How We Got Our BFP
Disclaimer: This is going to be a really long one. But I promise to add headers so you can skip to the stuff you want to read.
The Lead Up to IUI #3
The second to last full week of April, work was insane. We had a huge, star-studded wedding with three days of festivities and it was all hands on deck! I was running around like crazy that week, so as you can imagine I was also stressed out. Despite being burnt out as f*ck from work, I had one week to prep for a wedding party my husband and I were a part of that was taking place across the country (we live in Hawaiʻi, and the wedding was in Georgia). I think you can see where this is going…
I had hope for IUI #3 to work, but if I am being honest, I also didn’t. I just knew how much stress I was under and was going to continue to be under throughout the pre-wedding and wedding weeks. With that said, I ended up testing positive for ovulation on April 28th, so I jumped on an airplane (my Fertility clinic is on another island), and we had our IUI done that day. As a note, my husband and I did not do the baby dance before or after our IUI, as our schedules didn’t work out in a way that would allow us to (hubby was traveling).
Vacay Prep
I flew back that night and believe it or not, got to work on packing my bags! Over the weekend, my husband and I ended up running some errands and finishing up every little thing we needed to do before leaving on a trip. You know: clean the house, get the doggo ready for boarding, clean out the refrigerator, buy omiyage (gifts you give to host families and friends).
In addition to all of that, being the only on-the-ground person on our marketing team and having a managerial position, I can’t ever take off 100%. Of course, when you are ready to go on vacation and want your day(s) to be mellow, they’re the exact opposite and the busiest you could ever possibly be! You can see what we were up against.
On the day we were traveling, this was our flight path: Lihuʻe → Maui → Seattle → Atlanta. At the airport in Līhuʻe, I worked the entire 1.5 hours we had before boarding the plane. Our layover in Maui was pretty short, so I opted not to work. Instead, I worked the entire 5.5-hour flight to Seattle. The next morning at the airport (we missed our flight) and while we waited for the next one to take off, I worked for an additional 3 hours. It. Was. BONKERS.
I honestly had zero hope that I would get pregnant. So, for the first time in 2.5 years, I actually threw my hands up and told myself I would enjoy vacation without the restrictions of a fertility journey.
The Wedding Week
We reached our final destination in Kathleen, Georgia, a lot later than expected. Between getting our luggage, picking up the rental car, traffic, and stopping for food, we made it to our friend’s house close to midnight. Of course, we had to catch up with one another, so our final bedtime ended up being between 2:30 and 3 a.m.
I won’t get into the nitty-gritty of the days leading up to the wedding. If you have been a part of one or have gotten married yourself, you know how absolutely insane, tiring, and full of all the things it is.
Suffice it to say we were on the move non-stop from the moment we landed. Because of this, I didn’t get good rest. I didn’t work out. I ate fast food at almost every meal (Dunkin’ Donuts, Zaxby’s, Chick-fil-A, you name it), and I even forgot to take my prenatal vitamins. You know, all the things that you’re taught NOT to do when you’re desperately trying to conceive.
And then came all the booze, cigarette, and vape smoke! From pre-rehearsal dinner to rehearsal dinner to the wedding, I drank more than I had since the beginning of our fertility journey. Not just that, but I was surrounded by a whole entire group of people who religiously smoked vapes and cigarettes like their lives depended on it (not even kidding).
The Sunday after the wedding, I was absolutely done.
I was exhausted and hungover AF (I’m sure you can probably imagine). That day, I slept, ate chips and chocolate, and ordered more fast food. Then, went to sleep again. On Monday, I felt a little better, but I was still exhausted and had really no energy for anything. My throat was also starting to get itchy and scratchy, but I figured it was because I was inhaling so much cigarette and vape smoke. We were also still on vacation with a bunch of friends who we get to see - if we are lucky - once a year, so I couldn’t hole up in the room anymore. We ended up going out to lunch with our friend group and some of the bridesmen who were still in the Perry area. While there, we learned that one of the bridesmen was actually sick with the flu, which we thought was a result of his recent travel from Brazil.
Come Tuesday, the day we were leaving, I felt even shittier than the day before. We stopped and got pho, even though we had one last BBQ to attend, so I could get some soup/broth in.
The Flights Back
On the airplane, I wore what I always wear for long legs of travel - comfy sweat pants (these Alo ones from my maternity must-haves), a shirt, shoes, and a hoodie. I fell asleep shortly after takeoff in Atlanta, and boy, let me tell you. I. Was. MISERABLE.
I was freezing the entire time, but I also had cold sweats. Add to the mix body aches, ugh! I chalked it up to the lack of sleep, which always gets me sick, but I couldn’t deny it anymore. I was definitely sick, sick - not just lack of sleep sick.
By the time we got to Seattle, I felt a little better, but by then, my husband was also starting to feel sick. He didn’t have the same symptoms as me, just a really insane migraine. We hit our hotel and crashed out, only to have to wake up early to get to our 8 a.m. flight from Seattle to Honolulu.
The morning of our flight, I still wasn’t feeling well, but the worse was definitely behind me (the ATL to SEA flight killed me). We landed in Honolulu around lunchtime and were ALMOST home. We had one more 30-minute flight from Honolulu to Līhuʻe. When we got to our next gate, I turned my phone on and had a few text messages. It turns out more of our friends had gotten sick or weren’t feeling well. We all did the most and partied a lot, so again we just figured it was a result of the wild week we’d had.
