Three More Sleeps

Today's plan for distraction includes watching the new episode of True Blood on TMN on Demand, and trying not to pig out. Yesterday I had chips for dinner. (Caveat - I actually had a very balanced day, diet-wise. Lots of fruits and veggies, some dairy. But also, chips for dinner.) Chips for dinner + limited activity = I've gained a few pounds. *shrug* I can't stress about it - it's for a good cause, and I'll work it off when I can exercise again.

(Aside - the PC General's Tao Chicken chips are really tasty. Almost as good as the Szechwan.)

I did let myself walk as far as the Glebe yesterday. (But that's only just over 3 km, and I've gotten used to doing between 8 km and 10 km.)

Kept busy yesterday by cleaning the kitchen and reading. Went to bed early.

In other news, I will NOT pee on a stick today.

Jun 29, 2009

 Four more sleeps.

June 26, 2009

Day 10 of progesterone injections and the drugs are once again kicking my ass. Just got hit with a sudden wave of "really, really tired".

Also? My bum hurts.

But I continue to toaster on! Seven sleeps until the blood test. I'm getting there.

Doing Everything We Can

So, we've officially done everything we can.

We had the transfer today - we implanted two viable embryos. At this point, there are none to freeze, but we aren't disappointed - we are just happy to have had the chance to transfer two.

I'm taking it easy today. My big effort was emptying the dishwasher. :)

Making Plans

I'm making a game plan for how I'm going to survive the next two weeks without going bat-shit crazy.

Transfer is Monday at 9:15 am. The rest of the day is going to be spent relaxing and doing little of consequence. If the weather is good, I foresee some quality time on the porch swing. I will keep reading my car manual. ;)

I'll get more detailed instructions regarding "dos and don'ts" for the next two weeks at the transfer, but it's basically "take it really, really easy". (Much to my chagrin, she even used the words, "...like a little princess". Uh, I may be a lot of things, but I'm not a princess. Seriously.) If I have to ask, "Should I be doing this?" the answer is likely no. As the nurse told me today, the outcome will be what the outcome will be, but we want to be able to say that we did everything we possibly could. But walking and swimming are cool, so that's good. No gym for two weeks, and no running, but I can still do yoga, as long as I tell my instructor what is going on. But I'll likely avoid child's pose and cobra, and spend a lot of time in downward dog. I won't walk all the way home for the next two weeks, but I think I could get to Billings without overdoing it. And I'll keep working my abs (gently) using the big bouncy ball, and keeping them activated as I walk. I don't think that's unreasonable.

Monday night, we're gaming.
Tuesday night, I'm going to see a romantic comedy with a sweet friend I miss dearly.
Wednesday, I have an appointment with Dr. G.
Thursday or Friday night, we might hit Ikea.
Saturday is someone's housewarming. *grin*

That gets me through the first week. I want to find a balance between "keeping busy" and "taking it easy".

The following week will be nice and short - Canada Day on Wednesday, which should be a blast. I plan to spend a lot of time in the pool and take a lot of photos. (And I won't be on the slip and slide this year, much to my chagrin.)

I work Thursday, and am off on Friday - I'll likely clean and pack for our getaway. Saturday, Bundy's working, but a very dear friend has agreed to be my buddy for the day and keep me occupied. At 5pm, we get our news. Then it's off to a bed and breakfast for a couple of days.

At some point in the next two weeks, Bundy has to get to a point where he can give me a needle, because if the news is good, I need to keep doing these injections every day for until the 10th week of pregnancy. We're starting with him just watching Mom when she does it every morning - he's watched twice in four days - I gave him the day off on retrieval day (he had enough on his mind), and this morning he hopped in the shower just before Mom came over. *grin*

Five is a good number

We have five fertilized eggs. :)

Transfer is set for Monday, with the caveat that it could be changed to Saturday as late as Friday afternoon. If it is Monday, someone will call me Saturday with "further instructions". (Cue the meeting in the parking garage.)

