Our Christmas Photo

3D Ultrasound!! - Week 27 / Baby Shower

Hi all,

Wow I have been so busy this week I haven't had a chance to blog at all. So much has happened!

I had my Glucose Screening test last week - no big deal, but I did feel kind of gross after all of that sugar! (Which is wierd because I normally have a sweet tooth - but that stuff would make a 5 year old feel nauseous too!)

Also this weekend I had my California/Family Baby Shower!!! It was great! We got a TON of clothes and blankets, so much so that I am a little freaked out at all of the supplies we still need! But we have plenty of time to get those. The clothes are SO cute, I promise I will take photos and post them soon. Also my Great Aunt Glenna made her a quilt! She made one for us for my Bridal shower 4 years ago - it is so special. We also got a TON of diapers and baby wipes (I stole this idea from my friend Lindsey's Baby Shower: Have people bring in diapers or wipes and they get entered into a door prize raffle.) We are set on those for a LONG time!

I am still going to have a small shower at my house in Arizona so all of my AZ/teacher Friends can come. I think I will do that in January.

Week 27 updates:

I am feeling pretty good now that I have finally started taking Zantac for heartburn (Why did I wait so long???) Also my back is really starting to hurt! I think I might need to buy a back brace. Anyone know of a good but affordable one?? Other than that I can't complain, she is still moving really well. And measuring perfectly!

ultrasound!: Here is our beautiful baby girl. Yes we confirmed it - she is definitely a girl! I still had part of my brain nagging me that it might be a boy.

So now that it is confirmed here is her name:

ALLURA KATHERINE BARBER

My mother in law's name is Aurora, and my mom's name is Kathleen so we are doing a play on

both of their names.

This last one of her is her sucking her thumb, the arrow is pointing to her tongue!

Working out finally!

I bought this DVD a while ago and did it twice early on in my second trimester, and then let it start collecting dust! It was pretty easy then but now with my growing belly, it has become pretty challenging! I finally started exercising! I went for a walk on Monday, and did the pregnancy pilates yesterday. I want to be in shape for when it is time to deliver. I get winded pretty easily now - I don't think this is a good sign considering I will have to push something out of me in less than 4 months!

And oh yeah my sister's wedding 6 weeks after I am due is starting to become scary!! For those of you who don't know: we are twins. We have always pretty much been the same size so it would be nice to stay that way!!! Luckily I haven't put on much pregnancy weight at all, and it has been ALL belly. But I have a feeling the third trimester will bring on the pounds!!!

Crib Recall!

I am having trouble postine the link, but just search:

"Largest Crib Recall in History"

It looks like it involves cribs with drop down SIDES.

My Growing Belly!

13 Weeks:

18 weeks:

23 Weeks - Standing next to my Twin Sister!

Crib Info

Hi All!
Some of you really liked the crib we got. It is from Target. It is a convert able crib and has a matching changing table and dresser.

They are ALOT cheaper than the kind at Babies r us. For all three it was $620.00 and since we opened up a target card that day, we got 10% off all of it! (What a steal!!!)

It is called the Delta Eclipse Crib in Black Cherry (although I really think it should be called more of an espresso). I had to call around and make sure they had it at a target store but it was WELL WORTH IT!!

Crib

Here is our crib! Notice the pink wall behind it! More pictures to come later.
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Celebrity Infertility

I just heard that Celine Dion's last two IVF attempts were unsuccessful. Apparently they thought one of them took, but it was probably a "chemical pregnancy" (I don't like that term - I think it diminishes it too much).

It really makes you think, wow if they are having problems - with all the money they have, how are the normal people supposed to cope.

I have been feeling very reflective lately. I am one of the lucky ones - I am pregnant. It took two years and many procedures, but we did it; it worked. And now instead of countless appointments, horrible shots, crazy hormones, emotional and financial stress - I have a healthy normal pregnancy. I am blessed. I never thought I would feel this way. I thought that after I became pregnant - I would say to myself, "Ha I did it. I deserve this. I fought for this, Hell I paid for this, with blood sweat and tears." But now all I say to myself is, "Wow, we did it, Thank God."

Continued prayers and well wishes to those out there that are still fighting.

22 week update

Ok I will be 22 weeks tomorrow, but close enough!

How Far Along: 22 weeks tomorrow
Weight Gained/Loss: A total of only three pounds, since I lost two during the first trimester.
Maternity Clothes: Jeans yes! I can get away with most of my normal shirts if they are long enough.
Sleep: Much better since I bought the Boppy Pregnancy Pillow.
Best Moment of the Week: Lots of movement. Sean and I getting to see her move.
Movement: YES! It is wonderful!! Lots of kicking, but I can also feel her doing spins too.
Food Craving: strawberry banana smoothies, and Mexican food
Food aversions: Not much anymore.
Morning sickness: Not anymore!!!!
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button: Still in.
What I miss: Being able to do simple chores without getting winded!
What I'm looking forward to: My baby shower next month.
Weekly Wisdom: Register for the Cord Blood Registry! People can donate to that instead of a gift.
Milestones: Registered for her at Target and Babies r us!! Bought paint and furniture for the nursery, and a video camera!

All Registered!

Whew, Last week when my Mom came to visit we registered at Babies r us, and I also registered at Target (but online). Online registering is pretty awesome. After about 1000 changes to both registries (something is cheaper at one store - change!) I am finally done with my registry... for now!

My poor hubby. He kept saying "anything you want honey!!!"

Also we bought our crib, dresser, and changing table through target! We (and by we I mean Sean) still need to assemble them, but we will probably wait until after we (Sean again) paint the room. That will happen hopefully this weekend!!!!

Here is a picture of our bedding that we picked out!!!! (No that is not the room!) We did register for the diaper hanger, lamp, mobile, window valance, and pictures though!

In other news my baby shower is early next month. It will be about three months before my due date, which is great considering I have to travel to California (from AZ) for it, and Christmas is so soon. Also my sister is having her bridal shower in mid January (2 months before my due date - which is probably a good travel cut off date). The next few months are going to be busy!!! Oh yeah and did I mention that I am going to Las Vegas sometime in December also!!! Whew!

Seeing Movement!

I saw my baby move! I saw her kicking me! It is so wierd to see your belly go in and out! I try to imagine her little legs kicking me! Another milestone down! Thank you little one for letting me know you are doing ok!!!
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CBR - Cord Blood Registry

Hey All!

I just signed up for CBR - Cord Blood Registry to bank our baby's umbilical cord blood. This is SO important!! They have payment plans and you can also set up a gift registry so people can donate money to you instead of a gift.

