Try #4.

We had an ultrasound Friday and the follicles weren't quite ready. I was hopeful that they would be but my body hasn't coorporated much! I went for another ultrasound today and had only one follicle. Bummer. And my uterine lining isnt multi layer. Buuuut we're moving forward with an insemination Wednesday. I'm pumped!!! I feel like this is the month!!!

Oh and Thursday is my last day as a psych associate!!!!!

IUI #2

We had our second IUI yesterday. (By second I don't mean 2 in one month, I mean our 2nd EVER). It actually went really really well.  I wasn't nervous at all, and I felt so relaxed.  It made it better that the doctor I really really like was the one who did the IUI.  I felt so relaxed. 

Last night then we went to see Tonic Sol Fa an acapella group that we LOVE.  It was such a wonderful day.  And really our whole weekend was really good.  Sunday night we saw the Messiah and it was just amazing.  I love great music!

So now I have one day down and 13 left :) and yes I'm still at peace and relaxed and ready for the baby!

Monday morning you sure look fine!

We had the ultrasound today and had one good sized dominate follicle.  We could either do the IUI on Sunday or Monday, and we opted for Monday.  We've done one on a weekend before and we've had to go to another place to do it and get the spermcicle shipped there and it was a bit of a hassle.  So we decided that Monday would be the winning day.  As it turns out Monday is my half birthday and we're able to get in with the doctor that I absolutely LOVE.  So maybe this is luck on our side?!

I am feeling confident and keeping a positive attitude about it.  Most days at least once I repeat to myself "this is my month/cycle to conceive.  I am at peace and ready for this baby.  We are ready for this baby!".  I figure that it can ONLY help the situation if I am positive.  Whenever I have any doubt slip in I just repeat that in my mind.  It actually helps me relax too!


In other news Christmas and Graduation are right around the corner.  I am thrilled that my graduation is coming up, but feeling frustrated about finding a job.  At times I feel like there won't be a job for me because so many places want experience and/or a preceptor experience.  I won't have either.  I am keeping positive that some people are going to retire and open up jobs for ME.  I am trying to stay relaxed about that too, BUT on the other hand I am just trying to forget about work for now until I actually pass AND pass NCLEX-RN.

Ultrasound Scheduled

Since my cycle started yesterday I called the clinic today to schedule an ultrasound.  Yea more of those "Fun" ultrasounds.  I scheduled it for Friday November 11th and that will be cycle day 13.  Lucky 13? I guess we'll see. 

I am excited to get this ball rolling again.  I am guessing that I will have the IUI sometime that next week... Probably Wednesday.  So then I don't know if I call in sick or do it after work.  Hmmm I guess we'll see what the Doctor thinks and what she has open.  I am just glad it won't be over the weekend :)

Soon

I'm just waiting for my cycle to start. If it does this weekend I'll call cryo and the clinic to get sperm sent and schedule an ultrasound. I'm getting excited again!  And especially since I know the tubies are wide open!

Bad day

After thinking I was ok with the no-go this month today happened!  I had a sad day, but I think it's a normal response. I know hardly anyone has a 1 and done.

Today I sent an email to the doctor to find out if I should have the hsg test or try another iui. I feel like I don't want to spend the money for the hsg...although each time we try the iui its money too...so who knows.

This has been a difficult but exciting time and experience. And I'm so so sooooo thankful for Brenda. I'd be lost without her!

Better luck in November!

Well I started spotting last night so I decided to do a test today. And got a no. I was pretty sure all along I wasn't pregnant. And especially this past week. I had too many PMS symptoms to ignore!  But oh well I mean we did buy 6 vials so we knew this was NOT going to be a short road.
Tomorrow I'll find out if the doc still wants to do the hsg test and when to schedule that in october and then November it will be back on!  Woohoo!
Now in some cosmic joke I get to take a test on baby stuff tonight!  Thank you universe!  LOL.

Ultrasound #3 AND IUI!

Well, I probably should have made this into two posts, but I just didn't want to blog the other day and I was busy. 

