{Future Baby Lundquist: IVF & Fundraising}

We have started a fundraiser! Why would we do that?

I will ease your mind and confirm that nobody is dying and there have been no natural disasters--yet, here we are with a crowdfunding page at www.youcaring.com/babylundyq

It's been nearly 3 years that we have been trying to have a baby. 

Our infertility at this point is unexplained. That alone is frustrating. We have two healthy, functioning bodies, but no answers-which makes me feel guilty for even asking such a favor from anyone.

We are trying to raise about 1/2 of what we are going to need to do possibly a few rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Our goal is about $15,000 (yep, that's a grand total of $30,000). Ouch, I know. 

We've tried almost everything to have a baby but obviously without success. We've been encouraged to begin a fundraiser to help supplement some of the cost. Whether or not you can help financially, we are already grateful for all of the support you've given. Seriously. We have so many good people in our life. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We couldn't have gotten through all of this without you so far.

Here is a little bit of our story leading up to the wonderful world of IVF.

Shortly after we were married we were ready grow our family. About a year later we started working with a reproductive endocrinologist. We began at one clinic, joined an infertility study, had test after test administered, (LOTS OF NEEDLES and blood work) and we did our first intrauterine insemination (IUI), but no pregnancy. I didn't really care for the facility. Nothing was particularly wrong with it, but I needed different care and attention and I found that in the Reproductive Care Center (RCC) in Sandy, Utah. 

After even more testing (LOTS of testing and LOTS of needles) for both of us (Ben even had surgery on his man-bits) it was determined that we most likely have male-factor infertility. Bummer. That kind of news doesn't help the baby-making process if you know what I mean. 

Needless to say, after Ben started taking supplements to help, we finally got pregnant doing another IUI (#2). I couldn't believe it! (Someday I'll blog about how I told him and post the video. His reaction was priceless! We even got free dinner because of it! **Thanks Texas Roadhouse in Taylorsville **

We did what newly pregnant people are told NOT to do. We told everyone. Nine weeks later, sitting in our first prenatal appointment, our hearts broke when they couldn't find a heartbeat though. 

I'm leaving out all of the nitty-gritty parts about crying, grieving, spontaneous melt-downs, etc. Needless to say, we were reassured that the good news was that we COULD get pregnant, which eventually gave us tremendous hope, despite our deep pain. But here we are--exactly 1 year later from when I found out that I was carrying our first child, and still without one. 

Since the miscarriage, we've tried 5 more IUIs (a total of 7) but haven't seen a positive pregnancy test in over a year. 

I (Kate) haven't been ready to accept the idea of in vitro fertilization (IVF) until recently. Ben has been patiently waiting on me. The financial implications are a big part of my hesitations for obvious reasons. I will be 38 years old on my next birthday in November and that not only puts me in a "high risk" category but the reality is that I am staring to run out of time to have babies. 

Our doctor at RCC offers a 100% money back guarantee that we will take home a live baby. This may mean a few tries/cycles if necessary. The 100% guaranteed refund program STARTS at $22,868 but that doesn't include medications and anesthesia. We're talking a couple thousand more. It's been tough to wrap my mind around that. 

I don't know how to ask for help with something that is so personal and non-life threatening. What if people have opinions and judge us for why we can't get pregnant or what if we do this and we STILL can't get pregnant - will we let everyone down? Will they wish they'd never helped us? What if we miscarry again? Can we handle that? Will we lose friends? Will people avoid us? Haha...I'm not kidding though. These are my concerns that have held me back from moving forward.

We know we are going to go into some debt to grow our family, but we know it will be worth it. This means even more financial sacrifices and more medical appointments and even more needles (if you aren't familiar with the procedure, you probably really don't want to know anyway - just know its not fun at all). 

Your support  (financial or otherwise) MEANS EVERYTHING to us. Thank you for being part of this journey and caring about us.

Thank you so much,

Kate & Ben

www.youcaring.com/babylundyq