Early June Baby?!?!

YES! I am pregnant! We found out on Wednesday that I'm pregnant. Don't know how far along I am but heading to the Dr. tomorrow. Hopefully find out soon. I went in Tuesday to the appt. to figure out what was going on. Like why I wasn't getting pregnant & also get my cycle going again. They had to do an Ultrasound to see if my tubes were open. We didn't see anything but the Dr. did notice that one of my Follicles were popped. But she said that doesn't mean anything, sometimes they pop & don't go anywhere. (Meaning I ovulated, the egg was released but the egg didn't travel down the tubes like it was supposed to.)
But in order to get my cycle going they went ahead & did a Pregnancy Blood Test just to make sure. Well, SURPRISE! There was in fact a baby in there. When I found out I was at the VA Hospital with Spencer getting paperwork filled out (nothing wrong) in the hallway jumping up & down. Spencer couldn't freak out as much because he was being called back to talk to people. But he's excited.

We called Peggy while still at the Hospital. She was the first to know. I told her over the phone & I made her cry. She got her wish. That night we took Mom & Dad out to eat at Olive Garden. Gave them a card that stated that they are going to be Grandparents ... AGAIN! Took them a second but they figured it out. Gave Hayden a T-Shirt that says, "Big Brother". We had to read it to him & once he heard he got super excited. He's so happy to become a big brother.

2 days ago I had my first run at morning sickness. This baby either doesn't like Whataburger Burgers or Hot Cheetos or both. But for the next 9 months I am staying far away from both just to make sure.

More about Cerivcal Mucus

I found some better pictures about what the CM looks like on Google. This info is borrowed from Baby Center. They have the credit, & do not take responsibility for this info.

You can find this info. at.  http://www.babycenter.com/101_what-cervical-mucus-looks-like-through-your-cycle_10351429.bc

Egg white cervical mucus

So-called egg white cervical mucus is the most fertile of all CM types because it allows the sperm to swim easily into the cervix. Its consistency is similar to raw egg whites and it can stretch an inch or two without breaking in the middle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watery cervical mucus

Watery CM is second best for conception, after egg white CM. It allows sperm to move unhindered into the cervix, but doesn't make the sperm's job quite as easy. When you have watery CM, you may feel as though you've leaked urine in your underwear. Watery CM is clear in color and drips or runs off your fingers.

 

 Creamy cervical mucus

Creamy CM is considered non-fertile because it greatly restricts the movement of sperm. Creamy CM can be a pearly white or creamy yellow. It's thick and feels like lotion when rubbed between the fingers

 

Sticky cervical mucus

 Sticky or tacky CM is the least fertile. It's thick and chunky and feels kind of like paste or like glue from a glue stick, making it hard for sperm to swim through.

Okay since I have not done a post on if I was pregnant or not, you can probably guess that I'm not. AF came (the evil bitch) & onto the next cycle.
We will not be doing anymore medicated cycles until we get to Houston to see my regular Doctor. Regular as in he knows what's going on with my ovaries, & will actually 'try' to get it to work instead of forcing me to get IUI's every month to get paid by the military.
Since I've been sick for mostly the full half of this cycle, this one with more than likely be a bust also. But since I have been sick I know that we didn't try every other day so there's no possibility to get upset about over nothing. Which is sad when you think about it.

Sooo for a sign off I will use a picture, a Someecard that I created with words from my lovely TTC ladies.

Basal Body Temperature.

**Please note this is Copied from Wiki & possibly other sites & reworded**

Basal body temperature is the lowest temperature attained by the body during rest (usually during sleep). It is generally measured immediately after awakening and before any physical activity has been undertaken, although the temperature measured at that time is somewhat higher than the true basal body temperature. In women, ovulation causes an increase of one-half to one degree Fahrenheit (one-quarter to one-half degree Celsius) in basal body temperature (BBT); monitoring of BBTs is one way of estimating the day of ovulation. The tendency of a woman to have lower temperatures before ovulation, and higher temperatures afterwards. Charting of this pattern may be used as a component of fertility awareness.

While trying to conceive

Regular menstrual cycles are often taken as evidence that a woman is ovulating normally, and irregular cycles is evidence she is not. However, many women with irregular cycles do ovulate normally, and some with regular cycles are actually anovulatory or have a luteal phase defect.

