ET a success!

Hey there! The ET today was amazing - I am working on downloading pics from the day and will post more later once I get them all loaded and the day summarized. Let's just say we are over the moon!

ET Tomorrow!

Just wanted to pop in before going to bed. Our Embryo Transfer (ET) is tomorrow morning - can you believe it! We are just so excited! DH is upset with me for being up so late - he thinks I should have been in bed a couple of hours ago - I love how he so into this and wants to take care of me. So sweet, isn't it?!

OK - I'm off to bed - I'll be dreaming of my 2.5 embabies growing in their little dish in Syracuse. Can't wait to see you tomorrow and take you home. Sweet dreams!

Feeling Much Better

So I freaked out a little yesterday. But I just had such a hard time believing that there were only four mature eggs - I still do. If this round doesn't work, there will be a lot of questions asked at the WTF appointment. DH and I both discussed that if, for some reason, this round doesn't work, we'll definitely try a second round.

In all honesty, this really hasn't been as tough as I thought. Sure, it's kind of uncomfortable when I'm "full" of eggs, and sometimes I feel like I could just cry/scream, but really, it's all been pretty manageable. I could definitely do it again. It would be a whole lot easier if my insurance covered it all instead of paying out-of-pocket, but we'd definitely do it again.

But for now, I'm not thinking about next cycle. I'm thinking about this one. That we're still in the game. I called the RE's office this morning and the answering service had someone called me back. We discussed my concerns about only having two and that they might die between yesterday and Monday. And that we have to drive two hours just to get there. That if there was any way to find out how they're doing or to call us before we leave to save the drive if, in case, none of our little embies were still living.

She assured me (sort of!) that they should still be ok for Monday and to still come out. They don't check them again until about 8:00 Monday morning. She said that they gave us an early appointment for that reason and said that there was one girl who had an 11:15 appointment that is also driving and they told her to call first because hers didn't look that good. They didn't tell us that, so to just come on out.

I'm not sure how much I believe that if they were good yesterday, they'll still be good by Monday, but I guess I just have to put my faith in the RE's hands. And if we end up making a two hour trip for no reason, then we'll just have to deal with that when the time comes.

So, like I said, I'm trying to be positive right now. It's a lot easier than yesterday after hearing the news. That was NOT a good time. But, DH and I talked about it, we spent the afternoon out on the boat and went to see some 4th of July fireworks last night in a town where he used to live. And yup, I know it's a week early - they always do them early since we live in the capital of NYS and they always have a huge display on 4th, so they do it early so as to not compete. So much easier to go see these - not nearly as many people!

Although - there were definitely some characters there last night. I think I have seen my share of mullets, liquor/NASCAR/Harley t-shirts, women without bras that should NOT be without a bra, and feathered/hairsprayed hair to last me the rest of the year. It definitely made for some good people watching before the fireworks started! That, and I got my fried dough - yum!

Today we have some errands to do - I've finally updated my ER entry (below), I have to get new tires on my car, clean the house, make some bread, make some cookies, and pack for tomorrow.

I also made a vet appointment for Riley for tomorrow after we get back since he is STILL vomiting and has now scratched himself raw above his scapula. We were going to leave for Rochester right after the RE appointment since it's only 1-1.5 hours further, but we couldn't bring the cat with us and leave him in the car. And we wanted to get him into the vet once again. So we'll probably head out Tuesday morning to Rochester instead.

I hope whomever is reading this has a great day - and thanks for reading!

Fert Report

Fuuuuuuck. Of the 10 eggs they got yesterday, they only injected sperm into 4 - so apparently out of all 10 of those eggs, only 4 were mature? Why the hell didn't they stim me longer? FFS! And of those 4, only 2 fertilized. 1 might catch up, but right now, 2. And based on the quality of DH's sperm, I don't have high hopes for those 2 lasting until Monday morning.

I know, I shouldn't be so pessimistic. "It only takes one." "There have been some girls who only had one and it worked." I know all of this, but right now I just want to bitch, scream, cry, everything. It's like we went through all of this and spent all this money for nothing. (Yes, yes, I know it's still early and they could last).

