The rest of my miserable cycle in a nutshell.  Sunday morning- 12 eggs retrieved!  Drove home feeling over the moon that we got so many little eggies.  Day one fertility report- only 6 mature- only 4 fertilized- only 2 still growing.  Two eggs!!  Now the wait until day 3 to see if they are still strong enough to go to PGD.  Wednesday afternoon got the email that the two embies were biopsied and off to PGD.  Traveled back to Laguna on Thursday.  Friday morning- 9am...  Had my acupuncture appt. scheduled for 8:45 and knew it was bad news as soon as I got there.   Sent into Dr. P's consult room and waited imapatiently for half an hour.  When he got there- he showed me my two beautiful little thriving embies- both boys.  I bawled in his office. I bawled the whole day.  I bawled the next day. And now, here I am- two days later wondering what to do next? 

Thought I'd post how I'm feeling an hour before ER.  I've been so crampy.  Not really bloated but definitely feeling like AF is coming for a few days.  My boobs are SO sore- really, really sore.  I'm nervous about the ER but I'm even more nervous about how many eggies they'll get. What if it's 2? None?  It's all out of my hands now.  I took my last sups last night and it feels so weird that there is nothing else I can do for my embies.  They are as cooked as they are going to be.  I'm going to take a soapless shower this morning and use the unscented deodorant I bought.  I should look really cute going down to the breakfast room with my dh (I can't eat until after...)  Check back in later! 

The time has finally come.  My E2 was 1500 on Thursday and 1900 on Friday and my follies were all about 17-22 mm. on Friday. I didn't count how many there were- I think about 8 or 10.  I figure at this point- does it matter?  We're going to get what we get and I'm not backing out now.  Kelley told me a great story about a woman recently who had 8 and two were normal girls and now she is PG!!  That helped.  I'm just hoping that we get 8+ eggs and they are all mature and all fertilize and all go to PGD.  Dr. Potter said we need to just do 2 probe, so that is what we are going to do.  I can't imagine going through all this and then having a baby with Down's- but I figure my chances are less than 1 in 250, so we're going to have to risk it!  The false positives on the 5 probe rule out my small numbers of embies doing 5 probe.  Again, I wish HRC offered a 3.  Oh well...   I triggered last night at 11 (easy) and today I just take my Doxycicline and no shots!! Yeah!  We're going to have a nice relaxing day of shopping and dinner with friends. I also have my first acupuncture with Rumiko at HRC, so I'm looking forward to that.  Tomorrow morning at 10 is my ER.  Yikes!  I can't believe it's finally here.  We're not doing MS, so my dh can just do his deed with my help here in the hotel room (I didn't know that) and then we bring it over when it's time. I'll update tomorrow. Wish me luck!!   I'm nervous about the "concious sedation" part....

