Guest Post 2

I want you to welcome Leanne from RefrigeratorMemories and she is writing about a topic that is near and dear to my heart and many of my real life friends and blogging friends...infertility!

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Hi, I'm Leanne and though I have two beautiful children and it may not look like it, I struggle with infertility. 

I always had irregular cycles, so when my husband and I wanted to get pregnant for the first time, we knew I wasn't ovulating. We went to a fertility specialist and he prescribed Chlomid. I ended up getting pregnant that next cycle and we were so happy that it was such an easy fix. I had an easy pregnancy and a fairly easy labor.

Fast forward about a year and we started talking about trying for baby #2. I still didn't have regular cycles, so we went in for a round of Chlomid. I thought it would be wise to take a pregnancy test before taking any medications. Lo and behold, I was already pregnant! And yet again, I had another easy pregnancy and labor.

When our second was only nine months old, we decided that we would not mind having another child. We weren't trying very hard to get pregnant because we thought we had time and that it would happen easily like the last time. But time was not on our side. Gabe ended up having to go to Iraq. (He was in the Army at the time) We desperately tried to get pregnant but there just wasn't enough time. He left when our second was thirteen months old.

We thought we might have a chance on his R&R that following summer. I even went on birth control to try and regulate my periods so we could time it just right. But three weeks is such a short window and it didn't happen. We were crushed. We only wanted our children to be around two years apart and we would now be pushing three years.

In November of 2010, Gabe's year in Iraq was coming to an end. We made the extremely difficult decision to extend for six months for a large bonus. I was still optimistic that I would get pregnant as soon as he got back. He came home just before Memorial Day of 2011. Gabe had asked me to see a fertility specialist before he came home just to make sure everything looked good. But like I said, I was sure it would happen right away.

Month after month, it didn't happen but still I had faith. Finally, after seven months of trying and believing that this month would be THE month, I admitted defeat. I called the Dr and made an appointment. We went in and they ran some tests and I was prescribed Chlomid. Round one didn't work. We tried again...nothing. In April of 2012, I had gone to them for a blood pregnancy test on a Friday. That afternoon, I got the result. Slightly positive. But we were not to get over excited. Well, we did. That whole weekend, all I could think about was being pregnant (even more than I already thought about it). Monday, I went back in for another test.Negative. We were heartbroken. But we had to get back on the horse and try again.

By May, we were fed up with the negative results. We wanted answers. At our next appt, we discussed our options with the Dr. She suggested a surgery called a Laparoscopy. Basically, I would have three small incisions in my stomach and they go in and try to find a problem (Endometriosis, cysts, anything abnormal) . If it's fixable, they would fix it then and there. We were praying that this would be the answer. We had a family vacation planned for the following month, so the surgery was set up for after that.

We decided to try one last round of Chlomid before the surgery but had no expectations of it working. We had a great two week vacation and when we got back, I had a few pre surgery appointments to go to. Friday July 20th, one week before the surgery, I went in and they did some blood work, and ran other tests to make sure I could handle the surgery and anesthesia. I asked them if they were doing a pregnancy test because there was a chance I could be pregnant. (We still tried that month so there was a small chance.) They were but it was only a urine test. I let them know that it would be too early to show up on a urine test and they would need to do a blood test. They let me know that unless my Dr ordered a blood test, they couldn't do one.

Well, I wasn't having that. I drove right over to my Dr's and demanded, umm, asked politely for a blood test. The nurse and I counted days and we came up with the best day to get a blood test. I would go in the following Tuesday, three days before the surgery. When Tuesday came around, I went in and prayed for the best because I REALLY did not want to have the surgery. We waited and waited and finally, when I couldn't take it anymore, I called them on Wednesday.

Praise God, it came up POSITIVE!!!! 

If we had gone through with the surgery and not have done a blood pregnancy test, this tiny being inside of me would not have survived. It truly is a miracle. We are still in shock and not sure whether to believe it or not. I've gone back for another blood test (still positive), and will be going again to make sure the numbers are continuing to go up. But we could not be happier that after almost three years, we finally got our wish!

Head on over to her blog and wish her some baby luck! Thanks so much Leanne for guest posting for me!!