Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Unlikely Inspiration.

I have been in bit of a blogging rut recently. Until today I felt like every post should be something special or something important. I lost track of the little things. Nothing happens in my life right now and I mean that in the best possible way. My life is so everyday simple these days that I have nothing to write about. I'll take that though. While it means that nothing great has happened recently, it also means that nothing bad has happened either. I was at a loss for words so I decided to let chance give me some inspiration tonight. 

I have written 246 blog posts over the last 2+ years. A few of which have never, and will never, been seen.

I decided to chose a post using Random.org and to allow that post to be my inspiration for THIS post. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. 

Random.org picked post:


I ran to my archive and started trying to find which post was number 97, only to stop dead in my tracks when I read the title. 


I welled up in tears, both happy and sad, just reading it. That was the post in which I became a Mom.
That was the moment.

For those of you who were not followers of my blog back in August of 2008. Let me give you a little review.

June 10 2008: Began IVF.
July 24 2008: It's twins!
August 26 2008: We lost one of the twins.

I can not even begin to explain to you how much the Pity Party post meant/means to me. I can still remember it as if it was yesterday. Laying on the ultrasound table watching as the tech stopped only 10 seconds after starting then scrambling to find the pictures from my ultrasound only 2 weeks earlier. I remember looking over at Mike. He was so innocent and eager to see his CHILDREN. 

I KNEW!

I remember saying to him, "This isn't good". He just shrugged me off. The ultrasound tech came back and showed us our perfect little baby. She pointed out all of his or her tiny little parts. It actually looked like a baby and not just a gummy bear this time, yet

I STILL KNEW!

She stopped for a few seconds, a few silent seconds, and I said, "Where is the other baby?
I don't remember anything after I said that. 
All I remember is looking over at Mike as he stared at her, hanging on her every word. I remember his reaction, his tears. I remember trying to be the strong one. 

  I WASN'T!

I do remember the tech immediately going back to Baby A, reminding us that we still had one healthy baby. With tears in my eyes, I saw him kicking and punching. Mike was still a little too overwhelmed with the loss of Baby B to focus on the screen. I can distinctly still remember how his hand felt when I grabbed him and said "Look, it's kicking and moving." 
It was a real baby. I was really finally pregnant...with a baby. I am sure it was out of pity that the ultrasound tech decided to make a guess on the gender of our baby. 

A Girl!

I don't remember leaving the Dr's office that day and I don't remember the drive home. I do remember laying in bed with Mike, who thankfully took the rest of the day off work. At some point during the day, we fell asleep for about two hours. I woke up a new woman. I woke up a Mom! That is when I wrote The Pity Party is Over post. 

I found peace and no longer cared that I wasn't having twins. I don't know where it came from...wait, strike that...it came from all of my Mom's prayers I'm sure. It was ok that we lost one of the babies, all was not lost. I still had someone depending on me. 

I was still pregnant. 

Revisiting that post really helped me.  It reminded me that I am lucky. Yes, I lost one baby but even out of loss you can still find great reward. It didn't make me feel sad, even though it made me cry. In a way it actually made me happy. The Pity Party is Over post was all about my acceptance of the situation. A situation I could not control. 6 months after that "situation", I gave birth to the only thing in my life that really matters. I gave birth to London, who by the way is very much a boy, not girl!

On August 26, 2008 I became a Mom months before my child was born. I did something that would eventually become so natural, I put myself aside to do something for my child. I didn't want my pregnancy to become that of grief or regret. I wanted to celebrate it for what it really was

A Miracle!

There are no word to describe how much this post has helped me. Many of you may remember that I was petrified of having twins from our upcoming IVF cycle. Writing this post and reading the other has really helped me put things in perspective. Just because it isn't YOUR plan doesn't mean it's not A plan. I will be ecstatic if we can hit the jackpot again and  IVF #2 happens to be successful. One baby, two babies, or six....ok hopefully not six... I am sure I will NEVER regret it. Come what may,

Bring On The Babies!! 

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

UPrinting Die Cut Business Cards Giveaway!

I just wanted to let all of you know that I have a new giveaway up on my Reviews and Giveaways blog

You can win 250 Die Cut Business Cards!


Monday, September 27, 2010

Friends- The update!

Thank you so much for all of your awesome comments on my Friends post. I have a little confession to make. I actually wrote that post weeks ago. I read it over a few times and decided not to publish it because it made me sound like a HUGE desperate loser. Fast forward to last week when I finally decided to hit publish just because I wanted to post this.

