Pregnant After Infertility: My First Pregnancy


April 24-April 30, 2011 is National Infertility Awareness Week
and I’ll be sharing my infertility story with you.

Read The Short Version, or for the whole story read:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

Pregnant after infertility

My First Pregnancy

In June of 2008 we met with an adoption agency and began filling out paperwork. Two months after the last urology appointment on our 5 year anniversary (after a week of ttc) we decided that I would try taking the Crinone. So on June 21, my suspected day of ovulation that month, we used the Crinone for the first time.


Only a few days later I felt exhausted, was having breast pain, and was a little nauseous. I assumed that it was side effects from the Crinone or perhaps even early PMS symptoms. My period was supposed to come on July 5. That week I didn’t have any spotting like I normally do, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up and assumed that the Crinone was the cause.

When July 5 came and I didn’t start my period I wanted to take a pregnancy test. My husband wanted me to wait another week but since I had read that Crinone could sometime prolong a period I didn’t want to have my hopes up for a week. Although I was hoping that we were pregnant, I really wasn’t expecting to be. At 12:50pm I took a First Response HPT, the directions said to wait 3 minutes for results. I normally sit in the other room to wait, but I wanted to check the test line before leaving the room to be sure the test was okay. Before the test line even showed, the pregnancy line showed immediately with the lighter test line following a second later. We were pregnant!


After some other errands that we had to run that day we picked up more pregnancy tests and took them around 5pm. I took one more First Response test, and two digital Clear Blue Easy tests. Every test showed a positive result within seconds. My husband and I were shocked but thrilled. This would be the first grandchild on both sides of the family and we had been trying for so long. By the time we found out that we were pregnant we had been trying to conceive for 4 1/2 years and were almost 28 and 29 years old. I was exactly 4 weeks along according to my LMP. Once we were certain that we were pregnant we had to stop pursuing the adoption since the agency that we were working with requires your youngest child to be 9 months of age before filing for adoption, we were now ineligible.

I had a physical check up scheduled with my regular doctor that Monday. While there I told her of my positive pregnancy tests and asked if I could have a blood test done. She said that with four positive hpt’s that a blood test was unnecessary and that I should schedule an appointment with my OBGYN.

Prior to my first prenatal appointment I continued to experience fatigue, breast pain, and nausea. I began to experience tailbone pain at a little over 5 weeks. I was gaining weight. The day that we found out I was pregnant I weighed 118.5 lbs, six weeks later I had gained 5 lbs. Woah.

My first prenatal appointment was on Monday August 11, 2008. According to my LMP I was 9 weeks 2 days along. My appointment was with the Nurse Practitioner rather than the OB. She did a pelvic exam and she talked and asked me questions. I had a blood test done that day for Cystic Fibrosis, but no HCG tests or urine samples. I had been experiencing tailbone pain and asked her about it. She said that I was feeling that because my uterus was tilted back pressing against my tailbone. She said that there’s nothing I could do about it and that I could try a chiropractor and hopefully it will go away because it’s (pregnancy/childbirth) very painful for “tailbone girls”.

I wanted to ask exactly when to stop taking the Crinone. Should I take it until exactly my twelve week mark or should I be taking it until 12 weeks 6 days and then stop. However, as soon as I mentioned the Crinone she asked what it was. I told her that it was a progesterone gel and that I had a Luteal Phase Defect. She said, “Well, that’s important to know.” I had assumed that all of this information would be in the chart, but apparently not. She never did answer my question about the Crinone because she seemed so distracted once she found out about it, she began asking me questions instead. She said that I should call and let them know if I experienced any bright red bleeding of at least the size of a quarter or more.

My second appointment was scheduled for September 08 when we would get to hear the heartbeat :). On Monday August 25 around 6pm I felt a small trickle. I pulled down my pants right there in the kitchen to find a dime size drop of bright red blood on my panties.

