Dreamland...

After information overload at our IVF class last week we went to dinner, laughed about some comical parts of the class and then came home and snuggled into bed. Snuggled in for some of the most absurd dreams yet. I've shared some of my crazy dreams with you all before, and I'm pretty sure the ultrasound in Target still wins for ridiculousness, but this one is pretty great too.

So, to set the scene a little let me first take you back to the very first course I took in college. It was a math class for educators and my teacher happened to become one of my favorites, even if it was impossible to understand half of what she said through her Bulgarian accent. She was thin, dark haired and pregnant, all three characteristics of my current RE (well, she isn't pregnant anymore).

So in my dream I arrive at the clinic for my retrieval. I wasn't nervous at all, but was very tired and was wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt. I remember climbing onto a bed in the procedure room (fully clothed!) and then hearing a woman who looked like my doctor, but sounded just like my Bulgarian math professor talking on the phone. There were also two nurses in the room sitting in the corner chit chatting. I still had not had any medication, the IV had been placed, but wasn't current hooked up to anything. The bed was set at an odd angle and I kept falling off of it, and just barely being able to climb back onto the table because I was so tired. Every time it happened no one seemed alarmed and they would just would tell we I wasn't allowed to eat, drink or go to the bathroom so I might as well just try to sleep until they were ready.

After several falls I finally just curled up on the floor and went to sleep. When I woke up, my doctor was there and said that they were done and told me the egg count. I was still curled up in a ball laying on the floor of the procedure room completely clothed. I asked how that was possible from the position and the obvious obstacle of my clothing, and she replied that while it was a difficult angle, she made it work.

However, the kicker to the whole story (as weird as it has already been) is the fact that she preformed my ER while wearing flannel pajamas. Pink flannel pajamas. Pink flannel pajamas with kittens and balls of yarn on them.

Welcome to my dreamland! I can't wait to see what I muster up while I'm under sedation. I'm just praying I don't talk in my sleep :)

IVF 101

Thursday night we had the first of two IVF classes. It was about two hours of information about everything that is about to happen. The director of nursing and another nurse led the class and were joined later by the embryologist. Although we already knew the majority of the information that was presented, it was nice to hear it all again and kind of put it all together. The portion that the embryologist presented was pretty interesting, and we were able to watch a video of her preforming ICSI, which was pretty amazing.

There was only one brief moment of panic during the class. The nurse was going over the medications and said lupron needs to be stored in the refrigerator. I had picked up my drugs on Monday afternoon, and it was now Thursday evening... my leuprolide was NOT in the fridge. Uh-oh! Thankfully I buy my drugs from a local pharmacy and the pharmacist that I had just seen a couple hours earlier for longer menopur needles was at the class to answer questions and I was able to ask him refrigerating the leuprolide on a break. He assured me that it was likely fine, and told me to just check the vial for the refrigerate sticker when I got home. Thankfully everything is fine, and I don't need to buy a new vial!

The staff at our clinic is hilarious, it was nice to be able to laugh a little even though the topic was pretty heavy. Highlights included talk of being able to get pregnant even if there is only one twitching sperm in the corner and while talking about embryos not "falling out" describing the uterus and lining as a baguette spread with cream cheese.... seriously, is it necessary to ruin more food for me? I already have the hardest time eating eggs these days (EWCM). Cottage cheese was also mentioned, but you all probably have some idea what that one was in reference to. Needless to say, the tub that I have in my fridge will be finding its way to my garbage can this week... ICK! Overall, I'm glad we went. Next up is an injection class. Though I'm fully capable of a sub-q injection it will be good for hubs to practice IM injections.... hopefully not on my tush!

After looking over our new calendar I've realized that this week is my final "free" week. The last week that is completely free of appointments until sometime in late July.... what to do, what to do!?!?!? Perhaps we will go away for a quick weekend before the injections begin. But until then, I am pretty sure I will be cleaning and organizing up a storm. Something about a nice clean organized house just makes me feel so calm and stress free :)

PS... I've had two dreams about the egg retrieval since Thursday- I'll share the whole story later this week. For now all I'm going to tell you is it has to do with kittens, pink flannel and my Bulgarian math professor from college. Wowsers. Ridiculousness.

