Do infertiles make better parents?

This is something that could possibly cause some drama in mommy world, but I do believe that people that have suffered through infertility and struggled to have children make better parents, because they want it more then other parents. I think that something happens to you when you really want something and you can't have it.

Research shows that families created with the help of fertility treatment compare favorably with families that conceived without treatment, especially after the first 12 months. There is some research that infertility patients are more anxious during pregnancy and their child’s first year of life, but the anxiety usually passes after that. Parents that conceive through IVF tend to be more protective of their children; more child focused; and show greater warmth towards their children. These studies have been small, but this supports what I see in real life.

Parents who chose to adopt rather than stay in infertility treatment also make great parents. Studies show that adoptive parents invest more time and financial resources in their children than biological parents and “evidence a high level of strength in terms of warmth, communication, discipline, and cohesion.” Researchers speculate that “One of the reasons adoptive parents invest more is that they really want children, and they go to extraordinary means to have them.” Amen to that.

I have to admit that I worry about the effect of over protectiveness on kids, but I think our entire generation of parents is over protective, not just parents that conceived or adopted after years of trying. I don’t think we have a good grasp on how to weigh relative risks. We are overly worried about low chance risks such as stranger abduction; as a result we micromanage our kids’ lives because we are afraid to let them out of our sight. The older my kids get the more I believe that children need to learn certain lessons from failure and falling and figuring things out on their own. But that is the subject of a different blog.

Parents that have had to struggle to become parents sometimes have a hard time giving themselves permission to have the normal feelings of frustration that comes along with parenting. They may feel let down after all the years of anticipation. They may think they don’t have the right to complain about being tired, or wishing for a day to themselves, or craving time to wash their hair and shave their legs. But fortunately, these feeling also usually pass with time. Most parents of two year olds and teens feel pretty darn entitled to their frustration, regardless how they got their kids.

Infertility can affect the quality of parenting in two ways. Infertility treatment results in a disproportionately large number of multiple births, and much research supports that parenting twins and triplets is much more stressful on parents. Also, subsequent attempts at infertility treatment for a second child can add significant stress on parents. Of course we are all familiar with the John and Kate plus 8 situation- they wanted just "one more" and ended up with 6- talk about stress to a family!!

I seem to be drawn to people who have struggled to create their families, and I have no doubt that their kids are the most loved in the world. I know my child is certainly one of the most loved kids in the world, mostly because of the trail of tears, prayers, and struggles that it took to get her.

God only gives you what you can handle.

Tonight I watched a show on TLC titled "Quintuplet Surprise" and it was about Casey and Ethan Jones from Austin, TX that had 5 babies in January of 2009.

The story was great, they had gone through IUI using donor sperm, because the husband had very low sperm counts. This family had it all, a beautiful little 4 year old girl, an absolutely beautiful home, tropical vacations every year, and great careers. Then they had quints- and their lives changed forever. The husband kept saying that everyone tells them that their children were such a blessing, to which he said "who prayers to have 5 babies at one time?" Yes the quints are a blessing, but their life would never be the same.

The husband was a home builder and when the economy tanked so did his business- they had to sell their big beautiful home and move into a smaller home and money was a constant worry, so was keeping all 5 kids in diapers. They figured if all 5 could be potty trained by age 2 it would save them over $20,000 a year just in diapers!!

I began to think about my own life while watching this show- I used to pray for twins, or even triplets- you have to consider these options when going through fertility treatments. I just wanted to get pregnant, I didn't care with how many.

Now that I watch this show I really have a new appreciation for that saying "God does not give you more then you can handle" There would have been no way I could have handled more then one baby at a time, mentally or financially (especially with the economy taking a crap).

Our little monkey is just an angel- she is a good sleeper and a good eater- and I just have to stop and think this is what I was meant to deal with. I really believe that this was God's plan for me all along- because he knew what I could handle. John and I have such a schedule with monkey- our lives are not any different, expect that we take her with us, and we are doing just great.

My life is so rich and full right now, and it's all happening when it was meant to happen, I truly believe for the first time in my life that I am where I am meant to be and with the people I am meant to be with.

