Liebster Blog Award!!

I know I already posted today but I am very excited to announce that I was nominated for a Liebster Blog Award!!

First and foremost, many thanks to Olivia, the lovely blogger behind Two Steps Forward, And One Step Back for nominating me. I am so touched and honored to be nominated. To be honest, I'm still a little shocked that I even have any followers!

So what is a Liebster Blog Award you may ask? Liebster is a German word that means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. It is a blog award that is given to up and coming bloggers with less then 200 followers. 

The rules are simple: 

• Tell 11 random facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you
• Choose 11 blogs that have fewer then 200 followers to nominate
• Come up with 11 questions to ask the people you nominate
• Tell the 11 bloggers you nominated
• Link back to the person who nominated you and THANK THEM
• Don't forget to proudly post your award badge!!

So here are 11 facts about me:

1. I LOVE to bake
2. My dream job would be to open my own bakery
3. I hate wearing shoes and am barefoot as much as I possibly can be
4. I am a cat person
5. I sing my heart out when I'm alone in the car
6. I hope to only have girls (just like me and my 3 sisters)
7. Pink is my favorite color
8. I want to travel to Italy one day
9. I secretly believe in the Loch Ness Monster
10. I'm addicted to Starbucks
11. I collect aprons

Here are the answers to Olivia's 11 questions:

1. Are you a left brain or right brain kind of person? So more creative or more logical? I am definitely more of a logical thinker. I wish I was more creative!!
2. McDonalds or Burger King? McDonalds all the way, though no particular reason why.
3. What is a peculiar trait about your significant other? My husband is pretty tall (6'4") and looks even taller next to me since I'm only 5'2"!
4. What is your favorite movie and why? I LOVE Father of the Bride Part 1 and Part 2. Whenever I am sick I watch both of them, they just make me feel happy...
5. Do you like to read the news or entertainment section? Entertainment section, for sure! I have a subscription to US Weekly.
6. If there were no limitations (like money, time, etc.) what would you love to do? Travel, travel, and travel!! I would love to go all over the world!
7. Your top career choice again if you could do anything? I would open my own bakery and bake all day!
8. Favorite place in the world? That's tough. It's a tie between Scotland (where I was born) and Fiji (where Mike and I went on our honeymoon).
9. Lipstick or chapstick? Can I say lip gloss?? If not then definitely chap stick, I'm not a lipstick person.
10. Yogurt or ice cream? FroYo!! But I do love Ben&Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch!
11. Give and unusual fact about yourself... I can bend my tongue to look like a clam...

Without further ado, here are my nominations (in no particular order):

1. Lainey-Paney @ Life Is Just So Daily
2. Confessions of an Aspiring Optimist
3. Katharine @ Grow Baby Grow
4. Kathy4678 @ Hoping for a Baby4678
5. Lisa @ The Road to Baby Oz
6. justplanelove @ Trials & Triumphs: Our Journey to Parenthood
7. Daysie @ My Story. My Family. My Life.
8. Jessica @ Project Make a Baby
9. Jane Doe @ InfertilityLand Is Not Like Disneyland
10. Waiting for Baby H
11. Miss A @ When...Not IF!

And lastly, here are the 11 questions I want you all to answer:

1. What made you start your blog?
2. What is your favorite season?
3. If you have a smart phone, what is your favorite app?
4. Name a celebrity you think is overrated...
5. What is something your parents used to say over and over?
6. Name one thing on your bucket list...
7. What is your dream job?
8. Where were you born?
9. Do you have a hidden talent?
10. What is the weirdest/most exotic thing you have eaten?
11. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you bought?

Well, I've done my part, Now it's time for all my nominees to do theirs! Happy blogging!!

Day 4 Post Transfer

Today I am feeling IRRITATED!! 

I am so irritated with my mother-in-law! I know that she means well and is just really excited for us give her a grandchild but she is so overwhelming at times. Every single day she asks me how I'm feeling but she says it in a way that implies "Are you feeling pregnant?". She also constantly makes me feel like an invalid by telling me I can't do anything that requires me to exert any energy. Like I said, I know that she means well but it is taking everything in me to not roll my eyes and scream at her! Mike says all the hormones are making me talk like a sailor but I just feel so irritated all the time.

