5 down, 4 to go

Since my last update, things have gone as planned. AF arrived pretty much right on time on October 4th. I rec'd my meds about a week before that. Here is what I got:

That's alot of meds and needles, huh? In each box there are these:

 There are vials of saline solution and vials of a hard powdery substance which is the actual medication. Below is a closer look of each:

So, I mix this on my own and give myself a shot daily for 9 days. I am still in shock that they trust people to do this on their own  o_O
My first appt after AF arrived was cycle day 3 which was Thursday October 6. They did a baseline ultrasound to make sure that my ovaries are in good shape for me to take meds. To make sure I don't have any ovarian cysts and such. Then I get bloodwork done to confirm I am not pregnant. From there, Dorothy, who does my bloodwork and really just takes care of me (I love her more and more I go), shows me how to mix the meds and give myself practice shots. So I practiced a couple times with injecting saline solution. That night I was to do this for real and all on my own. I was so nervous. But lucky for you, I video taped it. It's about 5 minutes long. Please excuse my nails. I broke one right off right before this video. And excuse my obvious hesitation with every move I made. I am so much better at it now and plan on doing a new video: http://youtu.be/RRbJkMDSOHQ

So as you see I mix 1cc if saline solution with one vial of medication. I did that for 3 days. Then days 4-6, I mix 1cc of saline solution with 2 vials of meds. Then days 7-9 I mix 1cc of saline solution with 3 vials of meds. Today I did my second day of 2 vials of meds. BOY, do I feel my ovaries. They are screaming.Laying here, I am very tender where they are. It's like I can feel them literally growing.

I had an appt this morning for ultrasound and bloodwork. They closely monitor my progress with these meds. Depending on how my body responds to the meds, determines whether we stay on track with the. If I am not responding quick enough, they may up my meds faster. If I am responding too much, they cut back my meds. Today's ultrasound showed that I am responding very well to the meds. She said this is grander than they normally see at this stage in the cycle. I have 3 sizable follicles on my right ovary and 2 sizable follicles on my left ovary. They measure each follicle. The money size is 18x18x18 when ovulation occurs. This is the mature size. Right now they are 10x13x11, 10x7x7, 8x9x9, 7x9x10, and 7x7x7. These are all good for right now since I am only on cycle day 7. I have potentially another week before I take the trigger shot to force the ovulation. What these follicles mean is that if all grow and mature, potentially, and I use that term loosely, could all release eggs. An unmedicated cycle usually only releases one egg. These meds help me create more follicles to help give us a better chance of pregnancy by producing more than one egg. This is where the possibility of multiples come in. Sure, twins would be great. But I am not sure about 3 or more. Now that's just crazy talk right there!

Bloodwork showed an estrogen level of 177.9, progesterone level of .59 and an LH level of 3.3. These are all good for this stage of my cycle.

Man, I gotta say as I am typing this, my ovaries are in serious overdrive. Making me pretty uncomfortable.

This cycle is planned just perfectly as my fertile time will be right before I leave for Kansas City on the 20th. Just in time for my 30th bday! Wouldn't it just be the best bday ever to find out I am pregnant?! Keep the prayers coming. We need all we can get! We love each and every one of you that supports us through this. I am not sure what I would do if I wasn't able to talk so freely about this with you  <3

My next appointment is Wednesday for repeat ultrasound and bloodwork, then back again on Friday to repeat again. I will try to log in and update my stats. Until then...