School's out for the Summer!

Last day today! It was a great day, but a little sad because we were saying good-bye to a great group of 8th graders. They were an amazing group that I was blessed to teach for two years. I sure will miss them. But, knowing that I had IVF ahead of me made today a little exciting. Although I'm only doing Lupron now, I can get my head in the right place and hopefully start to relax a little. (Yeah, right!)

The hubs and I have been talking at length about how many to embies to transfer. Our RE will really help make the decision on transfer day, but our nurse wanted us to have a good discussion about what we were comfortable with so we weren't blindsided when it came time to make a definite decision. And, for now unless things change on transfer day, we're most comfortable with one. I am way too little to take a chance on a multiple pregnancy. Of course, if that's what happens, I just have to trust that God gets us through. However, if all goes well and we have some to freeze, we have decided to just to a single embryo transfer (SET). Hopefully, my body cooperates and makes this possible!

Feel the burn!

I forgot how much cold meds burn going in. Darn it! I don't really remember Follistim burning when it was cold during my iui's, but I do remember other meds burning like crazy. Well, my Lupron shot last night wasn't nearly as nice as the first night. It burned like a son of a gun. The hubs felt bad, but it wasn't really his fault. In the end, I know it will be worth it, but I could help but get a little anxious about when I start getting 3 shots a night. That's gonna suck! My poor gut.

And, my ovaries hurt already. I didn't think they were supposed to, but I asked Dr. Goo.gle and he said it's fairly normal in the first couple of days due to the estrogen build up. Endo and estrogen are NOT friends, so that makes sense why they hurt. Luckily, tyle.nol takes care of it at this point. Hopefully, they calm down because once I start stims things are gonna get ugly in there!

Endo diet, hunger, and cancer memories...blah.

The endo diet sucks huge butt. I'm starving. I'm trying to stick as closely to it as I can to help with inflammation since ovulating one egg on my own and AF are horrible. So, anything I can do to help during IVF is a plus. I'm in desperate need of something with sugar and/or caffeine. A LOT of caffeine. Or a LOT of sugar. Maybe a little of each? Blah. I'm hungry. Starving! Nothing I eat has really filled me up...I'll try again tomorrow!

On a positive note, Lupron is on board! The first injection last night went textbook perfect. But, not to brag, after many years of doing our own injections, we're quite the pros. I take my spot leaning against the counter (in case I pass out) the hubs pinches me gut fat and stabs me with a needle. Sometimes he's in a hurry (ouch!) and sometimes not (preferred!). Last night, he did a-ok. But, I was so excited to just be doing something new that it could have hurt like crazy and I probably wouldn't have cared. Hopefully, the med is doing whatever it's supposed to be doing and no follies are getting too amped up before next weekend.

On an AMAZING note, a co-worker/friend just found out today that a spot she had removed a few weeks ago, although melanoma, was ALL removed! No further treatment! I couldn't be more elated for her. Five years ago, she fought stage 4 melanoma and kicked it's butt! However, my heart just broke for her knowing what she could be facing again. While I'll never ever say that I am glad that I had cancer, I am so glad that I understood exactly what she was going through these last few weeks waiting for her results. That was honestly the longest wait of my entire life. I am so happy she can put this behind her and enjoy her Summer with her family!

Speaking of cancer, I am was worried about my cervical length after having the cone biopsy. So, at my appointment yesterday, I asked our RE if he would entertain me and just measure it for my sanity. It measured in at 3.5 mm/cm (something or other, I really have no idea) and he said that was perfect. He also explained that what was left was all healthy cervix and because of that, we have no cervical competency issues to worry about. Thank the Lord! What a huge relief. You have no idea how heavy this has weighed on my mind.

Just to share, here is a picture of this past Christmas. We look so crazy happy! Oddly enough, this was two days before I had my cancer removed and I was an anxious mess. Infertility sure taught me how to hide my emotions. I'm working on letting that wall down, I promise!

Great Day!

Today was the saline u/s, mock trial, and IVF class. Yeah, this is for real now! First, the saline u/s went well. My septum was completely removed and there isn't any scar tissue or any polyps hanging out in there! My baby incubator is in tip-top shape. The mock transfer went well and there's nothing to worry about there either.

