Traveling Time

GO SPERM, GO! It is out of our hands and there is nothing our NP can do from here. Now we just need our swimmers to work hard and make the baby!

In the mean time, we are happy to have our first weekend home with no plans since May 4th! So far we think we might go for a bikeride, kayak, go to the farmers market, play with the dog, look for a new job for me, and shop a little! OR we might not do any of that, it is totally up to us!

Have a great weekend. GO SWIMMERS!

Fevers, Follies, and Factoids

S's fever broke in the middle of the night. She seems to be doing a bit better at this point. Still has the aches and pains but on the mends.

Our ultrasound this morning went well. The follie on the left ovary is now 18 and ready to go. The NP was exstatic! Lining looks good. Temperature dipped (that is how we know the fever was gone too) to 96.18 and the CM is right on. The lab results weren't in yet but our NP said they found some HCG in the office and were saving it for us! No cost! She gave S the shot and we decided to come in at 8 the next two mornings. Then the E2 came back a bit low, 153. We were surprised. NP said it was still good just on the low side. We changed insemination appointments to 4:30 pm tomorrow and noon on Friday. Here we go!

Now....for factoids.....
If the amount of water in your body is reduced by just 1%, you'll feel thirsty.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth.
Eskimos use refrigerators to keep food from freezing.
An exocannibal eats only enemies. An indocannibal eats only friends.
80% of millionaires drive second-hand cars.

There you have it! Thank you to www.didyouknow.cd/fastfacts/

Green Light

WE GOT THE GREEN LIGHT TODAY! S's SOs decided to show their little faces and their follicles! There are two follies, one at 18mm in the left ovary and one on the right at 20mm. Her E2 came back at 460!!! This means that there is at least one follicle that is mature and producing the right amount of estrogen to be viable. Our NP looks for 300 E2 for each follicle over 18mm but we have heard some say that 200 is the number their doctors look for. Needless to say we are excited that they both might be mature and ready to go but are pleased with one!

I got a quick tutorial on how to give an intramuscular shot while at the doctor's office. We have decided to do the hCG at home this time versus at the doctor's office. This will allow us the opportunity to have a better-timed insemination than before. We go in tomorrow morning at 10 am for the first insemination so I will likely be shooting S up tonight around 9 or 10 pm (probably 10 because I have a conference call tonight that will likely go until around 10). We will also pick up one of the ICI sperm vials tomorrow at the doctor’s office around 5 pm and do an at home insemination (we have them anyway). On Wed. we will do another in office insemination at 9 am.

Here is the breakdown:

4/2: 10 pm hCG shot to force ovulation (should happen within 24 hours of the shot).
4/3: 10 am in office IUI insemination
- 12 hours after the hCG
4/3: 5 pm at home ICI insemination
- 18 hours after the hCG
4/4: 9 am in office IUI insemination
- 35 hours after the hCG

How does this regimen look to you all? We think this covers a pretty good amount of our window. Input?

On another note, Gladys woke me up at 3 am (very strange for her) needing to go outside. Since it was strange I walked out with her. She immediately did #2 with no doggy magic poop dance, then #1, then puked. I came back in as she was still wandering the backyard to find two piles of puke (food and sticks) in the dining room. I cleaned it up and G came back in. Acting a bit strange but ok. She got up a few minutes later and puked in the dining room again. This time we decided to let the clean up wait till the morning. Well, the little lady left us 6 piles of bloody puke on our brand new carpet. She is doing better now but has to be closely watched. Looks like she probably ruptured blood vessels in her stomach from puking, sounds like a long night of drinking is the same as a long day of eating sticks!

Well, we are really really excited about the coming days and then looking for the TTW to go fast. My dad will be here for the Easter weekend so that should help some of the time go by quickly.


Come on swimmers, Easter is the time for egg hunts!!!!!!!

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Edited at 3:46 by Erin

S just called me and swears she have movement on the left side. We are going to add an ICI to the schedule for tonight. Why not throw everything we have in our arsenal at this one? The rest of our protocol is staying the same.

Ultrasound CD 11

Today we are going in for our CD 11 u/s at 1:30. We are hoping to see that follicle around 18 mm and S's Estradiol levels are above 200. If it is we will get a prescription for hCG. Then, we will set our alarms for the am (depending on the time of the inseminations) and I will give S the shot (I'm a pro now!) telling her "stubborn ovaries" (SO) to release the egg. If the follicle is not 18 mm we will go back tomorrow for an u/s to see if it is the right size. The worst thing that could happen is that the follicle is gone and we somehow missed ovulation or it wasn't a good follicle. I love this exact science bull.

S and I are both not really feeling like today will produce the results for which we are hoping. Perhaps it is the continued disappointment that has bred a completely jaded outlook on all appointments regarding fertility. S doesn’t seem to have any symptoms that ovulation is close and previous follicles and estradiol levels have taken a crap on us just as we started to get hopeful. Just not feeling it this time.

To boot, we are having one heck of a week. The beautiful weather we had last weekend has left us with cold rainy windy grey days. Our neighbor is re roofing their house and start working far to early which, makes Gladys bark (this better not be the case over the weekend). Work is about to give me a complete meltdown. S is frustrated with the business world. And, we are obsessively looking at moving home to be closer to our families. I will be applying to jobs this weekend in MI and S has hardly come up for air from her job searching.

IF ANYONE KNOWS OF ANY JOBS FOR AN MBA OR MSW IN MICHIGAN LET US KNOW!

