She's Here!

Didn't want to leave my blog "hanging", but I've found that I just don't have the time to update as a good blogger should.

It was a mentally stressful pregnancy and I just didn't have it in me to do blog posts....sorry!!  With my chromosome issue, I spent 9 months worrying, praying, and making deals with God and anyone else who would listen that our little girl would be born A-OK.  It was an exhausting 9 months, but all of the worry and prayers paid off!  On February 26th at 7:06 AM our little girl was born!  She arrived on her due date approximately 7 hours from the exact time of the IUI!  Hopefully that means she'll be a punctual little girl!  :)   Labor and delivery were uneventful, except for her breaking my tailbone on her way out...ow!!  The whole process took about 12 hours, 11 hours of labor and 45 minutes of pushing, and out she popped weighing 8lbs 3oz, 20 inches long.    

So...I introduce you to our little girl....Julia....  :)

Thank Heavens For Little Girls....

Yep, that's what we've got on the way!  Baby boo is a she!  :)  Ultrasound went great - had B, my Mom, and my Aunt present for the scan and that made it even more special!  She looks great - heart is very strong and looks healthy.  Kidneys, bladder, and umbilical cord look lovely as well.  She was all layed out and chilling during the scan - one arm behind her head like she was kicked back on the beach getting a tan....lol.  She moved around some, yawned, attempted to suck her thumb, and just generally looked adorable!  :)  


I'm starting to look more pregnant -- still haven't broken down and gotten the maternity clothes just yet, but I think it's just around the corner....yikes.  My appetite has definitely increased, morning sickness is gone and now I'm just waiting for the increased energy level to arrive....someday!!  


Well this mama is pooped, so I'm hitting the bed!  Just wanted to post a short update!  Hope everyone is doing well!  And best wishes for a positive cycle for all those TTC'ers out there!

Attack of the giant ta-ta's!

Hello All!  Yes, I'm still here!  Just been crazy busy and still battling the preggo exhaustion.  Seems like FOREVER since I blogged....guess that's because it has been FOREVER!

We had our nuchal scan a few weeks ago and everything looked great!  Little pumpkin is still growing on target, nice strong heart beat, and the nuchal measurement was 1.4 (well within the range of normal).  So there's a good chance our little seahorse is A-OK chromosomally.  We'll know more at the next ultrasound, at 17.5 weeks, but the last ultrasound was very promising!  At the next ultrasound we should be able to find out if we've got a Mr. or Miss hanging out in there, provided he/she decides to play nice!

I've been feeling OK -- not great -- just OK.  I have a lot of stretching-type twinges in my pelvic region, especially when I sneeze or get up too quickly, but from what I've read it's allegedly normal round ligament pain, so I haven't been freaking out about it.  Morning sickness has subsided for the most part, so once the tiredness moves on out I'll be a happy camper!

The most disturbing pregnancy "side-effect" thus far has been the massive increase in boob size!  Whoa.... I always wondered how huge my "girls" would get once I was pregnant and now I know!  Ha!  Today I left work a little early (yes, I had to work on Labor Day...ewww) and went to the mall to find a new bra.  Wow....what an experience.... I tried on at least 10 different bras of various enormous sizes and none of them fit!  So frustrating!  And the other customers in the store weren't helping matters much!  As I was trying on my  10th bra in the third department store of the day, a super annoying woman and her super annoying spoiled brat daughter came into the dressing room.  The woman was complaining about her size 34B bra not fitting properly and she was just devastated that she might have to try a 36A!  Here I was trying to cram myself into DD/DDD bras that had cups the size of her little pin head and she's bitching about having to go up a size??  OMG!  Plus it was even more disturbing that she was "modeling" the bras for her 7-8 year old daughter saying things like "do you like how this one looks"??  WTF??  Just a super weird experience all around... but I finally decided on a bra and once I outgrow that one, I'm breaking down and buying the nursing bra...and a wheelbarrow.  :)

Well it's WAY past my bedtime, so I'll bid you adieu until next month...LOL.  Just kidding -- I'm sure I'll blog again before then....I hope!  :)

I'll leave you with a pic of our bambino from 3 weeks ago.... cute profile shot.... I'm jealous of his/her tiny nose.... lol.

And cue the pregnancy induced insanity....

It's official....pregnancy hormones suck the big one....for real.  Constantly cranky, exhausted, weepy, and a complete lack of sex drive!  Ugh....  Not to mention that my new thing is starting the day with a good hearty puke Monday thru Friday!  Quite sexy!!  I am sooo... ready to be out of the 1st trimester.... I'm on Week 11 now, so it won't be long, I'm just hoping the little seahorse decides to play nice and give me a break after Week 12.  

I have my nuchal scan coming up on August 18th, and I am very anxious about it.  There is a good chance that the scan could show the presence or absence of a chromosomal abnormality in our baby.  I have a balanced translocation of chromosomes 13 and 20, and therefore I'm at an increased risk of miscarriage.  So far everything is looking good, but my Mom has the translocation too and her miscarriages almost always occurred in the 2nd trimester, so I'm still on pins and needles.  Studies have shown that many chromosomal abnormalities result in increased nuchal measurements, so I'm really hoping that our numbers on the 18th will prove to be totally normal.  10 days stand between me and the test results and I'm thinking they will probably feel longer than the TWW.  

So, if any of my faithful blog readers are pray-ers, I'm taking every donation I can get!  :)  I'll keep you all updated!

