Ball of nerves.....

So here we are less than 12 hours from harvest and I am a nervous wreck. Now most would be nervous about the whole procedure and I am but I am most nervous about getting the IV tomorrow. If you remember when I had the GBS it took them almost 2 hours to get an IV in me so needless to say I am terrified. It doesn't help that most of the veins in my arms are blown already with all of the blood draws I have had. So I am just praying that the IV goes in easily tomorrow. We have to be there at 7am and they will begin at 8am. Nervous excitement! Today I literally watched my stomach swell more and more as the day went by. I am so very uncomfortable and I am having much more episodes of actual pain, but I keep telling myself it will all be worth it, it will all be worth it. Plus after tomorrow they will be OUT! So with all of that being said, I am going to keep it short tonight and I am headed to take a nice long bath that will hopefully help me relax enough to get a few hours sleep. Please say a prayer for us tomorrow and I promise to update with the statistics as soon as I am feeling up to it.

Blessings to all and Good Night!

Harvest set....massage......Amy vs the Toilet......

I am sure this title has you puzzled beyond belief so here goes.

First up the update from today's Dr appointment.

35 Follicies/eggs in total measuring over 10
25 of these 35 measure over 15 and as big as 21 (we want them 16 and over)
8 of the 35 measure over 14 but not 15
2 of the 35 measure between 12-13
Estradil level - I don't know, forgot to ask!

So at the Dr office today this morning I broke down again.....it seems everything looked great and the nurse said I am almost sure about 90% sure harvest will be on Wed but there is a chance it will be on Thursday. At that point the tears began to fall. Maria said try to relax and here are the instructions for a harvest on Wed and you will hear from me this afternoon. So the day seemed to drag by and the more time that passed the more paranoid I got that it wouldn't be on Thursday. Finally around 3:00 the phone rang and it was Maria! The first words out of her mouth, you need to follow the schedule I gave you and your harvest will be on WEDNESDAY! Hallelujah! So that means tonight at 8 pm the only shot I had to take was the Orvadril and Chris has to take his antibiotics. Tomorrow night I take my antibiotics and I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight. Wed morning we have to be there at 7am and the harvest will be done around 8am and will last about 45 min to an hour. Once I wake up Chris will bring me home to rest for the rest of the day. This means the implantation will be on Monday, Labor Day! So I am still very uncomfortable but my mental state is much better just knowing when the end will be.

So tonight I went and got a massage. After the weekend I knew it was a must. And boy was I right......I am positively feeling wonderful well except for the pressure in my back and belly but its better than it was for now. I know shortly it will all be back but at least I had a little break from it all today....boy did I need it. :)

Now for an absolutely funny story....I can't believe I am posting this but here goes.....
So as you all know I have lost a lot of weight and well everything has gotten big and its had to be replaced. Well there is no replacing the wedding ring....instead you should have it sized. Well here's the thing I have been putting off having it sized until after the whole IVF and hopefully pregnancy. So to say that my wedding ring is too big is an understatement. So I had been wearing it on my middle finger, and for some strange reason on Tuesday of last week I put it on my ring finger like a dummy. Well right before lunch I went to the bathroom. As my crazy luck would have it, my ring falls off my finger right into the toilet! Seriously! So my first reaction is to jump up and like and idiot I did jump up at which point I remembered the toilets at work are auto flush! So with that I shove my sleeve up my arm shove my hand and arm in after my ring. YES I DID! Thankfully I made it in, in time and caught my ring. I pulled it out and my heart was racing like crazy and I was basically hyperventilating! All I could think at the moment I dropped it in the toilet was who will freak out more my husband or his mom. You see the solitaire in my engagement ring was her great grandfathers......and there isn't anything you can do to replace it! So I have my ring and I grab the toilet paper to wrap it up and try to dry my hand and arm off so I can pull up my pants. Now I am looking at my ring and my hand and arm and I am totally grossed out. I rush out of the stall to the sink and yes the soap and water are automatic. So I stand there with one hand under the water so it will heat up as hot as I can get it and the other is under the soap dispenser just about emptying the whole bottle in my hand. I then proceed to scrub my hands and arm and ring as much as I can....I think I was scrubbing for about 20 min! Now I leave the bathroom and its time to eat lunch. Seriously how do I eat lunch now....I am grossed out. However I have only 20 minutes to eat before I have to go to a meeting. So I do my best to get some lunch down. So I can tell you now that my wedding ring is home and has made its way to my jewelry box where it will stay until it gets sized and in the meantime I am wearing a gold band with rubies and diamonds as my wedding ring that Chris bought me for our 5th wedding anniversary that I use to wear on my pinkie! So as I see it Amy - 1 Toilet - 0!

