Dealing with MFI...

So, I finally decided to start a blog about my journey to mommyhood! I guess the main reason is that I felt like I needed a way to get my thoughts out before I drive myself crazy. People struggling with infertility know that you can sometimes tell people close to you about what's going on, but they don't fully get it unless they've been there. You could probably say that about most circumstances. Another reason for doing this is that I felt the need to educate people about MFI (male factor infertility) based on what I've gone through because it seems that when a couple struggles to get pregnant, people automatically assume it's the women. Truth is, women and men have equal chances of infertility issues. I also am hoping to get some advice and support from others who have gone through fertility treatments themselves.

It would probably be helpful to give a little summary or timeline of my journey so far:

February 2009 - Married the love of my life and although we had decided to wait a few months to start trying for a family, we quickly changed our minds and started right away!

(2009 was a very stressful, intense year with us getting married, trying to conceive, almost losing my little brother in a car accident, stress at work, and then the death of my biological dad)

June 2010 - After 16 months of trying with no luck, I decided to get myself checked out (bloodwork, HSG, pap test all came back normal) and it was suggested that J get checked.

July 2010 - J's first semen analysis came back abnormally low and we were told "No normal sperm were detected". It was suggested that we see a urologist.

February 2011 - After several months of nagging, he finally went in for his 2nd analysis and results were similar to the 1st (less than 100,000 sperm detected). Suggested that he get hormonal blood work, which he did and it came back normal. Suggested that he get a prostate ultrasound.

March 2011 - Prostate ultrasound showed that his prostate was fine, but he was born without a left seminal vesicle, may be a carrier for cystic fibrosis and we would likely have to do IVF in order to have a baby of our own.

So, that's pretty much where we are now. The urologist has suggested that J get a blood test to check to see if he is a CF carrier and then they could do a biopsy of his testicle to see if sperm can be removed and frozen for IVF. We've been trying to get a hold of the medical assistant all week to schedule the blood test and I also have a bunch of questions (since I wasn't there for the ultrasound to ask). For now, I'm impatiently waiting...