Before it even started.....

I'm not what you would necessarily call fat.  I'm about 5'2" tall and weigh about 130 lbs, but on more than one occasion I have been approached by various people (and some of them will even put their hand on my stomach) and they will ask something like, "When are you due?" or "How far along are you?" or even "Are you pregnant?".  I would just blush and smile at them and say, "Nope I'm just fat, but thank you."  Sometimes I would be nicer, but not really all that often.  I didn't really need the reminder of how difficult it has been to get pregnant, and to be honest, it really hurt my feelings.

I have what is known as Anovulation which has seemed to have caused Secondary Amenorrhea and Hemorrhagic Ovarian Cysts, and so therefore I am infertile.  I've seen the doctors about it and they aren't exactly sure what is going on with my body.  There is no cure for Hemorrhagic Ovarian Cysts, but there are preventative measures that can be taken, which include taking birth control or having my ovaries removed.  Neither of those methods leads to pregnancy.  However, the doctors wanted me to take birth control in order to stop the cysts from forming every few months, so I didn't want to until they started to get worse, then I finally agreed to take the birth control.  Let me tell you that when one of those suckers burst, it is incredibly painful and there is a lot of blood, and I do mean A LOT.  Before I get to the next part let me tell you a quick little story........

Many people I know would ask me when I would start a family.  I would simply just say that I can't.  Many would leave it alone but others would ask further questions, not knowing my medical history.  Because they didn't know, and truthfully probably didn't want to know, I would say things like, "I can't right now with Tim and I both being in school, it would just be too much to handle."  Again, some would leave it at that, and some wouldn't.  For those that wouldn't leave it alone I would then explain why I can't have children without medical intervention.  Some would get it and some wouldn't.  

So after much discussion with Tim, we decided that it's time that we start the process.  The way we figure it, there are about 5 or so steps to parenthood.

Step One: The Natural Way
Step Two: Clomid
Step Three: Injections
Step Four: IVF
Step Five: Adoption

It will be up to Tim and I and the doctors to determine at which point we will move to the next step in the process.