IUI #4

Today's IUI was a little crazy. The actual procedure was fine, but there was some miscommunication on my nurse's part. They had me scheduled at 1:00, but it was for the North Kansas City office, not the office I always go to.

So, we show up and I'm not anywhere on their records for an appt. today. After some discussion with the front desk ladies, they assure me that they will take care of it and Jared and I could have a seat. Meanwhile, I still have the sperm in the little cup under my shirt (stuck behind a sports bra).

About 20 minutes pass and I start getting anxious. Normally, they would have had me give them the sperm by now so they could start prepping it. So, I go back up to the front and see if they got me set up ok and to see if I should take the sperm back to the lab. When I mentioned taking the sperm to the lab, the lady looks at me funny and asks, "Are you having an insemination today?" I responded, "Yes." Then she seems even more puzzled and said, "Oh, I put you down for a sono and lab." I said, "No, I just did that 2 days ago. I need an insemination today and I have the sperm here with me."

Then the ladies started to get a little panicked and that's when they realized I was scheduled to be up North. They had me take a seat again while they made some phone calls Apparently, there weren't even any Dr's in the office where I was today that do inseminations.

Finally, my nurse comes to get me and says that there is an OB who is in labor and delivery who can do the insemination, or I can go up North. I told her that I would rather stay here, if there's a Dr. available. So, she took the sperm and got me set up in the room. Finally. A little while later, the Dr. came in and it was done. Whew!!!

Now the good part.. we had 50-60 MILLION SPERM!!! Way to go, JARED! hehe what a stud :) The nurse and Dr. were both very pleased with that. The Dr. asked Jared, "What'd you do differently?" hahaha Judy, I think it's the Omega 3's that helped ;) Jared agrees.

So, now we wait 2 weeks!

Oh, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Gone Riding

Tonight was our 2nd to last class. We really don't have an "assignment" for next week, but the teacher is encouraging us to take a framed picture to include in an art fair at the college where the class is held. I will have to think about what picture I want to take.. the problem is, most of my pictures are for personal uses, not that just anyone would like to see.. I'll have to spend some time shooting this week and weekend.

Anyways, here is a photo of my assignment. The teacher really liked what I did, so I am happy with it.

CD 8 Scan

Went for my scan this morning. I have 2 mature follicles and 3 more that are almost there. They drew some blood and if my estrogen levels are high enough, I will go ahead and do the trigger tonight.

If my levels aren't quite there yet, they will have me do 1 more shot of 1/2 my regular dose of Follistim and then go in again tomorrow morning, in hopes that the other 3 have matured and my levels are nice and high.

My nurse will call this afternoon with the verdict. I will update as soon as I know.

UPDATE:
The nurse said my estrogen was 684 which is nice and high, so I will do the big trigger shot tonight at 10 PM. The IUI will be on Wednesday at 1 PM, which seems a little late to me, but I just do as I'm told.

My Horse

Photos courtesy of Jared.

American Royal Rodeo

I don't have any pictures from last night as I forgot my camera. I called my sister after Jared and I left home to tell her to bring her camera, so she did. But then she left it at my parents house before we left for the rodeo.

Dad, Mom, Jen, Chris, Jared, Me, Lisa and Ashley all went to see the American Royal Rodeo last night. It was my 4th year going and we had a great time! We snuck down to the lower level for the bull riding and it was so cool to be that close to the action.

We saw lots of horses, which makes me want to get another one so badly. haha, But I have Ted I can go ride anytime I want.

I had to take my shot in the bathroom at the Kemper arena haha. I was so worried they would look in our purses as we entered the building and they would see my little case and open it up, then confiscate it from me. Luckily, they didn't even look in our purses.

Sorry, this is kind of a boring post, so I will end it here.

Mom and Dad

I got some adorable shots of my mom and dad tonight. They are officially my 2nd paying client. haha I didn't even want to charge them, but they left behind my payment. Thanks mom and dad!!

Here is just a sneak peak. Go here for more

No cysts!

I have absolutely no cysts! YAY! They drew some blood and as long as those levels are ok, I can start the shots tomorrow. I will get the results later this afternoon.

My next appt. is next Monday at 8 am. Hopefully I have some good looking follicles and I can do the HCG shot that night and have the IUI on Wednesday (Halloween). Maybe we'll conceive little pumpkin babies (or baby).

1 thing that is different with this cycle is I have to take a very low dose of steroid every morning. The nurse said that if I've ever taken Clomid or Femara in the past and then I have an unsucessful round of Follistim, the Dr. will prescribe a low dose steroid to help break down any male hormones that I have and help give me a better estrogen effect. If I get pg this cycle, I will continue taking the steroid until around 20 weeks.

