IVF Week 3

Week 3.  I began three shots a day at the beginning of the week.  I continued with the Lupron I'd been doing for the previous two weeks, and then they added Gonal F and Menopur, which are both follicle stimulating hormones that basically force your ovaries to start maturing eggs. The first few days were a DOOZY and caused some major bruising, but beyond that, I began giving them to myself and they weren't nearly as bad.  I did wig out one day after I had attempted to put the needle to my belly a good ten times with no luck and 7 little blood spots later, and I called Cory down and made him do it.  He injected too quickly and I had a hefty bruise from that one.  That was the first, and only, time I cried with shots.  Tears began to pour.  Poor, poor Cory.  But poorer me. :)

The tricks I found to ease the discomfort of injections were icing it first (thanks mom!), going really slow with the injection so I wouldn't bruise, and listening to music to take my mind off things.  The bruising was pretty sore, which was super fun.  I began calling them my "baby battle wounds!" My garment line and seat belt loved hitting right on them, and every time our giant golden doodle, Indy, would jump on me she would hit them.  It was pretty miserable. haha Needless to say, I am so grateful we got the shots figured out.  I was beginning to wonder if my stomach would ever be one color again.  It's still not, but we are getting there. Now, I am never one to post pictures of my body.  I'm super uncomfortable with the situation, BUT I really want my children to know what I went through to get them here, and so I wrote over most of my stomach. haha! But you get the gist of the bruising, right? And do you see all those prick marks on the other side? Yep. Those are not freckles. #life 

Around day 4 of the follicle stimulating shots I began to feel my ovaries getting to work.  I kind of imagine them like little factories just producing tons of follicles.  I wasn't super uncomfortable at that point... yet.  By day 7, which was Saturday, I was basically dying.  Waddling around like an oompa loompa because, yep, there's an ovary over each leg and every step is extremely jarring.  If you've been through this before,  you know exactly what I am talking about.  My insides literally feel like they are being stretched to the limit.  And when I went in for one of my ultrasounds on Sunday, the nurse told me that my ovaries had tripled in size and are pushing on my bladder.  It sounds like pregnancy, but there is no growing baby inside.  There are just tons of half babies maturing and waiting to be fertilized.  It's kind of adorable if you take the discomfort out of it. :)  My little eggies. Making their debut just in time for Easter!

It was so much fun seeing all the growing follicles up on the screen and thinking that each one of them could be our future babies. Each black pocket is one giant follicle. My ovaries looked like massive honeycombs. Our sweet nurse was so validating when I told her all of my issues.  She has been through IVF 3 times with no luck.  No wonder I love her so much-- it's always the ones that have been in the trenches that seem to be the sweetest.  

When we asked her what her thoughts were on getting genetic testing done on our embryos she was so helpful.  She explained that with us being as young as we are that she didn't think it was necessary to spend the $3,000 to have them tested.  It was comforting to hear that and eased some of my worries in that regard.  I feel like the staff at our fertility center is becoming my family.  Every time I walk in I'm like, "I'm home!" Gosh, it's like I've been there so often, it's beginning to feel that way. 

I had to go in for ultrasounds and blood work on Friday, Sunday, and Monday and I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather have a vaginal ultrasound that have my arm pricked one more freaking time.  I must be such a baby, but my heart starts pounding and my hands get SO clammy every time they draw my blood.  Seriously.  I never thought I would get to this point.  By now, whenever they tell me to "undress from the waist down" I'm like, "I know the drill...See you in a minute!" and I am not one bit nervous.  It's craziness. 

How have I felt physically during week 3? Just exhausted.  I'm the same old forgetful girl. Nothing has changed much in that department, other than the pregnant-looking, hard as rock, distended belly.  

Things that have gotten me through this week:

-My mom.  Cory was out of town from Tuesday-Friday, and my mom literally saved me from having a meltdown.  

-Music.  I know I said this one last week, but sue me.  Celine Dion was one of the major faves this week.  Did you know she had to do IVF seven times to get her sons?? I love her even more now. Like I said, people that have been in the trenches...