If I refer people I get free storage fees for a year for every person ($125 a year) (It works like embryo storage fees).

So If you have not signed up yet PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use me as a referral!!!

Dianne Barber (I live in Queen Creek, AZ)

I am shamelessly asking since us IF girls need all the free stuff we can get!!

Also if you are going to Bank your baby's cord blood too, please email so I can give you a coupon for $155.

Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!

I got the Swine flu vaccine!!

Yay I am in line right now to get the vaccine! I am so happy I found it!!!
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Belly shot

I snuck this one in at work! 19 weeks!

Oh yeah my hubby felt her kick last night for the first time!!!!!!!
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Ultrasound Pictures

Wow, I am still in shock - a baby girl!!! We are so excited!!

I really thought that they were going to say boy but for the last couple days I secretly wanted a girl!! Of course I would have been ecstatic either way! I can't wait to buy something pink!!

We got to see her hiccuping during the ultrasound. It was amazing! I am so blessed.

It's a girl!

Yay!!!!!! I'll fill you in more later!!!!
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Pregnancy update

Ok I am finally going to do one of these things!!!

How Far Along: 18 weeks, 4 days

Total Weight Gained/Loss: a total of one pound, since I lost 2 in the 1st trimester, but put 3 on since the last visit!

Maternity Clothes: YES! I bought maternity jeans and a maternity tank top They are SO comfortable!

Sleep: Getting better but still not able to sleep on my side yet. I need to but a body pillow!

Best Moment of the Week: Hopefully tomorrow if we find out the sex!

Movement: YES! It is wonderful!!

Food Craving: Jack Daniels Sesame Jack Strips from TGI Fridays!

Food aversions: The ice from my freezer, I know weird!

Morning sickness: Not anymore!!!!

Gender: We will hopefully know tomorrow! I think it is a boy, but we'll see!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button: Still in.

What I miss: Nothing much now, I am feeling pretty good! I am sure that will soon change.

What I'm looking forward to: Tomorrow's ultrasound!!

Weekly Wisdom: Hang in there!

Milestones: Movement!! Oh yeah I started nesting!! I can't help it I feel the need to organize!!! I already cleaned out my closet, next other closets in my house are next!

I felt my baby move!!!

I am not sure what else to say the title says it all!!

It was wonderful, especially since it was so long since I last saw or heard the heartbeat.

It felt like he/she was poking me from the inside out!

My ultrasound was rescheduled for next Wednesday so hopefully I will know the sex soon!!!! I can't wait to find out!

Sleeping? Backaches, and wonderful blog news!

Hi all,
I have my next ultrasound on Monday, I can't wait. I am getting anxious to make sure everything is still ok! I am 16 1/2 weeks along. Bella Bands are an everyday thing now. My birthday is in a week so I have to wait until then to buy maternity clothes!

I am having trouble sleeping now; it is so hard to sleep on my side, but I have to try and start now. Also my back has been killing me! I am trying to correct my posture as much as possible. Also I need to get my but in gear and start doing my pregnancy pilates - it turns out it doesn't help if you only buy the DVD - you have to use it as well!

Also I have been so stuffy lately, which in turn is giving me headaches every afternoon.

Oh well these are all the normal signs - which I will gladly take!

Also I am so excited because so many of my blogger friends have found out they they are pregnant!! I really need to update their status on my page!!!! Congrats you guys!!!!!!

Bad Blogger!

Aghh it has been over 2 weeks since my last post. Sorry all! I have been watching you though!!

I am feeling much better. I am officially in the second trimester!! And I have officially popped! I am wearing a Bella Band everyday now to hold up my unbuttoned jeans.

I haven't gained any weight though, in fact I have lost about 2 pounds since before I was pregnant - but that is normal in the first trimester, especially since I got sick a lot.

What am I looking forward too? To feeling the baby move, buying maternity clothes, finding out the sex, starting my baby book and a scrapbook!

It feels more and more real each day, since my belly is growing!

Thank you all for the support! I promise to post a belly pic soon!!!

Week 12 Ultrasound!!!

Wow, it was amazing!!!!

We got to see our little one do some cool tricks like jump, stretch, and slide down!! It was awesome. And yay we finally go to here the heartbeat!! This has definetly made me feel more"pregnant"! Feeling like crap for the past few months is one thing but watching your baby inside you is another! It looks like a real baby too, not just a chicken nugget anymore!

I am actually starting to see a bump on my belly too! I will hopefully post those pics soon too!

Hope everyone else is having a great week too!

Teachers = Infertiles???

Has anyone else noticed how many teachers there are that are infertiles? I used to teach Kindergarten for two years, but I quit to work for my husband's company. I REALLY miss it, but am very thankful that I have a job that is flexible, since going through IVF and now being pregnant are not very good with a tight schedule!!

Anyways back to my point - I swear that at least half of the people I follow on this blog are teachers!! Anyone else seeing the correlation? Maybe us education girls like to talk more, who knows!

Good Luck to everyone - especially since I know that you are going back to school!!

Good Luck to the non-teachers too!

My view as a Twin

This is kind of a random post!

I am an identical twin (My sister's picture is on the right side of my blog). It is awesome being a twin!! Especially since we look the same! I always thought that identical twins were so much cooler than fraternal twins, I mean come on they're identical!!!

But that was before TTC! With all the fraternal twins out there because of IVF and IUI, I find myself becoming very interested in fraternal twins.

I am only pregnant with one baby, but it could have easliy been two or even three, since we transfered two embryos. I am VERY happy with one!! I start to get overwhelmed just thinking about the lack of sleep we will have with just one baby!!!

But who knows maybe for our next try we might get twins, you never know! We have four frozen embryos that will hopefully bring us more children later on. Right now I am very content with my one little bun in my oven!!

Twins rule!! all kinds!!!

First OB appointment

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I have been trying to keep up with all of you though.

Well we had our first meting with my new OB. He was really nice. I had a recommendation from a good friend, so I felt very comfortable going there. I did have another OB previous to my fertility treatments, but I hated them - and I knew several people who had bad experiences with them - needless to say I was not going to put my offspring's well-being in those hands!!!

So Sean and I went there last week. It was just a getting to know you type of visit. I did some blood work, a urine test, and filled out paperwork. Talked about how much water to drink - yikes a GALLON a day. Whew I hope there won't be any lines to the bathroom!!! What medications are safe, and of course nutrition guidelines.

All in all I kind of left saying to myself - that's it? Their recommendation was to read "What to expect when your expecting", and call if I have any questions. Other than that see you in a few weeks for an ultrasound, and an exam.

