The beginning...

Hi,

My name is Jennifer and my husband is Phil. This is our first blog and we are thrilled to be taking this new journey. Phil and I have been married for almost four years and we live in sunny South Florida. We have been trying to start our family for over three years. I thought I would be pregnant the first try... not the case. Something that should be happy and wonderful has been emotional and stressful. So here goes...

After 2 years of negative pregnancy tests, Phil and I decided to look for fertility assistance. We went to several doctors in South Florida, most "guaranteed" us a baby. As you may or may not know, it is NOT that easy with infertility - you cannot "guarantee" anything. There are so many factors when it comes to infertility. The female side and the male side all play factors. Phil and I did not understand any of the most common fertility issues, not to mention the advanced issues. We were clueless. It was like walking into a new job with no training.

The hours we both spent "google-ing" infertility was enough to make any couple nuts. We had to do something and fast. We made appointments with local fertility centers and after meeting with several female and male fertility specialists we were discouraged to say the least. We were hit with "the problem is your husband, he has motility issues, you need IVF, maybe IUI or even SURGERY and there is always DONOR SPERM and DONOR EGGS"... YIKES!!!! It was so clinical and overwhelming!!!! Not to mention we were then hit with the "here's how much it will cost" speech.


We unfortunately backed off on starting our family because we did not feel like we had a real explanation of why we were not getting pregnant not did any of the Doctors give us a real plan to move forward. So we waited a whole year before we decided to start over.

EVERYTHING changed in October 2009. I meet Eliza Roberts and Dr. Mark Denker with Palm Beach Fertility Center. What a great people! Phil and I ran into Eliza at a work function and we told her our story. She listened intently to both Phil and I go on and on. She walked us over to Dr. Denker and introduced us. He asked us to come in and see him for a consult. He said, " Give me a chance to help you." That was all Phil and I needed to hear. He was sooooo sincere.

Well... last week we had our first consult with Dr. Denker and it was a GREAT experience. We started in the lobby looking at Dr. Denker's (what I call) Miracle Book... a photo album of all the families he has helped start and grow. I felt jealous of those families to be honest. Phil just smiled and held my hand. He is the best hubby! Eliza came out to the lobby and told Phil and I to "come on back". The next hour flew by. Dr. Denker went over our records and talked to us in depth about our goals. He asked lots of questions and gave tons of answers!

The next step was to order a few common fertility tests to see why we are having trouble conceiving. My tests came out normal. Phil's test results were not normal. Dr. Denker wanted to see us to go over what he had found. Phil's semen analyse showed low motility and morphology problems. I know, I know... what does that mean. Before I could even ask what all that meant Dr. Denker started explaining things. Telling us what our options were and that YES he could help us conceive. He actually laid out a plan on what the next steps were for us.

Dr. Denker has recommended that we have IVF. He has also set-up for Phil and I to meet with a nutritionist and an acupuncturist ASAP. It's important to be on a healthy diet and nutrition plan when going through fertility treatment and Dr. Denker offers all of this through his office. He also started Phil and I on powder form of female and male pre-natal vitamins. Phil says his taste like grape juice... mine taste like lemons.

I have to also say this... when Dr. Denker was speaking he said something that filled my heart with joy. He said, "there is no reason why you cannot get pregnant with the right treatment. I will do my best to make you a beautiful baby." I held my breath not to cry in his office (that is also filled with beautiful pictures of babies and families). For the first time in three years we had a plan, a positive outlook and a team of people who did not "guarantee" us a baby... they told us what to expect and that it is a long road with lots of twists and turns. But a hopeful road that we are ready to take.

So what's the next step? Phil and I both need some blood work done that shows my ovulation and hormone levels and checks Phil's blood for several different things. This process will take a few months before we even have the actual IVF procedure. We go back in a few in a few weeks to start phase #1.

I am going to do a separate blog about IVF and what it is and means, how it works and what my phase #1 entails. This way when you see the upcoming blogs it will all make sense (hopefully).

Stay tuned...