Until next time when hopefully I won't have a ridiculous story to tell.....Blessings to each and everyone of you and please continue to pray for us. I will do my best to make an update on Wed.

God Bless!

Hormones & Emotions

Let me start by updating my numbers and letting you know what the schedule appears to be.

Wednesday -
18 follicles measuring over 10
7 follicles measuring over 9 but below 10
Estradil - 1068
Instructions - No change keep everything the same but starting the Ganerelix injection and we will see you on Friday.

Friday -
24 follicles measuring over 10
8 measuring over 9 but below 10
Estradil - 2478
Instructions - decrease Follistim to 150 from 225 and keep everything else the same. We will see you on Sat and will probably do the harvest on Mon or Tues at latest.

Saturday -
29 follicles measuring over 10
7 measuring over 9 but below 10
Estradil - 2750
Instructions - Keep all meds the same and we will see you on Monday. Harvest will now be on Wed.

So the above is a summary of my Dr visits and where we stand on numbers. I go back to the Dr tomorrow morning for another ultrasound and more blood and the expectation is that we will stop the Follistim & Menopur tomorrow, continue the Ganerelix and take the trigger shot Orvadril with harvest being Wed morning.

So when I left the Dr on Friday I was pumped because harvest was expected to be Mon or Tues which meant implant would fall over Labor Day weekend and would give me one or two days rest before going back to work. Now I was extremely uncomfortable and starting to walk funny and not be able to bend over much because my ovaries are so enlarged but everything was happening on the schedule I was hoping for. So Saturday rolls around and my dear friend Angie was asked to speak at the annual Labor Day March of Dimes/Texas Women's Hospital Luncheon and Fashion Show and she had invited me to go. So I was super happy to be going and having a girls day and being there to support her. So we got up Saturday morning and off to the Dr we went. We we got our numbers we were blown away of course we were waiting on the blood work with the Estradil numbers and the nurse was set to call me that afternoon but she said I expect you will be taking the trigger shot tonight and that the harvest will be on Monday or the trigger will be Sunday and the harvest will be on Tuesday. So back home we went, I changed clothes (changed about 4 times before I found something comfortable enough to wear - my midsection is swelling and I look pregnant so clothes are getting difficult), Angie picked me up and we were off for a fun girls day. We got to the hotel and Angie looked amazing and she was nervous but we mingled around and met the other girls she invited suddenly my phone rang. I looked at Angie and Jamie and said I am stepping out this is the Dr. I was so excited and then I got the news.....keep everything the same do NOT take the trigger shot and we will see you on Monday. (I had already made an appt just in case earlier in the week when they thought harvest would be delayed 2 days) Dr Dunn feels its best to do the harvest on Wed! I was crushed and more crushed than I really realized. Everyone including Angie (who I call my personal IVF guru and expert) all thought harvest would be Monday with the number of follicles I had already. With tears in my eyes I told them it would be Wed. Now one of the reasons this got to me is that the implant will be on Monday, Labor Day and I have to go to work that Tuesday for a project I cannot miss. My plan has always been to have two days of rest after the implant and well this is not what is meant to be. I am really not sure what happened to me on Saturday but I was with an awesome group of girls and supporting Angie meant so much to me that I did my best to push the news out of my head. So I did for a few hours anyways. Angie made her speech and there wasn't a dry eye in the whole place! She did amazing and I am truly blessed to have her in my life and call her my friend. She really is one of the strongest women I know. And being the great friend she is, she kept making sure I was OK on Sat which she didn't have to do since this was her day, but that is the great person and friend she is. My other friend Jamie who was there was just the same and both did everything they could to try to keep my mind off of things and to try to get me to relax as much as possible despite the discomfort and down right pain I am now feeling constantly. So after show was over the 3 of us headed home after a quick treat at Starbucks. The girls dropped me off and told me to keep smiling that everything was in God's hands and this is what is meant to be. Now I know this in my head, but apparently it wasn't really clicking. Chris opened the door to the house I walked in and immediately fell apart. To say that I took Chris off guard was an understatement. He was in shock that I was literally falling apart. I cried and cried and cried and I am trying to explain what I am feeling but I can't really speak because of the tears and sobbing and well it was a rough several hours. To say that a great day turned into the worst day yet in this whole process is an understatement. I finally got myself under control and Chris took me to dinner. Was I fine? No. But I managed. The smallest things had me crying all night. At this point I think the perfect storm happened in my mind and with my hormones on Sat between the pain, the news of harvest being pushed back, being at a March of Dimes event surrounded by pregnant women and lots of baby stuff... How am I feeling now? Well I am ready to get these follicles/eggs out. The Inn is full and there isn't anymore room. I am extremely uncomfortable and it gets worse everyday and sometimes I am in down right pain. Mentally how am I? Well today I am better. Not great, but better. I still have a few crying moments here and there but I know that the Dr knows best and I know that God is in control not me. Do I like that I am not in control? No but somehow some way I have to give the control up (hummmm wonder where I get the control issues from.....my mom...LOL). So that is my focus right now....giving it to God and knowing that he will take me through this adventure. Do I regret making the decision to have IVF? NO WAY! Am I tired? ABSOLUTELY physically and mentally and I am more than ready for the harvest to take place. So with all of that being said, please say a prayer for us. I will update after tomorrow's appointment or after harvest depending on how I am feeling both days. Tomorrow I am going for a much needed massage and tomorrow I have a very busy day at work. So I am expecting tomorrow to be much better.