-Baths. Ain't nothinn' soothes those pounding ovaries like a good sit in the tub.  It's my other home away from home. 

Okay, it seems that not much has changed as far as what gets me through the day.  I'm pretty sure these are all the same things that I put last week.  What can I say, I am a creature of habit. 

Something dumb I did this week? I almost backed into one of our cars with our other car. What?? Literally, I looked back and I was an inch from hitting it. Thank the HIGH heavens that, for what ever reason, I had decided to put my foot on the brake.  That was the last thing we needed.  What a tender mercy!

I had an epiphany as I was driving home this week.  I was in my car by myself and singing along to the radio, and I had this thought-- I can be going through trials and still feel like myself. I still felt happy and in a good mood.  We are not our trials.  I am not infertility!  We are so much more than our circumstances- it's how we act in our circumstances! It's so hard not to get so caught up in the daily grind of this, and although I've had some extremely "off" days and my moments of sorrow, for the most part I've felt pretty dang okay.  

It's because we all live under this blanket of grace that the Savior so willingly provided. The atonement.  A free gift.  He helps us get through our lives and our trials because "He knows how to succor his people according to their infirmities."  I've felt my burden lightened so much through this process and I know it is because of Him. 

He has blessed me with faith and hope.  He's blessed me in so many countless ways.  

Time has flown.  To me, that has been one of my greatest blessings through all of this. 

And may it continue to fly!

Truthfully, I mean it when I say that this process hasn't been nearly as bad as I had thought it would.  For that I am so grateful and I pray that that continues to be the case! 

IVF Week 2

Week 2 of treatment came and went and there were a plethora of fun things that happened. Poor Cory.

We had to take in our 4Runner for maintenance this week.  So Cory called and made an appointment and then twenty minutes before we were supposed to leave he decided to go help a friend move a fridge.  Now that was all fine and dandy until I realized that he had taken our other car.  I know, I know, it doesn't seem like much, but believe me... it was.  So here I am driving the squeaky maintenance car while I go meet Cory so that we could drive over together.  By this point I am mad. He knew I wanted him to take the other car, and DE-liberately decided to annoy me (which is NOT hard!). So he follows me over to the dealership and is trying to motion through the window exactly where I am supposed to take the car and blah blah.  I'm getting so stressed by this point and all the annoying car salesman are eyeing me wondering what on earth I am doing.  I'm motioning out the window what an idiot Cory is for not just driving this d*@$ car.  Poor guy.  So we finally get it figured out and I am so bugged.  It was the wrong day to cross me, and he did.  (I hope you know I am laughing as a write this!) It all sounds so silly, but hear me out people, THESE HORMONES MAKE YOU CRAZY! Not all the time, but the times they do- WATCH OUT! 

Fast forward.. I can't remember if it was the same day, or the following day, but Cory was in the line of fire again.  I can't remember why, but I'm sure it was because he was in the wrong. :) My mom, Cory and I were sitting at her house trying to decide what we wanted to do for dinner.  We'd had these Olive Garden gift cards absolutely BURNING a hole in Cory's pocket for months, and I am not a huge fan, but being the angel (haha) that I am, I was like, "Oh yeah, sure, I'll go!" to which Cory replied, "Heidi, why don't you come with us to be the buffer?" BAHAHAHAHA Yep. My mom came on our date to save Cory and we had a gay old time.  Thanks mom, you really are a gem. 

Following the OG, my mom and I sent Cory on his merry way home, and we took a trip to Hobby Lobby in search of a puzzle to help get my mind off things.  We roamed the aisles and it was swell up until I saw a pregnant girl with a toddler and I totally judged her for being pregnant. I wanted to go up to her and say, "So I know it's pretty straight forward, but HOW ON EARTH did that baby get in your belly? And how do I get one in mine??" I'm sure she would've loved to have a birds and the bees chat with me in the middle of the store. 

Early in the week I had a major meltdown.  Life came crashing down and tears were shed and I was in the middle of bawling my eyes out (at my parent's house as usual) and Cory said, "I got my semen analysis back! Do you want to see the results!?" And I was thrilled.  There's nothing like a good semen result to pull you out of a funk.  No more tears were shed that day. 

