Today is Friday, October 12th, and it has been exactly 15 days since my IUI. Before I get to the outcome, I want to share what I’ve been through over the past 2 weeks.
The last time I checked in with all of you on September 27th, it was hours before my first IUI attempt. I decided to get dolled up on the day of my IUI because I wanted to look and feel my best going into the appointment that might forever change my life. And I knew I wanted to snap a couple selfies to have, both to share with my followers and to have as a keepsake of this very special day. I left my house feeling full of promise and hope, and definitely a little nervous. Once there I shelled out $420 before even having the procedure done, having already spent $1150 on the sperm. The nurses had me pee before going into the exam room to get undressed, waist down, and cover myself with a large white paper sheet. Doctor Lamb came in and showed me the sperm sample, which I was surprised was so small, about the size of a thimble. She then went to prepare the sample and I sat on the exam table and waited. By that point I was definitely feeling nervous about the process. The doctor came in and explained what she would be doing, placing a catheter into my cervix and then into my uterus to inject the sperm sample. She said it might be a little painful which did scare me a bit. We then both talked to the actual sperm, calling out “swim fast little guys!” It was a fun and also silly moment I’ll never forget.
I laid back and she inserted the catheter, which so far was painless. Then as she approached my uterus with the catheter, she asked me to cough, and as I did she inserted the catheter into my uterus. I was surprised at the amount of pain I experienced, and I was trying to breathe deeply to calm myself. She then told me she was injecting the sperm and I prayed silently, asking God to bless me with a child. She then told me I could lay there for 20- 45 minutes and explained that the next step would be testing my blood in a week to see if I was pregnant. I told her that seemed really soon, but she said they can usually tell by that point if one is pregnant. She left the room and I decided to lie there for the full 45 minutes. I snapped a selfie to forever remember the moment by, and then patiently waited as I messaged a few friends and called my mom.
After getting up and getting dressed I went to the bathroom. I was surprised at how much blood there was. I was also experiencing painful cramping which lasted about 4 days afterwards. When I left the room I asked the nurses if it was normal to see blood and they assured me it was. However, my friend who did this many times said she never bled so I was a little worried.
I felt on top of the world leaving the building and walking out into the gorgeous sunny day that was happening all around me. I sang in my car all the way home and was filled with joy at what I had just done. Arriving home, I lay down to give my body time to heal and hoping the cramps would improve.
Almost everything I read online about having an IUI was different for me. I read it was painless, not true. Read you don’t normally bleed, not true. And read that you are supposed to rest for 72 hours afterwards, but I didn’t. I had plans to walk 4.5 miles with my friend Froila, and I decided to keep the plan. My reasoning was that walking and being with my friend makes me feel good, and wouldn’t feeling good help the procedure to be a success? Froila came over about 4 hours after the IUI and we walked to Blueback square, at the town center. It was wonderful to see her and share what the experience had been like with her. She said she had a feeling it was going to be a success that first time and it made me happy to hear.
During that next week, I tried to keep my stress levels low by crocheting my future baby a blanket, which I have now already finished, and by taking walks with friends every few days. The cramping I was feeling ended by the Monday after the procedure and I started paying extra close attention to every little thing my body was feeling, hoping to feel something that would let me know I had indeed become pregnant. However, as the days passed and Thursday, the day of the impending blood test came, I wasn’t feeling any pregnancy symptoms at all. However, everything that I’ve read about doing this was very clear that no symptoms can be felt that early so I was still hopeful. Went in for the blood test on October 4thin the morning. My friend Janet came over and we went walking to West Hartford center and ate a yummy lunch at Treva while waiting for the news. I thought the results would be in by the time we finished eating, because the doctor had sent the blood labs in on a STAT order. When we finished eating I called the office, but the results weren’t in yet. The wait was starting to feel difficult but I knew the outcome was near. At 4 pm the triage nurse at my office, Tina, called me and said the results were negative. I was so heartbroken. I asked her how accurate that could be this early in the game and she said very accurate. I really couldn’t believe they could know that early but I just accepted it.
Now I started thinking, how on earth am I going to be able to afford to do this every month? I was feeling overwhelmed by the thought I’d have to come up with $1600 every time I wanted to make an attempt, and with the likelihood at my age of getting pregnant by IUI at 10% per attempt, the odds were against me. In the back of my mind I still had some hope that the blood test was wrong and that I was indeed pregnant. But as the next week passed, I felt zero symptoms and so accepted the results as fact.
On the morning of October 9th, on the day my period was due, I took a home pregnancy test upon waking up in the morning. I went downstairs while I waited the five minutes and then went back to see the results. There was an extremely faint second line, so I really didn’t know what to think. A part of me was excited, wondering how I could be pregnant when the blood test was negative, but I was trying not to get my hopes up, only to have them dashed again. I called my doctor and she said to have my blood tested the next day. The wait at that point was excruciating.
I woke up very early with excitement and went at 7 am to have my blood drawn. I was told the results would be in the following day. I took two more home pregnancy tests and both were positive. I was getting more and more excited. The next day I got the call, the blood test results were in and it was positive. I’m pregnant! I’m thrilled! The excitement and joy I have been feeling over the last day have been immeasurable. I’ve never felt this happy about anything in all my life. I’m a mom!
I’m so grateful to all the people who have been enthusiastically supporting me on this journey. My mother and father were ecstatic when I told them. They called me from Morocco (they are on vacation) right after I got the results and the timing was perfect to share the news. And my friends Elizabeth, Sineth and Sherri have spent countless hours with me on the phone, talking all about this process, our emotions and now the great news! I’m so thankful to friends like them and many others. But most of all I am thankful to God. He has blessed me. I feel like my life is really starting to get good. And I know the best is yet to come!
My Love Flourishing 