~We met with a contractor last night regarding our hardwood floors. He offered us an AMAZING deal to refinish the floors if we wanted to start Friday so we agreed. Last night we had a frantic pack em up and move them out and proceeded to pretty much empty out the rooms with hardwood. Sadly or perhaps to our benefit everything will fit in our family room. I'm so glad we don't buy a lot of "stuff." We managed to pack and move everything except our bedroom last night in 3 hours
~Nothing new on the baby front. I am blissfully late but not pregnant. Why blissful? Because of my May superstition I did not want to conceive in August and deliver a May baby. So I'm just letting nature do it's thing and if AF has not arrived by next weekend I'll start taking the meds to induce AF and then we can get back on track with doctor visits and sex.
~This weekend, courtesy of a work event I will finally step foot in 3 Nashville landmarks: The Parthenon, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Ryman Auditorium(original).
I thought I had more but can't think of anything else to say at the moment.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Ultrasound results
To put it succinctly, they sucked.....at first. The U/S tech looked using both the dildo cam and looked externally. My ovaries were not getting any action....at all. Not one little follicle to be found and we were hoping or BIG ONES!
I take my depressed ass along with the results to Sally's office. She takes a look and asks me if I ovulated yesterday. I told her I have no idea as I stopped monitoring. I have not taken a temp, checked cervical position, cervical mucous or peed on a stick. Actually I peed on one stick. I'm almost out of test sticks for the clearblue easy fertility monitor and you are not supposed to mix test sticks from different boxes. I haven't had an opportunity to go to Wal-Greens for more so I kept putting off testing. On Monday I said screw it and tested which was CD 13-kind of late to be starting. I forgot to pee on a stick every morning since then. Then she asks if we've had sex recently to which I replied yes.
She proceeds to tell me that after ovulation she expects the endometrium...the lining of your uterus which needs to be thick to sustain a new little zygote...to measure at 8.0 mm. Mine is 9.0mm. Based on that Sally thinks I may ovulated a little earlier this month so probably sometime between Monday and Wednesday.
I am to take a pregnancy test on August 7th if I do not have my period yet. If it is negative than I've had yet another annovulatory cycle. Wish us luck.
I take my depressed ass along with the results to Sally's office. She takes a look and asks me if I ovulated yesterday. I told her I have no idea as I stopped monitoring. I have not taken a temp, checked cervical position, cervical mucous or peed on a stick. Actually I peed on one stick. I'm almost out of test sticks for the clearblue easy fertility monitor and you are not supposed to mix test sticks from different boxes. I haven't had an opportunity to go to Wal-Greens for more so I kept putting off testing. On Monday I said screw it and tested which was CD 13-kind of late to be starting. I forgot to pee on a stick every morning since then. Then she asks if we've had sex recently to which I replied yes.
She proceeds to tell me that after ovulation she expects the endometrium...the lining of your uterus which needs to be thick to sustain a new little zygote...to measure at 8.0 mm. Mine is 9.0mm. Based on that Sally thinks I may ovulated a little earlier this month so probably sometime between Monday and Wednesday.
I am to take a pregnancy test on August 7th if I do not have my period yet. If it is negative than I've had yet another annovulatory cycle. Wish us luck.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Ultrasound & updates
I have an ultrasound scheduled for Thursday to determine follicle growth/maturity. I am praying for good news as we leave for Mexico this Saturday so this will be our only chance to monitor this month.
We spent the 4th in Jacksonville Beach with our friend Craig aka Dupree. We had a great time and are trying to figure out when we can go back. Lucky bastard lives smack dab on the beach! Life really is a beach for Craig.
We've added a screened gazebo to our deck so we can enjoy our deck more in the summer months without being eaten alive by mosquitos. It's working well so far although I still get bites walking to and fro. We purchased the floor model as the gazebo was out of stock but putting the gazebo back together Saturday was easy and relatively quick. One benefit of buying the floor model...you have a better mental picture of how it all fits together.
Nashville is officially suffering from extremely hot and humid weather. I think it was 103 yesterday! The dog days of summer have arrived. I think our weekends from here on out will be spent in my in-laws pool.
We spent the 4th in Jacksonville Beach with our friend Craig aka Dupree. We had a great time and are trying to figure out when we can go back. Lucky bastard lives smack dab on the beach! Life really is a beach for Craig.
