Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Beta #2

206!!!!!!


My levels decided to more than TRIPLE in 48 hours!!!  DH thinks this means I have more than 1 baby in there.  I said not necessarily.  No more bloodwork for now.  Just waiting another 2 weeks until we get to have the 1st ultrasound.....and hoping I don't go crazy waiting in the meantime.

Update on symptoms:  Other than the bloated feeling, we have noticed since around Sunday that my BBs have definitely gotten bigger/fuller.  I already have a pretty good sized chest, but now my nipples are GINORMOUS! LOL

Also, I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping for the past few days.  I will fall asleep around my usual time, 10 or 11 (usually while watching TV).  But then just sleep 2-3 hours before having to get up to pee.  Then after that, when I come back to bed, I just can NOT get comfortable and can NOT sleep for like 3 hours until I fall asleep for another 2 hours and then get up.  Yesterday evening, I was already feeling tired after my 7:30 PIO shot.  I was telling myself I can NOT go to sleep or else I'll be awake all night.  So I begged DH to take me somewhere just to keep me awake and alert.  We decided to just go for a little walk.

While we were walking, I was telling DH about how much trouble I am having getting to sleep at night. Then he asked me if I wanted a new mattress.  You see, the mattress we have now, we've had it for 4 years.... but it was used before then.  My mom got it at a garage sale somewhere and at the time it was great because anything was better than sharing a twin bed.  But it is really not very comfortable.  Now it just so happens that tomorrow (Thursday) is my birthday, and DH was stressing about what to do/get for my birthday.  (He's just not good at thinking of any gift that is not practical, and besides I don't even wear jewelry that often).  So we decided to walk down the street to the mattress store (gotta love living in the city) to take a look.  We ended up finding one that I really like that was on sale, and DH was willing to just go ahead and order it.

Isn't that ironic? Going for a walk just to stay awake, only to end up buying something to sleep on. LOL

Monday, August 29, 2011

And the beta is.....

60!


They said they like to see it at least over 50 by this point, so I am pregnant.... fo shizzle! :)  I'm just a tad disappointed because I was hoping for some whopping high, possible twin-range 1st beta like I see so many blog friends have.  But hey, pregnant is pregnant so I'm definitely taking what I can get!!! Praying it doubles (or more than doubles) by Wednesday.  :D


After this morning's bloodwork, I just want to say how much I really freakin love my doctor and his office.  Actually, even before we started the IVF, even when I was just doing the SHG a few months ago, I was already impressed with his bedside manner compared to other doctors we've had.  (Then again, it could just be that I've only had really mean doctors.  My RE in OK seemed more interested in my charts and my ovaries than me as a person).  For my baseline u/s, my RE was out of town and I had to go to his partner doctor in Beverly Hills.  I felt like that office was too big and impersonal, the nurses seemed bitchy, and the doctor was just weird.
This morning I was waiting in the waiting room longer than usual (to be expected on a Monday morning, I suppose).  There was an older lady in there, as well as a couple.  I think the guy must have said something about the waiting time because the other lady told him that it's nothing to do with them, and that this doctor was very well worth the wait.  For the couple it was only their 2nd visit, but the lady had already gotten pregnant with his help a couple years before.  So we were all sitting there talking about how awesome this doctor is.  The lady said that with her last pregnancy, she had an OBGYN that was so mean that she fired him and was begging the RE to deliver her baby (which of course, he doesn't do) until she finally found a new one. LOL  Nice to know we went through a doctor with that good of a rep.
When I was called back to get my blood drawn (after peeing in a cup, of course), the nurse asked me if I had tested at home.  I told her yes, 3 times and they were positive.  I said "But I know that doesn't mean much if my beta is low."  She assured me that a lot of times they see low betas at first, but then everything turns out to be fine.  She was also doing a pee test while she took my blood, and sure enough we got a line.  She went to go tell the doctor, then the other nurse (who is the one usually taking my blood and accompanying the ultrasounds) came over and looked at the test with a huge grin on her face. The doctor came over and looked at the test, then gave me a hug and everybody was saying "Congratulations!"  It was such a nice feeling to have the whole office get as excited as I was; like one big happy family LOL  :)

I am SOOOOO glad I was recommended to this RE.  Which would not have been possible had I not been given a recommendation for an AWESOME urologist by Emmy.  Thanks Emmy!!!





Unofficially....official?

