we're in the incredibly boring part of a cycle-first week after the big O...not much going on except for Paul shoving pineapple at me every day. STOP!

did start progesterone suppositories aka the magic bullets, let the moodiness begin!

wake me up in two weeks

all done. just the long wait till the beta on 5/30. 3 follies, not so bad after all, I guess, we've gotten pg with 2 before. hell, I guess the very first time we got pg with just 1-and as 'they' say, 'that's all it takes'

Jenn came out to the house for an acu treatment-she put 4 needles in my ear and man, one of them sent a charge through my whole body-it was wild!

had an acupuncture treatment tonight, both of us got to be in the room together. P's a trooper for doing this with me. gonna have one tomorow afternoon sometime after the IUI as well. maybe this will be the thing that makes it work this time. if nothing else, I feel more at peace that this whole entire situation is out of my hands now, I've done all I can.

ask me if I still feel like that in 2 weeks though.

triggered last night at 11 pm, we're all set for IUI tomorrow at 11 am, P does his thing at 9 am. yesterday's u/s showed a follie popped up on the right side which is good, and 3 on the left. at this point we are hopeful it will work-it should, I got pregnant the other 3 times we did injectibles, but the issue is more about staying pregnant. that's not so easy to do, sadly.

yesterday's bloodwork: estradiol 276, day 4 stims
today's bloodwork: estradiol 350, day 5 stims. ultrasound showed 2, maybe 3 follies on the left side, a bunch of too small ones on the right. not exactly what we were hoping for. *ahem* the words "poor responder" came up in conversation. great-I can add that to my title of "habitual aborter" as well.

most likely converting to an IUI. disappointing.

the Repronex shots are hurting wicked bad this time. each cheek hurts, don't wanna shot there tonight. I get to do 4 shots today-woohoo, since I need to reload the Follistim pen. that thing is like a freaking IQ test-"if you can put together the Follistim pen, successfully stick yourself in the belly, and keep track of all the meds/appointments/etc, you are smart enough to be allowed to procreate"

Mother's Day 2001: 10 weeks pregnant, told our families
Mother's Day 2002: sad, crappy day
Mother's Day 2003: pregnant again, but just waiting to miscarry, pretty crappy day
Mother's Day 2004: stimming for IVF

we're cleared! stims start tomorrow. Follistim and Repronex-P will go back to work giving me the shot in my bum. with the Lupron, that's 3 needles a day, how exciting.

nothing, dry as a bone. Dr B sent me for b/w today, I forgot to peek at the lab slip when I was signing it to see what he was checking. I'll just wait for the call tomorrow.

on a happier note-we tried out the Sleep Number beds and picked one we like! woohoo, we'll prolly buy it this weekend. no mre springs in our backs!

sigh waiting, waiting....

saw Acupuncture Barbie today-good session. said it should 'get things flowing'

why aren't I bleeding yet? I want to get started-only one shot a day isn't enough!

ow, bugger bugger bugger. tonight's shot in the thigh hurt like a mofo. bled a little and I have a lump.

eek, been so busy lately haven't updated.
recent events:
1. first appt w/ acupuncturist on thursday. went very well, P and I both liked her. she looks like Acupuncture Barbie but I won't hold that against her!
2. spotting has started today-new cycle should start in next day or 2 and then the excitement begins
3. discovered sub q shots do not hurt in the thigh-bonus, more places to shoot up!
4. Adam's first communion today-he wore a blazer, pants and white bucks that his dad & Uncles John, Matt, & P have all worn as well. he looked like a very short Pat Boone. I swear my MIL cannot throw anything away

well. 4 shots of Lupron under my belt now-who knew sub q shots would be so easy? nice tiny needles ;-p

P finally had his bloodletting; not a big deal as he has good veins that haven't been continually poked for the last year.

the appt went well. didn't really learn too much more that I already didn't know, as I am a self-educator and am already familiar with the stims process from doing injects. things will get rolling once I start a new cycle. DR B prefers to transfer just 2 embies to avoid higher-order multiples UNLESS we agree to consider selective reduction, which we did. as much as it scares me, I prefer the choice to have 3 transferred if we get to that point. also agreed to cryopreservation. they do 3 day transfers unless high quality embies, then they do a 5 day transfer. ICSI if we need it...what else...I pick up all my meds next week-can't wait to see that pile!
Phyllis wanted me to have Keisha show me how to mix the meds and stuff, but when we went into the office to ask, they all said I didn't need it since I've done a lot of it before.

got Paul's lab slip in the mail today, along with my luteal phase protocol paper. Lupron starts 4/22. guess we'll know more of how things will progress once we meet w/ the IVF nurse on Thursday. hardest part right now is remembering to take the little pill!

what was on today's agenda?

1. have 4 vials of blood drawn...
fuuuuun; at least the tech was good
2. pay freakin' $70 for bcp's-I thought we had good health insurance??
3. pop my first pill in a looong time
4. quickly read through scary large packet of info from the hospital-yikes!
5. talked with Renee from the hospital about even more info coming from the hospital-Lupron starts on the 22nd


I feel so out of sorts in this uncharted territory. Ask me anything about injectable meds or the whole IUI process-I'm well-versed! this is too new

The Beginning

wow! here we go