Finally Home
After a 30-minute flight and a 45-minute cab ride (we hate traffic), we finally got home! Since we were both sick, we didn’t even unpack. We got in the shower, ate something, and went straight to bed - all at 3 p.m. When we woke up from our first nap that day, we brushed off our home COVID tests. Positive! Yep. We were all sick, and not with a cold or the flu, but with COVID. Luckily for us, we ended up with a pretty mild case - comparatively speaking - but we were in bed for a few days straight.
Taking The Test
Around Day 3 of being confined to our bed, my husband, who tracks my menstrual cycle better than I do, told me that I should take a test. I told him no. He looked at me with concern and again said, “I think you need to take a test; it’s time.” I replied, “No, there’s no need to take it. It’s going to be negative anyway.” We didn’t argue, per se, but we did go back and forth in disagreement. He really wanted me to pee on the stick, but I didn’t want to be disappointed again. (If you’re reading this, you know that dreaded feeling all too well.) We eventually fell out of the conversation, he turned back to the TV and I played on my phone. I also need to note that when hubby watches a TV show or a movie - and is into it - it is quite hard to get his attention for anything else.
I took a look at the calendar on my phone and realized I was technically a day late. Nothing I hadn’t experienced before. though. Regardless, I decided that I probably should take a test. I let a little more time pass by before going into the bathroom so as not to draw attention to what I was doing in there. (I hate the pressure of peeing on the stick in front of my husband.) I pulled out my Pregmate test and cup and took the test.
Two lines - one faint and one dark - showed up immediately, and I thought it was negative!
After taking so many ovulation predictor kit tests (OPK), I was so used to seeing two lines, one faint and one dark, that indicated negative or no ovulation. I shrugged my shoulders and was bummed (of course), but just had so little energy to be more than that in the moment that I headed back to bed. I figured I would wait the full five minutes before returning to read the test, but as I lay there, I threw myself into a bit of a tizzy, realizing that this wasn’t an OPK test I was taking; it was a pregnancy test. I Googled what two lines meant on a pregnancy test and got all the results that it was positive, but I could not believe my eyes.
I wanted to rush out of bed like Road Runner, but again, I didn’t want to draw attention to what I was doing, so I let a few more minutes pass before getting up again. I immediately grabbed the pregnancy test instructions and read them over and over and over and over and over again. Not an exaggeration, LOL. With each read, my heart raced more and more. Could it really be?
Sharing The News
After what felt like an hour of trying to reassure myself that the result was indeed trying to tell me I was pregnant, I still couldn’t believe it (life with infertility)! But I figured it was true enough it was time to share the news. I grabbed the instruction manual (LOL, sounds weird to say) and the positive test and walked over to my husband’s side of the bed. I grabbed the remote, paused the TV (because that always gets his attention), and handed him the instructions. He read them and replied, “Okay, well, let’s go take a test.”
I handed him the test, and he looked at it, unsure what he was really looking at. Then he looked at the instructions. Looked at the test. Looked at the instructions, then looked at the test. His eyes slowly widened before he finally semi-screamed, “Noooooooooooot!!!!!!!!”
I started laughing, and I told him I honestly did not know if it was positive or not, but that I needed him to confirm it, and he said, based on what this says, it looks like it’s positive! We laughed, we hugged, and we laughed some more. We were reeling and so excited!
Our Next Steps
I continued to take home tests to be sure it was actually positive. And each test I took came back with two pink lines, no matter what time of day. We contacted our fertility clinic, which scheduled me for a blood test to confirm the pregnancy a few days later (we were stuck in quarantine and had to wait a few extra days).
Once I got my lab results back, our clinic called me and said I wouldn’t need to take an additional blood test. My hCG numbers were high enough to confirm that this was a healthy and strong pregnancy, so they scheduled me for an ultrasound at 6 weeks.
We flew to Oʻahu for our first ultrasound and saw our little peanut’s steady heartbeat! I cried; it was so amazing and has been ever since!
Because my RE and fertility team were located on a different island, we transferred care to my OB at 7 weeks! As I write this, I am currently 38 weeks and 5 days pregnant with our little miracle, and we couldn’t be more grateful, blessed, and excited.
How We Got Our BFP
I’ve said it then (when we got our BFP), I’ve said it in between, and I’ll say it now, I firmly believe that we got our Big Fat Positive for these two reasons:
I integrated Eastern Medicine - acupuncture, Chinese herb supplements, and more - into my treatment (a whole blog on that here).
For the first time in 2.5 years, I actually relaxed and, for once, gave my body a break from caring whether or not we got pregnant.
If you’re reading this far, you’re probably still trying for your BFP.
To that, I say I highly recommend looking into how Eastern Medicine can help to enhance/supplement what you’re doing with Western Medicine. And, go on vacation. I know, I know. It’s cliche. Even though I had traveled a bunch from the start of our journey to where we are now, I had never taken an actual break from TTC. And I feel like that made all the difference.
Naturally, I’m not claiming that what worked for me will work for you, but there’s no harm in trying! And until you get your BFP, I am sending you all the love, hugs, and baby dust!