Have a great week!!  :)  

Here he/she is....Mr./Miss. America..... :)

Today was our 9 week ultrasound and again soooo nervous.... I guess it comes with the pregnancy territory....lol!  Anyways....all was well!  Yay!!  


Baby is growing right on schedule and looking great!  Heart beat was nice 'n strong at 175 beats per minute!  :)  But the best part was, we could actually see tiny arms and legs!!  And at one point during the ultrasound, he/she moved and did a little wiggle!  Too cute!!  


It makes all the nausea, occasional dry and not so dry heaves, exhaustion, and boob pain all the more worth it!  I'm officially released from the RE and I'll be making an appointment with my OB/GYN!  


Thanks readers for all of your opinions on "What Would You Do" from my last blog posting!  I think I've made a decision....at least for now.  I think I'm going to go with the OB that I really like, the single mom who used a sperm donor, and I'll just deal with the hospital if I have to.  I will be asking her however, what happens if I just go to the other hospital and take my chances with whomever is on call, unless she can assure me that she'll be there to deliver the baby.  I'm considering going on B's medical insurance after the first of the year, and that plan would cover my delivery at 95% if we use the nice local hospital, and 85% if we use the hospital we don't like, but that my OB delivers at.  95% of delivery costs covered sounds pretty darn good to me at this point....my current plan covers me at 80% thru my work.   So at least that's one decision made....for now....only 2,000 more decisions to go!  Ha!  


Hope everyone is doing well....I've enjoyed keeping up on your blogs, even when I'm being lazy about updating my own!  ;)  


And now, without further ado.... introducing our little seahorse....isn't he/she cute?? LOL  Best looking baby-shaped blob on the block!  :)  

Our little seahorse....

We had our first OB ultrasound today and I was sooo nervous!!  Tried to play it off like I was cool, calm, and collected, but um....no.  Ha!  

B and I have been calling our little boo "the baby seahorse" for the past few days because at this stage of the game, that's honestly what it looks like!  Ha!  Anyways, imagine our surprise when we went into the exam room for today's ultrasound and the stirrup covers had seahorses all over them!!  They use different covers every time, but I can honestly say I've never seen the seahorses!  So, it might sound silly, but at that moment I felt like it was a sign that everything was going to be OK.  And OK it was!!  :)  We saw our little boo easily and he/she is a whopping 6 mm with a nice strong heart beat at 121 bpm!  It was soooo cool to hear and see the tiny little heart beating away!  It made it so much more real!  :)

I'm due to go back in 2 weeks for a 9-week ultrasound and then I'll be released into the wild....or to the OB....something like that!  :)  

Speaking of OB's....I have a WWBD (What Would Blogland Do) question..... Here's the issue -- I really like my OB/GYN, she's awesome and totally comfortable with me and my partner.  She might be gay herself, but we're on the fence, she's a single mom who used donor sperm.  The only problem is, she doesn't deliver babies at the nice, new hospital 3 miles from my house.  She delivers at the giant hospital downtown, where B and I have had multiple negative experiences.  So, what would you do?  Switch OB's to one that delivers at the local, nice hospital - or stay true to the OB you like and deliver at a hospital you don't like?  Any opinions would be most appreciated!!  

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!  I know we will!!  :)   

And the final number is....

3399 at 24 DPO!!  I'm pretty darn pleased with that!!  :)  I'm even more pleased with the fact that I don't have to go get betas drawn anymore! Yay!  I'm done with all of the poking and prodding until my first OB ultrasound on July 9th!  Very excited to check out our little pumpkin next week!  


Our trip to Ohio was nice....not exactly a tourist destination, but it was good to see my family.  We told 2 of my aunts and one of my uncles about the pregnancy, and swore them to secrecy since it's so early!  It was very well received and everyone seemed excited and interested in the process.  


Overall I've been feeling pretty good -- totally exhausted, giant sore tatas, and the occasional cramp.  Can't complain so far!  :)  I could complain about the Crinone since that stuff is just disgusting, but I won't because I feel like it's helping support the pregnancy, so I'm happy to "take one for the team" nightly....well maybe "happy" isn't exactly the right word...LOL.  Only 21 more nights of progesterone bliss.....sigh.... 


Hope everyone's having a great week!!  

Better than a perfect credit score!

Beta #3 is in and is looking good!  I'm at 811 at 19 DPO!  :)  Sooo happy and thankful that things appear to be going well so far!  I have to go back on Tuesday for what may be the last beta, so I'm hoping to clear that last hurdle and move on to the ultrasound on the 9th!!  


Hope everyone has a great weekend!  I'll be hanging out with my aunts, uncles, and 27 cousins.....yeah, we're Irish-Catholic!  ;)  


Also, just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your well-wishes!  So great to have the blog community pulling for us!!

Yippee! Beta #2!

I went to the RE's office yesterday after an icky weekend of intermittent AF-like cramps expecting to hear that my 2nd beta was not-so-good, but to my shock and surprise it was good!  I went from 46.5 on 12 DPO to 273 on 16 DPO!  That was a doubling time of roughly 36 hours, so I'm definitely happy with that!  Beta #3 is Thursday morning, so please keep the positive vibes coming my way, they seem to be working!!  :)   My first OB ultrasound is scheduled for July 9th, so I'm hoping everything stays on track and we've got a healthy kiddo brewing!