I know all you ladies told me it would be a lot different than the RE's but wow! So little monitoring!!! (at this stage anyways) Definitely something I will have to get used to.

They did seem empathetic with the fact that we conceived via IVF. They know what a big deal this baby is for us. And he told me to call at any time. I really like the fact that he will always be there.

In other news. I lost a pound and a half since before IVF. Not really surprised there since I have been queasy and eating smaller more frequent meals. I am still feeling the morning sickness, but am grateful that it is there so I know things are looking good.

I ordered 3 Bella Bands online!! They should come this week. I don't really need them just yet, but I plan on using them for all the outfits that didn't quite fit anyways!! (Marriage and fertililty treatments, and ok fast food = bigger pant size!!!)

Graduation

Well it is finally here. We have graduated from our RE. I have so many mixed emotions. I am ecstatic that our baby is doing great and I can go to a regular OB, but I am so sad to leave the place that has made me feel so safe for the past 2 years.

We got to see the baby! He/she is doing very well! We got to see the head and the arm and leg buds, and of course the beautiful heart beat! I still can't believe that this is actually happening to us.

I threw up this morning so that was a good sign telling me the ultrasound would go well!! My doc told me to finish out the Progesterone I have left and then that's it! I have an appointment next week to meet my new OB. I am pretty excited. My RE says she has heard good things about him, so that makes me fell better about moving on.

Ok First REAL Throw up

All right I spoke too soon last post. Today was my first real throw up!!! There goes my delicious sandwhich I just ate an hour before!!

Oh and I am 8 weeks pregnant today!!!

I'm Throwing Up! Yay - oh hold on here it comes again!

Well, My all day queasiness has finally turned into official Morning Sickness. I threw up yesterday morning and a little yesterday after lunch. I was lucky in the fact that the morning session was mostly water I had just drank. The lunch session was more like gagging. Gross I know.

But I take this all in stride, being sick is a good sign! I am 7 1/2 weeks along so the timing seems about right.

I will "graduate" soon from my RE. I have one more ultrasound, and then it is off to the world of normal OB's. I will be sad to go to a new doc. I LOVE my doc. But I feel like a little baby bird who needs to be pushed off a tree limb by the mama bird!!!!

I have scheduled my first appointment with my new OB in 2 weeks, who I was referred to by a friend, Thanks Cassie! I will be a member of the normal OB club soon. I hope they know that I am a former VIP!!

Nothing really new to report!

Hi all,
Nothing really new to report. I have my next and probably final ultrasound with my RE tomorrow. Since I am 6 1/2 weeks pregnant they should be able to see the heartbeat! I can't wait!

I am still experiencing a lot of nausea! No throwing up yet but believe me I have tried!! Nothing like dry heaving in the morning to get you going!

I have officially been totally caffeine free for a week now. I was under the impression (from all the info in books and websites) that one soda a day was fine since the amount of caffeine in those is well under the "safe amounts for pregnant women". But at my last visit the doctor told me to cut it out completely! So I have done it! I am caffeine free!!! It actually wasn't that bad considering I was only on one soda a day. But now I don't have my little pick me up that would be so nice when I am falling asleep at my desk!!

Oh well it is so worth it in the end!!!!!!! I am trying to enjoy the moments when I feel okay. And when I am feeling like crap (which is more often than not these days) I just remember that a sick momma usually means a healthy baby!! And I remember all of the girls out there who would love to be dry heaving in the mornings - I was one of those girls not to long ago. And I will NEVER forget that. Good Luck to everyone!! And congrats to the ladies who are celebrating their BFP's !!!

My First Ultrasound!!!!

Well, we did it!! We made a baby! It was too early to see the heartbeat but it was just as amazing to see that black little blob!! Wow, and ultrasound that wasn't used for fertility reasons! It is actually classified under maternity. I am in a whole new world!

We have only one in there, but I am so thrilled to be pregnant! I wonder what it may have been like if both had implanted, but I am so focused on being pregnant with this little one that I can't really imagine it any other way!

This feels so right! I can't wait for our next visit to get another look!!!

Hilarious - You MUST read This!!

This is the funniest and truest thing I have ever read!!!!

ODE TO INFERTILITY

'Twas the night before your period and all through the house,not a creature was stirring, not even your spouse.
The tampons were waiting in the bathroom with care,in hopes that Aunt Flow would soon NOT be there.
Your future children were nestled, like dreams in your head,while visions of cramps start to come before bed.
You're sure you are pregnant, your breasts are so ripe,you examine that toilet paper each time you wipe.
But you just might be pregnant, you have all the signs,so why does this test never show those two lines?
And you cry on the floor until you are ill,tomorrow you'll refuse your prenatal pill."
Come nausea, sore breasts, and frequent urination!"
"On weight gain, fatigue and then to lactation!"
We are getting impatient, our clocks start to tick,but each month all we do is pee on that stick.
We know more about ovulation than our family doc,so please fill our womb before our friends newborns can talk!
We thank all of our relatives for those sympathy hugs,but we've spent our whole salary on fertility drugs.
Our spouse has more sex than his full teenage years,but this time he's not bragging to all of his peers.
So before our next cycle, lead us the fertile way,
Happy baby-making to all and keep periods at bay!

So True!

First baby purchase! I couldn't resist!!! It is perfect for us IF girls!!!!
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Wow!

So I did it! I made a baby!!! Well Sean kinda helped I guess!!!

I added the baby countdown! Look at the top of my page, to the right! I will still have to fine tune it when I get an actual due date (for right now I believe it is either March 12th or 13th - so I am just saying mid-March!). So that makes me at about 4 1/2 weeks along.

I am still in disbelief that this is happening to me. I am still of course terrified that something will go wrong but I can't live my life in the what if's! It is just hard for me to accept that I made it! I have been an infertile for so long!

I am really anxious for my ultrasound. It still could be multiples according to the nurse I spoke too. I was really convinced that it would be only one, but my numbers shot up so much, now I am not so sure! I will be ecstatic either way!

Pregnancy Symptoms? Yes!

Nausea - yes (just queasiness for now - thank goodness!)
implantation bleeding - no
frequent urination - yes (but I think this is because I am so thirsty lately!)
headaches - no
breast tenderness - yes at times
back aches -yes but that is from the progesterone injections!

And most of all a positive test!! I still haven't taken a Home test yet. Maybe I'll buy one today for fun!!

Thank you everyone for their support!!!

My hcg level is 458!!!! Which is great news! I can exhale now!! Sean and I are so excited! Its really happening! My ultrasound is next week!

I'm pregnant!!!!!! My beta was 103!! Anything over 50 is a positive. I go in Tuesday to make sure the numbers go up enough.

