IVF underway

So my IVF is underway, having met with the doc on Thursday and getting the all clear. I had my u/s which showed a thin lining and the ovaries nice and quiet. Had blood drawn, to test levels of estradiol and progesterone. E2 was 66 and progesterone was at .5 --all ok I suppose since I got the call to go ahead and begin injections.

The injections themselves were'nt too bad. The one that stings is the Ovidrel, since it's refrigerated, it was very cold and boy, it stung like a motha! I was very happy to find out that the meds themselves are covered by Ins. Out of the expected $2,100.00 I thought I'd have to pay, I ended up paying $90.00 --copay. Not a bad deal. Considering that the meds I was prescribed are only enough to get me through til Monday.

I have 3 follow up appt.'s this coming week, Mondaty @ 9:10am., Wed @ 8:30am and Fri @ 8am. If all goes as expected, I will be undergoing Egg retrieval on Monday Aug 8th. Of course, murphy is along for the ride, as murphy's law is kicking our a$$ that Monday, with Hubby having two court hearings, meaning that he'll be able to go with me around 7am but have to leave no later than 8am to get to court on time. I s'pose long enough to do his job. ;)

Nutritionist appt. went well too on Thursday. I was able to get my meal plans, talk about some concerns, etc. I did start my meal plans as of Friday, and I've been working out the kinks ever since. It took me two days to get all of the supplements he wants me to take, to wit:

Omega 3 pharmaceutical grade OmegaRx 5gm/day
Calcium and magnesium & vitamin D support 12oomg C/400-600mg M/100iu D
Extra virgin cold first pressed olive oil 30ml/day (2 tablespoonfuls)
B-complex-75 1 capsule 3x/day
Vitamin C 1/2 capsule twice daily
Prenatal vitamins and mineral formulation 1 tablet/day
GrapeSeed-100 1 capsule 3x/day
Cinnamon ground 1 teaspoonful daily
Betaine (trimethylgylcine) 500mgs 3x/day
VSL #3 2 packets daily for 3
weeks then reduce to 1 packet daily
purified water 67 ounces daily

In addition to the supplements, I have put my new heart-rate monitor to use. I am to exercise 6 out of the 7 days of the week. Even He rested on the 7th day! ;) I'm supposed to keep my target rate in the "zone" for at least 60 to 90 minutes per day. So far, I've increased my usual exercise time from 35-40 minutes up to an hour. It's a start! I also have to add weight bearing exercise 20 minutes per day 3x a week. I'm to eat within an hour of waking and eat a small amount just prior to working out and eat again afterwards, within 60 minutes after my workout, but no earlier than 30 minutes afterward. Also, in order to maintain steady blood glucose and insulin levels throughout the day, I am to eat no later than 5 hours apart, with each meal consisting of protein, carbs and fat. Not one meal is to excluse any of those three.

Of course, last but not least, stress reduction! I've grown to enjoy my meditation sessions, so soothing and relaxing. I've added yoga by candlelight, which so far has been enjoyable, the mmmm I could sleep for hours feeling afterwards is addicting! I savor my meditation sessions, the breathing and circling my head is very relaxing, putting me in a nice relaxed state for a nice while....speaking of which, it's that time. Bedtime I meditate for at least 5 minutes. then out like a light, the best drug formulary I've ever had in my life= nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, ahh the power of nature!

G'night.

Denise Arianna born!

Denise Arianna was born Friday, July 22, 2005 at 9:47pm (via c-section) She weighed 7lbs. and 7oz. She was 19 1/2 inches long! It was a very long and emotional night for us all! Annie had almost 15 hours of labor before the doc determined that she wasn't making progress and a c-section was the only option.



She's suffering from a case of jaundice. She was finally released from the hospital yesterday, about 7:30pm. I still haven't gotten to hold her, every chance she's been under the blue lights getting her treatment/therapy for jaundice. I hope to go over today or tomorrow and see her.

