Scenic Route

Navigating through the land of infertility can lead to a major case of motion sickness, but there have been some memorable "stops" on our journey to the "jeans"


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"The TP Tango"



"I Always Wanted Braces"



"Guest Blogger: Coco (The Conception Companion)"

Travel Agents

If you are just starting out on your journey, or just need a
refresher, the following "destinations" in the blog community
are worth the air miles.

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Agent: Mel, the Stirrup Queen!

Your Destination: A fantastic resource for all things infertility,
in between, and points beyond. Includes a plethora of infertility blogs, ways to connect, and answers to basic and complicated treatment questions. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Office Location: Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters

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Agent: Mel, and all members of the IF community

Your Destination: The point to Lost and Found is to level the support playing field. When LFCA works correctly, the newest blogger with the smallest readership can receive the same level of support as the oldest blogger with the largest readership.
Submit news to the LFCA by clicking here

Office Location: Lost and Found and Connections Abound

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Agent: JJ (that's me!) at Reproductive Jeans

Your Destination: I am a "Clicker" for Lost and Found. I scan blogs in the infertility community related to male factor infertility and make sure news is submitted to the LFCA to encourage support for this area of infertility.

There are many other ares of specific infertility support-find your clicker!

Please contact me if you have any questions about male factor infertility, and I'll be glad to provide you with a list of resources or answer your questions to the best of my ability!

Office Location: Reproductive Jeans

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Agent: Lori, at Weebles Wobblog

Your Destination: If you are thinking about adoption, this is the place to start. Lori offers great advice and provides resources to get you started in the right place. Even if you are curious about the process of adopting, and not actively pursing adoption,
it's still a definite "must read" destination!

Office Location:Weebles Wobblog

Passport

Shop to make JJ & Mook a Mom & Pop!

First I must say a big THANKS to Mel for giving all of us an opportunity to shop! What more could you ask for?

If you are here, then you are looking for information on my shop item, which is my very own holiday album/CD. (Does anyone say album anymore?)

I've always had two big dreams:
1) To be a mom
2) To be a professional singer

As you may know through reading this blog, it has been a bit of a struggle to achieve that 1st dream.

The second dream: I may not ever be on Broad.way or have the number one album on the Bill.board charts, but I have been fortunate to be able to record and perform music that means so much to me. Music/singing is a true blessing, and I am thankful that through Shop to Make Mom or Pop, that we can save the money that is raised to go towards dream number one.

So here is the scoop on how dream #2 will help me with dream #1:

What: A collection of holiday music on my holiday CD : "You, Me and a Ch.ristmas Tree"

Who: All music is original recordings of holiday classics with beautiful instrumentals and my vocals (there is a very special guest-artist appearance on one of the tracks!)

When: Available December 6, 2007 (pre-orders accepted!)

How: The cost of the CD is $16. I will be able to accept pay.pal payments (credit cards may be used through pay.pal) and checks. Shipping is $2 to US and $4 for international. Please be sure to list an e-mail address or include one in the comment section/e-mail to me if you do not have an e-mail link associated with your blog. This is how I will get the pay.pal information to you!

Final Details: There may be some questions that need answering past what I have listed, so if I start getting specific questions I will post an extended FAQ here. I am glad to answer anything you want to know! Thank you again so much for your interest--this means so much to both Mook and I, as we want so much to be a MOM and POP!


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FAQ:

1. Where do I mail the check/who do I make it out to/how much?
I will e-mail you my mailing address and name if you leave a comment/or e-mail me. Please figure in the shipping ($2 for US and $4 international) to get your total along with the cost of the CD: $16

Our Road Map

The female "jeans": JJ
The male "jeans": Mook
The combined "jeans": Ron / O-Man

We are an early 30's couple who set out on the journey to pass on our family "jeans" in our mid 20's. We are one couple that make up the 2.1 million couples in the United States diagnosed with infertility. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions or just to say Hi at reprojeans@gmail.com

Baby fever settled into our household in the summer of 2006. We were coming up on our one year wedding anniversary, and knew that it was time to toss out the birth control. Six months later, we were still suffering from the fever.

A lot of medical professionals say you should wait at least a year to investigate potential baby-making-problems, but with my history of cysts and mild thyroid issues, we were aggressive in seeking out some answers.

In January 2007, we both went through a slew of tests. All along, we both prepared for my previous health issues to be the cause of the delay. However, that wasn't the case. The day after Mook's 28th birthday, we got the phone call that changed our lives.

Our official diagnosis: Male Factor Infertility. We are dealing with low count, slow motility, and borderline morphology issues. No matter what your 7th grade sex-ed teacher told you, it does take more than one sperm: millions have to swim to the egg, and it's quite a long journey with lots of obstacles in the way.

Getting the diagnosis was really tough, but we also gave a sigh of relief: we knew what was wrong, and we began to make plans to reach our goal: passing on our family "jeans"


February 2007 - Begin blogging about our battle with male factor infertility
March 2007 - IUI #1 (unmedicated-no hormone assistance): BFN
April 2007 - Referred to a Reproductive Endocrinologist
July 2007 - IVF with ICSI. 15 eggs retrieved, 12 fertilized. 2 embryos (Pearl & Jam) transferred on day five. 7 failed to grow, 3 were frozen. BFN
August-December 2007 - No needles, no doctors, just us. (and Coco)
January 2008 - FET. 3 to thaw: 2 made the thaw. 2 transferred (Chilly & Willy) BFN
February 2008 to July 2008- Blogging for REDBOOK Infertility Diaries
May 2008 - IVF numero dos! 14 eggs retrieved, 9 fertilized. 3 morula's (Harry, Ron and Hermione) transferred on day five. None to freeze.
June 2008 - Blessed. Beta at 8dp5dt: 34. Beta at 14dp5dt: 539.
July 2008: Diagnosed with a large Subchorionic Hematoma which lasts until 14 weeks. Saw heartbeat at 5w6d: 136bpm. Decided it is "Ron" who is sticking around.
August 2008: Heard heartbeat at 10w
October 2008: It's a BOY!
December 2008: Confirm complete placenta previa at 28 week u/s; will have scheduled c-section no later than 37 weeks
January 2009: Admitted to the hospital at 33 weeks 3 days due to bleeding from my placenta previa. Will remain in hospital until Ron arrives!
February 2009: Ron arrives on the 4th at 36 weeks! Healthy and happy-what a blessing!

Stay tuned!