The (NOT SO) Skinny Girl

So for 2.5 years, I used an app called Glow to track my cycle and predict my fertile window for ovulation. Maybe I didn't use it to it's full potential; however, the app was consistently able to align with the painful ovulations and cysts my ovaries put me through, and also would accurately predict 'Aunt Flo's' arrival. I teamed the app up with Ovulation Predictor Kits for at least 6 months, still no luck. And in early December, after debating spending money on IUI, a chance meeting with a Creighton Model Nurse Practitioner pushed me to challenge the the factory line of main stream fertility clinics and go a little old school. We scheduled an introductory session that my husband and I attended, at which we gained better understanding of how this was going to go down and I purchased supplies to move forward and scheduled my first follow-up appointment. Now, technically they suggest you abstain from trying or sex in general for 30 days to allow yourself time to adjust...

So, as you can tell from my blog there is a theme lately. Infertility.  1 in 8 couples (or 12% of married women) have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy, per the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth by the CDC. 7.4 million women, or 11.9% of women, have ever received any infertility services in their lifetime. Couples ages 29-33 with normal functioning reproductive systems have only a 20-25% chance of conceiving in any given month, per the National Women’s Health Resource Center. After six months of trying, 60% of couples will conceive without medical assistance- that number is from 1997. 20 years later, even that statistic is out of range- #1 being that people are all waiting longer to start having children (thus they are older) and are having more issues and more time spent trying before conception. Case in point, my husband and I are 31 and 32 respectively... we started 'trying' at 28 and 29. Currently at the 2.5 YEARS mark of TRYING. When I was not...

My Intro to NaPro Technology... the bioLOGICAL path for those struggling to concieve. A few weeks ago I randomly met a woman who may potentially change the course of my 'trying to conceive' journey. After I got done working at the farm, I decided to go to the MedExpress because I hadn't been feeling good all day. I checked in and waited for an eternity to be called back. Finally a smiling and friendly nurse called me back to begin my exam. She asked me about my symptoms and took my vitals. She was intrigued when I told her I was having pain that was either my kidney or my ovary. She asked me why I thought it was that. I told her I have many instances of either kidney stones, kidney infections, or ovarian cysts rupturing. She started to ask me about my cycle to see if she could rule that out. I showed her my ovulation tracking app, and she asked me how long I had been tracking. I told her 2.5 years of tracking and TTC, so thus my cycles are pretty regular and I'm kind...

I use the "Glow Fertility- ovulation/period tracker" app, I have been a 'member' of the Glow community for about 2 years now. I have learned that there is something called the 2WW (not to be confused with WW2)- the two week wait. So, the way I understand it is- women who are trying to conceive should wait 2 weeks after projected or confirmed ovulation to take a pregnancy test. 2 weeks. Assuming that 14 days post ovulation is time enough to see if you've gotten the deed done and if the oven's got the bun. So this month I decided to look at my "ovulation date"- which was confirmed by a very painful ovulation- and calculate the exact # of days from that day to the day my period was due to arrive. 15 days projected, it arrived in 16 days. All of the ladies who are looking for support during the 2WW say things like "When is it too early to test, I just can't wait the 14 days I want to know now". Multiply that by like, 100 people. Oooor, ...

10/30/17 I drive 2 hours through east bumblefuck, to emerge in a city I've only ever heard of. I follow the directions I found via Google because no one called to confirm my appointment. They probably didn't because I called them back a week after making the appointment to see if their were any cancellations and if I could move it up- I was in luck and successful in that. We moved it from the Friday to the Monday. Anyway, the directions bring me to the wrong place. WTF I was early for once! I frantically call and get the correct address. I show up and they say they have a ton of paperwork for me to fill out and I'm late. I calmly reply that the address listed online is incorrect and I called 5 minutes ago asking for the address as I stood at the other building. They lament that it's been 6 months since they've moved and it's still not updated. I tell them before I sit to fill out my paperwork that if they give me the fax number, I'll have the records sent...

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned that we "waited" to conceive during certain parts of our journey? We got married in June 2015. I had been off birth control a few months and we had not used condoms in years. Technically, we were not 'trying' right after we got married- we had two months until our honeymoon and I was afraid of morning sickness and not being able to enjoy ourselves in Slovakia, Poland, and Italy... especially the wonderful wine... So we didn't actively try until we touched down in Italy, our beautiful, wonderful adventure of a honeymoon. At that point, I didn't know much about my cycle and my ovulation days and what not. We came home, I got my period, and reports of "we're pregnant" started pouring in immediately. A couple who got married a week after us got pregnant immediately, a couple who got married in September got pregnant immediately, two couples who had been married a few years let us know they were pregnant- one with...

In August 2016, I wrote a post called "Making babies... it's not that easy". And today, a year later I have the same feelings about that statement. We started TTC in AUgust 2015, 2 months after we got married when we were in Europe on our honeymoon. It was a magical time, we stayed in a rooftop loft in Rome, had a balcony overlooking the sea and Mt Vesuvius in Sorrento, and ate gelato in the squares of Florence. Absolutely fairytale-esque. But no baby came from that honeymoon, and no baby has yet to come into our hearts and arms. I have spent money on ovulation prediction kits, a cycle tracking app, and pre-natal vitamins. I have watched almost all of our friends become parents. I have watched my (sorry, here comes a rant) mooching 30-something-year-old sister suck the life out of my parents as they helped her raise her first kid, and then proceeded to have a second one. I have had blood work run and been palpated. My husband has done tests. I am going for a...