Things are looking up

Often I feel as though I post only about my treatment and cycle. Well gee that is kind of boring!!! I am going to try to stop and give you a little more. Like amazing things that are going on in my life right now.
First of all today I am getting my hair done. YEAH!!!!! I can not wait!!!! It has been over a year since I last had a haircut or anything. So today I am traeting myself to the full treatment. I am getting highlights and a haircut. I actually won the package deal at a silent auction back in April and I decided to wait until just before vacation to get it done. I am going to have great looking hair for my trip to NYC this weekend.
Yep that's right we are taking a trip to NYC this weekend to celebrate my birthday which is on the 25th.  I'm not sure what our plan is for while we are in NYC, maybe catch a show and of course eat some amazing food. If you have any suggestions of things we must do while we are there please let me know.
Then after we get back from NYC I will only have 10 work days before we go on our cruise. I can't wait!!!!! Things really are looking up. It is going to be a fun filled couple of weeks. This is a great way to take my mind off the 2WW. Beta is October 1 in case you were wondering.

Sunday Funday

After a crazy busy Saturday full of fundraisers, Cash Bash for KIVFD from 7am-6pm a little nap and then out to Operation Care and Comfort at the bar that hubby and I met at from 8pm-11pm. We tucked ourselves in bed and prepared for our Sunday Funday. Sunday was IUI#5, because it fell on a weekend we had to go to the main offices for Shady Grove in Rockville. That is about an hour and half away from our house so we figured we would make it a Sunday Funday.
We woke up around 7am got showered and dressed (In our Ravens gear of course, because it was game day). Out the door by 8:30am and made the trek to Rockville. We got there in time for the hubby's 10am drop off time so he went and did his thing and then we had to wait until 11:30am for my appointment. We decided that since we had so much time to kill we would head over to Starbucks and grab a drink and do some reading.
11:30am rolled around and it was so show time. I went in for IUI#5, the duty RE came in the exam room and introduced himself and we went over all the paperwork. Hubby's count was good, they want anything above 5mil and we were at 7.5mil so we were happy with that. As the RE prepared to work his magic I asked him to please not hurt me like the last Dr did. I explained to him about the clotting that I had after the last procedure and he was a little shocked. He really took his time. I think this IUI actually took 4 or 5 times longer than the prevouis IUI's but I am really okay with that. I feel so confident that he actually got the cath in the best position and was so gentle with me. The nurse that was in the room was awesome too. She helped take my mind off of things. We actually talked about how her first child was the product of IUI#6.
After the IUI was done we had planned to go over to BD's Mongolian Grill, just like we did after IUI#1, when we arrived we found out that it had closed down so we had to come up with a different idea. We decided to head back towards home and we went to Buffalo Wild Wings, it was my first time there and I loved it!!! After we filled out bellies with some amazing food we went home and took a nap.
After a quick siesta we started working on the house. We got all the baseboard trim finished in both the bedrooms. After that was done we moved the remaining furniture back into the rooms. It really looks so good. Nigel thought it looked so good while I was painting the trim that he needed to get a closer look and with that he ended up with a white skunk stripe down his back. Poor little guy.

Let's go racing

My monitoring appointment went well. My lining is at 11.5mm and I have some follicles that are growing. Right side was a little sleepy this month, which is weird for me as I have really only ever had measurable follicles on my right side for the past 4 IUI's. So right side follie was only measuring at 12.4mm. Lefty was slightly awake for the party. They measured 3 follies 26.1mm, 14.7mm and 13.8mm. I know it only takes 1 so I am hoping that the 26.1mm follicle is the one that will do the trick. I am hoping for some little NASCAR spermies that want to go fast and go left. IUI will be on Sunday, and since it is a weekend we will have to go to Shady Grove's main office in Rockville, so the hubby will not get to do his sample at home. I am secretly happy about this because the one time that he did his sample at the office was the time with the highest count. I am also happy about doing the IUI on Sunday because that will mean we get to have a Sunday Funday. Just me and the hubby. Our calendar is all blocked off so we get to do what ever we want. Right now the only thing on the calendar is "Baby Making Day!!!!" you gotta love my hubby for putting that on there.

Life

Well it has been over a week since I last posted. I figured I should at least post something so you know I am still alive. Things are going good. No side effects with any of my meds and I go in for monitoring tomorrow so fingers crossed that things will look good. Work has been really busy. I kind of hate it. I seriously had the thought of just packing up all my stuff and not coming back the other day. I know that I can't do that but man the urge was very strong. I think if I can get some of the backlog that was dropped in my lap taken care of things would be better. I just don't want to work all the overtime hours because believe it or not I have a life outside of work. Speaking of my life outside of work, we have had some great progress on our home renovations. We purchased new carpet for the bedrooms and that was installed this past Monday. It looks amazing!!!!
I have also been trying very hard to get healthy. I have been trying to watch what I eat and I have been working out like crazy. I am hoping that I can shed a few more pounds before we go on the cruise in October. I've gotta look good in my new bikini that the hubby just bought me.

