Oh My GOODNESS!

So today I started a new shot. Follistim is used to stimulate my follicles in my ovaries, so there are multiple follicles (eggs) at the same time. Overall, a good idea since we want to fertilize a bunch at the same time.

The needle was bigger than the other one I'm still giving myself, and I had to inject 300 cc's. That's a LOT!!! It burned the whole time going in, with Tim standing over my shoulder saying "you've got it! Almost there! Just a little more to go!" Thanks, Coach ;) By the time it was done, my whole upper leg burned like I got stung by a bee.

This will continue for another week or so... stay tuned to more interesting and important factoids about this lovely process.

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

Some of our good friends have been blessed with little ones in the past few months. Of course, there was our nephew Jacob- he's definately a cutie patootie but we're a little biased ;)

We would like to welcome into the world:

Jackson Christopher Wilson- born June 8 to Kristen and Jason Wilson in Lafayette, LA

Gavin Matthew Namors- born June 10 to Heather and Brett Namors in Chicago, IL

Lydia Tess Christian- born June 25th to Jessica Christian and her husband in O'Fallon, MO

We also have some friends expecting VERY soon! Kelly Benhardt, Krystle Rapp and Jennifer Stallings, we can't wait to meet your little ones! Have a safe last (few) month(s) and a great delivery!

Missing Grandma

Today and yesterday I have been especially missing my Grandma Betty. I've had lots of exciting things to tell her, lots of frustrations, and some worries. She was always really good at listening and giving advice, or just being there when I needed her. We'd chat multiple times a week, and it's still so hard not to pick up the phone to call her. I guess I am feeling even more sad since I've started my shots and we've really started the IVF process. She really wanted to be a great-grandma and I was looking forward to sharing being pregnant and then our babies with her.

I saw a butterfly today in my garden, and thought "Hello Grandma, I love you too!" I know it was her way of saying she was thinking of us. And at church today they sang a song that kept running through my head during her last week of life...

I know she's in a much better place, but I can't help but weep for the holes that are left in our lives. I miss her so much.

I love you, Grandma

Ouch!

So today was the first day of my shots and even though I was nervous, I took a deep breath and then took the plunge- literally! Luckily the needles were small and didnt' hurt too bad going in, but the meds burned!! And now there's a hard knot in my leg where I injected myself. The injection was to supress hormone production from my pituitary glands. I'm also starting a low dose steriod to reduce the inflammatory response that my body would make to foreign bodies (the embryos they will implant).

So 3 more weeks of injections before they are able to tell if my eggs are ready to harvest, then months of different shots ahead... ::sigh:: All for a good cause, right? :)

Practice Makes Perfect

This week I got to babysit my nephew Jacob- twice! He's just the sweetest thing, such a good baby. Tim was jealous that I got to spend so much time with our nephew. On Friday when I was there he was really alert and turning his head toward noises. We had the tv on with Dragon Tales and Word World and he was watching the colors on the screen. When I fed him his bottle he fell asleep before I could burp him, and he just slept on my shoulder with his sweet little baby breath on my neck. It was the best part of the day, for sure.

I also got to change a few diapers, and I have to say I'm getting pretty good at it! Even the poopy ones ;P And I can make a bottle one-handed... good practice!

nap time

aren't his lips so sweet?

Mark It On Your Calendar

Today I had a caledar meeting at our fertilty doctor's office to discuss medicine and what to expect in the next month. Tim wanted to go with me, but we decided he should save his vacation days for real appointments and paternity leave. I was really nervous and armed with lots of questions before I went in and after the meeting I felt so much better. Here's the low-down and dirty:

I've been on birth control pills for over a month now. Isn't that ironic? We're trying to get pregnant so I'm on the Pill? They want me to be on their timeline, so we're regulating my cycle. I'm going to be on a total of 9 different Rx to help with fertility. Let's just say I'd better get used to giving myself shots every day. They are little sub-cutaneous shots, but needles are needles.

Sometime during the week of July 7th my follicles should be ready and they will harvest them before fertilizing them to make embryos.

5 days after the eggs are fertilized, they are called a blastocyst, which means a ball of cells. They wait until the embryos are a little more developed to determine which ones are the best to implant- the better blasts are the most likely to become little babies! We'll probably transfer 2 blasts, which ups our chances for twins but also increases the chances that at least one will survive.

After the transfer, I'm on bed rest for 24 hours and then have to take it easy for the next few weeks, but for the most part I'm allowed to do whatever activities I normally do. I was worried about not being able to do my normal workout, but the manager said it shouldn't be a problem- just no crunces or abs. The worst part of all of this is that Tim will have to give me intramuscular shots in my glute muscles for 8 weeks after the transfer. :(

The only hitch of the day was I had my Rx filled and it was quite pricey. Insurance was supposed to cover them, but the pharmacy said they weren't in network so I had to pay full price. After contacting the insurance company (after having paid for the meds) I was told I had to go to a special pharmacy that was mail order. Uh, that would have been good to know ahead of time, like one of the 50 times we contacted the insurance company in the past few months! Oh well, it's an investment, right? ;)

We'll keep you posted on things as they go! We're excited because we feel like we're really doing this now. Before was a lot of waiting, but now we have a plan.

Ahhh, summer is here!

I have enjoyed sleeping in the last few days. I've had some school work to d0- working on curriculum, but not having to get up early and no students has been great... and it's only Wednesday! :) Yesterday I biked 10 miles, to my Grandparent's house and back. Suprisingly, I'm not that sore today. Tomorrow might be a different story though...

Last weekend we had a BBQ at our house, and we had a ton of people here. We really had a blast, but Tim and I were so busy we forgot to take pictures. If anyone has some, please share! It really was great to spend time with some people we haven't seen in a while. It was a great day for a BBQ- a little warm, but sunny and there was a breeze. I couldn't have ordered a nicer day.