Be warned...I'm about to get real. As I write about infertility my hope and prayer is to expose you to the real gut pain that is happening to so many couples. I can only share with you my experience, but my prayer is that if you are currently in the middle of infertility you can find hope in that you are not alone. If you are just reading this blog, my prayer is that your heart becomes more tender to the pain of infertility.
It is no secret that Derry and I have struggled with infertility. In fact it is a major part of our greater God story. I have often been asked to share my story, be it with a woman's group, teenage girls, or young moms struggling to get pregnant. I gladly share my story because it isn't my story, but God's amazing grace in my life.
To begin this series I thought I would give you a brief back story on my married life. My super awesome and HOTTT (yes "hot" can be spelled with 3 t's) husband Derry and I were married in May, 2000. We are so pumped to have been married at the turn of the century. It makes it easy to remember how many years we've been married.
In June 2001 we decided it was time to start trying to begin our family. I went off birth control and we let nature do it's thing! However, a year passed and the message never got to the baby stork delivery department. Because there was no baby a brewing in my tum tum.
Concerned but not overly concerned, we decided to talk with my OBGYN to see what was the deal. We chatted, I began charting my monthly cycle. After a few months of filling out charts, she put me on Clomid. If anyone has ever taken that stuff, then you know the hormonal mess I was about to embark. YIKES!!
I'm not quite sure how many years I saw my OBGYN before we decided to see an infertility specialist. We were starting to get anxious and all of our friends around us were beginning to have children. Life was getting hard in this area.
At the specialist, we had tests done. Both of us had minor issues, but nothing that would keep us from having kids. It was just going to be harder for us. We were encouraged by our first visit. But with the passing of months and years and no baby, our hearts hurt.
By August of 2007, we had three IUI* procedures done, no children and a whole lot of tears and disappointment.
Life without kids was hard. Many people told us well meaning but hurtful things. We were prayed over and encouraged. All wonderful things, but all the more painful with each passing month and no baby.
Life was hard. It was hard to smile. At times it was hard to breathe. It was just...HARD.
In 2007 we adopted our first child, 2011 adopted our second child, 2012 I gave birth to my biological child, and in 2015 we adopted our forth child. Although we adopted our two oldest, we were still battling with infertility. Our battle lasted 11 years. And in that time, although I had become content and overjoyed with having our family expand through adoption, I still wanted to experience pregnancy, and everything else that comes with having a biological child.
So now you know that back story.
Stay tuned for more...
*Americanpregnancy.org states "Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a fertility treatment that involves placing sperm inside a woman's uterus to facilitate fertilization. The goal of IUI is to increase the number of sperm that reach the Fallopian tubes and subsequently increase the chance of fertilization."
It is no secret that Derry and I have struggled with infertility. In fact it is a major part of our greater God story. I have often been asked to share my story, be it with a woman's group, teenage girls, or young moms struggling to get pregnant. I gladly share my story because it isn't my story, but God's amazing grace in my life.
To begin this series I thought I would give you a brief back story on my married life. My super awesome and HOTTT (yes "hot" can be spelled with 3 t's) husband Derry and I were married in May, 2000. We are so pumped to have been married at the turn of the century. It makes it easy to remember how many years we've been married.
In June 2001 we decided it was time to start trying to begin our family. I went off birth control and we let nature do it's thing! However, a year passed and the message never got to the baby stork delivery department. Because there was no baby a brewing in my tum tum.
Concerned but not overly concerned, we decided to talk with my OBGYN to see what was the deal. We chatted, I began charting my monthly cycle. After a few months of filling out charts, she put me on Clomid. If anyone has ever taken that stuff, then you know the hormonal mess I was about to embark. YIKES!!
I'm not quite sure how many years I saw my OBGYN before we decided to see an infertility specialist. We were starting to get anxious and all of our friends around us were beginning to have children. Life was getting hard in this area.
At the specialist, we had tests done. Both of us had minor issues, but nothing that would keep us from having kids. It was just going to be harder for us. We were encouraged by our first visit. But with the passing of months and years and no baby, our hearts hurt.
By August of 2007, we had three IUI* procedures done, no children and a whole lot of tears and disappointment.
Life without kids was hard. Many people told us well meaning but hurtful things. We were prayed over and encouraged. All wonderful things, but all the more painful with each passing month and no baby.
Life was hard. It was hard to smile. At times it was hard to breathe. It was just...HARD.
In 2007 we adopted our first child, 2011 adopted our second child, 2012 I gave birth to my biological child, and in 2015 we adopted our forth child. Although we adopted our two oldest, we were still battling with infertility. Our battle lasted 11 years. And in that time, although I had become content and overjoyed with having our family expand through adoption, I still wanted to experience pregnancy, and everything else that comes with having a biological child.
So now you know that back story.
Stay tuned for more...
*Americanpregnancy.org states "Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a fertility treatment that involves placing sperm inside a woman's uterus to facilitate fertilization. The goal of IUI is to increase the number of sperm that reach the Fallopian tubes and subsequently increase the chance of fertilization."
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