How soon did you get a positive pee stick?

Thanks for the beet ideas. For some reason, butter hadn't occurred to me at all. Going to try something with butter tonight. I love that I can cook up a whole lot and then season them in small portions. Keep the ideas coming. BTW, for those like me, who love beets but were intimidated by cooking them, it really is easy. Peeling them is messy, but quick. Latex gloves kept my hands from getting stained, and intend to keep using the same pair as my "beet gloves" until they tear.

Okay internets, when do you think I should do it? I was thinking Sunday, which is 9dp2dt (that's 9 days post 2 day transfer for those not up on the lingo, or 11 days post ovulation (if it were a natural conception)).

Those of you who've had success, please tell me when you got a second line. I've been fairly calm so far, but I'm starting to get anxious. I WANT TO KNOW!!

Chocolate and Beets

Strange combo, I know. Still nothing happening yet. So this will be a boring post.

I'm enjoying the yummy chocolate that Angrycanrn sent me for my transfer. Chocolate makes sweet babies, right? That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

About beets, lately I've been really into them, but I'd never cooked them myself. There are a couple of gourmet takeout places near my office that make good beet salads, but they're expensive. I knew in theory that they were easy to cook, so I picked up a couple of bunches on my way home tonight. Trimmed them, rinsed and dried them, then wrapped them in tin foil and roasted them until tender. Tossed some with some salad dressing I had in the fridge, but left most of them unseasoned for later. They were yummy, but I need some good seasoning/dressing suggestions. Please help!

6dp2dt

Baby See, Baby Do!

Love those lolcats!

Just a little diversion, since all I'm doing is waaaaaaaiiiiiiiiting.

Mel’s Show & Tell — My Canadian Adventure!

If you're here from ICLW. My story is kind of complicated. I have listed a few posts on my sidebar that summarize my journey. It's still a lot to read, so please don't feel obligated to read it all. Thanks for stopping by.

For Show and Tell I thought I'd share more pictures from my trip. Of course the picture in this post is my favorite!

Here a shot from my hotel window when I got up to get ready for my transfer Friday morning. Phoebe said it looked like I was staying in a helicopter. My room was on the 25th floor.


Late afternoon on transfer day.


A Totonto blogger left me a comment after reading mine on the Virtual Lushary. December Baby, her adorable 13 month old daughter and I met for a delicious brunch downtown on Saturday. Instant bonding. She's so cool! Go wish her luck on her IUI today.

After brunch we walked around a bit and watched ice sculptures being carved.

(Me with ice penguins. Sorry for the blurred face. Privacy paranoia.)

After we said goodbye, I went to check out the Gardiner Museum of ceramics. Cassandra, don't bother (unless there's an interesting special exhibit). Not really worth it. I KNOW you've seen better collections. But here are a couple of pics from the current special exhibit.

An unexceptional Picasso. I like it, but have seen MUCH better.

A pair of nice Betty Woodman pieces.

The museum did not have a single Beatrice Wood piece. Just wrong!!

Another shot from my window yesterday afternoon. Check out the ice! Brrrrr! Then the snow started to fall.

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the class is showing!

Pay it Forward Fridays — Feeling the LOVE!!

Weepy, hormonal chick says, I LOVE YOU GUYS!

The love in this community makes things happen. Our community got Cali pregnant! If not for this community, I would not have connected with Angrycanrn, and would not be sitting here in a hotel lounge, sipping a virgin mary, with 3 beautiful embryos on board.

I want to share with you about some of the love I've been blessed with.

Cassandra at Baby Smiling In Back Seat left me a comment that I should email her, because she might be able to hook me up with something while here. She has a dear friend who is a massage therapist here, and she wanted to treat me to a massage. HE CAME TO MY HOTEL ROOM! Heaven. Sheer heaven! Of course, any good friend of Cassandra's would be a terrific person. A caring, dear man, and a seriously awesome massage therapist. I don't think I've EVER had a better massage. He finessed the tendonitis in my shoulder so carefully, that it feels better than it has in ages. I anticipated having trouble sleeping because of nervousness about this morning's transfer, but I had no problem drifting off to sleep. I can't thank her enough for her generosity and kindness. I'm so hoping her current cycle works. Someone this caring will be a terrific mom.