Today, MIL asks me if she can ask me a personal question that I don't have to answer if I don't want to.  GREAT, what am I supposed to think of that?! Thankfully all she wanted to know was how they determined if I was pregnant or not. Apparently she had thought that I had to go through some sort of horrible and invasive test. I told her that no, it was just a blood test. MIL then asked me when we will find out this time so I took the opportunity to tell her that we'd prefer not to tell her the date of our blood  test. She seemed a little taken back at first but I politely explained to her that while we will share the results with them (obviously) I don't want to have them sitting around expecting a phone call because I may need to take some time to myself if it isn't good news again. Thankfully, MIL said she understood where I was coming from. Since the conversation was going so well I decided to take the opportunity to tell her that I'd prefer she didn't ask me how I was feeling everyday. I explained that last time I felt like I had so many early pregnancy symptoms and I obviously wasn't pregnant so this time I am really trying not to read into anything I may or may not be feeling. I think she understood where I was coming from and said that going forward she won't ask me that and will keep any observations about my potential pregnant state to herself. I feel a little bad about it all but I have to protect my heart throughout all this because at the end of the day I'm the one who is going through it, not her.

Day 3 Post Transfer

Yesterday was my first day off of bed rest and nothing made me happier then just getting out of bed and walking around! Mike and I celebrated by going to an Apple Farm with both my parents and his parents. It was a little over an hour away from where we live but I think it was definitely worth the drive. It was so pretty and we got to pick tons of apples! Seriously, I'll be making apple pies and apple butter for months to come! It was also nice to just spend time with our families, drink fresh apple cider, and eat some good BBQ.

So today is Day 3 and I am feeling...normal, of course. Even if this does (fingers crossed) result in a pregnancy, I know I wouldn't be feeling anything yet. I have noticed that I am feeling slightly bloated already (greaaaaaat) and today I am feeling slightly crampy. 

I'm also finally starting to intensely dislike the PIO/Delestrogen shots!! The lumps and soreness are really starting to get to me. It's getting to the point where just putting my phone in my butt pocket hurt because it was touching a lump/bruise. Last night's shot actually burned when I laid down in bed afterwards. Also, I'm not sure what medication is causing me to be extremely thirsty ALL THE TIME but I can't seem to ever drink enough water to quench my thirst. And because of that, I wake up at least twice each night to go pee. This means that I'm not getting a good night sleep which means that I am tired throughout the day etc... I actually fell a sleep around 10am this morning and didn't wake up until Mike called me around 11:45! Napping like that is soooo not normal for me. At least Mike seems to be a little more understanding about how all the hormones are making me feel this time. I thought he was going to say something about me sleeping so late when he called but instead he apologized for waking me up and told me to go back to sleep if I was still tired.

And who would have thought I would ever look forward to cleaning?!?! As much as Mike took great care of me while I was on bed rest, he didn't do as good of a job at keeping the house clean. I swear, it's impossible for him to put his dirty clothes in the hamper! Anyways, it was nice to be able to clean up and get everything back in order. But by the time I finished cleaning I was starting to feel really crampy so I decided to sit down and take it easy for the rest of the day. I'm going to let Mike grill for dinner and I'll take the night off. As much as I am happy to be out of bed, I don't want to go overboard and jeopardize the implantation of our embryos...

So that's it for now...

Day 1 Post Transfer

It's now been just over 24 hours since we had our embryo transfer. I'm not really feeling anything (which I wouldn't expect to be feeling at this point) other then a little bloating and extreme gas. I vaguely recall the gassiness from last time but it is definitely bad this time around! I'm not looking forward to the bloating. I remember by the time I got to my beta test my jeans weren't buttoning...

In other news, I forgot to mention some interesting things I learned from Dr. Lee yesterday. I asked him why I wasn't required to have a full bladder during the transfer like I have read a lot of women are required to do. Dr. Lee said that having a full bladder serves two purposes. First, if your cervix isn't completely straight it can make the transfer more difficult. Apparently having a full bladder helps straighten out the cervix. Additionally, some REs use an external ultrasound (the traditional belly type) to guide the catheter during the transfer so they need a full bladder to get the best image. Dr. Lee, however, uses the internal ultrasound because he feels that a full bladder only causes the woman to be in discomfort which can cause unnecessary stress. It was just nice to hear his explanation because I remember wondering why I didn't need a full bladder last time when all the women I talk to on TB mention having a full bladder. I even asked in a post once and the general answer was that it is only required if the RE is using an ultrasound to guide them. That obviously left me even more confused since Dr. Lee did use an ultrasound. I just didn't realize that some REs were doing the external ultrasound. Anyways, it just gave me a little piece of mind and reassured me that I should trust in my doctor.

