FINALLY PREGNANT!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while, it's been a busy summer. August alone was crazy as I was in Singapore the 7-14 then Marc was in Toronto the 15-19 then I was in San Diego 22-30! This month we weren't even trying as we knew it would never work BUT the day after I got back from San Diego I was like, well I might as well test just to see and it was POSITIVE!!!! I couldn't believe it, I took 3 more test and they are were all positive and the last we digital so even Marc believed it.
I immediately called the doctor to set up an appointment to start the Lovenox shots. She saw me the next day and show me how to use the shot. It hurt like hell but I'm sure I'll get used to it since I have to do it every day for the next year or so. Each shot leaves a bruise on my stomach so eventually I'm going to look like an abused wife but it's worth it if it works. Dr. also wants me to stay on baby aspirin and take Foltex, a folic acid and vitamin b perscription along with my usual thyroid medicine.
It worried me a little that she didn't want to do a blood test to check my Hcg levels to make sure they were doubling (can you tell I've done this before?) but I trust her. My first ultrasound appointment is September 22nd at 7weeks. I'm so nervous this will be like the last 2 and we find out there is no heartbeat. However we are being so agressive this time and know what we think is causing it so its different than last time where we weren't doing anything.
I will keep you posted on how the u/s on the 22nd goes, only 19 more days!!!

Funny Book for Fathers to be - by Sperm

I just finished reading Kevin Nealon's book Yes, You're Pregnant, But What About Me? and it was very amusing. Kevin Nealon was one of the comedians on Saturday Night Live back in the day, like the early 90's. Kevin Nealon's book focuses on his second marriage and there experiences with getting pregnant. I think he is a genius for writing a book in a genre that is not all that amusing. Pregnancy books. The only other funny book I have heard about that relates to pregnancy is the blonde model who was on the show Singled Out on MTV Jenny McArthy I think. Belly laughs or Baby laughs I believe. I am a firm believer that everything can be funny, maybe not right away but at least upon reflection. Being serious is never fun and I doubt its good for your health. If you are a man or like sarcasm and are in some way directly dealing with a pregnancy I totally recommend this book. I am sure Kevin appreciates my review and praise. Your Welcome Kevin!

The Waiting Game

So I am on day 9 of my cyle, after Aunt Flow is gone, but before ovulation. This whole process is all about waiting, first you wait to ovulate then you wait to test then you wait for AF so you can start again, it is so Frustrating!! Maybe I'm just impatient. I usually ovulate around days 16-18 so I'm going to start poas (pee on a stick) on Monday the 13th (cd 13 also).

I finished my doses on clomid (100mg this month) and I'm lucky I don't have too many side effects. The only one I get that drives me nuts is hot flashes. Holy cow. I can't believe how fast they come on and then you get so hot you would think it was 100 degrees in the room. All of a sudden I start peeling off layers of clothes and pulling my hair back and my face turns bright red and everyone looks at me like I'm crazy....

On a brighter note, I have been doing some reading on my favorite forums, www.justmommies.com and www.twoweekwait.com and have found that others who have found out they have the the MTHFR mutation and are taking Lovenox are having successfull pregnancies for the first time after several m/c. I really feel optimistic about this month and if I get pregnant, that this one will stick! We shall see.

I got caught drinking Mountain Dew - By Sperm

So...I got caught drinking Mountain Dew. OK...I didn't actually get caught, but in conversation tonight with dear wife (from now on 'dw' since I am creating my own pregnancy acronyms now) I let it slip that at work I had a can of Mountain Dew. Holy Crap you would have thought that I had ran over her favorite puppy. Does Mountain Dew really lower a man's sperm count? Even if the one can of Mountain Dew I drink every 3 months or so did lower my sperm count, it would only be going from SUPER SPERM to Amazing Sperm!

I would like some feedback or proof that a sugary green amazing soda could actually damage the swimmers because otherwise, I would like to set the record straight. I feel like this smear campaign against Mountain Dew might be caused by some very clever marketers at Coca Cola. What other things supposedly lower my sperm count you might be wondering...well here is a list:

Saunas, jacuzzi's, tanning beds, tighty whities or boxer briefs, and hot showers. So it seems that warms things are bad. Well...I am not taking a cold shower because that leads to other issues that will not be discussed on this blog.

Heterozygous MTHFR - By Egg

I met with the new doctor on Friday and showed her my records from my RE. Right away she noticed something from the panel of blood test. She said that I am a carrier for a blood clot disorder, called Heterozygous MTHFR mutation. At this moment as she was explaining what this meant, I had a strange mixture of emotions. Part of me was relieved to finally have an answer to what had most likely caused my 2 miscarriages, months and months of tests, I swear if I heard "unexplained" one more time, I was going to scream! The other part of me was registering that she was telling that I may never carry a baby to term, unless I take shots every day for my entire pregnancy.

Because I have the single mutation and am only a carrier, there is a chance I could just take a baby aspirin every day and that would help. Apparently even though I could never have clots that are dangerous to me, I have very tiny ones that could harm a small fetus and baby aspirin could be enough. However that word "could" kept bothering me. A more agressive approach would be to take Lovenox shots every day from 4 weeks until delivery. At first she recommended next time I get pregnant I try the baby aspirin and if that doesn't work (meaning I miscarry again), then we try the Lovenox. I asked if I could just take the Lovenox and she said she would be ok with that.

I have at least 4 weeks (I'm waiting for AF so at the very beginning of my cycle) to decide but I'd rather be more agressive and avoid having another miscarriage (ever!). I wish I had a crystal ball that told me that all I had to do was take a small pill every day and that would work, but I don't know and the shot doesn't seem so bad. I know there are risks, but I've read of so many success stories too. I have a lot of questions, I will post any more information I find out when I have my next appt. (hopefully in 4 weeks).

