We are on the natural kick now...no drugs involved now that we know we are both working properly. We did not get pregnant last month. Of course, we tried again this month :-) I am positive that I ovulated on Sunday. We had sex last wed, sat and mon morning. Hopefully one of those worked.

Yesterdy I had my first acupuncture appointment and another one today. It is slightly painful at times, but surprisingly relaxing. I wont have another until I know if I am pregnant this month. If I am not, we will start again just before ovulation next month.

I am hopeful for this month...I will let you know.

Not gonna do it . . . nope, not at all

I went for my pre-op yesterday and it was very similar to going to a car lot to look and being forced into buying a car. I asked the doctor why he was so insistent on performing the Laparoscopy instead of just doing the Hysteroscopy. He said, just for good measure...really? You want to do something that is not needed and is going to cause me pain for a week or so and cost me at least $1500??? REALLY???

After I met with him, I was moved to the next room to meet with the nurse to go over all the junk I needed to do to be ready for the surgery. THEN, they sent in the 2 finance girls. They started spouting off all my insurance benefits...85/15. My 15% was going to be about $1500 and that is without the Anethstesiologist fees.

LONG story short, I made my way back home while talking with a friend about it, then on to my husband. I came to the decision to cancel the surgery.

I am actually very relieved. I just don't want to jump through hoops anymore. I want to be with my husband, have fun and just see what happens. I know that God is with me and I still feel like we will have a biological child. Minus being considered “medically old” we are both in good shape and health and all our numbers are good. There is no real reason why we can’t get prego on our own. Here's to LOVE!

I just want to say this day sucks! I have not even met with my doc and they already have me scheduled for surgery on Friday and some chick from the hospital called and told me that I will need to pay over $1000 on Friday! I may cancel the whole thing. uugghhhhhhhhh

Wednesday Appointment

Another whirlwind has begun. My doctor called me back and I am scheduled for pre-op on Wednesday and surgery on Friday. I will be having an laparoscopy and/or hysteroscopy. I have only had surgery once, in 2007 when I had my ACL replaced. I thru-up for 10 hours from the anesthesia :-( Lets hope that is not the case this time. I don't know how long I will have to wait after the procedure to have another IUI. Hope it's not too long.

No News is Not Good News :-(

Well, we are officially not pregnant as of this morning. It is a let down, but I know many others are facing far greater disappointments. I have faith that God will take care of us and our future children. I will call my doctor this morning and see what the next step is.

He told me on my last sonogram that I had a small something or other in my uterus and that if we did not get pregnant this round, we would remove that. I will let you know what we are going to do. Hopefully we will be able to get another IUI in this cycle.

Michele, I am praying for you, your husband and your sweet babies.

ok, ok . . . I'll do it

I stopped drinking water about noon. I have a Clear Blue Easy digital HPT waiting for me at home. I will be home by 4:30 (cst). Please send up the prayers!

Also, thank you to all for commenting. It makes me feel connected to something. Of course, I have spent my day reading all your blogs. Bless you all for sharing so much of your lives with this cyber stranger.

I will let you know...

All right, it just appears that I am a big chicken. My friend that went through IUI just got on me for not testing this morning. I googled it and apparently It would be positive if I am at this time. I have never been so close and I just don’t’ want it to end :-(

The 2 week wait is over...and?

Well, my IUI was 2 weeks ago today. Did I test this morning??? No. My period is not due until Monday. On the HPT box it says 4 days prior to your period is only 50% accurate. Well, I don’t want to go through the weekend with a negative. I am going to try and wait for Monday.

I have had some more symptoms…more metallic taste, leg cramps early in the morning, one crying session yesterday morning and something that I never have with my period, sore nipples. I am just concerned that my brain knows all the symptoms and may be tricking me. I hate to look the fool thinking that I am sooo pregnant and then come to find out it was all in my head. Such an awkward place to be.

My Husband is so excited but covering it well. He leaves for work at 5am, so I am still in bed. He texted me about 6:30am and asked, “are we going to attempt home schooling”? My response was “Maybe, if we have babies”. He replied with “Sorry…just fishing”. How cute is that. I told him that I was probably not going to test till Monday, but he new I might do it anyway…what a great guy!

So, here I am…to test or not to test. Anyone??

I also have another thought drifting through my head…if I AM pregnant, how will I tell my husband? I have a few ideas. If anyone out there has some good ones, let me know!

I got my Progesterone results back. On 6 days post IUI, when it was taken, it was 21. They said that meant I had a successful ovulation...that is just not enough information for me!