So, that's all for now! We have a week until O time!

And we're off again

Today is day 1 of AF and my first of many appointments is tomorrow at 9:15 am. God willing, my cysts will be gone and my levels will be where they should be.

Please keep me in your prayers as I attempt to let God handle this cycle, without me trying to take control by worrying or trying to figure out the best thing to do. And thanks so much to all of you who do pray for me. God hears our prayers!!!

And a pic for the day.. This is my baby girl, Princess. I don't talk about my dogs too much on here, but these little animals mean so much to Jared and I. Princess is definately a momma's girl and I love her so much. She has rawhide on her nose here. She would die for her rawhides.

Last pill!

I took my last birth control pill this morning. Hopefully it will be my last one forever. AF should start on Monday and I will go in on Tuesday or Wednesday to see if I can start the shots. If all is a "go," I will start shots Wednesday night.

AJK Photos

So, I've been getting some interest from people in doing portraits for them.. and getting PAID for it! haha

I don't really know if I am ready for this or not, but I've decided to give it a go. Perhaps I've put the cart before the horse, but I went ahead and made a simple little web site for myself. We'll see what comes of it.

Here's my preferred logo:
and my web site:

www.ajkphotos.com

My Man

Staci posted this on her blog and I thought it was really interesting. Hopefully you agree; otherwise, you will have to suffer through it :) hehe

1. Who is your man? Jared

2. How long have you been married? 6 years, 1 month and 13 days

3. How long dated? 7 months before getting engaged. We were engaged for 6 months before we got married.

4. How old is your man? 33

5. Who eats more? Jared

6. Who said "I love you" first? Jared. He said it one night as he was leaving.

7. Who is taller? Jared.. at least by 7 inches.

8. Who sings better? Jared has a beautiful, strong voice, but I think I am more musically inclined. I think his voice is better and stronger than mine, but I am better at singing different parts and harmonizing.

9. Who is smarter? At what? There are things that Jared is smarter at and there are things that I am smarter at. Jared has more education. We are both pretty much geniuses though. hehe

10. Whose temper is worse? Mine, especially when I am hungry

11. Who does the laundry? Jared does the laundry most of the time, but I usually fold and put away the clothes.

12. Who takes out the garbage? Jared

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Jared

14. Who pays the bills? Jared

15. Who is better with the computer? Jared

16. Who mows the lawn? Jared

17. Who cooks dinner? Taco Bell. hahaha If we eat at home, I usually am the one cooking. Jared does a pretty good job though.

18. Who drives when you are together? Jared

19. Who pays when you go out? Jared usually does

20. Who is most stubborn? Probably me

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me

22. Whose parents do you see the most? Usually mine

23. Who kissed who first? I guess he initiated it, but we kissed eachother. How romantic :)

24. Who asked who out? My brother invited Jared to go to a movie with us (and Lisa), so I guess that counts as me asking him on our first date, but it was really my brother. haha How Middle-School'ish

25. Who proposed? Jared.. in the same spot as our first kiss

26. Who is more sensitive? Mmmmm.. probably me, but I really don't consider myself that sensitive

27. Who has more friends? We both have good friends, but we normally don't spend alot of time with them-away from eachother, and alot of our friends are mutual friends (other couples) so it's hard to say who has more

28. Who has more siblings? Me. I have 2.. Jared's an only child

29. Who wears the pants in the family? Jared, and he's darn good at it :) hehe

Liberty Corn Maze

Last night, my family went to the Liberty Corn Maze. I've been wanting to take same family photos of my brother, Lisa and their kids and tonight was perfect!

Plus, I got a new lens and it is AMAZING!!!

Click Here to see more pics of our evening.

Happy Birthday Jenny

I took a 1/2 day off of work to hang out with Jen and my mom today. I met them at Beauty Brands where Jen and my mom got pedicures and then we went to lunch at Panera. Andrew was asleep the entire time.

After lunch, we went to the tattoo parlor. haha, JK.. we went to the bra shop, which was right next to the tattoo parlor.

Then we went to the farm and did chores and I got some cute shots of the horses.

Then we went to my parents house later on and had cake

and Ashley showed us how she can ride her bike without training wheels!!! She's only 3!!! How old were you when you stopped using training wheels? I know I was probably in Grade School.

Wedding photos

I will let you know when I've uploaded all of mine. I am still going through and deleting/editing. If you'd like to see the professional photos, here is their blog. And here is their web site.. click on "Proofing".

I'm back!

