I'm on the wagon ... the baby wagon!
We are ecstatic to announce that Baby Buysse will make us a family of 3 in October 2018! While we are happy to finally spill the baby beans, it's been fun the last few months imagining how our lives are about to change and what kind of parents we will be. We can't help but think how will we teach our child right from wrong, how to respect others, how to always strive to be their best, and how to be kind and compassionate. The one thing Joel and I are confident in, however, is that we are strong together and we will face all of these tough decisions as a team.
I got home from work on January 29, 2018 knowing in the back of my mind that I was 4 days late and wondering if I should take a pregnancy test. I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment again so I tinkered in my craft room for awhile. Maybe I don't watch the news enough or read enough articles (mostly because I don't know what to believe anymore) but I feel like fertility has been such a quiet subject for so long and people are just now starting to talk more candidly about it. Joel and I had been actively trying to conceive for over a year. Every time someone would ask when we would start having kids, I would joke and say, "It's not as easy as all those young bucks make it look," while feeling like I was taking yet another knife to the gut. After the first 7 months I was driving myself crazy trying to figure out why it wasn't working ...
Have I eaten too much processed food in my lifetime?
Should I not stand so close to the microwave?
Is my stress making my eggs stressed?
Did I ingest too much BPA before we knew BPA was bad?
Has Joel spent one too many nights in a hot tub?
Is our cell phone use killing all the good eggs and sperm?
Is my uterus in good condition?
Do I have any eggs left?
Have we waited to long?
Am I too old?
We consulted a fertility specialist where we underwent a battery of blood tests, genetic profiling, sperm analysis, ultrasound, and a very uncomfortable Hysterosalpingogram (all of which were not covered by insurance). The result? A 5% chance of conceiving naturally. The next suggestion was to try 3-4 rounds of IUI and if unsuccessful, the infamously expensive IVF (both also not covered by insurance). It was a rather quiet ride home from the doctor's office that day. I was on board and ready to start the IUI injections right away but after some discussion, we agreed that we would keep trying the old-fashioned way and then revisit the IUI option after the new year.
January 2018 was very busy with work, appointments, and travel. We both caught terrible colds after a fun New Year's in Vegas and Joel was also knocked down for a week by a gout spell. It was the first month in over a year when I did not meticulously track my ovulation in 12-hour increments. This brings us back to January 29th. I was officially 4 days late. I had been 4 days late before and gotten a negative pregnancy test every time. I dug one out from under the sink and told myself it would be ok if it were negative because we didn't really try this month. Two very distinctive pink lines appeared. Hmm ... Of course I didn't have the box so I had no idea what it meant. I waited an hour and took another one to compare. Two pink lines again. I quickly googled the particular brand and looked at the difference between positive and negative. My heart was pounding as I realized what I'm looking at. Do I tell Joel right now? Do I get a digital test tomorrow and make sure? In a daze, I walked downstairs with my 2 positive pee sticks and the picture on my phone of a positive test and with tears in my eyes asked Joel, "Do you see what I'm seeing?!?" I instantly went to our liquor cabinet for the most expensive bottle of wine we owned and Joel and I toasted to our future while I savored every last delicious drop of that Silver Oak Cab. Within an hour I had ordered pregnancy books for both Joel and I and a digital pregnancy test (thank you Amazon Prime and your free next-day delivery) and downloaded a pregnancy app which informed us I was 5 weeks along. The next step was to schedule an appointment with the Midwives Clinic and hit the ground running.
I got home from work on January 29, 2018 knowing in the back of my mind that I was 4 days late and wondering if I should take a pregnancy test. I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment again so I tinkered in my craft room for awhile. Maybe I don't watch the news enough or read enough articles (mostly because I don't know what to believe anymore) but I feel like fertility has been such a quiet subject for so long and people are just now starting to talk more candidly about it. Joel and I had been actively trying to conceive for over a year. Every time someone would ask when we would start having kids, I would joke and say, "It's not as easy as all those young bucks make it look," while feeling like I was taking yet another knife to the gut. After the first 7 months I was driving myself crazy trying to figure out why it wasn't working ...
Have I eaten too much processed food in my lifetime?
Should I not stand so close to the microwave?
Is my stress making my eggs stressed?
Did I ingest too much BPA before we knew BPA was bad?
Has Joel spent one too many nights in a hot tub?
Is our cell phone use killing all the good eggs and sperm?
Is my uterus in good condition?
Do I have any eggs left?
Have we waited to long?
Am I too old?
We consulted a fertility specialist where we underwent a battery of blood tests, genetic profiling, sperm analysis, ultrasound, and a very uncomfortable Hysterosalpingogram (all of which were not covered by insurance). The result? A 5% chance of conceiving naturally. The next suggestion was to try 3-4 rounds of IUI and if unsuccessful, the infamously expensive IVF (both also not covered by insurance). It was a rather quiet ride home from the doctor's office that day. I was on board and ready to start the IUI injections right away but after some discussion, we agreed that we would keep trying the old-fashioned way and then revisit the IUI option after the new year.
January 2018 was very busy with work, appointments, and travel. We both caught terrible colds after a fun New Year's in Vegas and Joel was also knocked down for a week by a gout spell. It was the first month in over a year when I did not meticulously track my ovulation in 12-hour increments. This brings us back to January 29th. I was officially 4 days late. I had been 4 days late before and gotten a negative pregnancy test every time. I dug one out from under the sink and told myself it would be ok if it were negative because we didn't really try this month. Two very distinctive pink lines appeared. Hmm ... Of course I didn't have the box so I had no idea what it meant. I waited an hour and took another one to compare. Two pink lines again. I quickly googled the particular brand and looked at the difference between positive and negative. My heart was pounding as I realized what I'm looking at. Do I tell Joel right now? Do I get a digital test tomorrow and make sure? In a daze, I walked downstairs with my 2 positive pee sticks and the picture on my phone of a positive test and with tears in my eyes asked Joel, "Do you see what I'm seeing?!?" I instantly went to our liquor cabinet for the most expensive bottle of wine we owned and Joel and I toasted to our future while I savored every last delicious drop of that Silver Oak Cab. Within an hour I had ordered pregnancy books for both Joel and I and a digital pregnancy test (thank you Amazon Prime and your free next-day delivery) and downloaded a pregnancy app which informed us I was 5 weeks along. The next step was to schedule an appointment with the Midwives Clinic and hit the ground running.
Comments
Post a Comment