To be continued

Related Posts:
*National Infertility Awareness Week
*Childless Mother: Infertility Poem
*Trying to Conceive: Take 1
*My First Pregnancy You are here!
*My Miscarriage
*Trying to Conceive: Take 2
*Trying to Conceive: Take 3 Secondary Infertility
*Spring Ahead: Reflections on Miscarriage
*Celebrate Your Name Week: Jordan: Why we named the baby we miscarried

Childless Mother an Infertility Poem


I wrote this poem about my infertility struggle on June 12, 2008. I got pregnant a week later with our first baby, which I later miscarried.
I’ve never published this or shown it to anyone other than my husband until now.

Childless Mother
by Jenn Rian
She is empty, She is hollowed out
Dry and solitary internal drought
Empty womb, empty soul
Partial woman not yet whole
Empty arms, empty heart
Fragile soul torn apart
A time to be hopeful, a celebration of love
Greatest gift sent from above
No longer overjoyed
Excitement is becoming void
Time…an aggressive enemy
Patience…a distant memory
Poison named anticipation
Disappointing revelation
Mocking rounded bellies and smiling faces
Make way for newer empty spaces
Blessed ones untouched by this invisible pain
No beautiful words could ever explain
Embraced by envy, the secret twin
She tries to strangle one within
Will she ever have happiness for a fruitful other
A heart broken woman, a childless mother

relatedposts01blk
Read The Short Version of our infertility story, or for the whole story read:
*Part 1: Trying to Conceive: Take 1
*Part 2: My First Pregnancy
*Part 3: My Miscarriage
*Part 4: Trying to Conceive: Take 2
*Part 5: Trying to Conceive: Take 3 Secondary Infertility
*Spring Ahead: Reflections on Miscarriage
*Celebrate Your Name Week: Jordan: Why we named the baby we miscarried
*National Infertility Awareness Week
*Childless Mother: Infertility Poem You are here!

My Infertility Story (Part 1)


April 24-April 30, 2011 is National Infertility Awareness Week
and I’ll be sharing my infertility story with you.

Read The Short Version, or for the whole story read:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

Trying to Conceive: My infertility Story Part 1

TRYING TO CONCEIVE: Take 1
In September of 2002, 9 months before our wedding, I went to the doctor for a physical where I also got a Pap smear and starting taking birth control pills. After a year and 3 months on birth control pills I stopped taking them. They were making me sick and the price had gone up. We began using alternative means of birth control and I started tracking my period and estimated ovulation online. Six months later we decided to start trying to have a baby and stopped all forms of birth control. I have always had very regular periods. I’ve never smoked, never drank alcohol, don’t drink pop (soda) or coffee, and at the time had never been overweight. I was almost 25, hubby was almost 24.

We tried for almost four years before going to an OBGYN to get checked out. There wasn’t any particular reason why we didn’t go sooner. I had just never started going to a GYN (You can probably thank my 8th grade Sex Ed class for scaring me about the GYN by showing me a speculum. You want to do what with that?! Um, no thank you.). Had I been going for an annual GYN appointment I would’ve mentioned right away that we were trying to conceive and perhaps have made a special appointment before we ever got started. Lesson learned. Be sure to go the GYN boys and girls, no matter how scary the big shiny torture device looks.

They did blood work and said the results were all good (I don’t know all of the tests that they ran but I do know that they checked my thyroid, ovulation, and progesterone). I had a hysterosalpingogram (which is an X-ray test where they shoot dye into you to check the uterus and fallopian tubes) which again showed that nothing was wrong. I had an endometrial biopsy (where they scrape out a sample of uterine lining for testing) which showed that I had a lag in my uterine lining (I was on day 22 but the sample showed that I was only on day 18) called a Luteal Phase Defect (LPD). To my understanding this meant that we could’ve been fertilizing eggs but when they try to attach to the uterine lining it wasn’t prepared yet due to my lag and the egg wouldn’t be able to attach. My OBGYN recommended that I begin taking Crinone 8% which is a progesterone gel. It comes in an applicator and I was to use it every night starting on day 15 of my cycle until my period starts. If I became pregnant I was to use it every night for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy until the placenta took over. The OBGYN also mentioned that women with a Luteal Phase Defect usually have low progesterone levels but that my levels looked fine. I picked up the Crinone but never used it. I never even take aspirin so I was reluctant to put this into my body especially if my progesterone levels were apparently fine. I also wasn’t thrilled with some of the side effects mentioned including depression, nausea, fatigue, breast pain, head aches, and more. We decided to wait until my husband’s tests were completed to start using the Crinone.