Friday I was scheduled to go into the clinic for my third ultrasound at 10:15.  They were actually squeezing me in so even though I was to get there at 10:15 my appointment was at 10:40.  I was also apparently going to see Dr. Collins because Dr. Jeffers didn't have appointments.  We'd had a recommendation for Dr. Jefffers from a couple of friends who have a little boy.  She was who we made the very first appointment with to get our ducks in a row, but we've not seen her again.  We saw Dr. Collins after the other two ultrasounds.  Now I like them both, but there is just something about the way I connect more with Dr. Jeffers.  She's so bubbly and excited about things! Dr. Collins is really sweet too, but she's so much more reserved.  Funny enough I have a better connection to Jeffers and Brenda to Collins.  It doesn't surprise us! ANYWAY I thought I'd be meeting with Dr. Collins after the third ultrasound because I needed a morning appointment.  Back to the morning of the ultrasound.  Imagine my surprise when I heard the door unlock at home at 9:40.  Brenda (who wasn't going to take the day off) left work, telling her boss she was sick, to come to the ultrasound with me.  I was So happy and SOOOOOOOO relieved.  I knew that the follicle would be bigger and if there needed to be planning I wanted her there.  OR I wanted her there if they decided to do the IUI then.  I would have been completely bummed if she missed the first IUI we had! Sooo I was reallllly relieved that she was home and we were going in together.   We got there at 10:15 and actually I was called back by 10:25ish.  It was nice we were there early.  It looked like the follicle was bigger, but hey who knows really...those ultrasound images are just goofy.   After the U/S we went back to the waiting room and waited to be called back.  Once in the room we just chatted until the doctor (I assumed Collins) came in.  Imagine my surprise AGAIN when Dr. Jeffers walked in.  I was so happy to see her.  I'd forgotten about that positive energy she oozed and was so happy to see her.  I was, however, slightly nervous that she only had my file, and not the usual laptop that the staff carry.  But it ended up being good news because she said that the follicle was 18 which was a good size, but it meant that I'd ovulate on the weekend. She also said that the lining of my uterus looked perfect.  I think that's encouraging!  Of course things can't just happen during the week! She offered us two options.  The first was to trigger Friday night and have the IUI on Sunday morning, and the second to trigger Saturday night and have the IUI on Monday morning.  She was afraid though that if we waited until Monday we'd miss the ovulation.  We all agreed that we'd do the Sunday IUI and hope to have better timing.  So off we went from the clinic with a prescription for Ovidrel and a plan that would be told to us by the nurse once she called the weekend place.  We went to the pharmacy to drop off the script and told them we'd come back.  After some errands we stopped by to pick up the shot.  It was a prefilled syringe (sadly I thought it would have been fun to draw up the med myself!) that needed to be in the fridge.  Then I got a call that the IUI would be at 10:30 Sunday morning.  Soooo the shot would be given at 10:30pm Friday.  We didn't really do much on Friday, and since I had to work on Saturday morning I dozed.  I did however set an alarm to make sure I didn't miss the 10:30 time.  well once the time came I gave myself the shot while Brenda took pictures.  Wow.  I've given a lot of SubQ shots, but never on myself.  It didn't really hurt, it was just strange.  I am glad I don't need to do that daily! I mean even if this time doesn't work it will just be ONE shot a month! So after the shot I went to bed!

Saturday was uneventful.  I worked, but felt strange all day.  Almost like I had food stuck in my throat.  I am convinced it was just nerves.  But anyway, then we went to my sister and brother-in-law's for my niece's birthday. The party was fun, although the girls were a bit excitable.  Funny thing is as Ross (brother-in-law) was escorting the kids to bed he looked at us and said "One...One is perfect!".  We both laughed and I was thinking to myself "One's all I'm asking for right now".  :-)  Driving home on Saturday I was feeling crampy on my left side and was thinking I was ovulating.  I hoped that it wouldn't be too early.

This morning I woke up early and called into work.  Since I was scheduled but I needed to have the IUI today I had no choice.  Now...lets be realistic i wasn't too bummed to skip work. (tee hee).  (Oh on a side note my sister was teasing me about being "So sick" on Sunday). We decided we wanted to go to church and I was so glad we did.  Church always gives me such a sense of peace and a refreshing renewal.  It was a nice distraction this morning. Especially since Church was all about kids and babies. (Moses in the basket).  I did have a slight scare at 8 this morning when I got a call from the clinic.  I was supposed to call them at 8:30 to confirm that I wanted to have the IUI.  Once the sperm is defrosted it cannot be refrozen.  So at 8 when the phone rang I was a little afraid.  Basically somehow the time got mixed up and I was supposed to call at 7:30.  Now I had 8:30 written down and even confirmed it.  BUT Oh well no harm done. From church we went right to the clinic.  I had to sign some paperwork and then we waited.   Wow was the waiting room nice.  It looked like something out of a magazine. And it was BUSY.  Apparently I wasn't the only one ovulating on the weekend.  The procedure itself wasn't a big deal at all.  The nurse had me sign something else and then she said she'd be back and I just needed to get undressed from the waist down.  I did and when she came back in she had me confirm my name and the donor number and initial something else (goodness more people should go through this check list before having kids).  She said that the sample contained 25million (really? I only need one...but umm how do they count them?) Then I basically laid there while she told me what she was doing. I won't get into details (unless someone really wants to know they can ask) but when all was said and done I had to lay there for 10 mins with my feet on the table.  Oh and she said "well you can check IUI off of your bucket list".  LOL! Brenda and I just sat and chatted and laughed about how funny the whole process was.  Oh and I shivered.  BRRR that place could use a space heater in the room!  (OH also it was funny that while we were waiting for our 10 mins we heard two other timers go off).  Soooo I got up, got dressed and we went home.  I laid on the couch and ended up napping for a while and have been trying to convince Brenda that I don't feel different.  Cuz, well I don't.  Ummm yeah apparently it can take a while for the "M-M's" (mini-Michael's as in Phelps) to get to their  destination. 

