Impatiently Waiting for our Miracle(s)

I feel like we are often on a rollercoaster ride that never ends! The last couple of months have definitely been up and down in regards to our (in)fertility journey. We met with a urologist in January, and he ran three tests on Reid… a semen analysis, a DNA fragmentation test, and a sperm fish. And then we waited (and waited, and waited) for all of the results to come in. And of course, they weren’t completely conclusive. No black and white answers. So we met with a genetic counselor, as referred by our urologist. She reviewed our history as well as the results of the testing we did on Reid, and she concluded that we may both have issues that are contributing to the chromosome abnormalities we keep getting. But there’s no certain medical proof of that. Reid’s semen analysis and DNA fragmentation test came back normal. The sperm fish, which checks for abnormal chromosomes in his sperm, came back slightly abnormal. The normal ranges on this test are crazy… they top out at 0.1-0.5%. And...

We all know someone… you know, that person that struggled with infertility for years and then they stopped trying. And then boom – they got pregnant. Yep, everyone has one of those stories about someone they “know”. Can you do me a favor, though? Quit sharing them with people while they’re in the throws of infertility. I know you mean well. I know you think it provides hope. But here’s what it really does (at least for me)… it tells me that you’re not truly listening to our story and understanding where we are. It suggests that the tens of thousands of dollars we’re spending on fertility treatments, tests, hormones, vitamins, acupuncture and doctors, are a waste. That we should just “stop trying”, and “quit stressing”. Then all of a sudden we’ll be pregnant. It doesn’t work that way for most. I love a good “miracle” story just as much as the next person, but these particular stories burn. And being open about your infertility journey means you hear these stories… all. the. time. ...