Our continued fertility journey...

So we finally got my blood work results back and met with the doctor about what it all means. Not surprisingly, I do have the MTHFR gene mutation. However, it's only one mutation, which doesn't put me at too high of a risk for having blood clots. They also tested my homocysteine levels, which were normal. And again, doesn't put me at too high of a risk for blood clots.

So it seems as if there is no real answer as to why we keep having miscarriages. Well, other than my low egg quality, which means our embryos most likely have chromosomal abnormalities. So there's that. 

We don't really have a clear path moving forward. Our doctor has given us some options, but nothing that can guarantee we will have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Which, of course, makes deciding what we want to do that much harder. 

Moving forward, we can continue to try naturally and our doc fully believes I will eventually have a healthy egg, resulting in a healthy embryo, resulting in a healthy pregnancy. It's just a matter of when...and unfortunately, how many more miscarriages we would have to suffer through. 

The other option is to try mini stimulation IVF, which is a less expensive method of IVF and also involves less invasive medications. While this is an option that sounds appealing because they would do genetic testing on the embryos to ensure they're chromosomally normal prior to implantation, it means there has to be enough eggs to even get that far! And with my history, there's no guarantee of that either. 

So again, it's a hard choice. An insanely hard choice. 

Whatever we decide, however, our doctor does have a plan for us moving forward. Regardless of what the blood tests show, she's going to prescribe blood thinners to me when I do get pregnant again. This will involve shots to my stomach throughout the pregnancy, but it could help prevent any blood clots from the placenta to the baby, which would result in another miscarriage. 

So now the goal is to get pregnant and have a good start with it. Aka, healthy growth, good, strong heartbeat, and everything on track. I would start on the blood thinners at the 7 week mark at that point. 

It's crazy, because while I knew pregnancy was a miracle, I didn't realize just how much of a miracle it actually is. I sort of took for granted that you get pregnant and boom, you have a healthy pregnancy and baby. There's literally so much that goes into having a healthy baby! 

This is definitely a huge learning curve for me, someone who likes being in control. Because I literally can't control 99% of this. I can control my feelings and actions with this, but other than that, I'm at the mercy of nature, my body, and God. And I can tell you, I've been praying an awful lot. 

I don't know what the future holds, but I know Nick and I are going to keep trying, and one way or another, we will have our baby. I firmly believe that. And we certainly aren't giving up! 

Have a beautiful week! 

With love and wellness,
​Whitney