The following is a story about our pregnancy. It is, sort of, a recap of events leading to this point. It hasn't been finished yet, but the first part is complete. Here it is:
Our Pregnancy!
Finally, we can say “We are Pregnant!” We are 8 weeks along with TRIPLETS!!! This is our first pregnancy so everything is new to us. We are very excited and welcome all the challenges we will face. Together we have made it this far, which has been no cake walk. We have been wishing for this moment for a long time and finally our prayers have been answered.
Lori and I have been the subject of many discussions. When we were dating the big question was “So, when are you two going to get married?” Once the wedding date was set, we were in the clear and no one had any questions for us. That all changed as soon as we got married. We didn’t make it through the wedding reception before being asked “So when are you two going to have a baby?” Our answer was always the same “When it happens.”
Well it never happened. We got married on June 4th, 2005. From that point on we made no attempts to prevent pregnancy; birth control, condoms, or the old “pull-out method”. We weren’t directly trying to get pregnant, just wanted to let it happen naturally like most ‘normal’ couples will. However as we now know, nothing for us, in terms of pregnancy, is quite ‘normal’. With each holiday and gathering, came the awkward Q&A session. This went on for a few years before we consulted the help of fertility specialists; South Jersey Fertility Center.
Over the last year and a half of working with specialist, we have learned a lot about pregnancy; probably a lot more than the average ‘normal’ couple. When I say ‘normal’ I am referring to a couple that finds out they are pregnant after the female does a test because she missed her period. Maybe they were trying or maybe they weren’t. For them it just happened and now they can be happy and pregnant. For us our ‘pregnancy’ has been going on for almost 2 years before it was ‘official’. Discussing pregnancy and trying to be successful was a daily struggle filled with constant ups and downs.
Lori has a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). PCOS poses many issues including causing a woman’s hormones to be out of balance making it difficult for her to get pregnant. In the case of my wife, it causes her to have very irregular periods. This also prevents her from ovulating so the egg never leaves her ovaries. However she is not the only one getting picked on. I have more than enough swimmers, but the professional analysis is that they are a bit on the side of lazy. When I think about my sperm being lazy [Just go with me on this], it reminds me of The Simpson’s episode (season 6, episode 13) where they discuss how Maggie was conceived. They show a clip of a bunch of sperm with Homer heads that keep bumping into each other and saying "D'oh!"
If there is one think I have learned about getting pregnant, it is timing is everything. We received many tests over and over and over again. And yes, I said we. There have been multiple occasions where I was asked to “make a donation.” I can’t complain. In fact, it allowed me to share in this experience, since she was getting almost all the attention. As we went through each cycle (attempt at getting pregnancy), she was subjected to blood work and trans-vaginal ultrasounds just about every other day. Everything was monitored and evaluated because the environment needed to be perfect and on time.
There were so many medications. Because she was irregular, she had to take a medication (Progesterone) that would bring on her menstrual cycle. Then on day three of her cycle she would have to start taking a drug called Clomid while being monitored every few days. Clomid helps stimulate ovulation. It was during this time that our ‘relations’ were carefully scheduled. It was important to not go more than 3 days without ‘relations’, but also allow a day of rest in-between ‘relations’. We followed this routine 3 times adjusting the dosage of Clomid (50mg, 100mg, 200mg). All of these attempts were unsuccessful. In fact, ovulation only occurred once. It was really difficult and frustrating to have to go through the process over and over again. We felt as though we had no control over the situation. It was especially difficult for me to see Lori so upset and I was powerless to do anything to change that feeling for her. It was at this point we decided to “take a break” for a few months.
Lori was then tested for glucose issues. She was diagnosed as insulin resistant and prescribed another drug called Metformin. Metformin is a medicine that helps control blood sugar levels. Lori took this medication each day for 30 days before we attempted another cycle. This time we started with the full dose of Clomid (200mg) and added to the routine by implementing a drug called Ovidrel. Ovidrel is an injection medication used to help eggs finish maturing and release. This was a one time injection that I had to administer to her stomach. Now up until this point our insurance was covering most of the costs of treatment, but injection medications are not covered. Ovidrel is about $75 a syringe. To help boost the odds an intrauterine insemination (IUI) was also performed. This is where they took my sperm and ‘washed’ it and then manually inserted my swimmers into her uterus. After 3 attempts with this schedule, we were unsuccessful. Lori did manage to ovulate 2 times though.
After SIX failed attempts, the doctors decided to be more aggressive in our treatment. Instead of taking one injection of Ovidrel, Lori was to be injected with Follistim every night for about a week. Follistim is a medication that contains follicle (egg) stimulating hormone (FSH) which is important in the development of eggs which are produced by the ovaries. Follistim also increases the chances of having multiple births. With the Follistim came more frequent monitoring; every other day. Again, injection medications are not covered by our insurance. Fortunately we were donated a cartridge of Follistim. However, we ended up needing a second cartridge and had to foot the bill; $475. Once the Follistim injections were done, she was given an IUI. Then we waited. We hoped this time things would work, but we had developed a mentality that we would fail again. Soon after the IUI, Lori was complaining of intense cramping and soreness that she attributed to an upcoming period. There was no convincing her otherwise. Finally it was time for her to get a blood test to see if the procedure was a success.
We had taken some vacation time during the first week in June for our anniversary and on June 5th she got the test. We went to the office and got her blood drawn around 8am. Then we played the waiting game. We got breakfast at Nifty Fifties and then headed home. We bounced back and forth from the TV to the computers just killing time. We weren’t able to focus on anything else but the test. Usually we would get a call around noon about the results, but that day it was 2:30pm and we still hadn’t heard anything. Finally Lori called their office and after being transferred to a few different people we got our answer “You’re pregnant!”
I don’t think either one of us was ever so happy as we were that very moment. I couldn’t stop smiling, nor could she. She cried and so did I; just enough to remain manly though. Just thinking of that moment brings tears to my eyes now [what’s happening to me?]. She immediately needed to tell her parents since her mom knew we were getting the results that day. The last thing we ever wanted to do was lie to anyone and say we weren’t pregnant if asked. We both felt like that would be a jinx. She came up with the idea of getting a cake that said “We’re Pregnant” and bringing it over her parent’s house. This worked out well since they asked us to pick them up dinner on our way over. Even though I am really excited, I’m playing it cool and I told her to tell them the cake was actually some cookies from the local bakery. Instead, she goes the subtle route and says “You gotta see this cake I got”, “read it, read it” and then proceeds to plop the cake down in front of them as they are trying to eat. They were ecstatic. They were the few that were fully aware of our situation and the trouble we have dealt with. She also informed her brother who was very happy for us, but upset that he couldn’t tell anyone.
~~~STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THE STORY~~~
-Daddy of 3 peas
Here are the babies at 14w1d... all babies measured 