We've added a screened gazebo to our deck so we can enjoy our deck more in the summer months without being eaten alive by mosquitos. It's working well so far although I still get bites walking to and fro. We purchased the floor model as the gazebo was out of stock but putting the gazebo back together Saturday was easy and relatively quick. One benefit of buying the floor model...you have a better mental picture of how it all fits together.
Nashville is officially suffering from extremely hot and humid weather. I think it was 103 yesterday! The dog days of summer have arrived. I think our weekends from here on out will be spent in my in-laws pool.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The 4th
Today is my Friday as we leave for Florida tomorrow! Four glorious days of sun, fun, and relaxation I hope!
Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
My Bucket List
Jason and I watched this movie last night. We were both sniffling by the end. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson were great together. Afterwards of course we talked about making our own bucket lists. I asked Jason what he would put on his and he could not think of anything off the top of his head (but I knew something he would want and it was in the movie) and I already had a list of about 25 things. He looked at me and said, “I know, all of yours revolve around traveling.” Well most but not all. I’ve already knocked a few off my list so I won’t list those now.
The 1st 25 of my bucket list:
1. Be a mom. Whether this happens through my birthing a child of my own, a donor egg or adoption I want to be a mom before I die.
2. Travel to Italy
3. Sail the Greek Isles stopping in Athens to walk around the Acropolis
4. Hike the Grand Canyon
5. Tour Napa Valley and visit the Silver Oak vineyard for my favorite cabernet.
6. See a glacier up close and personal before global warming takes them all away
7. Convert my home to use as many green resources as possible
8. Watch my nieces graduate high school, college, dance at their wedding, see the birth of their children
9. Travel with my sister
10. See a Broadway show actually on Broadway
11. Kiss my husband at the top of the Empire State Building
12. Gaze upon the statues of Easter Island
13. Travel the West Counties of Ireland and stay at quaint little B&Bs
14. Find a creative hobby I am good at and attack it with gusto
15. Turn my thumb green. I’m really bad with plants so if I could plant something and have it live longer than a few months I would be so happy.
16. Learn how to change a tire
17. Lose this excess weight I’m carrying and keep it off for good.
18. Run a 5k
19. Learn to find my inner peace especially when the world around me is so crazy
20. Develop my relationship with God.
21. Dance around the gazebo from the Sound of Music in Austria.
22. Take a dance class, not ballroom dancing but hip hop or belly dancing.
23. Travel to Hawaii
24. Take an entire summer and drive across the US
25. Travel in a hot air balloon
26. Swim with the dolphins
27. Find a really cool piece of sea glass on the beach
28. Share the city of Charleston, SC with my husband
29. Pay off all of our debt including our house!
30. Hold my breath for longer than a minute
The 1st 25 of my bucket list:
1. Be a mom. Whether this happens through my birthing a child of my own, a donor egg or adoption I want to be a mom before I die.
2. Travel to Italy
3. Sail the Greek Isles stopping in Athens to walk around the Acropolis
4. Hike the Grand Canyon
5. Tour Napa Valley and visit the Silver Oak vineyard for my favorite cabernet.
6. See a glacier up close and personal before global warming takes them all away
7. Convert my home to use as many green resources as possible
8. Watch my nieces graduate high school, college, dance at their wedding, see the birth of their children
9. Travel with my sister
10. See a Broadway show actually on Broadway
11. Kiss my husband at the top of the Empire State Building
12. Gaze upon the statues of Easter Island
13. Travel the West Counties of Ireland and stay at quaint little B&Bs
14. Find a creative hobby I am good at and attack it with gusto
15. Turn my thumb green. I’m really bad with plants so if I could plant something and have it live longer than a few months I would be so happy.
16. Learn how to change a tire
17. Lose this excess weight I’m carrying and keep it off for good.
18. Run a 5k
19. Learn to find my inner peace especially when the world around me is so crazy
20. Develop my relationship with God.
21. Dance around the gazebo from the Sound of Music in Austria.
22. Take a dance class, not ballroom dancing but hip hop or belly dancing.
23. Travel to Hawaii
24. Take an entire summer and drive across the US
25. Travel in a hot air balloon
26. Swim with the dolphins
27. Find a really cool piece of sea glass on the beach
28. Share the city of Charleston, SC with my husband
29. Pay off all of our debt including our house!
30. Hold my breath for longer than a minute
Decks, pets, and acupuncture
J has finished our deck. Ok, not really finished but the floor is down so we can actually walk across the deck. Railings will come later as we want those lovely PVC white railings & posts and they are not cheap. Luckily our deck is only about 3 feet above the ground at its highest point. As we have no children yet and we do not throw wild, drunk, crazy parties I don’t think we need to be too concerned with anyone falling off the back and suffering serious injury.