Almost makes me wonder if they didn't stim me longer because they didn't want to have to do it on a weekend. I know, that's probably not it, but blaming it on them is making me feel just the tiniest bit better right now. So now we hope and pray that those 2 (.5?) don't crap out and last until Monday morning where we have to drive 2.5 hours to put them back. I guess that resolves the issue of how many we put back, eh?

OK, thanks for listening to my vent. Sorry about that so early in the morning. I have the draft of my ER written, just haven't finalized/posted it yet. Will get to that sometime today. I hope you all have a great day!

Egg Retrieval

Well - today was a day full of nervousness, excitement, waiting, and laughs.

It takes about two hours to get to Syracuse (since we're on grant, have to go to the "Mother" office rather than our local office which is only 10 minutes away) so we got up around 7:15 and left around 8:40 for our 11:15 appointment. I'd rather be early than late! Ride was pretty uneventful although it sucked seeing Tom eat when I couldn't - I was starving!

We get there around 10:40, go in, fill out paperwork and wait. And wait some more. And wait some more. Apparently they had a lot of IVF's that morning so we didn't get to go in until 12:20 - yikes!

While we were waiting, Tom goes out to grab an another apple to eat and he notices we have a flat tired. Oops! That sucks. So the whole time we're waiting I have to try and get his mind off wanting to go and get it fixed, because who knows when they'll call us in! Knowing our luck, they would have called us while he was gone - that wouldn't have been cool!

They call our name and take us back. They take Tom to the room for him to get dressed in his nice little outfit and me to the bathroom to change into mine. Very cute, if I have to say so myself! haha

They get me all hooked up and started giving us the low down of what pills they're giving me for after and what's going to happen to the procedure. Thanks to the girls on the nest (especially Shawna!) not much of it was a surprise. The doctor comes in, introduces himself and then heads out to go get ready. Anesthesiologist then comes in and starts explaining what he'll be doing.

I ask one of the nurses to take a picture, and they were all for it, thankfully - love it! They even start joking about all the fun pictures they can take while I'm under lol

Anesthesiologist administers his magic potion, I can start to feel it, and not too long later I'm out - such a nice little nap! DH takes quite a few pictures while I'm under - they said they had never had anyone take pictures before and they were loving it - suggesting pictures he could take, even getting him to take a picture of the ultrasound screen.

When I woke up, I guess I just started asking lots of questions - and apparently repeatedly since I wasn't quite awake enough and didn't remember what I asked - whoops! But they were good, though, and answered all of my questions - every time. Overall, I guess the whole procedure took 5 minutes and I was out another 5 before I woke up. It's such a fast process.

Once we were done, they had me get dressed while DH went out to call AAA for the flat tire. And while we were waiting for them to show up, the nurses were so awesome. They know I hadn't eating since the night before and here it was almost 2:00 - so they took us both into their kitchen and fed us. How awesome is that! They had sandwiches, wraps, salad, brownies, etc... We ended up having a chicken salad wrap, soda, and a brownie (or maybe it was a couple brownies - they were goooood!). Gotta love drug reps for bringing the free food. But even more for the nursing staff to be so incredibly nice and letting us join them for lunch!

AAA finally arrived and couldn't fix the tire, but did put on the spare and directed us to a tire place to see if they could do anything, or get a new one. DH comes in to get me and we set off for the tire place. And here is where DH turned into a typical male - the directions the AAA guy gave us were wrong - and instead of stopping by and asking one of the many auto-type places to ask for directions, he just keeps driving. And driving. So what could have been 10-15 mins had he been willing to stop and ask for directions took over 45 minutes. So frustrating! But, in the end, we found it, they miraculously patched the tire, and we were on our way home - yay!

As far as the recovery goes, I wasn't honestly in a lot of pain. I was a bit drowsy and had some period-like cramps and could take Tylenol if I wanted (nothing else, though - I guess the others thin out your lining?), but they honestly weren't bad enough to take anything.

Got home, we ate dinner, went for ice cream (yum!) and just hung out for the rest of the night. I ended up passing out on the bed without realizing it, but did wake up in the middle of the night to take my billion pills and a picture of my very bloated belly.