The same day that I had the hysterosalpingogram my husband dropped off a specimen for a semen analysis (SA). Almost two weeks went by and no one ever called us with the results. Finally my husband called and they told him that his count was fine but there was some inflammation which could have been caused by a catheter (my husband had been catheterized at the beginning of September ’07 during a gallbladder surgery). After a few months my husband decided to make a urology appointment to see if anything else was wrong. Before he even had his appointment he found blood in his urine so they brought him in sooner. The Dr. found that he had a prostate infection which can result in abnormal sperm (we assume that these are the “inflamed cells” that the OBGYN office referred to). This would cause a problem conceiving because it lowers your sperm count since the abnormal sperm are completely useless. He put him on antibiotics and told him to stop drinking pop and tea…the infection cleared and then he had another SA done. The results this time were that his sperm count had doubled bringing it to the average level. The urologist said that if we don’t conceive within 6 months to come back (This was in April 2008).

In June of 2008 we met with an adoption agency and began filling out paperwork. Two months after the last urology appointment on our 5 year anniversary (after a week of ttc) we decided that I would try taking the Crinone. On July 5 we discovered that we were pregnant after 4 years of trying to conceive.

To be continued

Related Posts:
*National Infertility Awareness Week
*Childless Mother: Infertility Poem
*Trying to Conceive: Take 1 You are here!
*My First Pregnancy
*My Miscarriage
*Trying to Conceive: Take 2
*Trying to Conceive: Take 3 Secondary Infertility
*Spring Ahead: Reflections on Miscarriage
*Celebrate Your Name Week: Jordan: Why we named the baby I miscarried

National Infertility Awareness Week


This week April 24-April 30 is National Infertility Awareness Week. This week I’ll be sharing with you about my infertility story. Hopefully I have the time to edit some pictures and put up some Easter posts so that things won’t be so “sad” around here with all of the infertility talk.

Why should you be aware of infertility? Because there’s at least one person that you know that has struggled with infertility or suffered a miscarriage or infant loss. It’s much more common than people think. People don’t know what to say when they hear that a couple “can’t get pregnant” and more often than not they say the wrong thing. “It’ll happen”, “Just be patient”, “Try to relax”, “You can have my kids ;)!”, “You have plenty of time”. Learning more about infertility can help you to be more sensitive to those who are struggling. If you educate yourself on the issue then possibly you can be a source of help and comfort to a hurting couple rather than another source of pain. Women (and men) struggling with infertility can feel very isolated and even embarrassed and it’s time that it’s brought out into the light…where hopefully we’ll find compassion and support.

Hopefully sharing my story will be able to help someone else and bust some infertility myths.

Related Posts:
Read The Short Version of our infertility story, or for the whole story read:
*Part 1: Trying to Conceive: Take 1
*Part 2: My First Pregnancy
*Part 3: My Miscarriage
*Part 4: Trying to Conceive: Take 2
*Part 5: Trying to Conceive: Take 3 Secondary Infertility
*Spring Ahead: Reflections on Miscarriage
*Celebrate Your Name Week: Jordan: Why we named the baby we miscarried
*Childless Mother: Infertility Poem

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Eco-Friendly All Natural Dyes for Coloring Easter Eggs (Links)


Did you know that you can color eggs using natural dyes you may already have in your kitchen? Beets, onion skins, coffee, tea, and more, are all great natural ways to color eggs!

Check out the links below for pictures, tips, and tutorials on how to die your eggs naturally.
(Click on the titles or photos to follow the links.)

(For 50+ other ways to dye and decorate your eggs click here!)

Natural dyes for coloring Easter eggs
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NATURAL DYES

*Natural Egg Dyes @ FamilyFun.go.com:

*Dyeing Easter Eggs Naturally @ Almanac.com:

*Naturally Dyed Eggs @ The Herb Society of America:

*Natural Easter Egg Dying @ Oh Dee Doh:

*How to Dye Easter Eggs Naturally, Without a Store-Bought Kit
@ Serious Eats:
“A couple of beets, some ground turmeric, and a red cabbage, and I was turning out gorgeous eggs in all three primary colors.”