Until next time Blessings to you all!

Progress Update

So our appointments have gone well.

Friday's was informative but uneventful. Basically it was too early to see anything on the ultrasound and the driving factor would be the blood work. When Maria called that afternoon with the blood results everything was right where it was expected to be and she said to continue rwith 225 of Follistim and 75 of Menopur and we will see you on Monday. So we left the Dr office and went to Kemah for what suppose to be the whole afternoon/evening. We had a wonderful late lunch at the Flying Dutchman and walked around a little bit through a few shops right by the restaurants and then got in the car to head to the other shops at which point I told Chris, I really don't feel like walking the stores anymore. I am tired and my head is starting to pound again. He laughed and said I expected you to say that. So we stopped and got an ice cream and headed home. We were home by around 4 in the afternoon and we took a 3 hour nap. I tell you these drugs are not only giving me hot flashes and giving me a headache but I feel like I could sleep for a week straight!

We had a nice weekend and celebrated my birthday on Sunday with my parents and Chris's parents. I got some wonderful gifts from everyone including gift certificates for some massages to help me relax through this IVF adventure.

So this morning we got to the Dr and I told Chris I was starting to really feel bloated. Well we shortly found out why. I had the ultrasound first and it took longer than the last few and was rather uncomfortable. Not painful but lots of pressure. So when we were done, we waited for the nurse to call us in. Maria called us in and asked how I was feeling. I said I am starting to feel bloated. She said well that is because you are growing 18 eggs right now and 5 of them are already measuring. She said this was excellent and we are progressing along greatly. She asked how the headaches were doing and I said they are constant and when I take the Tylenol they dull but never go away. She said that was normal and to just keep taking the Tylenol every 4-6 hours. For me the worst part of the headaches is waking up in the morning to a horrible throbbing pounding headache. I can handle the dull constant headache but to wake up in the morning throbbing is just no fun. But its all worth it in the end so I plug along. So after speaking with the nurse, Maria, we headed down to have the blood work done. This would tell us the rest of the story and Maria would call me in the afternoon with the results and to tell me if or how we would change my medicine. So this blood test was to test for LH, progesterone, and estradil. About 2:45 this afternoon Maria called. She said everything looked great. My estradil was 518, and both my LH and progesterone were low and that was wanted they wanted to see. She said to continue with the injections as before and they will see me on Wed. She expects all my levels to be higher on Wed and to see some good growth of the eggs and if that is the case we will begin the third injection, ganerelix.