Before:

After (so bloated!)

Now let's just hope this bloated belly sticks around and becomes a pregnant belly, right? Can't wait for the fertilization report - hopefully it's good!

I Can't Button My Pants!

Yikes! I always knew bloat came with the territory for trigger/ER/ET, but I guess I just never let it sink it that it would happen this early. So I'm sitting here at work with my pants unbutton, sore boobs, tired, and patiently counting the hours until I can leave! I have tomorrow and all of next week off, so I can't wait to just not have to be at work, let alone the anticipation of the ER and ET!

And oh yeah - I can definitely still feel those ovaries in there - keep on chugging!

Triggered!

I made it to 11:45 and the trigger has been injected! Woohoo! Sub-Q shot like the rest, so was very easy (plus, it was pre-filled!). There's on turning back now I guess, eh? ;-)

OK, I'm off to bed, I'm exhausted. Night!

Stim Ck #3 - It's a go!

The ER is a go for Friday! At 11:15 am to be precise. They re-measured today and everything looks awesome. And I knew going into this that were were some positive growth in there - it is even more uncomfortable now - I can feel them all the time - and standing up/walking can be downright painful! haha

But, here are the updated measurements:

Left Ovary:
22.0
20.6
20.0
17.4
15.3
12.4

Right Ovary:
20.6
18.7
17.3
16.3
15.6
12.0
11.8

So not too many in the 18-22 range yet, but hopefully a few more will sneak in that range by Friday when they take them all out. So here's my protocol for the next few days:

Tonight: no stims, no Lupron, no aspirin (which I've been taking to thin blood to prevent clotting, etc...). Trigger the follicle release with Ovidrel injection at 11:45 pm. They retrieve the eggs 36 horus after the trigger, so that's why so late at night. Just hope I can stay up that late - I've been pretty tired lately.

Tomorrow: shot free day! Just no food/liquids after midnight

Friday: drive to Syracuse for the ER. Still no food. Also, no jewelry, watches, nail polish, contacts, anything that smells, wear comfy clothes

• DH gives his fresh sample and they inject into the good eggs. Speaking of which, I'm happy I confirmed with them today that his frozen samples would be sent to Syracuse. They hadn't yet! So they will be personally driven to Syracuse with the doctor today. Phew!

Saturday: they call with the fertilization report

Sunday - Wednesday: sometime in here, assuming we still having living embro's, they will transfer some back in!

OMG I am so frickin' excited. Nervous and excited. I am excited to get this show on the road and to get me pregnant (hopefully!). But I'm also nervous something may go wrong. That None of the eggs will be good. That in all of the samples that DH has given (Friday's fresh or past frozen) that none of the sperm acan be used. That none of them fertilize. That none of them make it to transfer. Or that if they do, none stick or I miscarry.

Ugh. I just need to keep being positive. I know I have to keep some of the reality thoughts in there that something may go wrong so it's not a huge crash if it does, but for my own sanity right now, I need to keep thinking positive thoughts, so wish us luck! POSITIVE THOUGHTS!

And if they don't, in the amazing words of my husband last night when we were talking about this: If this cycle, or none of our future cycles work, we will always have each other. And that's something I will always cherish.

I love my husband so much!

I want to tell...

Yup - another post today - I sometimes don't think to add things until I've already posted, and then don't want to have to go in and update an old post. But there are times when I really want to tell people about IVF - about what we're doing. I know - lots of girls on the Nest know, but it's not really the same. I want to be able to talk to my mom, my sisters (one of which is pregnant), etc... To be able to talk to people in real life about it.

Granted, there are 2 people who know. One of my friends/co-workers because I broke down one day after having to take yet more time off of work. And another is one of my best friends - she accidentally saw something we left out (oops) and I know she saw it, so I talked to her about it. Both have been fantastic and really supportive - and someone to talk to about it other than poor DH having to hear about it. They are both genuinely interesting and that's great - especially since I love talking about it! haha I just wish I could get myself to tell someone in my family - or even DH's.

