and the survey says.....

I'm a

I'm due in early May (not april 25 like in the poster). No idea when we will know if there is more than one. More news to come when we know that!

PRAISE GOD I'M A MOMMY!!!!!!!

big day tomorrow!

I am SO NERVOUS!!!! Joe says I tend to wait til the last minute to freak out about things. Well, this would be it, I guess. At 9 tomorrow we will find out if there is a baby in my belly. I have been so positive through the process, but now I am letting fear creep in. I'm trying really hard not to, but it's scary to think what may come out of the doctor's mouth!?!?! Pray for us tonight AND tomorrow and please think of us at 9am. We will be waiting to get results after my test, but I'm hoping we will be able to just wait there at the office and get the news fast. Look for a post from me tomorrow either way.
Deep breaths...deep breaths...

quick!!

MY PANTS FIT TODAY!!!! HOORAY!!!! I put on some pants and they actually button and STAY buttoned! After 11 days of being a ballooned whale, I am getting close to my actual size again! Hooray!!!!Hopefully I will being getting small, just to balloon back up with babies!

Amy posted a funny pic on her blog of me I wanted to post here. This is me on Friday getting my IV after being dehydrated. I had blood taken twice (thus the elbow pads) and the first nurse couldn't get into my vein on my left hand, so we did the right one also. Thus I have 6 holes in me and patches on all elbows and hands. Whew!

You can see my big tummy (tho I hid it well by this time and my pregnant pal Mel in the other chair. God bless you Amy, Tanya and Melanie! What would I do without my girls!?!?

4 more days!!!

Saturday at 9am I will be in the doctor's office for my blood test! I'm getting really anxious to know!!! How am I going to feel when they tell me? If it's "No" am I going to be crushed? If, I mean WHEN, it's "YES", am I going to cry? Be surprised? Start laughing? I have no idea!?!?
I've been back to school for 2 days now and have done pretty well. Yes, I am still very tired. Yes, I have to pee ALL THE TIME (thanks Gatorade!). But my nausea has gotten much more under control and my husband was actually able to touch me without me wincing last night! Poor Joe hasn't been able to touch me at all, except for rubbing my aching back for quite a while now. And with my big ol' swollen belly, he can't even lay close to me without inciting pain. I'm finally starting to lose some of that fluid now and it's making me much more comfortable. Although, hardly any of my clothes fit. Every night I have to try on multiple outfits in attempt to find something that doesn't make me appear pregnant. (Not an easy feat.) None of my pants button and even my stretchy clothes just accentuate the big tumtum. Hopefully on Saturday it won't matter a lick anymore because being pregnant will be my excuse! Hooray!!!

Day56

Man, yesterday was a doozy. Amy, Mel and Tanya drew the short stick and ended up with me at the doctor for about 3 hours. After throwing up the nothing I had eaten in the past few days and feeling like Violet when she turns into a blueberry in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I finally called the doctor. They had me come in to see what they could do to help my nausea and bloat pains. They did another sonogram and said my ovaries are still pretty huge. I actually could see them on the screen all squished together. The took some blood and found that I am severely dehydrated. So, I was then put on an IV for about an hour and a half. (fun times, eh girls?!?!) After that, they took blood again and gave me 2 perscriptions: one for nausea and one that's a mix of tylenol and codine to help me sleep. By the time I left the office, I had 6 new needle holes in me and 3 friends who had spent their whole afternoon sitting in the preop room with me. We came home and I threw up again. Joe went and got my meds and I just laid down to wallow in my misery. But after I took my medicine I felt SO GOOD! I actually ate last night for the first time really in about 4 days and drank a 32oz gatorade in under 45 minutes! Go Rachel! At 9 I was getting tired(a side effect of my nausea meds), so I took my tylenol/codine and went to bed. CRASH! I slept a solid 11 hours before I woke up. Awesome! I feel good this morning and am trying to eat a little more than yesterday so I can get my strength back. Dr. Nackley called to check on me and I told her I was feeling much much much better! Then shortly after that, the embryologist called and said we have 4 embryos to freeze! Hooray!!! 4/5 ain't bad!!! So we have at least enough to do 2 more rounds should we want to. Things are good. Keep praying that I will feel better since I am starting school on Monday especially, and we will have news a week from today on if there's a baby or babies!

