Leaking Already!!! - Warning to much information

I know anyone can read this, but I don't think as many people read this blog as our other one. So I'm putting certain things here since this is my journal of sorts. First let me say that when I was pregnant with Mason I started leaking colostrom at 12 weeks. Yes, you read that right 12 weeks. Well with this pregnancy I have already started. It's not too bad yet, but it began about a week ago. What a long yucky time I am going to have to wait until this stops. lol

One Baby. YAY!!!!

Today we went in for our first OB visit. It went really well. We saw the baby, and heard as well as saw the heartbeat! It was so exciting. I admit I shed a few tears. We also called our families and told them the wonderful news. Our next appointment is in a week and a half and we'll get another ultrasound. I can't wait!

Final results in our game (please click here for explanation):

#	Actual	Andre	Jen	Mason
Eggs Retrieved	23	-5	-2	+7
Eggs Fertilized	20	-12	-8	<0>
Embryos Transferred	2	+1	+1	+2
Embryos Left to be Frozen	10	-10	-4	+6
Resulting Babies	1	<0>	+1	+1
Total	N/A	-26	-12	+16

Cravings, Aversions, and Boobs

So far my cravings have started early although they aren't as strong as the real cravings I'm sure I'll have later. For a week or so I was really cravings eggs, which was strange because I never really crave them or even really like them much (except for an occasional omelet). When I was pregnant with Mason one thing I craved was chili cheese dogs but just the thought of hot dogs makes me wanna hurl. The last few days I've also been a little nauseated in the morning so maybe by next week I'll be spewing without thinking of hot dogs. If you read the ticker up at the top you'll see that Pamela Anderson is getting jealous of my boobs and that isn't a lie. I'm barely fitting in my regular clothes now. Some of it is also due to the fact that my belly is already showing. It's kinda cool but I wish I'd pop soon. With Mason I didn't really show until about 16 weeks and even then with maternity clothes on you couldn't tell unless you knew me. Maybe I can give Kate (from Jon & Kate Plus 8) a run for her money on belly size. Yes, after going through IVF we get asked all the time if we've seen that show on TLC with the 8 kids. If one more person asks that, I swear, with the hormones going through me I might just rip their heads off! :D

Final Beta results!

My final Beta results were 1080! So they more than doubled in 5 days! We have our first ultrasound June 30th. I cant wait!!!! So FUN!!!

New HCG level

My HCG level went up to 187. I am doubling every 2.2 days. Which is normal. It should double every 48-72 hours. Yay!

Why I Didn't POAS

We were very tempted to take a home pregnancy test, especially after the spotting, but we were too afraid to get the wrong answer. It might have shown positive if I was pregnant or if the HCG shot was still in my system, which would have meant a possible false positive. On the other hand, if the test showed negative it might have meant I wasn't pregnant or simply that the embryo (or embryos) wasn't putting enough HCG into my system to register on the home pregnancy test. With only two days to go until the beta test, we didn't have enough time to take tests over multiple days but the biggest reason was we just wanted the right answer without havin to worry if the answer we had was wrong (reminds me of Serendipity where Molly Shannon says she should stop worrying about looking for Mr. Right when Mr. Good-Enough-For-Right-Now is in the bar around the corner). We've enough scares with peeing on a stick ("POAS") that we wanted to hear it from the clinic. They wouldn't lie to us, would they? :D We're happy with the result regardless!!!

WOOHOO!!!

We are PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!! It worked. We are so excited!!!!!!!!! HCG levels were at 100 as of this morning. I have another HCG level test on Saturday morning.

spotting, having a down day.

I am spotting today, Its brown blood, which is a sign of it being old blood. (I know TMI) I'm not sure how many women who do IVF spot or bleed, but for me usually that means its coming to an end. Maybe its that I had the miscarriage back in January, and spotting was how all of it started. but I cant help but think that this cycle is a bust! Thursday seriously cant come soon enough! :(

Hot and Hungry....Pregnant or Period?

Lately I have been hungry and very hot all the time, which for me is different. I'm so used to being cold all the time. It's hard not to get my hopes up when I have these "symptoms" especially since both pregnancies (I miscarried in January at 5 weeks 4days) I felt the same way. It's also confusing to me because almost every time my period is coming I also get hot and hungry!!! Go figure, huh? Oh well, we will know for sure on Thursday! It's going to be a long couple days.