Records of basal body temperatures can be used to accurately determine if a woman is ovulating, and if the length of the Post-Ovulatory (Luteal) phase of her menstrual cycle is sufficient to sustain a pregnancy. Some fertility computers and software can help a woman to determine these factors. (aka Fertility Friend) Pregnancy Tests are not accurate until 2-3 weeks (14-21 days) after ovulation. Knowing an estimated date of ovulation can prevent a woman from getting false negative results due to testing too early. Also, 18 consecutive days of elevated temperatures means a woman is almost certainly pregnant.
Tracking basal body temperatures is a more accurate method of estimating gestational age than tracking menstrual periods

Understanding Cervix & Mucus

In my TTC Group on FB there have been a few ladies that was confused on cervix & mucus relating to Ovulation. Which is understandable since I was the same way when I started doing it myself. Some of this information I copied from some sites & rephrased it, some I wrote. Hope this info. helps.

Cervix-

Checking yourself for Mucus & position is going to take time since you've got to figure out what "opening" is. The best way I can describe it, your Cervix is going to feel like a ball with slits/"x" in it. At least that's what it feels for me. 

To find your cervix you may want to be in a squatting position or have one foot on a stool. Insert one or two fingers into your vagina and push them towards the back of your vagina. You will reach a spot that feels firmer than the rest of your vagina. Your cervix may feel soft like your lips or firm like the tip of your nose. You may notice your cervix feeling more open or closed. It may take you a cycle or two to determine when your cervix is softest, firmest, highest or lowest.

-Right after AF, your cervix will be low and easier for you to reach. It will feel firmer and closed.

-During ovulation your cervix will be higher and more difficult to reach. It will also feel soft, wet and you may notice it feeling more open. (If you have given birth before your cervix may feel more open than someone who has not)

-After ovulation, your cervix normally returns to a more firm, lower position.

Mucus-

These are the types of mucus you will see during your menstrual cycle.

Dry: At the beginning of your cycle, before ovulation you will likely produce little to no cervical mucus. Also right before your period should start your cervical mucous may become dry again. If you do not notice cervical mucus you will want to record this on your chart as dry.

Sticky: You may notice sticky cervical mucus before ovulation. It feels sticky to your fingers when you touch it.

Creamy: As you get closer to ovulation you will notice thicker, creamy-looking cervical mucous. This mucous looks and feels similar to lotion.

Eggwhite: Eggwhite cervical mucous is the term used to describe the mucous you have during ovulation. It looks like eggwhites and is slippery, clear, and stretchy.

Watery: Watery cervical mucous is wet and may be stretchy. You may notice this type of cervical mucous during ovulation or before having eggwhite cervical mucus.

I found another site that might be able to help  http://www.gardenoffertility.com/cervix.shtml


Okay feel free to ask me questions. I will do my best to answer them. I too am still new to this even tho I've been doing this for two years. But as I am no Dr. I cannot answer everything & if I am still unsure please refer to them.

I had some spotting yesterday that started the bumming out & grump-ness. So this morning AF came & ruined the day. I had a blood test before AF came but even tho the blood test results haven't come back I know it's Neg. 

So I will be going drug free until moving time. Which will probably be Oct/Nov until I can see my Dr. in Houston. One that isn't going to force me to have an IUI every cycle. So now my decision is to decide if I'm going to attempt temping or forget it. 

Just makes me a little pissed off because Hubby was off of work for the past two weeks & gave us plenty of time to time it right for the Trigger Shot I took. AND what ya know, no Goal! 

So in another words, Grrrrrrr!!!

Quiz Time!

Okay I gave Spencer a quiz just to see how much he pays attention when I talk about this stuff. Let's say he failed. Horribly. But most of these are funny.

TTC- Trying To Conceive (Correct)
AF- Assault Frenzy
BD- Big Dick (close)
HPT-Haven't Potty Trained
BFN- ? - (no answer)
BFP- ? - (no answer)
IUI- Oh Damn, It's your pregnancy thingy.
POAS- Pussy Outter Assualt Sequence
IB- It's A Boy
FMU- Fuck Me Under
SA- Si Amigo

Afterwards he asked me why us women don't come right out & say it. He doesn't understand why we have so many abbreviations. 

CD28

Surprise, Surprise. I took a test this morning & got a BFN. I'm not that hurt, plus it ain't over till AF shows. I was supposed to test on CD29, but decided to do it a day early. Going to be picking up more tests tomorrow & wait till Monday CD32 should give my body to figure out that "if there is a baby" it can produce the hormones that is needed.

Right now I'm at CD25 (dpo 9) .. I woke up with cramps. It's been off & on for about 2 days. Figure we pulled something. But got pretty interesting this morning. I switched into jeans earlier & they got worse, so right now I'm rocking out the PJ's.
I want to test but afraid I'm going waste a test since AF is close. FF wants me to test on Friday, but FF also says that AF is going to arrive Thursday.

