IVF

24 Week Bumpdate

~ Girlmom ~ 6 Comments

So this has been floating around Facebook.

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Funny right? I thought so, then after a few minutes I wanted to comment on the picture and ask them if they wanted to give us some money for all our “catching” doctor visits.

I didn’t, just so you know. I am well aware that the general population has limited interest in my reproductive history. But what can I say, I lost my gynecological shame years ago. Infertilty can turn a woman brazen, hell I will pretty much open my legs for anyone in a white coat.

What the hell did she just say?

I thought about posting this.

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I didn’t, just so you know.

24 weeks pregnant = 6 months right? I am pretty sure but I’ve never been good at math. For the most part I am feeling pretty good. I have been getting some more contractions and some side and back pain when I am on my feet for awhile. . But it goes away when I put my feet up so that’s good. I am finding it harder to keep my balance while working out but I haven’t fallen over in front of anyone yet.Other than that not much has changed.

I am eager for my next ultrasound to check on the previa, if the Dr. could lift my pelvic rest restrictions, that would be great. Also if they could confirm that these contractions aren’t doing any harm that would help ease my mind.

Only a kajillion days to go.

funny

 

 

 

 

 

Twins?

~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

I have been day dreaming  about this little one inside me, who will she look like, what color eyes will she have? From what I have read she is basically Kaili’s “twin” or in other words, a genetically unique sibling conceived on the same day but born years later. Since they are from the same batch of embryos and the same treatment cycle, how similar will they be? Will they have a special bond, same personalities or is that all hogwash? It’s all a little surreal and surely fascinating scientific stuff.

{Here is a nice article about another couples story “Twins” born 5 years apart”.}

The many faces of Kaili

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48 Hours

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Catchy title, I know.

Bed rest, possibly two of the most dreaded words. EVER. Anyone who says they would love to be on bed rest, clearly has never been on bed rest.

Months of bed rest was hard without a child, 48 hours of bed rest with a child is just as hard. Not just for me but for her too. She doesn’t understand why I can’t get up. She doesn’t understand why she can’t jump on me. It’s hard for both of us.

She kept me company
She kept me company

She fell out of her  bed the other night for the first time. A loud thud followed by crying, I couldn’t help but jump up and go to her. Shane calmed her down and surprisingly she went right back to sleep.

That shit was scary.

Once the long 48 hours were over I happily took a shower then planted myself back on the couch. Trying to stay off my feet unless necessary makes for a very low key couple of days. A trip to the store, a walk, baking and art with the kid about wraps up our weekend.

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Get it girl.
Get it girl.

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I am trying my hardest to stay out of my head. Since I have been through the dreaded 2 week wait many a times before, it’s hard not to read into any twinge or non twinge for that matter. I know each time is different but with each day that goes by I get more concerned that this round didn’t take.I have to stop myself and think positive. I also caught a cold, no medicine and no caffeine is a bad combination.

6 more days of waiting.

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One Last Day

~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

Remember when I got my bag of goodies last week? Needles, Progesterone, alcohol swabs?

I was dreading, no seriously dreading the first injection. But, it wasn’t bad. At all.

Shane has been giving me them since Friday and he has gotten really good at it, I don’t feel a thing.

Then Monday rolled around and I couldn’t shake the fact that I was going to have to give myself the shot. I so over reacted, imagine that. I mean there is nothing fun with jabbing yourself with a big ass needle but it’s totally doable, I didn’t faint, cry or even whimper. Winning! The worst part is the the aftermath. I am left with sore bruises  dotting my booty and hips. Maybe I am doing something wrong? Human pincushion.

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Today is my transfer day. I don’t have any real emotions about it, I’m not nervous or worried, it’s just what it is, going to the dr. to get knocked up…hopefully.

I will tell you all about it. I mean what else am I going to do in bed for 48 hours?

In Case You were Wondering

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I haven’t forgotten to tell you how my Dr. appointment went, it’s just nothing really happened. My lining is at a 6, they like to see it at an 8, if that means anything to you. I now have 6, yes 6 birth control patches decorating my lower abdomen. Side effects? You betcha!  Headaches, breast tenderness, and bitchiness. Those are the side effects for 1 patch, so multiply it by 6 and that’s how I have been feeling.

Shane escorted me to my appointment to sign my life away  our procedure consents. Along with with our FET they will also be doing something called assisted hatching, not sure how I feel about this yet but it’s supposed to raise implantation success, but it can also split the embryo resulting in identical twins <— not a joke.

Once again I will be on those wonderful PIO {progesterone} injections. This gives me a knot in my stomach to think about so lets not talk about it yet, mmmkay?

Next appointment is Thursday morning, my optimism tells me my lining will be good and we will schedule the transfer day.

Tomorrow, the wheelchair tennis masters starts in Mission Viejo. David plays everyday starting Tuesday, twice a day starting Thursday. Do yourself a favor and catch a match if you can. We will be heading up Friday morning for sure, I am still debating on taking Kaili up solo before then.

Don’t Take This The Wrong Way

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I’m about to bitch, complain and worry. Ready, set, go!

I thought these estrogen patches were going to be a breeze to deal with, however now I think poking myself with a needle twice a day would be easier.

1. They are expensive.

2. They don’t stay on. I am supposed to change them every 3 days but they are falling off daily.

3. My stomach looks like a tar pit.

4. Did I mention they don’t stay on? So now I need a refill and it’s only been a week. Bullshit.

Now I have 4 damn patches taped to my stomach so I can hopefully keep them on until tomorrow. Yipee!

This whole experience is completely different than the first. Now don’t take this the wrong way but I am not concerned about getting pregnant. I feel confident that we will get a BFP on the first try. Is this foolish? Am I over confident? Will I eat my words and feel like a shit head? Maybe. I am older, so maybe my positivity is arrogant.