I mean it we have no shame and will apply to everything! It is a pity that we thought we needed to stay here in Madison to protect our baby (if it ever comes). Now that WI has the same amendment as MI what is the difference. Besides, if we are closer to family when/if someone challenges one of us we have lots of people that will stick up for us near by. Not true here. We have just come to the conclusion that we may have to fight harder in MI to protect our family but we will have the refueling of family members close by to help us to keep moving forward. We just don’t have anything keeping us here in Madison anymore.

Anywho, I will post after the appointment and let ya’ll know what the follie is up to.

Getting Creative in the Creation

Well, today did not go as we had hoped. Turns out we have one follicle that is 13 and a few that are much smaller. Our NP didn't seem too discouraged by the news but we were. As S says, "it just seems like more bad news every time."

NP suggested coming back on Thursday for another ultrasound. She seems to think by then the follicle will have grown to around 19 and S can get the hCG shot. However, this is where the kink is thrown into the plan. I have to leave at noon for board meetings in Chicago all weekend. If in fact S's follicle has grown to larger than 19 the insemination dates will be Friday and Saturday.

This poses two problems. One, I will not be able to be in Madison during those days as I have about 12 hours each day of meetings. Two, S will have to be in Madison alone while trying to get pregnant. Neither of these options work very well with our co-dependant neurotic desperate lesbian selves.

Soooooooooo, what is a co-dependant desperate lesbian couple to do......well, we can't let a month pass with out trying to make sperm meet ovum.....on to plan #6,000.....

1. We ordered two ICI (this is used for at home insemination) of Bernard for delivery tomorrow.
2. We scheduled the ultrasound for Thursday
3. Pack the sperm and liquid nitrogen container in the car with two of my co-workers, S, myself, and suitcases and drive to Chicago.
4. S will pack the sperm and liquid nitrogen container and take the train to Grand Rapids (GR) to see her family.
5. S will inseminate in GR by herself (stay away Betsey and Katie!)
6. S will pack the sperm and liquid nitrogen container on the train again on Sat. and return to Chicago
7. We will inseminate in Chicago on Saturday.
8. We will then drive the liquid nitrogen container back to Madison to ship it back to Virginia.
9. We will start the dreaded two week wait (tww).


Here is the approximate size of the liquid nitrogen container....not really all that easy to move around with! (This picture is from 1.5 years ago when we thought we were introducing Leah and her cousin! Time does fly.) S is on her knees in this picture but the tank is not a small item!

This is all if the Thursday ultrasound gives good answers. If not.....who knows what we will do with the Bernard's ICI sperm.....I guess we'll just have to get creative.

All this and board meetings has left me drained....but I'm still going to work till about 10 pm tonight.

As luck would have it....

The predicted dates for the IUI will be Wednesday the 21nd and Thursday the 22rd. I have to leave for Chicago on Thursday afternoon. They were thinking a late afternoon Wed insemination and a late Thurs insemination. This means I may not be present for one of them..... :( I have a meeting at 4 in Chicago so have to leave no later than noon. We are just thinking that we will be successful with the first insemination and the one I might not be able to be there for is just insurance!!!

The timing of this stuff really stinks. It seems like we can't catch many breaks. S's cycle looks great for Jan with no med help and that is good news. What I want to know though is why oh why can't the timing just be one day earlier? I am not willing to skip this month and would rather have a BFP (Dad, that means a big f***ing positive pregnancy test) than be at the insemination. Afterall....it's already taking a village.

Synchroneity

Main Entry: syn·chro·ne·ity
Definition: the state of being synchronous

Main Entry: syn·chro·nous
Definition: happening, existing, or arising at precisely the same time

This is exactly what is happening for us! Yesterday S's BBT dropped to 97.05. Everywhere we have been reading shows that it is common for BBT to drop just prior to ovulation and to rise just after ovulation. Well today's BBT was 98.03. Unbelievable. The cosmos have collided! We did our second insemination yesterday and have now begun our waiting game. Looks like we have all the parts in the right places at the right time! Now all we need is for the sperm and egg to collide like the cosmos and then implant. Only 13 more days till we know.

I can't believe how well this is all going. We are trying to keep our emotions in check but this is the best chance we have ever had! Come on babies!!!!

The meeting

We got back from Michigan yesterday just after noon. We ended up going in to get S's blood drawn early for her Estradiol and come back at 3 for the ultrasound. While S was having her blood drawn they said they could do the ultrasound early if we wanted. We decided to go with it as we woke up at 6 am to drive the 5.5 hours back to Madison. Gladys (our dog) was in the car but we figured better to get it all done now and spend more time with her back at home.

Well, the ultrashound, blood work, and day went wonderful! We for the first time ever have all the ducks falling into a row. Granted we aren't getting too excited but things are looking good. Our NP consulted the triage nurse from home and told her to go ahead with the HCG shot. S had 2 (19x24 and 18x20) great follicles and one other that might be ready. Her Estradiol was up to 385!

We walked over to the pharmacy, got the hCG, had it injected and went home. I spent the evening talking to the little ladies and asking them to release soon. We scheduled inseminations with a different NP in our NP's office (ours is out for vacation)for Wed. and Thurs!

This morning S's BBT was up a little and we are hoping it will spike tomorrow morning. We went to the appointment and I had the pleasure of pushing the plunger of the syringe in. While doing so our luck seemed to have run out. the catheter end of the syringe can disconnected front the syringe and Bernard got loose!!!! We did get most of it in but some of the escaped. We'll surely get'em all in there tomorrow! Fingers crossed....for the little ones to meet up.