So to top of today, I got my first massage at 7 pm tonight and all I can say is HEAVEN!

So all in all we are moving right along and I am sucking up and taking the side effects because in the end it will all be worth it. We are expecting a harvest date of somewhere between Sat & Tues so its just around the corner. I can hardly believe it. Although to many it seems fast, to me these last days have seemed to last forever and it seems like forever until the weekend, but I will work on relaxing and being happy while the time passes by.

So if you would please continue praying and I will update soon. Until next time, Blessings to each and every one of you. We can't thank you enough for your continued prayers and support! God Bless!

And the fun begins......

OK so maybe its not the fun but it is the lovely side effects of the drugs! And although the side effects aren't any fun, I do have some funny stories about them! So tonight at 9pm will be night 3 of the Follistim and Menopur injections. These are fun times I tell you. The good news is they aren't as painful as I anticipated yet anyways. I am sure as my tummy gets poked more and more times it will started getting a bit painful but for right now it just burns when the meds go in so I am thankful for that. So far no bruising on the belly yet but I can definitely feel the injections when I lean on something or bed over, not painful but definitely uncomfortable. So up until today right after lunch that and a terrible headache since Sunday have been the only side effects. But at about 1:00 today I got the worst hot flash I have ever had in my life. Now while on the birth control pills I had some hot flashes at night and they were bad or I thought they were bad but today I found out what a horrible hot flash really is. Now picture this, my boss and my co-worker are both men and about 75% of the rest of the group I work with are men too so to say I was getting strange looks is an understatement. So I am at my desk and had just finished eating about 10 min earlier and suddenly I thought I had turned into the grill that cooked the hamburger I had just ate. I swear I had flames shooting out of my body and it was burning from the inside out. I had sweat pouring off my head, arms and legs. So I went to the kitchen area and got two cups of ice and went into the ladies room where I proceeded to put as much ice on as many parts of my body as possible. I had ice in my bra in my shoes in my pants any where I could stash it and I swear it felt like it got hotter and hotter in there. So then I started eating out of the other cup of ice. After about 10 min I was finally starting to cool off or at least be bearable and so I put myself back together and went back to my desk. And yes I got some crazy looks but thankfully no one asked any questions. Of course I texted my IVF guru Angie and she assured me that this was very normal and that this was a good sign and meant the drugs were doing their job. Thanks Ang - great to have you on speed dial at all times although you might get sick of me! LOL! What was really weird was the headache was completely gone when the hot flash wait I mean when I spontaneously erupted into flames. So I was hopeful that the headache would stay gone, but no such luck it came back as soon as I cooled down to normal again. But hey that's OK. So then on my way home from work, I had to stop at HEB. I am trying to get in and get out with the few items I needed as soon as possible but my body had another idea. I am getting my last item, frozen tater tots when the flames return. So here I am standing in front of the frozen french fries and tater tots holding the door open and trying to figure out how I can climb in the freezer cabinet! Yes I am serious, if I could have gotten in that dang freezer cabinet, I would have but I couldn't figure out how to fit. So I grabbed about 3 or 4 bags of frozen tater tots and draped them over my neck and shoulders. And YES everyone was looking at me like I was insane, but let me tell you I could have cared less! All I wanted was to cool off already! So once the worst had passed, I grabbed a fresh bag of frozen tater tots and headed to the check out. Meanwhile I was getting crazy looks and people asking if I was OK. I just smiled and said sure I am fine doesn't everyone do this. Yeah so I made people really think I was crazy but oh well! I know this much for sure, I am normally a bit of a drama queen but this is just going to amplify my drama queen status! So for all my family and friends out there visit and go places with me at your own risk. I don't take responsibility for causing a scene! LOL!

