Wednesday, August 8, 2012

I think I'm done.

We've been TTC for 14 months now, and we have absolutely nothing to show for it. Well, nothing except for lots of frustration, sadness and disappointment. Not even 1 BFP: nothing. All of our test results were perfect, and that's frustrating as hell because we have no answers at all. What are we supposed to do? Keep trying until I hit menopause? There's no closure, no peace; only unanswered questions and grief. All I know is I can't do this for much longer.

I'm only 10 dpo and I already know I'm out. I knew it yesterday, I just had that feeling when you know you're going to get your period. It's not even due until Sunday, but I know it's coming. Last night before bed I started spotting, and it just confirmed what I already knew: I'm not pregnant. All the supposedly promising symptoms I had - the sore boobs, nausea and fatigue - were just progesterone messing with me as usual.

I've probably mentioned before that when we bought this house almost a year ago, we made the mistake of labeling one of the bedrooms "the baby room". We've never done anything with that room, because it was supposed to be a nursery. We'd been TTC for a few months when we moved in, so we figured I'd be pregnant within the next few months. How wrong we were... Anyway, I can't stand to look at that room now. We use it as kind of a storage room, but we could easily put the stuff that's in there somewhere else. I think I'm going to turn it into a craft room, so I can at least use it for something. I might do it when my hubby is away, it'll keep me occupied for a while. At least it would keep all my craft stuff together in one place, away from the dogs and off the dining table. Maybe I can get a proper sewing table; that would make sewing easier because everything would be at the right height. I also want to get a comfy chair in there too, so I can crochet in peace. I can do that on the couch, but the dogs can get in the way and try to play with the yarn so it's not always easy.

I think there's a small part of me that thinks, "maybe if I do something with that room, I'll miraculously get pregnant - it would be typical, right?". If that happened, we'd be able to move the craft stuff out of there. It wouldn't be an issue, the house is almost 2200 sq. ft. after all. I sometimes wish we hadn't bought such a big place. We were planning on having kids here, so we'd grow into it. The big front room was going to be used as a playroom; instead, we hardly ever use it for anything. There's only the 2 of us and the pugs; we don't need all this space. We don't even have people over very often: my family (and the majority of my friends) are all in the UK, and my hubby's family, well... his mom is a freaking cray-cray who we can't have a relationship with for our own sanity, and we don't see his brother these days. His dad is OK and will probably be over in the next couple of weeks or so, but that's it.

I find myself wanting to adopt another pug, but I know it wouldn't fill the void in our lives. Part of the reason we haven't adopted another is because if we do have a baby, 3 dogs of our own would probably be a lot to manage on top of everything else. We could put fostering on hold until things calmed down a bit, but we couldn't do that with our own dogs obviously. I know I shouldn't adopt another, but part of me thinks that if we can't have a baby then why the hell not! Three dogs is cheaper than having a kid, even when you factor in unexpected vet bills etc. I don't think my hubby would agree to adopting another, anyway, so it doesn't matter what my heart is telling me. I haven't mentioned this to him because I know the answer will be a resounding "NO!" Plus, like I said, it's not going to fill the void of not having a baby. I just need to put the thought out of my mind and stop letting my emotions govern me.

8 comments:

  1. I'm sorry. Unexplained infertility is awful.

    I remember feeling this way at points and then differently at other times. I think, for me, it was about having a plan for where our lives were headed and what we were going to do next. I'm a planner though. And it's a long road. (It was almost 2 1/2 years for us.)

    I hope that things turn around for you soon. And yes, I vote for the craft room. I'd love to see how you set it up.

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    1. Thank you, Sass. I know you understand how it is. I can definitely see how a plan would help, but we already know IVF isn't an option for us due to finances. It sucks, too, because from what I've read IVF is often successful in cases on unexplained IF. I don't know if IUI would be an option, we know DH has above average swimmers though so I suspect it might not be the way to go. At this point it doesn't seem as though we have many options. We can either keep trying and hope for the best, or throw in the towel so to speak.

      I think the craft room will be good if I can get it set up. For now I've just opted to keep the door to that room closed, so I at least don't have to see it. I think my hubby thinks I'm crazy because I can't handle that stupid room anymore! :)

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    2. I think if having a space to lay out all your crafting materials will make you happy, you should get people to help you take the step. You don't have to tell them why it's hard for you, just ask if some friends will come over for a painting party if you supply pizza and beer. Once you have good memories in the space it will feel more like your own.

      About IF - does your insurance cover testing at all? I regret not asking for more testing, because I always wondered how you can really treat something if you don't know what the cause is...and if maybe there was a less expensive, less invasive treatment out there that would work, but because we didn't know the cause of our IF, we didn't know it was an option. I don't know though. In the end we moved to a state that requires insurance coverage...all of that was before I started the blog.

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    3. That's a good idea about the crafting room, thank you! I'm torn between needing to do this on my own (when my husband is away on his business trip) and doing what you said. It's definitely something to think about! Unfortunately, I don't have many close friends in the US (they're in the UK, where I'm from) so I don't know if I could have people over to help really.

      Our insurance does cover IF testing, thank goodness. We had the testing done in May and June: SA was above average for count, motility and morphology, so no worries there. His bloodwork all came back great too. I had a HSG - perfect. My bloodwork all came back perfect, they tested hormone levels including thyroid, testosterone, FSH, prolactin, etc. and there was nothing wrong with any of that. I also had a 2 hour glucose test which came back perfect. I'm not sure what other testing we should request, really. My doctor said I could try Clomid if I wanted to, but she said she didn't think I need it so I haven't taken her up on the offer yet.

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  2. I hear you. It's terrible to feel this way. Wishing you strength as you move forward on this unwanted path.

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    1. Thanks, Elizabeth. I hope you're feeling OK and having a good summer!

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  3. I just put a Crafting room in my spare room too, I was sick of dragging my Sewing machine in my small living room to then have it take up the coffee table, it was no, Now I have a little spot in my side room to myself and my creativity! That is very good advice Sass, and you need some you time because like me you probably spend 40 to 60% of your day consumed with thoughts of making a little one.... We both need this time to get out this for a bit. Making something like Halloween costumes for our pugs, now there is an idea!!
    xo
    Ali

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    1. We're on the same wavelength, Ali! Halloween costumes for the pugs - great idea! That would definitely keep me busy. I spent most of Monday sewing belly bands for the boy pugs in rescue and it helped to take my mind off other things. That's cool that you've made a crafting room/space for yourself, I really think I'm going to do the same thing. It'll make things easier because right now I have to carry everything back and forth and just having a space for it will help! Plus, it'll be good to actually use the "baby room" for something worthwhile :)

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