God's Plan and Purpose

Well the treatments this summer didn’t work. Everything looked perfect in July for our final IUI with Gonal-F round. I responded so well. Even the doctor was pretty sure this was it for us! However, it wasn’t to be. We sat down with our doctor about a month ago to go over our options. He has no idea why we haven’t bee able to get pregnant. Our only option, according to him, is to do IVF.  After breaking down and crying as we were leaving the office, I pretty much thought this was it for us. There is no way we could afford IVF since my insurance doesn’t cover it.

However, my very smart thinking husband pulled up his insurance benefits. We called and went over

the options with his insurance. It turns out they provide really good coverage for fertility, including IVF! We are going to change me over to Daniel’s insurance starting in January. However, we still need to save up for the deductible and copayments. We are hoping to start IVF in the late spring…maybe April or May.

We are considering IVF Plan B, though. We believe that God is bigger than this. It could be His plan to do the IVF but we also are praying and believing in a miracle. I have started a natural supplement to try to regulate my cycles and even after only two weeks, I seem to be responding well to it. Only time will tell. But Daniel and I are trusting in the Lord’s plan. He knows the desire of our heart and we believe He will give us a child…. whether through natural conception, IVF, or adoption. We continue to pray over which direction we should take.

In addition, we are feeling led to start an infertility group at our church. According to statistics, 1 in 8 couples struggle with getting pregnant. We know we are not alone at church, yet it feels like it because it’s not really addressed. I can’t be the only woman at church avoiding services with baby dedications, crying with silent tears as I see the young couple holding their newborn baby across aisle. Worse yet is Mother’s and Father’s Day. Having all the moms and dads stand so everyone can clap and honor them. What about the couples whose dream of being a mom and dad seems farther and farther away everyday?

Daniel and I feel there should be something to address that at church. We are working on becoming more involved and training to lead small groups. Our church is completely on board with our vision and Daniel and I are so excited to see how God will use us. 

Infertility Update

It has been one year since we started fertility treatments. July will make it two years since we started trying to conceive a baby. Two years and still nothing. Every cycle that goes by I feel less and less hope that we will have a child. I know that the Lord has a plan in all of this and it is best to trust in His timing. But sometimes, I wonder if us being parents is part of his plan at all.

These have been our treatments so far:

July 2012-June 2013- Tried to conceive naturally, charted basal body temperature.

June 2013-August 2013- 1000mg of Metformin, charted BBT.

August 2013-November 2013- Metformin and Clomid, charted BBT.

November 2013-April 2014- Switched to a fertility clinic. Femara with trigger injection

April 2014-present- Gonal-F injections, trigger injection, and IUI.

However we have to take this cycle off since after two round of the injections, I have developed several cysts on my left ovary. We have to wait for these to go away before we can continue with treatment.

I took this news hard yesterday. We have been so excited to try this summer with the treatments since I am on summer break (I’m a teacher) and have much lower stress levels. Daniel and I both believe that stress has been hindering us from conceiving despite all the different treatments. Now, I feel we are set back since we will not have much of a chance over the summer because of the cysts. We have already agreed to stop treatments once the school year begins. It is too difficult with all the appointments at the beginning of the school year. I do not like missing as much work as I have been this past couple of months.

Daniel is still confident that the Lord has a plan in all of this. He thinks this is the Lord’s way of forcing us to take a break for a few weeks to let my body recover from everything we have been putting it through. I wish my faith could be as strong as his is and I am very thankful for my husband. I wouldn’t be able to get through all this if Daniel wasn’t so strong in his belief that the Lord will provide us with the child that we desire.