As the deck is now complete we were also able to put together the canopy we purchased at Lowes before we even began building the deck. It was a PITA to assemble. Jason was so frustrated at one point he decided to try out for the Olympic javelin team as he tossed a pole across our backyard. His form needs some work. In moments like this I leave him alone because not only will I make the situation worse but he always finds a solution once he lets go of his frustration.
We rearranged the canopy a couple of times to determine the best location. I will need to make some outdoor curtains to cover the sides as we get the hot afternoon sun back there but by doing so we also may be able to combat (HA) the mosquitoes.
We also decided to spoil our pets a bit last week. Teddy loves his face scratched and will drive you nuts rubbing his face against your hands, your legs, your feet, your pen, the laptop, the speakers, envelope corners, the corrners of boxes etc. We were not positive he would like or even use the brush bristle scratchers they sell at Petsmart but we took a chance. He went crazy. I think the picture below perfectly captures his kitty orgasm as he rubbed his chin and cheeks on the brush.
We also bought Shadow a bed of his very own. He's not allowed in our bed because we would wake up looking like him....covered in black fur. He's a massive shedder. During his May grooming appointment we made the decision to shave his fur as short as possible. We figured out he was getting cold at night post shave because he started sleeping on a stack of blankets I had in the corner of our bedroom. We figured he would like a bed of his own. He loves his new bed. He went nuts over it when we brought it in the house and told him it was his very own bed. He rolled all over it making it his own and more than likely removing the smell of other dogs who sniffed or laid on the bed prior to our purchase.
I had my acupuncture consultation last evening. It went well. The doctor(I'm not sure if I call him doctor or not), measured my meridian channels and determined I was a good candidate for acupuncture. I asked him if our sessions would not only help my fertility but also my migraines and gastrointestinal issues and he said yes. I'm very happy about that. Jason said he would be ecstatic if the acupuncture would keep me from puking when I eat certain foods. I know he would love to introduce pizza back into our life. At the moment the only pizza I thought I could tolerate was CA Pizza Kitchen BBQ chicken pizza but I had a puking session the other week after eating that so I guess that one is off the menu for now as well.
I had to recall moments of bodily trauma which was difficult. I was a tomboy growing up so I can't tell you how many times I sprained an ankle, fell out of tree, wrecked my bike etc. I tried to recall a few of the more significant traumas such as falling off the uneven bars when I was four and smacking my noggin, or the cheerleading incident in which the basket toss went wrong and I ended up splayed out face first on a hard cement floor, or playing Dodge Ball in middle school when Dwayne Moses threw the ball directly at my stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of me and make me spin around before falling on the floor. If Dwayne Moses is the reason I can't have a baby I'm going to spit nails!
Needless to say I guess I'll be taking a loan out against our unborn child's college fund to pay for 3-4 acupuncture sessions a week for the next month.
As the deck is now complete we were also able to put together the canopy we purchased at Lowes before we even began building the deck. It was a PITA to assemble. Jason was so frustrated at one point he decided to try out for the Olympic javelin team as he tossed a pole across our backyard. His form needs some work. In moments like this I leave him alone because not only will I make the situation worse but he always finds a solution once he lets go of his frustration.
We rearranged the canopy a couple of times to determine the best location. I will need to make some outdoor curtains to cover the sides as we get the hot afternoon sun back there but by doing so we also may be able to combat (HA) the mosquitoes.
We also decided to spoil our pets a bit last week. Teddy loves his face scratched and will drive you nuts rubbing his face against your hands, your legs, your feet, your pen, the laptop, the speakers, envelope corners, the corrners of boxes etc. We were not positive he would like or even use the brush bristle scratchers they sell at Petsmart but we took a chance. He went crazy. I think the picture below perfectly captures his kitty orgasm as he rubbed his chin and cheeks on the brush. 
We also bought Shadow a bed of his very own. He's not allowed in our bed because we would wake up looking like him....covered in black fur. He's a massive shedder. During his May grooming appointment we made the decision to shave his fur as short as possible. We figured out he was getting cold at night post shave because he started sleeping on a stack of blankets I had in the corner of our bedroom. We figured he would like a bed of his own. He loves his new bed. He went nuts over it when we brought it in the house and told him it was his very own bed. He rolled all over it making it his own and more than likely removing the smell of other dogs who sniffed or laid on the bed prior to our purchase.