I MADE A FRIEND!!!!

You know,without sounding like well....a huge desperate loser. HAHA!

A month ago I joined a play group that I found on online. I found it on Meetup.com. I made sure to warn the hubs first though, all I could picture was him freaking out when he saw "meetup.com" in our computer history. I didn't want him to think I was hitting up the dating boards or something.HAHA! In case you don't know,  Meetup.com is basically just a place for you to find groups of people with similar interests. In my case...Mom friends!

I found an awesome playgroup. I'm not gonna lie, I was very hesitant about going to one of the playdates listed on their calendar. I didn't just want to show up at someones house and be that random new person who everyone ignores. Thankfully I lucked out, one of the members lives in my neighborhood and was hosting a playdate at my neighborhood pool. It was the perfect opportunity for me to go meet some new girls and not feel out of place if they were all rude snobby hoochies. Within about 10 seconds of walking into the pool a girl walked up to me and asked if I was with "the playgroup". She was awesome and talked to me for a while before welcoming the next new member who showed up. Finally I can say I know some people in Columbia!!

Over the last month I have been to numerous playdates and met alot of great ladies. London has been meeting some new friends too (Don't worry Scarlett, you're still his BFF :) )  I have even met a few not so nice girls, one even made fun of my blog. Yep, there are tons of crazies out there. I will be avoiding her since I don't think the appropriate place to curse her out is a playdate. :)

I met one girl in particular that I think will actually become a real friend. On our first "date" she came over and we drank wine all night. I told her way too much about myself and she did the same, and neither one of us got up and ran out of the room screaming. I think she is a keeper! :)

Thanks for all of your support. You gals really made me realize that I wasn't alone in the uncomfortable search for friends. You have no idea how much your comments helped me feel normal again, and really helped me remember why I started blogging in the first place.

Friday, September 24, 2010

New Blog Friday- Erin

It's that time of week again!!!



This week I am featuring Erin at Journey of Life and Love


Here is a message from Erin:

Where do I begin? My name is Erin, and I am very honored to be chosen to post on "New Blog Friday". When I originally started blogging, it was for therapy. I lost my daughter at 35 weeks gestation, and did not know where to start the healing process. A friend of mine encouraged me to start an online journal, a "blog". I was apprehensive at first because I was not entirely sure I wanted people to know my deepest feelings through this time of grief. However, I realized that by posting about how I was feeling and where I was in my grief process, it prevented a lot of repeat questions from friends and family. They would read how I was doing so I would not have to answer the question "How are you?" or "What happened?" over and over. This was a huge, unexpected relief. When I returned to the real world and work, I didn't have to explain anything, because most of the people I knew were reading my entries.



Although I started my blog because of Rosalynn's early trip to heaven, I did not dedicate it soley to my loss like so many other Baby Loss Moms have. It was a personal choice, because although April 20th changed my life forever, and it is usually what dictates my moods from day to day, I am more than just a mom to an angel. I am a student and an EMT in a local Emergency room. I am the mom to two very entertaining "Furbabies".  I am the wife to the sexiest Captain in the Army, while I also wear combat boots as a medic in the Army. That's right, we are both soldiers, and if you hop on over to my blog, you can read my reaction to the news that my unit will be deploying to Afghanistan in 2011. To say my initial reaction was NOT good is an understatement. However, this could make for an interesting turn of events in my blog.

I am also a writer in my spare time, HAHA, like I have much "spare time"! I have 3 books in process, Oh, did I mention I can be a little ADHD at times?

My life is FAR from normal, and in most cases, makes for some pretty interesting  posts. You may laugh, you may cry, but I promise you will at least be entertained. Feel free to come over and follow me, and make sure to comment, because I love getting a little love from those who read about my life.
"And until we meet again....."

P.S. If you want to know Rosalynn's whole story, there is a special link to it in the top right hand column on my page.

Go check out Erin at Journey of Life and Love
 Give her a big welcome into the blog world by leaving a comment and/or becoming a follower .  

Would you like to have your blog featured on New Blog Friday? 
Find out how by clicking here.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Friends

HOW DO YOU MAKE THEM???

I know this is a silly question to ask. This is a skill that I should have learned years ago on the playgrounds of elementary school. I must have learned it at some point because I used to have a very active social life. Then it happened.

Mike got out of the army and we moved to a new town.

I am now finding it all but impossible to make friends. As an army wife it was relatively easy to make friends. Every one was in the same situation. We all needed friends. There was always a wives social or FRG meeting to go meet other wives. I also used to run an online community for army wives, so in a way I had built in friends anywhere we would go.