IVF preparation;
Had ceviche yesterday and it was yucky. I won't be going back to that restaurant any time soon. As it is we banned it off of our list but went there thinking they'd be ok with ceviche....nope. Had oatmeal for breakfast and no dinner. Waist is down a bit to 31 1/2 inches. Weight this morning; 132 1/2 Weight is coming off slowly, but surely. I skipped yoga last night and treadmill this morning. Plan on doing yoga tonight.

Tomorrow I have my two appt.'s so I'll have lots to talk about! ttfn!

Exercise and yoga

I've found out that exercise and yoga in the same day can be a bit much! I woke up this morning with a back ache, not a really bad one, but achy... Also I woke up at 7:15am!! Way too late. I'm skipping exercise this morning and will substitute it in this evening for yoga. Edited to say: I went ahead and worked out, treadmill, 2 miles, 280 calories, 81 fat---Hubby got me thinking that you burn more calories if you work out in the morning, and gets you going, and he is right! I feel better already!

I switched yoga DVD's to the candelight yoga last night. It was VERY relaxing. I finished the tape and went straight to bed....ahhhhh......

2 days til my baseline u/s, b/w & stims.....I'm excited! I'm going to ask for a CBC to see how my hematocrit and hemoglobin levels are...my Feb '05 showed anemia, caught by the LMC counselor/pharmacist....I'm not too happy about that, could it have affected my ability to get pregnant with IUI? Could it have been a factor in my 2nd pregnancy m/c? Also, going to ask for a copy of my test that measured my lipids/hdl ldl since the doc said I was borderline high cholesterol. I may ask to re-test since I have reduced my intake of crab legs! Wow! and how I love them!

Last night I measured at 36 hips and 33 waist. Still way over the acceptable waist to hip ratio of .80 (I'm at .93'ish!) I'm working on it though.... still can't shake 134, I'm fluctuating to 133 but this morning 134....more exercise and diet is on its way to take of it though....

More later...

Genetics and genes

We had our two appt.'s yesterday in preparation for IVF.

1st was the Lifestyle Management Class;
2nd was the Meeting with the Genetics Counselor to go over PGD and discuss our options, costs, etc.

The LMC was better than I expected. I was "almost" dreading the meeting. It went well. We discussed my family history and turns out, I've got great "genes"! We discussed exercise, nutrition, stress reduction techniques and "reducing inflammation" of the cells by "getting back to nature." A model used was the old days and the seasons, from January to January. Harvesting vegetables, fruits then grains....I'm to increase fruits and vegetables and reduce grains (to zero); Since I don't really like fish, he's going to give me some fish oil supplements. I'm to stay away from all sugars of course (no more cake!); Exercise EVERYDAY for at least 60 to 90 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm also to monitor my heart rate. We went out and got me a Nike Imara heart rate monitor @ Academy yesterday. It has the belt that goes around the diaphragm and the watch. Resting/sitting in the truck I had a 34 h/r. I'm to measure my Low and High and try to stay in my "zone" for at least 60-90 minutes a day. The zone will be on the high end, probably some where about 150-180., I think. I still need to measure it today when I go up and exercise.

No more milk! What? how about my cereal and oatmeal? hmmm, must find a replacement.
20 minutes of meditation per day, in 5 minute increments. once in the morning, once at night and need to fit two additional ones in during the day. During my time of meditation, there are to be nothing but positive thoughts, time to visualize my uterus, the tubes, my ovaries, visualize the egg meeting the sperm and travelling to my uterus and implanting firmly, growing, visualize my pregnancy, smell the baby, see the baby, smell the diapers etc. I'm to do this without allowing any negative thoughts into my mind. Make it happen, mind over matter.

