There's nothing like feeling a baby's first kicks within the womb, (and of course the "conceiving" with your husband is nice too!).
But I love the whole experience! Time with my husband. Conceiving. First heartbeats. First kicks. The flood of joy when the baby is delivered! And holding that new baby. Watching them grow, change, learn and live! It's the best job in the world!
When I first started my personal blog, now called Faith Journey, it was named Called To Be Momma. Even on those days that seem so long, I realize how blessed I was to have four beautiful healthy children. Thank you Lord for the blessing of my children.
Last summer, I learned a hard lesson. When it comes to my health and monthly cycles, I'm usually consistent. Every 28 days, that visitor knocks on my door.
Back in the Spring of 2009, this family had some big changes. We moved into our new home, and at the same time there were some extended family issues that combined with all that was going on with the move and settling in, made life extremely stressful for me.
I should have given it all to God, laid it all at His feet and walked away. I didn't do that. I let it get to me......and my health suffered. In May, my cycle was only 26 days. In June, 25 days.
I wanted more children. I wasn't ready for this peri-menopause, pre-menopause. I'm not ready to shut that door.
So, I did what probably most of you do too, I began looking for answers and way to fix things. I made an appointment with my OB/GYN, but I couldn't get in for almost two months. This was June and I couldn't get in to see my doctor until July 24. I struggle with patience. No! I want it fixed now!
So I turned to ever faithful Internet and forums and groups for answers. I bought vitamins and started taking:
Using Progesterone When Trying to Conceive: Facts You Need to Know
By Amy Wingfield |
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Posted 4:32 pm on August 04, 2010
Blogs | Family and Relationships | Health and Fitness
So many of you out there are like myself. You love being Momma.
- Prenatal Vitamins
- B-Complex
- Folic Acid
- Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc
- Iron
I also read about Vitex/Chasteberry, a supplement to help improve fertility. I was taking it too on days 1-14, and then to to top it all off, I read about using natural progesterone cream on days after ovulation to extend the fertile period. So, I was doing that too. I'd stop the Vitex on day 14 and start using the cream on all my pressure points day 14-21, but I would stop using the cream on day 21 to wait and see if a cycle would come or to see if I was pregnant. I was determined to get back to normal 28 day cycles and get pregnant again!
What joy I experienced July 10, 2009 when my pregnancy test read postive! Yea!! Thank you God! No. 5! Oh my goodness!!! I was elated! It worked! I was healed! I was pregnant and all was well!
I continued to take the vitamins but no longer used the Vitex or progesterone cream. I didn't need it anymore. I was pregnant.
On Saturday night, August 8, 2009, I began spotting. I had never experienced this before, but I knew what it was. I was 8 weeks pregnant. Maybe I had just over done it that day. Maybe if I slow down and rest...
After church Sunday, things began to get worse. I called the doctor. They told me to go to the ER. I spent the afternoon in the ER. They examined me, took blood, ran sonograms.
The sonogram showed a sac at 5 weeks, not 8 weeks, no heartbeat. Monday night, God allowed everything to happen naturally. Tuesday, as I began sharing with friends on my groups and forums, some of you knew what I did not...
If you use progesterone to help regulate your cycles and you become pregnant, you must CONTINUE using progesterone until week 14 of your pregnancy. At that point, the body should begin making the progesterone on its own. I DIDN'T KNOW! I DIDN'T KNOW! This was my fault.
The grief, at first was overwhelming. If I had just waited for God or maybe the doctor and God working together. I should have never taken the Vitex or used the cream. I had no business trying to do this on my own!
Some of the facts I've learned:
The sonogram showed a sac at 5 weeks, not 8 weeks, no heartbeat. Monday night, God allowed everything to happen naturally. Tuesday, as I began sharing with friends on my groups and forums, some of you knew what I did not...
If you use progesterone to help regulate your cycles and you become pregnant, you must CONTINUE using progesterone until week 14 of your pregnancy. At that point, the body should begin making the progesterone on its own. I DIDN'T KNOW! I DIDN'T KNOW! This was my fault.
The grief, at first was overwhelming. If I had just waited for God or maybe the doctor and God working together. I should have never taken the Vitex or used the cream. I had no business trying to do this on my own!
Some of the facts I've learned:
Progesterone is the hormone that helps build, nurture and establish the Uterine wall for implantation of an egg. Each month, after ovulation, your body slows the production of progesterone. If you are pregnant, normally the levels will stay a little higher and begin increasing. If you are not pregnant, the levels continue dropping until a monthly cycle occurs.
If you are using progesterone creams or supplements and abruptly stop, your body receives a signal that it's time for a monthly cycle, pregnant or not, your body registers that progesterone production has stopped, and it's time for a cycle.
This is also what happens with birth control pills. Days 1-20 of birth control pills contain a level of progesterone, but days 21-28, when you take the placebo or no pill at all, the body is signaled that it's time for a cycle. YOU CAN GET PREGNANT ON THE BIRTH CONTROL PILL!
Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar talk about this in their book, " Twenty and Counting." After they had Joshua, they decided to wait awhile before having more children. She conceived while taking the pill and had a miscarriage. they too, were informed the truth about the effects of progesterone. You can get pregnant on the pill, but even if you get pregnant, as soon as those progesterone levels drop below a certain level, you are going to have a cycle, pregnant or not.
They grieved!! I grieved!! Lord, we are so sorry. We should have left it all in your hands.
But there's more. I got pregnant again using progesterone cream in December 2009. This time my doctor prescribed Prometrium, a progesterone supplement to help prevent a miscarriage. We had a very healthy baby this time. It had a strong heartbeat and would run from the doppler. At 10 weeks gestation, the doctor told me it was safe to come off the Prometrium. It wasn't. We tragically lost another baby, February 13, 2010 at 12 weeks.
I went through a dark time. Why God why? What do you want from me? There's been quite a few changes for me over the last 4 months. I spent a lot of time walking and asking God what he wanted. I didn't have anybody else to talk to. Nobody understood why a mother of 4 wanted more children, but God does. This mother of 4, me, I am and always will be Called To Be Momma. That's me, Momma, and I love my job. I'm proud of it. I embrace it. I can't think of anything else I'd rather do. One way or another, I'm always going to be Momma, taking care of others.
OK, so in the last 6 months, I changed doctors, God has brought a wonderful new doctor into my life who has helped me sort through things. She listened. She ran all the tests and she did finally diagnosed the problem, extremely low progesterone. Maybe it's God telling me no more, or maybe it's just something that needs to be corrected. I don't know, we wait and see. I'm on Clomid Treatments right now and that might help. I'd like to have more children, if it is God's will.
I started 25mg of Clomid in May, Progesterone rose from 11 in April to 12 in May, still not enough. I'm currently on 100mg of Clomid and this past month, my progesterone levels were a normal 18. There is hope. Clomid treatments work like this. Each month, you are given 5 tablets to take days 5-10 of your cycle.
I went through a dark time. Why God why? What do you want from me? There's been quite a few changes for me over the last 4 months. I spent a lot of time walking and asking God what he wanted. I didn't have anybody else to talk to. Nobody understood why a mother of 4 wanted more children, but God does. This mother of 4, me, I am and always will be Called To Be Momma. That's me, Momma, and I love my job. I'm proud of it. I embrace it. I can't think of anything else I'd rather do. One way or another, I'm always going to be Momma, taking care of others.
OK, so in the last 6 months, I changed doctors, God has brought a wonderful new doctor into my life who has helped me sort through things. She listened. She ran all the tests and she did finally diagnosed the problem, extremely low progesterone. Maybe it's God telling me no more, or maybe it's just something that needs to be corrected. I don't know, we wait and see. I'm on Clomid Treatments right now and that might help. I'd like to have more children, if it is God's will.
I started 25mg of Clomid in May, Progesterone rose from 11 in April to 12 in May, still not enough. I'm currently on 100mg of Clomid and this past month, my progesterone levels were a normal 18. There is hope. Clomid treatments work like this. Each month, you are given 5 tablets to take days 5-10 of your cycle.
You know what to do Days 10-21. On Day 21 the lab does Progesterone test and you wait a week to see if you're pregnant.
If that Progesterone test at 3 weeks shows too low of a level of Progesterone, next month you go to a higher dose and each month the process repeats itself up to 150mg of Clomid.
If at 150mg, I'm not pregnant and the progesterone levels are not rising....... well, I'll have to face the facts.
There are other things I could try, but you know...... I do realize I've been blessed with 4 beautiful children. My husband and I have been through the fires of birth control or no birth control, quiverfull or not, vasectomy and reversal. God knows what we want and what we need.
I've learned this over the years through all the trials.
I've learned this over the years through all the trials.
God loves me. He knows my heart's desires. I still Trust in Him. If it's meant to be, it will beand if not, well, life is still good, I have my beautiful Lisa, Ariel, Amelia and Michael.
I'm only 38 and God still has so much more planned for me. It's all going to be OK. Feel free to comment.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Roman 8:28 (NIV)
In His love.
Tags: baby, miscarriage, mothers, pregnancy, progesterone, pregnant
Freelance writer and stay-at-home, home-schooling mom to four children, Amy is an experienced and published author in the areas of Home Economics and Family Living. Her first published article , A Second Chance to Watch the Roses Bloom, was published in the Christian Mother's Magazine, Above Rubies, Editor: Nancy Campbell, Issue #61, 2004. A second article, Dad's Story, was published in the Fall of 2005 by another Christian women's publication, Crowned With Silver.
Amy has combined her passion for writing and for Christian music. She encourages everyone to listen carefully to the words of each song. There's always a story behind the music. Christian music is filled with inspiration and hope.
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