Checking your Cervix

Someone from my FB TTC group gave this description for one of the ladies on how to check your cervix & thought that this was the best way I've heard so I'm going to share with you. This is what she said. ---


"As you approach ovulation, your cervix will become soft, high, open, and wet — you can remember this with the acronym SHOW. After ovulation, these signs reverse and the cervix becomes firm, low, closed, and dry.

It might sound easy, but most women aren't familiar with touching their cervix and when they do, they don't know exactly how it should feel. (How soft is "soft," for example?)

The best way to learn about your cervix is to start checking it once your cervical fluid becomes wet and continue checking for a few days after your temperature has risen. That phase of about five days is when you'll notice the most abrupt change.

To check your cervix, insert your clean, middle finger into your vagina up to at least your middle knuckle or even further. Notice how the cervix feels to the touch. Just before ovulation it may feel like your lips. After ovulation it will feel harder, like the tip of your nose.

Even if you check your cervix, you still need to monitor your two primary ovulation signs: basal body temperature and cervical fluid. This means taking your temperature every morning, before you get up and after you've had at least three hours of uninterrupted sleep.

If you've ovulated, you should notice your temperature quickly rise above the range of lows that preceded it. It should stay high for 12 to 16 days, until you get your period.

But the change in temperature doesn't tell you when you're going to ovulate, only that you have ovulated, so it's important to use this method in tandem with observing the changes in cervical fluid throughout your cycle.

After your period, you will probably notice a few days of dryness, followed by increasing wetness until your cervical fluid has a stretchy, slippery quality. This is the time, just before ovulation, when intercourse is most likely to lead to conception."



Hope this info. has helped you, like it did me. I knew before tho, just never thought about it this way. 

My Prenatals

You don't necessarily have to be pregnant to take these. Well like it says on the bottle "Important Before, During, and After Pregnancy". It's always good to prepare for something right? Well these do the same thing. Full of Vitamins!
I picked these babies up at the local Walmart. I ran out of the Rx I got from my Dr & didn't feel like asking for more. But cost me $4. Can't beat that right? Plus if your like 95% of the population & have to pay for your Rx when you pick them up $4 is cheap compared that. So why not?

This morning I went in for a Folli Check, even though I'm not on shots, I would still like to get the Trigger which unfortunately with Army Dr. that's the way they do it. Annoying! I am so ready to see my Dr. in Houston.
But funny story. Unfortunately I have to take Hayden with me 95% of the time since it's early in the freaking morning, and Spencer usually has to work at that time. Well anywho, they had to do the Vajay way (yes I was covered), there was this little screen off to the side so I don't break my neck trying to see my ovaries. Hayden goes, "Mommy!, where's your heart?!" I thought the nurse died laughing. She'd never heard anything like that. LOL Gotta love my child tho.
When she started looking she had trouble finding my ovaries. Uh, duh!, y'all switched me to a lower medication. What do you expect?! Let's take time to look at what I was on before. Gonal-f which ranged from 75mg-112.5mg, you say that y'all are over budget & since I'm not doing an IUI I can't get anymore. Sooooo you put me on a lower Med. Femara "2.5mg" . Hmmmmm, I wonder why you can't find anything!
Oh, as I looked on my med. bottle to find out the mg. I was taking since I didn't remember off the top of my head I noticed one of the little stickers that they put on it. Okay I know women have used this drug to get pregnant so I'm not going crazy over the med. but the pharmacy. The sticker says, "Do Not Use This Medicine If You Are Pregnant Or Plan To Become Pregnant". Really?! Haha, are people stupid or something? I hope it's not contagious.
Anyways! Summing this up. I take my Trigger Shot Thursday. And then time it from there.

*more info later*

Ugh Army Dr's

So I'm ready to be in Texas now & out of the Army. I am sooo over these Army Dr's & how they analyze everything.

I started a new cycle(surprise I know) Friday, called the office a bit late so they didn't get back to me until today(Monday). Here's how this went. I got 2 phone calls:
1) nurse asking me if I'm going to be able to do an IUI. I told her no because we are hopefully moving in a couple months & we are saving money.
--(first let me tell you that these IUI's are $180 a pop / per cycle. We have the money to afford another child so don't think we can't but why would I waste $180 per cycle if it's not going to work)-- Anyways, she then tells me I'm not doing the shots anymore because they are over budget & since I'm doing IUI they are taking me off of it.
2) phone call two. Asking me if I wanted to try out "Femara" 2.5 mg. So they sent that to my local Walmart instead of driving 30 miles to post for it. Finally they started thinking lol.