I'm feeling pretty good so far, aside from the occasional cramping and increased tiredness.  I'll be registering the tatas for their own zip code in the coming weeks, but I guess that's to be expected....ha!  According to my Mom, she started wearing nursing bras at the end of her first trimester....yikes!  


On Thursday, B, the dogs, and I are heading to Ohio for a long weekend for my cousin's college graduation party.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, but not particularly excited about the 7 hour drive.  We got some "books on tape" from the local library, so hopefully that will make the time go faster.  It will just be nice mostly to get out of town -- it's been almost a year since our last vacation, so we are definitely due to escape!


Hope everyone is doing well and having a good week!!  :)  

The Post I Thought I Might Never Write....

Well.....I have some news for my peeps in Blogland......


Third time was a charm, and....

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!

I took a First Response Early test Wednesday morning (11 DPO) just to check since we were scheduled for an appointment on Thursday with the RE to discuss our "next step" aka IVF.  I just about fell off the potty when I was greeted with a BFP!!  I took this digital one last night, and another First Response one this AM (I will pee on anything that sits still long enough...lol) and all came back positive and darker than yesterday!  


We still went to our RE appointment today, because given my 50/50 chance of chromosomal abnormality, I wanted to know what our game plan would be.  They ran my beta to confirm that I was preggers, and it was 46.5 at 12 DPO -- not bad for it being so early, and my progesterone level was very good at 39.5, but they want me to continue with the Crinone for the next month at least....yikes.  Estrogen level was A-OK too, so they want me to come back for labs again on Monday.  So far I'm feeling fine, aside from some increased tiredness, occasional light cramps, super sore tatas, and the occasional slight wave of nausea!


So, that's my story!  Third time was a charm and apparently ovaries do produce better after being threatened with IVF!  Ha!  Thanks to everyone who sent me "good luck" vibes -- apparently they worked!!  Please keep them coming in hopes that we have conceived a healthy baby!  You've all been such awesome support thru this whole process and I love reading all of your blogs nightly!  ;)  

Domestic Partner Adult

This is my "status" as B's emergency contact at her new work!  YAY!!!  A little bit of acceptance goes a long way!!  And even better, B's new workplace offers partner insurance benefits AND they cover IVF!!  Not just the meds, but the actual procedure!!  Who'd have thunk it?!  I'm still hopeful that we won't need to utilize that benefit just yet, still in the TWW with no signs of the evil bitch, so I'm praying that the third time is a charm and we can use the IVF help for having B's baby!  


We're meeting with our RE on Thursday AM to discuss the "next step" unless we get a BFP before then.  I've been putting off testing -- 9 dpo seems a little early to me and I don't want to be disappointed.  It will be nice to talk to the RE two-on-one, and get some questions answered.  Although again, I am REALLY hoping we get to cancel the appt. in lieu of a beta test instead.  :)  


Hope all is well with everyone!!  Have a great week!!

TWW....take 3....

Hope everyone is doing spiffy in Blogland!  We are almost 4 days into the TWW and all is fine!  The IUI went off without a hitch on Saturday!  My progesterone level was 2.3, showing that I was ovulating, and when I got home from the IUI I peed on an ovulation predictor stick (just 'cause I had an extra one and I love peeing on things) and it was definitely positive!  Yay!!  It was the first "true" positive I've ever gotten on one of those sticks!  I was almost convinced that the sticks were broken!  Ha!  So timing looks pretty darn good, so we'll see what comes of try #3!


Life otherwise is pretty good around here -- my new job is going well and B starts her new job on Monday!  A lot of changes going on in our household, but they seem to be changes for the good, so hopefully our "baby-making" will follow suit!  


Congrats to all the BFP's out there and new babies, especially my friend Carey and her partner Janine!!  Can't wait to meet your little cutie when you're ready for visitors!!  

Fast Forward!

Today I went in for my CD12 ultrasound and bloodwork and was expecting the worst and hoping for the best... and I did indeed get lucky!  


My lining was awesome at 11 mm!!


Righty decided not to really join the party this month - a bunch of small follies and one 12.


But lefty...wow...talk about an over-achiever this month!  I have a 25 and 23 on the left side!  Yay!  


My bloodwork showed that I was already moving towards ovulation, so they told me to take the Ovidrel as soon as I could, which ended up being around 6 pm since I was at work when the RE's call came in.  They want me to come back in tomorrow AM super early to check bloodwork again, just to make sure that I ovulated or am in the process of ovulating, and the IUI should be tomorrow afternoon!  


I was shocked!  The last 2 IUI's were after CD14, but this cycle I'm rip roarin' ready to go at CD13!  Maybe this is a good sign!  I'll take any good signs I can get at this point!  


Please keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow.... I'm really hoping this is "the one"!  :)  

Stinkin' Thinkin'

Yep....that's what I've got....

From the age of 5 until I was 18, I was a competitive swimmer.  I swam almost 7 days a week, and at least 2-3 hours a day.  It was pure insanity.  Anywho....around the ripe old age of 15, I started to get tired of swimming (imagine that...lol) and developed what my Mom termed "stinkin' thinkin'" - which translated, means basically an extreme case of negative attitude.  My "stinkin' thinkin'" would undermine my confidence and belief in myself, and eventually would lead to poor performances in swim meets.  Swimming, like most sports, can be just as much mental as it is physical, and when my penchant for negativity took hold, look out....bad things ahead.