*Vibrant Eggs, Dyed Naturally @ The Kitchn:

*How to Make Onion-Skin Easter Eggs @ The Kitchn:
This is a great, natural way to make subtly beautiful Easter (or Passover) eggs. And they answer the question, “what to do with all those left-over onions?” here.

*Natural Egg Dyeing Techniques @ MarthaStewart.com:
*Easter Egg Dyes @ Chemistry.about.com:

*Natural Easter Egg Dyes @ BHG.com:

*Easter Egg Dye @ What’s Cooking America:

*The Natural Easter Egg Dye Off @ Art of Natural Living:

*Natural Egg Dye @ Observer-Reporter.com:

*Dying Eggs Naturally @ What’s Cooking with Kids:

*DIY Project: Gorgeous Sienna Easter Eggs @ Hostess with the Mostess: These chic sienna Easter eggs from floral design guru Kim Foren are gorgeous, easy and non toxic!

*Natural Easter Egg Dyes (Video) @ FoodNetwork.com: Tyler Florence shares ideas for making natural, vegetable-based Easter egg dyes.

*Simple Recipes for Natural Egg Dyes @ Green Living Ideas:

CHINESE TEA-DYED EGGS

*Chinese Tea-Dyed Eggs @ Barefoot Kitchen:

*Tea Infused Marble Eggs – Chinese Marbled Tea Eggs @ What’s Cooking America:

*Chinese Marbled Tea Egg Recipe @ Steamy Kitchen:

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50+ Easter Egg Decorating Ideas (Links)
Round up of 50+ Easter Egg Decorating Ideas


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50+ Easter Egg Decorating Ideas (Links)


Round up of 50+ Easter Egg Decorating Ideas
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If you’re looking for a new way to decorate eggs with the kids or a new hobby for yourself…we have all the inspiration you need! Whether you want something quick and easy or a new challenge the best egg decorating ideas from around the web are all here in one convenient list! Find new techniques using chalkboard paint, Kool Aid, fabric, tissue paper, electrical and duct tape, rubber bands, leaves and flowers, silk ties, doilies, stencils, tie dye, decoupage, crayons, rubber cement, sequin, stickers, beads, foil, string, glitter, and more!

Click the title links or photos for details, directions, and tutorials!

(For ways to dye your eggs naturally click here!)

*Decorating Easter Eggs with Your Preschooler @ Quirky Momma:

*How to Make Chalkboard Easter Eggs @ Skip to my Lou:

*Tiny Chalkboard Eggs @ Style at Home:

*Kool Aid Colored Eggs @ Measuring Flower:

*Van Gogh Easter Eggs & Polka Dot Easter Eggs
@ No Time for Flash Cards

*Fabric Eggs @ Holiday Haven:

*Tissue Paper Easter Eggs @ How Sweeter it is:

*A fun Easter egg dyeing technique (using electrical tape) @ Indie Fixx:

*Duct Tape Eggs @ kateandersok flickr:

*Fun Unique Easter Egg Dyeing Techniques @ Jolly Mom:
Rubber Band Technique, Masking Technique, Botanical Print Technique

*Marbled Easter Eggs @ Quick and Simple:

*Silk Tie Dyed Easter Eggs @ Monogram Momma:

*How to Make Geode Easter Eggs:
Make Fun and Unusual Crystal Eggs for Easter. You can make Easter Eggs full of beautiful crystals with this a fun Easter craft that could double as a fun science project using common kitchen ingredients.

*Doily Stenciled Eggs @ Urban Comfort:

*Easter Egg Decorating Ideas Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 @ Botanical Paperworks:

*Dye Free Easter Eggs @ Parents.com

*Good Eggs: Unbelievably Cute Easter Crafts @ Parents.com
Looking for a fun Easter craft? Raid your pantry, craft closet, and sock drawer to make our cute Easter projects.

