Pregnancy Info HOME

Belle and Bella being "touchy feely" in my book - don't ask me why! I know they are not "faithy" names...

Please bear with me - I think I'm hormonal today.

My dh and I can hardly say one thing to each other and keep it at a civil tone. He answers everything I ask him to do or tell him that I need to on the defense, which puts me on the defense, and the circle repeats. What fun!

TRYING - I'm glad your ultrasound went so well. It must have been awesome to see her like that! We have a Kristin Grace and a Kristin Abigail in my family. I like Kristin Elizabeth too :-)

MNMOM - Great suggestions! If I ever need to come up with baby names, I'll know who to ask.

JULIA - 2ww. Gotta love it. Are you enjoying the spring weather?

NOVEMBER - I think I remember you posting about not feeling well and being really tired. I still can't believe it's been that long again. Unfortunately, my temperature has dropped a bit the last two days. I'm still in post-O territory, but just. I don't think this is the one.

KRISTIN - I love your name AND I'm jealous of your height. Lol. If you tell me you also have a trust fund I'm not going to talk to you any more. ;-) (Just kidding...I hope you have a huge trust fund somewhere.)

MY UPDATE - Well....in addition to what I just wrote, the nurse at my RE's office told me to expect either AF or a BFP 8 days after the hCG booster shot, which is exactly what happened last cycle. Today is 8 days after
and my temperature, as I said earlier, dropped a little more but still within a post-O range for me. So, just to be on the safe side, since it's a Friday, in case I needed to get in touch with my RE, I tested. You all know how much I hate to test. BFN at 13 dpo on a digital ClearBlue Easy. Soooo, my body seems to be taking it's time this month and isn't going to stick to their schedule. I expect my temp to tank tomorrow and AF will probably start on Sunday. :-(

Have a good Friday everyone.

Aspen-no problem! I love to give feedback on names! Funny thing is, we have no real ideas what we will name this baby. We aren't even really discussing it. Yes I know we have a long way to wait yet but it is really starting to stress me out, ya know? It would be one thing if we at least had it narrowed down to 2 boy names and 2 girl names, we are not even that far yet! And as for the middle name, god help us, we got nothing! YIKES!

MNMOM - Lol. I'd be feeling exactly the same way in your shoes. The baby's not due for eons but I'd want to be working on creating that "short list" of names that have made it through to the final consideration stage. Maybe it's part of that whole "nesting" instinct - getting all the pre-baby ducks in a row. Let us know when you start thinking about it. It's fun to hear what other people think about names.

KRISTIN - How about you? Have you thought about names at all yet?

MY UPDATE - Well, ladies. I'm sorry to say that I don't think 16 is my lucky number either. My temperature has continued to drop a little each day and this morning it was only 97.57. That's low enough to mean "Game over" for cycle number 16. It's taking a long time to happen though. Last cycle my temp crashed faster and harder than ever before, 7 days after my hCG booster shot, and AF started 8 days after the booster, which was only a 12 day luteal phase. This couldn't be more different. My temp is falling slowly, it's 10 days since the booster, and this is 15dpo. I guess there is no "normal" for me on shots...maybe every cycle is going to be different. Huh.

Anyway, I'm going to try to stop thinking about all of this for a couple of days. If I obsess about it tomorrow it'll kill me. So I'm going to get and stay insanely busy for the next couple of days. Happy Mother's Day everyone.

Aspen-
I am very sorry. I know you must be frustrated. Hopefully, you are so busy that you have not signed on to see this but if you do, I am thinking of you.
TryingX3-
Did you have miscarriages, then find out you were MTHFR? Do you feel that the aspirin really made the difference or is there more to your story?