At this point I am itching to be off of bed rest. Of course I enjoy being waited on by Mike but I want to be up and about again. My back is killing me from laying in bed and on the couch all day. Plus, I'm really looking forward to going to the Apple Farm tomorrow. Mike and I are going with his parents and my parents to a place called Oak Glen. I found it online by chance and discovered that it has a whole bunch of apple orchards open to the public for picking. They also have berries and pumpkins for picking, as well as fun activities like hayrides and apple cider pressing. My goal is to pick so many apples that I can make apple pie, apple butter, etc... Our house is going to be filled with apples galore! I'll be sure to post a bunch of pics once we get back tomorrow.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Snuggle In Little Embies :)

I am officially PUPO again! Yup, today was THE day. I would have posted sooner today but unfortunately we woke up this morning to a city wide power outage that lasted into the evening and of course the laptop wasn't charged. ANYWAYS...

So the morning started out with a wonderful drug called Valium that is supposed to calm my muscles to help with the transfer. The only thing I remember about it from last time was that it made me feel really happy and like I didn't have a care in the world. This time, though, it made me feel tired and really lethargic.

Before I knew it we were off to the surgery center. I definitely had mixed emotions as we drove there but like I said in my post last night, I am going to be cautiously excited this time. So I tried to let the Valium kick in and relax. Once Mike and I got there I used the restroom one last time before getting undressed from the waist down. They had a funny sperm shaped piggy bank in the restroom that I couldn't resist snapping a pic of!

Once Dr. Lee finally came in we were so anxious and ready for the transfer. We found out that both embryos had survived the thawing process so we signed for acknowledging that by transferring two we have higher odds of multiples, obviously. 

The transfer itself went smoothly. In fact, Dr. Lee said it went even better then the last time. He told us that while the last transfer was still considered ideal, I guess my uterus actually contracted while he was doing it last time which cause the embryos to go in slightly deeper then he had wanted. This time, however, they stayed exactly where he wanted them to be so I'm hoping that's a good sign.

So those are our two little embies!! So precious to think they might be our babies! The final picture is a printout of the ultrasound of my uterus after they transferred the embies. You can see the dark shadow like line that goes straight down from the center. That is the shadow that the embryos are creating. Right above the shadow you can just see a little white dash - those are our embies :)

Well, that's it for now. I am going to be on bed rest for the rest of the night and all tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be going stir crazy tomorrow and will find something to post about...

Tomorrow Is The Big Day...Again

Well, by this time tomorrow I will be laying in my bed with two little embies inside me (AGAIN)!! That sentence pretty much sums up how I am feeling. I am definitely excited, don't get me wrong. I'm just cautiously excited this time. 

I'm not nervous or scared about the actual procedure since we've been through it before. I'm more nervous about finding out if it will work this time or not. Getting the call that we weren't pregnant was one of the worst days I've ever experienced, emotionally speaking. I really don't know how I will handle that news again. I know people say "hopefully you won't need to find out because maybe you'll get pregnant this time", but it is so much easier said then done. I'm terrified to allow myself to believe I might have a little baby (or babies) inside me this time because I don't want to ever feel that crushing feeling again. But at the same time, how am I going to go 2 weeks without looking at my bloated belly and thinking that just maybe there is a baby in me?

Ugh! I'm going to try REALLY hard to take it one day at a time and enjoy the experience without getting too invested (if that's even possible).

So here is a picture of what the night before a transfer looks like for me:

The top shot is Progesterone and the bottom shot is Delestrogen. The big horse pill is my prenatal (yucky), the blue capsule is Doxycycline (I take this twice a day), the two small round pills are Dexamethasone (my pharmacy only carries it in .5mg and I have to take 1mg every day), the slightly larger round pill is a Baby Aspirin, and the oval shaped pill is Medrol.

The good news is that tonight will be my last day of the Dexamethasone so that will knock out two pills that I take daily. And I only take the Doxycycline and Medrol for a total of four days. So it won't be too long until I'm down to just the prenatal and Baby Aspirin only. Of course I'll have to continue using Crinone Gel every morning, and injecting PIO nightly, as well as injecting Delsetrogen every third night but that's really not too bad.