I meant to do this post last night, but I was so exhausted I just fell asleep.  These last few days have been crazy emotional!

First, an update on my "symptoms": since Wednesday night I noticed that my BBs would feel pretty sore and sensitive whenever I'd take my bra off.  (But this wasn't happening much since most of the time I was at home wearing very loose-fitting clothing and no bra.)  The painful, nauseating cramps went away after Wednesday.  When I went in for my bloodwork on Thursday, I told the nurse about those and she said the progesterone is what does that.  However, I have continued to have this.....feeling below my stomach.  Hard to describe because it's not really a "cramping" feeling. It's like a dull pressure/heaviness/bloated feeling.  And it is constant, making it really uncomfortable for me to wear anything but stretchy exercise shorts or pants that are too big for me.  This is the one symptom that has been driving me crazy because it is so unusual and unlike AF symptoms.

So I planned to hold out until Sunday morning to test, thinking that since I only had one HPT in the house the desire to save money would tide me over.  Ha!  By Friday night, I was already getting anxious to test.  That night, I couldn't sleep too well.  I went to bed around 11:30, woke up around 2:30 to go to the bathroom, came back to bed, and had the weirdest dream.  I dreamed that I used the HPT and the test line instantly turned really dark (the way it did morning after my HCG trigger).  Then I wanted to surprise DH with the test by leaving it by the computer table, but when he finally came to look at it, it was completely blank as if it hadn't been used at all.

I woke up from that dream around 5:45 and had to go to the bathroom again (but not much).  Thought I would go back to sleep but I just could NOT sleep after that.  I kept thinking "Should I test or not test? Was this dream a sign to test or not test?  I surely won't even get a dark line this early, but I should get something right?"  Ok I eventually got out of bed about an hour later, having made up my mind that I would test.  But I made the stupid decision of trying to drink a lot of water to make myself go instead of holding it for longer.  So I used it, and thought I saw a line appear right after the control line, but it was sooo sooo faint I wasn't sure whether or not I was just imagining it.  It was like deja vu of the olden days, when I would try so hard to make myself see a line when it was obvious there was no way I was pregnant.

So then, I did what any woman in my shoes would do......consult Dr. Google.  Sure, THAT will calm my crazy head.  After agonizing over what a 9dp3dt BFP should look like, I decided that I would go out and buy more tests.  So I told DH I was going to get some shaving razors (hey it's true, I DID need razors).  But he figured me out anyway; after he got up he was like "Did you buy more tests?"  That man can read me like a book.

I told him that we needed to go somewhere today because I just HAD to get out of the house.  We decided to go to the beach, but not until his friend came over several hours later.  Just enough time for me to go even more crazy on the internet.  So then we did drive to the beach....except the whole road was jam packed and there was absolutely NO parking ANYWHERE, so we just drove back home.  That was a wasted hour.  So we sat outside by the pool and played a card game to pass the time.  Then the boys decided to jump in the pool.

While they were swimming, I decided it was time to go inside and test again.  (I had made sure to hold my pee for at least a good 4 hours).  I started to see a line very soon after the control line showed up.  Then I started screaming/squealing/laughing to myself because the line kept getting darker!  It was not "dark" but there was no way it was imaginary this time! Now I always thought that I would try to find some nifty way to "surprise" DH if I ever got a BFP, but I just couldn't keep it to myself! I ran out to tell him (or rather, I briskly waddled because of the heavy/bloated feeling).  Of course he was in disbelief (I think he still is).  I tested again yesterday morning: once again, BFP!  So I called my mom before church to tell her the news and ask her to keep praying that however many little babies have latched on, for them to hold on tight for the next 9 & 1/2 months!

Last night, I tested AGAIN (okay, POAS addict here) so that DH could see it in action.  I tried with a cheapie from the Dollar Tree first, and got nothing.  DH was like "What? What's going on?"  I'll admit I was freaking out just a little too, but figured that the cheapie must not detect as well as the others.  So DH told me to use the pricey FRER, and sure enough, we got a line!  I had him take a picture while we were still within the 10-minute time window (I couldn't get a good enough picture on my camera with the previous tests).

Ta-da!
(Okay, you probably have to click to see it better)


And here it is again, next to the old tests:




I go in for the BETA this morning.  Even with 3 BFPs at home, I'm still soo nervous about this.  (High numbers please please please....)




Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Stupid side effects :(

Since my last post, we have resolved the issue with the PIO shots.....and by resolved, I mean that I've fired DH and my neighbor is continuing to do them.   Hey, she actually enjoys it, I guess it gives her something to do.  I still make DH draw it up for me though (I think he likes playing scientist with the syringe, just not stabbing me lol).


Today is 6dp3dt, and I'm beginning to fear that this didn't work.  Beta is not until Monday.  I have ONE hpt in my house, so I'm planning to hold off on testing until at least Saturday or Sunday.  However, it seems that I had more "symptoms" right after the transfer (when it was DEFINITELY too early for pg symptoms) and those have all seemed to wean off now.  I think I have yet to have any symptoms that are enough to convince me they could be implantation/early pg symptoms.

Here's what I have been feeling:

2-3dp3dt: Sore BBs (particularly the left):  WAY too early: obviously a progesterone side effect.  Now my BBs are not sore at all.


2dp3dt-present: Lower back pain:  Progesterone? Pressure sore from lying down a lot? Or just the fact that I have a really crappy back anyway?


4-5dp3dt: Waking up in the wee hours of the morning or right after a nap with EXTREMELY PAINFUL cramping throughout the whole midsection that lasts about 5 minutes (TMI ALERT: the last time it happened, the cramping was relieved by using the bathroom):   Implantation? (very doubtful) Or gas pain from the PIO?


4dp3dt-present: Mild, dull cramping and/or bloating feeling around the uterine area: Implantation? Or just the PIO & Estrace playing more mind games with me?


5dp3dt: Random cramping in right leg:  ....actually I have no clue what that's all about.  Estrace side effect, maybe?


5dp3dt: Irritability:  PMS? Or just from being on pelvic rest for so long I can't remember the last time we GOFO?  lol

Saturday, August 20, 2011

PIO: piece of....

Well, it finally happened:  Last night we had our first PIO freakout/meltdown.

As I mentioned before, my neighbor had been coming over at 7:30 every night to give me the PIO shot. Whichever side she was doing the shot on, I would lean the opposite leg onto the couch to shift my weight onto it, and then she would stick me faster than I knew what happened lol.

Anyway Thursday night, since I had been laying in bed pretty much all day, DH decided to go ahead and give me the shot so I could stay near the bed.  After cleaning my left side with the alcohol swab, I leaned into the same position, and DH gave the shot perfectly: just a little pinch, didn't hurt.  I was so proud of him.  So we assumed last night should be just as easy, but no.

First of all, I was watching TV and then DH turned the TV off.  I was like "Hey! I was watching it! That was my distraction!" So he turned it back on.  I got into position, and DH made the stupid mistake of saying "Are you ready?" Now why'd he have to do that? Now I was anticipating it.  And when he tried to stick me it actually HURT this time, and I moved a little as a reflex.  Great.  So DH changed the needle and we tried again.  Same thing happened, and then he got mad: "Why do you keep moving?? The needle was halfway in and when you move it comes out!"  I said he must have been doing it too slow if it was able to "come out" that quickly.

He went next door to ask my neighbor if she could do it.  She wasn't there, but her roommate said she should be nearby; she just went for a walk.  However, she had left her phone at the apt so there was no way of calling her.  So I just sat on the couch waiting and crying because I was too chicken to let DH try again.  I'm not sure if I was more worried about him hurting me or about screwing up and wasting needles.  

Finally at 8:25 (hey, they say to do the shot "within the same hour" so we're good) I was about ready to give in and let DH try again after he suggested maybe I should lay down flat.  So I went to the bed and then my neighbor walked in, so of course we let her do the shot instead.  Then, she took the used needle and made DH practice stabbing an orange.  She goes "Look, here's her butt.  Just *STAB* it in there real quick like that.  See?"  Well I tell you DH stabbed the heck out of that orange lol!  Then he looked at me and said "You're right. I think I WAS too slow with it."

So now I'm not sure what will happen tonight. I still don't know if I trust DH with a needle...lol! I'll take any tips from you ladies out there.


On a side note: since Thursday's transfer, a lot of people have been asking me "What are you gonna do if you have triplets???" Even though the chances are low, I know there's still that possibility.  Yikes. We wouldn't mind twins, but if we found out all 3 implanted I think I would mostly be worried about whether or not my body would be able to handle it.  But we are against selectively aborting, so if that did happen we would just take the best care of my body and pray for the best.  Whatever will be, will be. :)

Thursday, August 18, 2011

I'm "unofficially pregnant!!!!!"