Just wanted to make sure I got this down so that looking back on it all I will get a good laugh. I go back to the Dr on Friday and I will be sure to update after that.

Until then, please keep praying .......Blessings to you all!

Happy Birthday to me!

Yeah this is where my mommy would say you are such a Leo to the core! And for those that know me, you know I am a typical Leo. My theory is if everyone would just see things my way, life would be much easier. So Sunday was my 35th birthday! We had a great weekend in New Braunfels at Schlitterbahn. It was packed but we still had a great time. And my hubby surprised me with a gift certificate for a massage! Can't wait to use that possibly this coming weekend.

So today started at the Dr's office and we are really full on into the IVF process. This morning started with an ultrasound and some blood work. We then met with my nurse Maria who said everything looked perfect on the ultrasound and as long as the blood work came back right that we are set to start 2 of the injections, Menopur & Follistim, on Tuesday evening. She covered with Chris again to make sure he knew how to give me all the different shots. She sent us on our way, and told us to make an appt for Friday. So on the way down to get the blood drawn, we made our appt. After having the blood drawn, which by the way I had the best person ever draw my blood....only one poke and no pain and I was out in like 3 minutes, we then stopped and picked up all of the prescriptions for this whole process and we were on our way to work. So the basic calendar at this point in time is an estimated harvest date of Aug 30th and an estimated implantation date of Sept 5th. Then that means by mid-Sept to the third week of Sept we will know if we are preggers or not. So about 3:00 this afternoon Maria called and said everything looks great, start the 2 shots on Tuesday night at 9:00pm. So I seriously have never looked forward to shots in my life, but right now I am looking forward to it. However, something tells me after the first set I won't be so excited about it, but I will be excited about what this will lead to. For the past 3 weeks since I was only taking the birth control pills and didn't really have any Dr appts it was hard to remember this whole thing was in process but after today I definitely know I am in the middle of IVF and I couldn't be more excited. It is such a strange feeling to not be scared and nervous about this whole process, but for some reason, I am really at peace with everything no matter what happens. This helps me to know I have made the right decision with God's guidance. God has made sure I am at ease and calm and for that I am blessed and thankful. So please continue praying that this whole process goes smoothly and that we have a positive outcome.

Until next time....Blessings to you all!

Brad Paisley Concert with opening acts Easton Corbin, Justin Moore, & Darius Rucker!!!

Me & Tara

Tara & Rafael

Easton Corbin on the Waterfall Stage singing "I'm a Little More Country Than That"

and yes he even sounds like George Strait in person!

Our seats at the main stage were 3rd Row!

Tara's enormous can of beer that makes you have to pee all night!

Justin Moore

Who knew he was so little...seriously he can't be more than 5'5"!

Darius Rucker

He even sang Hootie and the Blow Fish Country Style and closed his part of the show with Purple Rain....seriously it was amazing! I would love to see a full concert of his!

Anticipating the main show!

Mr. Brad Paisley

We were close enough to actually see his eyes!

When he sang Whiskey Lullaby with Allison Krauss they superimposed her on the back screen of the stage and it actually looked like she was really there signing......it was amazing!

At the end the young boy in front of us was in a wheelchair and he can down and stood right in front of us and played an awesome guitar riff just for him and he took his hat off and gave it to the young boy!

The show was absolutely amazing and the best concert I think I have ever been to and yes the seats probably had a lot to do with it. I still can't believe we had those tickets. During the Rodeo we had joined his fan club (I know nerds, but it paid off). So we got an email about advance sale discount tickets. Chris insisted on buying them even though all they told you about where you would sit was that they were guaranteed to be within the first 20 rows. The catch was you pick them up at the box office the day of the concert. So for almost 6 months I have been wondering where our seats would be.....well we got there got the tickets opened them and they were THIRD ROW! AMAZING! It really was an amazing even and it was made even better to spend it with my best friend and her husband Tara and Rafael! Can't wait to do it again next year even though I only just got my voice back today from screaming so much Friday night!

Blessings to everyone....promise to update more on the IVF very soon! Stay tuned!