T-minus three days and counting

So this is it: the last week of my classes. I can't even tell you how weird it is to think that I will be officially graduated as of Friday. My last class is Wednesday, but I technically have until Friday to pass everything in. Gosh. To not have any homework will be SO wonderful. Oh wait. I'm still taking that Spanish class in September. But at least it's not three classes at once. And because it's an undergraduate level, beginning language class, it should be easier, right? So this is what 'life-long learning' feels like.

The trigger shot went well. It wasn't nearly as bad as I was thinking it would be. The needle was pretty short and I used an ice pack to numb the location before I gave myself the shot. It was strange, but once I stuck it in, I actually had to sort of look twice to make sure it really was in there. Couldn't feel a thing. I guess it was because of the ice pack, but it probably was because of all of the fluffy-stuff around my belly region. Never did lose those last few inches after E was born. Oops. Hey, I guess it came in handy after all! The injection site was sore for a few days afterwards, but otherwise it was fine.

I forgot to mention the update on the lining issue. After the RE's nurse called me on Thursday afternoon to tell me when to trigger, I realized I forgot to ask her about my E2 levels and to see if the doctor wanted to recheck the lining before we did the next IUI. So, I left a message figuring that she would call back on Friday morning. At 5:00pm exactly, I get a call from the doctor's office; I pick up phone and say "Hi, Connie!" and lo-and-behold, it was the RE himself. I was so shocked that he would bother to call me back himself, but he said that he got my message and that the answer was so technical that he wanted to discuss it with me personally. He said that in his opinion I responded very well to the Femara and that my lining was still thin, but it was mature and trilaminar (had three layers, which is what they look for). But, he wasn’t sure why it was still so thin (he didn’t give me the numbers), and he said “I would still suggest that you take the trigger shot tonight and we try the insemination anyway. If you get pregnant, then there’s nothing to worry about; the lining won’t be an issue. If you don’t get pregnant this month, I’ll have to figure out what we can do to treat you.” So, I thanked him and said I would go ahead with the shot and hope for the best. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed with the phone call. I guess I had just expected because I had two eggs ready to go that my lining issue would have been helped too. Obviously, that’s just not the case here. I think the part that really bugged me the most was the ‘anyway’. It made me feel like he didn’t have much hope for me, since we ‘might as well do it anyway’. But, I was determined not to let it get me down. I’m sure it was just a slip-of-the-tongue and that I’m over-reading into it, but it just bugged me a little.

The IUI was on Saturday morning, before my class. There were so many people in the waiting room this time that I actually had almost an hour wait before the insemination. Great fun. It was completely embarrassing to sit there, in the waiting room, with a bag full of sperm on my lap. Oh, the things we endure for our kids (or, in this case, our future kid). Once I finally got in to an exam room, the nurse that came in was in and out (literally) in about five minutes. I felt like a little piece of the infertility assembly line. “Wait ten minutes and then you are free to go”. Oh joy. Such a personal experience. Of course, before the nurse came in I had a chance to peek at R's numbers and I was just shocked. Pre-wash his numbers were in the 60 million range with a 62% motility. Post-wash they were in the 48 million range with about 60% motility. Much, much better than last month. I think the total Mot. this time was about 40 million; last month it was 14 million. So, between his really high numbers and my two eggs, I'm hoping, no, PRAYING that we're successful this month.

I’m not sure if it’s the medications or stress or what but I had absolutely no cervical mucus this month. None at all. Well, at least none during ovulation. It bothered me so much to not see that normal bodily function working for me this time. But, then I remembered that I didn’t get pregnant even when I did have months where I had it, so maybe it won’t affect anything this time around.

After all that, I went to class on Saturday and felt yucky and crampy. It amazes me how different each month’s IUI can be. One month I spotted for a week, the next month I got a terrible headache and this month I cramped for hours. I guess you just never know. I'm still keeping the fingers crossed that I don't have to do this again next month. But I say that every month, don't I?