Miracles

Going through the process of IFV & ET has made me realize what a miracle it was for Mason to come into our family. The doctors, nurses, embryologists, and everyone else have advanced this artificial conception so far that many variables can be eliminated, or at least reduced to become almost negligible. Even so, they cannot ensure that the blastocyst will implant. They can try assisted hatching and giving progesterone to the mother, but that is no guarantee. It's amazing with so many things that could have gone wrong (and probably have at other times) that we have Mason. Hopefully he can get a brother or sister out of this!

Caffeine Free Heaven in a Can!!!

I just have to say that since I have been told no caffeine, I have been struggling. Not because of the caffeine but because I love Dr. Pepper. The places we usually shop do not carry caffeine free Dr. Pepper. I was so sad. I ended up calling Dr. Pepper, and through a voice activated system I was told 5 places near us that carry it. One was a place I had already checked and I knew they didn't really have it. I called the Kroger by the temple and I was in luck - they carry it. The next day we went and I got a 12 pack. I haven't been so excited for a drink in all my life. It was wonderful!!! I have had one a day since then (Monday) and will continue to do so. YUMMY!!!!!

Transfer Day!!!

We went in today for the transfer today; luckily it was at 10:15 instead of the crack of dawn, or before. We got there a little early, but were surprised that we got called back right at 10:15. We went in and I got undressed. Then Andre and I both had to put on the awesome doctor hats and booties.



We then went into the procedure room, where John (the embryologist) came in and checked to make sure I was the right person. Dr. Schnell came in and said how impressed she was about how well our eggs have done. At the time we had 8 in the blastocyst stage and she said probably 4 more that would be there by tomorrow. They drew some blood and then gave me some Valium through an IV. Man that stuff works fast. They transferred two eggs. Here is the picture of what they looked like.

Then I laid there for an hour and we were sent home. We find out if we are pregnant on June 12th. Nine days. Crazy!!! I keep talking to them telling them to stick/implant and hold on tight (just like the Backyardigans song, except using 'embryo' might instead of 'viking' might)! Hopefully they will listen.

Here are the standings so updated for today. The 10 frozen embryos is an estimate based on what Dr. Schnell said but it is subject to change tomorrow when we hear the final word on them. Jen barely edged out Mason, though it's still close. Andre is out of it.

#	Actual	Andre	Jen	Mason
Eggs Retrieved	23	-5	-2	+7
Eggs Fertilized	20	-12	-8	<0>
Embryos Transferred	2	+1	+1	+2
Embryos Left to be Frozen	10?	-10?	-4?	+6?
Resulting Babies	-	-	-	-
Total	N/A	-26	-13	+15

Fertilization: Day Two and Day Three

I didn't do an update yesterday about the fertilization, so, as of yesterday morning (day two) all 20 fertilized eggs were still growing: nine were at the four-cell stage and 11 were at the two-cell stage. Here are some pics of what they would look like:

Two-cell Stage


Four-cell Stage



As of this morning (day three) we have nine at the eight-cell stage, three at the six-cell stage, and eight at the four-cell stage. John (the embryologist) did mention though that he had looked at them earlier in the morning so he wouldn't be surprised if the eight at four-cell would be at six-cell by early afternoon. Here are some pics of the eight and six-cell stages:

Six-cell Stage


Eight-cell Stage

(You can only see 7 out of the 8 in this pic)

The transfer is on Tuesday at 10:15 am. =)

Eggs and Vaginal Rings

Today I had my randomization appointment. This is where I am "randomly"assigned with either the progesteron vaginal ring or vaginal gel. I was hoping for the ring and sure enough that's what I got. Something about only doing it once a week instead of daily really got me hooked! We had to be down there at 7:45 am. I got to the office they drew my blood, took my vitals, and then took me back to the exam room. Lucky for me I got to have my favorite nurse Serena there. She is so nice. They asked me for my birthday, not exactly sure why, Andre says he thinks its so they know I'm who I say I am (but Serena knows me. lol I think it's procedure) Oh and while driving down we were waiting for John the embryologist to call and tell us how many of our eggs have been fertilized. He said he would call around 7 am. He didn't. We will get back to that part soon ;) (gotta love the suspense). They came back in the room and turned on a video about the vaginal ring. The video mostly said how to insert the ring, take it out, clean it, where to dispose of it (though I don't do the disposal work. We have to take it back in for the clinic to dispose of it since it's technically a biohazard). Then they came back in, gave me the rings, went over the basics, then left to have me put it in. Once it was in they had to do an internal exam to make sure I put it in correctly. They then gave me a new "notebook" and a new calendar. Then I was able to leave.