I'm pregnant!!!!!! My beta was 103!! Anything over 50 is a positive. I go in Tuesday to make sure the numbers go up enough.

One more day. I can do this!

Getting ancy!

OK, I am officially starting to count the days, hours, minutes - until my beta test! 8:30 Friday morning seems SO far away! I want to know now!! I will not however test myself before then! I refuse. It made me even more of a mess last time. I don't even have a pregnancy test in my house right now! If I did , I would throw it just to not be tempted! I am now convinced that they are evil! I think that if I do - no WHEN I do get a positive blood test then maybe I'll take one for fun just to see two lines since I have never seen those before.

In other news, my nephew is SO gorgeous! He has been a real distraction through these last weeks! I will try to get some pics up later! I got to hold him for a few hours yesterday! He was sleeping the whole time! I just can't wait until it is our own bundle of joy in my arms! Or who knows maybe bundles???

In side effects news, I feel really good today, which is worrying me now!! Aghh I can't wait until Friday! I know it is too early to "feel" anything, but it still drives me crazy!!!!

4 frozen embryos!!

Wow, my transfer went great! They transferred two beautiful embryos!! One was AAA and the other was BBA (apparently there is no difference in pregnancy rates among these types). They also told me that they were going to freeze three! But the next day we got a call from my RE and said that they were going to freeze another one also!! I was so happy - things have been so different this time around. Our last IVF was filled with bad news, after more bad news. I really hope that this is a sign that we will get a BFP!

I have been taking it easy this week. I am exhausted a lot of the time, not to mention sore from the PIO shots. I have also noticed that I feel sick to my stomach a lot of the time (kind of like indigestion) I contribute this all to the progesterone and other drugs, since I am sure it is WAY too early to be feeling anything else!

But the worst side effect from the drugs had got to be the horrible breakouts I have experienced in this last week! I am talking 10 times worse than middle school acne (and I would know, because I had it bad!) I feel like I have been invaded!! My face, neck, shoulders, chest, and even behind my ears! Ughh! I will welcome these ugly things as soon as I get my BFP! But for now I shall complain!

Progestone in Oil

Oh Progesterone shots, how I loathe thee! I should stop right here and say that I am lucky to be taking the "Progesterone in Ethel Oleate" shots which I have heard from many sources is much less painful!

So I will whine just a little bit!!! I really do feel like someone has kicked me in my rear (well upper rear area)! I am so sore!!


The shots themselves are fine, which I was very surprised about!! I just numb the heck out of that area!!!

And now I must cut my post short because my nephew was just born!!!!!!!!!! I get to go see him!!!!

Embryo Transfer set for Wednesday

Hi all,
I have been relaxing on my couch all weekend! The Egg Retrieval went great! We got 12 eggs (I thought the number would be higher since I had the "Super Ovary". But I am excited with that number! Some of the follicles apparently didn't want to give up their eggs - and some were just too small.)

I got a call on Saturday morning from the lab - 11 fertilized (a great number!!!) the other egg was abnormal.

This morning I got another call: All 11 are still hanging in there!!! 2 are in the "good range" and 9 are in the "good to excellent range"!!!! So we are moving on to a 5 day transfer and letting them grow to the blastocyst stage! We are so excited that our embryos are reacting so well!! It is like night and day from last time!!!!

They will most likely implant the 2 best embryos and freeze all of the rest that make it to "blast". Oh I hope we get some snowbabies too!!!!!

Blog Updates

Hi All!

I have updated my blog list into categories since I follow so many blogs:

TTC / adoption girls (I'm in this group with you!!)
pregnant girls
and life after TTC girls

I really hope to move you all along!! I can't wait to be there myself!

Good Luck to everyone!!!

p.s. I tried really hard to make sure everyone is in the right category - if I have made a mistake - please let me know.

My email is:
diannekelleyb@hotmail.com

Ouch Lupron!

Well our Egg Retrieval is set for tomorrow at 9:00 am. I took my Lupron trigger shots - and ouch they stung!!!

I am SO ready to do this Egg Retrieval. I really feel like this will be it for us!!!!

Unfortunately I start the Progesterone in Oil shots tomorrow night! I am pretty scared! That needle keeps looking longer everytime I look at it!!

I'll keep you posted!

Egg Retrieval is close!

It looks like my Egg Retrieval has gotten pushed back to Friday- which works out best for work, but I wish I could get it over with!! My follies are looking good! I have "good growth patterns" The funny thing is I am now all the way down to 125 of Follistim - this is SO different from my last cycle!! I feel like my follies are coasting!!!

In other news I went to a Bunco Party (it is a dice game - where people get together every month) on Friday night with my Friend Mandy. It was a lot of fun!! I think I might want to start my own group!

So that is all right now - just waiting for my trigger!!!

Projected Egg Retrieval - next Wednesday

So I am officially less than a week away from the Egg Retrieval. My doc says either next Wednesday or Thursday!

My follies are looking good - I still have 30 but she doesn't think all of them will produce eggs to be retrieved (no worries, there is a lot there to choose from!) Right now the majority of them are measuring at 12mm (and I have been complemented on good grouping!)

I can definitely feel them now. Things are starting to get very crowded! I also am getting very tired. So I am looking forward to triggering!

My belly and arms are covered in hematomas - pretty ugly to look at!!

But no complaints!!! I am getting excited!! (Finally)

Did you say 30 follicles?

Um, wow little "Lefty" (that's what I call my remaining ovary) you have been an overachiever this cycle! My doc counted between 29 and 31 follicles that all looked pretty serious.

What does this mean? Well I might hyper-stimulate so I will go in everyday now. And I might trigger with Lupon instead of the Ovadril. Also I might have to start taking the Ganarelix sooner than expected. Also my least favorite prospect - I might have to take Progesterone in Oil - which I have heard is not pleasant at all!! But it might be better than dealing with the cream. We'll just have to wait and see what my body does.

My doctor is amazed at how different this cycle has been. Last time I was on 450 units of Follistim (Which is the most that they will give to someone) - Now I might go lower than 250!

Good Job Lefty!!!!!

Also on my post yesterday I got a lot of responses about the shirt I was wearing - OLD NAVY!!! I Love that store!

Thanks! and Sorry! and New Clothes!

First of all thanks for all of your support! I can't tell you how much it means to me!!!!!

Second - I am so sorry that I was whining yesterday about feeling numb for IVF #2 when I have 21 great looking follies! Part of me is still scarred because of my last cycle but I have nothing to complain about... at least yet! I realized that here I am saying I am in a blah mood when so many of you out there would kill for a number like this. So I am very grateful for how things are going so far!