Granted - what I wrote above doesn't mean that DH doesn't want to talk about it. I actually asked him again the other night during one of our late-night walks if I was talking about it too much and he said absolutely not. He is very excited about all of this - as much as I am!

As a matter of fact, he made a comment that just made me love him even more. He is the type of person that doesn't really let himself get too excited about things until the day of, day before, or basically only once it gets closer. He was like - I got really excited about proposing the morning of. For the wedding, I got really excited the day before. But for this, at the prospect of us getting pregnant, that he has been excited for so long, and it just keeps building and he can't wait for the ER and ET! (and no, that doesn't mean he wasn't excited about proposing or getting married - he really was! it's just how he works ;-) )

When we went home for Father's Day I had to put my Lupron in the fridge. I hid it pretty well, but I have to admit. I was secretly hoping someone would find it and ask what it was for. Although DH and I did work out a story that it was a med for our cat who we had to bring with us since he was, truly, on meds at the time for the accident. Just not Lupron ;-)

But no one found it. And no one accidentally walked in while we were doing my shots or accidentally saw my needles, etc... I really didn't expect them to. But part of me was secretly hoping they would so it would be a good opener. Does that make sense?

I don't think any of them would be unsupportive. Well - maybe my dad who is super-religious, but I've got ammo to fight that battle should it arrive! haha On the contrary, I think they would all be curious and very supportive. But I think that may be part of what's holding me back. I like talking about it, but not sure i want to go through it a thousand times with them in case they didn't get it (although they probably would). And I'm not sure I'd want to deal with the questions all the time. Although maybe I might like it?! And finally, I want my BFP announcement to be a surprise. And if I told them about the ER, the ET, and the 2WW, then it really wouldn't be a surprise - as much as a - guess what - I'm 3 mos pregnant! That may just sound crazy to you, I don't know. But I can't just get myself to do it. DH even said I could tell them, but I just haven't.

His family would be supportive as well, although they would have a LOT more questions - at leat his parents would. Both DH and his parents were adopted since his parents couldn't have children. But they are definitely older and not sure if they would understand everything. His dad is the kind of guy who likes to ask lots of questions, so maybe by the end he would! haha But, DH doens't want to tell them - or anyone else really - so I respect that. He does know, though, about my two friends knowing.

He went home to his parents for the wedding a couple weekends ago and the night before the wedding he and a friend of his got pretty drunk and they started talking about babies. The subject sort of came up (friend think we are looking into doing IUI like another common friend of ours). DH didn't want to get into it too much and based on how they sounded that night, I don't think the friend would remember the conversation anyway! LOL

We have talked about possibly discussing it with the above friends who went through IUI, but haven't really had the opportunity. We're going out there again this week for vacation, so if we see them, maybe we will. Or maybe we won't!

OK, I think I have typed enough. I've written, yet again, another novel. I just type as things fall out of my head. I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading!

Vet Update

I know you're looking for another vet update, right? ;-) And of course by "you", I mean me, since I really don't think anyone reads this blog haha DH just called and he said the xrays went well - no blockages/obstructions, no shifting of organs or anything. Everything looks 100% ok inside. So now the vet is thinking that perhaps when the car hit his head, it messed up the motility of his food or something? I didn't fully understand everything DH said, but the vet is giving us a pill that is supposed to help get the food to absorb and move through his digestive track. We have to quarter the pill and give him a quarter 3 times a day. And if that doesn't work after a few days, he has a stronger version.

Let's hope this works because I'm not sure what else is left!

Ovaries - I have them!

Yikes - let's just say I can DEFINITELY tell I have ovaries right now and they are very, very full of the lovely follies I'm growing! It used to be that I could sort of feel them when I walked or stood up. Now, I can feel them just sitting here, when I stand up it's actually kind of painful and definitely uncomfortable. And with every step, it's like someone's hitting me in each ovary- left, right, left.... So I think I am definitely on track for Friday! lol

Another Vet Appt.

Forge to mention previously. We have to bring Riley in for yet another vet appointment because he is no longer keeping food down. When he does actually bother to eat, he's throwing it back up again. All weekend he pretty much seemed to just stay away from eating in general, really. He would sometimes luck some of the gravy/liquid off some of the soft food and tuna we gave him, but that's about it. And even then, he'd throw some of that up, too.

