OUCH!

36 hours before IUI one must have a shot of HCG to induce ovulation. HCG is the pregnancy hormone, no one told me that the first IUI and of course the day of our insemination I took a pregnancy test, which of course came back positive (all because of the HCG) I thought I had become immediatly pregnant with the IUI. I don't make that mistake anymore.

So here's my shot, my choices for entry were arm, butt or bellybutton!! Do people choose belly button? I chose my arm! Thank goodness Mom's a nurse and I don't have to pay another co=pay just for one little shot.

Have a great weekend! We'll blog again after the IUI on Monday.

Orange Juice = Miracle Elixer

Did you know OJ makes your sperm multiply? Hmmm...we didn't either. The first time we had IUI Mike's count wasn't the most optimal it could have been. The Dr. suggested a glass of Orange juice in the morning and one at night.
The next month his count had TRIPLED! Yep, he drinks lots of OJ!

The Charts!

When you are trying to get pregnant you have to chart....EVERYTHING! Your temperature the second you wake up, medicines that you've taken, everytime you try to make a baby, and other unmentionables.

I have been taking my temperature everyday for THREE YEARS!!! ugh....I hate having to wake up at the same time each day just to make sure my temp is where it should be. Then I have to remember after I fall back asleep to chart it when I'm at the computer. I use fertilityfriend.com. It really is a great website if you need to chart this kind of stuff.

This week we are attempting our third IUI (Intra-Uterine Insemination). We had two failed attempts, so we switched from Clomid to Femera (I call these meds the "egg patrol", it's their job to find 'em and round 'em up to get ready to be fertilized), Femera is stronger with less side effects (yeah right!).

Yesterday I went in to see how many eggs were ready for fun! Only one....but one's really all you need right? It's at 17mm (did you know they measure them?) which means I get Mom to give me the shot to release it tonight and it should begin it's journey about 11:00am on Monday where it will hopefully be fertilized during our IUI at 11:30.

The nurse from the clinic just called to remind me of my appointment on Monday and to let me know that the cost has gone up another $65.00 just so I wouldn't be surprised. Fertility treatments are expensive! It amazes me that others get pregnant for free, yet for me to be a parent we shell out about $400.00 per cycle for the chance that it might happen. The medicine is $50.00 for 5 pills, the ultrasounds are $100.00 each (you need two) and then the proceedure is $150.00.

I do feel grateful that we are able to at least go this far in fertility, the next step is in-vitro, at $12,000 per cycle that's never gonna happen. I don't have $12,000 extra laying around. There is IUI with the help of injectible medications (only $50.00 per shot and you need 10) and you need more ultrasounds so that special IUI is about 1200.00 per cycle. We'll try that in August. We get one shot a year at that one because it is so costly.

Maybe we should take $5.00 a day and play the lottery!!!

Welcome to our blog!

Hello family and friends!

Welcome to our blog! We have decided it's time to let everyone in on what's happening in our life, hopefully the relief of letting it out and the support you bring to our lives will help us along this crazy journey, and maybe teach us a thing or two in the process.

This is going to be our outlet to vent, laugh, cry, make fun of, and try to make sense of our world. If we offend you, please know it is unintentional and we are only trying to work through our own emotions

Most of you know that I teach preschool and have for about the last 20 years, in those years I have potty trained, educated and disciplined hundreds of kids...none of my own. I'm still enjoying everyone elses children but Mike and I decided about 4 years ago to start trying to have a family. Wouldn't you know that really wasn't what life had planned for us. That seems to be a whole other path, the path of infertility.

You know you never notice things until it's something that you want and then it seems to be everywhere! I think pregnant woman* are following me, taunting me with their overgrown bellies and glowing skin. Even today at the gym, 50 treadmills open all around me - the hugely pregnant woman has to choose one right next to me. Really? Must I spend the next 30 minutes trying to finish my workout, and try not to look with jealousy at your belly as you daintily jog along to "A Baby Story" on your treadmill screen.

It's so hard to understand why getting pregnant seems to come to others as easy as growing hair - yet for us, we can't seem to grasp it.

So as we embark uponu the miracles of modern medicine to become parents, we are going to document the whole physical and emotional process here. I guess if we don't get a child, maybe we can get a book deal out of the whole thing. ;)

I have added a video option to the blog, but we have no posted video's yet. The one's there are just from YouTube, feel free to ignore them. You'll see if we post a video because we'll let you know! Feel free to comment right along with us. We'd love to hear from you!!

*note to pregnant readers - I don't hate you, I'm jealous of you - I am fully aware it is not you're fault that I am not pregnant and you are, however you may often hear me vent about the pregnancy's that torment me - please don't be offended, it's just me wanting what you have!