Then, as if Angrycanrn hasn't already been generous enough, this afternoon a package was delivered to my hotel room. Apparently, she wanted to make absolutely sure I had all the chocolate I wanted right at my fingertips.


Yeah, it's HUGE. Have I mentioned that she ROCKS? Okay, maybe once or twice. ;-)

BTW, I could totally feel her loving energy with me this morning as I awaited the results of the thaw. Since I had quite a wait at the clinic, I got friendly with the nurses. I was talking to one grandmotherly nurse, showing her pictures of J and E (they're on my iTouch), telling her our story, and I told her the story of Angrycanrn's dream. She rubbed her arms and told me she got chills. The RE and I talked about this miraculous connection in the transfer room. Hon, you were there in spirit! The embies were labelled with both of our names, which was just perfect.

Of course, I was wearing the beautiful bracelet Angrycanrn made me. Wore BOTH pairs of lucky socks, and had the Obama beads in my purse (didn't bring them in to the transfer room, you never know where Mardi Gras beads have been :-0).

The RE, the nurses, the RE's secretary were all so terrific and caring. They told me that as much as they enjoyed meeting me, they hope I don't need to come back. Me, too!

No vacancy!

This clinic does not have the capability to take pictures of the embryos before transfer, but I did get to see them on a video screen before transfer. Of course, I think they are adorable.

I did get a picture post transfer. So wonderful to see something in there after so many months of empty uterus ultrasounds.

Dora's Uterus. No Vacancy!

6, 5, 4 — YES! WE! CAN!

This morning's transfer went beautifully! Minor snafu, they couldn't thaw the embryos until I signed the consent forms. Obviously, if I weren't an out of town patient, this would have been done prior to today. If they had let me know, I could have gone there yesterday and signed them. So, although I got there at 8am, I didn't have the transfer until nearly noon.

The embryos thawed perfectly. They thawed 3 and they all survived the thaw. (My biggest worry.) These are day 2 embryos, and we had a 6 cell, a 5 cell, and a 4 cell. Tiny bit of fragmentation on the 4 cell. None on the others. They also did assisted hatching on them.

I feel very hopeful! My boobs hurt already. ;-)

Thank you all for your support.

More later!

Here I Am!

Well, I'm here! And it's COLD!

Here's the view from my hotel room window this morning.


Being very lazy, since it's just so cold. The day started out sunny, so I thought I would head over to the CN Tower to check out the view. Of course the weather changed, and the wind was blowing snow flurries sideways into my face. Not much visibility, so I decided to treat myself to a drink and a snack at the restaurant on the observation deck. (Note: One of the best caesar salads I've ever had.) While I was there the sun peeked out and the fog lifted a bit.

Here's the view.


Trying not to be too nervous about the thaw and transfer tomorrow. Really nothing I can do about it.

I truly helps knowing all of you are thinking of me and hoping tomorrow's transfer brings me a wonderful, little take home baby. Thank you all! xoxoxoxoxoxoxo!!!!

Pay it Forward Fridays — Receiving is Giving

This week I’ve decided it’s my turn. I’m going to revel in all the love in my life, embrace it, and allow it to wash over me.

I also want to talk about the gift we give when we graciously allow others to give to us. A few months ago another blogger sent me an email saying she wanted to send me something for luck for my cycle. My initial reaction was to think I would email her back and say it was sweet, but not necessary. Well, duh! Of course it wasn’t necessary! That wasn’t the point. This sweet woman wanted to send me something to brighten my day during my IVF cycle. It would make her feel good to do so. I realized it would be wrong to deny her that pleasure. Her instincts were also spot on. The package arrived on a difficult day. Her gift made me smile and feel cared for.

