Assignment

Ok, I need help ladies. My 2nd photo class is on Tuesday night and my first assignment is due.

The teacher wants us to bring in prints of:
1. Something white on white
2. Something black on black
3. 6 pictures of a pair of blue jeans (no props)

So, I have chosen my favorites and sent these to Costco for print. I need your help in deciding which ones to take to class, so please tell me your favorite!! And if they all stink, that's fine too :) hehe

Whites:

045

064
Blacks:

111

114

116

125

Jeans:

135

149

154

156

157

163
178
181
185

IUI #3

Went well today! We had 20 million or so sperm. The Dr. thinks we will have twins. haha I don't know why he thinks that, but he thinks I have too many eggs to conceive just 1 (if we do conceive). He said even with 4-5 eggs, I still only have a 1% chance of conceiving anything more than twins.

Also, he thinks that I have 5 eggs, not 4. He said that my cyst (which was still there last week) would have either gone away or gotten bigger by now.. it wouldn't have stayed the same size, so he said that I actually have 3 good follicles on my right and 2 good follicles on my left. That is just nuts.

I sure hope this is our lucky one! Please Lord, let us finally be parents.

Fainting

The weirdest thing happened this morning.. I fainted for the first time ever. I'm not sure why I fainted, but a few reasons could be because I only got about 4 hours of sleep, I didn't eat very much yesterday and I got up too fast.

I was having trouble falling to sleep last night so I went downstairs to sleep on the couch. I woke up this morning when I heard Jared walking around upstairs so I got up, walked upstairs, let the pugs out of their room, then went into our bedroom and bathroom where Jared was brushing his teeth.

All the sudden, I got really dizzy and lightheaded, like you do sometimes when you first get up. I leaned up against our bathroom counter to help myself balance. Jared asked me if I was ok and I said that I was really dizzy. Then I reached for my toothbrush and that's the last I remember. I woke up and I was laying on our bathroom floor and Jared was above me.

Jared said that I reached and grabbed the flashlight (which was right next to my toothbrush) and then I slowly fell forward. I hit my head on the bathroom mirror (not very hard) and that's when he came over and caught me and lowered me to the floor. HAHA Isn't that weird?? I feel fine now, but it was a very weird experience this morning.

Anyways, I had my photography class last night and it was really good. I think it will help me to learn alot more about my camera and taking good pics.

I had a family friend give me the HCG shot last night. She met me at my inlaw's house to give it to me. That was such a blessing. I was so nervous because we had to mix the drug before we could inject it. She did everything perfectly and knew exactly what she was doing. I could just imagine if Jared and I would have done it by ourselves. That would have been a sight.

IUI is tomorrow morning at 10:30! YAY!

Are you ready??

Because I am!! I can't believe I am already good to go! Ok.. here's the big news.. I have 4 FOLLICLES! 4!!!!!! I had 3 on the right and 2 on the left, but one of the ones on the right is from my cyst, so that leaves us with 4 good follicles.

QUADS??????? I sure hope not, but triplets or twins could be a real possibility. Or just a single.. or none.

So, the insemination will be on Thursday at 10:30 am. Then we will be onto another two-week-wait.

The nurse said that I looked "perfect", which means my lining is great and my follicles are all good sizes. WOOHOO!! This is the first cycle since I have been on meds where everything is "perfect". When I was on Clomid and Femara, there was always something that wasn't on track. Either my follicles looked good, but my lining was thin or my lining was good, but my follicles weren't.

I hope we have a BFP in a couple weeks!

hodgepodge

I was trying to come up with a name for this post of a few various pictures and found the word "hodgepodge" in the Thesaurus in Microsoft Word.. i thought it fit.

Me and Jen before the start of the MS150 on Saturday..

sorry so blurry, Jared was in control of this one

Jen and I went on a walk through our neighborhood with the pugs and we both love this house..

This is Chris's (Jen's hubby) new bike

Obi trying to decide what's for dinner

Well, my scan and blood work is tomorrow. This is just to give us an idea of how the Follistim is working for me. I shouldn't be ready for ovulation for a bit longer so that means I will still be doing injections for a few more nights, I imagine. We will have a better idea tomorrow. I am very interested to see how it's all goin in there as I definately have been feeling my ovaries at work. Usually when I wake up in the morning and throughout the rest of the morning is when I have been feeling it the most. Feels like when you go over a dip in the road and you get that ticklish sorta feeling. Well, that's what my tummy feels like in the ovary area for about 1/2 the day, like a full, bloated sensation.. very strange.

I will update tomorrow!!

Shot #1

Well, the first shot is done and it was easy shmeezy! 4 more to go before my next appt. I will probably need to do another dose or two after that though before I am ready for Ovulation.

