#365daysofyoga - WEEK 34

Journey to pregnancy.

Josh and I have learned that we will become parents at the end of summer after being together for 10 years. Like many people from my generation I was going back and forth between wanting to live a child free life to perhaps having one kid later once more established in my own. So naturally we went through stages of somewhat trying. Eventually I feel like we just gave up and let the fate take over.

My story is probably similar to many of modern women: I'm quite athletic, had my troubles with food decisions, high stress levels, birth control history and hormonal imbalances, not always wise health choices and active social life with the negatives that can come out of it. No regrets though as it truly shaped me into who I am.

In late 2019 I underwent HSG (Hysterosalpingography) procedure. For my own memory keepsake and to share with those who might be on their infertility journey I'll share my personal experience and what I've learned from it. I was seen in a Japanese hospital where they first injected my arm with a sedative medicine to help my muscles relax (personally I wasn't a fan as it - made me feel very groggy). After a while I got called into the room with the craziest chair I've ever seen. You and the doctor are separated by a curtain. Once you are settled in your robe the mechanism is activated that lifts you up and turns your legs over to face the medical team, with another click legs are open and voila. Again, wasn't up to my liking as you don't see and only hear the people on the other side. After a catheter is inserted, the X-Ray visible liquid has been administered. Now, I will not sugar coat and straight up say that it was very painful for me and I praise myself on having high pain tolerance. It's possible that due to the language barrier I had no idea what to expect and the throbbing wave like pain was very vivid. The next stop was ultrasound where they performed a procedure aimed to see how the pathways of liquid and if it spills into the abdominal cavity meaning the fallopian tubes are clear or comes out vaginally indicating blockages. I was so weak and in quite bit of pain that they had to wheel me out of the room at the end. Luckily, after the catheter was removed - the pain has gradually subsided to the level where I could move again. I had to return in a day or two to get an X-Ray that revealed the liquid like rivers showing all the curves of the tubes. That was probably my favorite nerdy part and in my case, followed by good news. I was prescribed with a 3 day antibiotic treatment to prevent an infection from the procedure as well as a minor pain killer.

I've been taking different vitamins, minerals and probiotics for the past year and perhaps with the procedure, 8 months later the test revealed two lines - I was pregnant! Looking back I have a theory that I miscarried couple months beforehand but I've made peace with it. We are now only two months away from meeting our son and my heart is filled with gratitude. Bottom line, you are not alone, or you can choose not to be. If you have any questions - I'm happy to chat.

In the next couple of weeks I'll write up about my journey through the trimesters and what I discovered along the way. Best of luck and cute babes to those who are trying!!!

Here is to enjoying every single moment: the good, the bad,

the beautiful, the ugly, the inspiring, the not so glamorous moments.