2018 — The Year We Are Starting Our Family

It's been seven months since we've updated this blog. Not a strong start to this whole "journal our story" shpiel we want, but nonetheless, we are back. 

So to catch you up, back in August, we did an at-home insemination. We were unsuccessful in getting pregnant, however, it was the first time I had ever been late. My OB/GYN thinks I had a chemical pregnancy but since I never saw a positive read on a pregnancy test, it didn't feel like a total loss. We also felt like it wasn't meant to be, as a month later, we went to Italy for a 3 week anniversary vacation where we drank ... a lot. We also learned that one of our best friends was getting married in August 2018 in London -- a wedding both of us want (need) to attend.

All of a sudden October had rolled around and in a blink of eye so did November and December. The rest of 2017 flew by for us. We simply didn't make the time to jump start the baby conversation again. Which brings us to these past few months. 

Once we entered 2018 we both agreed we were ready and it was time but that we needed to make sure I wasn't too pregnant so I could still travel to London for the wedding. After some simple math we both agreed on March. March would be when we picked up this whole baby making journey again. January was all about meeting the right doctor; February was a waiting game; March was the trigger month. 

On February 24th I got my period. A very happy day. It meant that approximately two weeks later I would be ovulating and ready for my first IUI (intrauterine insemination) with my doctor. Little did I know that those two weeks would be somewhat of an ordeal. 

February 24 - Cycle Day (CD) 1
February 27 - CD 4, baseline ultrasound, and begin Clomid
March 5 - CD 10, ultrasound to check on size of egg (present on the right side)
March 8, CD 13, ultrasound to check egg growth progress (13 mm)
March 11, CD 18, ultrasound to check egg growth progress (17 mm) and received hCG trigger shot
March 12, CD 19, insemination

After the insemination I felt like I was having an out of body experience. I had felt the catheter go through my cervix. I had felt the release of the sperm into my uterus. It was surreal. A few hours following the "procedure" I felt very light cramping. But that was the extent of it. Now the tricky part came...

In 16 days I could go back to my doctor to take a blood test to see if I was pregnant. For 16 days I needed to not stress or worry. I didn't want to get attached. What if it didn't work? But how could I NOT get attached? I may actually BE pregnant! Oh right, no stress...no worry...

Well, surprisingly, the next two weeks flew by. I kept busy and went on with life like normal. This brings me to today, right now, as I type this. It's about to be 1 am on Monday, March 26th. According to my period and ovulation tracker, the first day of my period was supposed to be yesterday. If I don't get my period today or tomorrow, I'll be heading in to see my doctor on Wednesday for the pregnancy test. Stay calm, right? Well today marks our (my wife and my) 2nd wedding anniversary and this Friday begins Passover, a holiday about freedom and the rebirth of the Jewish people out of slavery. It's all quite poetic. I'd prefer for it to be a romantic poem where it ends with a positive pregnancy blood test, but I am doing what I can to stay realistic.