The View Talks Infertility With Bill and Guiliana Rancic

This past week The View did a special show all about infertility, and much to my surprise I thought it was great. The ladies started by talking about their own expediences, Sherri Shepard went through IVF to have her son, and Barbara Walters had 3 miscarriages before adopting her daughter, and of course Elisabeth stated that she couldn't get pregnant until she gave up Gluten, due to undiagnosed Celiac Disease- she now has three kids- I do not think she was infertile, EVER, but that is another discussion.

Then they brought out a fertility specialist, who gave the basic facts on when to seek help from a specialist, honestly that part was kind of boring, but then came out Bill and Guiliana Rancic, who I LOVE, and they talked about their inability to conceive, and that they are getting ready to start IVF next week. I really love their honesty about their journey. Guiliana got a lot of crap from Whoopi for not wanting to gain five pounds. Now I understand that five pounds is not a big deal, but for someone, like Guiliana, who works in the public eye and has to fit into sample size clothing, it's hard. But I do see their point, if you want kids- you do whatever it takes to have them!

Then came the statement that most people were very upset about, at least on the infertility boards that I frequent. Guiliana was talking about how celebs do not talk about doing IVF or using donor eggs, because of the stigma that goes a long with it, then Joy Behar says "because when you use donor eggs, they are not your kids" and Bill agreed with her. Now, people it does not take a rocket scientist to know that using donor eggs will equal the child not being biologically yours, so yes Joy and Bill are correct, but believe me that baby is yours. My daughter did not come from my DNA, but she is mine in every sense of the word. So I really do not understand what the big deal is about Bill saying what we all know is true!

They closed out the show with having several different couples talk about their journey to have children. The first two couples were still in the process, the one couple was this cute young couple that were dealing with male infertility, and had done several unsuccessful IVF's, they were really nice- my heart went out to them. The other lady was a divorced woman who was 47 who was still trying to have a baby, now I gotta say- lady you are pushing 50- adopt already, IVF just is not going to work- you are too old. I know that is harsh, but come on 47? That is just crazy!!! Adopt and have your family and move on with your life- she had been trying to have a baby for 7 years!!

The last couple was a couple who had an baby boy from IVF and he was just so stinking cute! Watching this show brought back a lot of feelings for me, I never want to be at that place in my life again. But I am so happy to see that infertility is getting the attention it deserves so people can make educated decisions about their fertility.

My opnion of The Daily Beast Article

After reading the article that was posted on The Daily Beast I was so mad I think there was smoke coming out of my ears. First off to call wanting to have a child an "obsession" is completely wrong! There is nothing obsessive about wanting to have a family, that is a basic human desire for some. I can think of nothing better to spend your time or money on, its a baby for goodness sake- not a pair of shoes.

To put others down for their decisions when they do not effect the lives of others is so wrong. My decision to pursue IVF does not in any way impact any one else, only me and my husband are affected. There were several people in this article that had medical issues that were causing issues and just because they used assisted reproductive technology (ART) in order to have a child that is wrong. I didn't know that having Hepatitis or HIV banded you from having children. If someone has a disease and they use ART in order to not pass a horrible disease onto their child that is smart, not wrong.

I do not wish infertility on anyone, but in this case- the author needs to walk a mile in our shoes and see how it feels to be disappointed month after month because you cannot get pregnant, then maybe she will have a different opinion about using whatever method necessary to have a baby. I am happy that we have the technologies available to us. This is an instance in which if you do not have anything nice to say, do not say anything at all!

This Sperm Will Self Destruct In One Hour

Well, we've taking the next big step and pulled out the big guns and have done our first IVF. After years of being unable to conceive naturally and a few IUI's with no results, our first IVF may have finally revealed our problem.

Sperm normally can live up to a week once implanted into the female. Giving it ample time to find where it needs to go. Mine on the other hand only has about an hour. Of course when trying naturally there was no way of knowing this and since the IUI's injected the little guys fairly quickly we had no idea they were dying. This is why nothing has been working. They never have a chance.

My sperm always seemed perfectly normal. Once the initial analysis was over there was no further checking for any other problems and this was never caught until now.