I have my next appt. on Thursday morning at 7am, just before my IVF appt. I'll be getting my meal list, foods that I should be eating/quantity etc. and the foods on the Banned list. So the sum that up, I'm to

a) increase my exercise;
b) revamp my nutrition (I already bought my fish oil supplements);
c) reduce stress with meditation and
d) reduce the underlying inflammation by doing a, b, & c

Our meeting with the genetic counselor was what I expected. Discussion of PGD, its benefits, limitations, risks, cost, etc. We have the option of skipping pgd if, for example, we only get 2 good embies, etc. However, hubby and I have discussed, we want pgd no matter how many, its just something that we want to do. The cost is $2500 whether we have 2 or 10 embies. PGD will screen for the 8 most common genetic disorders, one of which my Angel baby had in September, 45x known as Turner's Syndrome. Because PGD is done on day 3 and takes two days for results, we obviously will be transferring on day 5, blastocysts. Hubby and I have discussed the number, and we're willing to risk it and transfer back 3, because of my age and because we'll accept it if multiples are in our future. We received our consent forms and will need to sign those and fax them back when we've decided. Payment is due prior to PGD, so the $2500.00 is due pretty much no later than August 8th, the day of my scheduled Egg retrieval.

I'm so excited that this journey of mine is going smoothly so far. I don't expect any major delays or obstacles and I plan on getting pregnant this cycle. I've stopped worrying about whether we have a boy or girl, and have decided that we want a healthy baby, or two~~!

That's pretty much it for now. I exercised today, and ruined it by going over to MIL who loaded a plate and watched me eat then offered more, no thanks, I'm overflowing! I was totally upset, and wished we hadn't gone over. But, we did and I have only myself to look to. It wasn't that it was all fatty foods or anything, just items not necessarily going to be on my list of foods to eat and then way too much of it.

That's it, that's all, til there's more to say, Aloha....

Received a copy of my labs and wanted to post the results since I've never really ever seen them, just knew everything was negative except for the MTHFR;

Factor V Leiden ---Negative
MTHFR ---Positive for one copy of the C677T mutation and one copy of the A1298C mutation. This result has been associated with an increased risk for hyperhomocysteinemia and vascular diseases.
Hemoglobin ---11.3 below range (11.7-15.5)
Hematocrit ---33.0 (below range (35.0-45.0) Anemia?
ANA screen ---Negative
TSH ---Negative
Lupus anticoagulant eval ---Not detected
PTT (prolactin) 31 (reference range 40 or less)
Antithrombin III activity w/ rfx ---111 (reference 80-120)
Protein C ---126 (reference range 70-180)
Protein S ---100 (reference range 60-140)
Prothrombin (Factor II) --Negative for G20210A

FSH ---4.9 In range (reference range varies depending on time of cycle)
LH ---5.5 In range (reference range varies depending on time of cycle)
Prolactin ---17 (reference range non-pregnant 3-30)
TSH --- .70 (reference range .40-5.50)
Estradiol ---20 In range (reference range varies depending on time of cycle)

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord! I received the call I've been waiting on for sooo long! Yesterday, as the day was getting progressively longer, bam! she called me at work! (thank God I was there) I'm usually in and out! So the ball has been set in motion!

Stay on bcp until Saturday July 23rd take my last active pill then stop.
Stay on calcium, prenatals and metformin
Start baby aspirin (81g) a day beginning July 23rd
First Appt. is July 28th @ 8:30a.m. for bloodwork & ultrasound
Will receive injections training and then start injections
Will have appt.'s every other day 08/01/05; 08/03/05 etc until~~
Egg retrieval on 08/08/05!
Tentative Egg transfer date is approx. 5 days later so possibly 08/13/05!

TG, my IVF coordinator, said that I could continue exercise on the treadmill but NO running. Said I need to add yoga, so yoga it is. Every other day! This morning is treadmill so tonight possibly 30 minutes of yoga or if too tired, tomorrow night. I'll be exercising every other day, that seems to work best for me.

So, voila! that's it! In a nutshell.....The doc does require the Lifestyle program so I made my first appt. for this coming Friday morning at 8:30a.m. (1 hr. interview) Will need to take all of my labs from the doc (all my fertility work up labs) with me on that day, measure my waist at the navel and hips at their widest. The program is a 3 appointment protocol, first being the interview on Friday. It covers 4 areas, nutrition, stress management, physicial activity and finding causes of underlying inflammation. (?) don't know what that is but I'm sure I'll find out. Appt. two is apparently the LONG Session and will cover everything I need to know from A-Z then I'll be monitored with phone calls etc for 8 weeks then the third step is the final assessment to see if I'll need to continue follow up visits for up to a year. $350.00 initial fee. He's going to email me all of the paperwork and I'm supposed to download it and fill out etc. I still haven't gotten my email so I'm waiting on that.

