Week 36

So let's see...

Saw Susan the Midwife on Monday. She said B has started to dilate! Who knew it would start this early. Only 1 cm, but still... She also told us BG (baby girl) is turned, head down. Makes it easier for us to try to determine which part is sticking out when we are playing "guess that body part" lol! She stressed with B to do her squats and try to find a fitness ball to sit on. She also recommended B go see the chiropractor for the sciatic nerve pain she is having, but we forgot her name. We start weekly visits until BG's arrival.

We had our shower on Saturday the 27th! The Cameron sisters plus Mummy, did a great job. We played guess the chocolate bar: melted chocolate in a diaper and you had to guess which type of chocolate bar it was. We also played "remember what is on the platter", and tried to cut a piece of string that matched B's belly circumference. It was a wonderful. It was a fun jungle theme and the cake was really good too.

We think we have all the clothes washed and are going to go thru the dresser to try to put away the bigger clothes to make room for the smaller things we have. We are also going to get a chair in the next couple weeks or so. Want to have everything all set for BG's arrival. We are very excited to finally meet her.

Week 35

It's week 35 and we have 36 days until our due date. :)) We are ready, I think. We are still looking for a rocking chair to put in the nursery, but if BG comes tomorrow, we would be just fine.

We were surprised again this week with a friend's huge generosity. She gave us a Bumbo, a floor mat, a walker, and a bunch of clothing. We have been enormously lucky with all the wonderful gifts we have received the past few months.

We went out of town last weekend for my grandmother's funeral. We flew and poor B was so swollen when we got home. She did a lot of walking, not to mention helping Sarah with Calder. Things are much better now, but it did take a couple days for the swelling to go away. Aside from last weekend, she has been pretty luck so far with little to no swelling thus far.

We've been watching a birthing class online this weekend. It's been pretty interesting and very informative. So many different things to think about. The great thing is although they are presenting many options, we've been able to stick with our original birth plans with little difficulty.

BG has been very active this week. B is feeling more tired as we get closer. She is finding it difficult to get and stay comfortable. The waddle has started too. When I said "36 more days" to her earlier, she looked at me with utter disbelief. The time has gone very quickly.

Overall, B is feeling good. We are getting more and more excited as the day gets closer.

Week 32

Where has the time gone? Just a short time ago I thought 30 weeks was a long time. Whew, but here we are.

We had an OB appointment Friday. We scheduled it with Susan Vaughen. She is the other midwife at our clinic. What a wonderful lady. She was able to resolve some questions we had about contractions and what exactly they do. B's weight is "on target" with a gain of 14 pounds thus far in the pregnancy. We also inquired about the potential for traveling. She said usually up to 36 weeks she should be okay. We have requested a copy of our file, just in case we need it.

Susan has asked us to come back in two weeks. It is getting so much closer :)) double grin because I cannot wait to hold her. I ask the belly almost every day "What is your name?" We have a few picked out as many of you know, but have of course decided to wait to name her once we see her. We don't want to look at her and she not look like a "Jenny".

Baby is very active and verrrry pokey! Often B's tummy is an egg or pear shape with baby "parts" sticking out all over. I love to feel her moving around in there. When I come home at night I lay with my head on the tummy and talk to her. She often responds with a poke, punch or kick. I am going to say it again, I cannot wait to hold her.

I started working on one of the last projects for the nursery this week. We are going to sand down and paint the night stand and dresser to coordinate better in there. I started with the night stand to see how it will look. So far so good :)

B has been starting to wonder about the whole labor process. She is getting a little nervous that she won't be able to handle it. I keep telling her she needs to start looking for, and finding, that calm place. She wants to do it drug free, which i think is very possible. I know she will able to do it!

The last leg... :)

Here we are, almost to week 28. We're in the homestretch now, into the third trimester. My belly is growing and actually looks like a baby's in there and not that I'm just fat! Casey likes to jiggle my belly and call in to the baby... It's about as big as a volleyball now and we're having fun with it. :)

The first trimester was rough with lots of nausea and fatigue issues. The second trimester was pleasant, my energy returned and I've been able to accomplish more. We're looking forward to the third trimester now - bigger belly, more fetal movement, birthing and lamaze classes!