Right after they came in the first time John (the embryologist) called and told me that out of the 23 eggs we had that 20 had fertilized. "Wow that's good," I said. His response was, "No, that's great!" Then there was some friendly banter between Serena and John with me being the messenger, since I was on the phone after all. When I told Andre he couldn't believe that 20 had fertilized either. crazy! So Mason hit that one on the nose! Our transfer date is June 3rd, so next Tuesday. Yeah!!!!

Here are the results so far (we took the resulting number and subtracted the guess, so whoever is closest to zero wins). As you can see, Mason is winning so far!

#	Actual	Andre	Jen	Mason
Eggs Retrieved	23	-5	-2	+7
Eggs Fertilized	20	-12	-8	<0>
Embryos Transferred	-	-	-	-
Embryos Left to be Frozen	-	-	-	-
Resulting Babies	-	-	-	-
Total	N/A	-17	-10	+7

Retrieval Day!

After Jen's appointment yesterday, they called to let us know that her retrieval would be at 5:30 am today, which meant that we needed to be in the office at 4:45 am, which meant that we need to leave the house at 3:45 am, which meant that we needed to be up at 3:15 am to shower (yes, they explicitly required us to shower, not like we'd skip out on it). Stacia and Samuel Simonsen came over yesterday afternoon to hang out with Jen and Mason while I was working and then they stayed the night to be with Mason while Jen and I spent the pre-dawn hours in Clear Lake.

Before putting Mason to bed I told him Mommy and I would be at the doctor's when he woke up and that we'd be back before lunch. After pulling it out of him, he finally agreed to be good for Stacia (I think he was more tired than anything from waking up so early with us the past week or so). We gave him a kiss and a hug and then put him in bed only to hear him screaming a few minutes later. I checked on him and his excuse was that he needed his stuffed rhino; he was smart enough to mention one of the few animals not on his bed. I picked up the rhino and gave it to him, kissed him, and left his room.

About one minute later he was screaming again! This time when I went in he was bawling and when I asked him what was wrong he said, "I don't want you to leave me!" Talk about tugging on the heartstrings! I held him and explained that we weren't leaving, that we'd be back soon after he woke up and that if he thought about it hard enough he could feel Mommy and Daddy in his heart because we love him so much. Being four years old, that didn't satisfy him. So I showed him how I could send him an email to the Wii, which he thought was pretty cool. I also told him I'd call him when we were done so he'd know we were on our way home.

After putting him back to bed, he was screaming again, tears pouring down his face, a minute later. I ended up lying next to him as he fell asleep, although he kept checking on me every couple of minutes to make sure I was still there. Finally he went to sleep and Jen and I got to bed around 10:15 pm - in time to get 5 hours of sleep if we sailed off to Neverland as soon as we hit the pillow (Jen can do it, I can't).

The ride across Houston that early (or that late, depending on how you look at it) was fairly quick. She took her Valium at 4:30 and we spent about 30 minutes waiting in the waiting area. Why did we get up so early? After they took us back, Jen changed into her fabulous hospital attire and they explained some things to us. Then we heard them mention that Woman #2 (Jen was Woman #3) was late so we had to wait for her as she had to go through the procedure first due to the timing of when they had the HCG shot. We waited until about 6:00 am before they took Jen to get ready and to retrieve her eggs, which is much more of an extraction since it sound more painful. Retrieval sounds far too painless and not at all invasive.

They left me in the room where Jen changed clothes, but apparently they were supposed to lead me to an inside waiting room where they'd call me back for my contribution to the process, much easier and less painful than what Jen has to go through. After 30 minutes, I found the nurse and she realized that I'd been hiding out and sent me packing to the right area. After making my deposit I was called back to see Jen.