This has been very disheartening as we thought this was going to be the fix all. To be so excited thinking this was the one to feeling doubt just sucks. We did implant 6 eggs. One at least looked pretty good and one is all it takes. See Shannon's post for more of what happened.

For those of you who follow us please pray for us. I feel just horrible that we may not be parents once again. I know Shannon will be devastated. I can't bare to see her disappointed again.

I don't understand why this has happened to the people who are known as "the couple who have everything". This may be the one thing we can't have. We are loving, have a nice home, are able to support ourselves and a child or children, and we would love our child as much as we love each other. I have heard the theory that we pick our parents, but does no one want to pick us? I don't know why that would be.

There are so many people who obviously don't want children. They have abortions, chloroform their kids and leave in car trunks for dead, smother them and bury them in the park, try to sell them on Craigslist, and through them in trash cans. Why do they get to conceive and we do not?

I have to think God wants us to tell our story and help others. But right now I feel we need the help. God please Bring Us A Baby.

Its my blog and I'll vent if I want to!

I have to admit that I was shocked over the comments that came in over my Sarah Jessica Parker blog. So in response to the first comment, NOT the second. I get to have my venting session and y'all get to listen.

Now I have been dealing with infertility with going on two years here and I have to admit I'm really freaking getting sick of it! I have had to celebrate my friends and my not so friends babies at showers more times then I would like to admit. I have had to act happy and smile when people announce their pregnancies even when I want to scream "you don't deserve to be a parent!" I have to go to birthday parties and watch others celebrate their children when it should be me, not them. I hate what this has done to me, I have never been a jealous person, but that is what infertility has turned me into.

And to comment on all the stupid ass advice people have given me over the months, and yes it's STUPID!! First off, relaxing is not going to bring me a baby, and yes I have tried putting a pillow under my butt after sex, I have taken my temperature, and had sex when I was ovulating, and no I don't just want to adopt, we have a freaking medical condition that is hindering our baby making abilities so BACK OFF! This advice has come from friends and family that I love dearly, but they don't have a freaking clue, so please people get a clue. Stop giving advice and just be supportive.

I also have heard it all when it comes to the fertility treatments. I know that fertility treatments are not explained correctly in the media or on TV, so unless you have been there and done that I do not expect you to understand them. But please understand that IVF is not just for rich people, yes it's expensive, but couples save for months, even years, to be able to afford it, because they want a baby. And IVF does not give you 9 kids, like octomom. Also, IUI does not always end like Jon and Kate plus 8- just FYI there are only 14 sets of living sextuplets in the US- that is not that many compared to how many couples go through IUI every year. The goal of fertility treatments is to have ONE baby, not a litter.

In regards to donor eggs and donor sperm, sometimes that is a couples only option- and it can be very helpful in some cases, where there is a medical problem with either the female or the male. In regards to surrogacy, women do not do it because they are vain or do not want to get fat- women suffering from infertility would give their right leg to be pregnant. But there are medical conditions, such as severe cases of endometriosis,, or uterine fibroid, or even a cancer that can make it so a woman cannot carry her own child. So please, if you have an opinion about infertility or fertility treatments and you have not walked in our shoes please do not try, be supportive and just be there for us and support us through all our trials and tribulations and be there to celebrate the new life that will eventually arrive.

So thanks for listening to my rant, but it's my blog and I can bitch if I want to.

The Final Countdown!

I bet you were all waiting for me to jump into a song by Asia, but no, that's my life, the FINAL COUNTDOWN to our insurance. We have officially gotten our sign up papers for our new insurance, which DA DA DA gives us $10K that we can use for fertility treatments. So IVF here we come. I am super duper excited, I am way pumped for something that is going to give us a 60% success rate, as opposed to a measly 15% shot with IUI.

I also feel less stressed because its being covered under our insurance, so its not like we are spending our life savings on this. But it is still a stressful time in my life, I want so badly for this to work on the first shot, but we are in for about 35 days of preparation for IVF so I need to take it one day at a time, and one shot at a time. But I do think I need to look into Yoga or something that I can do to keep myself calm.

Going through infertility is stressful, then add IVF into that mess and it gets really stressful. However it has been shown that there is no link between stress and the success of IVF.