Hey! Long time no blog. I figure since I am taking a break with TTC, it might be nice to take a little break with the blog. Plus, I have been sick and busy with a wedding this past week. My friend Lesley was married on Saturday. I took lots of pics. Some I like, some I don't.. I have tried 3 times to post some pics up here, but have only succeded with one. I will post some more later when I have more time (and patience).

Here is a good pic of Jared and I for now :)

cysts galore

Well, it's a "no go" this month. The ultrasound technician again told me that she would have been shocked if I didn't have cysts. They never expect someone who responds to these meds to be able to do 2 cycles in a row. I have more cysts than I had last time (because I had so many follicles) but they are smaller than the other one was.. hopefully the birth control pill will get rid of them completely!!

She said that I will always have cysts after I do a cycle of the shots and even when I get pg, I will have cysts, but they will go away on their own in time and they are not harmful... I just can't do more shots until they are gone; otherwise I would be in ALOT of pain and it would probably interfere with getting PG anyways.

Thanks so much for the comments to my last post. It really is an everyday thing that I need to work on and it will involve alot of prayer and meditation. I think I can do it though!

3:30 AM

I was woken up at 3:30 this morning to bad cramps and AF. Not a fun way to start out the day. But, I have a new attitude going into this cycle.

I want to give this to God, but how do I do that? It is so easy to say it, but how do I actually go about placing it in his hands?? Does it mean that I stop fertility treatments, stop tracking my cycle and just let it happen when it happens? I don't know what the answer is but if anyone has any ideas, please share.

I'll update later when I make the baseline appt. to make sure things are good to go for this cycle. Pray for no cysts!

Let God

A good friend of mine sent this to me in an email and it meant so much to me... Thanks Kelly!

Let God Run Wild
by Jon Walker
“… God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV)

As my six-year-old tried to open a package, I sat patiently waiting for him to ask me for help. It was one of those protective, hard plastic packages that some manufacturers use – you know, the kind that are nearly impossible to open short of using a small explosive. I knew my son wouldn’t be able to open the package on his own, but I make it a general rule never to grab things out of my son’s hands – like one child might disrespectfully snatch something away from another. Sure, I’m bigger than him, and I could’ve taken it out of his hands, but I wanted him to make his own choice about whether or when he would ask me for help.

It didn’t take long before he looked up at me, and I said, ‘Do you want me to help you?’ He said yes and handed me the package. I knew it would require more than my hands (or teeth) to open it, so I found some heavy scissors and squeezed hard to cut through the plastic.

Today, you may be holding a package in your hand, and wrapped in its hard plastic shell is something Jesus called the “abundant life.” You’re straining to get inside the package, using all the means and schemes you can think of to break through the abundant life.

God is patiently sitting next you you, waiting for you to abandon your independent attempts to create the abundant life, waiting for you to let him loose in your life, waiting for you to say, “I can’t, but, God, you can.” In that moment, God becomes your strength, “so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV)

What now? Let God run wild – Accept the powerful love of God in your life and allow his grace to run free in your life. Stop trying to open the package – Give the package to God and let him open the abundant life for you. Ask God to show you what package you’re struggling to open, and when he does, hand the package to him.

Trust God with your needs – God knows you need to open the package. What makes you think you have to open it on your own? Why do you believe that your efforts to open the package will produce a better life for you than if you allow God to open the package? (What is your behavior saying about your beliefs?)

Crayons

My 3rd photo class was last night. I did not like how my assignment turned out, but I went ahead and brought my photos in anyways. The teacher actually ended up liking them! haha


In other news, AF is not here "yet" but I know it is right around the corner. I also tested this morning and it was negative, so I am pretty sure I am not pg.

I can't believe it didn't work this time.. what went wrong?? I know the Lord is in control and I have to really watch my attitude towards this "struggle" that Jared and I are going through. It is so easy for me to become very bitter about it and I don't want to be a bitter person. I need to turn to God in these situations and he will help me.. Thanks for the prayers!

We only have a few more tries on the shots and IUI before the Dr. will suggest invitro. Jared and I are hesitant to go that route. If we don't get pg with the shots and IUI's, we'll probably give it a break for a while and then re-evaluate the invitro option. It's so scary to think about if this all fails..

Not good

I have pink in my CM and it feels like AF is starting
:( I thought for sure we would get pg this month.

The discomfort in my ovary area is gone though, so I am thinking I may not have any cysts this cycle. I do remember having some discomfort when I had the cyst last time.

I will be calling my nurse this morning to have her fill my prescription for Follistim again. Maybe cycle #2 will be the charm! Prayerfully and faithfully, it will be.