Day54

Implanting went well. We had 2 very high quality embryos and the doctor said she is VERY optimistic. Things look very good! On the down side, I have been pretty sick and tired this week. Last night I threw up and didn't sleep much. I haven't been eating much since I am SO bloated and naseaus. I think I am on the mend, but I need a few more days of rest to be up and around. Pray that I feel better soon and get my appetite back!
Countdown to pregnancy test: 9 days!

Day52

Good news...GOOD NEWS!!!! We waited all day to hear from the lab, and no phone calls were a'comin'! So at 3pm I was getting ancy and looked at my paperwork where it stated the embryos are ASSESSED on day three (today), but nothing about being notified. However, there WAS a note about calling the lab direct for updates. So that's what I did. They knew who I was when I called, without identifying myself. (how crazy cool is that?!?) The lab tech said that on day three they like the embryos to have at least 6 cells. One of our embryos has 5 cells (a little subpar), but the other nine have EIGHT CELLS!!!! That's so exciting!!! The lab tech said that something catostrophic would have to happen to not have SEVERAL excellent embryos on Thursday! Every day the news is better and better!!!

Side note: Meredith said nothing but gatorade until Thursday. I am about to DIE! I hate gatorade!!!! Is there any flavor that doesn't taste like funky koolaid? Any suggestions on other drinks with electrolytes?

This is my worst nightmare!!!! Yeck!

Pictures from "Conception Day"

Meredith the elusive IVF coordinator who had no name for so long. LOVE her!

Not Dr. Nackley. Not Dr. Doody. In fact, can't remember her name, but this is who did my egg retrieval.

Joe kissing me before I go into surgery.

Me with my IV in and waiting for the go ahead to go to the OR.Boy, was I groggy! I was shaking and tired and bleary eyed. And that was my last beverage that is non-gatorade for the week. Meredith says only gatorade until Thursday.

Day50

Wow...fifty days since I started my birth control pills? Crazy!
We got the call today that 13 of the 14 eggs were injected with little swimmers. 10 fertilized! TEN!!!! I was expecting maybe 7. MAYBE!?!?! This is huge news! Several will not grow well, but we should have about half at embryo transfer. This means that we will have more than enough and probably a couple of good ones left to freeze (which is a rarity in and of itself.) God is continually blessing us with more than we have asked, which is scary since we've asked for twins also. :) Continue to pray for us and our little embryos that they grow and those cells multiply perfectly. My appt. is at 11:15 on Thursday for embryo transfer, so I should be home by 1 or 2pm if you want to come say hello! I'm back to work the next 2 days, which will hopefully make this week go faster. Can't wait to see what news is next!

day49

This morning I went in for my egg retrieval at 8am. Mom, Momma T, Amy and Joe were with me and we were laughing it up in the waiting room...making quite a ruckus!

Again, we were taking pictures and making the nurses laugh. Momma T took several pics with my doctor and nurses, so I'll post those when I get them from her.

This morning when I was getting ready to leave the house, Joe was looking at my tummy and said," you look like you're already pregnant!" My abdomen was SO SWOLLEN! It looked like I was about 4 months! Later on today my nurse, Meredith, said that my ovaries were each the size of a grapefruit! (Normally they are almond sized.) She said they were so big they were smooshing into eachother. No wonder I have to pee all the time!

All 4 of my guests were able to be in pre-op with me, meet my anesthesiologist, doctor and nurse. It was wierd to be knocked out. I've never had an IV or anything but local anesthsia, so when my head started spinning, it was kinda strange. I fell asleep very easily and woke up in the recovery room. Joe said the procedure took about an hour and I was in recovery for 45 minutes or so.