Researchers in Swedan have assessed stress levels among women undergoing their first in vitro fertilization treatment and found similar pregnancy rates in women reporting high levels of anxiety and depression and women who did not.

"This is a positive message we can give our patients to help decrease their stress at this time," says researcher Lisbeth Anderheim, who is a midwife and PhD candidate at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The only variable linked to successfully achieving a pregnancy was the number of good-quality embryos transferred back into the uterus. Some studies have reported that acupuncture, which can help reduce stress, increases pregnancy success, I strongly suggest acupuncture, its my saving grace, I LOVE it!

IVF and other fertility procedures carry a certain level of stress that is unavoidable. But when that stress disrupts your daily life, it may be time to look into counseling.

IUI #3 is done!

This morning was what I hope will be our final IUI. I have been feeling really bad going into this cycle, I only had 3 mature follicles and I usually have more. Then this morning I got a call from John saying that he thinks he did a crappy job with his collection. So all the way to the doctors I am thinking "great they are going to cancel our cycle and all the shots were for nothing." What a great way to think, right?

But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that John had put in his best numbers so far, 20 million post wash, which is great!

So I was totally wrong. The good news is that our doctor said we can get into the March cycle for IVF, because our transfer and retrieval will be after April 1st, which is when we have our new insurance. So I was happy to hear that I don't have to wait until May for IVF. So lets keep our fingers crossed that everything goes well with the insurance, we are almost at the 30 day mark for our insurance to kick in, we are in the home stretch now!

IUI #3 with 3 growing follicles

Well- I had my day 8 ultrasound and blood work this morning, and everything looks good! My blood levels are good, and I have 3 mature follicles that are growing like weeds. I have one at 15mm and 2 at 13mm, which means that I will most likely trigger on Wednesday night and have the IUI on Friday. I think its kinda funny because John has had all these weird things happen with the number 3, and now I have 3 follicles and its our 3rd IUI- so maybe its a sign.
They always say 3rd time is the charm lets hope this is it!

An update on us!

Today is day 5 of stims- AKA day 5 of Follistim shots. I have my day 8 appt with Dr. L I always get nervous before my appts, because I want to know what my ovaries are doing. I always worry that they are going to stop working. So I will update after my appt tomorrow. Wish us luck, we are looking at our 3rd IUI in the next few days.

Back in the Game!

Well, after a much needed break from fertility treatments and one surgery we are as they say "back in the game!" Although its a little sad because part of me was secretly hoping that we would have "break cycle miracle baby" but no such luck. The only thing that makes me feel better about that not happening is that my body was still healing after the lap so getting pregnant was almost impossible, we did't even try, doctor's orders.
But today I had my day 3 ultrasound and blood work, everything looks good so I was given the go ahead to start my daily injections of Follistim. Giving myself those shots is nothing now, today my assistant walked in my office as I was doing it (I had the door closed) but that's how close she and I are, and I am very open about our fertiliy struggles.

So I go back to the doctor on Monday for my day 8 ultrasound and bloodwork, so hopefully my follicles get a growing here in the next few days and give us lots of healthy eggies!

Here we go again!

Well after recovering from my lap, which was so easy! Here we are again, cycle day 1- and we are starting IUI #3- I have my day 3 appt. on Wednesday to get my first ultrasound to make sure everything looks good, get my blood drawn and start my medicine. I am excited, as much as I hate being on this rollar coaster I am ready to get going and get pregnant already! We have been on a 2 and a half month break mostly because we didn't want to be going through an IUI cycle during the holidays as well as I wanted to have the lap surgery and we had to take the month off to have the surgery.
So here we go again!

Had a rough night

Tonight was a rough night for me, I have been doing really well lately- actually I have not been thinking about having a baby lately, I have been too busy with other things. But tongight John and I were eating dinner and I completely burst into tears. We are gearing up to start IUI #3 in a couple of weeks and I am just so sick of this. I want to be pregnant, why is this so hard for us, I want us to be parents. One thing I need to remember is that having emotions at this stage of my life is completley natural- and its healthy to let it out, I cannot keep it all bottled up all the time.