Well, I am at10 or 11 days post IUI, depending on if you count the day of IUI. I spent part of the weekend Googling for all signs of early pregnancy.

• Sore or tender nipples or breasts - no

• A pattern of visible, bluish veins throughout the external area of the breasts – gosh, I hope not

• Small, white “bumps” around the areola – again, no and I hope not

• Increased sensitivity to smell - no

• Nausea - no

• Skin changes – I never have acne, but I do have one or to blemishes…hmm

• Fatigue - who knows…I am always tired

• Dizziness – yes, a few times…nice

• Mild or dull abdominal cramping or pain – A LOT!

• lower-back ache - yes

• A “metallic” taste in the mouth – surprisingly YES

• Excessive hunger – again, a normal occurrence in my life ;-)

• Excessive amount of saliva production – who knows

• Heartburn - no

• Increased vaginal discharge – yes…this weekend, which started my Googling

• Aversion to foods - no

• Increased emotional sensitivity/weepiness – no more than usual

• Nasal congestion - no

• Leg cramping - no

• Flatulence – eewwww

So, none of the above, with the exception of the cramping, would make me think twice if I was not trying to get pregnant. The metallic thing was weird and I did not know it was a symptom when I had it.

The cramping and lower back pain is unusual for me because I usually only have that the day before and maybe the day of my period. I have never really had cramps, and I am glad for that! So this one makes me stop and think.

The say that implantation occurs 7-14 days from fertilization…dang! May or may not have happened yet. I personally think it has. I feel like I am pregnant. We did everything right. We are ready. Why shouldn’t we be pregnant?? I pray to God above that we are.

Hope you all have a blessed day. Anyone that has any thoughts, info or stories, please share!

IUI one week ago today

Stacey, thanks for the comment. It is oddly comforting to know someone is out there and on the same path :-)

My IUI was one week ago today. I feel normal and I am at peace…at the moment ;-) I am not overly anxious, but I do think about it on and off all day long. My Doctor told me that if I did not have my period by August 28 (one week from today) that I can take a home pregnancy test. Based on my calendar, I am not due until August 31. I suppose that it would still be positive even on the 28th…not sure if I will test then, or wait till Monday morning…hhhmmmm

Progesterone Blood Test

Today is 7 days past IUI and I went for blood work this morning to check my Progesterone levels. I went to Quest Laboratories. TIP: Usually there is a pretty good wait. I called their automated number yesterday and scheduled an appointment for 7:15am today. They took me in at 7:11 and I was back in the car by 7:14. I am sure all those people in the waiting room were not having nice thought towards me though!

They said it would be 24-48 hours for results. I have been doing some research on Progesterone and it does not seem that you can have too much. I did not want to start using a Progesterone cream before my blood test, but I think I am going to start tonight. I don’t think it could hurt and it could really help if my levels are low.

Not much else going on. I am tired, but that is probably just from working. I have had two very light dizzy spells. I know…I am grasping. Overall, I think I am surviving the 2-week wait pretty well. Today is my half-way point.

6 days post IUI

Today is 6 days post IUI. From everything I have read, there are no signs this early. To me, I interpret everything as a sign. I still had some light cramping in my lower abdomen and back through early this morning. That is gone now, along with my 2-day headache. I did feel a semi-sharp pain in my lower left abdomen just before lunch. Maybe implantation?? Supposedly, implantation takes place between day 6 and 10 post IUI.

I am going to stay strong and hold out till day 14 before I test. I pray to God above that this is it!

My husband is sooooo amazing. For the past two nights, I come home from work, he asks what I want for dinner and tells me to go relax. He makes dinner, brings it to me and continues on to clean the kitchen. Very nice! Last night he came to bed and was being very sweet. He said he had to take care of me because I was having his triplets :-O Now, we only had two mature eggs, but there is always a chance that an embryo can split ;-)

Multiples would be amazing. I am so blessed by God that I don’t even want to ask for more, but I really feel we are up to the challenge and I pray that we have at least one on board and more if possible!

Anyone else out there in the 2-week wait??? Anything different?

2 week history part 2

August 14…my husband delivered his sample for washing at 8am. Note: if you deliver it in the provided cup there is no office fee. If you use one of the rooms and do it on site, you have to pay the co-pay.