So...fast forward a little over a decade and the "disease" has come back.  I am feeling so down about this cycle, and our chances of becoming parents via IUI.  I know this is only the 3rd try and some people try for months before getting their BFP, but I guess I thought for me, the difficult part of this process would be in "staying pregnant", not "getting pregnant".  Without going into massive details at this point, I'll just say this... my Mom had 4 miscarriages due to a chromosomal abnormality, and unfortunately her sense of humor wasn't the only thing I inherited from her, so God only knows if I'm able to get pregnant, if it will result in a viable baby.  So I guess I was just hoping that maybe getting pregnant would be the easy part, but that's proving to be difficult as well.

I don't want to have "stinkin' thinkin"" about this cycle, but I can't help feeling this heaviness in my heart as I go thru this cycle.  I should be excited about the CD12 U/S on Friday and the impending IUI #3, but instead I just feel numb and like I'm going thru the motions.  I know I should be staying positive, but I just feel like the handwriting is already on the wall and IVF may be on the horizon.  We're only doing a maximum of 4 IUI's and then giving up and moving on to IVF (if we can figure out how to pay for it).

So, I'm not really sure where all this leaves me -- the roller coaster that is "Try #3" is chugging up the hill and there's not much I can do to stop it, so I guess I'm just going to have to hang on and attempt to enjoy the ride.  If anyone out there has any good vibes or positivity to send my way, I'm definitely accepting donations!  :)

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Third Time Is A Charm....

Well, officially "not preggers" this month over here!  


Three days after stopping the progesterone gel (aka nastiest crap in the world), AF is rearing her ugly head.  Oh well...I've got to say, the worst time of the cycle for me is between the BFN and AF's arrival, so I'm glad to be over that part and headed towards another try.  This is the one that's going to work....I just know it.  


But if for some reason it doesn't, we've got a consultation with the RE coming up on the 17th to discuss future options.  I think B and I have come to accept that IVF might give us the best and most immediate chance at starting our family, and since I'm only 31 and she's 32, our chances are pretty good.  We just need figure out finances, insurance, and a plan.  


Of course we're hoping that IUI #3 will seal the deal, and we can reserve the complicated stuff for me getting pregnant with B's baby!  :)


Good luck to everyone else in the TWW!  I'll be checking back in soon!  

Quickie!

No...not that kind of "quickie", but just as satisfying....lol....or not.


Two announcements....


1.  I got the job!  Yay!!  I am now a human resources coordinator with a local non-profit!  :)  I gave my two week notice today and my boss was thankfully very nice about it, so that took a lot of the stress out of the situation.  


2.  We did IUI last Thursday and I started on progesterone gel tonight...I'm sure that's going to be a little slice of Heaven....ummm yeah....anyways, I just hope I don't end up with a yeast infection or major irritation.  My "downstairs" skin is unbelievably sensitive.  Looking at it cross-eyed results in the worst yeast infection known to man, so we'll see how this goes!  If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, our kid better appreciate everything we've gone thru!  Ha!  


Have a great week everyone!  

A swollen mouth and lots of nice eggs...

Aloha!  Well it's CD12 in our household, so my lovely wife dragged my swollen and drugged body to the RE's office for my weekly probing.  Apparently my follies love general anesthesia and lots of hydrocodone because I've produced a couple lovely eggs this time around.  


Here are my stats....


LEFT OVARY:  Decided to "play along this cycle" and grew me a nice 18, 14, and a couple smaller ones.
RIGHT OVARY:  Grew me 2 14's, a couple 12's, and some little guys.


So hopefully we'll get a couple nice juicy eggs by insem day!  I'm supposed to go back in tomorrow to repeat bloodwork to figure out when to take the Ovidrel.  Can't believe we're at this stage again -- this past month has gone so fast!  


I had my wisdom teeth taken out last Friday and that was an experience!  I'm doing OK now, but still pretty sore and swollen.  B has been taking good care of me, and still finds me foxy despite the fact that I look like a chipmunk....ha!  


Pain meds and sleep are calling my name....I'll check in later in the week!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

T minus 3 days 'til I lose wisdom...

I get my wisdom teeth pulled on Friday morning...it turns my stomach just thinking about it.  I've had two foot surgeries, a "female" surgery, a broken leg, herniated disks in my neck, and more shoulder injuries than I care to count, but somehow this wisdom tooth thing is REALLY throwing me for a loop.  Big damn baby... Tooth and eye stuff just really skeeve me out, so the thought of my mouth cranked open while someone rips my teeth out is almost too much.  B says "stop thinking about it"...um yeah...sure babe!  All four of my wisdom teeth have grown in pretty straight, but two of them have cavities, one is apparently pretty bad, so they recommended just having the teeth removed instead of attempting fillings.  B tells me it's not going to be as bad as I'm bracing for, but I'm terrified of two main things, #1 waking up in the middle of the surgery and #2 developing "dry socket".  I worry about #1 because it happened to me during my "female surgery"....I woke up while they were doing some stitches....not cool.  Logically I know everything will be OK, that I'm lucky I don't have any impacted wisdom teeth, and I can avoid "dry socket" by following the rules and chomping down on wet tea bags, but it's still scary.... Please keep your fingers crossed for me in Blogland!!  Hope everyone is having a good week!  :)

Dining With The Enemy... (Caution...it's a long one)

For the protection of the innocent, and not so innocent, the name of the antagonist in the following story has been changed....