We went for our OB appointment yesterday. I had to do the glucose screening. I drank a cup of very sweet liquid, then wait an hour. Once the hour passed, I had my blood drawn and they tested to ensure that my body is metabolizing the sugar properly. They said they'd call if there was anything abnormal in the results. I didn't hear anything back, so it appears that everything is good! I've only gained 10 lbs so far. Hopefully my weight gain will stay on track. I don't want to gain too much, as I am not much of an exerciser and will most likely have a very hard time losing it after the baby is born. I don't have any stretchmarks yet, but that darned "linea negra" has shown it's ugly face! At least that will go away after the birth, stretchmarks don't! :)

The nursery is in it's final stages. We need to get some sort of chair in there and we'll have all the furniture. Then it's just a bit of decorating to do - curtains, wall hangings, a rug... Working off of a list from babycenter.com, we've accumulated most all of the necessities like bottles, sheets, towels, etc. And we have a gazillion onesies! Much thanks to those who handed down clothes, shoes, towels, and gear - we are truly appreciative of the generosity you've shown, it's helped us immensely!

We are now working on our diaper collection. We're planning to use cloth diapers and have bought a few gDiapers from ebay auctions. These seem to be the the easiest and most practical to use. So that's what we'll be taking care of these last few months. It's a relief to know that we're pretty much set up and prepared for baby's arrival!

I play classical music on the tv music channel every day and Casey reads out loud every night before bed. We're reading "A Wrinkle in Time" right now. The baby responds to her voice, it's really awesome. As soon as she starts reading, baby starts kicking and bouncing around.

We're doing our best to prepare and are very excited for the big day - Dec 27th. It's still a while away, but seems SO CLOSE!! :)

Movement!

So I've been waiting and waiting and today was the day! I felt the baby move!

Occasionally, over the last couple of weeks I felt odd sensations in my belly but I always attributed the feelings to gas. Imagine, if you will, a lava lamp. Think about how the lava moves inside the liquid... "bloop, bloop." Well, that's how the initial movements felt, which really did feel like gas.

Today, I felt a bouncing sensation inside my belly. Up and down repeatedly! It was the craziest thing I've ever felt in my life. I guess she was hungry, as I hadn't eaten anything for about six hours. I am usually stuffing my face every 3 hours or so. I think she was giving me the elbow, "HEY, Hungry down here!!"

Awesome experience! Now we are looking forward to her getting strong enough to make movements that Casey can feel outside my belly!! :)

Baby Girl :)

Another 10 weeks

Hey Everyone~

It has been a while since we gave you some updates. Here's where we stand in case you were under your rock or something the last couple months.

So first trimester came to a close and ultimately many of the symptoms are the same. She still has nausea a few days a week, along with headaches. Overall, though, that is the extent of the most bothersome symptoms.

Week 16 we had a regular check up with our midwife, Donna. B jumped on the scale and low and behold, hadn't gained a pound. Still sitting at her pre-pregnancy weight. They said she was okay. Nothing to worry about, just continue to eat right and drink plenty of fluids.

Around this same time we had also gone to see a Cardiologist. B is having heart palpitations when she lays down to go to sleep. They did an EKG and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. They scheduled an Echo-cardiogram. The results came back from that showing her left ventricle is slightly enlarged. But because he didn't have anything to compare it to, they don't know if this is normal for B or not. They have scheduled another Echo for week 30 of the pregnancy to see how things look. Long story short, nothing to worry about right now.

We went on vacation three weeks ago. When we left, Bobby-Jo was feeling more "fat" than pregnant. To us outsiders, we could see her becoming more round, but she felt fat and not pregnant when she looked in the mirror. She went to get the oil changed in her car before we left and was sitting next to another woman in the waiting room. The woman turned to B and said "Is this your first?" B was immediately taken by surprise "first car?" "first oil change?" oh "first pregnancy!" She told the woman yes. The woman then went on to tell her she was carrying around her middle/sides and not "out in front". She told B she is carrying a girl. We laughed (secretly crossing our fingers the woman was right).

We went on vacation to visit my family. Everyone said she was looking pregnant, and by the end of the week, she was for sure!! It was like suddenly she "popped". I love it, she is looking so good. That glow is there for sure!

On the way back from Missouri, we stopped and stayed with B's sister in Georgia. We had asked them to watch our dog and they were kind enough to do so. As we were getting ready to leave, B slipped and fell down the last 4 to 5 stairs and messed up her ankle pretty bad. As we all know she couldn't take anything to relieve pain or swelling. We used lots of ice packs and heating pads to help alive the pain. It has been two full weeks and she is still walking slowly, but it is feeling much better.