Also, I went shopping yesterday and actually spent money on clothes not IF stuff! It felt so good!!!

21 follies!

Hi everyone!
I had my day 4 stim check. I have about 21 follicles (all about 6 - 9 mm), which is really great compared to last time during day 4. My body actually seems to be cooperating this time!! They bumped the follistim back a little so I don't hyper-stimulate. I have a feeling I will go in everyday, so they can monitor me closely, which is fine.

Other than that I have been pretty lazy. I actually took a nap on Sunday which I never do! This process just takes a lot out of you. I am getting excited, but it's like there is a cap to it. So much of me has this attitude of "been there done that". I'm not anxious like last time; but I also feel a little numb to it as well. I think when I trigger I will get excited, maybe my brain is protecting me from getting my hopes too high.

blah...and look at my craftiness!

Nothing new to report. I have been trying to catch up on everyone else's blogs. So many girlies have become pregnant through IVF. I just really want this to be our time! I am in a blah mood as you can tell by the title!! I am just counting the days until our Egg Retrieval.

In family news: My SIL is due on June 23rd. I will have a nephew!! I made her these initials with some star hooks to match her nursery. It was alot of fun!! We are waiting for you Reginald James Price!! (Reginald is my FIL's and my husband's middle name!) They are going to call him Reggie.

Pre-evaluation Done!

Well I had my IVF pre-eval done this morning. Everything looks great! No Cysts! I had 14 baseline follicles (not bad for only one ovary!!!).

I also had my blood work done. My veins are already acting up! The nurse had to poke me twice - something to look forward to later I guess!!

I will start the injections on Saturday. I am gearing myself up to do this all again. It is such a weird feeling going through a second IVF. I am excited but also a little numb. I know how physically and emotionally challenging it all is. I just can't wait for the good part, a BFP with lots of good blastocysts to freeze. I am focusing on this.

Awesome Quote that you may steal!!!

"We're not Barren, we're just Fertilely Challenged!"...Charlotte, Sex and the City


Hilarious.

Day 1!!! IVF # 2

Yay it is my Day 1!!!! I start Birth Control Pills today and will be on them for 2 weeks. Then I go in for my labs/ultrasound to start the stims. I am so happy that the ball is finally moving again!! If all goes well we should do the egg retreival in mid June!

Spotting

Well I am going to start AF soon; I have been spotting for a few days. I can 't wait to FINALLY start BCP for IVF # 2. I am still hoping to be done with the IVF process by July. But I have learned to never time out anything when it comes to Infertility!

In other news, I went to California for my twin sister's college graduation! It was awesome!!! Congrats Debbie!!!

Our Anniversary!

Well today is our 3 year Wedding Anniversary! I can't believe it!! It is also the 2 year anniversary of when we started TTC. It can make me a little sad but I refuse to think of this day as anything but the day I married my soul mate!

Love you Babe!

Metformin is back

Ughh, I have to start taking Metformin again!!!! I really shouldn't complain though - I am just happy to be trying IVF again, but I can whine a little:

For those of you who do not know what Metformin is, here is my definition:
It is a drug used for Diabetes treatment (blood sugar stuff), but it is also used in women with PCOS to help with egg quality. Here is the funny part I haven't been diagnosed with either! I probably have some form of PCOS, but have never gotten the full diagnosis.

Now this sounds great- it can help me with my IVF! But the trade off is tummy troubles! Lots of tummy troubles. I think I have found the secret to solving these not so pleasant side effects: Eating Low Carb. Most women with PCOS already know that they should eat low carb in order to help regulate blood sugar. But since I never got diagnosed and I am in a healthy weight range; I continued to eat all of my lovely carbs!

My RE wanted me to try to get up to 3 - 4 pills a day but I was having trouble with taking just a pill and a half a day.

After about a month of being miserable on Metformin I confided in my Acupuncturist about my symptoms (nausea, diarrhea , and even throwing up once!) She told me to give low carb a try because the higher dosage of Metformin I was on, the better.

So I gave it a try - and it worked!! I felt fine!!!

So this time around with IVF, I am going to eat low carb, I encourage anyone else on Metformin to do the same thing!! I really helped me out a lot!

Today is the first day I am going back on Metformin, wish me luck!

Still Waiting / Add me!

Hey Everyone! Wow it feels great to tell everyone that we had decided to gove it another shot using my eggs. We really feel like this could be it! I am just sick of waiting fo AF!!! I really hope it comes soon but I am not holding my breath.

Also if you have left a comment on my page or are following me now please make sure that I have returned the favor!! Send me a comment and say "ADD ME!!!" I really want to hear all about your journey too!

Sending out baby thoughts to you all!

Sorry for the wait!!

Hey Guys,

I am SO sorry for the wait on my news. I hate it when people do that!!!

We went to the meeting last week, and we had to sort some things out before I could post anything.

There was a problem with our embryos fertilizing that caused us to think our failure was due to possible egg quality issues. But now we are not sure about that. So we basically doing a "do over" attempt using my eggs again.

So now we are moving on to IVF #2. I am just waiting on my next cycle, and then we will start BCP's.

We are very excited that we have this chance, at using my eggs; and not having to put my twin sister through any of this. Hopefully it will work so we won't ever have to ask her.

Thank you all for your support! I will keep you updated on our IVF #2!

P.S. my sister picked out her wedding gown!! It is gorgeous!!!!

Big News to Come...

I know that you guys are anxious to hear what my RE said (last post). I can't really to get into it right now (it is a long and complicated story) but basically there was a problem with our first IVF.

I know, take a moment to let that sink in!

During the meeting, we decided that I am going to do another IVF cycle with my own eggs, before trying my twin sister's donor eggs.

So I am mentally preparing myself to try again. It is is so weird because I had already geared up to be the donor recipient. I am excited to try again using my eggs, but I still mourn my first IVF cycle.

Thank you all for your support!
Dianne

NIAW is here again

Well, well another year (um celebrating?) the fact that I am infertile.

Well what has changed since last year? I started this blog!! It has been a life saver and a way to meet other infertiles! Because God knows I feel like the only one around sometimes.

I have had a lot of highs and lows:

High: Did IVF, and had lots of follies!!!

Low: IVF failed with no embryos to freeze.

Luckily I have found so many great people to encourage me along the way.

Thank you infertiles!!!!

In other news:

My RE called me out of the blue last night and asked that we meet with her. She said that she found something new in my last cycle, and wants to discuss it in person. SO we set up an appointment today at 4:00 in Phoenix.