Earlier tonight, Jen and I went to dinner at Jason's Deli and then went to Target. After Target, we went back up to the farm and my parents came over with my niece and nephew. I got Ted out and Ashley and I jumped on him bareback. I loved being back on Ted's back. Andrew wanted nothing to do with getting on him or even petting him. He liked looking at him though.

Ashley looks so excited here:

Another thing is Jenny has started a blog!! YAY Jen! Click here to read.

Good to go!

Well, the cyst is way down.. it was still there, but very small and won't be a problem. They drew some blood as well and as long as all my levels are "right on", I will start the Follistim injections tonight. The nurse will call me this afternoon as soon as the blood results come in. I will update when I hear!

My next appt will be next Tuesday at 9 AM and we will look at the follicles and see if I am ready for the IUI. I probably won't be quite ready, but they will be monitoring me to see if I need any adjustments in the medications, etc.

Jen went with me this morning. THANKS Jen!!!!

Edited to add: The nurse just called....My blood tests are GOOD too!!!!!!!! WOOHOO! Follistim, here I come!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY for AF!

Af is here!!! Being excited for AF to come only happens on a very rare occasion and this happens to be one of them.

My u/s is scheduled for Thursday. I should be starting shots that night. I will keep you posted of my appointment!

Table Rock Lake

Jared, me, Jen and Chris just got back earlier today from a nice little vacation at Table Rock Lake in Branson, MO. We stayed 3 nights at a really nice condo resort right on the lake. The resort was great and it even had a marina for the boys' seadoos to be docked overnight. We had a great time and took a few pics. Check them out on our picture web site in the September folder. (Just a tip: it goes faster if you click on the slideshow option)

Here are a few of my faves:

haha

I took my last birth control pill yesterday morning. I am expecting AF tomorrow, but hopefully it won't come much later, if it doesn't come tomorrow. Once AF comes, I will go in for an u/s to make sure the cyst is gone and things look good. If all is a "go", I will start taking the shots! EEK!

6 year Anniversary

Mine and Jared's 6 year wedding anniversary is tomorrow! YIKES! It has been a wonderful 6 years and I look forward to many more together. I love you, Jared!

Look how young we look :)

Jackson County Triathlon

Jared competed in another triathlon this morning. This triathlon was much much shorter than the ironman. Jared finished 11th overall and was done in 1 hour and 7 minutes. He's such a stud muffin, if I may say so myself ;)

Our good friend, Peter, also competed this morning and this was Pete's first triathlon ever! It was a beautiful morning and my sister was able to join me to help cheer them on!!

I was fiddling with my camera's settings when Jared came in from the bike. Good thing I had Jen there with me or I would have missed him completely. I just barely got this shot of him and I cut off most of his body, so I had to crop out the rest of the picture. haha.
After finishing, waiting for Peter. I look like a pale ghost next to Jared.

Go Pete!

Well, I have about a week left on the pill. I had to go pick up another pack because of Labor Day next week. My last pill would have been this Thursday, and AF would have started probably Friday or Saturday, which would not have given me enough time to get in for my day 3 u/s. So, I will take a few extra pills until next Sunday and that will allow AF to come Monday or Tuesday and I can get in to the Dr. right in time.

I had a little episode of breakthrough bleeding this past week and it is finally coming to a stop. The nurses warned me about it and told me that it happens to just about everyone. I remember bleeding almost a whole month the first time I went on the pill before Jared and I were married. So annoying.

I have basically bled/spotted for the past week and now I will start AF next week. Just lovely.

Well, hope everyone had a good weekend. Back to work tomorrow!

My weekend

Here are a few pictures from the weekend..

Lisa, Jen and Me after our 18 mile ride..

Lisa and Jen..

Ted and Will..

Jen and Athens..

Will is limping and I am trying to figure out what is wrong with his hoof. Poor Will :(

Back to School

I am taking a photography class starting in September! Woohoo! I am very excited.

I will have lots of shooting assignments, so get ready to see some of my stuff :)

Break

Darn.. should have taken last month off I guess. I have a cyst now this cycle, which is caused by the fertility medication and it's very common. In order to get rid of the cyst, I have to go on the birth control pill for a whole cycle.

The nurse told me that when you respond to the fertility medication, it can cause cyst. She said in a way, it is good to know that my body is responding to the meds.

So, no TTC this cycle :( The nurse said that I will be pregnant, just not this month.

Oh, another abbreviation is TTC= Trying to Conceive.

Knock Knock..

Who's there?

It's AF!!!!

Uggh.