This morning's embryo transfer was full of lots of good news and surprises:

First of all, it turns out that our 2 late-maturing eggs did fertilize after all, so we have a total of 6 little embies! They are of course a little behind on the growing, so they are both at 4 cells right now.  Out of our initial 4 embies, 2 of them are right on target at 8 cells (my RE gave them an "A" and an "A+"!) and the other 2 are growing a little slower at 5 cells now.  My RE said that for our age group, 2 should be enough.  But he decided he wanted to go ahead and transfer one of the 5-cells as well, for "insurance" as he put it.  He thinks that our other 3 should be able to make it to freeze.  However, the embryologist said that one of the 4-cells may have some problem.  She said it's "too big" or "too uneven."  We'll see.

I'm just so excited that right now I am PUPO with 3 little embabies!!!! (To my readers unfamiliar with the lingo: no it has nothing to do with the life cycle of a caterpillar. ;) It means "pregnant until proven otherwise")

The lab gave us a couple pictures today.  I joked with DH that all the Fertile Facebookers who post a million ultrasound pics on their page, they never get to have THESE!  lol (Don't worry, I have absolutely no intention of putting these on FB)
Here are our 3 embryos pre-transfer:


And post-transfer:




So now I am on bedrest for 3 days to help these little ones snuggle up nice and tight.  I am trying my best to lay/sit as still as I can for long periods of time.  My legs get awfully fidgety though, so I'm trying to fight it lol!

DH is being very sweet helping out.  I had read that pineapple (or particularly pineapple core) is supposed to help with implantation, so he went out to the grocery store to buy me one.  Then he said he wanted to make a list of what we have to eat, so he wrote out a "menu" for me, sectioned by "proteins," "veggies," "fruit," "dairy," "carbs,"  and best of all "condom." You would think that's his way of abbreviating "condiments," except the list includes: peanut butter, cashew butter, soup, and pickles.... He says "condom" is his own category lol! 

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

We've got embies!!!

The doctor's office called me a little before noon today:  Out of the 9 eggs they got, 4 of them are now fertilized!!! They said there were 2 more they did ICSI on, but trying to get them to mature so we could end up with 6.  I would be more than thrilled if they did, but I know the chances are slim.  I'm just so ecstatic that we actually have 4 of our OWN little embryos out there waiting for us.  GROW, EMBIES, GROW!


On a side note, I have to say that DH and I are both really surprised about our recovery from yesterday.  I had always thought that DH would come out of this procedure grasping his junk and whimpering with pain.  Instead, I was the one all crampy and sore, waddling around and needing help getting into the car.  At home, DH only sat on ice for about 20-30 minutes.  But only because I requested him to for good measure, not because he felt he needed it.  He has really not been in much pain at all.  Meanwhile,all day yesterday it hurt me to stand up, sit down, lay down, etc.  I almost freaked out thinking I might be getting OHSS last night when I saw I had gained 5 pounds, but I was not having any other severe OHSS symptoms.  So I've just been drinking plenty of water and when I got up this morning, my weight was back to normal.

Also, I had my first PIO shot last night.  And once again, my neighbor did it for me.  She actually came to my door in the afternoon and asked me what time to do the shot, and I hadn't even asked her to lol!  But she seems so eager to stick me, and is so gentle with it that maybe I'll make it a regular thing haha.  DH did help by drawing up the PIO and then massaging the area for me afterwards, so it's not like he's completely out of the process. ;)  Here's hoping tonight's shot goes just as smoothly.

Monday, August 15, 2011

MESA and Egg retrieval story

Just got back home from the egg retrieval and MESA! (That is, after stopping for breakfast afterwards- we were starving!!) Everything went very smoothly; piece of cake!  Here is the long story:

This morning I woke up around 5:30, feeling very nervous.  I couldn't tell if it was butterflies in my stomach or just my ovaries feeling gigantic and torturing me.  I woke DH up around 6:20 and we started getting ready.  I got a small bag of stuff together(socks, jockstrap, pads, a couple oranges), which we ended up not even needing because the facility provided stuff for us.  Our friend (today's chauffeur) ate a little bit (making me jealous lol!) and then we hit the road.