They found 14 eggs and miraculously found even more sperm from Joe again today! The embryologist said they have enough to fertilize EVERY egg!!! I am so excited! They said I had very mature eggs and they will call me tomorrow with the news of how many embryos we have. Then I will hear again Tuesday how they are progressing, and have them transferred Thursday probably. Things look VERY promising and we are 100% confident that God has chosen this time to bless us with a baby, or maybe babies!!!

Last night I was thinking about how God has orchestrated this time for us. If Joe hadn't been told he needed TESE, we wouldve started this in April. If he hadn't melted down from that, we would have started in June. If we hadn't had to see a specialist to perform TESE, we wouldve started in July. But God knew we wouldn't need TESE, just that it was the means he could use to place us in his time. Awesome. It's gonna happen, yall! We're gonna have a baby!!!

Keep praying for us!

Day48

JOE DIDN'T HAVE TO HAVE SURGERY!!!! They found good, motile sperm in his sample this morning and cancelled the TESE! Hooray!!!! Tomorrow they will have him give again and see if we can get even more. I cannot tell you what a relief this is and how big I have been smiling for the past 2 hours! This was the hard part, the part that could go wrong, and we are totally convinced that God has planned this all out, let us go thru all the diappointments to lead us to these last few weeks where absolutely EVERYTHING has gone perfectly. My 30% chance just jumped to 75%. Yay!!!!!
***Long story...
They took me back at 7:15 to draw blood to test my hcg level (needs to be over 60, mine was 250). When I got back to the waiting room, mom was alone! Where is Joe? They took him to his room to do his....stuff. Well, he was gone for like 30 minutes. No sign of him. The girl doing pre-op is looking for him. No idea where he is. Did he run away? No. They took him to change and get prepped while they analyzed the sperm he gave. (so if they didn't find what we need, we'd go ahead with surgery.) The nurse came to get me shortly after Joe's mom arrived and took me back to the pre-op room. At this point I am thinking, "oh crap. it didn't work and we're headed into surgery." Joe's mom sent her camera back with a nurse to take our picture. She thought that was so funny. "I have never had a patient bring a camera into pre-op!" Joe is in his gown and cap, little blanket on his legs. He's just sitting there waiting. They checked his vitals and gave him some antinausea medicine and told us we were waiting on the lab tech to give us the verdict. She came in, said they found good, motile sperm and we were waiting on the surgeon to arrive and officially cancel. While we waited, Joe was cracking jokes and making all the nurses laugh. We signed our forms and sat. A few minutes later the lab tech came back and said, "we're cancelled!" We spoke with my doctor and asked lots of questions, but basically, we will use what he gave today to fertilize the eggs they take from me tomorrow. The leftover eggs can be frozen and used at a later date to make more baby Varneys. We walked into the waiting room to find our moms with the news we were headed home! GREAT DAY from a GREAT GOD!!!

Day 47 (day 24)

Well, we are a go for tomorrow! My last shot is tonight at 9pm (less than an hour from now!!!) Tomorrow at 8, stop and say a prayer for Joe. They are going to let him give a sperm sample in the morning and we are hoping that it contains what we need. If so, NO SURGERY! Pray hard for that! What a blessing that would be!!! My egg retreival will be Saturday at 9am and they are expecting me to get LOTS of eggs. My doctor measured 15 today and said there were plenty more besides. I will let you know what happens tomorrow!

