Our Infertility Resume

I saw someone else do this on another blog and decided to steal the idea. This post will give a rundown on our infertility journey and I will update it as we continue and a link will be provided for easy navigation.

July 1997:
Married and using birth control pills to prevent pregnancy (ha ha...the jokes on me!)

Oct 1997:
"Decided" to have a baby; quit bcp, 2 pink lines expected within a month or so. (rolling my eyes now)

June 1998:
Suspicion that things were not "right", consulted a ob/gyn.

July 1998:
First laparoscopy to check for suspected endometriosis (none was found). Hubby had a semen analysis and the result was a low count. On to a urologist.

Sept. 1998:
Count still low. Chances minimal at best. No real diagnosis except weight. No insurance coverage for infertility so we decided to "just adopt" while praying for a miracle.

Dec. 2003:
Contacted by a friend about a possible adoption. Mother due in August but considering abortion. Spoke with mother and she agreed to forgo abortion and meet us.

Jan. 2004:
Met with birth mother and 2 lawyers (one in her state, one in ours). All going well. Began telling family and friends about "our baby".

March 2004:
Everything still going well and planning a trip to see "my baby" on the ultrasound and to find out the gender. In my heart I know it is a boy. A week before scheduled trip we receive an email from birth mother telling us she needs time to consider what she wants to do, having second thoughts. Our world crashed around us and that was the last that we ever heard from her. Later we learned that she chose to go through an agency and that family fell through when the baby ( I was right, it was a boy) was born with Down's. He ended up with a family that only wanted children with Down's and our heart is lightened by this news.

Sept. 2004:
Said that we would not do adoption again. Received a call about a baby girl and jumped into the fire again. (the full story can be read in my blog Losing Abbie).

Jan 2005:
Brought our miracle home.

April 2005:
Abbie is no longer in our home. Decided to no longer pursue adoption and went the medical route.

The rest of 2005:
Hubby had another semen analysis and it was discovered no sperm were present.
I had a laparoscopy and severe endometriosis was found. Had to have a laparotomy (like a c-section except no baby, just scars) to remove endo and cysts. Left tube is blocked as well.

2006:
Began seeing an RE (reprocuctive endocrinologist) and a urologist for hubby. Hubby still has no sperm at all and a diagnosis of Sertoli-Cell only (fancy name for a genetic problem that causes no sperm). After several more tests and surgeries for me it is determined that we have 3 options: IVF after surgery for hubby to find spermies (small chance, high cost, and genetic testing had to be done before sperm could be used); IUI or IVF with donor sperm; remain childless. We chose to wait and pray and seek counsel.

2007:
More procedures (feel like a pin cushion at this time) and decided to try 4 rounds of IUI with a donor. (For those that know me in real life, this is not widely known and we would like to keep it this way) None were successful and we took a year off.

2009:
Began seeing another RE to discuss options. Decided to begin embryo adoption, but needed another surgery to remove a polyp. Currently I am healing from surgery and awaiting an embryo match.