How do you make friends with out the army?

I am a stay at home mom, so its not like I am going to meet anyone at work. I have tried stalking down other women at the playground. But trust me, you can only do that so many times before you become labeled as the town freak.  Civilians already have friends, they are not trolling the local parks peering from behind trees in hopes of making friends. Ok, I'm not actually THAT bad, but this could explain why I have yet to meet anyone. :)

Even if I did happen to meet some new peeps, I have always hated "friendship dating". You know, that time in the beginning of your new friendship where everything has to be a special occasion to hang out. For example, you have to wait until NEXT weekend to invite her over just because there is a big football game on TV.

Football game = special occasion = no, I'm not desperate for friends, we just happen to be cooking out because there is a HUGE game on.

You can't exactly invite a girl you just met to come over in her PJ's and watch re-runs of old Will and Grace episodes with you. That is more like a "friendship marriage" and that is what I miss. I don't want to have to do a song and dance just to hang out with some new girls. I want to have girl talk, drink to much wine (while I still can), and stay up late giggling like a 12 year old school girls.

So if any of you can please tell me how to meet THOSE type people and skip all the getting to know you hoop jumping then that would be GREAT!!

Friends can't be THIS hard for me to find. In case you don't know, I am a pretty freaking AWESOME chick. I might be a little bias though. :)

 I want my girls Tiff, Amy, Va, and Sierra back!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

ICLW- September

Welcome ICLW!!

My name is Aly.  I am 29 years old and SAHM to our IVF miracle, London. 
Welcome to my little slice of the interwebz. 

This is me and the hubs (AKA: Mike)


And this is the little man who stole our hearts
 (AKA: London).

Now a little bit about us. 

After 2 years of infertility treatments (due to unexplained IF ) we were finally able to get pregnant with London after our very first IVF cycle.   He was born in February 2009 but I officially have the fever again, and I'm not talking about the "Beiber Fever". I want another  baby ! My husband was an Army Captain before getting out a few months ago. It has been quite the transition to the civilian life but we are slowly getting used to things on "the outside". The good news is that his new company offers infertility coverage including IVF. So we really lucked out in that department. We have decided to do IVF #2  in January but the wait is all but killing me. 

Feel free to look around and make yourself at home. Here is our complete Infertility Journey starting back in 2006 if you would like to read all about it.  I love comments so don't be shy!

Prop up your feet become a follower and stay a while. 

Thanks for stopping by, I look forward to getting to know you (and your blog).

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Default Parent

When I was pregnant with London I had this fairytale idea of what parenting would be like. I of course knew that Mike was going to a a great father and he is. I have very little to complain about in that department. However there is always that one little complaint and this is mine.

 I feel like I am London's default parent. Meaning that when he needs anything the responsibility automatically default to me. When London needs a sippy cup or lunch or a diaper changed, the duties always default to ME!


Do any other Moms out there feel this way?

For example, today London was walking around the house playing. I was sitting on the couch writing a grocery list and Mike was watching football. London came up to me (of course) and asked me for some "suess" which I quickly translated into juice.

I looked over at Mike and said "can you find his sippy cup for him?"
To which Mike replied, "Where is it?"
To which I replied (slightly annoyed this time) "I don't know, hence why I asked you to FIND it"
Well in true Mike fashion he said, "He's fine he doesn't need it right now"

So guess what happens at that point? The duty of finding London's sippy cup is then defaulted to ME! I can't just ignore my thirsty little man. He's not fine, he asked for his SUESS!!

Another example, Mike and I are both sitting side by side on the couch. We hear London wake up from his nap. Mike doesn't move and just assumes I will go upstairs and get him. I decided that I would wait a few minutes and see if Mike would actually ever get up to get him. So finally after about 3 minutes Mike looks over at me and says "Are you gonna go get him?" 


Really Mike, REALLY!?!?! You do know that as his father you are allowed to go get him out of his bed anytime you would like right? Unfortunately I didn't actually say that to him. I only thought it. 

Don't get me wrong, Mike is very helpful when I ask him to do something. I just wish that for once I wouldn't HAVE to ask him for help. I wish he would take on some of the everyday responsibilities when he is home. I get it, he works hard, he really does. He deserves some down time when he is home, but so do I! I often wonder if I would still be the default parent if I worked out of the home? I'm a stay at home mom and my JOB is to take care of London. But I really would like to occasionally be at home AND off duty. I don't want to have to leave the house just to feel like I have clocked out for the day.