That's it.  That's the story.  Now I wait.  I will know sometime in early October.  And well if it doesn't work then I am taking October off to have the HSG test done and we'll try again in November.

ultrasound #2

We went back today to see if an egg has taken over to be the primary egg. We did get good news.  One egg seems to have taken over and is about 13mm right now.  The doctor said it needs to be around 18-20 mm to trigger it.  So now I have to go back on Friday.  I am a little sad because Brenda has to stay at work and can't come with. I understand and would rather have her at the IUI than just another ultrasound. 

So at this point my IUI may need to happen over the weekend.  BLEH I guess we've got to go to another place to get it done.  Hopefully it will all work out well.  I am getting excited! 

A little bit of planning.  IF it doesn't work this month the plan is to take October off and do an HSG test to check the shape of my uterus.  They inject a dye into my cervix and view the uterus and tubes and make sure that the fibroids aren't changing the shape or structure. 

Now I'm still in a waiting pattern!!!

Ultrasound

I had my very first ultrasound today.  I had to schedule a follicle study for around day 12.  Wellll day 12 would have been Sunday so they scheduled it for Friday just to be safe.  We also met with a different doctor.  We really liked this doctor as well which is great because we will be going back to see her on Tuesday.  The ultrasound started out just fine until the tech said "do you know you have fibroids?" I of course had no idea.  Well after the ultrasound we went back to the waiting room to wait to meet with the doctor.  I googled fibroid and found out (thanks Mayoclinic.com) that 3 out of 4 women may have fibroids and have no idea.  Then we met with the doctor and she said up to 70% of women have them, but that she's surprised that no one has mentioned it to me before since they are significant in size.  She talked about their location and she is hopeful that they won't effect my ability to conceive. 

Of course in my mind I think I am defective and a mutant. I have fibroids that are almost the size of my uterus! HOW is a baby going to fit in there?

Anyway, on to the news on my egg situation.  Apparently all the eggs are around the same size and there is no one egg stepping up to the plate.  So now we go back on Tuesday to have another ultrasound where I'm sure the tech will again ask about the fibroids....

Hopefully I will be able to have my first IUI sometime Wed-Fri next week.

I am still very hopeful and still believe that God has a plan for Brenda and I and that we will have a family sometime.  we just need to be patient and accepting of the plan God has for us.

CD2

I am officially on my second day of my cycle.  I have an appointment set for my very first follicle study.  I will have an ultrasound on Friday September 9th to determine how big my follicles are and if I have any eggs that are ready to pop out! After that we'll be meeting with a different doctor and creating a plan for when/if I need a trigger shot and when the IUI will happen!  It's so strange to think that everything is happening.  And yet I am trying not to get super excited.  i know it sounds strange, but I have read online that the chances of pregnancy are only like 15%? soooo that said It makes me feel like I shouldn't get too excited.

In other news I start school in one week.  ONE WEEK!  UGH and YEA all at the same time.  I am really ready to get this show on the road, but I am also nervous that I have forgotten everything over the summer!  And while everyone says I will be fine for the NCLEX I am still VERY nervous.  Funny enough I am probably more nervous for school and the NCLEX than I am for the whole IUI and pregnancy!    School will go quick though I know that December is right around the corner.  It will be great!

I'm back!

I took some time off from my blog because since I didn't have anything exciting to say and no one is reading it yet ANYWAY I decided it wasn't a big deal.

The past few weeks have been just fine.  I ovulated on schedule for August and so far I expect my schedule to start on or around the beginning few days of September.  Then that's when the fun begins.  Once my cycle starts I call the clinic and make an appointment for an ultrasound around cycle day 12ish as well as call the cryolab and send the sample to the clinic.  Then at my appointment they will do the ultrasound and determine when I may ovulate.  After that the doctor will give us a plan on when Brenda gives me the "shot" to trigger my ovulation and then I will have the IUI done. 

Again I am not getting SUPER pumped about it actually working because so many things I have read said it can take up to 3 months to work.  Also I read a lot of info on the cryobank message boards and many other people have had to wait a few months.  So I am banking on it really NOT working and then I figure I won't be too disappointed if it doesn't work right away.   Which brings me to my next topic.

Telling our family/friends:  To date we've told 3 people.  We decided a long time ago that to keep the stress of of us we wanted to wait to tell people.  That said, it's been so hard when people ask about next summer or even this winter.  Who knows where we'll be next summer.  IF (and that's a big if) it works right away I could be giving birth next summer!  Sooooo right now we're sticking with not telling people till it happens.  And maybe for a little while after.