We got to the facility at 7:15, and DH was the first to sign paperwork, then they brought him back.  I saw his doctor walk through the door at about 7:35, and DH said they started around 7:45.  First, they gave him a couple shots in the sac to numb him.  He says it didn't hurt too bad and after that he didn't feel anything and they went to work getting those swimmers out.  DH says first the doctor collected a sample and then left the room to examine it (he said it was weird that he was left with his balls just hanging open for a few minutes lol). Doctor said he had plenty of sperm, but he wanted to get some more for freezing, so he took a little more, and then stitched him up.  I was so surprised when DH came walking into the waiting room at around 8:25 all smiles, didn't seem in pain at all.  (I think the pain meds still haven't worn off quite yet; we'll see how we're doing in a few hours).

All while DH was in the operating room, I was waiting outside feeling almost nauseous with nervousness.  Don't know why because at least I got to be asleep and DH had to be awake.  Anyway, my anesthesiologist came out around 8:15, then my RE arrived at the office about 5 minutes later.  At 8:30 they took me back to get changed and then I went to the operating room.  The anesthesiologist gave me a numbing shot before doing the IV, which didn't hurt a bit.  As he was putting the IV in, my RE got me into position on his end and assured me that I wouldn't feel or remember a thing.  The anesthesiologist told me he was giving something to relax me, and the RE said "You'll close your eyes and doze off in just a couple minutes."  I looked at the clock and saw it was 8:45.  Then I looked at the ceiling and started feeling sleepy, but I was so determined not to close my eyes while I was still conscious lol.  The last thing I remember was the nurse putting the blood pressure monitor on my arm, then I woke up and it was 9:15. (Staples button: that was easy!)  I was feeling pretty groggy and definitely crampy, but nothing too bad.  The nurse gave me some juice and Tylenol and after 15 minutes I was ready to get up.  Had to get dressed veeeeeeery slllloooooowly because of the cramps but it was still manageable.

So they managed to get 9 eggs from me.  I won't hear a maturity/fertilization report until tomorrow.  I'm just praying that this is enough.


Sunday, August 14, 2011

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

Last night's trigger shot went surprisingly well.  However, DH was not the one giving it.  Now don't worry, he didn't chicken out.  I just did.  I was so concerned about getting this shot JUST RIGHT, and I somewhat jokingly asked "should we find out if there's a licensed nurse in our building who can do it?"  And DH replied, "....IS there a nurse here?"  So I decided to find out.  I went next door to ask my neighbor who pretty much knows everything about everybody.  No nurses here, but it turns out she has gone through EMT training and she mentioned that she had a friend she helped by giving "those pregnancy shots."  How convenient! :)
So I had her come over, DH helped to mix and draw up the HCG, then at precisely 8:30 I leaned over the couch and let my neighbor stick me.  Didn't feel a thing; that was easy! Of course, just a few minutes later I could definitely feel something (and my bum is still sore)!
This morning I went ahead and decided to test the trigger with an HPT, and sure enough it turned positive instantly.  So at least I know we got it right! But it was very weird for me to see that, wondering if I'll ever see another positive.

I'm trying to keep calm for tomorrow morning and pray that everything goes smoothly.  I think it's the anesthesia that's got me worried the most.  I'm just ready for it to be over and to have peace with whatever happens.
There's a song that my mom used to sing at church a long time ago, and lately it's been stuck in my head quite a bit.  Particularly the line:
I know not what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future
I think it's very appropriate to our situation, and I pray that others like us may find the same comfort









Saturday, August 13, 2011

Pulling the trigger

This morning was my last office visit & u/s before the egg retrieval...which is Monday! AUGH!!!

So today we saw about 11-12 follicles.  But of those, only 5 are really the lead follies (ranging from 16-18mm).  Dr said he didn't want to continue stims because he is most concerned about those leads, and doesn't want them to become post-mature by the retrieval.  As for the other eggs, he says they *may* be able to mature them in the lab after retrieval.  We shall see.

Tonight is the HCG trigger! This is my first intramuscular injection, so DH is stepping up his game and doing it for me.  This time he will be sticking a 1&1/2 inch long needle in my ass instead of doodling on it.  What joy!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Movin' right along

Here I am, after 8 days of stims and boy let me tell you: the emotions are going wild! Especially yesterday morning, just about every little thing was making me cry.  Even just looking at my bookshelf and the waterworks would just start from looking at the TITLES of some books. *sigh* I'm such a crybaby.
And, I probably shouldn't have been quick to say I'd be a "pro" at these injections.  The Menopur mixing had been a little tricky for me at first, but certainly even more after trying to mix TWO vials.  The other night, I just had the hardest time trying to draw up the saline without getting huge air bubbles in it.  And after that, trying not to let the plunger move because it apparently has a mind of its own when there's too much air in the vials.  After I'd done the very best I could, I was left with what was definitely not one FULL cc of solution, and I nearly broke down crying thinking that I just couldn't get it right and it would screw everything up.  Last night I made DH mix it for me.  He decided to forego the Q-cap and just use the long needle to draw up the meds instead.  He actually seemed to be handling that syringe a lot better than I did.  Still ended up with a *little* less than 1 full cc, but I suppose it was the best we could get.