Day47 (day 23)

Well, we are delayed AGAIN. Only by a day, but still...adds on to the waiting. Joe's procedure will be Friday at 6:30am, so stop and say a prayer for us when you wake up! (and remember...we're going for GOLD!) My egg retreival will now be on Saturday morning. I spoke to my doctor and Joe's doctor in person this morning and we are confirmed with both (unless something is screwy with my bloodwork today). I will keep you all posted!

day46 (day 22)

Today I went back to the doctor for E2 blood test and sonogram #6. Whew! On the way to the office I was wondering why they wanted me back today instead of tomorrow like they had originally said. Is it a good thing? Or a bad thing? Remembering that Joe and I agreed that there will be no negative thoughts from here on out, I decided it was good. I got to the doctor's office 30 minutes early and went straight in to get blood drawn. They took me to my room, told me to get ready for my sonogram, all the same stuff I've heard every other day for the past 10 days. Got ready. Got on the table and waited. and waited. and waited. Finally about 20 minutes later a nurse came in and told me Dr. Nackley wanted to do the sono herself, so we were waiting on her to get out of surgery. Uh oh. Why does the doctor want to do my sono? Nurses are always the ones who do them. Something must be wrong. Throughout my 30 minutes of alone time in that room, music kept popping up in my head.

First up...I Need Thee Every Hour, most gracious Lord; no tender voice like thine can peace afford. I need thee, O I need thee; every hour I need thee; O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

Next...I've got confindence, my Lord is gonna see me through. No matter what the case may be. My Lord is gonna fix it for me.

I prayed and sang in my head over and over "no matter what the case may be, please Lord, fix it for me!" Then all of a sudden actual music came on in the room. I've only heard the radio in one of the exam rooms once and that was yesterday. Well, it just popped on all of a sudden, midway through a song in my own head. "Your body Is a wonderland Your body is a wonder..." Really, John Mayer? My body doesn't feel like a wonder right now?!!? But then I started thinking about how despite the fact our bodies aren't working the way WE want them to, they are working exactly as God planned. And during this strange moment I stopped again to thank God for making me and Joe in his image and shaping us exactly as he did. And I asked him, begged him really, to allow our plan and the doctor's plan to be the same as his.

Then another song..."I’ve been waiting for my dreams

To turn into something

I could believe in

And looking for that

Magic rainbow

On the horizon I couldn’t see it

Until I let go

Gave into love and watched all the bitterness burn

Now I’m coming alive

Body and soul

And feelin’ my world start to turn

And I’ll taste every moment

And live it out loud

I know this is the time,

This is the time

To be more than a name

Or a face in the crowd

I know this is the time

This is the time of my life

Time of my life

Holding onto things that vanished

Into the air

Left me in pieces

But now I’m rising from the ashes

Finding my wings

And all that I needed

Was there all along

Within my reach

As close as the beat of my heart and

I’ll taste every moment

And live it out loud

I know this is the time,

This is the time to be

More than a name

Or a face in the crowd

I know this is the time

This is the time of my life

Time of my life

And I’m out on the edge of forever

Ready to run I’m keeping my feet on the ground

Arms open wide

Face to the sun

I’ll taste every moment

And live it out loud

I know this is the time,

This is the time to be

More than a name

Or a face in the crowd

I know this is the time

This is the time of my life

Time of my life "

Is this the time of my life, David Cook? I know you are singing about winning American Idol, but this IS a key time in my life. One of the biggest moments in my life. I thanked God again for giving me a moment to be right there in the present and right there in his presence for it. I AM "waiting for my dreams to turn into something I could believe in And looking for that Magic rainbow on the horizon I couldn’t see it unitl I let go." Amazing.

The door opened and Dr. Nackley came in. Right off she said, "Rachel, your body sure does know how to respond to medicine!" What??? Is that good? She showed me my chart and said I am progressing perfectly. Everything couldn't go any better than it is. She measured my follicles (one egg per follicle, mind you) and I have about 16 or 17 large ones measuring 13-17mm. She said they need those last couple to get over 14mm and I'll be ready. So they are calling in Joe's doctor for his procedure Thursday and my egg retreival will be Friday. I go in tomorrow for one last E2 and sono before the big day! My E2 levels have jumped again (to 6773) since yesterday, so I am only taking one tiny shot tonight and will be in the home stretch. Look how many I've gone through!I am so thankful that God has made this so easy the past few weeks and even more thankful to have a husband willing to go through so much to have a baby with me.