My first reaction is to be scared, but really I am just surprised. I mean I thought I was kind of on a break right now - just waiting for my next cycle, but part of me is a little happy that they were looking through my results again. I would rather have bad news now then after another failed attempt.

So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...

Well right now we are waiting.

I talked to the Donor Egg Cordinator, and found out about all the lovely tests that my sister and I get to do. She has to go through all of the day 3 tests, baseline follicle counts, Infectious Disease screenings that I had to do; but she also has to do a Clomid Challenge Test, and we both get to do Psych Evaluations - how fun!

I also will be doing my "pilot cycle" at this time - this is to see if I will be a good recipient during the ET (Shouldn't I have done this before my regular IVF?), Oh well.

Anyways, we are just waiting for all of that to start. Nothing else is really new. I am going to California in a week and I get to watch Debbie try on Wedding dresses!!! I also get to try on bridesmaid dresses, and we are going to look at the places that she likes for the ceremony/reception - so that will be alot of fun!!!

Depending on the date she chooses, and if this Donor Egg IVF cycle is the thing that works, I am not quite sure about due dates!! DH seems to think that we will be fine, but I need to sit down with the nurse and start mapping some things out!

Dear God, Thank you?

So I kind of realized something yesterday:

I might have been lucky that our first IVF cycle was a total failure. My hubby did some research about poor egg quality. We definitely fit the criteria. Well with bad eggs there is not enough energy to sustain cell division. This explains why our embryos were slow to start and also why none of them made it to the blast stage (not even the two they implanted), and why we weren't able to freeze any of them.

We were so devastated (and still are) that it didn't work. But back to the research: Even if we did have implantation, many pregnancies with poor eggs lead to a miscarriage. Now that I don't think I could recover from. So maybe this was God's way of saving us from even more pain down the line. And he even provided us with my twin sister, who has agreed to be our egg donor.

So thank you God. I am still trying to understand your path for us, but I think I have accepted this.

A Sister's Love

Let me start this post by thanking everyone for their support. As some of you know I have a twin sister named Debbie. She just got engaged and is graduating from college in May. She has offered to put her life on hold and be our egg donor.

Since our doctor feels we have an egg quality issue (and since we didn't qualify for Shared Risk) my husband and I are extremely hesitant to put ourselves through another unsuccessful IVF attempt. We could move on to anonymous donor but we also are not ready to move on to that just yet. And since God has blessed me with a twin sister we feel that this might be the only way for us to have our biological child (same DNA). Gratefully Debbie has had a normal medical history, which gives me so much hope that this will work!

I can't tell you how weird it feels to know that I will have to not only watch her go through what I went through but I get to give her the injections! I guess I will get to see what my husband went through watching me (although I poked myself!)

We still have to do the testing, figure out how we are going to finance this and all that; but this feels like the right step. And can't believe that this is actually happening. We still might get "our" baby after all.

Part of me is still really sad that it won't be me doing all this. And I feel so guilty to put my sis through it as well; but mostly I feel so proud of her and so grateful that she would do this no questions asked.

Love you Sis!

BFN

Well, what can I say the beta was negative. We are devistated to say the least. With no frozen embryos, our first IVF is a total failure. My doctor says it looks like an egg quality issue (which is just great to hear at age 26).

Right now we are just trying to digest everything. I am still in shock, and depressed while DH is sad and angry. Ths is so much harder than I thought it would be. But at the same time I am numb to it.

Thanks!

Thanks for all of your advice about when to POAS (pee on a stick) I still don't know what I will do. My hubby still thinks I should wait but he also knows me too well. We talked about it last night, and he said whatever my blog girls said would probably be a good idea! But some tell me to wait and some say go for it!! You guys are just like my brain!!!!!

Also thanks for the support. I am still very sad that we did not have any embryos to freeze, but I don't think it will really hit me until I get the pregnancy test back. If it is positive then YAY!!!! I won't have to worry about IVF until we want to conceive again. But if it is negative, well we know where that road leads - more needles, more heartache, and more waiting (that is if we can find a way to pay for it).

So for right now only positive thinking. My hubby says he really thinks this is it. I have to agree, I really think this might be it too. I have been feeling really tired / dizzy /queasy at times. I try not to interpret the "signs" too much though. I really don't want to get my hopes up too much.

Until then, I will continue to pray, continue to blow kisses to the pictures of my embryos that are on my fridge, and continue to read all your blogs for inspiration and support!

Zero Embryos to freeze but I still have Hope...

Well this weekend was another roller coaster. We found out that out of the about 12 embryos we had, none of them were good enough to freeze. They didn't make it to the blastocyst stage. Our embryologist said they stalled out (stopped dividing). I wish they could have frozen them anyways just in case but they wouldn't have survived the freezing and thawing process very well, so realistically they weren't viable.

So it all comes down to the two they were able to put in me. The transfer went extremely well according to my RE. Everything looked great. And it didn't hurt! I was shocked, Yay for Valium!!!!! So now we wait, and wait, and wait.

Feeling any symptoms yet? Well I am still really tired - no exhausted, but thankfully the bloating is gone; it seems my ovary has finally settled down. Also I have been feeling a little light headed at times and have been having breast tenderness. All of which could be attributed to my lovely meds! So I am trying not to read too much into it.

But here is my new dilemma. Lets say I wanted to cheat and do an at home pregnancy test before my blood work. When should I do it??? Please let me know the answer, I don't think I can wait until Thursday, but I also don't want to test too early and get myself all worked up over a possible false negative. My hubby says do it Thursday morning, but that is still so long away!!! I am thinking Wednesday morning or night. Ughh this is the hardest part!!! Girls, if you have done the at home tests please let me know how early you did them!!!!!!

p.s. Thank you to all my friends who have been reading!! I just got the greatest call from Brittney!! Also thanks for the email Cassie!!!!

Embryos are here!

Very Blurry yes I know but here they are!

Please embryos get comfy!! We love you already!

Transfer is tomorrow! - Fertility Prayer

I am excited and nervous at the same time!!!! My Mom forwarded me this prayer to say on our big day tomorrow:

"Dear God, We have so much love to give, and my spouse and I want to share our love with a baby. We ask that You and the angels help us conceive. Please send one of your brightest and happiest souls into our life, and let this being become our baby child. Thank You." (Add to or rewrite the message in the prayer to fit your specific circumstances; I.e. ...help us conceive through this in-vitro fertilization...) Also, can call upon Archangel Gabriel (pronounced GAB-ree-el) for assistance with conceiving

I give it to you all to use!!!!

Egg Retrieval Complete! Transfer is set!

Hi all sorry it has been so long but I have been the biggest couch potato this weekend!!!