*Hunt for Easter Egg Decorating Ideas @ Familyfun.go.com:
A collection of Easter egg decorating ideas that kids will love. Dye-ving Dudes, Tie-Dye Tuffets, Melted Crayon Eggs, Surprise-inside Egg, Sheep Egg, Leaf Print Eggs, Bee Egg, Easter Dove, Decoupage Designs, A Herd of Eggimals, Bluebird Egg, Cool Crayon Colors, Superegg-man Egg, Paper Egg Diorama, Pig Egg, Tie-Dye Easter Eggs, Sticker Stencils Technique, Fancy Feathered Friends, Tissue Paper Technique, Purple Cow Egg, Daddy Deggster Egg, Mom Peggy Egg, Megg Egg, Lovely and Loopy, String Technique, Natural Egg Dyes, Simply Smashing Shells, Lots of Dots (and Lines), Nesting Instinct, Grandpa Gregg Egg, Aluminum Foil Technique, Lightbulb Sleeves Technique, Rubber Bands Technique, Thumbprints Technique, Rock-a-bye Birdies, Simple Stained Glass, Sticker Stencils, Tie-dyed Eggs, Turn an Egg Into a Christmas Tree, Bubble Packaging Technique

*Easter Egg Decorating @ Familyfun.go.com:
Fun & easy techniques kids will be dyeing to try. Dye-ving Dudes, Easter Egg Wreath, Egg Pedestal, A Herd of Eggimals, Faux Fabergé eggs, Melted Crayon Eggs, Decoupage Designs, Aluminum Foil Technique, Bubble Packaging Technique, Lightbulb Sleeves Technique, Rubber Bands Technique, String Technique, Thumbprints Technique, Tissue Paper Technique, Sticker Stencils, Leaf Print Eggs, Dots (and Lines) using glue dots and colored sand or glitter, embroidery floss, Stained Glass, Crushed Shells, Tape and Paint Masking tape and paint, Tie-Dye Easter Eggs, Silk Tie-dyed Eggs, Decoupage Eggs, Dripped-On Eggs using rubber cement, Swirly Dyed Eggs using oil and water, Marbleized Eggs, Rubber banded, Sponge Stamped

*Easter Egg-stravaganza @ Disney Family
*13 Creative Ways to Dye and Decorate Easter Eggs @ Free Stuff 4 Kids:
Marbled eggs, tie dyed eggs, ribbons, crayons, mosaic, rubber bands, lace, sponged eggs, disco egg, stamped eggs, Easter Bunny eggs, stickers, silk-tie eggs

*Easter Egg Decorating @ Kaboose:
Crayon Eggs, Decal Dyed Eggs, Easter Egg-Heads, Egg Decoration Ideas, Egg Bunny, Chocolatescapes, Easter Eggs, Drip Dot Eggs, Easy Sponge Painted Eggs, BloPen Easter Eggs, Easter Egg Heads, Jeweled Easter Eggs, Marbled Easter Eggs, Napkin Applique Easter Eggs, Oil and Food Coloring Marbled Eggs, Paraffin Easter Egg, Decal Dyed Easter Eggs, Swirled Easter Eggs

*Easter Eggs Decorations @ Delish:

*Decorated Eggs @ WomansDay.com:
Fanciful decorating techniques for your Easter eggs.

*Easter Egg Decorating Ideas @ Good Housekeeping:
Just Picture It, Decorated Eggs using simple-shaped paper punches, Wrapped Eggs, Popcorn Eggs, Fern Eggs (Go Natural)

*Quick and Easy Easter Egg Decorations @ BHG.com:
Pretty Ways to Dye Easter Eggs: Hop to it! These pretty Easter egg dyeing techniques are perfect for the kid in you. Sticker-and-Dye Egg Designs, Banded Egg Design, Scrapbook Notions, Vibrant Dyed Eggs with Flowers, Natural Dyed Eggs, Pysanky Eggs, Easter Egg Flower Pots, Eraser Decorating, Toothpick Decorating, Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs, Polka-Dot Eggs

*Easter Egg Decorating Ideas @ AllRecipes.com:
Disco Egg, Chick Egg (Broken eggshell), Word Egg (Die-cut stickers), Space Egg, Bedazzled Egg (beads), Bumpy Egg (glue dots), Flower Vase Egg (blown egg), Charm Egg (The charm in this egg says, “Thank You!”), Royal Egg (necklace fasteners), Flower Power Egg (sequins), Dot Egg (stickers)

*Fun Easter Crafts @ Country Living:
Surprise someone special with handcrafted Easter gifts you can easily make at home, or buy. Pretty Patterned Easter Eggs (masking tape), Elegant Eggs (blown eggs) + 15 egg free crafts.