So.... the beginning of this story occurs almost 7 years ago when my lovely wife and I first started dating.  B had a good friend (only friends, never dated) that she used to share an apartment with when she was in college in New Orleans, we'll call this friend Ursula.  Well, B and I had been dating for about 2 months here in NC, and our relationship was moving quickly from "just dating" to "in love", when her friend Ursula came into town to visit B for a few days.  So I told B that I would come over to her side of town we could all go to dinner and I could get to know her friend.  Well, I arrived at the restaurant and greeted Ursula with a smile, which was returned with a very fake, "I wish you weren't here" smile, so I was thrown completely off guard right from the start.  I attempted to make the most of the evening and make conversation with her, but it was very obvious that she had no intention of getting to know me.  I thought that maybe we could become friends in the next few days that she was visiting -- it was important to me because Ursula was important to B!  


Anywho... B asked me if I wanted to go out with her, Ursula, and a few other friends to a local gay club on Saturday night.  We got to the club, Ursula still not engaging in conversation with me, and we started drinking.  As the night wore on and the beers and mixed drinks emptied, Ursula was getting more and more inappropriate with B.  It started with a few little comments here and there and then began to progress... After a few hours of dancing we took a break and were all standing to the side of the dance floor.  All of a sudden a song came on and Ursula dragged B to the dance floor, leaving me standing to the side with one of our gay guy friends.  I didn't think anything of it....at first.  Then I looked up to see Ursula grinding on B, whispering shit in her ear, basically molesting her on the dance floor.  Our gay guy friend asked me if I was going to say anything or get a crowbar to pry Ursula off my girlfriend, but I kind of felt like if that's the kind of hideous beast B was interested in, let her have her!  HA!  The song finally ended, Ursula shot me a couple more dirty looks just for good measure and we all headed home.  We spent the night at some guy friends house, me and B in one room, with Ursula in the other which I'm sure really pissed her off.  The next morning Ursula was hung over (imagine that), but she was still unfriendly and now I was just really starting to hate her.  She was so disrespectful to me and embarrassed both B and me the night before!  


About a month after Ursula's visit, B and I separated for a few months due to the fact that I was an idiot, and during that time B visited New Orleans on two occasions.  Both times Ursula made a point to tell B that we weren't right for each other, I wasn't good enough for her, blah blah blah.... And even when we got back together and started living together Ursula was still singing the same old song.  So I said "enough is enough" and B decided that Ursula just didn't really have a place in her/our life anymore.  Their friendship fizzled out and as a result we haven't had any contact with her for about 5 years....  Until now.... it seems that a job transfer has brought her to town and as a result she wants to rekindle a friendship.  Yay!  (insert sarcasm).  


I know that people change over time, and especially between the ages of mid-20's and 30, but I just feel like everyone has a "core" person that they are, and I always felt such negative energy around her.  She's the kind of lesbian that attracts drama and conflict, and I am SOOOO not into that and we have no room in our lives for that.  But...I promised B that we could have a dinner with her, see if she's changed, and evaluate if we want to build a friendship with her, or kick her ugly ass to the curb (oops, was that harsh??)...lol.  So, that's where we're at!  Tonight is allegedly "The Dinner" and B has been very clear with her that we're not into drama and if she's still a tragedy magnet, we're not interested.  So, we'll see what happens....it's 5 PM and she still has not returned B's texts, so maybe I'll be off the hook afterall... :) 

Second verse, same as the first...but hopefully with a different outcome! :)

Well, we've got a "Code Red" over here in our household, so that's a definitive "not preggers" this time around.  :( AF attacked me mercilessly at work today, prompting an emergency trip to the local Rite Aid at lunch hour.  Ever notice how much sales clerks like to make small talk and chit chat when you've handed them a giant box of feminine hygiene products and a value size bottle of Pamprin??  I thought I was going to attack when the sales clerk suggested I fill out an application for their Rewards Card!  Ha!  Come on woman I'm obviously having a problem here!!  :)  


Oh well...it was a good first pregnancy attempt and at least now I know the process, know how I react to the meds, and know what to expect the next time around.  We will have our family, it just won't be a 2010 tax deduction!  That's OK though, my Mom has a late December birthday and she said she wouldn't recommend it!  My birthday is in January, and I'd gladly share it with our daughter or son!  Hopefully that will be the case and May will bring us a BFP!  


So, for the time being I will muddle through this AF and get ready for next month.  I've got plenty to keep me busy, CD3 ultrasound/bloodwork on Friday, yardwork extravaganza on Saturday, dinner with an old enemy (a story for another posting) on Saturday night, and a good friend's baby shower on Sunday!  Good stuff!  :)  Plus, I had an interview for a new job on Tuesday, and I'm really hoping that works out and I get a second interview next week!  Yay!  

Probably not....

Well I thought maybe we'd have "beginners luck" this cycle, but it's looking like probably not.  :(  


While there's still no AF in sight, temps are still triphasic and way above the coverline, and I have a lot of the pregnancy symptoms, I POAS this morning and only one line greeted me.  I think most people have their BFP's at 13 DPO, so I guess that means we're out for this cycle.  And now that I know how my body reacts to this process (cramps, huge sensitive BB's, and tiredness), I can't wait to start cycle #2....note extreme sarcasm.  


Oh well....I guess it just makes me stick to my original timeline of 3-4 tries and we're moving to one cycle of IVF - and if that doesn't work, I'll just get another dog...lol.  At least my deductible is met up 'til July 1st, so any baby-making between now and then, less medications, is covered.  Just really didn't want to have to utilize that benefit.... oh well....