I feel like the world is either telling me I am going to get pregnant or its laughing at me. I have gotten three cans of formula in the mail the past month! FORMULA, sent to me, not sent to resident, it was actually addressed to me. I also get coupons for baby stores, its almost cruel!

This octuplet mother makes me sick!

Yesterday I had an appointment with my fertility specalist- and I couldn't help but bring up the octuplet story. My doctor said she is so mad about it, she said it gives fertility specalist's a bad name and gives people the wrong idea about fertility treatments. She is so right, I was discussing this very subject with some girls at my office and while they feel that she is crazy person to do what she did, the couldn't help but ask me if I could have eight kids with all the fertility drugs that I take.

People have such the wrong idea about fertility treatments, while yes there is a risk of multiple births, the chances are rather low. Fertility doctors will cancel a cycle in a heartbeat if you have too many mature eggs, or with an artificial insemination cycle they will request that you convert to an IVF cycle, so they can surgically take the eggs out and fertilize them. If there are lots of embroyo's the leftovers can be frozen for future use, but only 2 or 3 embroyo's would be put in the uterus for possible implanation, not EIGHT!

It has come out over the past few days that this crazy mother of eight did IVF, I really connot imagie that, what unetical doctor would put back eight embroyos, espically with her age of 33 and also knowing that she has 6 other kids at home.

This story makes me so sick, because I hold doctors in the highest standard, espically our fertility doctor- she is helping us to create life- what is a bigger deal then that? Because of her we can achieve our dream of parenthood, so if anyone tries to belittle her field it makes me sick. This woman is getting exactly what she wants, attention! We need to stop talking about her and giving her what she wants! Just let her be, and figure out how she is going to care for her 14 kids.

Fertility news everywhere!

Once upon a time in a fairytail world, a woman's ovaries were her own private affair and baby making was private conversation, not the topic of girl's power lunches, blogs, websites, or TV dramas, such as Sex and the City, Brothers and Sisters, and Private Practice, or big budget movies such as Baby Mama. Desperate women struggling with fertility issues whispered to their doctors about their trials and tribulations and secretely took drugs to stimulate their follicles and crossed their fingers that they would become pregnant. Today, eggs,donor sperm, IVF, IUI, and fertility drugs are the topic of open conversation, and everyone is eager to hear about everyone elses's problems. Its the "Ill tell you what's what with me, if you tell me what's wrong with you". Even politicians are in the fertility limelight. Sarah Palin's baby, Trig, was born when she was 44. And the newly appointed New York senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, cast a vote in Congress the day before giving birth to son Henry at age 41 last May. So baby making is the new hot topic, babies and Bugaboo strollers are the newest accessory in Hollywood. Throw away that Hermes Birkin bag ladies, and get a baby!

And yet with all the news that is out in the world about infertility, many young women still don't fully understand the facts about age as a risk factor for infertility. Women are starting families much later in life, they are going to school longer, pursuing careers and thinking that they can wait to have children, and their Ob-Gyns don't always tell them that they need to be concerned with their age and how long they really have to concieve and carry a healty baby to term. With all the 40 something Hollywood mothers like Marcia Cross and Molly Ringwald (some of whom are presumably using donor eggs or IVF to get pregnant) and cases like Palin and Gillibrand reassure them that time is on their side so its okay to wait.

This week, the American Fertility Association (AFA) is launching "Manicures & Martinis" at the Dashing Diva Nail Salon in Manhattan. This is the first in a series of one-hour conversations about reproductive health that is geared towards women in thier 20's and 30's. Its meant for women who want children, but aren't ready just yet. It will feature a leading fertility expert, who will talk about the reality of the biological clock and other risk factors for infertility. There will also be martinis as well as a non alcohol "fertilitini."

IUI's a new interesting study!

I found this article interesting because having been told that IVF with ICSI is out best option due to having boardeline sperm morohology issues. The age old question is where is the cut off line between doing IUI and doing IVF, most fertility specalists will say to do at least 3 IUI's before moving to IVF, while others say with certain criteria do not even try and IUI, do not pass go, do not collect $200, GO STRAIGHT TO IVF. This article takes men with a strict morphology of 5% and below and 5% and above and tests the pregnancy rate of both groups.