So 2 tablets for 5 days & I go in for a Folli check on the 26th. I would like to know if I'm dropping these eggs. I know I'm making them for sure but if I'm not releasing them weve got fix that.

So we continue...

Sometime I hate being a woman....

I would've posted this Friday or yesterday but I was getting drunk Friday & recovering yesterday.
You know what I really hate about trying to conceive other than not being pregnant. Going & buying a test, coming home to discover that I started my period. OMG it's annoying. I went to Walmart for regular grocery shopping, and decided to pick one up since 1. I was there, & 2. I was on Cycle Day 29. Might as well. Got home, and BAM! Thankfully I didn't already use.
So onto Cycle 20 -- in over 2 years.

Okay this month I've seen a lot of people being/getting/trying to get pregnant, especially on FB & I've used or seen their friends use some acronyms & they don't know what it means. So I copied the list that I posted off to the side here & put it on it's own page.
*Look above*
I also noted that if I've missed, or you just want to add one that's not part of it, that I will add it to the list. So make sure you message/comment to me noting what I've missed & I'll add it.
Enjoy & have a good day.

So last night before I went to bed, I started feeling nauseated. On Day 25 around Midnight. I'm am soooooooo not, in anyway, putting this towards pregnancy. I have two theories, 1) My body being weird, annoying, & a pissing me off, OR 2)  Upset, & annoyed from trying/struggling to get my 4 year old to go to sleep. But could be a mixture of both. Who knows, but I am sooo not putting this towards being pregnant.
As the past, oh 10+ cycles I've been through, I'm not keeping my hopes up. It sounds bad, but I'm getting used to the disappointment. But the good news is, is that we do have our wonderful little man, but would love to give him a brother or sister.

Well to give me something to talk about. By looking at my chart you can tell that I have what's called as a Normal cycle. But to me Normal means doing what it's supposed to do & get me pregnant but I'll vent later. I continued to take Gonal-F. Since we took a month off, I didn't know that I had to go back to 75mg instead of 112.5mg that I was on before. Which was weird. But by the ultrasound my ovaries was "working" (ha!), so the Dr. gave me Novarel. Yes, I got that demon back. This time they showed me how to do the damn thing. And YAY! I got it right. I was able to shoot myself in the butt correctly.

So **fingers crossed** again for a pregnancy.

Oh I just re-read my blog to make sure I didn't already post this. But now, even when I'm not pregnant, I still get nauseated. So right before my period, like about a week before I start, I get sick to my stomach. That's happened for 3 cycles in a row, so I asked my nurse if that was normal, and apparently it is. Since I've been taking meds. my body will change. So my body hates me. We will see if I get pregnant.

Smacking Reason? Possible

So I was opening up my Rx allergy meds, & dropped most of the on the floor. Then tried to do the same thing with another bottle, ended up doing the same thing. Im cussing & stuff. Hubby opens his mouth & says, "oh, your just pregnant". HA!! Not holding my breath! After thinking about it, I should've slapped him for teasing me like that.

Well okay, from March then to May. Damn, I need to update more or something. I'm bad.

Still no success. Took April off tho. Well at least the meds. Had appt. this morning, and now currently awaiting phone call with the blood results to see if I'm going to do Trigger tonight, or tomorrow.

Not really much going on. So I update y'all as soon as I know something.

Well looks like the IUI was unsuccessful. Last night I had a bit of spotting but not enough to consider CD1, but this morning it speed up, I guess you want to call it that.
Waiting on a return phone call from my nurse to let me know what's going on.
We are skipping this cycle for having another IUI. As much as I would like one, I don't want to start throwing money out for something that's not going to happen. So we will see how this cycle goes, & if this cycle is also unsuccessful, then we will see about the next. Take time in between IUI's.

OHSS?

So the other night I went into the ER with Stomach pain & lower chest (rib) pain.
I hade cramps all day long, which in the morning I wasn't surprised since I had light cramps since the IUI & it was to be suspected. But as the day went on it slowly got worse. I took some Motrin at home & laid down at 9pm. From that time my chest started hurting. I tried to relax & bear it, even tried a hot bath & failed. It then started to hurt when I moved & breathed, so that's when I decided to go to the ER.

Long story, short. Had tests done, and discovered that my ovaries are Over-Stimulated. And sometimes my ovaries can send fluid into my blood stream and chest area.

So I'm getting really irritated at my ovaries. First they don't want to work & now they want to go into over drive. Oy!

So finally remembered to come on here and talk about the IUI.

We went into the Reproductive Center for DH's Sperm Wash, then took our "sample" over to Post for the procedure.