Last week we went for our mid pregnancy ultrasound. We have been waiting for this appointment for a long time. There was lots of debate, mostly on my part, on if we should find out the sex of the baby or not. We've been buying lots of green, looking at green for the nursery etc. We ultimately did decide to find out. When we walked in, it was one of the first questions Lynn asked. We told her yes. All the grandchildren on both sides of the family are Grandsons, 5 with one on the way. So the pressure was on us to have "the girl". So we were watching the pictures on the monitor, trying to recognize the different parts. Then Lynn stopped and hit the keyboard and said "It a girl" she typed "GIRL PARTS" on the screen and we could not believe it.

We're having a girl. We're having a girl! WE'RE HAVING A BABY GIRL!!!!!

We are so excited. She then moved on to all of the baby's other parts, arms, legs, heart, head, spine, feet all her parts. It was so amazing to sit there and see our baby girl floating and moving around on the monitor. The best news came on several occasions when Lynn said "** looks fine" "** measures normally". We were very relieved to hear this knowing we are at an advanced maternal age. We spent about 45 minutes in the room watching, and getting a sneak peek of our developing baby. It was wonderful. I will never forget that for the rest of my life.

So this week marks half way. 141 days according the the website "the bump". The nursery is almost finished getting painted, I will finish it up this week. We then need to decide if we will use the drop side crib or buy a new one and what to use for a dresser. Lots of furniture decisions to make, lol.

I guess that gets us all up to date. If I forgot anything, I'll post again!

So here we are almost to week 10...

Shopping:
I've been going crazy looking at Craigslist and eBay for some of the more costly stuff like furniture. We've already bought a crib and are now rethinking it due to a story on the news the other day. It seems that the "drop side" cribs are very unsafe and have injured and killed countless babies. So I am thinking that we'll be getting rid of the crib and buying something different.

We've bought a travel system - a car seat and stroller combo. It's really nice and practically brand new. We love it, it's too cute. And it was only $40.

Also, every time we go shopping we get something for the baby... Whether we're at Target, Walmart, or Publix, we're buying Desitin, baby wash, lotion, Vaseline, onesies, bath towels, burp cloths, etc. It's better to start building up the supply gradually than to have to buy it all at once later on down the road. That's our mindset anyway.

We went to Motherhood the other day and I tried on maternity clothes. Casey's parents sent us a gift card, so we spent it on a new outfit. It was fun to try on the clothes with that silly belly pillow!

Sick and Tired:
So I've been trying hard to not be a complainer. Casey gets to hear the brunt of it all. I have been fighting the nausea every day. It seems that if I don't eat something every 2 or 3 hours, I become disgustingly ill. Also, I just can't seem to sleep enough! I find that around 3pm every day, I hit a brick wall and must take a nap. It's insane, really.

Nursery Decor:
We've bought a crib set and it is really pretty... Gender neutral, as we do not yet know at this point whether we'll find out the baby's gender or not. Based on the colors in the comforter, we've decided on wall color. I plan to try my hand at painting baby jungle animals. Should be interesting, as I was never much of an artist. Also, with the sewing machine I got for Christmas, I am going to attempt to make the curtains for the nursery. Again, this should be interesting!

Doctor's Visits:
We've decided to go with a midwife. Her name is Donna Balo and she's with Advanced Women's Health Specialists. I made an appointment today for June 7th for our first prenatal visit. I'll be 11 weeks by then, so hopefully things will be ok. Most women have their first prenatal visit between 8 and 10 weeks. Check out her bio - http://www.advancedwomens.com/meet-our-clinicians/donna-balo-cnm-arnp-ms.


In General:
We've been taking pictures of my tummy every week for a book we have called "The Belly Book." It's basically a journal that keeps track of things like cravings, photos, current events, feelings and emotions. Maybe one of these days, I'll figure out how to get the photos up here...

Hope all is going well for you! More soon... :)

Ultrasound

It was an amazing experience to not only SEE the little munchkin on the Ultrasound monitor, but we got to HEAR the heart beating as well!! Dr. Jaffe had turned the volume up so much, it felt like the walls were going to begin to crumble. I cannot speak for Bobby-Jo, but to know there is a tiny being growing, it brings tears to my eyes now.