I don’t know why it took me a while to realize this. I know this so well from the other side. I love choosing gifts for people. I love seeing their pleasure when I get it right. Why in the world would I deny that to someone else?

Then there’s the big gift. The gift of life. The gift of cells that contain so much possibility. While we know there is no guaranty, we hope that a little clump of cells will grow in my nice fluffy uterus. That a tiny heart will start to beat. That organs will form. That a healthy baby I’ve waited so long for will grow and grow and grow. Angrycanrn says I give her peace by accepting the gift of her embryos. As I’ve said before, the best way I can think of to honor that gift is to be the best mom I can be.

So, I guess what I’m really trying to say is THANK YOU ALL! And bring on the love. My heart and arms are wide open for you.

Stripey Goodness — 10.8mm! Triple Stripe!!

Okay, now I'm really getting excited! Lining check was this morning. No blood draw. YAY!

My uterine lining measures 10.8mm and has a triple stripe pattern. For those of you who don't know about these things, this is very, very good. Doc said my uterus looks like a good place for someone to hang out for 9 months.

So the plan now is that I will fly to Canada after work next Wednesday, have Thursday as a day to chill and sitesee (maybe get a massage), then transfer will be on Friday. I'll fly home Sunday evening.

For all those who are obsessing, praying, thinking good thoughts for me, the next hurdle is the thaw. Please direct your energy to a successful thaw of my little embies. All of your love and support means so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Other exciting news, after getting the go ahead this morning I bid on price1ine for a hotel. I got a 4 star hotel in the harbor for less than $57 US per night! About a 5 minute cab ride to the clinic. Much better than the 2 1/2 star hotel I reserved for $72. Cancelled that one.

I guess my mom’s okay after all

Saw this on Good Morning America today.

(EDITED TO ADD: The YouTube link no longer works. Here is a link to the video on GMA's website.)

Even though I pretty much agree with everything she’s saying, slamming your daughter on national television is unacceptable. IMO, octo-mom is a nut job, but octo-granny is a bitch!

My mother is not an easy person to deal with, but I think even she would know that the proper response is “NO COMMENT!”

I also find it interesting that the news stories speak of octo-mom’s $165,000 disability payments over 6 years like it’s a major windfall. Do the math, people! Over six years, that’s $27,500 per year. Where the hell did she get the money for IVF?

Update

Just letting everyone know what’s happening.

Hopefully, I am growing a soft, stripey lining for a little embie to dig into.

Last lupron shot tonight! YAY! Even reduced to 5 units, I’m sooooo tired. I’ve been trying to stick to just one cup of coffee a day in anticipation of being PUPO, but Saturday was a bad migraine day, and I was really hoping the second cup might help. Taking my estrace (orally) twice a day. (Calliope asked if I was taking it up the hooha. I double checked my instructions, and they didn’t specify orally, but they referred to my progesterone capsules as “vaginal progesterone,” so I made the logical leap that the estrace was oral.)

Lining check is Friday. I have my plane tickets and a hotel reservation! The hotel is a backup. After my lining checks out okay I plan to bid on price1ine for a hotel. Since it’s off season, I’m anticipating I can get a 4 star hotel for what I reserved the 2 1/2 star hotel for, or maybe even less.

So now all I have to worry about are things that are completely out of my control—my lining, the thaw, and the weather for my flights.

Mel’s Show & Tell — Lucky SOCKS and Beads

Last week I received the bracelet that Angrycanrn made for me after she saw it in a dream. Yesterday I got another little package from her.


TWO pairs of lucky socks for my transfer. It will be cold. I’ll wear both pairs. I’ve been wearing the lucky socks another blogger sent me for my monitoring appts. If this transfer is successful, we could raise some serious money for the UTERUS Brigade with my lucky sock collection. She also sent me these awesome Mardi Gras beads. She says she didn’t flash her boobs (see paragraph 2 of the link) to get them, but you know, what happens at Mardi Gras stays at Mardi Gras!

