Get Congress' help!!!

Read this blog, pass it along! Get someone you know, or go yourself to make congress hear us!!! We need these bills passed to help alleviate the financial strain it can take on families

http://www.resolve.org/get-involved/legislative-issues/blog/i-made-a-promise-i-have-to.html

Some Good Infertility Quotes

“If a tree falls in the forest, can anyone hear it? If an infertile bangs her head against the wall in a bathroom at a baby shower, can anyone hear her?”

 “Millions of couples suffer from infertility, so why the f$ck is everyone pregnant but me?”

 “Nature has got it all wrong: When you are younger, it should be harder to get pregnant, and as you get older it should be easier. When you are so ready, you can’t do it to save your life. And when you are 21, you are so not ready, but you are ripe as could be. The eggs should become more developed the older you get, not die slowly from the day you’re born. That’s one thing God got wrong.” – Halle Berry

Inspirational book title:  - The Facebook Story: I just deleted all my pregnant friends.

 If curiosity killed the cat, than the infertile can shoot eye pistols at the fertile who conceived on her first attempt.

“You know you are trying to get pregnant when: Someone asks you today’s date and you reply “Day 21.” -Melissa

“You know you have been TTC too long when you open the fridge door and immediately get angry at the eggs in the carton…. or jealous.” -Tiffany

 “QUESTIONER: “Wow, I didn’t know you were married that long. How many kids do you have?” ME: “None. They’re on backorder. I ordered them, like, forever ago. I don’t know, they must be out of stock.” -Rachel



Gotten from :  http://www.999reasonstolaugh.com/

Ashley's IVF Results

So after our transfer (3/26/12) I ate LOTs of pineapple! A few fellow IVFers and I also read what helps implantation that fresh pineapple is supposed to help implantation. So I ate 1/2 of pineapple 3/26-3/30! I thought its worth a shot! I love fresh pineapple. I had some mild cramping throughout the week and I thought my bloating (from the retrieval on 3/21) was starting to go down on over the weekend. Monday I woke up and I was really bloated again (I was hoping this was a good sign) we also received our letter from the embryologist that we had 5 embryos frozen- great news! We only lost one embryo :) Most people only get to freeze one or two - we are so lucky. Tuesday I had a little break down before going to bed. I was crying thinking about receiving bad news on Friday. I hadn't had any symptoms or if I did I attributed them to other causes (having a headache for two days 3/29-3/30, vision changes for the past week, breast soreness but I am taking progesterone) I also woke up at 10:44 pm that night with horrible cramping very similar to when I have my period except a little worse. Wednesday I had to be up at 4:00 am to go in for my first bHCG lab. I prayed the whole way there 1.5 hrs. When I got there I asked the nurse if she would be calling me today if the lab came back at 0. She said they still make you come back on Friday so that's when I'd get results. I told her I was just curious because my DH and I were contemplating taking a hpt test even though I didn't really want to find out that way because we would have family at our house as soon as we got home on Friday and they'd be staying the whole weekend and I also would be having my sister's baby shower on Saturday. So I went to work and on my drive home from work I was trying to figure out if it would be best to take a hpt that night or Thursday night, when my phone rang! A the nurse's voice said "Ashley, this is Jean, I've just been dying to call you all day, your labs came back great! Not just good, great!" I said crying "Oh, I didn't expect to hear from you today, thank you so so so very much I can't tell you how much this means to me." She said I just couldn't have you waiting and thinking about this all week and then having to go to your sister's baby shower on Saturday. I didn't want you to worry, and if I had any doubt I wouldn't have called you but your labs are great, with a possibility of twins. Your bHCG is 332 and progesterone is 169." After I hung up the phone I cried, no balled like a baby, to the point I probably should have stopped the car! I was so happy and in shock! A few minutes after I calmed down I called my husband to see when he'd be home. He said he had to work late and would be home in a few hours. So I was trying to think of a way to tell him! We originally thought we'd find out by me peeing on a hpt and we'd both find out at the same time and have it confirmed on Friday by a call from the doctor's office. So I got home and made a sign/card that said "we are finally pregnant". When my husband got home I was trying to act as normal as possible. After a few minutes I said come here a minute we need to talk, so I had him come into our bedroom and sit down at the edge of the bed. I told him Stella and I have something to tell you. (Stella is our lab) I handed him the card, he opened it and a huge smile came across his face and he said "really?" and I told him all the details of the nurse calling. We decided to not tell any of our family until we received our results on Friday to make sure things stayed positive!

So Friday morning my mom road with me (clueless) to my appointment. The nurse asked what my mom thought and I said I haven't told her yet. She laughed and said she's road with you three times now you need to tell her on your way home. I said yes it's been hard keeping it from her. So after leaving the clinic I told her. She is so excited and happy :)

Friday afternoon Jean called and said your labs came back great again today they more than doubled 872 today! She said she thinks we are having twins!! :) (We hope so too!)