Vet wants us to bring him in tomorrow for a barium/xray. Because of that, he can't eat anything after 6:00 pm and can't drink anything after midnight. And wouldn't you know it, he seems to be whoring himself out and doing anything he can to get food tonight. What a day for his appetitie to come back! haha I guess the new round of Prednazone is doing it's job.

Hopefully they find out tomorrow what's going on. Of all the things to come out of getting hit by a car, this wouldn't have been on the top of my list - it's so sad. Don't get me wrong - he could certainly stand to lose some weight, but this isn't how I want him to do it - poor baby!

Stim Check #2!

Went in today for Stim Check #2 and so far, so good - we are still on track for the ER to be this Friday - THIS FRIDAY! Yay! Actually saw a doctor this time. In the past, it's usually one of the nurses who draws the blood, does the ultrasound, etc... The only time I had seen an actual doctor was at the HSG/SHG. Not that I mind - the nurses are great. I was just curious if the only time I'd see them was at an actual procedure! lol


But nope, saw one today. He did the actual measuring. He only measured the top 5 on each side - the others were small, so I'm guessing he didn't bother measuring those. He said my lining is looking great, too! Here are the measurements as of this morning (mm):


Left: 16.2, 16.1, 14.8, 12.2, 11.3

Right: 17.7, 15.4, 13.6, 12.2, 12.1


Not bad - they're getting there! They kept me on the same Follistim and Lupron protocol and I go back on Wednesday morning for my next check. Honestly? I can't wait!


I look forward to each each time to see how things are progessing. They asked me today how things were going and how I was feeling. I told them I actually like doing the shots - makes me feel empowered - like I'm actually doing something about it, you know? Does that make sense? Although I do have to admit my belly is getting a little sore from the injections - to the touch. I think I need to vary up my locations more than I do. I've got some nice bruises and needle prick marks in this belly of mine! My latest Lupron actually resulted in a nice little bump - it eventually went away, but it was pretty funky to see!





The biggest, and honestly, the only side effect I really have right now is I can feel my ovaries. With every step I take, when I go to the bathroom, when I sit down, etc... I can feel them. I sometimes feel this when I am on a regular cycle, but not nearly this much. I can definitely tell I'm growing a bunch of follies in there! It's kind of a sharp ache in each location - not really sure how to describe it. Kind of annoying/uncomfortable, but nothing painful by any means. Guess we'll see how I feel in another day or so when they're even bigger!


Speaking of bigger - I know they want the follies to be between 18-22 mm for the trigger. But I honestly never stopped to think about how big that really is. I tracked down a metric ruler today at work just to see for myself. Definitely bigger than I realized! And to combine that with about 14-16 of them in there? No wonder I can feel them and girls feel full/heavy at the end! haha


OK, guess that's it for now. Time for bed. In case you haven't noticed, I pretty much ramble and type as I "speak it' - don't really supress any of it - so if you've made it this far, nice job!

The Weekend

Nothing too exciting happened this weekend. Did some stuff around the house - cleaned up, yard work, etc... We picked our first vegetble - a jalapeno! I forgot to take a picture before I started using it. But up next we have some Early Girl tomatoes growing!

I took this picture a couple days ago and there were two small tomatoes growing - but we actually now have four!

We went to one of the Drive-Ins this weekend as well. The first movie that was playing was Get Smart and the second was The Love Guru. Neither was fantastic, but neither was bad either. That's the beautify of the Drive In. You pay $7, you get to see two movies, bring in yummy snacks, and make out with your husband if you want! haha So who cares if one of the movies isn't all that great, right? It's fun! ;-)

Stim Check #1!

So I had my first stim check this morning and it went awesomely! Is that a word? Eh - I'm going with it ;-)

I don't have any exact numbers yet, but the uterus lining looks good and it looked like I had about 14-16 follicles growing in there! Now I just hope they keep growing and we get some good mature ones out of that bunch! We didn't measure them today, but will next week. We're hoping for 18-22 mm and then we'll trigger. Based on what we saw today, it's looking like my egg retrieval (ER) will be a week from today. NEXT FRIDAY! Can you believe it!