Now on a comic note...when I texted Tanya with the news today, we had a funny little conversation. Here's our back and forth:

R:Doc says I could not be doing more perfect on my meds. Egg retrieval friday.
T:Yay! I was thinking that Joe needs to watch the swimming olympics to get motivation for the Varney Olympics.

R:That's going on the blog!

T:Go for the Gold! ha ha!

So we are going for the Gold. Hope Joe has some little Michael Phelps in there!

3 posts in one day?

Yeah. I know. Doesn't Rachel have anything better to do? NOPE! My new camera just got here and I am playing with it. SO excited that I can show you what I've been working on now! Here are a few snaps of my furniture so far....

update

Dr's office called. My E2s are over 3700 so they want me back tomorrow and have halved my Menopur dose tonight and nixed the Follistim. Guess that means I may be ready sooner than Friday! Pray that they give me the go ahead tomorrow!

day 45 (day20)

Doctor appt at 7:30am again! This morning they told me several good things.
1. My blood circulation is "excellent" it my uterus. Apparently about half of women doing IVF don't have blood flow register on their sono. Mine was bright blue and red all over and the nurse said that was "excellent and very important for implanting."
2. My uteran lining is very thick. The nurse said they look for a thickness around 8 and mine was almost 11. She said that is really good because the thickness is what makes the eggs attach. The thicker, the stickier and more likely to grab onto that egg.
3. My follicles are growing steadily. On Saturday I had some around 10, if you will recall. Today I had several more and most were around 13 or 14. In fact, the nurse said I have probably 15-20 on each ovary. Which means LOTS of eggs are heading my way! She said my dosage of follistim and menopur is pretty low so I don't hyperovulate and make way to many eggs. So...best guess is that egg retreival will be on Friday, August 15th and implanting on Wednesday, August 20th. So for those of you planning to come see me on bedrest, I'll be laid out on Friday the 15th and Wednesday-Saturday the 20th-23rd. Anyone who wants to come sit with me and Mom and watch movies, feel free to stop by!
I will let you guys know when I have a confirmed date so you can pray for us at the moment we are undergoing procedures. There is a possibility it'll be bumped one more day, but hopefully we will be a go for Friday! Keep praying!

day 43 (day18)

Just a quick update...
Went to the doctor again today. On Thursday the E2 level was at 437 and I had no follicles that were big enough to measure yet. BUT...they said my E2 level was "very exciting" and looked promising. So much so that they backed off my dosage a little bit of follitism. (hooray!!!) Today I had several follicles big enough to measure, although the nurse thought none were even at 10 yet. But she was wrong! :) I had 3 that were over 10 already, one that was just shy of 10 and then another in 7 somewhere. Now, we gotta get to 18 before egg retrieval, so she said it may be past Monday before we are ready to trigger. She said her guess is I'll need another day or two. THEN...I heard back about my E2 levels and it is at 1476!!!! That's more than 3 times what it was two days ago! That gives me hope that I may be ready for a trigger shot on Monday after all! So pray hard for us that my follicles are building up hard these next 2 days and that Monday we will be ready to roll! If that is the case, Joe will have his procedure on Tuesday and I will have egg retrieval Wednesday. If I need another day or two...so be it. But we should have some little Varney embryos by Friday. Exciting!

Smile Award

The Smile Award
Ashley gave me this smile award today and I want to thank her for it here. Ashley and I don't know eachother well...or really at all, except by word of mouth. I've spoken to her only a handful of times and only a few words on those rare times. Ashley grew up with Joe and we have many mutual friends as well as a mutual affliction...inability to concieve naturally. She is already enjoying the fruits of her labor...2 cutie pie little boys. I am hoping to join her in multiples motherhood soon. So thanks Ash, for the shout out for smiling!

