i'm going to write an honest post here, and if you're not interested in fertility or anything related to baby-making, i'd suggest moving on (even if you're my relative and it's just TMI for you.)
the baby that's on his/her way took some work. i mean, obviously, all babies take work :) but we started trying several months ago and were starting to get frustrated and a little worried. i can't really describe some of the emotions we were going through--fear that there might be complications, jealousy of all the other women around me getting pregnant (you don't notice how many are actually pregnant until you're trying and you're still not pregnant and it seems like EVERYONE else is) and then disappointment when each month, it wasn't it. it wasn't our time. and we'd start the whole process all over again. and again.
and yes, i realize that it can take up to a year for a couple our age to get pregnant, but we were actively trying and doing our homework to make sure we were making best use of our efforts (if you get my drift.) i highly recommend these 20-ct kits to really figure out your cycle (and i had other friends recommend these, too--it's much better than guessing that you follow the predicted days given on websites like this one or this one, because you might be off by a day or 2--and when you realistically have a 12 hour time frame to "make it happen", specific days are important!) and read the directions--first morning testing is the best and gives you the clearest results.
and we thought we had it all figured it out by months 3 and 4, and it still wasn't happening. and i finally decided there must be something else going on. so i got on a few forums on thebump.com (huge time-killer, by the way--and could potentially draw you in, though i found some of the boards to be a little emotional overkill. great support for a lot of people, though--just not my thing) and read a few entries that lead me to www.babyhopes.com.
they have great deals on basic fertility products, specializing in several natural items like teas and vitamins. but what i had read about was this product and how, unlike it's other over-the-counter competitors, it was specifically designed for couples trying to conceive and had the best reviews i could find. so many stories of couples trying to get pregnant for years, using clomid and contemplating IVF, then using pre-seed and getting pregnant the first cycle they tried it! there are tons of studies to back up their research and why their product works compared to the other drug-store varieties (which do not help with the fertility process at all! in fact, it appears that they hinder the process--who knew?)
so we ordered it, along with some "fertili-tea" and inexpensive pregnancy tests (those things start to add up after a while!) and it arrived complete with baby dust (as seen in my post from saturday) and a letter hoping that "we wouldn't be customers for long."
and we weren't!
just like all the other stories we read, within the first month of using it, we got pregnant. no joke.
and so i promised that we would share the news with the world (or the blog world, as the case may be) because i remember those feelings from the first four months of trying, and if i had known about the website and this product earlier... well, i just may have had a july due date and been completely miserable this summer. come to think of it, maybe a november due date is better...
(not that i regret the months of trying with no success. in many ways, it was something that made me stronger. i can actually be a very impatient person when it's something i really really want--just ask justin about the new camera i've been keeping my eye on. okay, bad comparison. but really, it's during those tough times that your faith is often strengthened and you find a true support network with your friends. so thankful for my friends and having to be patient for something that is truly worth the wait.)
so share this with those you know who are trying, who might be trying soon, or who might just find it interesting. whatever. i just want people to know!
(i get no compensation for sharing this. but i do have a half-used bag of "fertili-tea" if anyone wants it. and a couple of unused pregnancy tests.)
1 hour ago