Getting pregnant isn’t my worry, being pregnant is. This time I am really worried about all the what if’s that weren’t even an after thought the first time. I know, I know, don’t say it. “This time will be so much easier”. “How can it be any worse?” Let me count the ways. Yes it can be worse. This time I have a 2 year old. It can be worse and I am scared. There, I said it. Judge away.

Worst Day Ever For a Dr. Appointment.

~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

The one day, ONE DAY I don’t give myself extra time to get the the Dr. all hell breaks loose in La Jolla. Three accidents surrounding the one place I needed to be. One was a biggy and closed down the main street in all directions. One was in the intersection of the hospital entrance, so no one could even get into that area and the third one closed the entrance to highway 5, down the road. So I sat with all the other cars for a good 45 minutes until they sorted it out.

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Made it into the office one hour late, sat in the room and waited another 20 minutes, why are there so many infertile people? Then once he came in, it was a wham bam thank ya ma’am sort of thing.  One quick ultrasound and 3 minutes later he was gone with the wind. So. Awesome.

Who reads this?
Who reads this?

So how did it go? Good! No cysts, “carry on good sir“. Next Friday is a big appointment. Shane must come with to sign papers, they will check my lining and if it looks good then we “should” be able to schedule the BIG day. The nurse said anywhere from 5-14 days later.

“Rules, there are no rules!!” I don’t have any restrictions until after the transfer. “Party on Wayne“.

Actually, It’s my coffee that I can’t live without, am really worried about stopping. If you were reading this blog from the beginning than you might remember  how bad my headaches were in the beginning of round one. We never did figure out if it was caffeine withdrawals or the Lupron injections.

I also had an estrogen blood draw to see how my levels are. I will add 2 patches if my estrogen is low or remove a patch if it’s too high, I think I can handle that.

I've had a many of these. Blood draws and code receipts.
I’ve had a many of these. Blood draws and code receipts.

By the time this was all said and done I was running late to pick up Kaili. That one big accident was still detouring traffic so it took me awhile to get to her school. However, after all my bitching I don’t want to seem heartless. My problems are nothing compared to whomever was in that vehicle and their family,so even though I was pulling my hair out and cursing myself for not leaving earlier, things could be worse. I am not blind to that.

Ready, Set….

~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

Well friends, operation “get pregnant, stay pregnant, make it to the end without bed rest, pre-term labor and no NICU stay” is underway.

Cycle day 1. I start estrogen patches aka birth control. I didn’t know that birth control patches existed but then again why would I? They look like this.

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$100 damn dollars for these things, with insurance. BLAH! However, applying these lil babies sure as hell beats sticking needles into my stomach twice a a day. HOLLA!!

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I put 2 of them on and change them every 84 hours. My next  appointment is Wednesday when they do whatever they do to see if they are working too well or not well enough.

Shane and I both have to take a 5 day antibiotic to make sure we are healthy as a whistle come transfer day. Probably should go get the flu-shot too, although I have been saying that for 5 years now.

The Sono Talk

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Today was my saline sonohysterogram. I was told to  show up at the office with a full bladder, and as I was sitting there waiting, wishing I hadn’t drank that last sip of water the past came rushing back. All the memories of sitting there waiting for blood tests, IUI’s, ultrasounds, more blood tests, more IUI’s. There were a lot of people in the office and a few women were leaving in tears. This is heavy stuff and I felt for those women whom just learned something negative, whatever it may be.

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After a quick ultrasound the sono began the same way a pap-smear does. Then a thin flexible catheter is inserted through the opening of the cervix, so that the catheter lies within the endometrial cavity. A small amount of sterile saline is introduced into the endometrial cavity through the catheter. This saline distends the endometrial cavity, allowing better assessment of the contour and shape of the endometrium, checking for polyps and fibroids as well. He said all looked great and we were ready to proceed. The nurse gave me an antibiotic just to ward off any infection, better safe then sorry since they did enter foreign objects inside me. <–I don’t think that is correct DR. lingo but that is all I had. The worst part of this procedure is that all the saline that made it’s way inside, eventually finds its way out. Isn’t this romantic?

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Now I wait for cycle day 1, that is when I will start on an estrogen patch for 84 hours. On day 3, I go into the office for another ultrasound to make sure everything still looks good. This being a frozen transfer, it’ s a new protocol then our fresh transfer, so I’m not sure what will come next. For now I wont stress about it. I have a vacation coming up which I intend to enjoy to the fullest.

Since Kaili is still a little sick I didn’t want to take her to school, and there was no way I was going to take her to the Dr. with me. Luckily her uncle Brian was available to watch her. Looks like they had a fun time.

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Someone got ahold of an iPhone
Someone got ahold of an iPhone

The One About The Sick Kid

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We had a nice healthy run but it’s come to an end. Tuesday Kaili developed a low grade fever and some mediocre whining, nothing else. Wednesday night was rough, she woke up every few hours and at 2:00 A.M. she was burning up. I took her temperature 3 times and it averaged to a 102 degree fever. I gave her some Advil and went back to bed trying not to worry. I laid there until the sun came up, checking on her every so often.

Kaili was yelling “mommy, I wake up” by 6:00, this was going to be a long day. Thankfully, I already had the day off and Shane would be home soon.

Her Advil wore off and her fever came back along with hoarseness and a cough. She is in a decent mood considering  and she goes  through some sever whining fits but fingers crossed this is the worst of it!?!?

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Keeping her busy
Keeping her busy

Tomorrow, is my last scheduled day of work for now. I really enjoy working but I also miss having some free days. The grass is always greener I guess.

Monday is my sono aka Sonohysterogram at Reproductive Partners, here we go again….Ready for all the fertility lingo?