Normally multiplying the total motile sperm count by the percent of normal sperm determined by strict morphology (TM×SM) may be a significant predictor of pregnancy when sperm morphology is less than 5%, according to a new study by Texas researchers. It as been said that with a less then 5% morphology there is a harder time achieveing pregnancy.

It has been suggested that in vitro fertilization (IVF) with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may be the best treatment option for couples with less than 5% normal sperm strict morphology. Wanting to investigate whether the 5% threshold or the TM×SM was a significant predictor of intrauterine insemination (IUI) success, researchers looked at infertile couples undergoing IUI at their institution between November 1995 and December 2007. Their findings suggest that TM×SM may be helpful in selecting couples who are not suitable for IUI.

Females that were excluded from the study had an age greater than 40 years, history of endometriosis, tubal factor, or history of previous IVF or use of donor sperm. A total of 237 couples were included in the study. The investigators determined total motile sperm counts for each of the initial semen analyses and used the Kruger strict morphology criteria to calculate the percentage of total normal sperm, then multiplied to get the TM×SM.

The overall cumulative pregnancy rate was about 30%. Mean female age, mean strict morphology, mean TMC, and mean TM×SM in both the pregnant and nonpregnant groups were similar. The pregnancy rate was 24% in couples with strict morphology less than 5% (about 45% of the cohort) compared with a pregnancy rate of 34% in couples with strict morphology of 5% or more. The difference was not statistically significant.

In couples with SM less than 5%, the pregnant group had a significantly higher mean TM×SM compared with the nonpregnant group (3.7 million vs. 2.3 million). No pregnancies occurred in the 14 couples whose TM×SM was less than 0.29 million. Overall, TM×SM was the only significant predictor of pregnancy in couples with SM below 5%.

In laymans terms this study tells us not to look at strict morphology alone. You should also look at the total motile count and combine it with the strict morphology, said study investigator Ertug Kovanci, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Sometimes IVF with ICSI is recommended just because the strict morphology is less than 5%. But we are saying that if the total motile count is good, you don't have to do IVF with ICSI [in these couples]. You can get away with IUIs.”

That is great news, because it could potentially lead to huge costs savings because IUI is both less invasive and less expensive. Obviously if continued IUI's are not successful then it is important to speak to your fertility specalist about moving forward to IVF with ICSI, but this study gives hope to those who have boarderline sperm morphology numbers. In our case, we were told go right to IVF with ICSI, but after some time and lots of vitamins John's sperm had improved and we now fit into the parameters to do IUI's and John has put up steller numbers at both of our IUI's. So things change, espiclly sperm. One thing to keep in mind with IUI's is the success rate is not as high as an IVF on one cycle, so it may take more then one cycle to achieve pregnancy, do not give up hope.
Best of luck to you!

And the Survey Says...

Well, Shannon went through her surgery with flying colors. The laparoscopy took about an hour start to finish.

Our doctor found...nothing. Everything is fine, no toxic environment. Perfect for having a baby. Which leaves us as unexplained.

Shannon is doing great and looks the same as she did when we arrived at the hospital. She has a little discomfort, but other than that everything is great and she resting.

The doctor wants to see her in two weeks and we will probably try another IUI cycle. We are planning to IVF in April. So keep your fingers crossed our insurance kicks in to cover that.

An afternoon at the fertility clinic

Today I had my pre op appt at my fertility specialists office. I love her and her staff, so when I go there its almost like cocktail hour. We have to catch up on the latest news since my last appt. My favorite nurse today to me that she cannot wait until she doesn't have to see me anymore, in a good way, she said she just likes to see the babies. Shes super sweet and her and my doctor are so genuine I truly believe that want to get me pregnant just as much as I want it.

I had called her on Friday to see if she had the name of someone I could talk to, I think I need so therapy. My doctor was out of town last week, but first thing this morning I had an email from my doctor telling me to keep my chin up and we will get this. Today when I went in the nurse had a name and number for me of someone who specializes in fertility cases. Its the little things that make me feel like they really care.

