Journey to Baby Boy Senters

Ryan and I have debated about sharing our journey to becoming parents. It is such a personal experience, that we have kept it pretty close to the chest. And, don't worry, we all know where babies come from, that is not to what I am referring! :-P Since we are now in our 2nd trimester, we thought it would be a good time to share the experience publicly.

On Ryan's birthday weekend in August of 2009, we made the conscious decision to start trying to have a baby. We had been married for going on 7 years, and felt that the time was right. We basically ceased trying to stop pregnancy, and just went about our lives as normal. And being bright eyed and bushy-tailed assumed something would happen at anytime. There was no reason for us to think otherwise. We were both healthy and still young (Ryan 30, Melissa 29).

After about a year with no results, Ryan and I decided to start to track and try to figure out how to chart and all those things that would aid us in our journey. I started taking ovulation tests, and taking temperatures. We starting timing things. It became a science. But, we knew the end game would make all the counting and charting worth it. And so, this process went on for another year (its now 2011), still nothing. Struggling with discouragement, we sat down and discussed the options of going to get tested. This was one of the scariest conversations. No one wants to entertain the idea that something could be wrong with you to where you wouldn't be able to have children. It is the most natural thing that we could ever do as a human, and what reason would there be for us to struggle?

Some further discussions and soul searching later, we made an appointment at Tulsa Fertility Center. Diagnostic tests were scheduled, and we each gave blood so many times we could probably just walk up to the lab and prick ourselves successfully! Ryan had his one fertility test done, and I had quite a few more to schedule. Don't you love how complicated the female reproductive system is!?! I had to time several blood tests so that I could have them done during certain times of my cycle. And then I had to schedule an HSG (hysterosalpingogram) test. That was a fun one. They basically inject dye into your uterus and then X-ray where the dye travels. Ideally, the dye will travel up both fallopian tubes, and helps to identify if there are any blockages or other issues that would prevent an egg from moving down the tube and into the uterus. Apparently, my right side was identified as "sluggish", but the dye made the travel eventually. So, no significant issues.

When we got all the results of our tests we were very nervous, naturally. But also, excited. Because if we could identify what the issue was, then we could start to find a way to work around it. In the meeting with our doctor we found out that my endocrine levels (generated by your pituitary gland) were high, and that my thyroid was also high. The doctor prescribed two different medications to treat these elevations. But, other than that, neither of us had identifiable issues with our reproductive systems. And we were officially diagnosed with "Unexplained Infertility". In the world of fertility issues...this is probably the worst diagnosis you could get (at least that is how it felt to us, I am sure that there are worse out there). Because there is no treatment for it.

The doctor went over our different fertility treatment options. Of course, we had heard of IVF (in vitro fertilization: surgically extracting an egg from the female, and then joining of the egg and sperm in a lab dish and then inserting the fertilized egg back into the female; costing anywhere from $7500-10,000), but we were pretty clueless about any other options. Our doctor let us know about IUI (intrauterine insemination: taking a sperm sample from the male and then priming and cleaning it for injection directly into the female during ovulation time). IUI definitely held some allure for us, for multiple reasons. IVF is a fairly invasive and definitely expensive procedure. IUI was a much simpler, and cheaper (expected to be approx $1500-2000 depending on several factors). We scheduled the IUI! And we were excited about it. One of the first active steps in our fertility journey.

So, we went back to charting our cycle and started the process. I went in for an ultrasound to ensure that my follicles were the right size. Of course, they weren't. I was given some Clomid (supports ovulation) to take and asked to come back in another 3 days for another ultrasound. I was then prescribed hormone injections using a Follistem pen (this was another $350 added to our tab). That was fun. After using the hormones for another 3 days, I had yet another ultrasound (did I mention that each ultrasound cost us $380?!?). By this time, I was pretty late into my cycle and my follicles were barely large enough for the procedure, but they scheduled it anyway. Ryan went in and gave his sample, and later the next day I was in for the procedure. On about day 29 of my cycle I went back for a pregnancy test. Negative.

We were beyond discouraged. This seemingly simple procedure had been such a cluster for us we weren't sure what to do or think about it. Ultimately, we decided to take a couple of cycles (months) off before attempting to do another procedure.

Wow...this post is getting quite a bit longer than I had anticipated. So...I'll start to summarize a little bit more. :) Basically, we did a second procedure. It started with the hormone injections and Clomid pills, and went just as planned. But, alas, no baby. We again took some time off to try to relax, and let's be honest- try to save some more money! After a few months (it is now early 2013), we basically did the entire thing the same as the second go around. Only change was the amount of hormones was increased by quite a bit. Procedure done, yadda yadda yadda...negative once again.

After this last letdown, we made the decision to get back to basics. Back to charting our cycles and just trying the old fashioned way. I decided by June of 2013 that I needed to get healthier. So, as you have seen in my previous posts and probably hundreds of FB status updates, I ended up losing 21 lbs and felt amazing! Ryan and I had decided to start seriously looking into our options for IVF starting in the summer of 2014, after I was done with school in May. But at the end of February, my step-mom Nancy invited us over to participate in her "psychic" lady's experience. (I still don't know what to call it!) Long story short, my recently passed Gram came and spoke to me that being a mother was in my "life book". That it may not be the top of my list, but it is on the list. That we needed to relax, have more sex, and not worry. Yes...she said that part about sex, it was pretty funny. After hearing this from her, something in me must have clicked. I relaxed. I felt confident in our journey that we would eventually get to where we desired to be.

The following weekend we made a trip down to Austin, TX to see some good friends. Little did we know...we would be conceiving our little boy that same weekend!!! Merely a week after my grandmothers visit. I am a pretty open minded person, and even I was skeptical about that experience from the beginning. No longer. I firmly believe that the 2 incidents are connected. So, finally, after 4 years of trying to have a baby Ryan and I were going to be blessed with a little baby boy. We had a name already picked out and everything. 

Egan Conley Senters, expected December 11, 2014.

Egan is the maiden name of my late Gram (that came and visited via the psychic lady in late February); Josephine Marie Egan.

Conley is Ryan's grandfather's middle name; Edward Conley Goodman.

We couldn't be happier, and feel that we have been truly blessed. We still have a way to go, as we are right at 17 weeks along in the pregnancy. Your good thoughts and prayers are continually appreciated. Thank you so much for reading this extremely long blog. We are so glad to finally be able to share this journey...and the happy ending is still to come! :)