It was obvious that she was in a lot of pain and very understandably so. In a previous post we mentioned how they suck the eggs out of the follicles, the part we didn't throw in there is that they insert a long needle into a catheter and insert that into Jen. Then they push that needle through the vaginal wall up to the bloated ovary and suction out the eggs from that side, then they move to the other. Thank goodness Jen was put under and didn't have to be awake during the procedure. Afterwards, she wakes up and they ask how she's feeling and if she needs anything. Of course she asked for pain killers but they can't give her any. First they fill her bladder up with two liters of saline, plus whatever Sprite she can drink. After emptying her bladder and some excess blood, they tell her after she starts keeping down soda crackers she can take Tylenol, that's it. Plus, no caffeine until after the pregnancy test. The nurse was amazed at how well Jen handled it all. I was amazed that she really had no side effects from the injections (except for some obvious pain from overstuffed ovaries) and no nausea from the anesthesia.

Before we could leave, we had to wait for the lab to give us the green light that my swimmers were fine and that I didn't need to make another donation. After getting approval, they took Jen to the car in a wheel chair and we made a stop at Wal-Mart to get the essentials for post-retrieval: protein drinks, protein bars, Gatorade, extra strength Tylenol, soda crackers, and Dr. Pepper & junk food for me. We also had to get gas on the way home. Luckily we've been taking my car so the multiple fill ups aren't affecting us as much as if we had been using the gas greedy Sequoia.

While in Wal-Mart I called Stacia to let her know were on our way and to talk with Mason. He didn't want to talk to me, which was actually a great sign that he was doing OK without us.

Jen is now taking a nap and trying to recover as best she can for another early morning tomorrow when we receive the study drug (progesterone) in either the gel or the ring. At 7 am, we'll also hear from the lab on how many of the 23 retrieved eggs (yes, almost two dozen...Jen is closest so far) were good and how many were fertilized. Transfer will be either Sunday or Tuesday. Getting closer!

Bruises and Bets

We made another wonderful trip to Webster, Texas this morning. With so many early mornings, Mason has started getting up on his own shortly after 6 am. Mason and I walked around Wal-Mart while Jen had another ultrasound and more blood tests. The retrieval will be this Thursday, which means that at 6:30 pm I had to stab her with a 3-inch long needle to make those follicles release the eggs. I held the needle about two inches above Jen for at least 10 seconds working up the courage to stick her with it. With all of the other injections Jen has to do, we decided to take a picture. Please keep in mind it has looked worse and this picture does not show her thighs, which are also bruised.

On the way home from the IVF office we wrote down some guesses as to how many eggs, fertilizations, babies, etc. each of us thought we'd get. The estimates are summarized below. Afterwards, we'll see who was the closest. Anyone else want to weigh in?

#	Andre	Jen	Mason
Eggs Retrieved	18	21	30
Eggs Fertilized	8	12	20
Embryos Transferred	3	3	4
Embryos Left to be Frozen	0	6	16
Resulting Babies	1	2	2

Growing Follicles, Bursting Ovaries

Yesterday morning Dr. Schnell performed my my first ultrasound following my follicle stimulant injections. I couldn't believe that she was the one doing it (she even came to the waiting room to take us to the ultrasound room); mostly because usually the nurses do pretty much everything. She was a lot nicer than last time, too, though she still seemed like she was in a hurry. She was little personable at least. Once she got the ultrasound probe in (trans-vaginal) she said, "Wow! Your ovaries are bursting!" I didn't get to see pics of anything, but Andre did and he said that my ovaries and follicles were big and that there were so many follicles and that they were so huge they were all squished in there. One of the first things I said was, "Now you can see why I am so tender, huh?" Both Andre and the Dr. said "Yeah!" Since it took longer to get my estrogen levels where they needed to be (from 40, to 143, to 3,000 and now to 12,000), my eggs need a little more time to get to the size they are supposed to be. So they postponed my retrieval date from Tuesday to Thursday. We were a little disappointed, but at least it's only a couple days. Before Dr. Schnell left I asked her how many eggs I had and she said "around 20," which was a relief to Andre and to me. I have the final ultrasound on Tuesday, along with the HSG shot and whatever else comes that day.

On the way to pick up Mason from the Simonsen's, Andre commented on how the gas light usually turns on when it's that low. We turned the car off and knocked on their door, but they were at church. We went back to the car to go get Mason and the car wouldn't start because we were out of gas! Andre walked to a gas station in the nice humid 90+ degree heat and game back with some gas just as Joseph was driving up with Mason. Luckily we didn't run out of gas on the freeway or some other dangerous place.