Then at 2pm on Friday (tomorrow) we have the Appt. with the Genetic counselor to go over PGD etc. and to sign the consent forms etc.

I'm excited and nervous at the same time. It all hit me yesterday....and then I had my first "worry" I thought to myself, this is going too fast (????????-I know after all this waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I mean, I hope it works for us on the 1st round, really, really hope it works for us, not just the usual "please please please Lord" this time it's almost the end of my rope please....more like PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE! (on both knees!)

Today my plans are to call the doc and ask if they can prep a copy of my labs and fax (if possible) if not, a quick trip over to pick those dox up. Drop by and drop off & pick up my dry cleaning and over to get my Lancome compact (*and one for Antoinette) since I'm running out. Last night did some quick errands, ran over to Sam's and Randall's for milk and a few necessities. Today, need to pick up my refill Rx for my glucophage. Speaking of which, apparently, the glucophage I'm taking is to regulate my sugars since my body doesn't do it on its own. TG said this needs to be addressed in my Lifestyle Planning program since I'm not diabetic. She said if I don't take care of this, I run the risk of gestational diabetes, or late life diabetes. (eyes buggin'!) And all this time I thought they gave me glucophage to "sweeten" my body in preparation for pregnancy (wink!) Honestly, I had no idea why I was taking it, just knew it was supposed to help in my quest.

Yesterday, had another lunch date at Luby's same meal as day before except without the sweet tea. It was great again! Roast beef, mashed potatas (no gravy) and fresh green beans.

It was a terribly busy day, with the fax line and internet down. Long story but I ended up disconnecting the phone lines and everyone who was on a call, including Hubby on a conference call with TWCC and opposing counsel ! (eyes buggin' AGAIN!)

I was able to make another run to the courthouse, get my 15 day extension on discovery in a case and finish the appeal that I had set my deadline for yesterday. Although it's not due til next week, I'm trying to stay ahead of the game for when I'm out for IVF treatment.

eyes buggin'! Got our light bill yesterday! $660 bucks! and that's not counting the month before at $600. How can 2 pipsqueeks like us use so much friggin' electricity? I don't know. But with IVF looming, we don't need bills like this. And to add fuel to the fire, the quote on my black car was $1600! I promptly called Allstate and filed my claim for water damage. Apparently, the deductible is only $500 (much better) and the adjuster will be going out sometime in the next few days to take a look at the car (oh, except that Star Motors has already started repairs) so they'll probably find a car with no carpet in it so not in the same shape as I dropped it off. Meanwhile, the rental car agency gave me a Mustang convertible which they could have washed before renting out again. Yesterday before getting in, I took my baby wipes and wiped everything down. It needs a vacuuming but hey, I'll hopefully not need to go that far. If I have to keep it for the weekend I'll probably go ahead and vacuum it.

So, enough thoughts have been emptied here for today. Time to get ready for my date with my treadmill. !

BMI

Walked 3 miles on the treadmill today! YAY! 338 calories and 105 of those fat calories. Calculated my body mass indezx, 22.90 This is important for IVF since bmi affects pregnancy rates/outcomes. Normal ranges are 18.5 to 24.9 so I'm safely in the zone. Considering I'm exercising now, I plan to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 127 or better. 125 tops, I don't like getting too thin.

Had an oatmeal breakfast, Luby's lunch (roast beef with mashed potatoes (no gravy) and fresh green beans (i.e., not canned) a whole wheat roll, and sweet tea (caffeine, I know, but it was mmmm good!) I was very happy with today's lunch. Yesterday I had a great Greek Salad topped with boiled shrimp, equally scrumptious but probably twice the fat!

No dinner tonight since we had a late lunch, about 3:30pm. So I really wasn't hungry at all for dinner. Plan on weighing in tomorrow morning! Got up on there this morning at 134.

Antoinette did not get the gel to help her cervix thin and get ready for labor. She's going in tomorrow but Doc said to expect to deliver Thursday! Pushing it back some more if she doesn't need to be induced! AHH! We're all ready for baby Arianna Denise!

night night.

