You can choose to take the fertility drugs and doing it naturally by having sex on a specified date as advised by your doctor. I’ve tried that two times but to no avail.

So, we decided to go for IUI (Intrauterine insemination).

So, what is IUI?

IUI is a fertility treatment that uses a catheter to place a number of washed sperm directly into the uterus. The goal of IUI is to increase the number of sperm that reach the fallopian tubes and subsequently increase the chance of fertilization.

Although IUI still requires the sperm to reach and fertilize the egg on its own, it is important to make sure that the sperm is healthy and mobile. IUI provides the sperm an advantage by giving it a head start, but it still has to seek out the egg on its own.

They said that IUI is a painless procedure but actually it depends on individual. For me, it hurts so much that I swore not to do it again after the 2nd attempt. Lucky enough, I got pregnant after the 2nd attempt.

How does IUI work?

The IUI procedure is simple and may be performed even if the woman is not receiving medication to improve her egg production. Many physicians will encourage women to take medications to stimulate the ovaries in order to increase egg production and, hopefully, the chance of achieving pregnancy.

An ultrasound will be used to monitor the size of the follicles (follicles develop into eggs). The hormone, human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), is administered to stimulate the release of eggs from the follicles within 34-40 hours.

To help rupture the eggs (release it from the follicles),  you need to be injected with the hcG dose. I was given Pregnyl and instructed to take the injection that night at 9pm.

There are 2 types of ultrasounds for women - abdominal and pelvic. Abdominal scan is usually done to monitor baby in the womb. In our case, pelvic or vaginal scan is carried out. You must empty your bladder before the ultrasound procedure (the nurse will inform this to the first timer).

During ultrasound, the nurse will ask you to take off your pant and panty. And, climbed to lay down on a special chair with both legs rested on the purple foot rest. Your legs will be wide open and covered with a white sheet.

The doctor then put a little blue gel on the ultrasound tranducer which is protected with a protective cover (looked like condom to me). Then she will probe the tranducer inside your vagina.

The ultrasound image is immediately visible on a nearby screen that looks much like a computer or television monitor.

The doctor will move the tranducer to the left and right to see the size of eggs in both your ovaries. Sometimes the movement hurt but not much.

And, you can actually see your eggs in the monitor! The doctor will record the size of each egg and determine its maturity. Sometimes the doctor can see an ovarian cyst (if any) during the ultrasound.

A semen sample will be processed by the lab in order to separate the semen from the seminal fluid. A catheter is used to inject the processed sperm directly into the uterus. This process maximizes the number of sperm cells that are placed in the uterus and thus increases the possibility of conception.

The IUI procedure is short and involves minimal discomfort. The next step is to watch for signs and symptoms of pregnancy.

Before the IUI procedure, your husband need to produce his sperms in a small container with your name on it.

There are two rooms provided on the 7th floor. Both rooms are equipped with a single bed, a toilet, a sofa, a television and a cd player with x-rated videos.

If the husband think it’s hard to do it alone by masturbating, you can actually get into the room with him. You know how to help him, right?

The sperms will then be washed in the lab to separate unwanted residues from the active sperms. Only the washed sperms will be inserted into your womb during IUI procedure.

How successful is IUI?

Younger women usually have higher rates of success compared to women over age 35, but the average success rate for IUI ranges from 10-20% in one cycle. With IUI, as with other methods of artificial insemination, the success is dependent on the health of the sperm and the woman’s body.

The success rate varies. A friend got pregnant after 4th attempt while another one never succeed. As for me, I’m now pregnant after the 2nd attempt. So, please don’t give up!

Since the fertility pills (Clomid) alone coulds help increase my egg counts, my doctor prescribed me with fertility injections (Gonal-F) together with the pills.

I searched the internet to learn more about the injection prescribed by my doctor.

Follitropin alfa is a synthetic form of the naturally-occurring follicle stimulating hormone produced by genetically-engineered Chinese hamster ovary cells. Follicle stimulating hormone is involved in the production and release of eggs from the ovary.

This medicine is used in the management of female infertility and assisted reproduction. It is also used, along with human chorionic gonadotrophin therapy, to increase sperm production in men.

The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.

1. Irritation in area of use
2. Over stimulation of the ovaries causing production of many ova (eggs) in the woman.
3. Blood clots in the blood vessels (thrombosis) that may detach and travel in the circulation to another area of the body (thromboembolism)
4. Pregnancy with two or more foetuses

Waa… I’m going to be injected with Hamster’s hormone?

Gonal-f injections cost about RM100 per dose. The doctor may prescribed between 3 -5 injections per cycle, so be prepared with cash of at least RM500 (credit card is accepted).

You can choose whether to take the medicine to a clinic near your house so that the doctor/nurse will do the injection on you or else, your husband carry out the injection.

We decided to do self-injection because it’s not worth travel to the clinic every two nights. You see, the injections need to be done once in two nights at the exact same time. Let’s say you first injected at 9pm, then the following injections must also be done at the 9pm.

These are some of the Gonal-f that I took!

The nurse will teach how to prepare the Gonal for injections and how/which spot to inject. Usually, they’ll ask you to inject around 1 inch under the belly button. The medicine must be mix properly but don’t worry, once you do this, you’ll become an expert like my husband!