We received three photos from Dr. Jaffe in a fun cardboard "frame" with the CRM logo. They also gave us a bunch of pregnancy magazines and a tote bag with a little teddy bear. They were so sweet and seemed just as happy for us as we were for ourselves.

Now its on to find a doctor. That task may be more difficult than we expect. Or not, maybe we'll just throw the dart and see where it lands, lol.

Week 7

We go for a gestational ultrasound tomorrow. It should be very educational. According to the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book, we should: confirm the viability of a pregnancy, date the pregnancy (but we already know when we inseminated), locate the fetus and determine the number of fetuses. It talks about other tests, but since Dr. Jaffe is not our OB, those probably won't be done until we get one.

Everyone says it looks like a little gummy bear. I am excited to see it. As someone suggested, I am going to ask Dr. Jaffe for some wallet size photos to carry around. Just kidding.

We'll write more to let everyone know how it went...

Six Weeks!

So, those of you that follow this blog are the only ones who know about our pregnancy. We have decided to wait until the second trimester before making any announcements.

Here's the latest scoop: There has been NO morning sickness thus far - knock on every piece of available wood! I would love to be able to report that things are the same as they ever were, but alas they are not...

Here's a list of my current symptoms:
1. Nausea - While I am not hugging the bowl every day like all of the medical books say I should expect to, I am living in an almost constant state of wooziness. I've become accustomed to the feeling of upset tummy, but I am REALLY hoping that this part passes very soon.

2. Cramping - This one scares the crap out of me sometimes. The cramps feel like menstrual cramps, actually. Sometimes sharp and quick, sometimes dull and lingering, they are frightening. I am told by almost everyone that it's normal and to be expected - that it's my uterus stretching. But, I can't seem get visions of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy out of my mind.

3. Hormone Overload - So I didn't really buy this one before it actually happened to me. It's crazy, really. I mean, I read a kid's book yesterday and was crying hysterically - actually SOBBING! Then, I did the same thing today in the car on the way to school. I heard Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" and just lost it. Here's hoping that I can figure out a way to keep the hormones under control.

4. Euphoria - Soooo happy that this has finally happened. I think everyday how exciting this is and how happy am to be able to share it with Casey!

5. Flakiness - Yes, I have become a flake. I am constantly thinking about things other than what I should be. Things like paint color for the nursery, whether or not to find out the baby's gender, what to do about the current vehicle situation, what baby item to buy next, and so much more... This is not a good quality to have when you are taking classes toward a degree. Gotta figure out how to better manage this symptom!

Ok, so anyway... Just wanted to give everyone a head's up on what's happening over here. Trying hard to not be a complainer. If you catch me doing it, call me out! Have a great day! :)

~Bobby-Jo

WE'RE PREGNANT!

Here's what has happened the last week or so.

Saturday the 17th was the day to do the at home pregnancy test, after the insemination on the 5th of April. At the time we looked at it, we each saw something different. Bobby-Jo was certain it was negative. I thought I saw a faint line, but didn't pursue it, why waste another test. So the next few days we were waiting for her cycle to start and nothing happened. We started to get nervous: what is wrong with her system, why didn't it start etc etc.

On Wednesday we decided to go ahead and test again. We had two tests ready, one to test, and one to verify. The first test showed positive in mere moments. So when the second one confirmed, we felt pretty sure it was so. We scheduled a blood test for Friday, April 23rd at Dr. Jaffe's office.

She drew the blood at 9 am, by 1 pm our nurse, Lauren, called to confirm it to be true! The hCG levels in Bobby-Jo's blood were a 780 today. We test again on Sunday to make sure the levels are going up. From what I have read, her hCG levels need to double every 24 hours. As long as the levels go up, we are good.

Next, we'll do a gestational ultrasound with Dr. Jaffe. If she sees what she expects to see, then we'll be finished with CRM, Dr. Jaffe, and all of the wonderful people we've come in contact with there.

IUI #3

So we went yesterday for our third attempt. We also had a consult with Dr. Jaffe to discuss what the steps are if it doesn't work this time. Based on a family history of Endometriosis, Ovarian Cancer, and horrible cramping during my monthly cycle, she recommends that we have a Laporoscopy. This is an out-patient procedure in which a small incision is made in my navel and a scope is inserted into my belly. Another incision is made about 4 inches below the navel to allow for the probe. She'll check around and make sure there are no issues with anything, like the ovaries, endometrium, etc... Dr. Jaffe suggests the surgery as a precautionary measure. She feels that it would be best to rule out any issues before continuing to use our specimens and/or buying more! Makes perfect sense, but quite frankly, I don't know if I'm up for surgery. I have never been admitted to a hospital for anything and the thought of surgery terrifies me. However, Casey and I are still discussing it and will make a decision before the new cycle starts.

