Wednesday, April 27, 2011

NIAW and a Recap of Our Story



I have had quite a few bitter-sweet moments over the past couple of days while researching and following information on NIAW: National Infertility Awareness Week. It saddens me that more people are not aware that this even exists- although up until very recently I was one of the many people oblivious to it too. I find it very ironic considering that around this same time last year Husband and I made the very difficult decision of seeking fertility treatment with a specialist. At that time I had no idea how greatly our lives would be changed by infertility, I had not started my blog as an outlet for our frustrations, and I certainly did not imagine I would still be sitting here searching for a way to add to our family.


For those of you who are new to my blog (or those that wish to hear more details on our journey) here is a recap of what Husband and I have endured during our struggle with infertility:


Husband and I were married in September 2009 and almost immediately began trying to add to our family (we had dated for 5 years before marriage so we were already desperate for a little one). After 2-3 months of no luck and no positive ovulation tests, I requested to have a consultation with my doctor and asked that some tests be run (I had some suspicions that things may not be "alright"). I will say this over and over: I am VERY LUCKY my doctor was willing to test me so early- most doctors will not take the time to go through everything until at least 6 months of TTC. After another 3 months of bloodwork, ultrasounds, and other tests, I was officially diagnosed with PCOS- polycystic ovarian syndrome. At this time my doctor felt she was no longer able to help us and strongly urged that we seek the care of a specialist. This was in April 2010- probably around the same week of NIAW :)


We researched doctors in our area and quickly found an Infertility Center and doctor that we felt would be right for us. Over the course of the last year we have tried Clomid, Follistim injections, and have struggled through 3 failed IUI cycles. In January of this year, our doctor decided that it would be too risky to continue moving forward with these treatments (for several reasons) and we learned that IVF would likely be our best option moving forward.


Now, several months later, Husband and I have still not realized our dream of expanding our family. We are very hesitant to move forward with IVF, for various reasons, and have decided to learn how to be happy with just the two of us for now. The past 1 1/2 years have been such an emotional rollercoaster and have taken such a toll on the both of us. We realized that we were going through each day hoping for some kind of answer to the question "why us?" and were worried that we were headed down the wrong path emotionally.


We are still very much hopeful that we will have Baby Hill soon and still plan on moving forward with IVF sometime within the next year. BUT for now, we have had to learn how to appreciate what we do have in each other and how to enjoy what we do have already. Is it still hard? YES! Do I still have days where I just break down and cry? YES! But I have learned to not have those days everyday and that there is still plenty to be happy about around me.


Reading information and seeing segments on the news about things like NIAW have been such a big help for me. I love knowing I am not alone-- according to research there are over 7 million people struggling with infertility. More and more research is being conducted everyday and awareness of this very difficult "disease" (as it is now being called) continues to grow. As hard as it may be to talk about at times, I love being able to help spread awareness and share our story to others! Now, if only we could find our happy ending :)




To learn more on NIAW and Infertility go here: NIAW

Monday, April 25, 2011

Happy (LATE) Easter!



Before eating their dessert:




After eating their dessert (with chocolate all over their faces!):



........and much more on our hectic life coming Wednesday! Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend :)

Monday, April 11, 2011

Top 2 Tuesday

This week's topic is a fun one: Top 2 Drinks! I actually chose to go the non-alcoholic way since I drink these on a more frequent basis :)

1) Iced Tea-Im pretty "plain jane" when it comes to my tea- no fancy flavors for me, just give me some basic Lipton! And in case you guys dont already think Im weird from some things you have heard in the past.........I hate sweet tea, but cant drink tea without sugar in it! I know, you are probably confused but: I have to be the one to put the sugar in and I let it sit at the bottom and drink it with a straw so I get a couple of crystals of sugar with each sip :) Yep, Im weird- but I promise its soooo good! 2) Caramel Frappuccino- this would really just say "anything Starbucks", but I guess that would be cheating so this is my favorite drink of theirs :) go to Taylors blog to play along :)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

April Birthday Fun!

As I have probably already mentioned, April is quite the busy month for the Hill family between all the birthdays and parties planned over the next couple of weeks. Last weekend we kicked off the month with a weekend celebration for Husband's birthday (#24). We started with sushi and drinks with some good friends Friday evening and finished Sunday afternoon with a birthday lunch surrounded by 20+ of our close family and friends. It was such a wonderful and fun weekend, except for one little problem.............I forgot to take pictures!!!! I have ZERO pictures from our fun sushi night and only took a couple from his Sunday lunch (I know, I am a horrible wife!). So here is what I managed to take: Me and Husband Husband's "birthday cake"- Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake (my new favorite thing to eat!)
Husband with his parents :)


Yep, those are pretty much the only good pics- I told you I was horrible!


This weekend we helped celebrate the birthday of a very special, sweet little girl! Our friends have the cutest baby named Adelyn and she turned the big 1 this weekend.


She had the most adorable cake (a pink and white bear!)



She was so excited when her mom handed her the cake to eat! Doesnt she have the cutest smile?!?!




One of our friends did an amazing job baking all the cakes and cupcakes!!


Me and the birthday girl---- I am looking forward to having some playdates with her this summer! (she was too busy looking at balloons to look at the camera)






Coming up this weekend: a baby shower and helping some friends celebrate their engagement! :)

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Getting to Know Me (DBM)

I am actually doing this post for the Dallas Blogger Meetup- but its fun for anyone!

I know I have done a couple of these in the past so I tried to think of some new things that I have not shared (but forgive me if I have already mentioned these before!)



*I strongly dislike Chocolate

*My husband thinks Im crazy because I love Ramen Noodles

*When putting away my laundry, the freshly washed clothes have to go at the bottom in my drawers so that everything is used evenly (like t-shirts, underwear, shorts, etc)--The same rule goes for our dishes

*I have 2 adorable dogs- one doberman mix, the other is an australian shepherd mix---both were rescued and we have vowed to rescue all of our dogs in the future (I think I have posted this on here before)

*I am weirdly obsessed with the tv show Sister Wives (on TLC)--- if you dont know what I am talking about go watch it!

*I hate change-- or not having control in situations

*I met Husband in our high school Psychology class :)

*I HATE working out


*I dont understand why I cant be a princess (how did Kate Middleton get so lucky?)



*I have never broken a bone/had any surgeries (except for my tonsils)



*My favorite number is 8



*I am very indecisive---mainly because I will weigh the pros and cons of every decision! Then I worry I will make the wrong choice



*I am a worry freak!




If you are attending DBM and want to play along link up here

Monday, April 4, 2011

Top 2 Tuesday- Ipod picks :)

Its about time that I join back in on the Top 2 Tuesday Fun!!! This week's topic is your favorite Ipod songs:

Since I tend to change my "favorite" song a lot, I decided to let you know my CURRENT favorites:

1) Adele- Rolling in the Deep



I am insanely obsessed with this song right now and cant help but sing along at the top of my lungs whenever it comes on---- and in case you are wondering, I have THE WORST singing voice (Husband even says so!)

2) Katy Perry- E.T.

I decided not to post this video because I just watched it for the first time today and it totally freaked me out! (Seeing "aliens" will make me have nightmares!)

Go link up at Taylor's blog to join in! :)