Ok on Thursday we did the Retrieval. We got 15 eggs which is not too shabby for one hardworking ovary!! It wasn't so bad but still a little scary since it is a surgery. I woke up in pain so they gave me some pain meds and then we were able to go home were I was pampered by my hubby!

On Friday they called us and said that none of them had signs of fertilization (talk about a heart stopping moment!) and that they did "emergency ICSI on 7 of them) the remaining ones had signs of the polar bodies so they left them alone.

So one sleepless and tear-filled night later they called again and said 8 of them had fertilized!!!!! (UGHH Relief, pure relief!!!)

And today they called and said we would blast (take them to blastocyst stage) them all and do a day 5 transfer and (drum roll please) there are now 8 -12 embryos that look good. I wish they would have let me know that it is ok to have late bloomers!!! It would have saved me and DH alot of heartache. But now I am so excited that I am only looking ahead!!

So the F. E. T. is set for Wednesday Morning. I will do acupuncture before and after my transfer.

I can't say how much of a roller coaster ride this month has been. All of the highs and lows (and throw in lots of hormones and meds, and soreness!!!) let's just say it will all be worth it in the end.

Thank you all for your support!!!

Hoping I trigger tonight

Sorry I haven't posted in a while! I will hopefully trigger tonight for a ER of Thursday morning. But I might trigger Wednesday night instead, which is fine but that means that I need to buy more Follistim (or I might get luck - hey I am Irish and it is my day - and get another freebie!!) I have to go back later today to see.

My stats:
Number of ovaries: 1
Number of Follicles right now: 21!!!! (I am an over achiever!)
Number of yucky bruises: about 5 (from self injections and uncooperative veins)

I am so ready to trigger!!! So wish me luck please!!!

Go Ovary Go!

Ok, so I am typing to keep myself from falling alseep at my desk! Thank God I work for my Husband's family business! They have been really understanding with all the time I have had to take off (well they do want another grandkid(s) after all!)

I am so tired and dizzy/loopy from the high dose of Follistim I am on. But it is all worth it! I had another check up today amd the doc counted 13 follicles. He said and I quote, "Your one ovary is doing the work of two!"

Yay Lefty!!!

I am hoping that the Egg retrieval is soon so I don't have to buy more meds but the doc said I might have too. We'll know more this weekend. Whatever it takes we will do it!

Free Drugs!!!!

I love my nurse!! No, I LOVE my nurse!!!! She has been a God send in a year filled with huge costs, she has given us free meds!!!

I am on a high dose of Follistim so I have burned through it a lot faster than we though we would. She found out that we are paying for everything out of pocket and gave us extra meds!!! It is a different brand (Gonal- F) but works in the same way.

I called her and begged," I mean asked nicely" if she had anymore meds to give us. She said yes!!!!

My credit card remains safe for another day!!!!

So for everyone who has to pay out of pocket like me - ask your nurses!!!!!!!

Throwing up!! I'm not even pregnant yet!!!!!

So yesterday as I drove home from my acupuncture appointment, I started to feel a little nauseous. OK no big deal I thought, I should be fine: it is just the Metformin and the whole wheat bread and chicken nuggets I tricked myself into believing is low carb mixing in my stomach... as I got closer to my house I got sicker and sicker, until I pulled onto my garage, raced into the house, and straight to the bathroom and threw up instantly!!! Well this was a new symptom, I haven't thrown up before on Metformin.

I was doing so well too! I felt fine all weekend, and did have some whole wheat bread and small amounts of other carbs, but I started to allow too many carbs back in this week!!! So now I am back to square one. So far today I have only had a banana, deli meat, cheese, and veggies with dip. So I should be safe!!

This week has been tough for me, but I now it will be worth it!!! And nothing will bring me down, I am too excited about the news that I finally get to start my IVF cycle!!!!!

Cyst, what cyst?

The cyst is GONE!!!! I start stimming on Saturday.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Thanks for the responses!

Hi all,
Thanks for the support and tips! The low carb diet is going well. I have also upped my dose of Metformin to two full pills a day. It turns out that the low carb diet helps with my metformin symptoms - which is great!!! I have been feeling good all weekend!!!!! I go in on Wednesday morning to see if the evil cyst has gone away. I really hope it has!! Until then I go to acupuncture today, and continue waiting and hoping!!!!

Good Luck to all the ladies that are stimming this week!!! I hope to be one of you soon!!!

Low Carb Diet - day # 1

It has finally happened, my worst nightmare - no carbs!!!!

Here's why I am subjecting myself to life without my favorite thing in the world: Girlies with PCOS have insulin resistance which can cause the unpleasant symptoms of PCOS - like annovulation and cysts. After discovering that I had a cyst yesterday that is postponing my IVF cycle for at least a week (hopefully not a full cycle), I went to my acupuncture appointment. The doctor told me that I should up my Metformin dose (aghh!), and even scarier eat a low carb diet!!!!!!!!

Now I did know that this might be a possibility, but since I have never had a problem with blood sugar I thought I could eat my delicious carbs. But I will do ANYTHING to have a baby, so if it means giving them up then it is a small price to pay. But know this - when I do get pregnant I am celebrating with a donut!! Or apple pie!! Or... ok stop dreaming about carbs...

So last night on my farewell to carbs I ate a bowl of cereal for dinner (hey the day was ruined, so I figured why the hell not!)

If anyone has any tips on low carb living please let me know because this is all new to me!!! I ordered a book to help me get started. I better lose like 5 or 10 pounds because of this!!!

Nothing like a Big Freakin' Cyst to ruin your day...

So I went in this morning for my baseline blood work and ultrasound. I thought, no big deal, this is just a formality...WRONG! Right when the doc started my ultrasound he said, "oopsie". I looked on the screen and saw a big black circle- which I have seen before. Ughh a cyst! Right before I am supposed to start my first IVF cycle an f***in cysts pops in to ruin everything!!!

So now I get to wait until I get called tonight by the nurse. They will most likely tell me to keep taking BCP for another week, and hopefully the cyst will leave on it's own. Or they could tell me to wait another cycle. I am SO pissed right now. I have only had one cyst in 6 clomid cycles and 3 IUI's, and I get one now?!?

Oh and if that wasn't enough, my nurse checked out all of my meds, and some of them might expire if I have to wait another cycle. Luckily it is the cheap stuff - not Follistim, but still...AGHHHHH!

SO yeah, today sucks. Luckily I have acupuncture later on today so I can calm down and relax!!! I can't believe I actually enjoy those pinchy little needles now! Well maybe not the needles, but I love the feeling after.

Meds are here!