On the day of the transfer, we'll find out if we have any embryos that are viable for freezing. (They have to be really, really awesome in order to freeze them.)

We seem to have gotten past yet another step in the process. This is a good thing.

Retrieval

It went really well - OWD was a total trooper and put up with a really uncomfortable procedure, followed by some nasty side effects from the narcotics. And she was, as usual, an overachiever. *grin* We got a dozen eggs. I laughed because I immediately pictured them in an egg carton at a grocery store.

So we'll find out tomorrow how the fertilization went, and how many viable embryos we have. With 12 eggs, our chances seem good. But keep your fingers crossed.

Here we go!

Retrieval is first thing tomorrow morning - we're picking OWD up at 7am and heading into the clinic like the 3 musketeers.

Assuming we have viable embryos, transfer will be either Saturday or Monday.

We get the news on July 4. We'll share it with family and friends on July 6 and 7.

I'm standing on an airplane wing. We jump tomorrow morning. Let's hope the parachute opens.

We have a retrieval date.

Date is set for retrieval. It's this week.

I feel like dancing, laughing, crying, and throwing up. All at the same time.

Good thing I've got some kind of self control, because that could be a messy combination.

Moving right along...

Ultrasound today confirm that my uterine lining is doing great.
Tomorrow, OWD has an ultrasound to check the status of her follicles.
Once they are ready to go, they'll trigger her ovulation and we'll have a retrieval.

As soon as she's triggered, I start the injections again. 

Day 1

I was pretty sure yesterday was Day 1. But no, this day is 1-er than yesterday.

Remember all those pills I took to build up my uterine lining nice and thick?

OMG.

Thank you, extra-strength Tylenol.

Aw, dang.

I'm sick again. I can barely believe it - I was just sick at the end of April. And it's back - sore throat, stuffy nose, headache, feverish.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong - I'm eating properly, I'm getting enough sleep, I'm active, I take a multivitamin, I wash my hands... I *guess* I could wash my hands more. I try and drink a lot of water - I could likely drink more.

I think the problem is stress, frankly. I need to reduce my stress. But here's the irony - if I'm sick at the time of the procedure, they won't do it. How's THAT for fucking stress?

I came into work this morning to tie up a few loose ends, but I think I'm going to head home. *sigh*

Retrieval Date

Just got confirmation that retrieval should fall sometime during the week of June 15.

Transfer should be 3 to 5 days following.

Results should be 17 days following retrieval.

June 15 is in less than 2 weeks. OMG.

Status UP-date

Well, the mock is done. Now we're just waiting for OWD to get the go ahead to begin the Puregon, at which point we start the cycle for real. I'm in a holding pattern until then, at which point I'll take Estrace until my uterine lining and blood levels check out, then move on to the IM Progesterone injections again. Then we'll have an egg retrieval and a transfer, hopefully. And then... we'll see what the results are.

It's hard to believe this is really happening - it's been such a long journey for us - four years has felt like a very, very long time.

And whatever happens, we've been so fortunate to have such wonderful, supportive friends stand behind us. We're lucky that we can be so open with you, that we can share this journey with people who love us and want the best for us.

~*~

So I went to see Up! last night with Bundy, and Janine. (Mark would have come with us, but he was fighting with the gas company.)

I was aware that infertility played a role in this film - this was from the CBC review:

"In less than five minutes, a wedding gives way to a life of love located in small moments feeding birds and watching the shape of clouds shift, side by side. While still young, sad news arrives that the couple can't have children, a moment depicted only by the slump of a cartoon body in a doctor's office, shot from outside the door. Something in that silent image said more than any poetic dialogue could have, a cartoon capture of the way profound moments sometimes feel like movies happening to someone else."

So I was prepared. But holy crap, that was a devastating 10 minute montage. I'm not sorry I saw it, though. What a great movie.