Does anyone else feel this way? Maybe I'm a Mom now and this is just the way it is. Please don't think I am complaining about taking care of my lil man. I love that little boy more than anything. I choose to be a stay at home mom so I can spend as much time with him as possible. I really just wish that on the weekends I could sit back and enjoy the family more while doing less of the actual work.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

All business post, sorry!

So this post is all about business. Sorry if you were expecting something fun. I'm pretty sucky like that sometimes.

A few things.

1) Are you following my blog and I am not following yours? LET ME KNOW!! I am a firm believer that if you like my blog you must be pretty freaking cool and I WANT to follow yours. Don't be shy. Email me and let me know your blog link so I can become a follower. I feel like I am missing out on alot of great blogs just because I can't find them.
This also goes for blog who have my button listed or have me listed on the sidebar and I am not returning the favor. I love alot of blogs, so sometimes I get overwhelmed and overlook a button or linky. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know. I really mean this.

2) Do any of you want to be featured on my New Blog Friday? I am following several blogs that I think would be PERFECT, but I don't want to stalk you down if you're not interested. PLEASE email me if you want to be featured. Again, DON'T BE SHY!!! I love emails.

3) Is it January yet? I'm pretty sure I NEED to be pregnant. If I gain anymore weight that is NOT directly related to having a baby I am going to explode (literally and figuratively)  :) Mainly, I really just want to break out all of London's old newborn clothes and sort through them/reminisce. That's a good reason to get pregnant, right? HAHAHA!!

Email me at: Aly at infertilityoverachievers dot com

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

It's almost October

...and I'm supposed to be doing IVF. Well at least that was the original plan. Unfortunately we have to wait until January though because of the way our insurance works. I shouldn't complain, I know we are extremely lucky to have insurance that covers IVF. I still sometimes wish  that I was Celine Dion or any other infertile woman who's never even had to consider the financial aspects of IVF. I want my health, both physical and mental, to be the only factors in when we schedule our next cycle. I want another baby, is that to much to ask? Apparently it is. In the words of my very southern and wise father,

"Put want in one hand and shit in the other. Now see which one fills up first."

I have never actually tested this theory, but I am going to guess that the hand filled with shit will fill up first. 
That's just a guess though, let me know if any of you preform this little experiment. I am definitely going to need pictures. 

So the reason we are waiting is because our insurance deductible rolls in January. On our insurance plan, my yearly max out of pocket is $1700. Anything above $1700 is covered at 100% (instead of the usual 80%). So everything resets in January. 
If we did get pregnant from IVF, we would have to pay another $1700 in January for the pregnancy/labor and delivery. And if IVF didn't work, we would have to pay another $1700 in January to do another cycle. 
If we just want until January we could potentially only have to pay $1700 out of pocket for an entire year, thus covering everything.

I know this is the smart "grown up" decision and it will be for the best, but the cranky bratty 7 year old inside me wants to scream...

"But I don't wanna wait"

and then stomp out of the room. 

Ok...end rant and whining session. 

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

FINALLY HOME!


Wow, I can not believe it is already the middle of September. The last two weeks have been a blur. In the last two weeks I have only been home for three nights. THREE NIGHTS!! My bed has never felt as good as it did last night. I'm not traveling again until Christmas, so if any of you would like to see me before then you will just have to come visit me. We had a blast at both weddings but we are both thrilled to have some much needed down time.

My house is a WRECK, everything is still packed, we have no food, and my to do list is about twenty miles long. I have about a million things to do so this blog post is going to be short and sweet.

Here is a random update on the last two weeks.

Chicago was AMAZING!!



London is doing really well in his new toddler bed. My sister actually bought him one of these today. She got him the toddler bed size (not the twin) so his crib mattress will fit into in. He is going to LOVE it!

My BFF's wedding was also AMAZING! I have never seen a prettier bride (and her matron of honor was pretty hot too haha)





Last but not least I will leave you will a little cuteness!

Oh and is football season again 
Woohoooo!

GOOOOOOO DAWGS!!!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

We have a climber!!

18 Months, 10 days, 11 hours, and 15 minutes.

That is exactly how long we made it before our little world was flipped upside down. OK, so not really "upside down", maybe I am being a little dramatic, but London has learned to climb out of his crib. My sweet little boy who goes to bed so easily and sleeps for 13 hours a night is gone. It used to be that all I had to do was take him upstairs and put him in his crib and he went right to sleep after playing for about 10 minutes. Now this.

