5 more weeks...

I'm running out of things to say... Life is marginally boring when you're trying to get pregnant, but swallowing a birth control pill every morning! No wonder 'outsiders' don't understand this process... It's nuts!! I'm enjoying every boring minute right now :)

The hubs and I are hosting a pumpkin carving party this weekend, so preparing food and our home for that event is keeping me plenty busy. We keep meaning to really enjoy this time in our life despite the hard things- this little get together should fill that void!

We're also hitting the road early next week for a little getaway. We've been meaning to do it, and finally made it happen. I'm looking forward to not doing much of anything other than relaxing!

Five more weeks of birth control! It seems like kind of a long time, but I'm sure it will go quickly. I'm excited for our second ivf cycle, but very calm at the same time. I don't love all of the appointments, but I find the process super fascinating and always love seeing inside of my body.

The sock collection is growing... Now if we could just get to the point of wearing them!!!!

IVF #2 with ICSI has been approved by our insurance and has a start date of November 18th. I love it when everything begins to fall into place and there are fewer things to worry about!

Ps, in case you were wondering, the insurance issue from MAY has still not been corrected!

I lost...

Does anyone else play the 'who can hold out the longest not turning on the heat' game with their spouse? 

No? You're all dignified adults that just set your thermostat to a certain temp and it stays there all year? 

Boring!

At any rate, I lost the game this week when it was 64 degrees inside our house and I was trying to clean our bedroom dressed similar to Chevy Chase in the attic scene of Christmas Vacation! 

Here's hoping next year we have a tiny reason (or two!) to turn the heat on a little earlier :)

Ugh...

So, you might remember over a year ago I went to see my primary care doctor to get a referral to my current RE. Well, that referral is only good for a year, and unfortunately I didn't remember that it would expire. Seriously, I never imagined we would still be trying to get pregnant an entire year later. Long story short, my referral expired in August. I've since had a couple of ultrasounds and some blood work run at my RE's office- this could have all been covered if I would have remembered that I needed to get a new referral- unfortunately now it is most likely going to be paid out of pocket.

I am so stinking mad at myself. When I called my PCP's office to get another referral I spoke with my favorite nurse who also happens to be dealing with infertility and asked her if it was possible to back date the new referral. She is going to attempt it, but we aren't sure if it will work. I'm not so angry that we have to pay for it, because in the scheme of things we really are getting off pretty inexpensively for infertility patients. It is just the fact that it could have all been covered that is killing me. Thank goodness for FSA's I guess.

This news came shortly after I opened an email with our deposit information... gasp. I nearly lost my lunch until I realized our insurance pre-auth hadn't come through yet.

Why does infertility have to be so expensive.... and exhausting?!?!?

Let this be a lesson to all of you.... KNOW WHEN YOUR REFERRAL EXPIRES!!!!!!

White Lies...

As you all know, when we started the IVF process we shared our journey with our parents. We told them about the struggles we'd already faced, and what was ahead of us. For the most part it was a good thing. It was nice to know that we'd never have to hear things like "when are you going to start a family" ever again, and for only that, it was worth it. However, something about sharing every intimate piece of that process didn't ever sit all that well with me. I never really felt like they cared enough to plug those three little letters into google and figure out just exactly what we were facing. It hurt my feelings that they didn't know how to care and be supportive in the ways that I wanted and needed. And to me, that wasn't something that I needed to teach them while I was just trying to keep my head above water.

When we found out that our cycle was likely going to collide with Thanksgiving we each made comments to our families about perhaps not being at the festivities. To both we made it clear that it had to do with trying again. I didn't love the idea of sharing this information, but it seemed necessary. Now that we have our calendar, and know that I'm not going to be on bed rest over the holiday we've told our parents that we'll be around for Thanksgiving. We also told them that we've "pushed things out" and are taking a little break. 

True, we are taking a little break.... a little over seven weeks until we start stims, and the ER/ET that we thought might interfere with Thanksgiving will be pushed back by about a week or two. 

We also aren't sure what we are going to do at the end of this cycle. If we'll share the good news right away (power of positive thinking!!) or if we'll keep it to ourselves a little longer this time. Either way, we want to make the choice when the time comes and not feel like we need to share because our families are waiting. 

So, at this point you all are the only people who know, and I'm pretty sure that is how it is going to remain. I don't think I'm going to share it with any of my girlfriends either. I figure the process will be a lot easier this time. I know what to expect. I know the process. Now it will just be a matter of navigating it all and staying hopeful that our outcome will be a healthy pregnancy and a sweet baby or two!

Thankful for the classics....

So, I know I've said before that ever since I started taking met.formin and thyroid medication I've been losing weight. Like a significant amount of weight. As of today I'm down 42 pounds. That is a lot.

