I can't believe I am writing my BFP story. It's super early (I just found out this morning) but I knew I wanted to share on this site. Like most, I've been stalking these stories during my TWW for some hope!
It's gonna be long..but hopefully this helps someone else!
Background - DH had one testicle removed in 2014 due to a cancer scare (we were together at this point). Just as a precaution, he wanted to freeze a sample before surgery in case we ended up having issues later on..long story short we found out he had 0 sperm. Zilch, nada, nothing. It was devastating. We weren't ready for children at this point but we knew then we would have issues conceiving. He had a second SA done and the results were the same, he was actually missing a crucial part of the system needed to produce them. Our only option would be donor sperm.
Fast forward 1.5 years which included me thinking I would have a miracle baby anyway..it didn't happen. Queue lots of tears and money spent on OPK's and HPT's that were always negative.
We were finally ready to take the next step and so we had our consult with a fertility clinic. I had all of testing done and I have no issues. I ovulate on my own every month so we were cleared for 4 natural, unmedicated/unmonitored IUI's (so no ultrasounds, no trigger shot, no meds)..I was only going to be taking progesterone 1 day past IUI through the entire TWW.
I swore up and down I was pregnant the first time around. The progesterone gave me vivid dreams, stabs/twinges, a lower backache, kept my cervix high and soft and I had horrible headaches! They truly mess with your head..
For round 2, I had a positive OPK on CD 12 around 7am and I went in at 11:30am the next day for the IUI. The sperm numbers were actually lower than the first IUI...they were 19.8 million with only 28% motility..so only around 5.5 million motile!! We had 13 million motile for the first one so I was bummed.
Here are my symptoms by DPO/DPIUI (same)
IUI Day: EWCM. That night I came down with a sore throat, it severely progressed and I was super congested by the time I went to bed.
1DPO: Big glob of EWCM, was super worried I had the O day wrong and we missed it. I was still super sick and I was beginning to think it was a sinus infection. Had to work from home. By the end of the night I had developed a headache in relation to said sickness.
2DPO: Woke up at 2am with the WORST headache, definitely sinus related although I've never had a sinus infection before. Sore throat is gone and I'm still half congested/half runny nose. I really don't know if this was at all related to any changes in my body..I feel like it may have been funny timing. Still worth noting.
3DPO: Sickness has converted in allergies. This makes sense as I always have seasonal allergies. Nothing Else
4DPO: Progesterone twinges. I say this because I had these almost my entire TWW of my failed IUI and its definitely too early for implantation. Allergies.
5DPO: Stronger twinges. Allergies getting better but still there. My throat is super dry/scratchy feeling at night and I had gas.
6DPO: More twinges but on both sides and center (again why I blame the progesterone, can't even keep it consistent). Brief wave of nausea..not even like full on, just kinda felt off-putting for a minute or two. Dry/scratchy throat again
7DPO: No allergies but I start noticing I have a ton of post-nasal drip..just like excess mucus at the back of my throat constantly. I have read this can be caused by estrogen. My nipples are a little sensitive, just a little tho and maybe a little more hard. Big wave of fatigue at night before bed. Horrible gas at night..I mean just horrible..poor hubby.
8DPO: I had a few sharp pains today but they felt like they were at the back of my uterus and would stem down to my anal gland. No noticeable cramps. Still phlegmy..its very annoying actually. The disgustingly smelly night gas is back, it's weird to me that its only at night?
9DPO: This had to be implantation day. Dull headache. I had full on AF cramps, like the ones where you literally think it's coming at any moment. These turned into a lower backache and then stopped. Had a few more at night. This day I started getting excited..I had LIGHTNING CROTCH at night. Just once, it literally felt like someone stuck a taser to my V and it shot up my cervix. I jumped out of the recliner it was so intense. Also you guessed it....Gas at night, just awful.
10DPO: Wanted to test today but was too afraid of a negative. I was very weepy and negative this day. I didn't have much going on, my lower back still hurt but that happened throughout my entire 1st TWW so I was worried it would be the same outcome. The one glimmer was that I was super excited (as usual) for my morning cup of coffee (I did not give up coffee during my TWW, still had one cup). When I started drinking it..it tasted awful, SUPER bitter. It didn't make me sick or anything, it just did not taste good. I also had a weird dull pain in my left thigh, right towards the top. Sometimes it felt like it was pulsing. What do you know..GAS AGAIN at night, except it wasn't as bad as the previous 3 days.
11DPO: Woke up at 2:30am..could NOT fall back asleep. I was wide awake. This happens to me once in a blue moon so I wasn't really thinking prego sign but then I started thinking about it which probably contributed to being awake. I finally fell back asleep around 5am and I had a dream that I took a test and it was positive. This is a weird but in both TWW I had super vivid (and weird) dreams however as MUCH as I thought about pregnancy and the IUI's..they were never about pregnancy though. So when I woke up and realized I finally had one..I knew I had to test!
Hubby was in the bathroom too and I did the test and set it down..I said "ugh I just know it's going to be negative"..the second line started showing up and I was just jumping up and down and he was like "there is no second line" and I was like "omg yes there is how do you not see it" - well he finally did, it's clear as day (included) and it was just the most surreal moment. I have never seen two lines on a test. I can't even describe it!
Like I said it is super early but I'm so happy to even have this opportunity. Hoping for a sticky little poppy seed that we get to meet in less than 9 months!
IUI's can work!! I realize that because we used a donor and I have no issues, the odds were in our favor. But don't give up! Like I mentioned before, I didn't give up coffee in the TWW. I did do pineapple core from days 1-5dpo and I ate brazil nuts on those days and then like forgot to keep eating them after that. I did not drink any alcohol in the TWW - however I will say...Ariel non-alcoholic Cabernet Sauvignon is a super good alternative :)
Baby Dust!!!