Hi Ladies,
Aspen~sorry to hear of your temps going down. I am speechless.. thought your cycle sounded so promising..I am definitely not hopeless for you, as I think you are just steps away from your bfp. I just hate to think of the money you are spending..but I know it will pay off soon enough.
I am up in the air about names. In fact, I think I need a little help. I have not discussed names with the dh for many reasons and not to start another fight. We had problems naming last pregnancy too. IF it is a boy, he wants to name thebaby after his father ( as this is his Greek tradition) to name the first boy after the father :P. I however, do not like the name at all. (George) Plus dh's father never spoke to me before my daughter Zoe was born (I am not Greek). So, I refuse to name a baby after someone who has treated me poorly in the past. (However, teh tables have turnd and his father is very nice to me now.) I would be happy to give the name George our babies middle name if I have a boy, but that would be insulting to the Greeks. I think it would be only fair to give his father and my father the middle names. My Dad's name is Ralph and I am not fond of that name either..but in a middle name it is sorta hidden. So...i I could chose a boys name..I like the name Max or Maiximus and also Zachary. These are both Greek derived names so hopefully we could come to some compromise.. IF it is a girl, I am up in the air..I need help so any suggestions are welcome. I thought of Khloe Elizabeth. But then thought it may be silly as my 2 yr old daughters name is Zoe and it rhymes with Khloe. I am not sure I think I have to investigate girl names more. I do like slightly original names but possibly Greek derived just to make the Greek side somewhat happy.
Anyway, gotta run..Wishing all the ttc's and preggo's an Mom's a Happy Mother's Day! (Because we are all mom's at heart and we will all be soon enough.
Talk to you all soon XO

Hey Kristin - sorry to butt in on this thread but I thought I could help with the names issue.................try the following website (I thought it was reeeeeeeeeeeally helpful!) w w w dot thinkbabynames dot com. Hope this helps! Got to run as I'm late for bed - silly me when I need all the sleep I can get. Lots of love XOXOXOXOX

Hi Aspen

Sorry to hear about the drop in your temperature. I was hoping that this was it. I'm sure you'll get your BFP really soon. What'the next step? Keep positive and I am thinking of you. x

Thanks NOVEMBER, KRISTIN, and JAYJAYSMOM for the support. I AM frustrated. No doubt about it. But....I don't know....for some reason I'm okay. Maybe I'm just keeping TOO busy so that I don't actually have to feel what I'm feeling. Maybe it's not a healthy thing. But somehow getting my period ON Mother's Day was so outrageous I was okay. Does that make any sense at all?

Anyway, I'm heading to the RE now and will start the next round of injectables today. I think he's planning to tweak the protocol a bit. Also, my husband is supposed to get the results from his first post-surgery follow up semen analysis. I'm worried about it because I don't think there's going to be an improvement and I don't want him to be devastated by the news.

We discussed finances last night and have decided that we can handle one or possibly two more injectables cycles and then we have to stop and pay down some of this debt. It's getting out of hand. Besides, this will be cycle #3 of shots and my RE said that if they were going to work, they'd work in the first 4 months. I'd always read 6 months before, but he apparently disagrees. I don't know who's right but I assume he means that he doesn't want to do more than 4 cycles of shots. Soooo....we'll see. One cycle at a time, right?

Off I go. Hope you all have a good week.

Quickie update - Dr. changed my shots from Bravelle to Menopur, the difference being that the Menopur has LH (leutenizing hormone) in it along with the FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). (GIGI - You still with us, girlfriend? Don't want to overwhelm you with all the abbreviations.) Some people think that the LH is more effective for those of us with AMA (Advanced Maternal Age). He also asked me to add a baby aspirin every day. Hubby is picking up the Menopur as I type and I'll start injecting 4 vials a day starting today. Menopur is even more expensive than Bravelle so each shot will be a little over $200!!!! OMG OMG OMG. I cant' think about that or I won't be able to do it. Lol. I don't care about the shot itself. I'd stick the needle in my eyeball if someone told me that would help me get pregnant. But allowing myself to think about the $200 price tag per shot? Nope. Can't do that. Ugh.

Do you suppose I can come up with anything else to bitch about today? :-)

Aspen8-WOW, $200 x 4 shots each a day? How many days is the course? Man that hearts my heart and my head to even think about. The good news is, your DR has clearly not given up on you, so stay positive and give it a shot, we are all rooting for you!

Hey Aspen - Having AF on Mothers Day under the circumstances would really suck. Your RE sounds like he knows what he's talking about and its great to hear that he's fine tuning your treatment. I know its hard not to think of the money, but it will be worth it. I am hoping your DH's SA results gets the thumbs up as well. Hang in there as you are doing all you can to get your little one. Take care of yourself. x

Aspen, I'm glad to hear your doc is mixing things up a bit. Like you said try not to think of the money right now. My SIL who did IVF said she has never regretted the money she spent there. Has your doc also thought of putting you on progesterone after the insemination too? I think this proactive approach is a great idea. Just do what you can..I just hope your dh's sperm has improved..this would give you even more hope.
Nothing much to report for me. HAve my monthly visit Weds with the OB..will update then as she will have my results of my screening and we can discuss my low lying placenta. She told me she would have called if there was any problem so I am assuming for the most part everything is ok.
Take care all.