They took more bloodwork this time, so I'm curious what my P2/P4 levels will come out to be. Based on the bloodwork from last time, my hypothroidism is getting better! My numbers aren't perfect, by my TSH went down from a 6.7 back on 5/13 (I think?) to about a 3.something this time. Typically you want it around the 1-2.5 range if I remember correctly, so I'm getting there. Not perfect, but my thyroid is at least functioning at a higher level now which is good. Need the levels in the right place to support a pregnancy and for brain development.

While I was there I made another appointment for DH to deposit another sample to freeze. Now that I'm growing all these eggs, we need to make sure he's got enough sperm! Based on his low count (morph and motility don't really matter with IVF) he's been giving them a sample every few days to freeze as backups in case his day-of sample doesn't have enough. It wouldn't be good to have lots of mature eggs to fertilize, but no sperm to inject! He's been a real trooper about it, too. (I don't think I've ever used that word, but it seems to fit! haha). His first SA he was really nervous to give, but now he's definitely gotten used to it. Just goes in, does his business, drops it off, and out the door he goes!

I go back in on Monday and Wednesday again for more checks. Based on those, they'll have a better idea of how things are progressing and when the ER and ET (embryo transfer) will be. We want them to grow, but not too fast - we want them to be good quality, not necessarily just good quantity! So, here's to hoping for good progress over the weekend!

Emotions and Stress

This may sound crazy, but there are times, especially today, where I feel like my emotions are just trying to explode out of me - it feels like I could both cry and scream at the same time. That either would do. It's like I want a sad song to come on the radio just to give me an "excuse" to cry. I don't let myself just cry or freakout - I like to keep my emotions in check. I feel like I'd need something I could blame as the reason. Does that make sense?

Again - I don't know if it's the meds, the stress of the IF and IVF in general, the whole cat situation, work, money (the fact that we've had to pay out many thousands recently for taxes, car, IVF, cat, etc... We have enough, it's just a little freaky to have to pay so much all at once and to watch your savings grow smaller and smaller - large chunks at a time!) or what it is. Or, quite possibly, a combination of a couple/all of them.

Who knows - I just don't like the feeling. It's not like I am a cold person. I actually consider myself a warm person. But I just like to keep any freakouts to myself. I tend to keep some of the "bad" feelings bottled up and then at times they just need a way to get out. I never scream or yell or anything. And I do make sure I get my happy/positive emotions out. I guess I sometimes just bottle the bad stuff in and eventually it goes away. Either that, or I apparently find some way to release it.

It would be good if I started exercising again. I think that would really help release some of this tension that's building up - in my emotions and in my shoulders/back/neck - ouch! DH and I walk everynight for about 40 minutes or so around the neighborhood, but I honestly need to do more than that. I am so out of shape, and I hate it. Plus, I know the exercising will help me release some frustration/tension that I have bottled up. Does that make sense? I need to get back on my bike, or back out there running/hiking. I need to get motivated again to do it. The kicker, is once I have my ET, all of that stuff, other than the walking, is a no-no. At least at the beginning. So I don't know. Maybe I'll look into yoga. And I'm sure I can do light weights. All in due time, I guess.

So, I guess that's it for now. I'm off to bed and tomorrow is Friday - woohoo! Have a good night!

Softball League

Oh, I forgot to mention. I went to my old softball team's game last night and they won - yay! We have a league on the plant where I work and I've played for the last 6-7 years. I was the senior member on the team, but I decided not to play softball this year for a few reasons. The biggest being that after the ER/ET my RE mentioned I couldn't do anything too physical and to not lift anything over 10 lbs. I am assuming swinging a bat and hitting a ball would equate to more than that. Plus, I am hoping to be pregnant and would be just too tired to play! lol

It was great to go and watch them play. I missed not being able to play, but it was fun to be there and hang out with everyone. Guess there's always next year, righ?!