Back in August after the miscarriage I needed something to keep my hands busy so I went through my closet and got rid of a few things that I didn't like anymore. There were several things that no longer fit, so they got packed away in a tub to be re-evaluated when I'm pregnant.

Yesterday morning (-10 lbs later) I was attempting to find something to wear this weekend for a family picture that is being taken. I tried on a few things that were too big and thus began another stroll through the closet removing everything that was too large... another huge plastic tub. While it is great that I'm losing weight, my closet looks SO SAD! I don't really want to go out and buy a bunch of new things considering I'm paying a lot of money in an attempt to have my body change significantly in the next few months.  Plus, it seems like every time I buy something new if I don't wear it within the first few weeks of ownership it needs to be returned because it doesn't fit. Efff! Its a never ending cycle. Right now my options include a few new things and everything else is circa 2006 or older. Thank God I've never been one to buy tons of super trendy clothing! I typically stick to classic staples and then spice things up with jewelry or other accessories- so luckily, even the older pieces aren't too out of date.

I know, not a horrible problem to have but SO annoying!

oh.my.goodness

So yesterday afternoon I opened my mailbox to find a rather puffy package from a blogger friend of mine. She had asked for my address recently on a post about socks, so I figured I might find a pair of socks in my mailbox one of these days. Buuuuut, I was not prepared for what I found when I opened that squishy envelope. Lets just say, had I not used the restroom just before getting the mail, I may have had a problem.

I've followed Tiffany for a long time, and I've always thought gosh, I could totally be friends with her.... um, yes this much is true, we have the same sense of humor. 

When I pulled these gems out of the envelope and started cracking up I was instantly intrigued by that little red tag on the fur. Often these types of socks sing a song or something ubber annoying (which is totally right up my ally), but the tag on these was even better than a 'press here' tag. This tag reads 'faux fur', just in case you thought perhaps you were buying socks with real fur at Tar.get. Awesome!

I'm not sure if I have the guts to actually wear them outside of my house looking like I'm smuggling a doughnut around each leg under my pants, but I am pretty sure these will be present for all injections... how can I not smile when I look at these- not only because they are totally comical, but also because a nice blogger buddy thought to send them to me! 

Thanks again, Tiffany!!!

Sometimes boring is a good thing...

Things are pretty boring right now (read: RELAXED!!), so I don't have much to report. As an update I'll give you a few bullet points.

• I had a dream last night that I was about 39 weeks pregnant. I went into labor, and my doctor was sick. He ended up laying in a bed next to mine while my husband delivered a sweet baby girl after a single push and the use of a set of tweezers. Yeah, figure that one out. 
• I made a batch of cookies today... good thing we have a few events in the next couple of weeks because it made about five dozen. To the freezer they go!
• Speaking of cookies, the 8 pounds I gained on prov.era are gone! I'd like to lose another 14 in the next seven weeks before I start stims, but I'm not sure how feasible that is. Perhaps I should stop baking cookies and head to the gym :)
• During my last IVF cycle I took 17 birth control pills as part of the suppression phase. I almost threw away the remaining 4, but for some reason decided to keep them in the drawer with all of my other fertility meds. It turns out this time I will take 25 active birth control pills during suppression. That means I would have needed two packs if I didn't already have four spares hanging around. 
• My husband and I bought our house a little over two years ago. We live right in the heart of wine country and had yet to go wine tasting until this past weekend. We had an awesome time, and look forward to squeezing in some more time for this in the next few weeks before I cut alcohol out completely. 
• I can't stop eating apples. I've been eating at least two Honey Crisps a day lately. So good!
• We're planning a little getaway in couple of weeks and I cannot wait to get out of town for a few days and just relax. No plans, no appointments, no interruptions. 
• Other than the annual exam I need to schedule, I don't have another appointment until my suppression check on 11/23- FREEDOM!
• I've been getting out all of my fall decor, and I LOVE it. I absolutely adore fall candles and already had them lit this morning before my husband left for work at 6:45- he gave me a crazy look as he walked out the door this morning. 
• I made a really fun fall banner last week. My plan was for it to say HARVEST, but when I started drawing the letters the first one I did was an F.... there is no F in harvest! So, instead it says BE THANKFUL, which happens to be perfect because I really could use that reminder on a daily basis right now. Mine is really similar to this one.............. AMY, this craft project has your name on it! Seriously, a sharpie, some scissors and glue!
• Wow, please don't stop following me because I'm all of a sudden SUPER boring- I'm sure I'll have something more entertaining to share soon! But for now, I'm going to enjoy my quiet, boring little life with my fall candles burning away :)