One Week Down, One Week To Go!

Hi All!  We're hangin' tough over here during the TWW....it is nerve-racking wondering if it worked!  Oh well...I can do anything for a week right??  LOL  Not a lot of symptoms to speak of, mostly just tata related and some cramping.  Tatas have gone from their normal "big" state to being "borderline huge", they are sore, and increasingly firm.  Could be from anything I guess, but 'til we know "for sure" we'll just keep hoping it's because I'm preggers!  :)  I guess we'll take a test near the end of the week/over the weekend to see what's brewing!

Our Saturday evening was fun!  I'm not sure if roller derby is our "thing", but it was interesting and the highlight of the evening may have been the below image....

Yes, that's right folks, intermission featured a giant skating sammich.  Kids ran out onto the track and chased the sammich and it was all fun and games until some moron older dude decided he should run out on the track and body slam the sammich, who then got pissed and skated off...LOL.  The best entertainment $10 per person can buy!  :)

Hope everyone is having a good week!!  Glad Monday is over!!  

Distraction needed....

Hello fearless readers!  It is 5 DPO and I've not yet checked into a mental health facility, so I guess I'm doing well!  Ha!  Gotta say, this has been a slow 5 days, and I'm not feeling quite as "zen" as the ladies at 10stix, but I'm trying!  


Tonight we're going out with the chick who cuts our hair (fruit fly) and her lesbian friend in an attempt to make some friends in this area!  We haven't had the best luck finding good and reliable friends here, so we're hoping tonight will be a good start into a new friendship!  And what activity have we picked for our first platonic date?  Roller derby.  Never been before, but I can only imagine that nothing is as strong of a bonding experience as watching women skate around in circles while beating the hell out of one another!  Yippee!  That ought to take my mind off the potential zygote in my uterus right?!  Um...yeah, probably not, but at least maybe I'll only think about it 10 times in an hour, versus the usual 100.  :)  

Now I know what people are talking about....

The TWW is HARD!!  I want to know what's in my uterus and I want to know now...lol.  So far, no real symptoms of anything aside from being exhausted, slight tightness feeling in my uterus area, and my nips feel a little sensitive.  All could be side effects from the Ovidrel and totally unrelated.  So far I've worried about the following:


*  Hitting a pothole in my car and jiggling the egg loose.
*  Coughing or sneezing and causing the egg to fall out.
*  Laying on the wrong side of my body when I sleep and causing the egg to fall out of the fallopian tubes prematurely.
*  Getting stressed and pissy and the egg deciding it hates me and doesn't want to be my kid, so it falls out.  


I seriously think I'm losing my mind.... I can't even concentrate at work -- it's the worst ADD ever!  I'm in the middle of working on something for one of our patients, and the next thing I know, I'm Googling "which pregnancy test is the most accurate?"  (the general consensus is First Response, if anyone was wondering)... Ha!  
I'm only 3 days in to the TWW and it's seemed like a week.....this is going to be a long 11 days....yikes!  :)

Installation Complete!! :)

IUI #1 is complete!  Above is a picture of my lovely 24 mm egg being fertilized by our super manly swimmers!  Thanks to our wonderful RE for providing this "action shot".... Heeheehee....  

So, the infamous 2-week wait begins in our household!  Yippee!!  I was laying on the table today waiting for the doc to come in and do the deed and I was thinking it was really surreal that we were finally at this point!  B and I have talked about kids for years, but it always seemed like such a distant event.  In my mind, 30 was the magic number for starting our family, and at the time B and I met, 30 was 6 years away so it seemed like we had FOREVER to plan and get ready for having babies.  Now that I'm 31 and we're starting this process it seems like 6 years ago was yesterday and wholly crap, the time to make the babies is now!  Seems crazy -- but exciting at the same time!

We have high hopes for this cycle...bloodwork has been coming back great, eggs are nice and big, swimmer sample was great and "very active" according to the doc, and tonight my ovulation predictor stick showed that I ovulated sometime today (last night it was negative), so I'm really hoping we can be one of the lucky ones and hit it out of the park on the first try!  Keeping fingers, toes, and eyes crossed....well maybe not the eyes...

Hope everyone is doing well and had a great Easter!!  :)

The Adventures of Steroid Egg....

Today I went in for my CD12 ultrasound and bloodwork and everything is still looking good!  Amazingly, the follie on the right that measured 14 has apparently been popping steroids without my knowledge!  It went from 14 mm on CD10 to 24 mm in CD12!  No wonder I was crampy!  My lining is nice 'n fluffy at 12 mm, so I was instructed to take my Ovidrel shot tonight at 6 and I should report to the clinic to check my progesterone on Monday AM and hopefully have my swimmers installed on Monday if the progesterone is high enough!  Yay!!  My first shot went well -- luckily for me, my wife has Type 1 (Juvenile) diabetes, so the woman can give a mean shot!  Didn't hurt much at all, so I was relieved about that!  :)  I am kinda bummed that the other follies that were measuring around 12 on CD10 decided not to join the party, but it only takes one good egg and I'm hoping that's what I've got!  


Keep fingers crossed!!  We're excited to get the party started!  Happy Easter everyone....hope the bunny brings everyone some lucky eggs!!

CD10....Grow Follies Grow!

Hi All!