I showed up at 10am. The usual, “strip from the waist down and the doctor will be with you in a moment”. While waiting for the doctor, a lab tech delivered a test tube with my name on it containing my husbands washed and ready sperm. The doctor arrived, inserted a speculum along with a catheter into my uterus. The boys were injected and my table was tipped with my head down for 15 minutes.

There was not much to it. I did text my husband through the whole thing so he would feel a part of it. I also sent him a pic if the boys in the tube :-) All in all, quick and painless. From there, they scheduled me for blood work on August 20 and told me if I did not get my period by the 28, take a home pregnancy test. If it turned positive, come in for a blood test. OH and we were supposed to have sex that night and the next night.

Well, that brings us up to present day. I am on day 5 of my 2-week wait. My husband and I are praying that this works and we are so down for having multiples!!!

They say there are no real symptoms until at least implantation. I keep analyzing every thing that I feel in hopes that it is a sign. Yesterday and today I had dull achy cramps in lower back and lower stomach. This is very similar to the days before my period, of course, it is way to early for that, so I am very hopeful!

Time to sign off…anybody out there?

2 week history part 1

I have done so many searches on conception, pregnancy, infertility, early pregnancy signs and multiple births. I am desperately looking for the one thing that will make it all work for my husband and I. In these searches, I kept running across abbreviations and I had no idea what they meant! I will try not to do that to you :-)

Background: We started trying in November of 2008. I was hoping to become pregnant before my 40th b-day in June. Well, that did not happen. Anyway, my cycle is very regular and I read enough to notice the signs of ovulation. I was ovulating at mid cycle so all seemed well. We would have sex every other day for 2 weeks just to make sure we would hit the ovulation.

In July, after ovulation, I had decided that if I got my period, I was going to call a specialist so we could have basic testing to make sure that there was nothing wrong with my husband or myself. On July 31 it came. I was at work and I picked up the phone. I already had a specialist picked out. He is my friend’s doctor. She went through IVF (in vitro fertilization) with him and is pregnant with twins! Sounds like a good recommendation to me!

I called and made an appointment for that Monday, August 3. Because I was only in day 4 of my cycle, he was able to get right to work! On that visit, I had my first internal ultrasound to check my uterus and ovaries for any cyst or other visible problems. He noted that both my ovaries had 5 follicles each...normal. So far so good.

It seemed I was now on the fast track to fertility! He prescribed 100mg of Clomid for the Clomid Challenge. Clomid is a very cost effective drug that you take cycle day 5-10. It stimulates ovulation, if your body is capable. He also prescribed an HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) trigger shot, sent me for blood work, scheduled me for my second sonogram, made an appointment for my husband to deposit some sperm for testing and ordered an HSG (Hysterosalpingogram - preformed by a radiologist, they inject dye into your cervix and through your fallopian tubes. It is to check for any blockages. A good result is that the dye flows out of your fallopian tubes freely and into your stomach cavity).

I was excited and terrified all at once!

I started my Clomid on Tuesday, August 4 (took it for 5 days) and an antibiotic on Wednesday in preparation for the HSG. I had the HSG on Friday. It was not bad at all. I had no pain or cramping from it although others say they have mild to severe cramping. I rarely have cramping during my period so that may be why.

On August 10, I had another round of blood work to check all my levels after being on Clomid for 5 days. That same morning, my husband made his deposit for testing ;-)

On August 12, I went for my second sonogram. This time, they were looking to see if my ovaries had any mature follicles. A mature follicle is one that is at least 18-22mm. On my right side, there was one that was 16mm and my left was at 20mm. He also saw a small polyp in my uterus.

I was told to give myself the trigger shot the next morning, Thursday, August 13 to give the right side time to mature. You read right…give MYSELF a shot! Ok, what the heck am I doing?

Then he asked what I wanted to do next…two options: 1) give myself the shot and have sex for the next 2 days with my husband, knowing that we are ovulating and have 2 waiting eggs. Or 2) Have an IUI followed with 2 days of sex with my husband.

An IUI -- intrauterine insemination -- is performed by threading a very thin flexible catheter through the cervix and injecting washed sperm directly into the uterus.

There are several factors in our favor: we know we have 2 mature eggs; we know what day we will ovulate; and the frequency of pregnancy after an HSG is higher. This procedure is also pretty low cost…it was $260, a far cry from IVF!

My thought was we have come this far, might as well drop the boys off at the door! So I told him "let’s do it!" My instruction were to go home and have sex…OK, then on Thursday, give myself the trigger shot at 8:30am and NO sex on Thursday. My husband and I both had appointments for Friday, August 14…HERE WE GO!