i've been less than informative on my blog for the past couple months, which has brought on a lot of questions. so i decided to do another FAQs posts + give an update.
1. are you giving up on infertility treatments?
no!! we are actually in the middle of our first treatment right now. we are (i am) being pretty careful with what we share because if we gave a weekly update on the treatment, we wouldn't be able to share our happy news in the way that we (i) have always planned to!
2. what kind of treatment options do you have?
we actually have a lot of options still! we are going to an amazing doctor in pleasant grove (utah fertility center) & they've laid out a few different options for us. such as: timed intercourse (with the help of medications), intrauterine insemination (IUI), & in vitro. of course, the cost of each of these treatments goes up with each step, so we are starting with the cheapest option & going from there.
3. have you found anything out as to why you are having problems?
yes. i was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) which causes me to grow little cysts-- which aren't usually harmful-- but it also cause hormone imbalances, which makes getting pregnant difficult.
4. is there anything wrong with parker?
we actually don't know that yet. he is getting tested soon & we are hoping that everything is all clear for him because that would make this process a little bit easier!
5. have you looked into adoption?
yes, but no. seems a little contradictory, right? well, here's the thing: we have looked into it, & would love to adopt one day, but right now we are choosing to try infertility treatments because we've seen them work! (i have one darling niece & two adorable nephews from infertility treatments) we are still hopeful that we can get pregnant & have a little baby that is 50% me & 50% parker! (trust me, i have a lonnnnnnng rant about adoption that you just don't want to get me started on...) so for now the answer is no, we are not looking into adoption right now, even though it is a wonderful thing & one day hope to be able to adopt!!
6. can i ask about this stuff because you write about it on your blog?
.... sometimes.... i've actually been thinking about this a LOT recently. i love keeping people updated & in the loop, but i also have a hard time with how personal this journey really is. a lot of the tests & things we've had to do are super up close & personal & frankly, mega weird to talk about. i'm grateful for the support & that people really do care to know what's going on!! however, please understand that if i say i don't want to talk about it, it's not because i'm trying to be rude, but because sometimes i feel uncomfortable talking about it & again, i don't want to share too much because if we do get pregnant, we want to be able to share that on our own terms.
7. so what treatments are you actually doing? (this answer is pretty in depth, so if you don't want to read some of this stuff, just stop reading now.)
right now, we are doing what the doctor calls timed intercourse. this isn't just going over what we've been trying to do for the last 16 months-- this time we have the help of ultrasounds & medications to help us know when the exact best time will be. i've been taking metformin (yes, the diabetes medicine) for about three weeks now to help level out my insulin levels & hormones. & i also took femara for 5 days to stimulate ovulation this cycle. i've had a dye test to make sure that there isn't any blockage in my tubes-- there wasn't. (sorry this is so gross to me) then i've also gone into the doctor 2 times (so far) for ultrasounds to check follicle growth + to make sure i didn't have any cysts-- there were no cysts (yay!!!) but my follicles weren't big enough yet. once my follicles are big enough, i will then be given a trigger shot of progesterone & take HSG pills to help my hormone levels. then the rest is the normal process & hopefully we will get pregnant!
photos by alice jane photography | ALICE SHOOTS PEOPLE