Our anniversary was on Wednesday and my mom watched our dogs and we took a mini road trip down to the Little Sahara sand dunes to take some bridals, it's tradition.  Our friend designs wedding dresses and she was kind enough to let us take one and go shoot.  It was SO fun! We listened to some good ol' Kenny G, Kenny Loggins, and yep, you guessed it, Kenny Rogers on our way down and it was blast.  I've got a thing for Kennys right now. Okay, and Return to Pooh Corner got my heart strings like... Anyway, there wasn't a soul in sight at the dunes, which made it nice when I needed to go to the bathroom.  I just dropped those drawers like it was hot and did my business.  Cory couldn't believe his eyes, but let's be honest, port-a-potties are way worse. AMIRIGHT?? 

Any who, it was a much needed getaway and it was wonderful.  We picked the canines up and drove home to go through the pictures! And as we were going through them Cory was trying to "call" which one he was going to post, which just irked me.  And then he wanted to hurry and edit the ones he wanted and then Chopped Liver could look through the rest of the pictures.  K it wasn't that bad, but it was.  He took his pictures and left me for dead and I just wanted his help.  So I finally got it figured out, alone, mind you, and I airdropped them to myself and I had my post all written up for our anniversary and yep, my phone died.  Who, you ask, did I take it out on? Why Cory, of course.  Poor guy didn't even see it coming.  Tears. Were. Welling. haha He was so sweet.  He's like, "I'm so sorry.  How can I make it up to you?? Do you want to get in bed together and watch Bachelor?" And I'm sheepishly like, "Yeah.." And we did and it was great.  But man, I am telling you guys, when I am done, I am DUN!  My tolerance level, especially at nights, is ZERO! 

Also, here are a few of my faves from our anniversary shoot.  It was so peaceful and enjoyable! 

So many things have happened this week that I just laugh at now.  And I do have to say, even when I am being outrageous, I know it.  And I laugh, but I cannot help it.  It's seriously so hilariously sad.  

Other new things that happened, I got a big purple/green bruise on my belly from a shot.  Its' the first time that happened and holy soreness.  My garment line hits right on the spot and every time Indy jumps on me she hits it and man, it's just been so sore. Can I get some cheese for all this whine??

Things that have gotten me through this week:

-Cory.  As irritating as he is, he totally walks on water.  I'm obsessed with him. 

-My family.  Family time always seems to take my mind off things and get me out of a mood. They are always good for some laughs. Especially when we play Musical Chairs for FHE.  I die. 

-Willie Nelson, Enya, and just music in general.  I listen to them for hours when I take baths and they just soothe this tired, achey (old) soul.  Willie sings a mean harmony. 

-Food.  Costa Vida especially. See's Candy. They just get me. 

-Bed. Gosh darn it, that thing is my best friend.  Whenever possible, I curl up and doze and it is just bliss.  What is life without sleep? Horrible. 

-Prayer.  That's a big one. And the power of positive thinking.  I'm a firm believer in karma, and whatever we throw at the universe, she throws back.  So lots of positive thinking for me, because I want positive things in return. Sue me.   

-Priesthood blessings.  I had my dad and Cory give me blessing right before I had that meltdown I was telling you about.  It was so comforting and talked a lot about having peace and reverence throughout this process.  I had asked for one because I was having some really bad anxiety with my upcoming appointment that I had on Friday (I'll get into the details of that in a minute), and I just wanted to feel comfort.  It was just what I needed, and my dad's voice just soothes me and makes me cry.  Cory and I listened to the blessing again on our way to our appointment on Friday, and it helped me go in there feeling peace and like everything was going to be okay.  I'm such a believer in the power of the priesthood and it has blessed me so much! 

So, first I want to talk about reverence for a moment.  I've been thinking a lot about it ever since my angel dad gave me that blessing.  He talked about how we are working with God to help bring his children into the world!  I hadn't thought of it that way before. What a magnificent blessing! And truly, I have felt the reverence through the process, as I have felt God's hand in my life.  I'm so grateful for modern medicine, and instead of feeling picked on, I've tried to feel more gratitude that we even have this option.  I don't know what we would've done without it! 