Rainbows

For those of you following along on this journey, IUI #4 was a bust. ::::Let the waterworks begin:::  I knew when I tested on Friday and saw that stark white test strip that things didn't look good, but beta day wasn't until Tuesday so I was staying hopeful that Friday was just a little too early. I actually decided not to even test at home the morning of my beta. I would just take it as it was given to me. So on Tuesday morning after a long weekend, I woke up early so that I could go in and have my beta drawn. I knew that Nurse D would call me around lunch time so I only had a few hours to wait. Truth be told my body didn't need those hours to wait for Nurse D, it decided all on it's own and of course my period started while I was at work waiting for the phone call from my nurse.
I cried.
I just couldn't believe that this was happening again. It wasn't supposed to be like this. We had always talked about having kids as soon as we got married and here it is almost 2 years latter and nothing.
But you can't have rainbows without the rain, right???? So I pick myself up and dust myself off and get ready to do it all over again. Same protocol as before, because according to EVERYONE at my RE's office "You respond so well". So well let's see if it works this time.

Here is the rainbow that I saw on my drive home on CD1 for IUI#5. Let's hope there is something magical at the end of this rainbow.

One of those days

This morning a few minutes before my alarm went off I got a text from the hubby. He informs me that the bridge heading westbound (the way I need to travel to work) is shut down. Humm!!! So I figure it is from an accident orsomething and it will be cleared up soon. Even so I decide to hurry up my morning routine and end up leaving my house 30 minutes early. I was so proud of myself I made it out of the house early!!!! That hardly ever happens. Anyway I guess it turns out I didn't leave early enough. My 25 minutes commuted ended up taking a total of 2 hours and 15minutes. Had the hubby been home I totally would have turned around and we would have had a weekday fun day, but no such luck since today is his shift. Oh well. The worst part about all of this is that late to work means late to go home too, since I don't really have the time on the books since I would rather use them for fun things like vacations. Most days I love that I live on an island...........Today might not have been one of those days.

Enter The Phantom

 

Nope not Phantom of the Opera, Major Phantom Symptoms. I am currently 1 week (7 days) past my IUI and the phantom symptoms have kicked in, in full force. Over the weekend I started having the major aversion to food. Like I didn't want any (which is crazy for me since I LOVE food)and I had that feeling like I was going to throw up constantly. Once I started eating I was fine. So I kept eating small amounts so that I wouldn't get that pukey feeling back. But then there was Saturday and I was up at the Firehouse, we were waiting for my FIL so that we could head to the state fair. That pukey feeling hit me, and then before I knew it I was praying to the porcelain gods. I really hope that this is a sign that the IUI worked. This is going to be the longest week ever as I wait to find out.

IVF Consult

The time came that went in for our IVF consult. Not a whole lot happened. I mean I am not even sure if this is update worthy but I will go ahead and let you know what we know.

Dr. M sat us down in his office and explained the process BCP, then a mock transfer, then start stims for about 10-15 days, Egg retrieval, and then 3-5 days after that is Embryo Transfer. All things I pretty much expected. We didn't really discuss the meds that I would be on or anything like that. Dr. M really feels like this last IUI had to work and that was the thing that sealed the deal and I will be pregnant. If only it were that easy Dr. M...... We met with Nurse D and signed all of the IVF paperwork just so that we could get it out of the way. The one thing that hubby was unsure on before this meeting was if we should freeze and embryos that we may have left over, I was all for it since it would mean I wouldn't have to go through the entire process again if it doesn't work or if we decide we want to add more to our family. After talking with Dr. M the hubby realized that this would be a great idea, unfortunately that is the only thing our insurance does not cover. So I have set aside enough money in my Flex Spending account to cover this if we need to use it. I am not worried about losing any money that goes into my Flex account since I wear glasses and contacts and can always buy new ones if the end of the plan year approaches and I haven't used the amount that is in there.

While Dr. M explained the timeline to us for the IVF cycle we mentioned to him about our upcoming vacation in the first week of October. We all came to the conclusion that we should do 1 more IUI if needed before we go on the cruise and then if neither of the IUI's work then I will start on the BCP in the begining of October and then we go from there.

Here's to hoping that Dr. M is right and this IUI works. Come on Sept 4th please bring me an early birthday present.