It went fairly well. As suspected I would have some minor cramping. I had stomach cramping for the first day & since then I've had minor (on&off) cramping down below, more than like on my cervix, where they inserted the Tube/Cath. for the Sperm Wash.

I have a Pregnancy Blood Test scheduled on the 8th. **fingers crossed**







until then...

Last Night Was Fun

Had to share this. Part of it is funny. Last night was interesting.

A little back story before I tell the main. My husband is in the Army so that means I can use the Army Doctors/Hospital. We own our own house off post about 30 minutes away from post, and about 10 minutes away from local Hospital.

I was supposed to take my Trigger last night at 9 so I can have my IUI on Thursday. My nurse gave me one of those "mix it" ones. If you've done it, or a nurse, you know what I'm talking about. Well the mixing part was okay. Putting the needle in my skin was an issue.

I normally do Ovidrel but this time I got Novarel. The difference between them are the size in needle. Last night was oooooo, so much fun. Since I spent 30 minutes trying to get a hold of my nurse/ advice nurse & failing at every turn. I decided that I was going to take a trip to the ER for a very stupid reason.

Well I drove the 30 minutes to A. H. & they have a number ticket system to be checked in. Showed up pulled a number, looked at the number I was 522. The last number was 408. Looked around and 95% of them are children. Not only did I feel sorry for them, because what they are going through, I went through 3 weeks ago, but I just needed a smaller needle & wasn't going to wait 3-4 hours, and risk myself getting sick again.

So I gave my number to the next person to walk in & left to try to the L.H. Which actually I should have done in the first place. Funny thing is coming. I waited in line to be checked in, the Triage nurse asked what's wrong. I explained to her that I'm trying to get pregnant, and I needed to take this Trigger shot at 9pm or as close as possible. She looked at me with a confused face & asked, "What is a Trigger shot?" ... I then had to explain to her what it does.

Not to be rude to the fellow nurses on here. And I know I am the weirdest case ever to come into the ER, but shouldn't this be part of your training.

Anyways.....she ended up having to call her boss. She said she couldn't give out a needle without Checking me in, I was like fine, that's what I'm here for anyways. She got me checked in & I waited about 10 minutes before another nurse called me back for vitals. I then once again have to explain the Trigger shot to a guy & once again get the confused look from hell.

Short story, waited 30 minutes then called back. Got another confused looked. Then got a Dr whose sister apparently takes it, got a needle then checked out. All before 1130. Got home. DH passed out. Missed him apparently by a few minutes, so no "pregame" before the IUI tomorrow.

So Gonal-F is what I've been taking for a while. Started at the lowest dosage at 75 mg, then moved to 112.5 mg last cycle. Looks like the higher dosage seems to be working because........Dr told me that I could be having an IUI either tomorrow or Thursday. I'm so excited. I can't believe that it's finally here. Hopefully this IUI works because I'm sooooo tired of shooting myself in the stomach with needles. *sigh*




Since I'll be having an IUI soon. They gave me the Trigger. Now I've done Ovidrel in the past but this on is new. It is called Novarel. I know so close in name. Ovidrel was a pre-measured needle, where this Novarel here I have to mix. Sounds like sooo much fun. I hope I can follow the instructions right. Eek.

So now here I wait for a phone call. FX! ---- Now time to go read instructions & study. LOL

Well I was suppose to do an IUI on CD17 but since we weren't going to get paid again till CD19 ( i know 2 days away) & the place that was going to take care of Dh's Sperm Wash, they only took cash, & credit/debit.
Money isn't the issue. We have money so don't get me wrong. We can take care of the baby if/when I get pregnant. Just at that 2-3 day mark we didn't. As every family comes to a point where they just dont have the funds.

So we tried another cycle on our own. It would be nice if we could do it on our own, but so far I don't see it.

So since we did it on our own, we did our best to time it. So if we timed it right I should be at DPO7, I have a Blood test scheduled for DPO 13, next week.

Okay Okay, I know you've probably been wondering what's been happening with the whole baby topic. Well, we are back on track. Well sorta.....

Went to the Dr. yesterday for a Follicle test & obviously my body isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing. Sooooo (thanks mom) my Gonal-F shots have been up'd. It was sitting at 75mg, now it's at 112.5mg. Yay! Me!

I go back here in 2 days for another test. And if I'm Ovulating then I get the trigger shot. Hopefully but not holding my breath.

Last month we past our 2 year mark. I can't believe that it's taking so long. I know that we took multiple breaks but still. And yes, I know other people go much longer than 2 years. It's just frustrating.