I had my acupuncture consultation last evening. It went well. The doctor(I'm not sure if I call him doctor or not), measured my meridian channels and determined I was a good candidate for acupuncture. I asked him if our sessions would not only help my fertility but also my migraines and gastrointestinal issues and he said yes. I'm very happy about that. Jason said he would be ecstatic if the acupuncture would keep me from puking when I eat certain foods. I know he would love to introduce pizza back into our life. At the moment the only pizza I thought I could tolerate was CA Pizza Kitchen BBQ chicken pizza but I had a puking session the other week after eating that so I guess that one is off the menu for now as well.
I had to recall moments of bodily trauma which was difficult. I was a tomboy growing up so I can't tell you how many times I sprained an ankle, fell out of tree, wrecked my bike etc. I tried to recall a few of the more significant traumas such as falling off the uneven bars when I was four and smacking my noggin, or the cheerleading incident in which the basket toss went wrong and I ended up splayed out face first on a hard cement floor, or playing Dodge Ball in middle school when Dwayne Moses threw the ball directly at my stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of me and make me spin around before falling on the floor. If Dwayne Moses is the reason I can't have a baby I'm going to spit nails!
Needless to say I guess I'll be taking a loan out against our unborn child's college fund to pay for 3-4 acupuncture sessions a week for the next month.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
In the words of Dr. Allie G.....
My eggs are rotting. Y'all remember the crazy doc from The Bachelor(Dr. Travis season). Bad humor I know but this is what went through my head when the RE gave us our results today.
Let me back up a bit. The first results we went over were the results of the blood test for FSH(follicle stimulating hormone), LH(luteinizing hormone) and prolactin. My FSH & LH are on the higher side. Not the highest but higher than they should be. What does this mean? Basically I'm perimenopausal. Sally reassured me I'm not going to start menopause tomorrow, next week, next month or even next year but my body is definitely beginning to change and move towards menopause. My mother began menopause in her early 40s so I may very well be following in her footsteps. As you approach menopause your body produces more FSH & LH to stimulate your follicles to mature eggs because your egg quality begins to diminish as you approach menopause therefore it takes more FSH/LH to stimulate those follies to mature eggs. So right now, for me, this means I am not producing enough or perhaps any high quality eggs. This was so very hard to hear. I was doing my damndest not to cry but Sally looked at me and said it's ok honey and gave me tissues and I broke down into tears.
The lab had not sent J's semen analysis results so Sally called the lab and they faxed them straight away. This is the good news. J has super sperm. No kidding. Sally said she never sees men in her office with sperm counts that high. Basically in every milliliter of semen J has over 600 million sperm all barreling straight ahead toward the motherland. The result they normally look for? Anything over 20 million. He's such an overachiever. LOL. He exceeded the minimums in every category. If my eggs were good we'd have a litter of kids with his sperm count. Sally said he's the perfect sperm donor.
Sally next consulted with theOB/GYN at her office to schedule my D&C ASAP. She wanted to do it Friday but I absolutely cannot be away from the office on Friday. We met with the surgeon and his nurse and Darlene, the nurse told me she would call me first thing in the morning as the surgery center was already closed. We were shooting for tomorrow but we have an appointment for this Monday at 8:15am. I have to be there at 6am and then they'll will put me to sleep. The procedure itself takes 30 minutes and then I have the rest of the day to recover.
So what does all this mean for us as far as our options. Not a whole heck of a lot. I cannot be on any type of hormone fertility treatment because it is possible the hormones will shock my system into menopause. Also, because the egg quality appears to be lacking the hormones won't help egg quality. Retrieving/freezing my eggs is a last ditch effort because of the possible bad quality. For now our plan is this. I take prometrium on CD35 if my period has not arrived and I'm not pregnant. I call Sally on CD1 and she will begin monitoring my follicle growth via U/S. Once she sees some good looking follicles J and I will DTD. She may give me an HCG trigger shot if the follies look promising to ensure ovulation. She'll test progesterone depending upon the follicle growth. We'll do this for however long we feel comfortable and sane. After that we can revisit the egg retrieval option but most likely our best bet would be a donor egg and/or adoption.