Was saving my next post for when I got my IVF protocol. But, it doesn't look like I'll be getting that any time soon. Last week was pretty uneventful. We had our IVF consult with Dr. G. He went over the basics of IVF & the stats, described the steps (4) and why we needed to move forward. Of course, since he & I had discussed skipping injectibles, there was no need to try to convince us, we were there to move on anyway. Hubby did his bloodwork Tuesday, mandatory Hepatitus B, C, HIV & Syphillis screening. Doc said the gov't requires these tests be performed, yet says that even if you come up positive for any of them, you can do IVF anyway. Hmmmm. So I'm continuing on birth control, pending my IVF protocol schedule from TG.

My results for the Hepatitus B, C, HIV & Syphillis screening = All negative
Cystic fibrosis screening = Negative

At least this way, we know that we're not dealing with major gene mutation problems. I know that we've had a 45x gene problem, thus my miscarriage in September. The December miscarriage, only God knows.

The four (4) steps that Dr. G described are:

1) Suppression
2) Stimulation
3) Egg retrieval
4) Egg transfer

In a nutshell, I'll be going into more detail as I progress. Right now, I'm in the birth control "suppression" stage. Pretty easy. I've started exercising and have gotten rid of all sweets and junk food in the house. (took them all to work)

Tuesday July 19, 2005
Antoinette gets induced today. She's been having back pain all yesterday. I hope to get alot of work done early so that I can go over to her apt. and be with her in case she needs anything. My dear sis, Betty, will be there with her too, of course.

Spent the weekend with Antoinette and cousin Nancy from the valley. She has 4 children. Benny (14) Brianna (9) Bianca (5) and Bella (8 months) They are all adorable and sweet children!

More later, going upstairs now to do my mandatory 2 miles.....then oatmeal or grapenuts breakfast and off to work!

History

I thought I'd copy & paste my (in)fertility history for my records. I have it on FF but needed to move it to make room for all of the IVF stuff I'll be adding there, and it was getting pretty long!

TTC #1 since 1998;
Clomid~3 failed rounds Jan-Mar 2000
Injectibles!1 failed round Apr 2000
PG July '04 ended in m/c (Natural conception)
PG Oct '04 ended in m/c (Femara baby)
Femara~4 failed rounds Mar-Jun '05
Moving on to IVF July '05
___________________________________________________________
CURRENT CYCLE:Cycle 07/03/05; IVF
Meds: Metformin 1500mg, prenatals, calcium, Desogen 28~birth control
Tests: b/w results: All NORMAL! (no cystic fibrosis! Yes!)
Also negative for Hepatitus B, Hepatitus C, HIV and Syphillis! (all negatives YAYAY~)
07/06/05: b/w & begin bcp-Desogen 28
07/12/05: DH b/w;
7/13/05: IVF consult (rescheduled) & DH's Strict morph SA

Past History:
Cycle 06/05/05;
Meds: Femara 5mg, Metformin 1500mg, prenatals & calcium
I scratched IVF for this month, needed more time.
06/07/05 Start Femara 5g CD3-9 (again)
06/16/05 CD12 Follie scan; Right ovary 21mm & 15mm; Left ovary 16mm; Lining 8mm thick; Triggered ovulation (Ovidrel) 9:30am.
06/18/05 CD14 IUI 8:30am; Both follies on right had ovulated; Left pending; Lining 10mm; DH 122 million/15 million post wash; PAF added;
Doc had "THE" talk with us, if no bfp this cycle, we HAVE to move on :(
07/02/05 BFN...on to IVF/PGD

Cycle 5/06/05;
Meds: Femara 5mg, Metformin 1500mg, prenatals & calcium
5/18/05 CD12 Follie Scan 20mm & 15mm on Left ovary; Nothing on Right (resting?) Lining 10mm thick. Trigger w/Ovidrel 10am; +OPK 8pm
5/19/05 CD13 +OPK5/20/05 CD14 IUI; Doc added PAF to semen prep to help the swimmers! DH 101 million count; 46% motility; Lining 10mm; Both follicles had ovulated.
06/01/05 12DPO BFN! losing symptoms previously attributed to bfp.
06/04/05 AF cramping...BFN!