I have my first u/s on Friday (CD 3). As long as everything looks good, I will start Follistim injections Friday night for 5 nights. After my 5th dose, I will return to the Dr. the next morning for a repeat u/s to check my follicles. If all looks great, I will take the HCG shot that night and then return 2 days later for the IUI. I could potentially O as early as day 10. CRAZY!

My SIL's mom will be giving me the HCG injection. She was a nurse and is very experienced with intramuscular shots.

Well, I know my mom (Stephanie) and SIL (Lisa) have checked out my blog but I don't know about MIL yet. Judy, if you're reading, leave a comment :)

So, for my new readers, I have decided to make a list of the abbreviations I use on here.

AF= Aunt Flo (Period)
BFN= Big Fat Negative (a negative pregnancy test)
BFP= Big Fat Positive (a positive pregnancy test)
CM= Cervical Mucous (see the warning disclaimer about too much information)
u/s= Ultrasound
IUI= Intrauterine Insemination
BD= Baby Dance (sex, haha)
SIL= Sister in law
MIL= Mother in law
pg= Pregnant
O= Ovulate

Let's see.. am I leaving anything out???

And I introduce you to:

My Mom and future Grandma, Stephanie

SIL and future Aunt, Lisa

MIL and future Grandma, Judy

Sorry, these aren't the best pics of them, but they are the only ones I could find on my computer at the moment.

BFN and new readers

I tested this morning and got a BFN. Looks like I will be giving injections by the weekend. I expect AF tomorrow or Thursday.

My injections were delivered to my house today. I was so excited when they got here. I almost felt as if the box had a baby inside. hahaha

I have decided to give my blog address to my mom, MIL and SIL. I always send out emails to all of them with updates on our cycle and feel like they would love to be able to read my blog as well, since I keep them posted of everything anyways.

This means that I won't be able to share my BFP on here until I share it with my family first.

Be on the lookout for comments from them!

Pugs

The pugs (and Jared) at play

Obi

Princess

Almost time for

either AF or testing. Can you believe I haven't tested yet? Jared took my tests and is doing a good job of hiding them!! I probably won't test until Wednesday. I wanted to test this morning, but I really don't have many symptoms and I do have my usual AF symptoms like dried up CM.

We had a good weekend. We went for a bike ride then to the pool on Saturday and had dinner with Jen and Chris that night. We went to church on Sunday then I had dinner with Jen and my mom Sunday night. Other than that, nothing really too exciting happened.

I'll keep you posted when I test or if AF comes. I expect AF would start either Wednesday or Thursday.

Injection class

I had the injection class today. It was pretty overwhelming and I wish I would have had Jared there with me, but I didn't think it was necessary for him to be there. The Follistim injections seem very easy and fool-proof, but the HCG injection (to make me ovulate) is the scarier one and the nurse recommends I have someone else give it to me.

Here is the Follistim Pen which I will use to administer to Follistim injections.

Here is the wealth of information that was given to me:

We will be trying to find a nurse in our neighborhood who would be willing to give it to me, or we have a few family friends who are nurses, but they live at least 20 minutes. If worst comes to worst, we can drive the 20 minutes, but I hope we have a neighbor that can do it for us. The nurses can't do it this time because it needs to be administered exactly 36 hours before the IUI and it will need to be done around 9 or 10 at night.

The schedule with these injections is alot more intense, as far as Dr's appt's and ultrasounds/bloodwork goes. I made a word doc for myself to keep everything straight. But, it looks something like this:

CD:
1- Call Nurses 816-444-6888 x1203 to schedule u/s and lab. Tests will be on either days 1,
2, 3 or 4 and must be scheduled before 11:30.
· Lab: Estrogen less than 50, FSH less than 10
2- (u/s-lab)
3- Injection, same time every evening between 5 and midnight (u/s-lab)
4- Injection, (u/s-lab)
5- Injection
6- Injection
7- Injection
8- Return to Dr. for another u/s-lab. May be instructed to do HCG shot. If HCG shot is
administered, Intercourse is suggested.
9-
10- IUI
11- 1 DPO IUI. Progesterone
12- 2 DPO IUI. Progesterone
13- 3 DPO IUI. Progesterone
14- 4 DPO IUI. Progesterone
15- 5 DPO IUI. Progesterone
16- 6 DPO IUI. Progesterone
17- 7 DPO IUI. Progesterone
18- 8 DPO IUI. Progesterone. Blood draw
19- 9 DPO IUI. Progesterone
20- 10 DPO IUI. Progesterone
21- 11 DPO IUI. Progesterone
22- 12 DPO IUI. Progesterone
23- 13 DPO IUI. Progesterone
24- 14 DPO IUI, Progesterone

It's alot to remember, but I'm sure once I start, it won't seem so bad.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if I don't even have to start these injections?