Day 5 Is Here

Today is day 5 of my cycle, usually day 5 is when I am happiest because that means my period is over. Today it's different, I feel excited, overjoyed, and nervous to be taking the next step in this cycle. I start CLOMID today! I take 2 pills (50mg each) per day for 5 days. So that means Cycle days 5-9. Then I will have Weds and Thursday off. Next weekend I will most likely go to monitoring Friday and Sat, with my IUI hopefully happening Sunday. I really hope this is a good experience because my husband will be off work and we won't feel rushed through the procedure.

What is Clomid: Clomid is an oral medication that can be used to stimulate ovulation. It works by blocking estrogen receptors at the hypothalamus, which is an important "hormonal control center" for the body. When this happens, the hypothalamus is stimulated to release follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH). These are the naturally occurring ovarian stimulants, which prompt ovulation in a normal cycle.

I have taken Clomid a few times before, and I tend to get very irritable. So good luck to all my besties who get to be around me this weekend! 

Suprise! Your body is in control!

Last time I posted, Friday I think. I talked about we were cleared for our IUI and I could start on my next cycle. Well I thought it would be a few weeks since I was only on CD16. But no, my body had another plan. I started spotting Mother's Day. For once not depressed about getting my period on Mother's Day, because I knew it was what needed to happen in order for us to take our next step in this journey. We are very excited. So for right now the plan is:
-Friday 5/17/13 Start taking Clomid 100mg for CD 5-9
-Friday 5/24/13 I go for our first monitoring on CD 12

That's all we know so far. This was certainly a surprise, I wasn't expecting to get started for another 2 weeks at least. This just goes to show you are not in control. So I am going with the flow. 

IUI-The Explanation

For sake of explaining this 100,000,000 times. Here is a video of the procedure we are hoping will help us conceive our baby.

IUI on the Horizon

Yesterday evening I had a call with Dr. K. She said all of our tests came back great, and so did Aeron's. His SA improved from the 2 before, and of course we are over the moon about that.
Count: 44 million per mil (needed to be at least 20 million)
Motility: 70% (needed to be at least 40%)
Morphology: 9% (which is good)

So we are really excited. The Dr. said we are good candidates for IUI, and basically we can start whenever I feel comfortable. So either I can start provera to get cycle, or give it a few weeks to see if I can do it on my own. I think we will give it a few weeks, and then if it doesn't come I will take Provera and get this ball rolling.

I hope everyone has a nice relaxing weekend!

Ode To The Mother In Waiting

I found this on another blog, and thought it was beautiful. Too beautiful, not to share. With Mother's Day approaching fast those of us on the IF Journey need to remember this. 

 Ode To The Mother In Waiting

I have longed and waited.
I have cried and prayed.
I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.

I will notice everything about my child.
I will take time to watch my child sleep,
explore,
and discover.
I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life.

I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold, and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream.
My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child.

Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend, and sister because I have known pain.

I know disillusionment, as I have been betrayed by my own body. I have been tried by fire and hell that many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.
I have succeeded.
I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.
I listen.
And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely.

I have learned the immense power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth when life is beyond hard.

I have learned a compassion that only comes by walking in those shoes. I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes, I will be a wonderful mother.

Partial Test Results

So far, So good. I got my day 3 blood work back and all was normal. That is a really good thing because if it wasn't it could mean scary things like diminished ovarian reserve or a tumor in my pituitary gland in my brain. Whewwww.

Aeron's preliminary SA results are in. We are still waiting on the morphology, they said that takes the longest. Right now we know it was 44 million per milliliter (they like to see at least 20mil) and 70% motility, which is also great!

I have a phone meeting with Dr. K next Thursday evening, to find out the next steps!

So good news for the weekend!

Happy Hump Day

Aeron and I celebrated "Hump Day" a little different than we usually do. We went for Aeron's 3rd SA. This was his first at GIVF. He is also got blood work done. So we will see what happens now once we get back his results. This is pretty much our last test until we get to officially start! Woohoo!