Cycle 4/7/05;
Meds: Femara 5mg, Metformin 1500mg, prenatals & calciumDiagnosis: 628.9~Infertility
4/17/05 Spotting/cramps
4/18/05 CD12 Follie scan; 18mm on right 15mm on left; Lining is 7mm thick;
4/19/05 CD13~Ovidrel self-administered @ 7pm
4/21/05 CD15~IUI 9am; Right ovary-ovulated; Left ovary, follicle 23mm ovulating before my very eyes. Lining 12mm thick. DH~62mil with 50% motility, 4 million count (need to verify)
5/01/05 BFN!
5/02/05 BFN!
5/03/05 BFN!

Cycle 3/7/05;
Meds: Femara 2.5mg, Metformin 1500mg, prenatals & calciumBack to TTC! Finally! After what seemed like forever!
3/18/05 CD12 13mm & 11mm on right; 13mm follie on left!
3/21/05 CD15 18mm on right; 17m on left; Lining 11.5mm; HCG shot Ovidrel
3/23/05 IUI scheduled & performed
4/04/05 BFN digital!
4/05/05 Beginning to spot......
4/07/05 More spotting...fatigue & a headache with hot flashes. Still bfn's though

Cycle 1/28/05;
Meds: Metformin 1500mg, prenatals & calciumDoctors orders to remain on TTC break pending geneticist report & karyotyping results
1/29/05 Recurrent spontaneous aborter (RSA) blood panel (13 tests) & repeat hcg
2/02/05--Hcg down to zero Chromosome anaylsis normal!
2/11/05--Results of RSA panel-All "normal" except MTHFR which was Positive, to be Rx Folate 4g

Cycle 12/28/04;
Meds: Metformin 1500mg, prenatals & calcium Resting this cycle while I'm post-miscarriage... doctor's orders to see a Geneticist then possible release to return to TTC or IVF depending on results.
1/05/05 b/w for hcg level 200 (down from 7,000)
1/10/05 Geneticist appt. Had b/w for karyotyping; b/w for hcg level (down to 42!) AF due soon.

Cycle 10/29/04;
Meds: Femara 2.5mg, Metformin 1500mg, prenatals & calcium
11/10/04 U/S~CD13~18mm follicle 10mm on right; 11mm on left
11/11/04 Trigger Ovidrel -self administered
11/13/04 Ovulation
11/25/04 BFP! cautiously expecting
12/23/04 Slow growth, cautiously expecting
12/28/04 M/C naturally at home. No cause found but Dr. thinks its chromosomal.

Cycle 7/14/04;
Meds: Metformin 1500mg, prenatals, calcium
7/22/04 HSG -All Clear
7/26/04 18mm follie
7/30/04 25mm follie! Trigger/Ovidrel
8/13/04 BFP! OMG!
9/01/04 Heard heartbeat 1st time --called fetal heart tones
9/15/04 Heartbeating nicely!
9/29/04 M/C @ 11 weeks; Chrom. Analysis revealed Turner's Syndrome

Diet & exercise

Well I haven't gotten back upstairs yet to my treadmill but I have been watching what I eat. For breakfast today I had my usual, 1/2 cup coffee followed by 12 oz. of OJ. I hardly ever have real breakfast foods, although I plan on having oatmeal Mon-Fri as much as I can and for as long as I can muster. Weekends, I enjoy when hubby makes me his "perfect" omelette or of course, pancakes at the local pancake house!
Yesterday for din-din, I made grilled chicken breast with corn & green beans then got the urge for carbs, so I made a small batch of spaghetti. I ended up not touching anything but the spaghetti...... Unlike the hubby, I can only stand chicken so much, and I had had Tuscan roasted chicken with cream spinach & new potatoes @ Boston Market for lunch so spaghetti hit the spot. I may have gone over on calories for Saturday but at least they were "good" calories and not the sweet stuff I usually throw down on a Saturday night.