Well, my dh is sleeping and I'm wide awake so I thought I'd do an extra blog post on our stay here at the Laguna Hills Lodge. We checked in on Sunday night- my mom and two boys.  The rooms are clean and nice- not fancy, but fine.  There is a little fridge (for your meds!) and a microwave.  Each morning there is a breakfast that is basically cereal, toast, pastries, hard boiled eggs, juice, and coffee. I've been craving a hot breakfast so yesterday I took the family out to breakfast after my u/s.  On Monday morning we swam a little and I went to my appointment at HRC.  The BEST thing about staying here is that you can literally see HRC from my hotel room.  You could walk but it's about 92 degrees here right now, so I haven't been walking much at all!  I drive over to HRC and park in their garage (have cash $$- the first day cost me 5$$ to park!)  After my appointment we headed across the street to the mall for lunch (Rubio's tacos-yum!) and then we met up with some friends at their house to play in the sprinklers and have dinner.   Tuesday we spent the day at Disneyland.  I didn't bring my meds but I should've brought them with me. You can take them to the First Aid and they will refrigerate them for you.  Instead, we rushed home at 11 so I could take them.  Wednesday I had another appt. so the boys went swimming- then we had lunch at In N Out and shopped a little.  We headed over to Laguna Beach and went to the Sawdust Festival which is an outdooor (but shady...) art festival in Laguna Canyon. There is entertainment, food, and tons of amazing art. My boys love it there- lots of waterfalls, yummy food and kid's art classes. Also, all of the artists are very receptive to the kids looking at their work which is nice.  Some have trains, or toys to lure the kids in!! After the festival, we drove down to Aliso Beach in Laguna- easy parking and a great playground on the beach.  The kids loved all the sea anenomes in the tidal pools.   Thursday we spent at Disneyland again. This time I took my meds and did them at First Aid so we wouldn't have to rush back. We stayed and watched the Electrical Parade.  On Friday we just stayed around the hotel- swam a little, shopped, headed over the the Irvine Spectrum for dinner at the Cheescake Factory (they also have a ferris wheel, carousel, and little train).  Then off to the airport to pick up my dh and send my kiddos and mom home.  The John Wayne airport is not more than 10 minutes away and super easy to navigate.  One day we had planned and didn't do is heading down to Carlsbad to shop at the outlets and go to the Flower Fields (which I love).  My boys also love Legoland, but we did that just a few months ago. So that was our week (so far) at the Laguna Hills Lodge. I would definitely recommend it and the location just can't be beat.     

I am so sorry that I haven't had time to blog. It's been crazy here at the Lodge with two boys, my mom, and myself in this little room.  We've been keeping busy with the beach, the pool, the mall, Disneyland, appointments, etc.  Things are going fine just really really slow.  Tonight will be my eleventh day of stims!  I have somewhere around 12 follicles, I believe between around 14 and 20mm.  Dr. Potter wants the little ones to catch up so my retrieval has been moved from Friday to Saturday to Sunday and, now, maybe to Monday. No biggie except I want to go home!  Now my mom is flying home with the boys on Friday and my dh and I will stay the weekend and then drive home (hopefully Sunday!)  Should be nice and relaxing here this weekend.  My E2 levels have been 114 (day 5)  594 (day 8) and 1194 (day 10) so they are rising nicely, just not quickly.  I'll have another u/s and b/w tomorrow and then hopefully trigger on Friday or Saturday night. I'll update when I can.  BTW, for those who are thinking of bringing their kids- it really is fine (and fun!)  We are all having a blast.  It's nice to have my mom here to watch the boys (they go swimming) while I have my appointments.  Wish me luck tomorrow! 

Had my Day 5 u/s and b/w yesterday.  My E2 came back at 114- really low and my follicles were still really small.  I'm hoping it's because I was still bleeding and now things will start happening.  Because of those results, Dr. Potter upped my meds to 450 gonal f and 2 vials of Menopur.  I had to pay another $400 for the Menopur, but luckily I had enough gonal-f to get through 10 days.  Thank goodness!  So, two nights now of the upped meds and I'm getting bloated and crampy so hopefully that means I've got lots of follies growing in there.  I'm leaving in the morning to drive to HRC and my next u/s and b/w will be there on Monday morning.  Can't wait to see what is going on in there!!   I'll post after that appointment- if I can. This next week is going to be hard with two boys and my mom at the hotel- I'll check in when I can....

BTW, the headaches completely went away- must have been allergies or my body getting used to the stims. I feel fine and completely normal now- yeah! 

Did it!  Got through two days of stims.  Not a big deal at all.  The hardest part is mixing the Menopur- after that it's easier than the Lupron.  I think the needles are thinner and sharper than the Lupron needles which make them easier to stick!  The gonal-f is super easy!  I really didn't think it even worked.  Unfortunately, I think I have the headache to prove it did.  I checked the side effects of Gonal-F and number one is headache. Says 20% of patients report getting a headache.  Of course I have to be one of the 20%. Figures...  I was hoping it was just an allergy headache so we'll see....  Other than that- just trying to relax, do my meditation CD, drink lots of water and pomegranate juice and encouraging those little follies to grow, grow, grow!!!   Had acupuncture this morning and she stuck needles (MORE needles!) in my ovaries to encourage blood flow.  Hope that helps!  I'll update again after my next u/s and b/w on Friday.  Can't WAIT to see how many eggies are a growing! 