Friday night we told my parents and my sister & her husband, I put a little piece of paper saying we are pregnant and candy in a plastic Easter egg for each of them. We also told my husbands parents and siblings at our Easter Gathering on Saturday, and my grandma on Easter. We will tell my other grandparents today or tomorrow. Everyone is very happy. One of the most special parts in all of this is our due date is 12/12/12, which was my grandpa's birthday. He passed away 3.5 yrs ago and I can't help but think he's had a hand in this. We thanked everyone for their prayers and asked them to continue to pray for everything to go well and for us to have healthy pregnancy and baby(s).

We will tell the rest of our family and friends as soon as we know if there is one or two and we see heartbeat(s) which will be in the next week or two and know that everything is going well. I am fortunate that I am a sonographer and can find out sooner than our viability ultrasound that is scheduled for 4/25.

I've been feeling pretty good, bloating, tired, and crampy but I'm enjoying it! We are SO excited and still in shock it's so hard to believe! We are praying for everything to work out and continue to go well - hoping for the best and ready and hoping for twins, but would feel very blessed with one as well! :)

Mrs Red's IVF

March 26, 2012 Was day three of my cycle... This is the one where I am supposed to call the RE to get BC so that we can start the stuff for IVF. I was soooo nervous because OF COURSE my cycle starts on a Saturday! I called the doctor's office as soon as they opened and left a message for the nurse. They called me back at 945 and asked me to come right away so they could get blood work and give me my script. I told my boss I'd be back in a few hours and hurried to the medical center. They took a little blood and told me they would call me with calendar dates of stuff. Said I'd have to have another saline histogram (since I have a history of uterine polyps), my hubby would need to take an HIV and Hep B test, and that he needed another swimmer check since our last IUI was a year ago. I left the office excited and anxious lol
Wednesday, my nurse called and gave me my Estradiol and FSH numbers and said they were perfect! YAY, Nothing is EVER perfect with me!! LOL, and she gave me the dates for my sono's, E2 checks and a round about time frame of when we'll do the retrieval/transfer.
I went yesterday (April 2nd) to the doctor with my hubby and they did the saline histogram (I could be spelling that wrong so forgive me) and to meet with the anesthesiologist. They were concerned with my BMI and wanted to make sure I wouldn't have any breathing problems. Anesthesiologist said that she didn't see what problems I would have but still asked me all the problems and said I was healthy enough :) So then we did the saline test. They do the transvaginal ultrasound first to get a baseline check of everything, then they take that out, put the speculum, which hurt, and then poke a catheter through the cervix and up into the uterus. Then back in the ultrasound thing goes, then they take a picture of where the tip is and then start injecting the uterus with saline, at first it just feels weird, but as it starts filling up, omg it hurt and caused so much cramping. Then I hear them say, oh look, I think there's a polyps at the end there. :( I wanted to cry. Polyps mean surgery, surgery means 2 months before we can do ivf, I got really sad. But they're just nurses. LoL The doctor looked at the pictures and said, I need to see the video, I'll brb. Before he left he showed us what I had last time and it looked different. While he was gone, we talked about what surgery would mean, not just a delay but I don't get paid for days off, and we prayed. The doctor comes back and confirms that the nurse just scraped the inside of my uterus and it was just a flap she made and he wasn't going to do surgery! YAY!!! We will have retrieval/transfer the week of April 30th!!!

-Mrs Red

Ashley's IVF

Well, I just like to give a quick update about our IVF journey. We started stimulation drugs two weeks ago and on Wednesday 3/21 we had our retrieval! On Monday they knew I was a little over stimulated (OHSS) so they gave me some medicine to help with that because usually the symptoms get worse after the retrieval. The retrieval went well. Hubby was in the operating room, I was under anethisea, we got 13 eggs!! Since the retrieval I've been very bloated (which is very normal I'm told) but other than that I've felt good so far. On Friday we found out we will be doing a Day 5 transfer (on Monday, March 26) and that is when we will find out how many embyros made it and if we'll have some to freeze too. For now I'm just focused on preventing and reducing the OHSS symptoms (they can get worse or onset if I become pregnant too) by staying hydrated and not being on my feet for too long. I've been doing stuff around the house but then resting when I feel like I've had enough. We are praying every moment and stay positive! I'll update you when I know more.