I'm sure I will be getting a picture of the embryos like last time so I'll be sure to post it once we get home.

I'm off to shower (since I'll be in bed for the next 48 hours) and then I'm going to try and get some sleep. Wish me as much luck as you have available!!

Who Wants Cake?!! *NIFR*

Today I am feeling antsy for our FET on Friday so I decided to channel all my emotions into baking/cooking. First, I made a batch of Broccoli Cheddar Soup for Mike to take as a lunch for a couple of days (it's one of the only soups he will eat). Then I pre-made my famous Mac N' Cheese to go along with our BBQ dinner tonight. After all this though I still wasn't satisfied so I thought I'd make a Chocolate Layer Cake as a treat for dessert tonight.

I browsed all over Pinterest (my new obsession) and found a recipe for Black Magic Cake. I mixed everything all together and poured the batter into two round cake pans (minus a couple spoonfuls that I may have had) and popped them into the oven. They looked amazing when they came out of the oven!! Then disaster struck. As I tried to flip them out of the pans they crumbled into pieces! For a minute, I considered crying. Then I considered saying screw it and just sitting there eating all the crumbs like a fatty. Then I got pissed and threw every last crumb away in a fit of rage!

**Note, that situation perfectly describes how quickly I seem to fly through different emotions while I'm on all my medications.**

After taking a few deep breaths I decided to give it another go and I baked the same cake again. This time it worked like a charm! Voila!!

Don't you wish you were at my house tonight?

Have a good evening!

Hello Goopy Gel, I've missed you!

This morning I used Crinone Gel for the first time in this cycle. Boy, I forgot what a gross squirty feeling it had! So now I have taken all of the meds that I will be taking throughout this process. Anyways, it's a sign that we are progressing, after all there is only 4 more days until our embryo transfer!! Woohoo!

Probably the most exciting news that I have to share is about my sleep last night. For what seems like the first night in two weeks I made it through the night without waking up from intense hot flashes. It has been so horrible, waking up feeling hot and sweaty, my hair clinging to my face and neck. And then I get clammy and cold. Needless to say I usually am up for a couple hours after that trying to fall back a sleep to no avail. So you can imagine my excitement when I woke up this morning and realized I had slept through the entire night!! Maybe my body is finally adjusting (again) to all the medications.

That's all I have for you so far. Happy Monday!

What The Blog?

I just wanted to let my followers (yeah right, what followers?) know that I am going to be working on my blog over the next few days so you may notice some changes...

For now, I've decided to change the background to a more Fall appropriate theme.

Happy Weekend :)

I Have A Schedule!

Today I had my final monitoring appointment before our second FET which is exactly a week from today. My mom came with me to my appointment for the first time so she got to meet all the super nice nurses and of course, Dr. Lee.

On today's agenda for the appointment was blood work, lots of paperwork, and the usual vag cam ultrasound. The ultrasound confirmed that my ovaries are clear of any cysts (which was expected but still needs to be confirmed) and my uterine lining is a good triple layer at a measurement of 10 - Dr. Lee said it is perfect! So that means I am good to go for our transfer next Friday, October 26th.

Just as I did last time, I received my official schedule detailing all the medicines I will be taking over the course of the next week to prepare my body for the embryo transfer. Here is a break down for you:

Daily: I am to continue taking a Prenatal Vitamin, Baby Aspirin, and Dexamethasone at night. I will also continue to take .4mL Delestrogen injection every 3rd night.

Saturday (10/20): Inject .5mL hCG

Sunday (10/21): Begin injecting 1mL Progesterone nightly

Monday (10/22): Begin using Crinone gel transvaginally (yuck) every morning

Wednesday (10/24): Inject .1mL hCG

Thursday (10/25): Take last Dexamethasone. Begin taking Doxycycline twice daily and Methylprednisolone nightly for 4 days.

Friday (10/26 - Transfer Day): Take 10mg Valium 1 hour prior to transfer. Begin 48 hour bed rest once I get home from procedure.

Saturday (10/27): Inject .1mL hCG

Tuesday (10/30): Inject .1mL hCG


I will be going in for my beta blood test to determine if I am pregnant or not on Wednesday, November 7th. I still haven't decided yet if I am going to hold out on taking a home pregnancy test like I did last time. I am sure that will be the topic of many of my future posts...

