Happy ICLW!

It's party week in the blogging world! Welcome to all newcomers, hope you're having a great day! I'm Amanda and my hubby is C. I have PCOS and I don't ovulate or have periods and he has non-obstructive azoospermia due to a Y Chromosome Micro Deletion. You can read all about it here or a shorter version is on the right. It's been hell and we're currently on a break to save for IVF and/or adoption.

It's been hotter than the 5th circle of hell around here and I need to escape. I need cooler weather and pretty leaves and all things pumpkin so let's share our favorite things about Fall!

First is Halloween! I adore it and decorate like crazy and we have a big costume party every year.

Growing up in Houston, the leaves didn't do this and I LOVE it! That is Mt. Magazine here in AR

I love eating/drinking all things pumpkin related in the Fall. I am eagerly anticipating the Pumpkin Spice latte!

Camping, hiking and a fire is just Heaven to me, I can't wait!

I love the crisp, cool air and the feeling of change in the air. Taking walks around our neighborhood and seeing the pretty leaves swirl through the air, the way they crunch under my feet, which are in actual shoes rather then flip flops! Dragging out cardigans and sweaters and fabulous boots and keeping the windows open all the time to cool the house. Hitting up our local orchard to pick apples with friends and again, all things pumpkin!

ahh, I feel much more relaxed and cooled off now, don't you? Hurry up Fall!!

Happy ICLW!

Welcome ICLW'ers! I love getting your comments and appreciate it so very much. Our story is to the right and in slightly more detail here. IF is a mean, bad bitch and I write very honestly (and cuss, often) in my attempts to share my view with all of you.

In honor of ICLW and us getting to know each other, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things in pictures and here they are!

Tell me, do you hate me now that you know I am a die-hard Longhorns fan?! ; )

Welcome ICLW!

::waving hello:: I'm Amanda and I've been married to my high school sweetheart, C, for three years. We currently live in central Arkansas, thanks to C's job, and are originally from the Houston area. We have two very spoiled dogs! Here is our story, thus far:

I was diagnosed with PCOS April 2008 and we actively began TTC. We hadn't been taking precautions for quite some time but never called it "TTC" until we learned about my PCOS. A year passed with nothing so my gyno prescribed me Prometrium and Metformin and sent me on my way. I was super excited, I fully expected a BFP from those two medications. By July, I was back at my gyno to schedule an HSG and a SA for C and I began seeing a RE. That is when it all went to hell. His SA came back zero and my gyno informed me that my husband was sterile. I immediately made an appt with a local urologist and C provided two more SAs. Both were heartbreakingly zero.

Our uro did a testicular biopsy in October that confirmed azoospermia and his advice was to "just adopt". We made an appt with a MFI guru, eight hours away in Houston for a second opinion. In response to learning this, our uro laughed and told us to let him know if the MFI guru found any sperm b/c that would be a real miracle. We began researching donor sperm and dealing with the pain of C not being able to father children. We were devastated and the second opinion was simply a formality in order to ease our minds before we moved on to donor sperm.

Imagine our surprise when Dr. L, our MFI guru, found four sperm in C's fourth SA. Only one was motile but we were overjoyed nonetheless and cried our eyes out. At the end of December, C underwent his second testicular biopsy in order to freeze testicular tissue for us to use for IVF. They believe there are six sperm in the frozen tissue. At this same appt, we learned the cause of C's azoo. He was born with a genetic birth defect called a Y Chromosome Micro Deletion. It's nice to have an answer but it made us incredibly sad at the same time. We are currently aiming for a June IVF with C undergoing his third biopsy so we can use fresh sperm with the frozen as back-up. We're excited, anxious, terrified and all kinds of other mixed up emotions.

Trying to coordinate an IVF cycle in Houston from Arkansas is a nightmare but luckily, we have great Houston doctors and all of our family lives there and have been a big help. We're rushing to do last minute fixes to our house before we bring a baby home and we're both trying to get into better shape. Mainly, we are praying it all works out and we are hopeful that it will.

Hey ICLW!

This is my first time joining in on ICLW and I'm excited to participate! I'm Amanda, married to C for 3 years. We've been together since 1999 aka forever and have been TTC for 18 months. I have PCOS and C has azoospermia. We've known about the PCOS for 18 months but just recently found out about the azoospermia this past July. It was devastating to say the least and we're still struggling with the diagnosis, some days are good and some are bad. I'm just trying to not lose my mind and the blogging world has been a major part of that. We live in a rural area and feel like our small town doctor has taken us as far as he can. So, we're moving on to a big city doctor in Houston to get another opinion and to exhaust all our options. Headin' to the big city in the beginning of November, can't wait!

If the MFI guru can't help us, well, we're cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we're holding on to hope and trying not to cry too much about C being spermless. Easier said then done, but isn't everything that sucks that way?