If you asked us when we were dating, or even when we first got married if we thought IUI would ever be a part of our story we probably would have said no. Life happens and my husband and I faced his cancer journey together. We made a last-minute decision to see a fertility specialist one Friday afternoon after being told chemo needed to start on Monday. After surgeries, weeks of chemo, and multiple hospital stays we were told the likelihood of having another child on our own would be impossible.
After sharing our exciting news many flooded my inbox with questions. Wanting to know about IUI and how the process was for us I decided I would share a glimpse at our IUI story.
KNOWING OUR FAMILY WAS NOT COMPLETE
We knew 3 years ago that our family was not complete. We had hoped to expand back then with a similar age gap to what is between our older two. When our world was flipped upside down with cancer, this wasn’t an option anymore. Seeing a fertility specialist became our only option to expand our family. This past Fall and Winter we started talking about it and praying about it. After many blood tests and specialist appointments, we decided to go for it.
OUR IUI STORY IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS
Everyone going through fertility treatment has a different story. Our IUI story is going to be different from many others. This is our journey. The specialist was very confident we could get pregnant because we already have two children. We have also had two miscarriages at 12+ weeks. We talked about the miscarriages we went through but the specialist still felt strongly that this was still good news for us. We were not facing infertility because we could not get pregnant, we were not able to get pregnant because of the cancer journey and treatment for cancer.
FIGURING OUT WHAT THE GAME PLAN WAS
When we finally decided to give IUI a try, I had to inform the specialist we were seeing. The game plan for us was for me to go on Letrozole, track my ovulation and call in the day that I had peak ovulation so I could have the IUI procedure that day! Letrozole is often the first-line treatment for infertility. It’s supposed to help with ovulation and would ensure that I ovulated on schedule. This has never been an issue but the specialist felt strongly I should still take it. There is a very small increase in the chance of having multiples in pregnancy when taking this as well. I was also told to buy LH surge kits, which my office sold (no waiting for Amazon to deliver) to use for tracking ovulation so that I knew when to call the office and get booked in for the IUI procedure.
8 years ago I invested in a digital ovulation tracker from Clearblue. The best investment I made when we were struggling back then to get pregnant. I’m not someone who feels my ovulation. I used both the LH test strips and the digital test for the Clearblue fertility monitor. I honestly feel that I knew which day was my peak ovulation day thanks to the digital ovulation tracker. I was questioning the LH strips, they can be hard to read.
THE DAY OF IUI
The LH test strips and the digital test definitely helped me have an idea of when I would be calling into the office. My digital test, as you can see above, made it very obvious! I called that morning, leaving a message, and was called back shortly after. We confirmed that we wanted to do IUI that day and were told the time to come in for the procedure.
The staff needed time to unfreeze our specimens and to do what is called a wash. This ensures only the best is used for the IUI procedure, anything with motility issues is eliminated during the wash, any excess fluids are also removed. We received a phone call asking us how many straws we wanted to use. Often only one is used to start. However, we had 11 straws frozen at the fertility clinic. The specialist doing the wash felt strongly that we should use between 2-4 straws for our procedure. They had called the main specialist we had been seeing and discussed it with them. They both agreed that we should be called and asked what we wanted to do. All of this to up our chances of fertilization for pregnancy. We decided to use 3 straws, which left us with 8 straws if we needed to attempt IUI again.
Everyone always jokes about having a turkey baster baby. A turkey baster is definitely not used, but it’s the right sort of idea. We went in that afternoon for the IUI procedure and waited 15 minutes before getting up off the table, getting dressed and leaving. I’ll let you go research what the actual process is for that. It was very surreal to leave knowing and thinking that we could possibly have a positive pregnancy test in a few weeks.
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH MCDONALD’S FRIES?
This one the one thing that kept popping up in all the fertility groups I had joined on Facebook. What’s the deal with McDonald’s fries and going through IUI or IVF? Rumor is that this fried treat could increase your chance of getting pregnant. Is there any actual scientific evidence behind it? None that I could find! It’s more so tradition or just superstition to eat MacDonald’s french fries right after having your IUI or IVF procedure. There are definitely a lot of success stories out there in all the groups and blog posts. I’m now one of them. We grabbed some fries right after, mostly because I was hungry anyway. Jason just laughed at me but drove straight to the nearest McDonald’s.
A POSITIVE TEST
Every time I have been pregnant, I knew before taking a test that I was. My sense of smell goes crazy and so many other indicators. I took a pregnancy test just 10 days after the procedure and it showed positive immediately. I took a digital test to be sure and it was clear as day too. I actually left them on the counter and took the girls to gymnastics that morning. This was how my husband found out we were expecting. I got a text message once he finally woke up asking “PREGNANT?!?!”. We got to see the baby at around 9 weeks along and even hear the heartbeat. It’s amazing how much comfort that sound brings.
We are all very excited for this little one to be joining us in the Fall. This pregnancy has definitely been the curveball. I’ve been told before that the 3rd is the wild card. We are already hoping and praying that the rest of this pregnancy goes smoothly and that labour and delivery go well too. It’s going to be a different experience as I am being induced this time. But more on that another time. Please do not hesitate to message me through Instagram or through Facebook if you have more questions, or even just leave a comment below.
Such an amazing story Tamara. I’m so excited for you and your family.