Another one in the books

Another IUI complete. Yep put it in the books. It wasn't my normal RE, it was his partner. I don't care for this RE as much as mine but hey, he knows how to do the job too. So first thing out of his mouth was "You have 3 very mature follicles. Are you sure that you are ready to possibly have twins?" I told him that of course I would be ready for it ( I may have to to take lessons for K&J my friends who just had twins). Anyway then we got into the housekeeping of the appointment, making sure it was my hubby's sample and what not. Anyway the RE seemed happy with the numbers but I was a little disappointed since this was the lowest post wash count that hubby has ever had. It was 5.1 million and I know it only takes one, but it is such a difference from our first IUI with 17.6 million post wash. Oh well! There is nothing I can do except wait for the 4th of September. That is Beta day and that is when we find out if this worked. Keeping my fingers crossed. Any good vibes you can spare please send them my way. I need all the help I can get. Thanks!

Monitoring Appointment

So this morning i woke early on a Saturday morning but it was worth it. Lining is 9.23mm, follies are 21.4mm, 21.4mm and 18.9mm triggering tonight. IUI on Monday at 1015. Yeah!!!!

Weekend Update

Well the weekend wasn't very exciting. Hubby had to work a 48 so I was home all weekend by myself. Good sides to being home by myself are that I can get caught up on sleep, do lots of reading and work on craft projects if I want.
So what did I get done over the weekend? All 3!!! I slept for probably 20 of the 48 hours that hubby was gone. I also finished Mockingjay, now I need to start a new book. And I finished the corkboard for my office. Check it out.

Getting ready for the weekend

How does everybody love to start out their Friday??? For me it was with the vag cam. CD3 appointment was today and all looks well. Starting the Clomid tonight. I also have an award banquet to go to with the hubby. This will really be the only time that I get to hamg out with him all weekend since he is working a 48 starting Saturday. Boo!!!!! At least it will give me plenty of time to sit around and read. I might even get to finish my book. I am currently reading Mockingjay (The last book in The Hunger Games series). What are you reading? Anyone with some great reads please send them my way.

And go

Tuesday night the spotting starting and Wednesday morning was at the point of full blown flow. And her we go again. Let's start IUI #4. My meds will arrive today. I go in for day 3 monitoring Friday and then I start the Clomid days 3-7, then 2 vials of Bravelle on day 9 and back for monitoring on day 11 and probably triger that night with an estimated IUI date of Monday August 20th. Yep it's a whole bunch of the same old stuff. Let's hope it works this time.

Here's the plan

So yesterday afternoon when my nurse called we had a long discussion about what my plan should be and what we need to do to get to the point I want to be (pregnant). Nurse D asked me if I wanted to come in and meet with Dr. M for a consult so that we could talk about IVF. Well I was already a step ahead of them all I have an appointment scheduled with him for August 22nd. I know that seems forever away but it was the earliest I could do with him on vacation. So then Nurse D and I discussed what we should do in the meantime. I told her that I wanted to try another IUI or 2 since DH  and I are going on a cruise in October. I told her I didn't want to start any of the IVF meds until after the cruise, the only exception to this rule might be BCP's which she said I would need to be on for 19 days. She agreed that it would seem silly to not have a treatment cycle or two while waiting for us to get back from the cruise so she said yes we could do another IUI. I was a little upset that she did not want to change my meds at all for this 4th IUI. She said that with the way I have responded there really is no reason to change it. Last cycle I had 2 great follies at 24mm and my lining was at 12.6mm so they really don't see a reason to change. So here we go again......That is as soon as I get my period. AF where are you????? I am sure she will be here before the end of the week. My meds have been ordered and they arrive on Thursday, so we are ready to get this show on the road.

Standing by

Well today is Beta day. I woke up an hour early so that I could make it to my appointment on time. I figured I should test at home so that way I will be better prepared for when the nurse calls me. Well you guessed it, the test at home was negative. :::insert tears:::
I wish that this somehow go easier.....but it doesn't. Now I sit and wait for my cell phone to ring so that my nurse can tell me how Dr. M is really happy with the way I responded and that he just can't understand why it didn't work. I mean everything was textbook, 2 follicles at 23mm, great lining, a good count from DH, so what went wrong. Who knows?????
So now I sit and stand by, waiting for the phone call. I am not sure how this phone call is going to go. I am hopeful that they will want to do another IUI since we are going to be going on a cruise in the begining of October, otherwise we will just have to try on our own until we get back from the cruise at which point we can move on over to IVF land. I hope that I don't have to go there, so I guess only time will tell.
Since I'm standng by you may as well too. I'll keep you posted on how the phone call goes.....whenever I get it, so stand by.