Well yesterday afternoon I had my u/s and right away he saw that my lining was looking great at 7.7mm, so I guess the Menopur was working after all. (Oh, to answer a previous comment: yes, I have been taking the baby aspirin so I guess that is helping too).  Then we checked what my ovaries are doing, and I think he only counted about 9 follicles.  Mostly ranging from 11-14.5mm, but there were a couple small ones too.  He said there were 6 "lead" follicles that he should definitely be able to use.  According to him, everything was looking good and so there was no need to up any meds.  However, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.  I guess I was hoping we could see more follies than that...I guess to have more of a "buffer" for error.  But hey, if we get *just enough* to have a healthy baby, that's good enough for me.  I have my next u/s tomorrow morning, so we will see how the follies are doing.  My ovaries have been KILLING me these last couple of days (seriously, today I can barely walk without feelin' the pain) so I hope that means we'll see some really GOOD ones.  I should be triggering tomorrow night, and then Monday is the egg retrieval/MESA.  This past week, the fear finally got to me and I started feeling really nervous and queasy looking at the chart at the Dr's office that explains the retrieval.  Yikes!

Funny story: At the appointment yesterday, the Dr. told DH "[Your doctor] should be calling you within the next couple of days to let you know what you need before the MESA. Now, he'll be doing it without the anesthesia; I believe he does that with most of his patients. But if you want the anesthesia, just let them know beforehand."  DH just quietly nodded and said "Ok."  But as soon as the doc and nurse left the room, he starts hyperventilating and goes:
"No anethesia?? I'm not doing it! I'm not doing it!"
"Well ok then, ask for the anesthesia if you're scared."
This conversation went on for some time after the appointment:
"I'm not doing it without anestheeeeeeesiaaaaaaaaa" (in his acting voice).
"He said most guys do it without anesthesia so it must not be that bad."
"NO! NO! I'm not doing it! I'm not cutting my balls, I'm not doing it!"
Then again, in the car:
"I mean, WHY would anybody do it without anesthesia? Do you know how much it hurts just to get hit with a ball there?"
Suddenly, I realized there was a communication barrier. ".....honey," I said, "When he said no anesthesia he just meant you won't be asleep, but of course they're going to use a LOCAL anesthetic."
"OH REALLY?!!!" DH lets out a huge sigh of relief.  "Well, I might be ok with a local anesthetic....yeah I think I'll be ok."
Poor DH.  Just goes to show we gotta be careful in how we communicate when we're caught up in all the medical lingo.

And another funny thing that happened this morning:  You see, DH has this funny habit of doodling on things when he is on the phone.  But instead of little squiggles or pictures, he just writes a word that pops up in conversation, and writes that word over and over and over and over again.  Kinda cute actually, but access to any writing utensil while he is on the phone can be dangerous.  I think he's only ever destroyed a couple important (but not irreplaceable) papers of mine.  But most of the time, there is no paper, so instead he doodles on the computer table. Or best of all, he is relaxing in the computer chair with his feet propped up on the wall and doodles on his thighs instead.  That's right, on his LEGS.  Even yesterday while we were waiting at the pharmacy, he got out his pen and started doodling on his leg.
So this morning, I woke up and was just lounging around in my underwear.  Then I went to the bathroom and as I was washing up, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a bruise on my backside. I was thinking "Oh crap! What is going on? Am I having a bad reaction to the meds? Let me see what is th....."  Turns out it was not a bruise.  Instead, there were several illegible words written on me.  So I went back to the bedroom to show DH.
"Um, honey? Did you DOODLE on my ass while I was sleeping?"
"What? No"
"Then what is THIS?"
"What is that?"
"It's YOUR DOODLING!"
"Oh....I think I put my leg on you, that's why."
That's my goofy hubby for ya.