If, by some miracle, I do get pregnant from this transfer my estimated due date will be July 14th, 2013!!

So that's it for now. I guess all I can do now is wait and pray that it works this time. I really want to believe my doctor when he tells me that the odds are in my favor this time but after getting the negative results last time I just don't know how to feel. I am optimistic but every now and then the negative thoughts start to creep up. At least the good news is that I have been through the worst possible outcome before so I know that I will survive it again if it comes to that and will push forward as I did this last time. 

That's it for now. Good night!

The Family Act 2011

I don't normally like to talk politics since it makes people get crazy mad but I was recently made aware of a bill that was introduced into Senate in May 2011 and The House of Representatives in November 2011 called The Family Act 2011. If passed, this bill will create a tax credit for the out-of-pocket costs associated with infertility treatments.

As someone who is dealing with infertility treatments I know first hand what a financial toll all of the co-pays, tests and treatments have cost me, and I HAVE insurance coverage. I have said before that I am beyond thankful for my insurance because without it I know Mike and I would not be able to afford IVF. So many couples max out their credit cards, take out 2nd mortgages/HELOCs, and save for years to afford even just one cycle of IVF.

Infertility is a medical diagnosis and should be considered by insurance companies for treatment just as any other disease would be but unfortunately it isn't. Until the day comes that infertility treatments are more readily affordable, The Family Act 2011 would greatly help couples achieve their dream of becoming parents.

So what can you do to help this cause? Follow me, along with many others, and call or send a letter/email to your elected officials. Help make a difference!

Here is a link to Resolve, The National Infertility Association. They support this bill and have a lot of information about it as well as what you can do to help support it.

http://www.resolve.org/get-involved/family-act-of-2011.html

And lastly, here is a copy of the letter I sent to my local officials:

Dear ,

As someone who cares about the 7.3 million women and men with infertility, I ask for your support in co-sponsoring the Family Act of 2011, S 965. The Family Act creates a tax credit for the out-of-pocket costs associated with infertility medical treatments.

My name is Lisbeth Mitchell and I am 27 years old. 2 years ago I married my high school sweetheart, Michael Mitchell, after 7 years of dating. We were both was 25 years old, in love, and hard working people. I thought that we were living the American dream. We always planned to have children early on in our marriage and I have always dreamed of becoming a mom. Imagine my surprise when we found out that due to male infertility our only chance at achieving that dream would be through in vitro fertilization.

My husband and I were stunned to learn that having a baby wouldn’t be as simple tossing out our birth control and “getting busy”. We also felt alone and scared; Alone because we never knew anyone who had struggled with this, scared because we now wondered if we would ever get to know the joy of holding our newborn baby.

I quickly went into research mode and was shocked to learn how common infertility is. Did you know that 1 in 6 couples suffers from some form of infertility? This means that you most likely know someone who is trying to have a child, or has had a child with the help of fertility treatments. Most insurance companies don’t offer much coverage for these treatments, if any. With the average cost of IVF being close to $12,000 in the United States, this means that many families will never get the chance to have their own child. Yet, many couples put themselves into a lifetime of debt just for the chance to get pregnant, something that still isn’t a guarantee with IVF. As a mom yourself, can you imagine what it must feel like to never know the joy of parenthood because of a medical diagnosis that you can’t afford to treat?

I can tell you that since my husband and I found out we were dealing with infertility, we have both been dragged through hell and back physically, emotionally, and mentally. But I will gladly continue to do so until it is no longer financially possible if that means I have a chance to become a mom.

Thank you for your support of S 965, The Family Act. And thank you for helping millions of Americans build their families.

Sincerely,

NIFR: Fall Baking

Note: The above title means "Not Infertility Related"

One of the good things about a FET cycle is there is way less appointments and monitoring. For example, I haven't seen Dr. Lee since October 3rd, when we had our first (and so far only appointment of this cycle). While I appreciate the fact that I'm not being subjected to weekly vag cam appointments, I miss having information to update this blog with.

I guess it's made me realize that I really enjoy blogging. I created this blog to be an outlet for my experiences with infertility but I don't want to give up the blog once I do get pregnant. So, while the main focus of this blog (for now anyways) will still remain my journey through infertility, I want to start updating with other parts of my life and what's going on.