At this point we are racing against my biological clock. This sucker has never ticked louder than it is right now. So I'm supposed to remain relaxed about this and not stress. Yeah sure. That is so much easier said than done but I'm going to try my hardest to remain cool for the next few months. The sex on demand thing is worrying me because I'm worried J's going to have performance issues but he's vowed to do whatever it takes. He was great throughout this and remains Mr. Positive which is both wonderful and frustrating right now.
I talked to my parents, my sister, Amy and J's mom and sister about everything which has helped somewhat but the tears are still there, just below the surface and they are flowing frequently.
Please y'all please pray for us. think positive thoughts. I really could use them right now. It is so damn hard to be told having a baby is going to be difficult or almost impossible when it's something you want with all your heart and soul. I need to learn to accept that whatever His plan is we'll be fine and with a lot of prayer and soul searching I hope to come to terms with whatever the outcome may be.
Let me back up a bit. The first results we went over were the results of the blood test for FSH(follicle stimulating hormone), LH(luteinizing hormone) and prolactin. My FSH & LH are on the higher side. Not the highest but higher than they should be. What does this mean? Basically I'm perimenopausal. Sally reassured me I'm not going to start menopause tomorrow, next week, next month or even next year but my body is definitely beginning to change and move towards menopause. My mother began menopause in her early 40s so I may very well be following in her footsteps. As you approach menopause your body produces more FSH & LH to stimulate your follicles to mature eggs because your egg quality begins to diminish as you approach menopause therefore it takes more FSH/LH to stimulate those follies to mature eggs. So right now, for me, this means I am not producing enough or perhaps any high quality eggs. This was so very hard to hear. I was doing my damndest not to cry but Sally looked at me and said it's ok honey and gave me tissues and I broke down into tears.
The lab had not sent J's semen analysis results so Sally called the lab and they faxed them straight away. This is the good news. J has super sperm. No kidding. Sally said she never sees men in her office with sperm counts that high. Basically in every milliliter of semen J has over 600 million sperm all barreling straight ahead toward the motherland. The result they normally look for? Anything over 20 million. He's such an overachiever. LOL. He exceeded the minimums in every category. If my eggs were good we'd have a litter of kids with his sperm count. Sally said he's the perfect sperm donor.
Sally next consulted with theOB/GYN at her office to schedule my D&C ASAP. She wanted to do it Friday but I absolutely cannot be away from the office on Friday. We met with the surgeon and his nurse and Darlene, the nurse told me she would call me first thing in the morning as the surgery center was already closed. We were shooting for tomorrow but we have an appointment for this Monday at 8:15am. I have to be there at 6am and then they'll will put me to sleep. The procedure itself takes 30 minutes and then I have the rest of the day to recover.
So what does all this mean for us as far as our options. Not a whole heck of a lot. I cannot be on any type of hormone fertility treatment because it is possible the hormones will shock my system into menopause. Also, because the egg quality appears to be lacking the hormones won't help egg quality. Retrieving/freezing my eggs is a last ditch effort because of the possible bad quality. For now our plan is this. I take prometrium on CD35 if my period has not arrived and I'm not pregnant. I call Sally on CD1 and she will begin monitoring my follicle growth via U/S. Once she sees some good looking follicles J and I will DTD. She may give me an HCG trigger shot if the follies look promising to ensure ovulation. She'll test progesterone depending upon the follicle growth. We'll do this for however long we feel comfortable and sane. After that we can revisit the egg retrieval option but most likely our best bet would be a donor egg and/or adoption.
At this point we are racing against my biological clock. This sucker has never ticked louder than it is right now. So I'm supposed to remain relaxed about this and not stress. Yeah sure. That is so much easier said than done but I'm going to try my hardest to remain cool for the next few months. The sex on demand thing is worrying me because I'm worried J's going to have performance issues but he's vowed to do whatever it takes. He was great throughout this and remains Mr. Positive which is both wonderful and frustrating right now.
I talked to my parents, my sister, Amy and J's mom and sister about everything which has helped somewhat but the tears are still there, just below the surface and they are flowing frequently.
Please y'all please pray for us. think positive thoughts. I really could use them right now. It is so damn hard to be told having a baby is going to be difficult or almost impossible when it's something you want with all your heart and soul. I need to learn to accept that whatever His plan is we'll be fine and with a lot of prayer and soul searching I hope to come to terms with whatever the outcome may be.
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