We're Normal!

Or at least we are according to our karyotypes. The nurse from the RE called today to let us know. Unfortunately I didn't get the message until after work, so I didn't get to talk to her. But I was surprised at how quickly the results came back. I actually have to go in Monday for some labwork for being on the metformin, so I have a feeling a progesterone level will be added to that. Even though I'm 99% sure that I haven't O'd. So, I'll probably be riding the Provera train next week, or soon after it. It might have to be another week or so because I don't want the timing to be so that I risk an egg retrieval on March 9th, the day of my big test.

On an unrelated note, I have a cold. So I'm a little miserable. I have been sneezing all day. I'm thankful for now that I'm not coughing, but I'm still miserable. I took the day off yesterday because on top of being sick, the weather was bad - a bunch of snow followed by some freezing rain. But I went today and am now regretting it. Time for some sleep.

I stole this off of some one's blog. I can't remember who now, but I thought it looked like fun to do. There are a lot that I don't have crossed off that I would love to do someday. If you want to play along, just copy the list and put a line through everything that you have done.


1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/World

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang/played a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run (does it count if it's on the Wii?)

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Made a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

They always come in threes

There are three women at work that are currently pregnant, all three of which I found out about in the past week. All of them are fairly early on, I think. The one girl even announced she was pregnant and thinks she's due Sept 30th if she wheeled herself out correctly (I work on a maternity floor, so we have pregnancy wheels everywhere). But that means she's a little over 4 weeks along. And I'm pretty sure she wasn't even trying, or if she was, it wasn't for long because she was with a different person just a few months ago. People at work like to say that pregnancies always seem to happen in threes with our co-workers. And this is now the third set of three to become pregnant since we started trying. And one in the current set was also part of one of the previous sets of three. This set happened so fast, though, at least there was no one saying "I'm sure you'll be next."

For some reason, being around the one girl is really bothering me. I'm thankful I'm only around her for an hour or so a day. I thought I had gotten past the point where pregnant women bother me. Well, I should say pregnant women I know. I'm around pregnant women every day due to my job. It's just been hard when it's been friends or relatives. When I feel like I'm getting "left behind." Maybe it's because I'm in a break from TTC and not moving forward. It was a lot easier when I felt like I was moving forward, or there was the possibility that I was pregnant.

I love ER

ER has been one of my favorite shows forever. I started watching it when it first came on, and have watched it faithfully ever since. It's literally been on for half my life - it's on it's 15th season and I turn 30 next month. I have memories associated with it through different stages in my life. Throughout college, no matter what we had going on the next day, not matter what test we were studying for, a group of us always gathered to watch ER on Thursday night (we were all science majors). I remember it being something DH and I would talk about back when we first met when we were in high school, giving us something to talk about when we were just getting to know each other. Last night it really made me proud. They started doing and infertility story line a few weeks ago with one of the doctors, played by Angela Bas.sett and it's been so realistic. A little bit rushed, but actually talked about checking FSH levels, showed her giving herself injections. And last night they went for an egg retrieval with four follicles. I was a little worried the were going to have everything work out perfectly, but they didn't. The actually showed some of the pain that infertility can cause- the doctor's husband coming to her in the recovery room and telling her that there were no eggs retrieved. I don't know where the story is going to go from here, but it was refreshing to see a show deal with the struggle of infertility realistically. From what I read, Angela Bas.sett struggled with infertility herself, having her children through a surrogate, and I think was what made the story seem so real.

I'm still getting used to this blogging thing. And unfortunately being busy the past week or so hasn't helped. Hopefully things will slow down a bit. I started the blog to talk about my infertility struggle, but right now we're in a holding pattern. DH and I went last week to have our blood drawn for our karyotypes, but they won't be back for 2 or 3 weeks yet. And I was half-heartedly keeping track of my temps on Fertility Friend, but I've haven't been sleeping well so I stopped. I don't think I've O'd at all, though, and it's already CD28. Maybe I should call my RE next week and see how long we wants me to go without an AF.