Increasing yet again!!!

So I feel like a human pin cushion. Seriously! They have increased my dose of Gonal-F again. Originally (last Friday) I started at 75 cc. On Monday they doubled that to 150 cc and now - get this - as of yesterday I am on 375 cc. Apparently my estrogen levels aren't as high as they want them to be. Hopefully this will do it, as I am finding less places covered by bruises on my stomach and legs to poke myself with, lol. Oh well, hopefully the outcome will far outweigh this process. =)


In other news... Mason has been asking me everyday for the last week or so if I have a baby in my tummy yet. I say no it's not time yet, I have to keep taking my medicine, so hopefully we can get one. His response was something like this, "Mom you need to take the GOGO medicine, It makes it so that a baby gets in your tummy really fast, but you will have to go to Denver to get it." So needless to say I am taking the wrong medicine and in the wrong state! lol He is such a funny character.

Mixers, and increasings!

Mixing meds the first time was interesting... I had to follow step-by-step directions so that I wouldn't mess it all up, especially since they pretty much give you only what you need. The Gonal-F and Menopur sting more as they go in, but it's really not too bad. For some reason I have bruised more with these than just with the Lupron though. After mixing them for 3 days I can do it without having to consult the instructions. I would consider myself somewhat of an amateur expert, hehehe.

I also went in for a blood draw today and found that my estrogen levels aren't high enough so the are increasing my dose of Gonal-F for the next two nights, and then I go in for another blood test on Wed. It's crazy to think that a week from tomorrow we will be doing the transfer!!!

Ultrasound and 2ed set of Injections

I went in for my ultrasound and blood work yesterday, Everything is right on target. My ovaries are nice and suppressed, ready to start getting mega stimulated. I will continue to take the Lupron (to avoid Ovulating) but at a lower dose. I also start two other injections on Friday. Menopur and Gonal-F, These two injectable drugs are hormones that will ultimately over stimulate my ovaries to get lots of eggs. They went over how to mix both medications so that I only have to do one shot instead of two. Which I am really happy about. I also got a pink and brown tote like bag. (that they give to all the study patients) We will see how the side effects of these hormones will be! Hopefully I am not loopy and cranky with everyone. If so be forewarned its the drugs talking. =)

Side effects...anyone???

I really have had an easy time so far with the injections - minimal bruising, (which for me is a miracle), no pain because I ice it so that I can't feel anything. The only real side effect I have had is hot flashes. For me this is really weird, as I am usually cold. The only other time I remember being hot like this was when I was pregnant with Mason. So it will take some getting used to. All in all though it hasnt been near as bad as I thought it would be.

Injection Time

I started injections on Friday morning. They really weren't as bad as I had imagined, especially when I ice the area. I am not a needle person, and even though they are 1mm needles (same size as people who do insulin injections for diabetes) I was still really nervous. When we got the the appointment, I had scheduled an ultrasound, as that's what my calendar and the nurse told me to do. I had a full bladder and was waiting for about 20 minutes. When they took me back they told me that I could use the restroom and then MaryAnn (NP in charge of the study) would be in to talk with us. I let the nurse know that I had scheduled an ultrasound for pre-Lupron injections, and that I was told to come with a full bladder. She left us in the room to consult with the doctor, or study nurse, I'm really not sure. Then she came back into the room and said that I didn't need an ultrasound today, and that I could use the restroom. By this point I was really confused. The reason they do the ultrasound before starting the Lupron is to make sure that my ovaries were suppressed enough with the birth control. When MaryAnn came in I asked her about it, and showed her my calendar, she told us that they don't need to do a pre-Lupron ultrasound for the study. (Who knows; they aren't very organized in some aspects, which I'm sure has to do with all the regular patients on top of the study patients) She then did an overview of the basics of doing the injections. She told me they wanted an ultrasound on the 14th of this month, and then sent us on our way. So apparently my next ultrasound is on the 14th. I keep doing the injections up until the HCG shot, and then it's time for the retrieval.