But, we're employing the power of positive thinking - there will not be a new cycle! :)

2nd Insemination

Hello Everyone!

We are going for our 2nd Insemination tomorrow. Today was our follicle scan and blood test.

Amanda, we have decided, is our usual tech. She was training today, a lady named Susie. Susie did the scan. We were able to see two follicles. On the right ovary was a small follicle, about 9 millimeters. On the left was a very large one, 24 millimeters, :)) If you remember from last month the left ovary is the our superstar ovary. Amanda commented that she felt the follicle was so large that we would do the insemination soon, perhaps tomorrow.

Amanda called this afternoon, she confirmed the timing of the insemination. The blood work, as you remember, is to measure the Estrogen levels. The levels came back at 322! (supposed to be over 100) We did the Ovidrel shot this afternoon and we go in for the insemination tomorrow, Weds 3/10, at 11:45 am. Timing is a little different from last month due to the size of the follicle.

There is one downfall to our insemination tomorrow. Dr. Jaffe is in the Lake Mary office. Our specimen is in the Orlando office. We cannot get the doctor and the specimen in the same building. So we have to go to the Orlando Office. One of the other doctors, Dr. Devane, will do the insemination. We have not met him before, but we're not worried! We are hopeful it works this time. We'll know in 12 or 14 days.

It's a negative - Attempt One

February 27th, yesterday - took a home pregnancy test and failed it. It came up negative and then I got my period an hour later, so I guess it was accurate, lol!

We're staying positive since it's only the first try. I can't help but be a little disappointed. I kept thinking that because they are fertility specialists, and as far as I know I am not really infertile, that it would work right away. I guess I was wrong! The doctor told us that it could take three or four cycles before it would work.

So... We're going to call on Monday to start the process over again with a new ovary check. We'll see how things go this time. :)

Steps in the process:
1.) Get period
2.) Go for ovary check on day 3
3.) Take Letrozole for 5 days
4.) Go for Follicle Scan on day 11
5.) Take injection of Ovidrel on day 11
6.) Insemination on day 14
7.) Go for Progesterone level check on day 21
8.) Hope like hell that it took
9.) Take home preggo test on day 25

Feb 22, 2010: P4 Blood Work

So this process is an educational one. We didn't fully understand what the P4 test would be telling us. What they are looking for is the level of Progesterone in her system. Based on this level they can tell if Bobby-Jo ovulated. We had our appointment this morning at 8 am. Does anyone out there understand how difficult it is to be up that early with no job, or nowhere to be? Yeah, not very hard cuz we were soooooo excited.

I sat and waited in the waiting room while she went back with the phlebotomist. Sounds like I missed quite the conversation. She asked Bobby-Jo how she was doing, how she was feeling. Everything she said, the phlebotomist said, "that's a good sign" "that is something you want to be feeling". Very positive and a great person this woman! We are very lucky. The Center is a wonderful group of individuals that understand why we are there, what our ultimate goal is. They are so, so positive and always have something nice to say.

They said that we would hear today what the results were. Didn't hear all day... we grew very impatient. Bobby-Jo called a little after 5 and it went right to voice mail. Darn won't hear until Tuesday. WRONG!! At 6 the phone rang!!!

They said the progesterone level in her blood was 20, which is a good number. So Bobby-Jo asked, "what next?" The nurse asked when we inseminated and told us to start peeing on a stick on Friday based on that. So we will start our own Olympic Sport "Pee-on-a-stick", lol. Where do I come up with these?

P4 Test Tomorrow

We go to the Clinic tomorrow for our 1st P4 test to see if the insemination from 2/14worked or not. We had two follicles don't forget, so our chances are double that it will take. I don't know exactly what the success rate of IUI insemination really is, I have looked and looked. But Dr Jaffe said that it usually take 2 to 3 cycles. I am going with her numbers that if it doesn't work this time, it will probably work next time.

