterone if needed. He didn´t even ask to see my chart this time. I was somewhat relieved not to have to explain that no, I have not started taking my temps vaginally. There is always next cycle for that. Somehow the thought of making love to the thermometer every morning does not appeal to me.
Now I sit here in the 2ww at 5dpo wondering if I have a shot at having twins….My sister has twins.
I´m wondering if that huge temp drop this morning means anything…Only 10 more days till testing!

Hello: An Introduction to Bellesaur

I am so excited to be a part of Pregosaur! I am Bellesaur, and I wanted to tell you a little bit about myself and my TTC journey. I am 26 years old, and live in Mobile, AL with my DH (dear husband) and our two sweet pugs.

DH and I decided to begin TTC in December of 2008. I took my last BCP (birth control pills) on January 9th, 2009. Unfortunately, BCP must have done a number on me, because AF (Aunt Flo) did not show up for 54 days. I began charting around day 30 of that cycle, but was still learning about charting. I was able to confirm ovulation on CD (cycle day) 44 for this cycle. Please feel free to check out my FF (Fertility Friend) chart in the link to the right.

I began to get acupuncture to aid in shortening my cycle lengths. I started seeing Zue, my acupuncturist, twice a week. Along with the treatments and herbs Zue gave me, my next cycle went down to 39 days, and was ovulatory on CD 27. I continued to get treatments, and cycle # 3 was 35 days, and ovulatory on CD 23. I do believe Cycle # 4 will be my most normal yet.

However, DH and I face other issues in our TTC journey. We were afraid DH might be infertile because I had been taking a medication that negated my BCP for several years (had just discovered this in October 2008), and decided to get an SA (sperm analysis) for DH. I know many might think it was too soon, but I don't regret the decision, both of us just had a feeling we needed to do this. Well, DH's SA results came back with high white blood count (WBC) and poor morpholopgy (99% abnormal). The results indicated DH had some sort of infection elevating his WBC. We were very alarmed and were lucky enough to get an appointment with a urologist right away.

At the urologist, it was confirmed that DH was suffering from a prostate infection. The urologist prescribed 2 weeks of Levaquin, a strong antibiotic, and then a low dose of Bactrin for 60 days after that. The urologist felt that once the infection was cleared, that DH's morphology would be normal again and we would have a real shot at TTC. He thought there was a chance that DH would be viable again after the 2 weeks of Levaquin; the Bactrin is more of a just in case to ensure no relapse.

Needless to say, we are excited to know that Cycle #4 could actually be a possible BFP (Big Fat Positive) for us. We are ready to be KU (knocked up)!

I promise to keep everyone updated on my treatments, my chart, and all the emotions we all know are tied to this exciting and sometimes trying time!

Baby crazy

I've always loved babies and I've always known I wanted to be a mom. I remember when I was a little girl, I'd put a pillow under my shirt and pretend I was pregnant. I'd even walk around with my hand on my lower back like I saw pregnant women do on tv. Weird? Yeah, maybe. But I guess there was just something inside me that knew I was made for motherhood. I'm totally that girl. The one who started planning her wedding and naming her future children when she was 6 years old.

If ever there was a baby in the room, I had to be the one to hold it. I just can't resist them! Especially newborns. In fact, I even made a career out of my love of babies.

I work with tiny babies like this:

Source

And sometimes big, fat babies like this:

Source

I have to be honest, though. Sometimes my job makes me not want a baby of my own! Listening to screaming babies all night can do that to you. At least I can get away from them after my 12 hours is up. There's no clocking in and out of motherhood...