SILHOUETTE EGGS
*Silhouette Easter Eggs @ Le Papier Studio:

*Eggscelent Eggs @ LollyChops:

*German-Style Paper Cutout Easter Eggs @ MarthaStewart.com:

*Silhouette Easter Eggs @ MarthaStewart.com:

SURPRISE/SECRET MESSAGE EGGS
*Egg with a Secret Message @ Poppy Talk:

*Easter Surprise Eggs (the easy version) @ Not Martha:

*Chocolate Easter Surprise Eggs @ Not Martha:

*How to Make Chocolate Eggs @ MarthaStewart.com:

*How to Make Golden Chocolate Easter Eggs @ The Kitchn:

CHINESE TEA-DYED EGGS
*Chinese Tea-Dyed Eggs @ Barefoot Kitchen:

*Tea Infused Marble Eggs – Chinese Marbled Tea Eggs @ What’s Cooking America:

*Chinese Marbled Tea Egg Recipe @ Steamy Kitchen:

UKRAINIAN PYSANKY EGGS
*Pysanky Ukrainian Easter Eggs @ That artist Woman: Tutorial!

*Ukrainian Egg Tutorial @ Suzy’s Sitcom:

*Getting Started in Pysanky @ LearnPysanky.com:

50+ Creative Ideas from MarthaStewart.com
*Egg Dyeing 101 @ MarthaStewart.com:
Egg Dyeing Basics: Blowing out eggs, wax resist technique, masked designs technique, marbleizing technique, dripped on technique, creative egg carrying cases
*Decorating Easter Eggs @ Martha Stewart
*Easter Eggs @ MarthaStewart.com:
Lace Eggs, Spring Menagerie Eggs, Cheeky Chickens, Striped Crepe Paper Eggs, Overlapping Dot Designs, Metallic Eggs, Speckled Butterfly Easter Eggs, Glittered Sticker Eggs, Faberge-Inspired Eggs, Elegant Origami Eggs, Grass Appliquéd Dyed Eggs, Marbleized Swirls, Trimmed with Cord, Flight of Fancy Egg Hinged Egg, Egg Ornaments, Silk Tie Eggs, Crepe Paper Egg Bunnies, Glittered Eggs, Botanical Eggs, Stenciled Eggs, Chocolate Eggs, Beaded Egg Ornaments, Country Cow Eggs, Gilded Eggs, Wax-Resist Patterns, Pearl Trellis Egg, Metallic Polka-Dotted Eggs, Natural Egg Dyeing Techniques, Beaded Eggs, Velvet Trimmed Eggs, Stamped Eggs, Peek-a-boo Egg, Ladybug Eggs, Jeweled Eggs, Scrambled Lines and Letters Eggs, Tissue Paper Eggs, German-Style Paper Cutout Eggs, “Cracked” Eggshells and Chick Designs, Masked Designs (tape, stickers, little leaves, etc), Oversize Botanical Decoupage Easter Eggs, Dripped-On Eggs (rubber cement), Speckled Faberge-Inspired Egg , Big-Eared Bunny, Pretty with Pearls, Confetti Eggs, Stash-and-Carry Eggs, Easter Egg Tree, Square Patterned Eggs, Puddly Pigs, Paper-Napkin Decoupage Eggs, Baby Bird Eggs, Latticed Eggs, Egg Baskets, Silk-Dyed Eggs, Embellished Chocolate Easter Eggs, Dyed and Speckled Easter Eggs (acrylic paint), Hinged Eggs with Gold Trim, Tissue-Paper-Decorated Eggs, Egg within an Egg, Leaf and Flower Eggs

You might also like:
+Natural Dyes for Easter Eggs (Links)


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