We are going to fix up both spare rooms and have bought paint for what will be the spare/guest room. We decided to paint it a light blue grey so it will be a closer match to the duvet cover we already have. Gotta clear out the room today or tomorrow so we can do that. I have never painted an entire room before. Bobby-Jo has so at least one of us has experience in this, lol. We are not going to do a whole lot to that room really, just paint and get a little nicer TV stand for in there and oh yeah, we have to pick up a Queen bed frame somewhere for the mattresses from the old spare room furniture.

Every day I think about something else I want to do, fix up, change. Every day I tell myself to just be patient. Don't want to get too far ahead of myself with us not knowing for sure. Maybe tomorrow we will find out...

Sunday, February 14th, 2010: Insemination

Our appointment this morning was at 10:15. We showed up to find 2 other couples sitting in the waiting room. I was pleasantly surprised to see other families in there for what I can only assume was insemination. I mean Dr. Jaffe wouldn't have normal office hours on the weekends for just normal visits.

Anyway, we were called back and escorted to what seemed like the very back of the office. The nurse asked us to wait and told us Dr. Jaffe would be in momentarily. Before she left she asked Bobby-Jo to indentify herself and also to make sure she had the correct vial.

When Dr. Jaffe came into the office, she asked what the donor number was. Bobby-Jo of course pipped right up. Me? I had no idea, go figure. Good thing she knows what's going on, lol. Dr. Jaffe told us the motility rate of the vial we were using was 68%. I don't really know if that exceptionally good, but based on other sources I have read, most Sperm Banks gurantee 35% or better. She then asked if we had any questions. We asked about the potential of multiples simply based on the ultrasound from Friday. She said, yes, of course it increases the chances, but she said it most likely doubled our chances of getting one egg fertilized.

A few moments later Dr. Jaffe was finished. We then stayed in the exam room for about 15 or 20 minutes so the swimmers could start working thier way toward the egg and "doing thier job". I stood and held Bobby-Jo's hand the whole time. What a surreal experience for me. I mean, this whole time I have kind of been the wing man, you know, there to help interpret what the Dr. said, keep straight the next steps in the process. It was very emotional for me to know that we could be parents before the end of the year.

2nd Ovary Check 2/12/10

I took the day off on Friday the 12th because I wanted to go with Bobby-Jo to Dr. Jaffe's office for the Follicle Check. Our appointment was at 9:30. As usual we couldn't get up and were almost late, lol.

Shortly after we arrived, they called us back to take some blood. They wanted to check the estrogen levels. They were looking for 100, Bobby-Jo was like a 380 or something! Way to go! But I am getting ahead of myself. We were then asked to go back into the waiting room until they were ready to do the ultrasound. Just a couple minutes later, Amanda called us back.

We saw the uterus first and Amanda also showed us the lining of the uterus which she said looked very good, "nice and thick" she said. She looked at Bobby-Jo's right ovary first. She saw a small follicle she said was about 8 to 9 millimeters, but she wanted something bigger. She said she wanted to see one 18 to 19 millimeters so she moved over to look at the left ovary. The follicle on the right looked like a small black marble when I saw it on the monitor. But as soon as she moved to the left ovary two large black images appeared. Two very large follicles are developing on the left ovary. She measured them both between 18 and 19 millimeters. Two on one ovary! We asked if this was normal and she said if we were taking meds to simulate follicle development then yes it was possible. We both just looked at each other, knowing what could possibly happen...

So we asked what next steps were. She said that as soon as the blood test came back they would call. Our regular nurse, Lauren, called about 1 pm on Friday to tell us the estrogen levels were good (you already knew that). Next step was to give Bobby-Jo the shot of Ovidrel to make those follicles release the eggs. She wanted me to give Bobby-Jo the shot between 6 and 8 pm that night, Friday night. She then said that we have an appointment with Dr. Jaffe on Sunday, February 14th at 10:15 am for the IUI! We get to inseminate on Valentine's Day!!!!

I gave Bobby-Jo the shot and we are hoping it is/has done it's job. In less than 12 hours the insemination will be completed. And two follicles, TWO?!? Only time will tell if it will work on our first try. We'll let you know how the insemination goes tomorrow.

Ovary Check #1 - Check!

So today was the "Ovary Check." It was an internal ultrasound to have a look at my ovaries and the lining of the uterus to make sure that everything is doing what it's supposed to be doing. The nurse said that my ovaries looked just great! She did say that one was bigger than the other, but that has nothing to do with anything. I just thought it was funny! It was pretty cool to see my big empty uterus on the screen and imagine a baby in there. :)

So, she prescribed a medicine called Letrozole. Basically, this med tells my ovaries to make a big, strong follicle that will support the one teeny, tiny, fragile egg that I will release in a couple of weeks. I take the medication starting tomorrow for five days.