I was super anxious about our appointment on Friday morning because she had mentioned to me earlier that if they saw any cysts on my ovaries at that appointment, then we'd have to stop the cycle and wait for them to go away, which could be months.  I was having a really hard time feeling peace. I had some pain in my ovaries, and I have a history of cysts, so I was freaking out.  All this time.  All this money.  I was just PRAYING that we wouldn't have any set backs because Cory is leaving for the summer in a few weeks and I just really wanted this to be out of the way.

We said a prayer together before we left, and on the way we listened to the blessing again, and everything at the appointment went perfectly.  I almost kissed the girl giving me the ultrasound when she said everything looked great.  I went in the bathroom afterward and just thanked my Heavenly Father.  Following the ultrasound was more blood work (joy!), and I found out later that day that my levels were perfect and to proceed with my calendar.  Hallelujah.  So much gratitude!  This trial is really teaching me how to be grateful no matter the circumstance.  Even if I sort of hate it. :) 

I'm also more aware of the angels in my life.  There have been so many people who have come out of the wood work and helped us through this.  So many people. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but truly, my cup runneth over.  

Oh, and I almost forgot to write about how much I forget these days.  That's one of the biggest things I've noticed this week, is how forgetful I am.  I've forgotten that I've invited people over on certain nights, I leave things places because I forget to pick them up.  Seriously, it's bad.  Don't trust me with anything because, no doubt, it will get forgotten.  I apologize in advance. 

Until next week! 

Emmy

IVF Week 1

IVF.

This has been something I have feared for some time, and now that I am actually in the thick of it and shooting myself up every morning with who-knows-what, I am seeing that it is not as bad as I had thought it would be.  Most days... :)

Mark Twain said, "I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." 

I am trying so hard to look to the future with eyes of faith and to stay positive! And something that helps me the most through trials, is to find humor in it.  Because let's be honest, if I can't laugh about it I am crying. And my mom always says, "If we have to be here (on planet earth), we might as well have fun!" 

So, I thought it might be fun, and help get my mind off of my craziness, to journal my experiences as I undergo treatments for IVF this month.  I want to remember these experiences, especially the funny ones, that have happened so far.  So here we go!!!

I went in for a water ultrasound last week.  It was a cold, wet day, and I had decided to dress warm.  Go figure.  I had on jeans and a sweater, a beanie, a coat, and YEP, you guessed it, my knee-high rubber Hunter boots. And what does she ask me to do? STEP ON THE SCALE. You are kidding me, right? Why I didn't have the wherewithal to shed some layers is beyond me, but I didn't.  That was mistake number 1. Mistake number 2, you ask? Looking down at the number on the scale.  I was wearing TEN POUNDS of clothing.  That may not seem like much to some of you, but when you are 5'10" and already weigh a lot because of your height, you never want to weigh more than you absolutely have to.  Depressing.  And to follow that up I had to "undress from the waist down," per usual, and get completely violated.  Which, in the end, wasn't all that bad, either.  In fact, the worst part of that visit was the blood draw.  I'm usually completely fine getting my blood drawn, but she must've hit a nerve or something and MAN, I was hurting.  Has anyone ever had that before where it literally hurts the entire time they are drawing blood? No fun.  Then they sent us in for our Plan of Care meeting where she handed me a color-coded calendar of all the meds I need to take and when to start and stop them and when to go in for ultrasounds and more blood work and when to have my eggs "retrieved" and when to stop exercising and blah blah blah.  Holy run-on sentence! It was a bit much.  When she asked if I had any questions I was like, "Ummm... yeah.  I'm just not sure what they are yet..."

She then explained to me that she had ordered our drugs and they would be coming in the mail, and yep, they did.  A huge box of highly expensive drugs and syringes.  Anybody who has received this box before knows how overwhelming it looks.  We've sort of sorted through it and kind of know what everything is at this point.  Kind of.  