Isn't she awesome?

Don’t forget to see what the rest of the class showing.

Pay it Forward Fridays — 7 on the 7th

Wasn't going to do a Pay it Forward Fridays post today. I figured I did my pay it forward post with this one this week. Then I read Matt Logelin's post today.

From Matt's blog:
"the $7 on the 7th campaign is an easy way to make a big impact.

by donating $7.00 to the liz logelin foundation on the 7th of every month, you are helping provide financial assistance to families as they deal with the loss of their loved ones.

in light of the country’s current economic crisis, $7 on the 7th is an easy, affordable way to impact the families of widows and widowers in a positive way.

thank you."

Click on over and help out.

As an added bonus, there's an adorable photo of a wiped out Maddie in the post.

Have you seen this?

So beautiful. Made me teary.

For all of us creating families in new ways.


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Mushy chooses ...

Another Dreamer at An Unwanted Path.

It is my experience that if you have papers on a bed, a cat will choose to lie on the papers instead of a clear area of the bed. So I arranged pieces of paper with the entry names face down (even though Mushy can't read). He explored the papers for about 10 seconds and flopped down on one. Another Dreamer has won a custom made baby or toddler hat from Karen at The June Bride. But not the one pictured in my last post, because I couldn't resist it and bought it. I'm sure I can find someone to give it to, or maybe, just maybe ... I'll keep it.

Please stop by The June Bride's Etsy shop. She is doing an awesome thing right now. She's donating ALL HER PROFITS to local charities. She wrote this announcement on her Etsy page:

"As you know, the economy has fairly decimated the work force here in southeastern Michigan. I feel very fortunate that my life has largely been unaffected, but many friends and family are suffering unemployment and under-employment as a direct result. Charities are in desperate need and donations are down dramatically. I want to help, so as long as this note is here, 100% of my profits from sales on Etsy will be used as best I can to help alleviate the situation of local families in need. See my profile for more information. Thanks for your help!"

So, I bought the hat and decided my iTouch needed another case. Yes, my iTouch now has a little wardrobe. The quality of Karen's work is wonderful. So please click over there and buy a little something. (BTW, note to all you crafters, she has some lovely supplies listed, too.)

(Yes, there's a lot of cat hair on the blanket. My cats are kind enough to let me sleep in the bed with them.)

Last change to enter the GIVEAWAY!!

Okay, peeps. You have until midnight tonight to make a $5 donation to Cara's support group for parents dealing with miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss. Read this post for all the details. Just a $5 donation to this VERY WORTHY cause gives you a chance to win a custom made infant or toddler hat from The June Bride. Mushy will choose a winner, which I will attempt to photograph.


Good luck!

Suppressed and De-stressed

Have I mentioned lately how very lucky I am? The title of this post was almost “Suppressed and Stressed,” but Angrycanrn fought the good fight this morning and WON! All the crazy paperwork is done. The embies are out of embie jail and are waiting for me to grow a fluffy lining and come get some of them. I will have to firm up the transfer dates with the RE (who is on vacation, but will hopefully respond to emails via her crack.berry) and the embryologist, and then I should be able to book my flights and hotel. YAY!!!

So, my dear internets, what fun side effects should I expect from the estrogen pills I’m taking twice a day? I reduced the 1upron to 5 units last night, so hopefully the 1upron fog and headache will lift soon. Eight more days of little 1upron shots along with the estrogen, then just estrogen until the lining check when I’ll add the progesterone.

I’m just a science experiment. Hope I win the blue ribbon.

Thank you all for your good thoughts. Sorry I haven’t been a good commenter lately. I’m so distracted, foggy and headachey, but I’m always reading and thinking of you all.