Trying to Conceive

Why You Need to Be Your Own Advocate

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:01:00 +0000

Depending on the size of the fertility clinic you go to, it can feel a bit like a baby factory, and you can feel a bit like a case number. As incredibly personal, emotional and foreign as this process is to you, it’s very routine to them. That’s why you need to make it personal by asking a lot questions, demanding a lot of answers, finding a nurse at the clinic whom you can trust to call with additional questions, and making sure you walk out of each appointment with crystal clear instructions for your next steps.

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein

Communication is Key

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 06:34:37 +0000

As soon as I stopped all the meds in mid-September, after my embryo transfer was canceled during my IVF cycle, my period came almost immediately (literally days later). But since this time I wasn’t expecting to be pregnant I didn’t see it as a sign of defeat—I saw it as a sign that I could start preparing my body for a frozen embryo transfer. When time’s not on your side, you tend not to want to waste any of it.

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein

Does Having Twins (or Multiples) Scare the Hell Out of You?

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:44:11 +0000

With our IVF cycle in September, which I wrote about here, I produced 33 eggs, 14 of which fertilized to become “perfect quality” blastocysts, a.k.a. day-5 embryos (see a glossary of these terms for easy reference). Think about that: I produced 33 follicles in a single month, when a woman normally produces ONE. "Yikes" comes to mind.

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein

Has Your Child Ever Asked For a Sibling?

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 03:47:49 +0000

Preston’s only 2 ½ so he doesn’t totally grasp the idea of a “sibling” yet, but I’m pretty sure he wants one. He’s always been very social with other kids, and gets adorably excited when we get together with our friends’ kids, or his cousins who are all much older than him.

A few months ago, while watching “Yo Gabba Gabba,” Preston said he wanted to watch the “Baby” episode. They’re all themed around a different concept (family, love, friends), or lessons (sharing, greetings, art, dancing, etc.).

Me: “Do you want a baby sister or brother one day?”

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein

How I Balance Work, Family and Infertility

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:49:02 +0000

The truth is: I have absolutely no idea sometimes. But I can tell you a few things I experienced along my journey that might help you decide whether or not this infertility road is the right path for you.

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein

How Far Would You Go to Get Pregnant? Plus, a Video!

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:21:55 +0000

I’ll go first: I used to keep my pelvis tilted and my legs in the air after sex, thinking that it would actually help…ya know…keep his semen from spilling out. Sorry, there's just no delicate way of saying that. We actually believed this was helping us conceive. (Clearly, it wasn’t.)

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein

Don’t Judge Me for Wanting More Kids…

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:13:42 +0000

And I won’t judge you for not wanting more kids. I’m going to make this short and sweet: Some people want more than one child, and some don’t. It’s a personal choice. I won’t judge you for your choices, if you don’t judge me for mine. Actually, even if you do judge me, I still won’t judge you—because I respect mothers too much to judge them for how they choose to live their lives and build their families.

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein

Taking the Big Leap to IVF

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:02:58 +0000

As I mentioned last week, our decision to try IVF next wasn’t an easy one, but we decided to take the big leap because there are better success rates with IVF vs. IUI—based on my diagnosis and age, we were given about a 60 percent success rate. Plus, two things: We had insurance coverage for four IVF cycles (with a co-pay), and it’s easier to control the risk of having multiples with IVF because you control how many embryos you implant.

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein

What Not to Say to Someone Trying to Conceive

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:06:50 +0000

This list of verbal blunders may seem like a no-brainer, but you never really know what someone is going through behind closed doors. Even someone who conceived naturally once, like me, can be struggling to conceive baby no. 2. Chances are, if you come across a woman in her mid-ahem-to-late thirties with a 2-plus-year-old, she’s probably trying to conceive another child sooner rather than later. (Not always, but you can never be too sure.)

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein

Navigating the Message Boards

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:09:57 +0000

Do you know what “DH” means? I didn’t until recently. Another bad side effect of the infertility process? The infertility message boards and forums that I’ve found myself on at 2 a.m. This is not something I recommend doing. If you’re going even a little crazy during this process, the infertility forums are the last place you should go for answers.

Author:

Sarah Preston Gorenstein