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!