Birth control

It is weird to me to be taking birth control. All throughout our marriage we had no need to take it or use any form of birth control for that matter (I'm sure that's too much information for some of you). The last time I took birth control was when I was 16. I had ovarian cysts and the pills helped control the cysts so they wouldn't burst and cause me tons of pain. It's weird to look at this small package of pills, and think that it's me taking them. What's even weirder is that we are taking them in part of trying to get pregnant. Ha, ha, ha! Oh the things we go through to have babies.

Calendar of Events

We've gotten a lot of questions as to why we have to go to the fertility doctor so much. Some think we go in once for the fertilization and transfer and that's it. To show how involved it really is, here is a calendar of sorts.

Before we can even start the cycle, we went to the doctor's office for the study consent, which was to sign papers consenting to be in the study. Instead of driving an hour the next day to have tests performed which could be done at any time, the same day we signed the consent we also had blood drawn and Jen had a pap smear and ultrasound. A week later, we went back to the office for injection training and a seminar in which one of the embryologists went through the in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer process in more detail; both of these trainings were required. Within the first two days of her period, Jen had to go back for additional blood work, and then again between the third and fifth day of her period. A week after the third set of Jen's blood work, we went in so they could perform the hysterosonogram (or HSG). We then went in again where we met the doctor for the first time and she performed the test transfer, we signed all the legal and detailed consents regarding all the procedures, and I gave my semen sample for analysis.

If I am counting correctly, you'll see that there were 11 things we needed to do before Jen began taking any medication for us to begin the cycle. Starting yesterday, Jen began taking birth control pills, which she will take until May 5. Also, both Jen and I started taking antibiotics. This is to control her monthly cycle for the timing of the in vitro process. On May 1, she goes in for another ultrasound and begins taking Lupron (an subcutaneous injectable Jen gives herself in the stomach, legs or rear). This medication is given to stimulate the ovarian follicles to produce an optimal number off oocytes (eggs) and she will be on it for a little over three weeks. During that time, she will probably have up to two or three more ultrasounds and another round of blood tests.

Two days before retrieving the eggs (probably about May 25), I have to give Jen an intramuscular shot (which means the needle is 4 inches long) of an HCG trigger to stimulate the release of the oocytes from the follicles. On the day of retrieval, we will go into the office in the morning where they use a tiny vacuum-like catheter to obtain as many of the oocytes as they can. I provide another semen sample at the same time, which will be used for fertilization. The lab technicians will throw out unacceptable oocytes and place the good ones in petri dishes where each will be given a certain number (in the millions) of sperm for fertilization. Depending on the sperm and egg conditions, they may perform intracytoplasmic sperm injection (or ICSI), which means they will inject one sperm into an egg. On either day three or day five after retrieval, we will know how many embryos are viable. Up to five may be transferred to Jen's uterus (per the doctor's policy) on day three or day five. Any additional viable embryos will be discarded, donated, or frozen (per our wishes). Frozen embryos can then be used in additional in vitro cycles without having to go through the retrieval process.

After transfer, Jen will stay in the clinic for a couple hours and then after we get home, she will be on home rest for two days. Also after the transfer, Jen will use the study medication, which will be some type of progesterone. The progesterone will help the uterus to support pregnancy. Hopefully the embryo will implant and within a couple weeks we will know if Jen is pregnant. From the time of transfer through 6 weeks of pregnancy, Jen will continue to visit the doctor's office for ultrasounds, hormone and blood tests, etc.

As you can see, the process is time consuming, physically draining for Jen and isn't as simple as you may think it is or should be. Wish us luck!

Are you coming on to me?

Since we sold our house, I finally gave in and got an EZ tag for the tollway around Houston. I'm typically cheap (not just frugal, ask Jen) and was against paying tolls, even 25 cents. With all the traveling we have been and will be doing from Spring to Clear Lake (probably about 50 miles one-way), I decided we'd take my car on the tollway to save time and money.

Yesterday we had an appointment for the last preliminary items before starting the cycle: test transfer and signing consent forms. The appointment was at 11 am, so we made sure to get Mason to his friends' house by 9:30 so we could get to the appointment on time. As we were driving east on the north beltway, we discovered that the freeway ended and was just a regular two-lane highway (including traffic lights and all) until just before I-10. So much for saving time.

