The Fever – First Response® Fertility Testing Kit (#CleverTTC #spon)
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BABY FEVER!
Like all fevers do, baby fever fades as well. For me it’s
usually sparked by Christian’s occasional musings over what we should call
future baby. It ranges from the ordinary
(like the all too matchy Annabella) to the ridiculous (Axle, Chainsaw or
Aljazair so we can call him Aljie [wtf?]). But we are always so busy and Izzy is…well, age three is a
handful. So Christian and I keep pushing off plans to have another baby. First
it was money, and then it was just bad timing, now it’s my weight loss journey.
So now as I get closer and closer to my goal weight, the topic is very much
back on the table. While I wouldn’t say I have the ‘fever’, I would say I have
maybe a baby cold – a sniffle. I’m playing with budgets, making some
preliminary plans for room arrangements and I even find myself testing out
names.
With all these thoughts on future baby and the fact that
becoming pregnant again within the next year becomes a reality – an exciting
but scary reality - there are all the standard worries about bringing a new
child into the world. Can we afford it? Will we mess this one up? Will Izzy be
ok? Will future baby be as healthy as Izzy? Can we survive two Izzies?
And personally I worry about secondary infertility. Despite
a very mild case of PCOS, we were very fortunate to able to easily
conceive Izzy with no complications. But I am older this time. I just turned 34
and while that doesn’t make me ancient it does mean that there are a few less
eggs in my basket – so to speak. I don’t whittle away the hours listening to a
clock pounding away in my head but I am aware that we might not be so lucky
this time around. So I’ll be taking matters into my own hands. I’ll be tracking
cycles and utilizing the First Response® Fertilitytesting kits.
Now, I am kind of a dummy with matters of fertility. I have
a good idea of how it all works but thankfully I’ve never had to delve into the
world of hormone treatments, IVF and the like (and my heart goes out to those
who have). So when I start reading about follicles and hormones and FSH levels,
my eyes get a little buggy and I start to think ‘Maybe we should just get
another dog.’ But like my weight loss journey, I need to take charge of our
baby journey as well.
I had the opportunity to try out the First Response® Fertility kit. Even though it will be a few months before we try for another baby I’m
glad to have a chance to try out the kit and get an idea of how my insides are
working … or not. The kit tests your FSH levels – the hormones that stimulate your
ovaries to mature and release egg(s). Laymen’s terms – the test is a good
indicator of the quantity and quality of your egg supply and gives you an idea
of your chances of conceiving.
In case you missed reproduction day in Health class, women
are born with all the eggs they will ever have. So when you get to the bottom
of your supply, your body has to work harder to push those eggs out. That is
when your FSH levels will rise – not necessarily a good thing. If this is the
case, when you use the First Response®
fertility test, the results line will be similar in color or darker than the
control line. That result might give
you sad face and you might want call
your doctor. But neither of the results is a guarantee of your ability to conceive,
it just alleviates some of the guess work as to when you should try.
The test is super easy. It’s just like a pregnancy test in
that you just pee on the stick (or dip, if you prefer). The differences are
that you use this test during your period (on the 3rd day with first
morning urine) and it takes a half hour for the results to be complete. Want to
hear something funny? I was just as anxious in that half hour to see my results
as I was when I took a pregnancy test. What is it about peeing on stuff that
makes you climb the walls? If I could have held my breath for a half hour, I
totally would have! Right away a line started to appear and got a tad darker as
time went on. The line still stayed pretty faint in comparison to the control
line which is apparently a good thing.
So for now it appears that everything is in tip-top shape.
When the time comes for baby making, I will certainly be using this kit again
to relieve some of the guess work that comes with creating little Axle Mudvayne
Metallica. Until then I’m waiting for the latest fever that this test created
to pass. I’ll also be hiding from my husband because he thinks the review
signaled the green light and calls for all hands on deck.
I told him there is only one place his hands should be…and
it’s not on my deck.
I was selected for this sponsored post by the Clever Girls
Collective, which endorses Blog with Integrity,
as I do. I was compensated for this post as well as provided with a
kit to try. All opinions are mine and 100% honest.