I had my CD10 ultrasound and bloodwork today and I'm still in the game....yay!!  My ultrasound showed a few developing follies... I had one at 14, 3 at 12, a 10 and an 8.  I'm guessing the 10 and the 8 are definitely not going to "catch up", but I'm hoping the 14 and at least one of the 12's will plump up in the next few days!  My estrogen rose to 237 and my LH went from 5.6 to 14.1, so that's a step in the right direction!  They want me to come back in on Saturday, CD12 to check up on the little buggers and hopefully determine when we can do the long awaited IUI!  Please keep your fingers crossed for me.... I'm feeling really positive about this cycle for some reason.... :) 

Well, I'm headed to bed....for some reason I'm unbelievably exhausted in the days following the Clomid...guess cooking eggs really wears a girl out...lol.  Or it could be the 6:15 wake up call I had this morning in order to get to the RE clinic by 7:15!  Promise to write again over the 3-day weekend, but for now, this chick is hitting the hay!  

Have a good night everyone!!

CD2....

Hello beloved readers!

Today was my CD2 bloodwork and U/S and my lab values were so much better!!  I guess last cycle was just an all around mess due to the BCP's that my body hates!!  

My labs today showed:

LH:  5.4

FSH:  4.5

Estrogen:  60-something I think....

I am pretty psyched because those are totally normal numbers!!  Yay!!  My ultrasound looked good too -- lining was 5 and each ovary had about 8 follies of normal size for CD2.  Tomorrow I'll be picking up my Clomid from Super Target and beginning what I hope will be a really positive cycle with a happy ending!  :)  

In other news....my amazing wife's birthday is today!  I thank God every day that she is mine.... I have never met a more internally and externally beautiful person.... I'm a lucky girl....

And in other cool news....my cousin and his wife had their first baby today!  A little girl named Kate!  

All around a pretty darn good day!!  :)  

"I am Spoticus!"

Well, maybe not quite as dramatic as the 1960's Stanley Kubrick film, but exciting nonetheless!   Ha!  Yes, that's right faithful readers, AF is right around the corner getting ready to wreak havoc on the upcoming work week....yippee!  I expect her to be here in full glory by Tuesday or so, so the cycle will begin anew!  Hopefully this time it will proceed appropriately and we can give it a go at the baby-making.  :)  


Speaking of which, the wife proposed an exciting game for all of my blog fans and beloved lurkers.... "NAME OUR SPERM DONOR"...lol.  


We are hoping you gals/guys can help us out and find an appropriate name for our donor so that we can make the experience not quite so anonymous!  Maybe we can inform the RE clinic staff of our donor's new "name" and when we go for our inseminations, we can proudly walk up to the check-in counter and tell them we're here to retrieve a vial of our friend "Alan" or "Bob".   OK...just kidding about the second part, but we did think it was pretty funny to play name the donor, so hopefully you all will too!  I'll post the winner on my next blog entry...I'm sure you all can hardly wait!  


So, here's some background on Mr. Wonderful....


Brown hair/Blue eyes
Around 6 ft. tall 
About 160 lbs.  (Skinny bastard probably eats anything he damn wants and doesn't gain a pound...lol)
Spanish/Scottish 
Light skin tone
He is currently in the military.
Enjoys sports, reading, and apparently jerking off in little cups for money. :)


Whatcha think?  Ideas?


Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!  

All Hail....Mighty and Powerful Ovulator

Hello to my 6 faithful readers in Blogville!  Just wanted to post a quick update....I had my progesterone level checked today, allegedly CD 19, and it was 6.7.  They said that number indicates I ovulated about 3 days ago, so that means the Clomid worked!  Timing was bad this cycle, but at least the meds grew me an egg (or eggs)!  Yay!  So...I'm supposed to call the RE when the red crusader shows up and start the ultrasound, bloodwork, Clomid cycle over again!  Hopefully with some better timing and a positive pregnancy test in April!  :)

In other aspects of life, things are going pretty well.  Spring is beginning to show itself here in NC, so that's been a nice change!   The pups have an appointment on Friday with the dreaded veterinarian...ick...  I'm looking forward to it almost as much as they are (note sarcasm).  My darling little Madeline, the 9 year old miniature wirehaired dachshund insists on embarassing me each and every time we go to the vet.  Without fail, and no matter how many times she "does her business" before we arrive, she conjures up the most revolting and putrid diarrhea possible and deposits it on the floor of the vet office mere minutes after entering.  It is so horrific that on more than one occasion, the staff of the vet clinic has had to light candles to "deal" with it!   So humiliating!!  Perhaps she creates her masterpiece in anticipation of the vet bill....God only knows the vet bill is usually high enough for me to want to create a little pile of my own on their floor...whew.... things to look forward to at the end of the week....sigh.... :)


Maddie....aka The Little Shit....

Nope...not this month...

Well today kinda sucked....I went in for my CD 12 scan and there were a few follies that looked to be growing. I had 2 14's, 1 13, and a couple 12's, so I thought all was good....until I got a call from the RE's office that my progesterone is too high for them to feel comfortable doing a donor sperm IUI cycle.  I don't completely understand what that means, but I'm guessing they think that my eggs aren't developed enough to trigger and my progesterone is too high for them to feel comfortable in us trying an IUI and wasting $400 in sperm.  I guess I should be thankful they aren't letting us waste our money, but I am disappointed we won't be able to try this month.  Hopefully things will be different next cycle...


