Our Story

Just a little bit of history on how our experience with infertility began. In May of 2015 I stopped taking birth control in preparation for starting a family. This is what began the extremely stressful time of trying to get pregnant naturally.

We had tried everything out there to get pregnant - tracking my temperature using a Basal Thermometer, ovulation test strips and even multiple apps on my phone (ya, I know...that one was kind of foolish because there is no way my cell phone could tell me when I was ovulating). But the problem we were facing was Aunt Flow (aka my menstrual cycle) was so irregular. Which caused even more stress because every time Aunt Flow was late I was convinced I was pregnant. Only to take multiple pregnancy test and get the heartbreaking results - NOT PREGNANT!

The irregular visits from Aunt Flow (or in my case, the lack of visits) lead me to the most amazing doctor - Maria Vandenberg of Women's Care of Wisconsin. (Side note: If you are in need of new OGBYN I highly recommend Dr. Vandenberg). Dr. Vandenberg did all that was possible to create a plan for Bradley and I to start a family. This meant lots of needle pokes and ultrasounds. Eventually, in October 2016, she was able to determine I had a low ovarian reserve.

The day I heard those words was devastating. I was heartbroken. I had no clue what any of this meant or what we should do next. So like any kid that grew up with the internet, I did my research. I scoured the internet for hours. And I learned way too much information about women's ovarian reserves.

• Females begin life with one to two million eggs at birth, but unfortunately a large majority of them decay before they are ever needed for reproduction
• By puberty, the number of eggs has fallen to 250,000 to 500,000
• At 37, a women will only have 25,000
• Finally, at menopause there are less than 1000 eggs remaining

Unfortunately for me (and my woman crush on Dr. Vandenberg), we needed to find a new doctor. We were now one of those couples that needed to visit an Infertility Specialist - my normal OBGYN was no longer able to assist.  I was heartbroken all over again because I truly loved all the support I received from Women's Care of Wisconsin (second side note: if we successfully get pregnant, we will be able to go back to Dr. Vandenberg)!! And let me tell you, picking an Infertility Clinic to go to is very difficult. I am putting all my hopes in dream into one doctor and how in the world was I supposed to decide. Luckily for me, Bradley was extremely supportive and allowed me to make the choice of the clinic I was most comfortable with. Cost (and let me tell you, there truly is a wide arrange of cost among the different facilities) and location were no issue. After much consideration I decided on Generation - Fertility Care in Middleton, WI.

This leads us to tomorrow (January 10, 2017), the wait is finally over! We will be starting the next chapter in our journey. We will be heading out to Middleton bright and early in the morning. We will get a chance to meet with our doctor, ask questions and determine the next steps to starting our family. We will keep you updated on this crazy experience that is only just starting!

Brooke ♡