Training Camp

The Seahawks started training camp for the season this week while J & I got a little training of our own. While the Hawks were practicing passing, tackling & running, we were pinching, mixing and poking. We had our injection training on Monday and J did a great job learning how to poke me. 5 of our medications are injectables. 4 of them will be going into my stomach (sometimes up to 3 a day) and 1 will go into my bum. Some of them are a little confusing because there is mixing and changing needles involved but I think we have the hang of it and J is VERY excited to start using his new found skills, me...not so much! I'm trying to keep track of all of the things I'm supposed to eat and not eat. I'm supposed to add baby aspirin, wheatgrass, pomegranate juice, the prenatal and of course the BCP to my diet as well as the shots. But, I'm supposed to cut out caffeine, sugar, some wheat, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, etc. It all gets very confusing. I've already taken myself down to 1 coffee drink a week so I'm making progress with that!

2 more weeks until our 1st injection. I have to go to Chicago all week next week for work and then I'm home and we get started. I'll update next week from the windy city!

I'm going crazy

I'm going a little stir crazy or maybe wait crazy. I'm so tired of waiting it's driving me nuts and it's starting to go to my head. Maybe this is why I am so obsessed with the new story out that rumors Angelina did IVF to conceive her new little twinsies. I have an issue with grasping onto any story of anyone famous doing IVF. It makes me feel better about our situation and feel less like an outcast. Although I wouldn't wish infertility on anyone in any situation due to the utter emotional havoc it can cause in one's life, I secretly (or not so secretly now) am thrilled to hear when a celebrity has gone through this. Although $15,000 to throw out to a clinic for fertility treatments is nothing to them! Other celebs who have gone through IVF...Courtney Cox, Marcia Cross, Christie Brinkly, J-LO (not confirmed, but twins after 3 years of trying???). I'm sure most of you could care less but this gives me something to grab onto.

On another note, I found this article in another blog and it infuriated me. http://pediatricsnow.blogspot.com/2008/07/basic-reproductive-facts-cant-be.html
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! Basically the Bush administration wants to make it more difficult for women to get birth control because they are stating that birth control is a form of abortion. Hello!!! Check your facts. In the long run this will contribute to higher abortion rates because women will begin to use abortion as a form of birth control. I can't imagine this will ever actually come to fruition but the fact that time is even being spent on it with all of the other extremely important and devastating events happening in the world is sad and appalling.

Nothing else new to report on the baby front. J & I are attending an injection training class on Monday so J can learn how to torture me :-). Only 3 weeks until we start! Getting so close!

Pins & Needles

I'm already a pin cushion and we haven't even started the injections yet. I did acupuncture for the 1st time yesterday. There are many studies out that show acupuncture can increase the success rates for IVF. Honestly I can't say that it didn't hurt at all. She put about 30 needles in me, all over my body, head, ears, feet, hands & stomach. A few hurt a bit going in but then you can't really feel them. After they are all in you are supposed to lay there and relax for 20-30 minutes. This is what my relaxation sounded like..."Gosh I'm really hungry. I wonder if I'll have time to eat before my next meeting. I'm going to starve if I don't. I know I'm going to hit traffic getting there. I hate traffic. At least it isn't raining outside. I wonder if it's going to be nice for our bar-b-que tomorrow. I haven't made any food for the bar-b-que yet. What should I make. Gosh I'm really hungry. This needle in my forehead hurts"...and on and on. But, eventually I was able to relax and even fell asleep. We also talked about diet and what I should be cutting out (caffeine, alcohol, wheat, sugar...basically all of the 5 food groups) and went over other lifestyle related changes. All in all I feel good about it. I'll go once a week until we are finished with the process. I'll do anything to increase our odds and this is just prepping me for all the needles to come.

Prescriptions for Parenthood

The meds have arrived and I'm pretty sure we could now open a small pharmacy. They look a little daunting and there are 4 large packages of needles. I'm anxious to get this party started and over with! I'm going to feel like a pin cushion for a few weeks. It's still hard to believe that all of these meds are going to be pumped into my body all within a few weeks and all just to have a baby. At this point I'm really thinking that 2 for the price of 1 would be a blessing so we don't have to go through all of this again! Wow!

An All American 4th

What's more American then baseball, beer and burgers?? I can't think of anything! We had a great 4th with all of the before mentioned festivities. I know this post is a little bit late but now that I'm laid up on the couch I'm getting caught up!

Post Lap #2

The 2nd lap is over and it was a success. I am home and recovering. I am in quite a bit more pain then the last surgery but Advil is enough to curb it. I'm having pain in my shoulders from the gas they used to blow up my abdomen and my stomach is a lot more sore then last time but I'm glad it's over and ready to move on.

The Dr. did not remove my tubes but instead ligated (tied) the ends of them where they attach to my uterus and cut slits in both of them to let the fluid out. Now that the ends are ligated we won't have to deal with them again. They will stay that way forever and will never be able to leak fluid into my uterus.

Again, I'm so glad this is over and we are ready to move forward. I should be feeling better by the weekend and all of our IVF meds are arriving tomorrow! I can't wait to go through them all and see what were up against!

A few random thoughts...

It's pouring down rain here right now after an 80 degree, muggy evening. We had a great 2 hour thunder storm and now rain. I have to admit, I'm loving it. This weather reminds me of my childhood on the east coast and brings back great memories of sitting on our front porch in NC and watching the storms. It's not quite the same as those house shaking bursts of thunder that are experienced in the south but it's still kind of fun to have it happen at a lower scale in Seattle.

I read about this amazing story today on a baby board. http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2007/02/worlds_youngest.html
I can't imagine seeing a baby this small that is actually living and breathing. It's little organs actually working. What a sight! This baby is still behind in size but is healthy and just turned 1.

On another note...I hate BCP! I'm so glad that after this is all over I never have to worry about taking it again (the one positive thing about infertility). I'm constantly starving and I'm convinced it's because of the pill. I seriously need to eat about every 3 hours or I'm ravenous. Don't get me wrong, I am an eater and really like food but this is getting a little ridiculous. I'm going to gain 20 lbs before I'm even pregnant. Along with my new found love of anything edible I've been working out like crazy everyday to counteract my feasting. I hope it's working!

We have a pretty mellow weekend planned. A bar-b-que or two with some fireworks and some hanging out before the surgery day on Tuesday. We are excited to have 3 days and I'm looking forward to getting some housework & cooking done before I'm out for a few days. My mom is coming up on Monday and spending the week with us. It will be nice to have her here to take care of everything.

That's probably enough rambling for now. I'll post after surgery next week with an update.