I had to start my shots last Sunday morning, which meant that I did not sleep a wink on Saturday night.  I was sick to my stomach I was so nervous.  And to add insult to injury, I had to teach Relief Society at 8:30am.  I. Was. Frazzled.   In fact, I'm not exactly sure who even taught my lesson.  I'm fairly certain it was an out of body experience.  But back to the shots, I posted a video of it to my story on Instagram, and I was pretty proud of myself for being such a big girl and not crying. haha So that was great! Yet again, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. 

However, let me be perfectly clear, THIS IS NOT MY FIRST CHOICE! I do not enjoy the shots, thank you very much. (I have yet to meet someone who does enjoy shots!)  But, I am putting on my big girl panties, which seem to be getting tighter due to excessive amounts of bloat, and I am checking days off the calendar.  

One day in particular, after Cory had given me the shot, he told me I was his hero.  Silver lining.  As much as this stinks, I try hard to find the positive in all of it. Our relationship as been strengthened and he's had to pick up a lot of slack, and for that I am so grateful! 

So let's talk about these drugs for a minute..  The ones I am on right now are hormone suppressors.  Don't ask me why.  At this point, I am doing as I am told. But OH MY GOODNESS am I tired. The first few nights I found refuge as I slept like the dead, but a new symptom of no sleeping has set in, and I must say, the sleeping was much more fun..  Oh, and go figure, but ever since I've had a hard time sleeping, I have also had a harder time being nice. So now the cranky and intolerable side of me has begun to take over.  Joy! It's just getting more fun by the minute.  

That being said, I never thought I would be at this point.  I am a week into shots, and lo and behold, I am still alive, like so many other women before me.  Lucky for me, I tend to save my outbursts for my hubby (not so lucky for him!).  We've hung out with friends and I haven't snapped at anyone yet.  Go me!  Is it bad to say that I am so proud of myself??  

Cory and I decided to hit up the gym this week because I just want to feel normal.  "Let's work arms," he said.  "I'll help you," he said.  When we got there, he decided to do a "warm up" of push-ups, and of course, I was supposed to follow.  I stuck with the "girl" push-ups so I could actually do a few, and seriously, after like 10, I was pooped.  I was gazing off in to the distance and trying so hard just to keep my eyes open.  It was a doozy.  

We proceeded to work Bis and Tris, and I was sort of able to get my wits about me and finish, but by exercise number 3 I knew I was done.  It was almost like I could feel the tears trying to punch through my eyeballs. We went home. 

Home.  My safe haven. 

Another thing that I have found is that I lose my train of thought.  It's a blast! Like mid sentence with someone and the thought has flown out of my mind and I have to say, "Sorry, I lost my train of thought." Truly. It was super fun in church today when I raised my hand to say something in Sunday school and I was scrambling for words because I forgot what I was going to say.  I almost had to ask him what the question was again, but thankfully the thought was kind enough to come back.  Phew.  Sometimes I feel like I am losing my mind, and maybe I am! 

One of the things I have found that has helped me the most, is taking care of me.  If I am tired, I sleep. If I want to take a 2 hour bath (two times a day), I do! If I want to order a large coconut ice cream for myself and not share, I do.  If I don't want to see anyone, I hide.  If I just want to hang out with my mom, I do.  It may sound selfish, but I'm really listening to my body and trying hard not to overdo it.  And recognition is key for me.  If I can recognize my mood in time, I warn Cory not to cross me.  That also seems to help both of us, and helps keep him out of the line of fire.  :)

I've got one more week of just one shot, and beginning next Sunday, it'll be three a day.  So I guess I'll just count my blessings that it is just one this week and I'll try and live it up.  I mean, it is our anniversary, after all! Which means I'm going to have to try my best to be up to par and do a lot of self-talk.  Self- talk helps a lot too.  

Another good thing that happened this week- my dad got Snap Chat! So there's that. 

Welp, I am signing off to go take care of me.  I'm feeling the Sunday night blues and I feel like I might just snap and bawl at any second. Adjectives I would use to describe myself tonight?? Weepy. Overwhelmed. Cranky. Needy.  But mostly just downright fussy. I am a fuss budget.  THANK GOODNESS today (or this month!) isn't forever! 

Here's to hoping this next week goes smoothly for all of us! 

Em