Of Course I had to post this picture. It is my badge of honor!!!

More of the same

Hey all,
Nothing really new to report. Still on BCP, still getting poked twice a week by my acupuncturist, still hating Metformin (I started on 1 1/2 pills today since 2 pills is too much for me). On a funny note the fish oil I am taking with my prenatal vitamins is lemon flavored so everytime I burp for about two hours after - it tastes like lemon!!

My hubby and I went to Flagstaff, AZ for Valentine's Day. It was so beautiful and relaxing!!! It was so nice to have time with him that doesn't involve IF stuff!! I feel very connected to him even more than I normally do!! It is nice to charge the batteries!!

We have our IVF teaching visit tomorrow - you know the one - where you get to sign all of those lovely forms about selective reduction and cyro-preservation! I already told them I would consider selective reduction but now after all we have been through I am signing a big fat no!!! Which I think won't change any plans because my RE already said that we would most likely transfer only 2 embryos because of my age.

Other than that I am just in waiting mode. Getting a little impatient but this weekend I will get another great distraction - We are going to California to see my family!!!!

Also congrats to all the girls who have had their retrievals, transfers, and even a BFP!!! I am so happy for you girls.

TTC update

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been a while. Well I am on BCP right now. I start my injections on the 28th!!! Also I started going to an acupuncturist. I will go twice a week until the embryo transfer. It isn't so bad. It definitely isn't painless but it doesn't hurt either. It is more annoying to have the needles in you! But I do feel very tired and relaxed at the end of my appointments.

Also a weird side note: Apparently people with reproductive issues a lot of the time have very cold feet (which I ALWAYS do). SO I have to wear socks constantly now, and give my feet a good soak at the end of the day!! This will help some how, according to the doc.

Also my acupuncturist also believes I have PCOS - so I am really convinced now that that is what I have had all along!!!

I'll keep you updated when I know more, but for right now I am trying to stay relaxed and get my body prepared for what is to come.

Relieved?

So I am in a peaceful place today! But I probably shouldn't be!! We did NOT qualify for the Shared Risk Program (I had an elevated E2 level- which I still don't know what that means). Was I angry that we didn't qualify? No I was kind of happy. Why? Because we were stressing out about how to pay for this program that is supposed to take the stress away from you!!! Now we only have to come up with the first cycle - which we can do. Hopefully I will have alot of frozen embryos to try again if it doesn't work. And even if we have to try another fresh cycle we would have broken even on the Shared Risk Program. So I am not heartbroken about it in the least. In fact I am happy that I don't have another crazy decision to make - it is already made for me!


So in other news we have officially started our first IVF cycle!!!!!!!!!! My day one was yesterday, so I start Birth Control Pills tomorrow!!! I will be on those for three weeks, then comes the injections and monitoring for a week and a half then the egg retrieval, and a few days after that the transfer!!!!!

So in 5 weeks we might be pregnant!!!! I am so excited that we can really try!! Not looking forward to the shots but who cares at this point!!!

Beaten Down

So I am in a really bad mood right now. I am so stressed about financing IVF, and whether or not we will qualify for it and the Shared Risk Program. I was approve for half of the amount for Shared Risk so that leaves us with another 10,000 dollars to come up with, not to mention the cost of medication!!!

I am so ready to just throw in the towel. I want a baby more than anything but I don't want to think about this anymore. I fell like at any moment I might punch a wall, or start crying hysterically. I hat the waiting. I can't believe that this is all going to boil down to money. If we would have applied 6 months ago we would have qualified no problem, but now no one wants to give out money!

If anyone has any ideas about financing please let me know!!

Started Metformin

Well I started taking Metformin Monday night. One pill at dinner time, then next week I will take two a day, then the week after three a day, then at the fourth week I will take 4 a day and continue with that. My first pill was quite an experience. For those of you who don't know Metformin causes G. I problems (upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea) I got the latter. I was expecting this so I wasn't that worried, but it still sucked! Last night I took the medicine again and only had nausea- so I was relieved, but today I still feel queasy.

I hope I get used to it, but I am worried what a higher dose will bring. My RE says to just take as much as I can stand - so I wont feel like a failure if I cant do more. She says a lot of women can stand up to 3 pills.

In other news, we finished our pre-IVF testing and are awaiting results. Also we need to apply for the Shared Risk Program and see if we qualify. We did the loan application and found out that we only qualified for half of the amount needed (damn this economy!!), so we are waiting to see if we even qualify for Shared Risk - and then we will figure out a way to pay for it! There are other IVF loans, etc.

I should know more next week.

Sono-Mock checked off my to do list!

Well I had my Sono-Mock yesterday. In a word it was HORRIBLE!!!! I almost fainted when the let my get up to go to the bathroom. I have no idea why!! The HSG and IUI's I have done were much worse but for some reason I almost fainted!!! I took it easy for the rest of the day, and am back to myself this morning! I am just glad it is over with and we are on our way to being closer to IVF!!!

By the way the results were normal except for two "para-ovarian cysts" near my remaining ovary. And my doc said "You look a little poly-cystic" I was happy and frightened to hear this! Why? Because unexplained fertility sucks! And I knew that I had some symptoms of PCOS (acne - check (thankfully this is under control as I have gotten older but in high school sucked!, oily skin - check, skin tags (dark spots that appear around arm pits and breasts)- check (these started to pop up after I went off birth controls pills), overweight - no, but when I do gain weight it goes right to my midsection!, hormone and insulin levels - all normal)

It is so weird to hear some sort of confirmation about my suspicions. Maybe that is why I had to have surgery all those years ago.

I will be put on Metforin anyways so this should help if I do have some form of PCOS. So I am not too worried, and my doc seemed like it wasn't a big deal either.

Next thing on the to do list KSM semen analysis.

Starting IVF

Well obviously our third insemination didn't work. We our now officially moving on to IVF. We had an appointment with our RE on Tuesday. She said it was time to move on. We are seriously considering the shared risk program offered at our doc's office. You basically pay for a little less than two fresh cycles, but you get 3 fresh cycles and three frozen embro transfers. And if at the very end there is no baby you get a 70% refund. It is risky but would definetly be worth it if it takes more than one attempt.

This month we are going to do all the testing we need to get done (Sono-mock, bloodwork, Another semen anaylsis, etc.) I might start the birth control pills this month or we might wait a while. We are going to have our financial appointment on Thursday so we will know more then (like if we qualify for the shared risk program).

So right now it is a little up in the air. I am still a little in shock that we have to do IVF. But I am excited to have a plan that is our best shot. I will keep you updated on our decisions on when to start, but just know that it is soon!!!!