Moving on (again)…

So, I got all fired up a while ago about coming back to blogging as I got together with my partner (now husband!) and we embarked on a mission to pursue having a child via IVF.

Once we actually got into the process I didn’t find the time or mental energy for blogging consistently.

We did the ERA test and if showed that my uterus does go into the receptive state, so we moved ahead with IVF and we managed to get 5 blastocyst (5 day old) embryos frozen. 4 embryo transfers later we are still childless.

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ERA test: attempt #2 – prep phase

2019 has got off to a good start – I started a new job and our next ERA test prep cycle on the same day (3 Jan), and so far both are going well!

This time around I am taking 6mg of estrogen orally alongside using 2 patches and the lining is growing although, of course, progress is slow. I am having to go for a progress scan every few days and each time I have to go in my lunch break to do a blood test so the doctor has it ready when I go after work for my scan. Continue reading

ERA test: attempt #1 – aka I dropped the egg!

Following our consultation at The Clinic we decided to go ahead with the Endometrial Receptivity Analysis (ERA) test.

The test consists of preparing the uterus the way it’s prepared for a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) – that means using hormones to thicken it up and then get it nice and “sticky” ready for the embryo to implant. The only difference is, once the uterus lining has been prepared, instead of doing an embryo transfer the doctor will take a biopsy of the endometrium which will be analysed looking for the markers that assess whether it is ready for an embryo to implant (i.e. if it’s “receptive”).

So… just about a week after our initial visit at the clinic, when my period showed up, I went in for my baseline scan to get started with our ERA test cycle. Continue reading

Fresh start: step 1 – get a second opinion

Now that I have a partner (let’s just call him M) our first step was to choose a clinic here in Spain and go and get a second opinion on what I’d been previously told regarding my chances of having a baby myself, and also to check if there were any problems on his side.

We live in a city where there’s a very well-known, internationally respected clinic which is also a research centre and therefore at the forefront of things when it comes to assisted reproduction techniques. To me it would seem silly to have such a great clinic on our doorstep, be able to afford it (fortunately), and then not go there. So that’s where we went. Continue reading

Re-starting the journey

I’m back! It’s been a very long time since I posted and so much has changed.

3 years ago I started this blog fearing that I wasn’t going to get to be a mama because my periods seemed to be disappearing. I knew how much I wanted a child and so I decided to go the Single Mum By Choice route. I then found out I have a defective uterus and didn’t go ahead with those plans. I tried to accept that I would probably never have kids.

As 2018 draws close to the end, I am in totally new circumstances “life-wise”. I left the UK for Spain (no kids, no ties – right?), and I ended up meeting someone who has made be hopeful that all I had given up on could be possible. The long and short of it is that me and my partner (I’ll think of a nickname for him later) have decided that, even though it might be a long and somewhat difficult journey, we are going to try and become parents.

So.. I’m still a wannabe mama and as of last month we officially start trying to conceive (TTC). So this blog is being re-kindled and, while it will still be a TTC blog, it’s not going to be a SMBC blog anymore.

Let’s see where this journey takes me now!!

Maybe there’s hope!!! 😊

So…. after having disappeared from my blog for a few months, I actually have something to write about! It looks like my emotional rollercoaster wasn’t ready to come to a halt.

After being plagued by such a thin, unresponsive endometrium that the doctor even advised against spending the money to TTC and warned against a very high risk pregnancy… miraculously my periods appear to have “come back” in August and September.

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