Hope - at our doorstep

For awhile now our motto has been about "Having Hope" and "Never Give Up".

This morning the doorbell rang and a package was sitting on the doorstep. When we opened the package, this is what we found.

Thank you for such a special gift! (You know who you are.)

We have a plan!

Our meeting with the new doctor went really well yesterday. We were very impressed and had a great overall feeling for the new doctor and clinic in general. We'll be seeing Dr Campbell at The Center for Reproductive Medicine in Minneapolis.

I'm about half-way through my cycle and when AF arrives, I'll call the clinic for a prescription for BCPs. I told him I ovulated through the one I was on before so he's gonna make sure I get on a higher dose one this time as quiet ovaries are crucial to starting an IVF cycle.

I'll be taking BCPs for about 3 weeks and then moving on to the stimulation drugs. It's too soon to have an actual calendar or protocol, but it sounds like ER (egg retrieval) will be early to mid May.

We have a few things that we need to verify through insurance and both of us have to get some blood work done and then there's a little more to do on my end, but it's mostly just pre-IVF stuff. Mock transfer, SIS (Saline infused sonogram) and the blood work. We've already had a lot of the required tests and they already know what the swimmers are capable of so we don't have to re-do any of those tests.

Doctor recommended IVF with ICSI (which we already knew based on the borderline normal hamster test). With ICSI you pay one additional flat fee and they'll do all the mature eggs, so you have a better chance of optimal fertilization rates.

It feels so good to know that we're just a few weeks away from getting another cycle started. While it's been so nice to not have the stress for the last few weeks, I'm ready to move on!

To my friends

Here we are under a week to our IVF consultation appointment. I know I wouldn't be where I am today without the generous love and support from all of my friends both in real life and through the internet. And for that, I say Thank You.

I haven't been around a lot lately, and for that, I'm sorry. There really hasn't been much for me to say over the last six weeks. Surprisingly, the time has actually gone by pretty fast. I can only hope that after our appointment we find ourselves with some sort of a schedule or at least an outline of a plan for what's to come.

One month from today

March 26th is the big day! We meet the new RE and have our IVF consultation. Four more weeks (and a day) and we'll be there.

Last week I completed my new patient paperwork and got that mailed off along with the release forms going to my old doctor and the urologist. Hopefully by the time our appointment is here the new clinic will have all of our previous records.

It still feels weird to be on a break, but it just makes the most sense. Why waste insurance dollars when we can move on to bigger and better treatment. In my heart, I know this is the right decision.

Come on March 26th!

My World in Pictures

Here's something a little different today thanks to the Blogger's Challenge.

1. What is your first name?


2. When is your birthday?


3. What kind of car do you want?


4. Where did/do you go to school?
Close enough!

5. What is your favorite season?


6. What is your favorite type of shoe?


7. What is your status?


8. What is your favorite movie?


9. What is your favorite song?


10. Who is your favorite Disney character?


11. What is your favorite clothing line?


12. What is your favorite vacation destination?


13. What is your favorite dessert?


14. What is your favorite letter?


15. What are you most afraid of?


16. What is your favorite TV show?


17. What annoys you the most?


18. What is your job?
(for now - aka unemployed)

19. What is your favorite animal?


20. How old are you?


Wanna play? Here's how:
1. Go to photobucket.com
2. Type in your answer for each question into the PhotoBucket search bar.
3. Only use the first two pages. Choose your favorite photo to represent your answer.
4. Copy the html and paste it here.
5. You can only answer in picture form

A new chapter is about to be written...

it's time for us to admit defeat. We can't do this on our own, we can't do this with the help of IUI. It's time to move on to IVF.

Luckily with the new year came new insurance that includes IVF coverage. Unfortunatley my current RE does not do IVFs, so we have to switch clinics and find a new doctor. Our first IVF consultation with a new RE isn't until March 26th, so we've got about 6 weeks to wait. I might see what else I can find out there, but at least we have this one on the books for now.

Six weeks seems like such a long ways away, but I know it will go by fairly quickly.

Half way there

It's been a pretty uneventful week since the IUI last Friday. I had an ultrasound on Tuesday and got to see a nice shot of my empty ovaries and the corpus luteum. Funny how only days before they were full of follicles just ready to pop. This was the first time I'd been in for an ultrasound after ovulation and seen them at this stage.

Today is 8dpIUI. I'm pumped up on progesterone in the form of Prometrium plus an extra 2500iu hCG the day of the IUI and twice more this week. I'm feeling lots of pressure, some bloating and overall discomfort, but nothing to unbearable.

By this time next week we should know the outcome of our 5th IUI.
*fingers crossed*