Monday, August 8, 2011

"Let's see what we've got cookin' here....."

....said the Doc as he stuck the good ol' ultrasound doodad up my hoo-hah.....

So I guess all is looking relatively well.  I have 7 follicles "cookin," ranging from 6-10.5 mm. Mostly in the 8-9ish range.  However, he says my lining is still a little on the low side: only about 4.4 mm.  The nurse poked my arm once again to test my estrogen levels, so they said they will call me later on today to let me know whether I need to go up to 2 amps Menopur, or still stay at one.

The injections have been treating me pretty good.  I have been icing my tummy before and after the Menopur and it definitely helps.  I think I'm slowly becoming a "pro" at these shots, although the other night it was possibly a little over-confidence that led to a little mishap.  The first 2 nights the Follistim was treating me well, and I only got a small bruise from the 1st night of the Menopur.  However, night 3, after I did the Follistim, I was on my way to grab the ice pack from the freezer before the last shot, and noticed I was feeling a little more stinging than I expected from the Follistim.  So I lifted my shirt and saw I was bleeding like crazy! (Ok well, maybe not THAT bad, but it was quite unusual).  So I had to clean that up, yet it managed to leave the biggest, nastiest bruise of all thus far.  My best guess as to what happened is I probably took the needle out too quickly and/or at the wrong angle and ended up ripping a bit more flesh (if that's possible?) Yuck.  That's not happening again.

As far as the symptoms, SO FAR I have only felt a *little* cramping.  The few times that I've felt slightly nauseous, I usually attributed it to other reasons at the moment (i.e. "Oh I just didn't eat breakfast yet" or "Oh I just gotta use the toilet").  Hmm, maybe I'll be okay during the 2ww?.....Nah, I'm pretty sure come the 2ww (our first ever LEGITIMATE 2ww at that) I will be going absolutely nuts analyzing every symptom.

Next appointment is on Thursday, and we may possibly see even more follicles then. Yay!


Update: Turns out, my estrogen is low, so tonight I did the 1 amp Menopur, but as of tomorrow I'm bumpin' it up to 2 

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Surprise!

What a fun Thursday:

This morning I wake up relatively early, on my own.  I decide to just be lazy for a good while, and *maybe* do a little cleaning before my 12:15 eye appointment.  So 9:30, I'm just chillin' at the computer when I get a call from the RE's office.  My appointment is not until tomorrow, but the Dr has decided he wants me to come in and start stims TODAY!  

So I take a quick shower and ask DH if he wants to tag along.  He agrees and slllllllloooooooooowly gets out of bed.  We look over the consent forms once more (and have a nice little spat about the whole what-to-do-with-potential-frozen-embryos-in-the-case-of-our-death thing) and head to the office.  Dr comes in and profusely apologizes for wearing jeans since he didn't originally intend to see patients today.  Does the ultrasound, everything looks good.  Get poked in the arm again, fun times.

Then I go to my eye appt and *supposedly* my last eye doctor had me over-corrected in my right eye.  I apparently should be wearing -6.5 instead of the -7 I have been wearing (yes, I'm about as blind as a bat!)

After that appt, we go to UCLA for DH to run a quick errand, then he drops me off at the pharmacy.  I pay a whopping $860 for 4 days worth of Menopur and Follistim.  Then I come right back out and DH is not waiting for me outside, so I try to call him.  But whaddya know, I'm stuck in the middle of Westwood and can't get any service on my phone.  So I borrow a phone from someone, and of course DH's phone won't ring either.  So I'm just left waiting outside, slightly annoyed.  Annoyance turns into slightly freaking out about where the hell he could be and why the hell he is taking so long.  45 minutes later he comes around the block, and says he was stuck at one light for the last 30 minutes (although I suspect he probably drove a lot further away then he needed to!) I come home, relax a little more, then have my little injection party around 7:30.

Gotta say, I think the Follistim pen is pretty nifty, although clumsy ol' me ended up stabbing myself afterwards while trying to unscrew the needle. I had a little trouble mixing the Menopur; probably should have used the Q-cap to draw up the meds instead of that long needle it came with.  And I had heard that one stings quite a bit so I sure am glad I saved it for last!!

So even though this was one hectic busy day, I'm glad the appointment is out of the way.  Now I can use that free time tomorrow to.......CLEAN!  My sister & BIL are coming to visit from San Jose.  Hooray Hooray! I get to be someone's "tour guide" in LA! :)