She did give me the 100 mg clomid so we will start that on cd 3-7.

WTF! - Who made up these Baby Acroynms? by Sperm

Welcome to My Sperm Your Egg! This is my first posting. I am Marc, otherwise to be known as Sperm. I am a very open person and when my wife and I were driving to my parents house, we joked about starting a blog about our experiences and I immediately agreed that it was a great idea. In my wife's first posting she gave a pretty thorough history of our experience so far with trying to conceive.

My wife has been showing me some of her favorite pregnancy related blogs for the past 2 years and there is one thing that always makes me crazy. Baby Related Acronyms which I just hyperlinked for you to peruse at your leisure. The best list of them that I have found is at www.twoweekwait.com. My wife has definitely started speaking to me using some of these acroynyms and she doesn't even realize that she is doing it. It's like all of a sudden I am talking to a 13 year old. LOL. Even as she was writing the About US portion of this blog, I swear she threw in a few acronyms that I had to look up.

My favorite ones and most important in my opinion are:

BD - Baby Dance (intercourse)

BFP - Big Fat Positive! (positive pregnancy test)

DH - Dear Husband

LO - Love Olympics (Not that I have a medal in this yet...but this is somethimes known as hump week in our house)

OPK - Ovulation Predictor Kit (something that I had never heard of prior to 2 years ago, and yet is now a $30 a month item on my supermarket shopping list. However, I let Jen have these, because it leads to HUMP WEEK!)

POAS - Pee on a Stick - (funny)

MS - Morning Sickness (At least its not me)

TCC - Trying to Conceive

My least favorite ones are:

V - Vasectomy (Not to be discussed for many years, does not sounds pleasant)

CM - Cervical Mucus (something I could have happily died not knowing about)

EWCM - Egg white Cervical Mucus (Seriously...something I could have happily died not knowing about)

LSP - Low Sperm Count (my boys don't even like to hear those words uttered out loud - they are very sensitive)

We will try and find a spot on the blog to link to a key of the most common acronyms.

Please feel free to ask me any questions or post comments. I am here to support my wife and help anyone I can.

The last 24 months in an eggshell - by Egg

My husband and I got married when we were 23. Although I wanted kids sooner rather than later, there were people who thought we were too young and wouldn't make it. I was determined to prove them wrong so we decided to wait a few years before starting a family. We moved to DC, got jobs, dh went back to school and got his masters degree. Finally about 2 years ago we decided we were ready. We tried for several months on our own, thinking it would just happen. Finally, I went to my doctor and because I have PCOS and therefore, very irregular cycles, he recommended Clomid, starting at 50mg. We tried that for 3 months and while I was ovulating, I did not get pregnant so he changed my dose to 100mg. I got a BFP 4 weeks later and we were ecstatic and immediately told our immediate family and 2 closest friends. It was June 2008 and my due date was January 20, 2009. My doctor at the time was very thorough and did an ultrasound at 5, 6 and 7 weeks. At the 7wk scan there was no growth from the previous week and no heartbeat, whereas we had seen a flutter the week before. My doctor told me I had had a miscarriage. He said these things happen and sometimes there are no reasons and it wasn't anything I did. This did little to console me though as I was so convinced everything would go perfectly. We knew so many people who had no problems so I just assumed it was rare to have any problems. Boy was I wrong.

The following weeks and months, I learned so many people I know and they know had miscarriages. This was both conforting and scary. I was terrified that it was going to happen again. Never again was I going to take it for granted that everything would work out fine. I had a D&C and dh and I went to Cape Cod that weekend (a previously scheduled trip that ended up being perfect timing). I had a lot of time to think about everything and I decided that I would take this experience and move on, keep going, not let it stop us from trying again. I thought I had figured out on my own why this happened. In my 7th week I had a blood test to test my TSH levels, since I have a thyroid disorder, and my level was 4.5. My doctor had always said I should stay btw 1 and 2. He put me on a higher dose but I miscarried 2 days later. I was convinced this was the problem, and now I know how to prevent it next time.

In August 2008, we started trying again on 100 mg of Clomid, 2 months later in October I got another BFP. My due date was July 3rd. Because I had a previous miscarriage, my doctor was very cautious and monitored me closely. My thyroid levels were good, the ultrasound looked good, everything was on track. At my 8wk appt, however, they discovered I had miscarried again. I had to have another D&C and it was the week of Thanksgiving. It goes without saying I was devastated. Thank god I had amazing family and friends who knew what was going on and helped me protect my privacy from everyone else and get through it.

After this, we decided to take a break. I work for a company where I get to travel a lot. In October of 2009, we are having a major event in Prague and dh and I really wanted to go so we said we would take a break until April in 2009, which would allow us to go to Prague and take a few months off of the endless cycle of ttc. Those months actually went by fast. During those months I saw an RE that did several tests to try to determine the cause of my 2 mc. We did a biopsy to see if there was an unknown infection and a sonohysterogram to check that the shape of my uterus was normal. Both tests came back normal. The last thing she did was a series of blood tests. I was frustrated that there was no reason yet and although I liked the RE, she kept coding everything under infertility (which my insurance doesn't cover) so I kept having to call and get it recoded to recurrant mc. I never went back after I got those last blood test to hear the results, assuming she would call me if there was anything major. I switched to a new OBGYN close to my house that took my new insurance and requested a copy of all my past records from previous OBGYNS and my RE.

This brings us to today, the next post will detail my first doctors appt with my new obgyn.