IUI # 3 - Here We Come!

AF is in town! She came 18 days after my IUI. She didn't ruin my day because I knew she was coming. I was happy to see her. We are one step closer to getting pregnant. AF signals a new cycle and a new chance of our dreams coming true.

I called my nurse to share the news. I could tell she felt bad. She has promised us from our initial consult that we would get pregnant quickly. She has always said "You are both young and healthy. You don't have anything holding you back (like blocked tubes, MFI, etc.). I promise it will happen soon!"

She talked with our RE and gave us our new, more aggressive plan: 75 IU of Follistim starting on day 3. She said we weren't doing the Letrazole/Femara anymore. Of course we're still doing the Novarel (trigger shot) and the Prometrium. She set up two u/s appointments for tomorrow (day 3) and Tuesday (day 8). Our RE is letting us go to another RE (in Savannah, GA) for the u/s appointments. Thank goodness they are in Savannah instead of Charleston. Savannah is about 20 minutes from our house. Charleston is about 2 hours. I was happy to hear that news! Instead of taking whole days off work, I'm only having to take half days.

I'll keep you updated on our follicle progress. I'm hoping and praying for more than follicle. I know it only takes one but our last two IUI cycles weren't successful. I only produced one follicle during those cycles.

Best wishes to you and your journey! I'm hoping and praying for you too.

Third Time's a Charm

I'm proud of myself because I didn't test Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. I didn't feel the need to see BFNs. So why did I test this morning? I just wanted to make sure I wasn't pregnant. Well, I wasn't pregnant so I'm officially saying good bye to my progesterone suppositories.

I hope AF arrives soon. I'm looking forward to starting our third IUI cycle. I hope this time next month we can say "Third time's a charm!"

Tonight at dinner DH and I were talked about the what ifs: more IUIs, IVF, and adoption. We also talked about how time flies during fertility treatments. We can't believe we are getting ready to start our third IUI cycle. We feel like we just went in for our initial consultation. I'm glad we are still chugging along with hope. God is good!

11dpIUI = BFN

Story of my Life - Freakin' BFNs

I woke up at 3 AM feeling like a hot mess. I couldn't even open my left eye. It was sealed shut with, well, you don't want to know. I started working on sub plans because I couldn't go back to sleep. I called Subfinder at 5 AM and went to the doctor at 8 AM. I've got pink eye along with a really bad cold. I'm suppose to stay out of school tomorrow. I've already decided I'll be going in. If we have to do another IUI I'll be taking lots of days off. If my cycle prediction is correct: CD 3, CD 9, CD 12 will be during the school week.

So I wasn't going to test but I changed my mind. I wanted to tell my doctor if I was pregnant. I didn't want him to prescribe anything that I shouldn't take. Bad idea! It was once again, a freakin' BFN! I wonder if I will ever see a BFP in my life time. Haha!

I'm going out to lunch with a friend that doesn't teach. It's actually Q! My BFF that's struggling with IF. Afterwards I'm coming back here to sleep and watch Oprah and Ellen. I hope you are having a better day.

I know it's still early and I could still get a BFP but I'm not convinced. This is exactly what happened last time. I started getting BFNs at 11dpIUI. I'm really not testing again until Friday. I promise!

10dpIUI

DH and I spent our weekend in the mountains of NC. We were in a little town called Highlands. It's a beautiful place. DH's college roomie lives there so we were able to spend time with him. Unfortunately I started feeling yucky on our way there. I had a sore throat, stuffy nose and a headache. As the weekend passed, I felt worse. I didn't sleep much. On Sunday I awoke to a bloodshot eye, and I won't describe the rest. I was convinced that I had pink eye. Oh, the joys of teaching!

I'm starting to feel a little bit better and my eye isn't as bad. I have lost my voice though. Hopefully this isn't a sinus infection, and I don't have pink eye. Maybe this is just a horrible cold running it's course. If things aren't better by tomorrow afternoon, I'm heading to the doctor's office.

I've been worried about taking cold meds since I could possibly be pregnant. DH convinced me to take Tylenol Cold Multi Symptom a couple times. I've also used Afrin, Vick's Vapor Rub and Cold Eeze lozenges. I really hope those are okay to take. If not, please don't tell me because I will worry. Wait, maybe you should tell me so I can stop taking them.

I'm 10dpIUI. My bbs aren't really sore. This time last month they were super sore. I don't have too many twinges or cramps. Who know what's happening? I've been so consumed with feeling yucky that I haven't thought about going to buy any HPTs. I want to wait until Friday to test. We'll see!

3dpIUI

DH and I took Jack for a walk on the beach yesterday. He loved running free. It was a little chilly so we didn't stay long. The beach is so relaxing. I'm ready for warm weather so I can enjoy it a little more.

I decided to take the Prometrium. I started it last night.

Today I feel crampy. Oh, I wish I knew what was happening down there.

IUI Done, 2 WW To Go!

My IUI went well yesterday. My RE did the procedure this time. Last time the other RE in the practice did it. Well, my RE is amazing. I didn't feel anything. I was worried though because last time it hurt. He did have a hard time finding my cervix. He kept moving the speculum around to find it. It really wasn't that uncomfortable. I'm thankful for yesterday's experience!

DH sperm count after wash was 46 million! Yippee! My RE said anything above 10 million is normal. We were happy with that news.