But while I was sitting in the waiting room I was watching everyone come in and out, and its amazing to see all the different faces of infertility. There was a beautiful tall brunettes girl that was so cute, designer jeans, high heels and her Louis Vuitton bag slug over her shoulder. I began to think that infertility knows no boundaries, it can effect everyone at anytime.

I started chatting with an older lady who told me that she was doing IVF, she is single and is ready for a baby, screw finding mr. right. I give her a lot credit, and wish her the best of luck. However, she starts asking me all these questions, and I am thinking "shouldn't she know this?" here she is in the beginning of her IVF cycle and she doesn't even know what kind of medicine she is taking. Then I started chatting with another lady, who in my opinion looked like a character in Harry Potter (and no not Hermione) but again infertility knows no class, ethnicity, or race.

After my appt I had to go register at the hospital for my surgery on Wednesday and of course in front of me there is a lady who is pre registering for labor and delivery (what are the freaking chances!) I couldn't have been after the old man registering for prostate surgery?!
But anyway I overheard her talking with the admitting clerk (by the way its so not confidential) and shes telling her that she is on Medicaid and Welfare, she is 24 and unemployed and has no clue who the baby's father is. So that was wonderful! Oh well, maybe with a baby she will get her life together! But in the meantime I am paying for her hospital stay, with my tax dollars.

Well, keep us in your prayers as I prepare for my lap on Wednesday, heres to hoping she finds something and fixes it!

When should acupuncture treatment begin?

Acupuncture is similar to physical therapy in that it is a process oriented method of medical intervention. It is better to do more than less and on a consistent basis. Patients are commonly treated for three to four months before an insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), or donor-egg transfer. This period of treatment seems to have a therapeutic effect.

In a study by Stener-Victorin et al from the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology Fertility Centre, Scandinavia and University of Gothenburg, women are encouraged to receive acupuncture treatments pre and post embryo transfer and pre and post insemination. Clinical observations from the Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness suggest that the most effective fertility treatments involve a combination of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and traditional medical interventions. However, conception does sometimes occur when acupuncture and herbal medicines are used without traditional medical interventions.

My suggestion would be to talk to your acupuncturist and talk about your treatments and find out what works best for your schedule. Of course the more consistent treatment the bettter results you will have but do what work best for you.

The Meaning of 333...

Hi, Folks. John here. I was having a spell of waking up night after night at 3:33 am. This kept happening night after night. One day I had to write a check and the sequence came up 333. After a few days of this it started to drive me nuts and I had to try and find a meaning.

I started to Google the meaning of 333. The first site I came across posted several Bible verses that had the chapter and verse 3:33. As I read on I found many references to the meaning as God is with you and also the number represents the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. Was this God's way of telling me he knows our pain and that he was with us?

It made me feel good as I read this. Maybe it meant God would would give us what we were longing for...a baby. Or he wanted us to do something. Maybe help those with infertility issues. Or he was just letting us he know he was there for us.

As I read on I came across an entry from a gentleman discussing how he was waking up at 3:33 on a regular basis as well. He then proceeded to tell a story about how a woman he knew said she had a dream about him and his wife having triplets. His wife wasn't pregnant at the time, but a month later she was. They didn't know what they were having yet, but it was interesting. Was God telling me we were having triplets? If 333 means God is with us then I certainly hope he is if we were going to have triplets.

The gentleman's post continued with stating his birthday, which happened to be mine as well. A posting after his talked about the same scenario and a another gentleman was waking up at 3:33, but the thing that got me was he shared the same birthday too.

I read all this just before we had our first IUI procedure. We have had two IUI's now and both times I was thinking we were going to have triplets. Of course if God was making up for lost time we most certainly would know we were blessed, but we would definitely have our hands full with triplets.

Well as you may have read in previous posts neither of our IUI procedures at this point have worked. So, no triplets yet. But I recently began to think of a new meaning.

Although, I always know God is with us maybe 333 equals 9. With next year being 2009maybe we will have a baby next year. And with all the references to my birthday maybe it will be born the same day.

I am looking forward to next year and all it has to bring and I know God is on our side.