Treatment Numero 2

I had an IUI treatment on Wednesday the 18th. We should know if it worked on the 6th or so ... my birthday actually. I might wait to take the preo test until the next day ... it would be a pretty awesome birthday present though!

Attempt number two

Attempt number two has commenced. I started my Clomid on Friday and will be done on Tuesday. I will go in for an ultrasound on the 17th and then I will have a treatment that day or the next. It would greatly simplify things if we could get pregnant with an IUI treatment but I have (we both have) decided that this will be our last IUI treatment before switch to rounds of IVF. We will have to hold off until after the summer probably to save some money and figure out financing. Thank you all again for your prayer, support and friendship.

Not sure how I am doing ...

I have been very busy with nursing school. It has been a pretty good distraction from my fertility sorrows until this last week ... we started our OB & pediatrics rotations. Nothing like rubbing salt in the wound by studying about pregnant women and taking care of kids. Ha, ha ... the irony. At least it is a subject I am very interested in!

Today was really hard. It could have been much worse though.

I will explain ...

I basically decided to take this month off of fertility treatments because I was starting nursing school again and was already stressed enough. I am really glad I didn't have a fertility treatment in retrospect because today I was EIGHT days late for my period!!!! I am almost never later than 3 days and the most I have ever been late is 5 days. I have had really bad lower back pain for 3 days straight ... I don't really ever get lower back pain unless I did strenuous lifting or something. I have not done anything that should cause back pain so I don't know what is up with that. I don't really want to think about the possibility of my body spontaneously aborting ... there is nothing I can do about it at this point. I think I will email the nurse at our fertility clinic though to figure out if my 8 day late period is not to outside of normal with the meds I was on for our last fertility treatment. I am very thankful we didn't have a treatment ... I would have been balling if I started after 8 days! Rough day anyway!!!

On the up side, at my clinical rotation at the hospital today I got to watch a Cesarean birth of twin girls and a regular birth of a little boy. It was fun to be a part of. The families and staff were very sweet.
Time for bed, a very busy rest of the week awaits me!

I'm better ...

I am better. I was a bit grumpy there for a while but I have a great distraction now, nursing school started again. The irony though is that this quarter is all about pregnancy & pediatrics ... I just can't win! Well, at least I will finally be interested in the subject matter during my classes.

Thank you to friends and family for your patients and kind words through all of this. I have a hard time sometimes keeping my head with how many ups and downs are a part of this emotional roller coaster.

I decided to take this month off of hormones and try again next month. Wish us luck, or at least happiness. :0)

Unsuccessful ....

Much to my utter disappointment we were unsuccessful with our first IUI attempt. I have officially started my period ... 3 days early, adding insult to injury. I am so annoyed at this point that I can't even cry about it like I want to. I again had myself convinced against all odds that I was pregnant (the eternal unrealistic optimist that I can be) although I can't be too mad at myself about it this time because it is a RIDICULOUSLY heavy period which might explain the mood swings, supppppper tender "chest" and etc. I really want to be a mom and have a baby but I would also love to be without my Endometriosis backed heavy periods! That would be really ... nice. That's all I can say right now without my mood turning too foul! I know God has a plan ... I'm just annoyed with Him right now, and a little hurt.

Thank you

Thank you to all of my amazing friends and family who have been diligently checking in with us to see how we are doing, it REALLY helps! Hugs!

God takes care of us ... 1st IUI treatment completed!

I should know better than to stress, God really does take care of us. We were able to get to Seattle just fine and were able to complete our very first ever IUI treatment. I would love to say 1st and last IUI treatment but I don't want to set myself up to be disappointed, plus we want to have a few kids anyway so it is likely we would be back even if this one was successful. :0)

I am about to go into detail so family members who just DON'T want to know or people who get a little grossed out by medical terminology ... don't read below. LOL. I will save the minute details for my girlfriends. That much detail is a bit weird to post on a public form.

We went in to our appointment about a 1/2 hour early since the drive was not as bad as we were anticipating. They put a hospital bracelet on me then sent us over to the lab. This part was a bit awkward. Obviously my husband has to make a "baby making" donation but we just didn't know if I could go in the room with him. (Awkward question to ask.) The lady who showed us back had to call someone and confirm if I could or couldn't go with him. It was fine with some restrictions. The lady no joke said I could go in the room with him as long as "there is no contribution of any fluids”. AWKWARD! I told her "well that's special" and thought in my head, gross. It is just so weird to have to involve others in the possible conception of our child / children. The room had the expected entertainment items in the room and that was that. (I will leave those hilarious detail for my close girlfriends!)

After that strange encounter we went to the main waiting area to pass time until my husbands "baby makers" were processed. They said it would take about 1 1/2 hours. I finished filling out all of our Christmas cards and worked on knitted a scarf to pass the time. Good thing I brought stuff to do because it actually took 2 hours until I was put in a room.

While we were there the finance lady came out and said "Can we see Denny way from here?" She had just heard on the news that 2 buses had collided and their front tiers were now hanging off a I-5 overpass. That was a little scary! I saw it on the news later that night; Seattle hills and snow is not a good combo!

For the IUI treatment they like for your bladder to be full apparently, which I found out by accident when I asked the receptionist were the restroom was. I can not describe how full my bladder was, then to find out I can't go was just awesome. Ha, ha.

My part was supper fast. The nurse came in the room and had me sign a piece of paper confirming that the "baby makers" were my husbands, and then she explained the procedure to me and started. She drew up all 4.8 x 10^6 (apk. 4.8 million, you'd think that would be enough! LOL!) "baby makers" into the catheter (small, stiff tube thing), put in the torture devise (aka. the speculum) with water only mind you (fun, fun), cleaned the cervix with a jumbo q-tip then put the small catheter through the cervix and deposited the "baby makers" closer to their goal. None of it hurt too terribly but the sensation of something being were it shouldn't be is like being kicked from the inside, it makes you cramp a little, very weird feeling. My part took about 5 minutes ... after a 2 hours wait it was very anti-climactic. (No pun intended, ha, ha.) Mikel made a funny comment when the nurse left (I'll share with friends later) and we were on our way home ... and I could finally empty my bladder! Yippee!

The nurse said I can take a pregnancy test in about 2 weeks, so now I just have to relax and wait. Great, that should be fun. I am just so very thankful that we even got to go to Seattle and get the treatment done. I hope for us being pregnant but am glad that we finally were able to complete an actual fertility treatment ... finally! Wish us luck!