Another Funny...

I happened upon a blog a couple of years ago that was absolutely hilarious (in an oh.my.gosh kind of way). The blog hasn't been updated since sometime in 2008, but I promise you there are some gems in the archives. So, if you are in need a of a good laugh or a 'fertiles are so stupid' (because surely all of these stories are about fertiles!) moment... this is for you. It is pretty crude, graphic, may make you want to vomit, BUT also pretty dang funny times.

Enjoy!

Here We Go....

I've swallowed the first of many pills... 1 birth control pill down, 16 to go! Even though I know why I am taking birth control and can totally understand why it needs to be done, I feel so naughty taking something to prevent a pregnancy when the thing I want most in life right now is a pregnancy. Oh well, nothing about infertility really makes sense, I guess this is really no different!

Yesterday I sat down with all of the paperwork on the drugs that I'm taking and made sure they were all what I needed, made sure I knew when to take them and how to take them correctly. I realized that in addition to the thyroid medication and metformin (3x per day) that I already take I will at one point be taking 14 pills/injections/suppositories per day... I'm pretty sure this is going to call for a spreadsheet. I'm fairly sure my cell phone will be vibrating constantly reminding me to take something.

I am SO thankful that I don't have to work and will be able to be constantly at my pill box. Not to mention the side effects from these drugs- I don't know how you all manage to work full time and do IVF all at the same time. It feels like a full time job between appointments, constant medication consumption and trying to be stress-free and relatively relaxed about the process.

I love that I am not really feeling any apprehension about this cycle. We did six IUIs for one reason, I wasn't ready to step into IVF. After about IUI #3 we were pretty sure we'd be eventually moving on to IVF, but I just wasn't ready. Although I feel like we wasted some time, I do feel like it was a great choice us.

Another tiny step toward our baby/ies!!!!!

Shortage Averted....

I posted a week or two ago about being slightly concerned about the national shortage of Lupron. Thankfully, the local pharmacy that I use for my fertility medications (they specialize in fertility drugs) has taken matters into their own hands, and has started producing it in house. Unfortunately, this means that my insurance couldn't be billed for it, and it ended up costing me about 13 times what I would have paid as a copay, but I'm certainly not complaining! I would MUCH rather pay the $130 and have it, than have to worry about the $10 alternative arriving in time.

Thankfully there was only one issue with my order once I got it home and organized. Typically menopur is administered subcutaneously, but my doctor wants me to do it as an intramuscular injection, so the pharmacy accidentally gave me needles that are too short. We have part one of our IVF teaching this week, so I'll just swing by the pharmacy on my way and pick up the proper needles.

One of the nurses at the clinic emailed me an updated calendar yesterday, and it looks like we are just pushed out a week because my period was slow arriving. So on Wednesday I will toss a birth control pill down the hatch (for the first time in three years!!) in the name of making a baby.

Almost There...

You know you are totally at peace with IVF when you begin cheering when you see pink on the tissue rather than feeling an ounce of disappointment! That's right ladies ( and gentlemen??), AF is en route, but her sidekick Spotty Dotty has arrived! I'll call the clinic as soon as she's officially here (hopefully tomorrow!) then, birth control here I come!

We're getting SO close! Depending on how much AF's late arrival pushes us back, we will be finding out if this cycle worked (it's going to!) right around our 5 year anniversary, and the three year mark of trying to grow our family.

This week:
Start BCP's- Wednesday
IVF teaching- Thursday
Possibly nephew #2's birthday????

I Hate Waiting...

I don't think I have ever wanted to start my period so bad in my life....

Well, maybe that one time in college(19) when I had a very irrational fear that I was pregnant... keep in mind, I was a virgin on my wedding day when I was 23. And just because we are all thinking it... HAHAHAHAHA, pregnant without trying, let alone having sex... riiight!

Ok, maybe there is one other time.... but that was way back in 8th grade when EVERYONE had started there period, and I hadn't. Then once it happened, I found out what a pain in the rear it was and wished I had never wished it into existence.

I was expecting the lady in red today, but I guess I will just have to wait patiently.... or not patiently- even with all of the practice in patience I've had over the last several months, I still am not very good at it!