My duty now is to grant this award to 5 blogger friends...

These are the rules:

1. The recipient must link back to the awards creator the babblings of mere

2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.

3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself

4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.

5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.

6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.

7. You must thank your giver.

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human)

2. Must love one another

3. Must make mistakes

4. Must learn from others

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world

6. Must love life

7. Must love kids

And here are my 5!!!

1. Taylor (http://tstapes.blogspot.com): Taylor is the most inspiring person I have come across in infertility. She has had such a struggle to concieve and then lost her sweet boy earlier this summer to Trisomy13. She is so godly and has the sweetest, kindest heart. She has smiled through the tears for months now and has caused many of us to smile through our tears for her as well. Carry on, Taylor! Your day is coming!

2. Tanya (http://thewilsons06.blogspot.com): Tanya said something about me smiling in her first post. It made me laugh immediately! Tanya has been my backup BFF for over a year now and she has really come through this summer. Although she was gone for 6 weeks to Japan, she has been here for me so much since she came back. Her artistic ability is reason enough to smile, but her perserverance through some VERY hard family stuff and her willingness to come when I call is what makes her deserve a smile award. Smile on, Nikitenko!

3. Becky (http://forever25-becky.blogspot.com): Becky and I were instant friends several years ago. We backpacked Europe together for a month and made memories that will last my whole life. Since then, we've both bought homes, taught hundreds of children, and found our sweet husbands. Becky is also trying to have a baby right now and is smiling about so much...great husband and home, so many wonderful travels and experiences behind and ahead of her. I love hearing what she has going on!

4. Summer (http://best-family.blogspot.com): Summer and I were friends in college and she is the mother of 4 boys. Yeah...4!!! She had her first when we were seniors. Summer is one of those amazing people who can do anything and everything. She is an amazing teacher, has the sweetest voice and spirit and LOVES those kiddos. The few times I've been able to see her since graduation..she is always smiling and happy and I know she is thankful everyday for what God has given her.

5. Carrie (http://thetungates.blogspot.com): Carrie is my best friend from high school. She also went through infertility and now has 3 little angels now. She is one of those friends that I will always have in my life. It doesn't matter how long we've been apart, we always reconnect and I always want to see her when I'm home. Right now she is a stay at home mom and sacrifices so much to take care of her kiddos. I know she's tired and busy, especially with little Branson, but she is so thankful for those kids. Keep smiling, Steve!

Day 41( Day 16)

Well...it's confirmed. I have STREP THROAT! Again!?!?!?! As some of you will recall, I caught strep at the end of school last semester and was really sick when I went to visit Jeremy, Brent and Jamie. Luckily, I caught this one really early and had an IVF appointment this morning anyways. I asked if it was going to really screw everything up if I had Strep. She said it's no big deal and won't interfere with my shots at all. Just have to tell the clinic doc that I am trying to get pregnant and make sure my prescription is okay for pregnancy. So I went to CVS Minute Clinic (thanks for the suggestion, Summer!) and got my throat culture and medicine for $55! Not bad at all! In fact, probably my cheapest bout with Strep to date! I don't feel bad yet, so hopefully I will nip this in the bud before egg retreival. Speaking of...my follicles are growing and my blood circulation is really good in my uterus. (yay me?) The follicles aren't big enough to measure yet and she said not to be upset if I'm not ready Monday for my trigger shot yet. It's normal to be on the 3 shot rounds for 10-12 days, most people do 11 or 12. I'm hoping for 10 so I'll be done AND I don't have to order more expensive medicines. So...that's all I got right now. Oh! Yesterday I had 3 super helpers come and get my classroom set up! Thanks to Tracy Spear, Tanya and Momma T for helping me check one more thing off the list before school starts. I'm so glad to not have that to worry about!

day 39 (day 14)