On day eleven, which is next Friday, the 12th, I go back for another check. This one is called a "Follicle Scan." They will do another ultrasound and have a look at the follicle and make sure that it's big and strong. They'll also be doing some bloodwork. If everything looks good, then I'll be told when Casey can stick my leg with the injection of Ovidrel. Then, the following day we'll go in for "the procedure." :)

More in a week or so...
~Bobby-Jo

Jan 25th Appointment

Bobby-Jo and I went in for our second visit with Dr. Jaffe today! We have been waiting for this one. We are ready to move on. We got all the parts working and all the hormones at the right levels, when is it going to be time to get this show on the road so to speak? LOL!!

We walked in to the office today and she was very excited, it seemed, to help us get onto the next step. She sat and reviewed all the things we have been doing the last couple months as far as blood tests, psychiatric evaluation, ultrasounds etc. She seemed pleased with all the results and things are good.

Dr. Jaffe then outlined several options as our next steps:
(1) We can wait for the next cycle, use some ovulation predictor kits, and take our chances, the most natural way, she called it.
(2) We can use one type of ovulation inducing drug that would help us monitor her cycles which could take a couple cycles for us to predict well.
(3) the one we are opting for, is a second ovulation inducing drug that has also been used to help treat breast cancer patients. With this one, after Bobby-Jo starts her next cycle, she calls the Center and goes in for an ultrasound (day 2 or 3) to look at and inspect her ovaries. An "ovary check" they call it. Basically they are taking a look at her ovaries before they actually start gearing up to release an egg. At that time Bobby-Jo gets the prescription for and begins the drug Letrozole for 4 days. This will stimulate the release of and help mature an egg. On day 11 of her cycle she goes back in for an "ultrasound follicular scan" and some blood work. This time they are looking to see that the ovary is indeed almost ready to release an egg. Depending on how her system is responding to the Letrozole, we will then give Bobby-Jo an injection of Ovidrel. The Ovidrel will actually tell her system to release the egg. A couple days after the injection we go back into the Center for Dr. Jaffe for the IUI. A week after that, we get a progesterone blood test to see if it all worked.

We decided to go with option 3 because it is the most "hands on". Dr. Jaffe and the ladies at the Center monitor Bobby-Jo's system every step of the way. If her system isn't responding the way they anticipate, to one of more of the drugs, they will know this and we can wait and start over with the next cycle and/or alter how she takes the meds to increase our chances of it working. The last thing we want to do is waste time with proceedures that may or may not work especially since we only have 5 trys, LOL.

So that is the low-down! We will keep you all posted...

Update

Ok, so shame on us for not posting anything recently. However, we really haven't had much to post. With our commitment ceremony and Thanksgiving in November, and our trip to New York City and Columbia, Missouri over the Christmas holiday, we have been very busy and unable to focus on tests and appointments.

Now that the holidays are over and the new year has begun, we are ready to get moving on the road to building a family. The Center for Reproductive Medicine is where our doctor is - Dr. Sharon Jaffe. They require a battery of tests including bloodwork, Hysterosalpingogram, pelvic exams, and even a psychiatric evaluation.

Once all of the testing was completed, the next step was to choose a donor. We have been reviewing the hundreds of donors available for the last two months and finally got the list narrowed down to 13. We made our final decision a few nights ago and purchased five vials of specimen. Dr. Jaffe says that it takes the average woman three or four cycles to concieve with IUI (intra-uterine insemination).

We have an appointment on Monday, January 25th to discuss what the next steps in the process are. The nurse who booked the appointment said that typically Dr. Jaffe will prescribe an ovulation inducing medicine. This is taken on the first day of the new menstrual cycle. We just missed this one, as it was on the 8th, so we'll have to wait until next month to get started.

We'll post more after our appointment on the 25th!!

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To learn more about the process, here's the website for CRM (Center for Reproductive Medicine): www.ivforlando.com

To see more info on the donor we selected:
http://www.cryobank.com/Donor-Search/Donor-Profile/index.cfm?donorNo=02414

If that link doesn't work, then you can go to www.cryobank.com and do a DONOR SEARCH and put in his number - 02414.