What luck

I was talking to my mom the other day, and she informed me that my brother's ex-girlfriend, who's the mother of my nephew, is 6 or 7 months pregnant. There was a brief moment where I was afraid that my brother was the father because I had just found out a few weeks before that he had gotten back together with her briefly earlier in the year. But no, a different guy is the father, someone she dated briefly and then kicked to the curb because he didn't treat her well. And she doesn't want him involved with the baby at all. Life is just so odd sometimes. Here we are - well educated, financially stable couple waiting for a baby, and she had to ask my brother for money to pay her rent so she wouldn't be evicted last month.

On a good note, I'm crossing my fingers that the worst of the metformin side effects are over. I'm taking the regular metformin, and started with just one pill a day for a week, and then went up to two a day on Saturday. I skipped one does Monday morning, but I took both yesterday and today and have been fine all day today. Hopefully that continues.

Empty Reader

My Google reader is empty for the first time in months, I think. It feels like such an accomplishment. I think I fell behind when I went on vacation over the summer! I almost caught up a few times, but would just fall behind again. I just looked and I have 159 subscriptions. I love reading, and it's so easy to add more on.

I'm thinking that this won't last long, however. I've started studying for my recertification exam for my job. I have to take it every six years, and this is the first time I'm taking it as a recertification. I took the initial certification exam a month or so after I graduated from grad school 6 years ago. I spent that entire four weeks studying since I didn't have a job yet. It's going to be interesting studying while working as well. I started this weekend, and already had dreams both nights that I was back in college.

On the TTC front, part of me is regretting that I talked to the RE about starting metformin at our last visit. I know it's the best thing, but the GI side effects are not pleasant at all. I'm hoping that I get used to the medicine soon. I think I've already lost a few pounds, and I don't really have the weight to lose. I was at the RE today to have my blood drawn for our karyotype. DH goes on Friday, but we won't get the results back for 3-4 weeks. So, a whole month off of visits to the RE. It's a relief at this point to have that little break.

Our Story

I guess I should start with a little bit of our story and our TTC story. DH and I met when we were in high school, dated for a few weeks and broke up. But we stayed friends over the years, and started dating again about six months after we had both moved back home after college. We got married and Oct 2006, and started TTC in May 2007. I've had long, irregular cycles for as long as I can remember, and when our third cycle TTC went past 50 days (with the previous two being just as long) we sought help from my OB/GYN. He did some bloodwork, told us it was normal, and gave us Clomid. We used the Clomid for 3 cycles, and only O'd for one of them. By that point, we made an appointment with a RE. He diagnosed me with PCOS on that first visit in June 08. I had long suspected that I had PCOS, but I don't look like the "typical" PCOS patient, so my doctors always seem to dismiss the idea. He wanted to start us on inj/IUI cycles, but we decided to do a lap first. I didn't have any symptoms of endometriosis, but my mom had had a hysterectomy at 30 years old, and the condition she had was a form of endo. So, with the family history, we decided to look before we started treatments. We had to wait until October for the lap because I had an incredibly busy summer. I was in three weddings, and for two of them I was either the only or one of two bridesmaids - it took up a lot of weekends. I had the lap done, and it did show some endo, including on my ovaries. We moved right onto two inj/IUI cycles. Both were BFN, and both only produced one follicle. With my PCOS, in a way that was a success - only getting one instead of twenty follicles. But, it was a lot of money to spend for a small chance of getting pregnant since our insurance doesn't cover infertility treatment. So, now we're taking a short break and moving onto IVF in feb/march. That's our story!

Taking the plunge

I finally decided to join the AFI blogosphere. I've been following it for well over a year, cheering women on when the get their BFPs, crying with them as they face obstacle after obstacle. I'd occasionally comment, usually on blogs of women I'd "met" through other message boards. But usually I felt odd commenting when I didn't have a blog of my own. I've been thinking about starting one for awhile, but just haven't brought myself to do it. Maybe it was fear no one would listen, or just not knowing what to write.

Now we're making our next big step in the IF world. We're moving on to IVF. So, I thought I'd start this blog as a record of the process we're going through, and to help process the feelings involved. Right now, I'm feeling very hopeful. Our RE has a great shared risk program, and for the moment, I feel like we WILL have a child at some point. In the past year and a half, I've lost the feeling at times. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but for now, I'm hopeful.