Stim Days 3-4

Nothing too special to report. Still not really feeling any side effects. I once again have a headache and am exhausted. But I still can't be sure if it's from one of the drugs. I always have a headache and I didn't sleep much last night. So who knows. And I also felt pretty emotional today, but that could be due to either the meds or due to the stress I have at work and with Riley who still isn't 100% yet - still not eating well and vomiting (although not that much).

My sister and her fiance were supposed to be coming down to visit this weekend, but due to the gas prices, they've changed their mind :-( I was really looking forward to their visit, but I totally understand. They have to drive from VT to PA in a couple weeks so it made sense to save gas/money and not come down. Oh well... I did just see them this past weekend! And, now I guess we don't have to worry about hiding our meds in the fridge where they can't find them and hide doing the shots - it's quite a small house to hide that kind of thing! haha

Had an odd experience tonight with the stim shot. Nothing actually injected! haha Not sure what we did wrong, but it was really easy for DH to push in so that made us curious. And when I went to take the "empty" cartridge out (remember, it still has a little leftover in it), it's still about half full. Oops! So we just did it again and it worked. So bizzarre!

I go in for my first stim check tomorrow. I really hope there are some follies growing in there and they look good. Please, please, please!

Stim Day #2

Nothing too exciting last night and still not feeling anything different. I'm really tired today, but that most likely has nothing to do with my injections but who knows. Guess I'll wait it out and see.

On a side note, I haven't actually checked, but I think the needle in the Follistim pen must be thicker than the one I use for the Lupron. I say this only because both nights so far I have felt the Follistim needle going in, but not the Lupron. That and every time I pull out the Follistim needle I bleed. I don't with the Lupron needle. So, whether it's true or not, I'm sticking with my theory! ;-)

Also - I learned valuable lesson last night. Always read the labels/boxes that come with things. My Follistim cartridges are 300 iu. Each night, I inject 150 iu. So one would think that after two nights, the cartridge would be empty - you know, 150 + 150 = 300 = empty cartridge. But nope - there was some left over. So I freaked out a bit thinking - did I dial the pen wrong? Did it not come out? Did I not give myself the right dose?

But, thanks to the wonderful ladies on the Nest's TTTC, they kindly pointed out that they always overfill the cartridges - and, go figure, it's right on the box and the insert had I actually bothered to read it. Oops! Good to know, though - that way there's always enough to fill your pen and, if I for some reason need to stim extra, I may be able to fill up the pen with the leftovers from each cartridge. Not bad, eh?!

OK, guess that's it for now.

Father's Day Weekend

This weekend was great! A nice combination of relaxation and family time. We ended up heading north to my parents' house Friday afternoon since I had taken the day off and DH was done teaching early that day. So we packed up the boat, the cat, and enough extra "stuff" to last us a week. Oh well - better to be overprepared!

Friday night we dropped the cat and everything off at my parents house, said our hello's and then headed out to the lake with the boat. It was such a beautiful night out - I took about a thousand pictures. The views are just so beautiful beautiful up there, how could I not!



Even some local wildlife made the pictures!

DH did some fishing...



And I did some relaxing...



We had some snacks...



And some fun with my injections!



We stayed for the sunset that night before heading in - it was breathtaking!



It gets better...



And even better...



When we got back that night, Riley had definitely made himself at home!




Saturday, the weather was pretty crappy out - very humid and then some terrible thunderstorms. I even almost got hit by lightening when it came through the phone lines or something - it came within just inches of where I was sitting - yikes!


Dad worked most of the day so my sister and I spent it just hanging out with my mom while the boys (DH and my sister's fiance) went out to the lake to fish. Dad joined them once he was done with work - just in time to get out there and then have to come in because of the storm - oops!


And then Sunday was another gorgeous day - perhaps the best day of the three - sunny, clear skies, and practically no humidity - perfect for Father's Day! So we all hopped in the truck and headed to church. Then went home, had lunch, and then we all (except mom) went out fishing with dad. I decided not to get my fishing license this year so I played photographer for the day - yup - took another thousand pictures lol


Went to two different places - breathtaking views once again (gotta love the Adirondacks!)

Location #1:

My sister (7.5 mos pregnant - can't even tell, can you!) and my dad:

Second, and final fishing place for the day...