Never thought I'd be so glad to be giving myself shots!  I had my baseline u/s and b/w today.  I have to say it's really nice to go to a nice fertility clinic and know that everything will go smoothly.  I've never had to wait for an appointment- and they are so nice and fast with everything.  Guess it's because I'm paying them a hell of a lot of $$, but oh well!   Everything looked great.  No cysts- lining was a 5.  He only counted about 8 follicles, but said they were really hard to see and that there were probably more hiding.  He didn't seem worried at all.  It's weird because in January before my IUI I had an AFC of 15.  Hopefully this isn't just a bad month!   My E2 came back at 0 which means that this miserable excuse for a period WAS my period, but really light and spotty.  I was so worried all day that I'd have to wait for her and change all my plans, but no worries! 

Anyway, I got a call from Lori, my nurse, and she said everything looked fine to start tonight- yeah!  She actually said I could do my first shots on the phone, but I wasn't ready.  I told her I'd call her if I ran into any problems.  Guess I should go get it all figured out.  Wish me luck! 

So, now there is more to worry about.  I stopped my BCP last Tuesday and now it's Sunday and I don't know if this is true AF or not. I've been spotting for over a week now and I'm crampy and bloated.  But, it's definitely not a heavy AF.  I have my first monitoring appointment tomorrow morning and I believe they can tell from my lining and bloodwork whether I'm ready to start stims. PLEASE cross your fingers that I'm ready. The last thing I want to do now is change all my travel plans and arrangements to wait for AF to show!!  That would be terrible.  Goodness, is there always something to worry about?  

As for the monitoring appointments- I decided to go with the $$ fertility clinic about 45 minutes away.  I couldn't figure out how to swing it at the OB/GYN with timing and getting to a blood lab for the b/w.  So now I'm paying over $600 for each appt.  Thank god there are only two!!  Tomorrow morning at 8:20 is my first appointment which means I need to be out of my house by 7 to drop the kids off at a friends (thank you!) and sit through traffic to get there in time.   Hopefully it will all go smoothly and I will be ready to start my stims tomorrow night.  Only problem is, I haven't even LOOKED at my stims so I'll have to sit down and figure out what I'm doing at some point tomorrow.  I'll let you all know how the appointment and (hopefully) first stim shots go!!  Wish me luck! 

Had my first side effects from the Lupron yesterday- hot flashes!  Feels like I have a really bad sunburn and I start sweating- yuck.  I'm on day 6, so that is not too bad I guess.  Hopefully they don't get worse...  

I'm having the worst luck trying to coordinate my monitoring appointments.  If you are not at HRC to do the monitoring then you have to go to your local clinic (or in some cases, OB/GYN) to do the first 1-3 u/s and b/w appointments.  I can't decide between going to my "local" fertility clinic (about 45 minutes away) or my new OB/GYN.  The problem is that my OB does the follicle scan u/s but not the b/w.  No labs in my county do the stat Estradiol testing.  So, I'd have to travel for the b/w anyway.  Makes more sense to just do the u/s and the b/w at the fertility clinic, right?  Yes excpet that the clinic charges $425 for an u/s and my OB charges $210.  True, it's only $430 difference (with two appointments) but that is a lot of baby clothes I could buy.  Right now I have appointments at both places for Monday morning so I need to decide today what I'm going to do!  Arrgghhh....