After the IUI I mentioned my zombie-like state on Prometrium. My RE said, you know what, just don't take it. I wasn't prepared for that answer but I said okay. I thought he would just say those side effects are normal, which he did say those can be side effects. I still have enough Prometrium to take until my period is suppose to start so I could still take it. I don't want the side effects but I'm willing to take it if it will prevent a miscarriage. Any suggestions?

Oh, and while we waited for the sperm, we went out to lunch. As soon as we sat down to eat, several mothers in work out clothes came in with their babies and toddlers in jogging strollers. They had just walked across the Copper Bridge (in Charleston). We thought they probably ate lunch together each Friday. They were all so cute! I was so jealous. I couldn't believe we had picked a place to eat filled with mommies and their children. We just laughed. Gosh, I hope our IUI worked.

Ready for IUI

The trigger shot went well. It was painless. As soon as DH pulled the needle out I turned around to look. I was bleeding a little bit. I think a little bit of the med came out with the blood, but what could we do? I wish I could be more relaxed and carefree about this whole experience; instead I'm the extreme opposite. DH assured me that everything would be ok. We followed the directions.

So like I said, the actual injection was painless. But not afterwards! The injection site is sore. It hurts when I sit down and put pressure on that side. And other news, I feel so heavy down there, maybe it's pressure I'm feeling. It hurts when I pee but not like a UTI. Maybe I'm not explaining my symptoms too well but something is definitely going on down there. Hopefully the trigger shot is doing it's job! Anyway, all of this will be worth it one day. I will happily deal with it all.

Our IUI is tomorrow morning at 11:30 AM. We'll have to get there at 10:30 for DH to do this thang. LOL! I'm looking forward to spending another day with him. My parents are visiting us this weekend. They are driving in tomorrow night. We're going to a lowcountry oyster roast on the river Saturday night. I won't be eating oysters though...yuck! I'm glad I won't have to start the progesterone suppositories until they leave. I'm a zombie on those things.

I was watching Oprah this afternoon. The episode was on hormone replacement therapy. I wasn't too interested until they started mentioning terms I am familiar with because of IF. A doctor on the show said that too much progesterone can lead to depression, lethargy and sleepiness. I can so relate!!!

Did any one watch Private Practice tonight? I started watching it but didn't finish. OMG! How painful did it look when they pushed the baby back inside of her? Scary! So did she end up keeping the baby? I wanted the adoptive family to have the baby like originally planned.

Update - My little student LOVED his gifts. He was so happy! He had the biggest smile on his face this morning.

Trigger Tonight

I am taking my trigger shot at 12:30 AM. It's already 10:30 PM so I guess we'll just stay up. DH and I are watching the season premiere of Lost. I loved the first few seasons but now it just confuses me.

On Monday my nurse told me to take OPKs Tuesday and Wednesday. She said if they were positive on either day, call her. If they were negative, take the trigger shot tonight at 12:30 AM. I am following her orders. I took a couple OPKs yesterday, and then a couple today, and they were negative.

Today I went to Target to buy one of my students a coat, hat and gloves. I found a hat and gloves on clearance. They didn't have any coats so I went to Old Navy. I got him a fleece pullover and a hooded sweater. Oh, and I got him a lunch box because I'm going to start packing his lunch. I had fun buying all the goodies for his lunch. He'll be so proud of his new lunch box and lunch items. He gets free lunch from the school but lately his big sister (in fifth grade) has been packing his lunch. Today she packed him a piece of bread and 3 slices of a pickle. It really broke my heart. Today on the playground we tried to button up his coat because he his zipper was broken and most of the buttons were broken. I know my gifts are going to make him smile tomorrow. I can't wait to share them!

How do I ever go to Target without browsing through the baby section? I don't! As I was finishing my dreamy walk through I noticed a clearance section. How could I resist these precious baby leggings? Aren't they cute? I love them!

www.babylegs.com

At Last

One Follicle

I was given false hope on Saturday. That "fill in" measured too many follicles that didn't need to be measured. They were too small and should have never been brought to my attention. The regular u/s lady, which I had today, said she doesn't even count follicles that measure 6 mm to 12 mm. She only counts 13 mm and up. So if she had done my u/s on Saturday, I would have been told I had one follicle at 13 mm. Which was exactly what I had because that same follicle was even bigger today. It was 16 mm.

My lining went from 8.1 to 8.8.

I was disappointed to hear the news. Only one follicle at 16 mm! I don't get it. I took less Follistim last month and I had a 20 mm on CD 10.

So here's our plan: continue with 50 IU of Follistim for the next two nights (unless I get a + OPK tomorrow or Wednesday). Take the trigger on Wednesday night at 12:30 AM and have the IUI on Friday at 11:30 AM.

I had to ask what would be the next step if this doesn't work. The nurse thinks my RE will be more aggressive. She said he will probably stop the Letrazole/Femara and start Follistim earlier.

I asked if we should cancel this cycle because I only have one follicle. The nurse said she wouldn't because I'm 24 and the quality of my eggs are probably really good. She reminded me that it only takes one egg and one of her patients just got pregnant with one egg after an IUI. I thought but aren't our chances higher with more than one?

I started crying before we got out the door. DH and I enjoyed a nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I'm feeling better now.

Question - Does any one think we should cancel? We aren't getting another u/s before the trigger. What if the 16 mm doesn't grow in the next two days? I would rather save the money for next month...I think!