Well, yesterday our transfer went very well. We got to the clinic and they did a
quick OHSS check on me. Things look good with that they just want to monitor me
again tomorrow to make sure things stay that way. After the OHSS check they
went over our post-transfer instructions. I was on bed rest with bathroom privileges
starting right after the transfer until Wednesday. They require this to give
the best chance possible for the embryo(s) to implant. They also don't want you
showering or bathing until 2 days after the transfer. I can go back to work
Wednesday but cannot do any strenuous activities or lift more than 10 lbs until
my pregnancy test, which will be on 4/4/12 & 4/6/12. They will not give me
results until 4/6/12. If I do get pregnant we won't know how many implanted
until a couple weeks later when we can see by ultrasound.
After we went over the post-transfer instructions they took us into the procedure
room. I took my valium (they have you take this so you are relaxed and able to
sleep/rest after the transfer) than the Embryologist came in to tell us what
has happened since our retrieval. Out of our 13 eggs retrieved, 10 were mature
and that they could ICSI. Out of those 10, 8 fertilized normally. We had 3
grade 1 embryos on Monday (3/26/12) they chose the best two to transfer and the
third was frozen. The will continue to watch the other 5 and will freeze up to
5 more but the Embryologist said she's hoping for at least a few more. She said
they are all doing well, but they will only freeze the ones that are good
quality. We will know how many are frozen sometime next week. Of the two great
quality ones that were transferred one was already starting to hatch (ready to
implant) and the other wasn't far behind! We are so happy and so excited!!! We
are also so lucky to such great and supportive friends and family. My parents
brought dinner last night which was so nice.

P.S. Of course there is nothing good on tv ;)

Your Path is Not Mine

As a woman with PCOS that struggles with infertility and *most* of the symptoms of PCOS, it is hard to remember that my life is special and unique than those around me.

Yes, there are things I want in life, a lot of which I want RIGHT NOW. But I have to constantly remind myself that this is my journey. I can't compare it to others' because their journeys are different. Would I have preferred to be fortunate and get pregnant when we first started? Yes and no. I want a baby but if we had gotten pregnant when we first started almost 4 years ago, we wouldn't have accomplished or acquired what we have. Or we would've had to work even harder for it.

Do I like my path? Not always. Sometimes I wish certain mile-markers would just hurry up and get here. Perhaps I have certain achievements that I am not aware of that need to be finished first. Who knows.

I can tell you that the Hubs & I just shared our 6 year anniversary (not bad for getting married at 19 & 20!), we have a great house, I went back to college and am hoping to be accepted to the Fall nursing program, we have two working vehicles, a family that loves us and supports us, and are generally pretty happy.

I am thankful for that. I know that one day I will have my bundle of joy. Will it be when you do? No. Our paths will be different. You will have your own struggles and achievements. But I wish the best for you and hope that you know what you want out of life other than a baby. Maybe you have certain goals to reach first.

Best of luck!

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God is funny

I was talking to my mom and she inadvertently made me feel like a disappointment of a daughter again because we still don't have a baby. I know she didn't mean it, she was just talking, but as more time passes the less she knows how to say things to me... Anyway i was on the way to pick the hubby up from work and feeling like crying my eyes out. I want a baby yesterday, I feel like I'm letting everyone down. Then a song from Third Day came on called Tunnel, and the lyrics at the end of the song hit me, my tears sucked themselves back in and I'm still kind of sad but I'm ok... Because I believe it

Third Day -Tunnel

I won't pretend to know what you're thinking
I can't begin to know what you're going through
I won't deny the pain that you're feeling
But I'm gonna try and give a little hope to you

Just remember what I've told you
There's so much you're living for

[Chorus]
There's a light at the end of this tunnel
There's a light at the end of this tunnel
For you, for you
There's a light at the end of this tunnel
Shinin' bright at the end of this tunnel
For you, for you

So keep holdin' on

You've got your disappointments and sorrows
You ought to share the weight of that load with me
Then you will find that the light of tomorrow
It brings a new life for your eyes to see

So remember what I've told you
There's so much you're living for
[Chorus]
So keep holdin' on
Keep holding on

[Musical Break]

So remember what I've told you
There's so much you're living for
[Chorus] x2
There's a light at the end of this tunnel
For you, for you
Shinin' bright at the end of this tunnel
For you, for you
So keep holdin' on
Keep holding on
Keep holding on, now.

You've got your disappointments and sorrows
But I'm gonna try and give a little hope to you


-mrs red

Stating the obvious

I want a baby. I like reeeeeally want a baby, I want to will my uterus to be pregnant now... I'm having one of those bad days and it sucks... I feel like my husband would love me more if we had a baby, I feel like he would think more of us as a family if I was at least pregnant. He's wonderful, he really is... I'm just feeling so guilty right now.... Im so exhausted...

I want a baby

-mrs red

Timing Timing Timing

For the last several months I have been thinking about when we will try again for a baby.

Originally we decided to wait until I started nursing school, based on the hope that it would be the Spring or Fall 2012 semester.

We made that decision a while ago, when I had initially planned on applying in Aug/Sept 2011 for the Spring 2012 start. I ended up not being able to apply because I couldn't take the entry test due to all the dates being full.

In the meantime I took additional classes like medical terminology and a certified nursing assistant course. I just finished the CNA course on March 1st (as valedictorian!) and submitted my nursing application for the Fall 2012 start on February 27th.

I was annoyed at that additional delay. Then I started thinking... Always a bad thing.

Nursing school is 2 years long. I have a feeling, deep in my gut, that if I am accepted for the Fall 2012 start, we actually won't start trying until the 2nd year of school, that way I'm done when we start trying.

I know it's smart, but it tears at my heart. I know we have to see how it goes... but still...

~Shannon