MNMOM - No, thank God! Lol. Each vial of Menopur is a little over $50 so the shot (using 4 vials) is a little over $200. I only have to do that once a day. Sorry I was so confusing when I wrote my post. On the bright side, now I feel like I'm getting off easy. Compared to $800 in meds a day, $200 feels like nothing! Lol. Last cycle I took shots for either 9 or 10 days but toward the end my RE tapered the dosage. So worst case scenario, the Menopur for this cycle will be a little over $2000. (Plus $35 for trigger shot, about $175 in copays, and the $426 for the IUI - though he only charged us $200 last time.)

NOVEMBER - I'm hangin'. :-) Don't worry, I'm far from giving up. Even if we have to take a break for a while while we pay down some debt, I'll be trying on my own. You never know, right? The money will definitely be worth it if it works. And even if it doesn't, I don't think I'll ever regret having spent it trying for a wee one.

KRISTIN - So far my RE has said that my progesterone is fine and doesn't need supplementation, although, he didn't check my levels the last couple of months. Maybe I should ask about that this time just to make sure nothing changed when we started doing the shots. Can't wait to hear the results of the screening, which I'm sure will all be good news.

MY UPDATE - The only thing I have to add is that hubby never called about his SA results yesterday. I think he's nervous and avoiding it. I don't blame him. I'm not going to push him for a few more days yet, but, of course, eventually we do need to know.

Hello Everyone

Did you all catch on the news that Manny Ramirez was injecting Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)? Who knew we had so much in common with him? Our local paper's headline asked whether he wanted a boy or a girl. Who knew it had so many uses!

ASPEN - It appears that I have missed your downs and ups this cycle. I'm sorry stupid af showed up and ruined the party. I am happy that your dr is starting the new cocktail. I hope this works for you. Is your RE also giving you shots to prolong ov to wait for the eggs to mature more? While I think that probably helped, I am holding firm on not going back. Dh told me today I seem much more relaxed, so we'll see. I will know by Saturday. Also, I think it is best that you are trying the shots. You don't want to look back and regret not trying it. I am grateful for that.

I did enjoy the beautiful weekend. We planted our tomatoes, zucchini, and a bunch of other things. LOVE this time of year.

JULIA - I think this is my favorite time of year. I didn't plant last weekend but will definitely make up for this this week. I love to dig in the dirt!

My first cycle of shots I saw the not-my-RE guy...the 2nd in command at the practice, and I think he triggered me too early...on day 8, with IUI on day 10. That never felt good to me. My real RE - the one I like - was in charge of my last cycle and while he didn't give me anything to hold ovulation off, he monitored me 5 times in 10 days, and got three of four follicles to ovulate. He had me trigger on day 11 for a day 13 IUI and the 3 good follicles ranged from 17-21mm. I felt okay about that one. I think I'll ask about that when I see him this time though.

It's great that you're more relaxed. It sounds like staying away from the RE is definitely the right course of action for you. My fingers are crossed for you. Did you ever have see a hematologist to get checked for clotting factors and all that good stuff?

Manny was taking HCG. Isn't that a hoot? I wonder if his breasts hurt? :-) (Mine sure did.)

MY UPDATE - Well....as expected, hubby's morphology didn't improve one teeny little bit. He had two semen analyses prior to surgery. One said his morphology was only 3% normal forms and the other said 5%. This one came back right in the middle at 4%. We keep hearing that improvement can take 6 months and even up to a year. But both the urologist who did the surgery and my RE said that improvement should be immediate...soo...who knows. Regardless, for now, it is what it is and 4% isn't likely to get me pregnant even with shots and IUI. If this cycle doesn't work, at most, we'd do one more, but I'm not even sure about that. It's an awful lot of money for very little chance of success.

My RE still wants to try IVF. I told him it wasn't a financial option for us but he wants to talk to us about a payment plan. It may be worth hearing what he has in mind but if the payment plan is something like, "You can pay $6500 each month for three months prior to the egg retrieval" I'll have to laugh really hard. And that's sort of what I'm expecting to hear.

Still, I may start investigating the best AMA/Male Factor clinics in the country and contacting them to see what their cut off ages are and to see what kind of "payment plans" they offer. It might be worth it to at least ask questions and see what might be available if we could afford it and then...I don't know...maybe a rich Aunt I don't know I have will kick the bucket and leave me her millions. Lol. Hey....a girl can dream right? How awful is that? I'm so goin' to hell!