I have definitely lowered my intake of sweets & caffeine. No more dipping into the large load of sweets & junk food sitting there staring at me all day; Let's see marshamallows, a big tin of caramel popcorn, Honeymaid cinnamon sticks, salt & vinegar chips, chex mix, cupcakes with frosting, caramel for my apples, flaming cheetos, 3 tubs of ice cream (reduced to two tubs, I took one to work), powdered donuts, bag of bit o' honeys, hot fries, yogurt covered raisins, banana chips----most of these things I bought last weekend to snack on while fishing. All of these things are going to work with me tomorrow, the girls always enjoy when I do that....Always enjoy picking through the goods like kids under a broken pinata.

What I expected the least was to have Doc G prescribe "healthy eating" to me whilst going through IVF. I don't mean a casual "eat healthy & exercise" comment, but a whole hearted instruction to do so and a referral to a lifestyle planning program to help me along! I haven't actually called yet either, digesting someone telling me how to eat will be harder than digesting the healthy foods that I'll be "enjoying" in my immediate future. Actually, we aren't big junk food eaters, I'm more into ice cream than anything....but boy does that food just wrap its big huge arms around me to comfort me when I've just been handed a bfn or when I feel generally like crap....
======================================================
Today (Sunday 07/11/05) I had mexican food, SURPRISE! We took IL's to Gringo's instead of brunch...By the time we all got together, in the car, it was all out lunch time~ At lunch, I debated awhile about whether I should order soup & salad or order a real meal. Hubby said as long as I eat early and quasi-healthy food, ordering to make me happy should be ok. So I indulged a bit, not too too much. I really haven't been in the mood for meat lately....tired of chicken, had that yesterday for lunch @ Boston Market. Tired of steak & bbq, have had that for weeks now, ribs last weekend....so today I ordered a meatless dish. Chalupa, 2 cheese enchiladas, rice & beans. I held back on too many chips & salsa, mmmm my favorite. And I topped it off with a simple ice cream cone that Gringo's offer their patrons free of charge.....Not too too bad for the restaurant where I love going to indulge in all I can eat chips, salsa & nachos~! We followed lunch with a quick trip to Sears. Exchanged my MIL's tee's and got her some new clothes & 2 pair of shoes. Nothing interested me so I bowed out of a spree that I would regret.

Tonight, had an apple! And that was just to get my stomach to settle. I wasn't craving anything else and an apple always seems to do the trick.

I feel my pooch going down from the few inches gained from overeating the last few weeks. Today, I weighed in at 133....

Now for the record, I started my weight chart in January, and before I say how much I weighed then, I'll admit that I have NOT been really really trying....I started January 1st, 2005 at 134. So, for the record, I have neither gained nor lost much weight. I can't say so much for 2004. I can't remember my starting weight but I do remember being about 127 when I got pregnant with baby G in July/August 2004. By the time Dec 31st rolled around, I had two miscarriages under my belt to go along with the extra 8 lbs....Oh, and Thanksgiving and Christmas didn't help the waist line much either.

So, to end this much ado about nothing, I've decided that this week, I'll start with some yoga...(I failed to mention that I did pick up a nice Nike outfit, very sporty & way too cute to workout in. Got that Saturday) Yoga pants and wife-beater tees do the trick. Also mentioned to hubby that I would start back up on my treadmill, doing no less than 2 miles each time I do. I think it's a good start. With my IVF consult on Tuesday, my mind frame has GOT to cooperate. Seriously though, I do accept this new paradigm I've been handed, seems there's not much I could about it even if I wanted to...

I have an idea

I have an idea how this process will play out. Having had no formal instructions from my Doc, I decided to research this monster on my own. Tentatively, I have my 1st IVF consult for Tuesday, July 12th. DH has b/w and a strict morph S/A scheduled for earlier that morning.

For now, I have started bcp. Began those on July 6th. TG, my IVF coordinator, has indicated that my official IVF protocol is pending results from the cystic fibrosis test. I understand that completely. So while I wait, I've decided to give myself a mental picture of this journey. I started by taking a pic of the road I'll take everyday from now to motherhood. This pic was taken on July 6th, the day I went in for b/w, and the day bcp started. Home is on the left, right behind those gorgeous tall trees encircled in groundcover...

