Clarification
We are SOOOOOOO not considering weaning. A few people thought that's what I was getting at in the last post, but that's actually being held as a very, very end of the road option. None of us is ready for that, and we probably would take a significant break before doing it. Just thinking about weaning Natalie makes me want to cry, and I'm not even the one with the milk.
Jen's prolactin was actually tested about a month ago, and since the RE didn't call us to discuss problems (he said he'd only call if anything was off), we're assuming it's fine. Her lining has also been checked when we were looking for follies, and it has been nice and thick. But I've encountered both research and personal accounts of people with normal prolactin levels (who are ovulating and seemingly doing everything right) having difficulty conceiving while breastfeeding and then getting pregnant very quickly after ultimately weaning. It seems like maybe some people are just more sensitive to low levels or fluctuations (or something else that I just don't know enough about). This is why I was especially interested in the mention of the HCG booster or progesterone in one article I read--it's a way to work around the problem without weaning.
So if we don't want to wean, why are we asking? Well, we do have a limited number of vials left of this donor, so there will come a point when we either have to take some time off to save vials until we do wean, or switch bodies. But we don't know if that's necessary, and that's what we're trying to figure out.
As far as spacing goes, yes, I know it's not the most important thing in the world. But our hope was for our kids to be about two years apart. If it ends up being more like 2.5, 3, 10...fine. But our hope was as close to two as possible. Each cycle takes us farther from that at this point, which is not the end of the world at all, but you can't blame us for wanting to keep trying, right?
(Jen edited and contributed thoughts to this post. Therefore it counts as her NaBloPoMo post of the day.)
Jen's prolactin was actually tested about a month ago, and since the RE didn't call us to discuss problems (he said he'd only call if anything was off), we're assuming it's fine. Her lining has also been checked when we were looking for follies, and it has been nice and thick. But I've encountered both research and personal accounts of people with normal prolactin levels (who are ovulating and seemingly doing everything right) having difficulty conceiving while breastfeeding and then getting pregnant very quickly after ultimately weaning. It seems like maybe some people are just more sensitive to low levels or fluctuations (or something else that I just don't know enough about). This is why I was especially interested in the mention of the HCG booster or progesterone in one article I read--it's a way to work around the problem without weaning.
So if we don't want to wean, why are we asking? Well, we do have a limited number of vials left of this donor, so there will come a point when we either have to take some time off to save vials until we do wean, or switch bodies. But we don't know if that's necessary, and that's what we're trying to figure out.
As far as spacing goes, yes, I know it's not the most important thing in the world. But our hope was for our kids to be about two years apart. If it ends up being more like 2.5, 3, 10...fine. But our hope was as close to two as possible. Each cycle takes us farther from that at this point, which is not the end of the world at all, but you can't blame us for wanting to keep trying, right?
(Jen edited and contributed thoughts to this post. Therefore it counts as her NaBloPoMo post of the day.)
posted by Cait at
8:36 PM
2 Comments:
I don't have any thoughts or knowledge about the prolactin issue, but -- assuming that a little extra progesterone doesn't HURT (I have no idea, I'm afraid), it's not a difficult drug to add to the regimen. A little messy, but hey, that's small potatoes.
Good luck with this decision. It can't be easy.
By
Jody, at 10:45 PM
hey-- just delurking to compliment you on your easy going-ness regarding sibling age difference. my personal experience attests to the fact the sibs of all different age relationship can have great relationships. in my family we have kids as close together as two years apart and as far apart as sixteen years apart and we are all crazy about each other, with great one on one and group relationships.
By
Anna, at 12:34 AM
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