Fishing and spending time with dad (since we don't get to see him much) was our main gift, but we did get dad a few fun gifts. My parents don't drink, smoke, or anything. But we made a joke a while back that I was getting dad a six pack and a carton of cigarettes for Father's Day. So I poked around some stores and picked up a six-pack of root "beer" and some chocolate cigars. I really tried to find the candy cigarettes, but I guess they just don't make them anymore?

Before we headed out on the drive back home, we hung around my parents house for a bit and let Riley outside before being crated up for a couple hours - let's just say he knows how to get comfortable...

Finally, here are a couple views around my parents' property. It is just so beautiful up there - definitely nothing like the city life I live now!

Overall, it was an awesome trip back home. It is always nice to get away, relax, and spend time with family. Don't you agree?!

Hail - twice!

We have had some crazy weather lately. Super hot and humid, then cold, then sunny, then rainy and dreary, and then lots of storms thrown in. Well today Mother Nature added a new twist - HAIL. And not only once, but our house got hit twice. Thankfully, the only thing that got damaged were our vegetables. House, cars, etc... faired ok. I wasn't home to see it, but DH was and he said they about dime-sized. We were lucky - other towns near us had golf-ball sized hail - yikes!

The plants that took the biggest beating and were pretty broken and/or shredded were our cucumbers and peppers, but they all are worse for the wear. But they're coming back, thankfully.

Stim Day #1

So tonight was our first stim injection. DH was kind of nervous because the Follistim pen (blue & yellow item in pic below) looks so different than the regular sub-q needle, but he did think it was pretty cool that it literally looked like a pen - just fatter! lol


In case anyone's curious about what's in the picture: (clockwise from top/left)

• Alcohol and cotton balls since I ran out of alcohol wipes
• 5 boxes of Follistim cartriges and needles (silver)
• The inside of one of the boxes (white/pink)
• Lupron (little bottle)
• Lupron needle
• Follistim pen
• Follistim case

So we walked through the instructions together to load it and put it together - and then he injected me! So far, so good - it's only day one, so not really expecting to feel anything just yet. But I hear that towards the end of stimming, I'm going to feel quite hormonal, bloated, sore belly, and just "full/heavy" feeling. Then off to the egg removal and embryo transfer!!

Take me with You!

Riley apparently doesn't realize he's already coming with us to my parents' house for the weekend because he decided to crawl into my luggage and make himself comfortable last night when I was packing! Typical cat ;-)

Don't mind the bed - doing laundry!

Today = Friday (sort of)

I've decided I've had enough of being at work. Combine that with the fact that it's supposed to be gorgeous out tomorrow and we're heading up north to my parents' for Father's Day, I am taking tomorrow off, going to sleep in, enjoy not having to work, and then once DH is out of school (last day with the HS kids!) we'll pack the car and head up early. Figured we could take the boat out on Lake Champlain, do a little fishing, reading, and tanning. Not a bad idea, eh?!

OK - I'm already jealous of myself. I want to leave here now!

Some side effects...

Lupron Day 12. As I think I've mentioned previously, I've been really lucky as far as side effects so far. Some of the symptoms of Lupron are headaches, tiredness, moody, etc... And I've felt each of those, but i can't guarantee it's from Lupron and not others. For example - I often get headaches - usually due to lack of water, old contacts, staring at a computer all day and stress. I've been tired and moody, but I've also been under a lot of stress at work and more so in caring for my cat - and not sleeping much at night until recently as I've had to get up throughout the night to check on him. So who knows - they could be side effects of Lupron, or of everyday life!

But, there are some side effects that are definitely from the Lupron - although minor. For one, I've had a bit of bruising - I'm thinking it's from one of the times in the beginning where we pinched the skin really hard for the needle - oops!

And then every once and a while, after an injection, I get red and itchy at the injection site and a little bump - not sure if it's fluid or just from the injection.

Doesn't last long - 20 mins, maybe? I have to admit I kind of like it when it does happen - kind of makes me feel like this is real and something is really happening, you know? Especially since other (possible?!) side effects have been so minor. Yay for that!