So, without further ado, I want to talk about fall baking... Those who know me know that one of my favorite things to do is bake. I pretty much am the resident baker/designated dessert bringer to all family events. It also just so happens that I am known as "The Holiday Nazi" by my family because I absolutely LOVE the holiday season which, as far as I'm concerned, starts in Fall and lasts through January. I love decorating the house, making seasonal food/desserts, and just the holiday spirit in general! I guess sometimes I might get a bit carried away and drive people crazy with my obsession with holiday music and insisting that we do all holiday events (pumpkin patch, picking apples, seeing Christmas lights etc...) so that's where the nickname comes in. But I think I get so passionate about it because of the fact that I live in Southern California and we don't have visible season changes. It's not like we have fall foliage or ever get snow...

Anyways, for the past few weeks I have been burning pumpkin scented and apple cinnamon scented candles throughout the house. Today I decided I was going to bake some fall goodies (and I may have gotten a little carried away)! Once I was all done my sister-in-law walked into the kitchen and pronounced "it smells like holiday time"! As we speak I am giving my feet a break because I have been up, baking for 5 hours... What did I make, you ask?

• Pumpkin Cheesecake
• Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
• Caramel Apple Cake Pops

Oh my goodness I am in pumpkin heaven! I don't know what happened, I just went crazy. I don't even know how I'm going to eat everything before it goes bad without getting fat... 

What seasonal activities do you like to do?

Happy Saturday :)

I thought I'd share with you a quick pic of what my wonderful weekend night consists of...

Yup, that's my 4th Delestrogen shot you are looking at (as well as my precious little Sophie in the background)! Yikes, looks like a pretty big needle doesn't it? It's really not that bad and while it is long I have plenty of butt fat for it to plunge through, lol...

Anyways, I'm going to lay down and play catch up with The Vampire Diaries on Netflix so that I can start watching this season's episodes. Hope you're weekend is as fabulous as mine! Goodnight!!

Hello UPS Man, AGAIN!

Today my medications arrived for FET 2.0! While it's nothing compared to all the medications I had for my fresh cycle, all the needles are still a site to behold!

If you read my older posts about getting all my medications shipped to me you will know that I had quite a struggle with my insurance company. Some medications were back ordered, some weren't covered by my insurance, some weren't allowed to be shipped to California (still confused on that one??) etc... I ended up having to go through several different companies to get everything. Well for whatever reason there was no problem getting everything this time, and it's the same stinking medications! Maybe I actually got a competent representative this time, who knows!

Anyways, here is everything i will be using during this cycle:

• Delestrogen
• Progesterone in Ethyl Oleate
• Dexamethasone
• Baby Aspirin
• Prenatal Vitamins
• Doxycycline
• Medrol
• Valium
• Crinone Gel
• NEEDLES NEEDLES NEEDLES!

Tonight marks my 3rd Delestrogen shot (remember, I am taking this shot every 3rd night). So far it has been pretty uneventful. 

I spoke to one of the nurses at my clinic yesterday and found out that FET 2.0 is officially scheduled for Friday, October 26th - just two weeks from today. I will also be going in next Friday, October 19th, for an ultrasound and blood work to check my lining. Mike is a little bummed because I will be on bed rest after the transfer on the night of our good friend's annual Halloween party. I am a little sad that we won't be getting to dress up in a cute couples costume as we do every year (last year we were Princess Peach and Mario) but honestly it's a good trade off in my opinion. I told Mike that he can still go as long as he gets me set up in bed with all the yummy snacks I might possible need...

In non IF related news, tomorrow Mike and I will be walking in a 5K to support finding a cure for Autism along with my sister, brother-in-law, and adorable nephew. I'm looking forward to being out there and supporting them because they are awesome parents that would do anything for their child and I hope that one day I can be as good of a parent to my children.

Let's Take A Moment To Laugh :)

Yesterday I posted something on TheBump that ended up getting quite a few responses (which I so wasn't expecting) and actually made me laugh out loud so I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you guys. Enjoy!

You know you're infertile when...