Second pic of my Doc's office *officially, they haven't moved in. This is their new building, currently still under construction. My Doc should be moving in early October. But for all intents and purposes, this is my mental pic as it is the first building I see coming down Fannin St.*


From what I've researched, the following should be a rough estimate of my IVF protocol. No details on medication type, dosage, b/w, scans etc. of course. Just a rough timeline, to wit:

bcp (21 days) ----------------------->> July 27th
Lupron (12-15 days) ----------------------->> August 11th
Baseline U/S ----------------------->> August 11th-August 12th
Stimulation ----------------------->> August 23rd
Trigger (hcg) ----------------------->>August 23rd
Egg retrieval (ER) ----------------------->> 36 hours after trigger, latest August 25th
Egg transfer (ET) ----------------------->> 3-5 days after ER, latest August 30th
Pregnancy test ----------------------->> 14 days after ER, latest September 8th

WOW, I hadn't done the math yet, looks like I have a LONG time before I get to gettin'! Looks liek based on this, my EDD would be around May 16th, 2006! Wow, by then, I'll be 37 and DH will be 46.....this is a great schedule, me likes, I'll take 2!

Now to rest, on this rainy, cozy comfy Saturday...

Ok, so I'm on a nutritional overhaul. Good thing I had cupcakes last night.

For breakfast I had the following:
Oatmeal
1/2 cup milk
cup o' joe
OJ

For lunch I had the following:
An apple
some canned peaches
2 potato/cheese tacos *I know, not nutriotional, but mmmm good!*

For dinner I had the following:
Nothing. Slept most of the evening. Got up to feed the troop.

Tonight is date night so DH & I are venturing out to see Fantastic 4 I think. He's happy about my nutritional interest, he's always picking on my eating habits. This coming from a man who works out about 5 days a week and eats nothing but chicken breast everyday, eghk! I went out & bought cottage cheese, grapes, peaches, apples. I hope I can do this, I've done it before.

IVF update later. It's 11:30 and I'm still home, while I should be at work!

cc

update: 8:35pm; no date night as I fell asleep & stayed that way til 8:15pm; Maybe tomorrow night? I was secretly hoping to go fishing again, don't know why, calmness maybe...

So little time, so little money

Lots to post, litte time. I'm off & running to IVF; Today, bloodwork and Rx for birth control to level out my hormones....I think. I'll ask today. I'm excited, yet nervous. Eloy & I are talking finances later today. I know he has a "stash" but don't know the extent of it....what he calls 'rat hole money" Apparently, back in the day, men would stash money in rat holes because they knew their wives would never stick their hands in them. Their money was safe there....Well, we have modern day rat holes, but I still haven't figured out where they are! More later on the details of my IVF journey. I still know too little to really write more about it.

Yesterday was the 3 musketeers Birthdays....turned 3. Feels like just yesterday I was helping Qiqi whelp.....they had banana nut muffins. We held off on the cupcakes since they refused to eat dinner. We'll have to give them the cupcakes today. I went looking for a small kid sized pool for them. Walmart didn't have any. Still looking. That was to be their birthday present. I'm sure they'll understand the belated gift ;)

2 words

So, two words say it all. I am not deterred though. Just another fork in the road that I need to maneuver. Tuesday, call Doc with news. The rest is in his hands.



My expected protocol will be:
birth control pills to level out the playing field
followed by lots of
Stimulating drugs to fatten up those little huevitos of mine
intermittently sprinkled with
Blood tests & ultrasounds a plenty
proceeding to the next level
Retrieval of the ripe eggs from the basket(s)
Quickly place the goods in a petri dish for
Fertilization/karyotyping/grading of the eggs
After 3-5 days, select # and gender of the potential kiddos then
Embryo transfer back into the ol' nest
Wait, wait wait..

Seems easy enough, should do the job. Now, to meditate and pray. and Maybe stand on my head, bounce and chew gum at the same time, twiddle my fingers, twinkle my toes....get the point?