My oral surgeon appt. went OK.  The doc seems pretty nice and he said while my wisdom teeth do need to come out, it's not an emergency situation, so I scheduled an appointment for the end of April.  All I can say is, they better give me A LOT of drugs....

Next Step: Egg Check

Tomorrow morning, at the ass-crack of dawn, is the official "egg check"! I'm so excited to see what's been growing in there! I'm really hoping the Clomid worked and grew us some nice plump, perfect little eggs that will soon join with some of the super manly sperm we ordered!! I'll let you all know...I'm sure you're waiting with baited breath! LOL

On another note, I have another super exciting appointment tomorrow -- a consultation with Dr. Yankum. Yep...looks like the old wisdom teeth are going to have to bite the dust :(. Honestly I am less nervous about the possibility of child birth than I am about the removal of my wisdom teeth. Ugh... I'll let you all know how that goes too....

All in all...fun day comin' up!! Hope everyone in blogland is doing well!!

Day 3 Results Are In! Secret Decoder Ring Needed!

Ok...so since I'm new to this, and apparently the weekend staff at the RE clinic is nowhere near as helpful as the weekday staff, I have no idea if my results are good, bad, or indifferent! So...I'm hoping one of my faithful readers can help de-mystify the results for me!

My Day 3 labs showed:

FSH: 7.23
LH: 11.3
Estrogen: 89.6 (thinking estrogen may be slightly elevated due to the fact that I took an "active" BCP on Thursday night and AF started on Friday. I had only taken 14 of the 24 "active" BCP's when AF arrived unexpectedly. Wondering if I have excess estrogen in my system leftover from the BCP's.)

Ultrasound showed:

Stripe: 4
Ovaries: Hurried, slightly rude doctor dude said "5, less than 15 - on both sides"

I'm guessing everything must have been normal, because they're letting me start 5 days of 100 mg Clomid, but I have no clue if these numbers are positive or just average or what!

Any help from Blogland would be appreciated!! Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!! :)

Comments Fixed!

Hi All! Didn't realize my "comments" function wasn't working on my old blog template! I'm sure you all had so much to say...lol. Anywho....it's fixed now, so feel free to comment away! The new template might not be as "purdy" as the last one, but at least this one works! :)

CD1....The Journey Begins....

Well....my body still hates BCP's and has punished me with my period 1 week early....fantastic! Ha! Oh well...glad the swimmers arrived on Wednesday, because apparently our timeline has just been moved up a little! I'll be getting probed and having blood drawn on Sunday to see if I'm good to go on the Clomid. Let the fun begin...I already warned my lovely wife that one of the possible side effects is uncontrollable bitchiness, to which she suggested we communicate via text messages and emoticons for cycle days 3-9....LOL. The support is overwhelming.... ;)

On a side note.....I'm so excited to have 3 blog followers!! Welcome all!! I will try to keep all three of you as entertained as possible! Ha!

I'll post again on Sunday and let everyone know what's shakin' in my uterus....I'm sure you'll all barely be able to sleep between now and then due to the excitement. Try to contain yourselves... :)

Bad....bad...little blogger...

Yikes...so much for blogging on a consistent basis....it's been 2+ weeks! Sorry to all of my followers...although at this point I think I am follower-less :(. Starting to feel like I'm back in high school eating lunch in my chorus teachers room 'cause no one wanted to be my friend....sigh...another topic for another post....LOL.

So time marches on and so does our journey in TTC land! Here's what went on during our brief commercial break...

* Prometrium went well and AF arrived even before I was completely finished with the pills! Yippee!

* I started taking the dreaded BCP's...but luckily have had no side effects so far! Yay!

* I scheduled and underwent my HSG, but not before practically having a nervous breakdown worrying about it beforehand! Ha! A note to all of those out there who are facing an impending HSG: Get a good doctor, take some good drugs (I had Valium and some Tylenol), and don't worry about it! I read at least 100 internet postings about how HORRIBLE and PAINFUL it would be and I had myself so worked into a frenzy that I think I lost about 5 lbs. due to my "nervous stomach"...HA! It was a breeze! Some mild cramping, but nothing worse than what comes with AF, and it was over in about 5-10 mins! And the best news is....the tubes are in great shape and totally clear!! Our doc said they look "textbook perfect"....I have to say this made me proud! Ha! I knew I could grow a nice pair of tubes! ;)

* So when we arrived home, we promptly ordered 4 units of the best, most manly and fierce swimmers on the planet from Fairfax! The donor is a military guy, so I can only imagine that these spermies will each come equipped with tiny sperm Humvees and GPS targeted on the egg or eggs that roll down those perfect tubes of mine....heeheehee....a girl can dream right?

Anyways -- so that's where we're at right now. Papa-cicles will arrive at our clinic next Wednesday and lay in wait until mid-March for our "big day". Can we say "Thank God" for a RE clinic with its own storage facility that stores for FREE if you're an active patient?? I love our RE clinic!!

And with that positive note, I'd also like to send some good thoughts and prayers to our good friend Carey, who recommended the wonderful RE doc to us and has been doing battle with the infertility demons for a few years now :(. She lost one of her twins today and I can't imagine the sadness she and her partner are feeling. If anyone out there is reading this, please keep my friend in your thoughts and prayers as she fights to keep baby "B" safe and cozy in her belly for the next 4 months!! You can do it girl! Our future baby is going to need a friend!! :)