• You see a HUGE stash of syringes and immediately think "infertile" instead of "drug addict"
• You have an ultrasound wand in your vag more often than a peen
• Putting $3000+ on your Visa ain't no big thang
• The thought of kidnapping seems like a more reasonable solution
• People looking at your vag doesn't bother you at all. It's just part of the routine, like getting blood drawn
• You've been taking prenatals for 3 years
• You stop shaving your legs for your RE
• You have 2 giant circles drawn in Sharpie on your butt
• You find yourself thinking of women who get pregnant naturally as "lazy" or "unmotivated"
• You look at the needle for subcutaneous injections and laugh at how tiny it looks
• You shave "down there" for your RE, not your hubby

If you are or have ever dealt with infertility I am positive you laughed out loud for at least some of these. If you aren't infertile, I hope you can see the humor in this as this is literally part of our every day lives. Sometimes you just gotta laugh to keep from crying...

Have a great weekend!

1st Shot...Check!

Last night was my first official injection of FET 2.0! No news to report regarding the injection; it was pretty routine feeling since I've done it a million times before. Never the less, it was still slightly exciting to start again. Plus it somehow felt good to do, like part of my regular routine was missing and now I had it back. Weird, I know! 

I should be getting my official schedule today or Monday. The OCD in me is excited to have a paper that I can check off each day from!!

Unfortunately that's all I have to report today. I should be going back in to see Dr. Lee no later then the end of next week to check how my lining is going. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that since we started with a higher dose of Delestrogen this time (last time it got upped mid way through because my lining wasn't thickening up as quickly as Dr. Lee would have liked) there might be a chance that we can do the ET closer to 2 weeks time. If it does end up being in around 3 weeks I may miss our friend's annual Halloween party due to the mandatory bed rest :(

Until next time...

Staring Over Again

In the world of IF, you hear people talk about their WTF appointment. I'm pretty sure you know what WTF means. This is typically an appointment you have after a failed cycle to discuss what went wrong or could have been a reason it didn't work. You may also discuss any changes in your next protocol. I didn't have a WTF appointment, per se. As I previously mentioned, Dr. Lee called me and we talked over the phone after I found out I wasn't pregnant so I kinda consider that to be my WTF appointment.

I had my baseline ultrasound today and it was filled with mixed emotions. I was happy to be there because it was a sign that we are moving forward and of course I was filled with hope that this time will have different (and happier) end results. But at the same time it was pretty disheartening to be there. As I sat on the table waiting for Dr. Lee to come in I couldn't help but look at all the posters on the wall that show ultrasounds of different stages of development and think "I thought that would be me by now". Honestly, the last time I was in that room I really thought I would be pregnant the next time i came into the office. I'm definitely feeling a bit more apprehensive this time around because I've had a negative result and I know that can happen again, so I guess I don't have that blind optimism anymore. 

Enough dwelling on the sad stuff. I am staying positive for the most part. Dr. Lee really does feel that we have a very strong chance of it working this time. Of course there is always a chance that it won't, but he said that odds are really in my favor that at least one embryo will implant this time. So we are moving forward and plan to transfer two embryos again this time. I start taking Dexamethasone, Baby Aspirin, and Prenatals tonight and will add in Delestrogen injections tomorrow. As long as my lining thickens up accordingly we are aiming for a transfer in two to three weeks. I'll keep you posted.

But now I must run to start preparing dinner. I found a recipe on Pinterest (I'm obsessed) for Coconut-Lime Chicken Breasts with Spicy Thai Noodles that I am going to try out tonight! Yum!! 

Round 2 begins!

Hello Aunt Flo! Seriously, she has reared her ugly head like crazy this month - must be because of all the medicine I've been on! Anyways, this is actually good news because it means I can get started again with the next cycle!!

I spoke to one of the nurses at my clinic and she asked if I wanted to wait until maybe December to try again. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! I told her that I would go crazy waiting that long and that I am ready to go again. Besides, Mike and I want to try as many times as possible before the new year begins since we have already reached our out-of-pocket-maximum with insurance. So I go in on Wednesday to have my baseline ultrasound and see what my official schedule is going to be. If everything goes the way it did last time I think we are looking at an approximate transfer date of October 24th. In the meantime, the nurse told me to start taking my prenatals and baby aspirin tomorrow (I never stopped the prenatals, I figured they couldn't be harmful). I will start Delestrogen shots again on Wednesday (my butt is crying just thinking about it as we speak!), and then the Progesterone shots will be a week or so after that. At least the numb spot and all the bruises on my butt from last time have almost completely disappeared. 

I'll update you with more info once I see Dr. Lee on Wednesday.