Started my BCP last week- made we pretty weepy and emotional, but that's it.  Started my shots on Friday so I'm on Day 3.  No problems at all except I was so nervous on day 1 that I dropped my needle and it bent!!  That was lame.  Other than that, it has been a piece of cake.  Doesn't hurt at all or leave a mark, which is nice.  So far no side effects either- yeah!   I was SURE I would get a headache as a side effect, but apart from a mild one the first day- no sign of anything.  Had my DS 2's big 5th birthday party today and, boy, am I glad that is over.  We had a blast but it was a lot of work.  From here on out it's just keeping stress-free, relaxing, and preparing for our trip down south.  So I stop my BCP on Tuesday and then nothing happens until I have my first u/s and b/w on July 6th. Still trying to decide where to get that done- monitoring clinic or ob/gyn.   Hoping to hear from the ob/gyn tomorrow to see if we can schedule that.  If so- great!  I'll save tons of $$ by going to them instead of the fertility clinic.  Keep your fingers crossed that it works out.  

So, here's my schedule so far. 

June 14th- start BCP

June 26th-start Lupron

July 6th- First u/s and b/w- begin stims

July 10th- Second u/s and b/w (local) 

Drive to HRC on July 12th

July 13th- third u/s and b/w at HRC

July 15th- fourth u/s and b/w at HRC

estimated ER on 17th

Travel home on 18th

Drive back on 21st

estimated ET on 22nd

My mom and I are bringing the boys on the 12th and planning on doing Disneyland, the beach, Legoland, etc.   Then, my dh will arrive on the 16th for his part and we will all drive home together.  Then, just my dh and I will drive back on the 21st for my ET on the 22nd.

After my CCT results (day 10 FSH of 11.3) I decided to do everything I possibly can to make this cycle as successful as possible. I've researched and googled and read to find all the tips and advice from successful cyclers. Here's what I'm doing to prepare for my July cycle...

Weekly acupuncture since April, fertility yoga, meditation cds, eating all organic (or as much as possible), trying to keep my stress as low as possible (ha!)

Supplements:

Wheatgrass/ Spirulina/Royal Jelly-Bee Pollen/ Chinese herbs for fertilty (as per my acupuncturist)/ CoQ10/ Prenatal/ Fish Oil/ Extra Folic Acid/ Probiotics- WHEW!! 

At least I feel that I'm as ready for this cycle as I will ever be- whether or not I get a BFP.

Well, it's not really the beginning.  Not even close... but here we go!  In July of last year- suddenly, I decided I was ready.  I have two sons, ages 7 and 4 and the day after my youngest turned 4- I was hit with an overwhelming desire for a daughter.  I'd had that desire before but, now, I was ready.  I started to explore my options.  I was pretty sure I wasn't interested in swaying as we tried that with DS#2.  I had saved a few articles on Microsort so I dug those up. I also started researching adoption.  After much discussion and research, we decided to go through with an IA from Russia.  We did the paperwork, the classes, tons of running around, filing things and then, the economy tanked!  Suddenly, pouring about 50k into getting another child was not looking so great to my dh (he's in finance)  He said- Why can't we just HAVE another baby?  I said, Fine as long as we do Microsort.  So that led us to our MS/IUI in January at HRC.  One of my most dispappointing days ever.  We had done the Clomid, all of the local monitoring, had some nice big follies, traveled to Laguna (two boys in tow...) did the trigger shot and my dh went in, bright and early on Wednesday morning for his "deposit."  Bad news.  We had never done a S/A- didn't think we needed it with two boys, easily conceived.  Kelley called me at the mall to tell me that the IUI was cancelled- very very low sperm count- low motility- little chance we'd get pregnant on our own and definitely no chance we could do Microsort. By that night I was researching PGD/IVF and within a month we had decided to go to HRC and do PGD/IVF with Doctor Potter. So that is what started it all!  Sometimes, I wish we had stuck to the adoption path. We'd might even have a referral by now. But I've decided you just have to make a decision and move on.  I'm a firm believer in positive thoughts!!