Introduction.

Let me start with an introduction. My name is Winter, and I am the mother of one. I am possibly never going to be able to have another child. I say possibly, because I wasn’t supposed to ever have the son I do have, so I leave the window open in case another miracle wants to come in.
I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) Among many symptoms, the worst ones that I have are infertility, obesity, excess hair growth (not in the good places), abnormal menstrual cycle. The entire list is quite elaborate, and if you have any or a couple of these, you really should talk to your doctor.
We started our journey to have a child in 2002. I stopped taking birth control, and thought “there, in a month or so, I will be pregnant!” but a year passed and still being non-pregnant, I went to my Dr. He ran a few hormone tests, and sent me to a specialist. The specialist prescribed me Metformin and told me to lose some weight. Some might know that this is a drug for diabetes. It is also a great drug to assist women with PCOS with getting their hormone back in line. After taking the drug for 6 months, I was pregnant. It doesn’t always happen like this, and the chances of me actually conceiving (I had only ovulated twice in that time frame) were extremely low.
After my son was born, I was naïve enough to believe that my infertility had been “cured”. When Rhys was 3 months old we decided that we would start trying for our second baby. I had gained a lot of weight, and because one of the symptoms of PCOS is being unable to easily lose weight (as if it is easy for anyone!) I still have the weight I gained with him. I didn’t think it was an issue until a year later, when I still wasn’t pregnant! I began my Metformin, and a year later began Clomid, a drug for inducing ovulation. After 5 cycles of Clomid, I stopped. Our lives were changing, and it was a lot of added stress that I didn’t think we could handle.
We’ve moved to a fabulous city, and the world is my oyster! We are stress free, and ready to make a new addition to our family. I have began taking my Metformin again (I always stop when we aren’t actively trying to conceive) I have also started walking for my health. My son, who is now 3, loves the daily adventure, and it’s good for him to get out.
Our story of infertility is ever changing, and compared to others, we are very fortunate, but no less hurt each year that goes by without a sibling for our son. I hope that I can share our story with you and help give a voice to the feelings that couples dealing with infertility often keep hidden. The biggest questions that we face are “How far will we go to have a child?” and “How to we accept that he might be our only child?” We are still trying to figure out the answers.