He really enjoys pricking the fine needle on my belly. Is it hurts? Yes, a little when the syringe is pushed to inject the medicine.

Hubby Preparing The Gonal-f Mixture!

It was a peaceful Saturday. At least until 10.30 am.

After that, the whole day and night was a hectic one. Around 10.45 am, my younger sister and her family with three kids (they live in Sepang) arrived to our little cottage.

Then, five minutes later, my eldest brother who live in USJ9 also arrived with his family.

Finally, they got to see lil’ Izzah.

Imagine having 9 active kids in the house. It was a chaos!

They left about 1.00 pm. Our little cottage was at peace again.

But only for a few hours. Around 6 pm, my brother who works in Sudan (his family live in Johor Bahru) arrived with his hyperactive kids and my mom. He has four kids (three boys and one girl) and all of them were super duper active!

They wanted to explore our little cottage and touched everything that captured their interests, including my husband’s Proton bike. That bicycle fell on top of two of my brother’s sons when they pulled the bike. Luckily, they were not injured.

Another brother of mine who live in Rawang also arrived half-an-hour later. He also has four super active kids.

Those eight kids (6 boys and two girls) caused my usually quiet little cottage to be filled with kid’s screaming and crying.

I like having visitors in our little cottage. But, I’m quite dismayed to see that many of them were unwell.

These people are unwell but still wanted to touch, hold and kiss my baby. Argh!

1)  My younger sister - cough
2)  My sister-in-law - flu and cough
3)  Two of my nephews - flu
4)  My mom - flu and cold!

You see, my baby is just recovered from an infection. And, I don’t want her to get infected by flu and cough viruses that my relatives and friends were having while visiting us.

I’m trying to keep my baby away from anyone who has a cough, flu symptoms, a sore throat, cold or fever. Lil’ Izzah is still a fragile little being you know.

But, visiting relatives and friends usually want to hold and touch my baby. This put me in a dilemma.

It’s gonna be rude to tell them not to do so. Especially when they came from far just to see the baby. Oh my!

And, making me more worry is that my mom is also not feeling well. She has flu and cold. And, she is staying with us to help me over.

She knows kissing the baby could get her infected. But, my mom is not aware that sneezing around the house is also give a risk to infection. Especially, when she is sitting so close to baby Izzah!

Flu and cold is an airborn disease. But, what am I supposed to do? Tell her to keep herself away from her own granddaughter? That’s absolutely crazy.

That night, my baby was so restless. She cried after I finished breastfeeding her. She refused to sleep on her own mattress.

This sleep-deprived mama was so tension. Even my hubby looked stressful (but he didn’t obviously show it like I did). He cuddled and rocked the baby on my birth ball for two hours before she finally tired and fell asleep.

However, not long after she woke up again and cried. I offered her my breast but she sucked only for a while. And, each time I put her back on her mattres, she cried again.

Finally, after I put her on my bosom (let her listen to my heartbeat), she fell asleep for a longer period. What a relieve!

Note:

I think baby Izzah sleeping routine was disturbed because so many hands have touched her during the day. And, at night, the open door could have invited unseen creatures to come in (and disturbed my baby). That’s why me and hubby try to avoid having visitors at late evening/night.

My mom called last night and told that she was coming by bus to KL today. And, she will come over to my house on Saturday.

According to my mom, my brother who works in Sudan will come back to Malaysia today. And, he and his family will come over to my house to see the lil’ baby on Sunday!

Since my mother-in-law has gone back home yesterday, my hubby bathe the baby. Guess what? Lil’ Izzah didn’t even cry when my hubby bathed her and dressed her up. Oh wow!

It must be the father to daughter bonding thing. And, the technique that my hubby used - talk to the baby while bathing and covered her with a towel while massaging and putting a dress on her.

Baby Izzah cried out loud while been bathed both by my mother and mother-in-law. Perhaps their techniques were not suitable for my baby?

After the second blood test, I was asked to wait for my next period. As soon as I got my period, I need to call LPPN to set for an appointment with a doctor.

Take note that, you’ll need to call in the afternoon (after 2.30pm) for making appointments. If you call in the morning, they will not assist you.

Another point is, this is the time you can decide whether you want a lady doctor or a male doctor.

I requested to see a lady doctor because this will make me feel more comfortable. You see… it’s your doctor that will perform IUI on you later on!

My husband and I went to LPPKN on 9th May 2007 to see my doctor. Both husband and wife must be present for this appoinment. Otherwise, you’ll not be allowed to see the doctor.

Doctor K then had a look at my HSG result and said my tube is not block, which is good.

However, she said that my hormone level is inconsistent. Perhaps, that what is causing my problem.

But… she was also not 100% sure! Why… because I never miss my period and the cycle is quite consisten 30-32 days. Hmm….

About the pelvic adhesion, she asked whether I had previous surgery but I said no. Normally, pelvic adhesion is caused by surgery. The doctor said this is not a problem, though.

So… to solve my hormone problems she prescribed me with two drugs:

1. Clomid (for the next 5 days)
2. Folic Acid (for one month)

I will need to consume two Clomid tablets every night at the SAME TIME each. Meaning, if I took the first two pills at 9pm, I must take the next pills at 9pm for the following days too.

For Folid Acid, I take one tablet each in the morning, after breakfast.