We did happen to get to the office on time, where we were told that the doctor (whom we had yet to meet) was running 45 minutes behind. 90 minutes after our scheduled appointment time, we were finally allowed into an exam room. Jen didn't need to provide a urine sample, but she was supposed to have a full bladder for the test transfer. Because she's got a small bladder or something, she was just about in pain from waiting that long. She did use the restroom about 10 minutes before we were called back, but her bladder was definitely full again when it needed to be.

When the nurse led us to the exam room she simply said the doctor would be with us shortly. 'Shortly' must mean something different to her than it does to me. I would imagine 'shortly' means within a minute or two, but after waiting another 10 minutes at least, we realized her perception of time must be skewed.

With a burst, the door opened and a short older woman (who looked like my mom's oldest sister) came in with the nurse and exclaimed, "You're still dressed?" Jen and I looked at each other since the nurse hadn't told Jen to get ready for the transfer. Luckily we had signed the consent forms, so the nurse took them and made copies. The doctor left us to get Jen ready while she went about adding to her 90 minute delay.

She burst in the room again and said she was sorry Jen had to meet her this way for the first time. I'm not sure that Jen could see very well since she was reclined and had her legs in the stirrups. I felt sorry for her. I then had a front row seat as the doctor quickly and not very gently inserted the speculum and catheter into Jen -it did not look comfortable at all. After 30 seconds, tops, the doctor appeared finished and used the ultrasound to check the catheter's position. She took the instruments out, put them in the 'dirty' pile, threw off her gloves and said she'd be back to discuss the consents.

Jen got dressed and went to the restroom to relieve the pressure on her bladder and as she was gone the nurse moved me to a consultation room. When Jen came out of the restroom, the nurse pointed her to the consultation room where we waited another 30 minutes or so.

The doctor came back in and we watched as she sorted through all the papers in our file, just randomly. Every once in a while she'd sign something or write in something else. She'd sign something at the top, then the bottom, then the middle, then the top again as if she couldn't decide what or where to sign or what to write. Eventually she asked us about health history, issues, concerns, etc. She told us that assisted hatching would not be permitted under the study, which we took as a bad sign. She tried to comfort us by saying that there weren't many conclusive documented results to show benefits to it, which was contrary to what the embryologist told us in the seminar and which contradicts the clinic doing assisted hatching on all of the embryos they can.

The doctor then gave Jen a prescription to get her to start her period and needed to consult with the nurse as to whether we could get birth control pills then or if we'd need to come back just to pick them up.

As the doctor left to find the nurse, the nurse came in and said that the study required me to provide a semen sample for analysis at their lab. We had asked a number of times if the results we received a week before we were accepted into the study would suffice and the answer each time was, 'YES' which is why we were surprised. The nurse said if I could provide a sample then, we could start the cycle this weekend. Then she looked at me and asked if I was ready. I was thinking, 'You mean, can I ejaculate at this very moment into the invisible cup that you're holding?' I may be a guy, but it takes more than that to get me going.

'Yes, I can give my sample today,' I replied, just wanting to get out of there.

They got me the paper work and I went to do my thing as Jen went to talk with the nurse about the birth control pills.

When I was finished, Jen told me that we would have the pleasure of driving back to Clear Lake to pick up the pills because they have to give us a calendar at the same time to track when to give shots, take pills, etc. and they want to make sure they schedule is adhered to. Yay.

The best part of the day was when we were driving back and Jen picked up my chocolate milkshake by the lid and it fell off, spilling ice cream all over her pants. She set it down, put the lid back on and tried cleaning up. Then she did the same thing! Ice cream shot all over the seat, the passenger window, Jen and the dashboard. Luckily we had some wipes Jen used to clean up everything and to smudge the window. I didn't need to look for cars coming from the right anyway.

Switch Career Cards with the Person on Your Right

Earlier, Jen described a bit about the seminar we needed to go to and it inspired me. In high school, one of my favorite subjects (among many) was biology, specifically, microbiology. I loved it so much I thought of becoming a geneticist or something, but assumed I'd have to go medical school and work with cadavers, not to mention doing a residency and having to see broken bodies, deformities, blood, guts, exposed innards, and many other gory sights that sicken me.

Now in the accounting field, I definitely earn my salary, but I don't feel like I make a difference. I don't feel like I'm making the world a better place. What am I contributing to society?