The IVF class was interesting. We've done the injects a zillion times, so none of that is new to us, even the IM injects. So, we just briefly went over our calendar and the meds. Then, she went into the science of IVF, which as a science nerd, I found fascinating! I'm amazed at what can be done to help people like us. Then, we set our appointments for the next few weeks and headed to lunch.

I have a feeling this next month is going to fly by. Then, we'll be in that nasty 2ww. I need to stock up on movies and books or I'll drive myself insane! Our nurse said that bed rest isn't necessary after ET, but to definitely take it easy for the first couple of days after. She said that implantation happens within the first couple of days after transfer, so no sky diving or roller coaster riding. So, I better go cancel that appointment to jump out of a plane...bummer :)

So, tonight, we start Lupron. This will make sure everything is nice and quiet on my ovaries and that no follies are trying to win any races in there. I only take my miracle drug, Aygestin, until Saturday and should get AF by next Wednesday. BIG BUMMER! But, it will be sooo very worth it. The nurse said it shouldn't be heavy and crazy since I've been without hormones for so many months. So, that's at least good. Then, stims start on the 8th.

Here we go folks! Our IVF is underway and we couldn't be more excited and feeling more blessed to have this opportunity! When the nurse said, "See you next week for your next appointment!" I gave her an, "OMG, already?" look. Her response: "Uh, it's been in the works for 9 years! This is exciting!!" And, darn it, she's right!

Meds are on board.

Even if they're only our antibiotics, we've officially started our IVF calendar! Shut the front door! Stop it! Holy crap face! So very excited! I still can't even believe that we've been blessed with this opportunity. Granted, we saved our own money to do it. But, the fact that we actually saved that much money is rather impressive to me considering the fascination I have with shopping and, generally, spending money. Oh, how it makes me happy! So, I guess I should be very happy tomorrow when we pay the RE's office the gazillion dollars sitting in my bank account...That makes it very, very real!

On another note, my baby boy, who is actually not a baby and is almost as tall as me and will be 10 in a couple of weeks, now has contacts. Yes, I think he's too young. But, his doctor said if he's responsible, he's okay with giving kids this young contacts. Responsible and kids? Where is he from? However, Ayden has talked about contacts from the day he got his glasses a year and a half ago. He is pretty active and loves basketball and baseball. So, fighting to keep his glasses on his face during games, apparently, hasn't been his favorite thing. Plus, he is his teams' catcher and taking his mask on and off has done quite a number on his glasses. They look like a truck ran over them, actually.

So, at his appointment, when we found out that his vision has gotten MUCH worse (that must me why he's had headaches...nice job mom!) and not only would I be paying for contacts, but new glasses, I wasn't nearly as excited...those darn things are expensive! However, in case you're in need of kids glasses, Len.s Cra.fter.s gives 50% off all kids frames and lenses. That is what I call a great deal! Granted, they were still $300, but he's worth it :)

He had his contact class (seriously. There's a class they have to take. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about any of that crap!) and did amazing. The lady said he's in the top 5 best people she's ever taught. He got it in on his first try! He was pretty determined to never have to wear glasses again! But, he looks sooooo much older! See:

 

He's so stinkin' cute!

Two days...

that's it. In two days, my IVF calendar starts. Holy crap. Injections, that will last a month, begin. I'm thinking that my stomach is about to look like a bruised pin cushion. The hubs thinks we need to mark with a marker all of the places he sticks me so we give each place a break. I'm thinking the bruises will give it away!

I'm also a little nervous about the pain in my ovaries. My endo effects my ovaries in a big way. When I ovulate just one egg on my own, my ovary lets me know she's not happy. When I've done all of the iui's and had 2-4 eggs, these ovaries we even angrier. I'm fairly certain that I'm about to be in a crap ton of pain. That has me a little weary. I'll stock up on tyl.enol since that's all I can take...it never works for me, but it's better than nothing! So, starting tomorrow, I'm going to stick (as closely as possible) to my endo diet. It's a no dairy, soy, sugar, red meat, wheat diet. It sucks. But, since I'm about to introduce all of these hormones, it's pretty important for my own health that I help my body out a little bit. Maybe I'll wait until after the cookout tomorrow...

And, here is a quote that I hope gets me through the next month-ish.