Things are falling into place now. I've told several of you in recent days how good and positive I feel about the process now. When I look back at the past few months, there have been SO many times that things were wrong. The power went out at the clinic on our appointment day, went to get my HSG and they told me I couldn't, delays...delays...delays, where do we find all this money, "you have only a 30% chance with invitro." It goes on and on. In fact, at one point I told Amy I wasn't sure we were supposed to do this. I felt like God was telling us NO NO NO NO NO over and over and we were just pushing through.
But now I feel completely different. Is it the time I chose? No. But as I've been told time and again, it's God's timing, not Rachel's. In the past weeks since I started my medicine, things have lined up so perfectly. Every bit of money has found it's way to us. In May we found out our mortgage payments were dropping by a few hundred dollars a month, which has allowed us to pay on our loan with no change to our monthly budget. (Couldn't see that coming if we had started in April, as we originally were.) We get bills from urology and specialists here and there that are always upwards of $1000. EVERY TIME we have recieved the same amount of money back from somewhere else...a bonus at work, a reimbursment for overpaying property taxes 2 years ago, etc. It's happened at least 4 times since January, including one last week. You can't tell me that's not God! The timeline is not what I wanted, but actually couldn't be more perfect. I'm not going to have to miss any of the start of school (just inservice), and my due date will be late enough to take the last 6 weeks of school off (even if I have multiples and am due a little earlier). Add that in with having a Christian doctor working with us, and the ease of my injections, and literally no problems in my 2 weeks of shots...I just can't believe it's all coincidence! How can things have changed so drastically from everything wrong and "are you telling us No?" to everything is right and "how did you do all this so perfectly?"
Is there a chance we will not be pregnant in 3 weeks? Yes. But I don't believe that will be the case. While I am trying to keep in my mind that it IS a possibility, I am fully anticipating the big news that there is a life growing inside me that's a little bit Joe and a little bit Rachel. So for right now, life is great!

Day36 (Day11)

Everything yesterday was good with my Estradiol Level Blood Test. (I scored 36.7!!! Anyone know what that means? Me either...) Apparently it's good. So I started my new shots today and they were actually much easier than I anticipated. My Menopur was VERY slow going in, but nothing hurt, and it didn't take me as long as I thought it might. Got all three mixed or put together and injected in 7 minutes. Not bad for my first time!

In other news...I love my husband. I really haven't said a lot about my boy in this process. At least not for a while, but he is the greatest man and has been my rock in all this. Every night he kisses where I inject my medicine and every night he prays for our future and the baby he KNOWS is coming. Today we were working at the Wilson's all day and every small glance I shared with Joe just lit up my heart. If it's possible, I love him more now than I ever have. I love how he winks at me across crowded rooms. I love how he's more than willing to give silly grins and waves to me despite being in a room full of his buddies. And I love how he always is ready to give me a kiss, a hug and tell me he loves me. I love how he loves me. When we were driving home tonight, I looked over at him and thought...no matter what happens at the end of this month, everything will be okay, because I have this wonderful man to share my life with. There's no one else I can imagine going through all the ups and downs with. I would marry him again in a heartbeat. Thank you God, for giving me someone so wonderful to share my life with!

Day 35 (Day10)

I had my second appointment this morning at 7:30am. WHEW! That's early after two months of sleeping late! They took some blood and did another internal sonogram. The nurse said everything looks normal and my ovaries are sufficiently suppressed. Then I learned how to do my next two shots. These are a bit more complicated than my Lupron. With Lupron I just fill up my vile and stick it in.



Menopur, I have to mix up the medicine and put together my syringe.
It's a few more steps than what I've been doing, but nothing I can't handle, right?

With Follitism, I have to fit everything togther inside a "pen."




So...I am 10 days down and 10 to go. I can't believe I'm already halfway through my injections! The doc's office will call today to let me know if I can indeed go forward tomorrow with my new shots. (They have to make sure my hormones are all good from the blood they took). If so, I will have 3 shots tomorrow, and only 2 on Sunday and Monday. Got lots to keep track of!