During the seminar, the speaker talked about some details of his work and mentioned that he didn't need to go to medical school...why did I have to find this out now??? I will have to say though that the average salary for a 20-year veteran embryologist is less than what I make now. Maybe I can do it as a hobby when I retire!

Hystoerogram's SUCK

Yesterday (Thursday) I went in to get my Hystoerogram or HSG, at 2:30pm. After 3 times yes you read that right three times they were finally able to get my uterus to fill with water so they could get the pictures they needed. The first time they tried to use the medium catheter, but it wouldn't go in. So they went to the small size, It went in, with the normal amount of "pressure" but let me tell you it isn't pressure that you feel. At least it wasn't to me. Well after she got that in and they put the ultrasound probe in it kinked the catheter, so she spent 10 minutes trying to un-kink it, so she wouldn't have to start all over. Finally she just took it out apologized about 3 times and then started again. (Too bad she didn't just do that once it kinked, it would have saved her time and frustration, and me pain. yes note i didn't say pressure) Thankfully it didn't kink this time and everything was done in a short amount of time. After this I was having A LOT of cramping, I was really glad when they offered me some extra strength Tylenol. I needed it, I even took some Ibuprofen about an hour before. I called Andre and he and Mason left the Mall, or Wal-mart, or where ever they were and came to get me. Needless to say I hope i don't have to go through that again ever, but if i do, I hope its not for a VERY VERY long time.

Injectable training, and IVF seminar

Wednesday we had our Injectable training at 1pm. and the IVF Seminar at 5pm. they were each an hour long so we had about 3 hours to spare between. Mason was at a friends house from 12pm-7:30ish. when we came to get him he was more than ready to leave, and very happy to see his dad. (yes he is very much a daddy's boy) Plus the Houston Rodeo is going on down here for the next week or so. The Complex they live in is right across the street from where the Rodeo was. Needless to say normal Houston traffic (that is horrible) was twice as bad to get to there house.

Going back to the Training, Can I just say OUCH!!! I am so not looking forward to sticking myself with any needles while doing IVF. Andre is the lucky one who will get to stick me with the HUGE HCG needle. Over all it was pretty informative. We got to practice mixing air and water lol. Since there is no way they would want to waste the meds.

I loved the IVF Seminar, it answered some of the questions I had, and more that I hadn't even thought of. Plus you get to see all of the pics of eggs and sperm. It was really interesting. A lot of information, but I'm sure we will cover more of it as time goes by with the doctor.

IVF cycle starts April

I found out today that since there are so many couples (1300) doing this study it is making the labs really slow. for example we went in two weeks ago for the first set of blood tests, pap smear, and ultrasound. And the results for the blood tests and pap smear haven't come back. I still haven't got the HGS, or done the pre-egg retrieval test. (basically they do a test run so that they know where they are going, so its not done blindly. So I will start the IVF in April after my period comes. More waiting... Hopefully it will help the time go by faster having our vacation for two weeks.

Got a call back

So the nurse for the IVF Study called me and I go in for base blood testing today at 2:00. (its the second set of blood tests. the first is pre-menses and the second is during menses.) I feel bad that we are leaving Mason with other people so much this month, and next, I'm sure it will only get worse. luckily he loves to go to other peoples house and play with new toys if not other kids. (yes he is a very independent child... we have had friends over for him, and he has even said that he doesn't want to play with them, he wants to play by himself!) I'm sure I'm worried about it more than he is, especially since he hasn't been anything but excited to go play.

Starting the IVF process!

We found out though a friend in Utah, that there is a study being done up here in Houston (I know kinda weird that we wouldn't know, but she would. lol) For two new progesterone drugs. You get to do a free round of IVF. So we called and went in for the initial testing. blood, ultrasound, sperm. ya know the basics.... and we were told that we were accepted. WOOHOO!!! this was two weeks ago. (February 27, 2008) The next step was to wait for my period to start, let me tell you it seemed like it took FOREVER. when in reality it was only a day late. lol. I called and now I have to wait for the nurse on call to call me back so I can go in for the "on menses" blood tests. I also have an IVF seminar and injection training set up for Wednesday the 19 of March. I also have to do an HSG (Histosonogram) 5-11 days after my period starts. so some time next week. That's all I know as of now. but I will fill you in more when I find out what comes next!