3 months later..... post #2, whoops!

Wow, where to begin. It has been 3 months since I visited this blog. Back in May when I first started this blog, we were going through the miscarriage of our first pregnancy, and I was hoping it would become not only an outlet for that experience, but perhaps first and for most a travel blog. A sort of places to see, things to do if you will. Unfortunately, it seems life got ahead of me, and this blog fell by the wayside. So here goes attempt #2!!

It has been a very busy 3 months!!! In the spirit of sharing openly, put on your seat belts and hold on tight, here is the short version. I might add that we have decided not to keep our fertility struggles a secret. We both need the support of friends and families, and the only way to get that is to let people in on what is going on in our lives.  If we were going through any other type of medical struggle, we would not keep things a secret, so why is it that most couples are so secretive about this entire process? OK, rant over. Like I said, here is the short version of whats gone on in the last 3 months.

After our miscarriage, I had a gut feeling that something was not right. I know early miscarriages are not all that uncommon (25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage), but something inside of me said something was off. So, after a bit of research, I "self referred" myself to an RE, also known as a reproductive endoncrinologist, or fertility specialist. We met with her for the first time in early August and I shared my concerns. She ordered a battery of super fun (note the sarcasm) tests ranging from blood work, to ultrasounds, to the oh so fun HSG (dye injections anyone???). Results all confirmed that indeed my instinct had been correct, something was "wrong." We found out that I have a uterine septum (an abnormal band of fibrous tissue at the top of the uterus, present from birth, and a major cause of miscarriage).  To add to the good news, we also discovered that I had the early stages of whats called "diminished ovarian reserve/efficiency or DOR" (basically I have fewer eggs, and lesser quality eggs than they would expect in a healthy 28 year old). While all of this news was upsetting, the upside was that there was something we could do about both issues. What, you might ask?

Last week I had surgery to remove all of the abnormal tissue from my uterus. While not exactly a bundle of laughs, I am so glad that the problem was discovered, and taken care of before we had any more miscarriages or issues. I'm still having quite a bit of pain and am on estrogen for 30 days to speed up the healing, but you gotta do what you gotta do!!! Surgery went well, and we have been joking that my uterus has been transformed from an "old clunker" to a high end "mercedes." Nothing but the best for our future children!!!

So whats next? IVF. Yikes. Gulp. Seeing $$ signs. BUT,  it is the best option, and once again, i'm grateful its an option. Because of my DOR diagnosis, we need to achieve a pregnancy, and start our family sooner rather than later. Time is not on our side. While we might be able to achieve another natural pregnancy, it would likely take a very long time, and the possibility of miscarriage would be higher. IVF gives us a 60% chance each attempt, and gives them the opportunity to reduce our risk of miscarriage by hand selecting which embryos to use. Although it'd be lovely to be successful on the first attempt, we are prepared to try at least 3 times.  All this will likely happen in November-December. While we aren't exactly looking forward to the nightly injections, and countless doctor visits and procedures, it will all be worth it in the end.
All I can say is this future kiddo of ours better behave themselves after all we are going through to create him or her!!

Until Next time... Kelly and Keith :-)

In the beginning...

In the beginning.... everything and everyone has to begin somewhere right? In recent years I feel as though I am always finding myself in a place of new beginnings. First there was the beginning of college, the beginning of new interests and friends. Fast forward four short years and I soon found myself on the cusp of yet another new beginning, this time in a new state, and new city as I began graduate school.  Then there was the beginning of a new career, a new relationship, and perhaps most recently a new marriage. So many beginnings! I have always been the kind of person who loves change, newness and adventure... yet at the same times I hate it, in fact I dread it!!! Yep, it has made things complicated at times. 

In recent months my husband and I found ourselves at the start of another new beginning, we had decided to start a family and were over the moon to find out we were expecting our first child. On Christmas day none the less!! Unfortunately, that new beginning, quickly led to an ending, and a miscarriage at only 7.5 weeks. We are sad, and will always miss the baby we never got to meet, yet are choosing to move on, and (yep you guessed it), begin again. I suppose you could say this blog blossomed out of that place of newness, uncertainty, new beginnings and the big ole' question mark of "what next?" 

We contemplated quite a few options in response to that big "what next?"  We could take a break and wait a bit before trying again... we could sell our house, quit our jobs take the savings account and go backpack Europe for 6 months, we could move, we could try again right away! In the end we decided that although running away to some foreign land sounds like a great idea right now, now is probably not the time to make such a big decision.  

So here we are, back in the groove of life.  We decided we will give it a month and then try again to start a family.  If that doesn't go well, Europe here we come!!! For real. So we wait, and see what happens.  BUT, in the meantime life goes on.  

I'm hoping this blog can serve a few different purposes....

-A place for my husband and I to chronicle and document the beginnings of our lives as a married couple, and eventually a family. I hope this becomes something I want to print off and save for our future children. That it might serve as a way for them to look back, and better understand the beginnings of our family. 

-A place to share our current journey with friends, family and anyone else who cares to listen...

-A place to daydream and travel through the "virtual" world.... confused? Well, although we aren't going to be running off to Europe anytime in the immediate future, we are planning on making that 3-6 month trip at some point in our future- be it as a family of two- or perhaps a family of 3.  So i'd like to use these pages to research, plan, and share possible plans. 

I'd say thats about it for now..... we shall see where this new beginning leads us!