I was in a complete panic today when I heard a loud thump coming from London's room upstairs. It scared me to death because I didn't hear any screams that followed the thump. All I could picture was an unconscious little man as I ran up the stairs. Luckily just as I got to the top, I heard him quietly crying. The fall didn't even seem to faze him, he was still just whimpering because he wasn't ready for nap time. I quickly called my 4 go-to gals when it comes to mommy advice... Biz, Erin, Juanita, and Sierra. Each and everyone of them had the same response, "You're screwed!"

I am still trying to figure out what to do with him. As of right now, I have completely emptied out his room. All that is left in there is his newly converted (from his crib) toddler bed. I took out his dresser and changing table as well as anything that he could reach on the walls. I tossed in a few toys and VOILA! It's a huge bedroom sized crib. Well that is at least what I am hoping for. I tried it for nap time today after taking off the front of his crib (but before I put up the toddler bed attachment). He fussed for a few mins but eventually fell asleep under his bed like this.

Tonight for bed time, I put up the toddler rail and hoped and prayed for an easy bed time. I even let him stay up an extra hour. I was super lucky because he actually complied. When I put him to bed he cried for about 10 minutes and even knocked on his own door a few times. I was about in tears. Thankfully he fell asleep and when I went to check on him, I found him actually sleeping in his bed!! I'm really hoping this wasn't a fluke but rather just further proof  he is his father's son and loves sleep more than any of us will ever be able to understand.

I'm not sure how it's going to work this week while I am gone. He is going to stay with my sister while I am gone because Mike will be working. Fingers crossed that my nieces and nephews wear him out so when he goes to bed each night he just passes out. Did I mention that he can crawl out of a pack-n-play?? Good Luck to my sister Lori. May the force be with her :)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Look, I'm over here.

So our Chicago trip is winding down, actually it is pretty much over. We are leaving today to head back home, oh sweet home. However I just wanted to let y'all know that our success story is being featured over at Stress Free Infertility today. Check it out.

http://stressfreeinfertilityblog.com/2010/09/05/meet-aly/

Sorry its not a link. I'm posting from my phone again and can't figure out to link. Use the old school copy and paste and go show me some love over there.

Friday, September 3, 2010

"That Girl"

Hey everyone,
I'm updating from my cell phone so this is probably going to be short and choppy. I just really need to rant and this is going to be way too long for twitter or facebook.
So I am up in Chicago at this wedding, having a blast by the way, when I met "that girl". You know, the girl that seems to have zero tact and think that gives her the right to say stupid and ridiculous things. We have ALL met "that girl" at one point or another. So I guess it was only fair that last night was my turn.
Last night was the rehersal dinner and they has an awesome pool side barbecue. Drinks were flowing. Margarita for me but only one because I was driving. Well "that girl" had already said a few stupid comments to other people but at the end of the evening it was my turn. I was driving her and a few others home when I made a joke about Mike. He had gotten a little intoxicated and was acting really silly, so I said something sarcastic along the lines of "Yep, I chose to breed with that man" Well in a snotty tone from the backseat I hear, "Is he really even the father of your child?" She didn't ask in a funny sarcastic way like she was trying to jump on to the tail end of my joke. No, she asked it in the snotty tone that would imply that I had 50 kids by 50 different men and was now trying to claim one of them was the heir to Michael Jacksons fortune. My jaw about hit the floor as did everyone elses in the car. She didn't know me, she only met me about 10 hours earlier. She never even saw a picture of London. My reply...

"Are you kidding me? I have been with Mike for 10 F-ing years, 3 of which were spent trying to have a baby. I spent almost $7,000 to have that child. Don't you dare talk about my little boy, you know nothing about me or Mike or my family. Maybe you should get to know your audience a little better before opening your mounth again. Oh but to answer your question, yes I am 100% sure he is the father of my child. I'm not sure what you were trying to say about me or my husband but you can sure as hell leave my child out of this"

She quickly apologized, mainly because she was embarrassed though. I didn't exactly say that to her in the nicest of tones. I was so mad though and I am still fuming about this today. I can't wait until later to see if she tries to talk to me. I'm not going to make a scene or say anything to her. I don't want to cause any drama. Today is the wedding so I want to make sure everything is stress free and perfect for the bride and groom. So instead of keeping things bottled up I decided to just blog about it.
Thanks for listening, now I need to get ready for the wedding. It's going to be beautiful.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Guest Blog- My Story

As you all know I am busy getting ready for my 4 day trip to Chicago (which includes leaving London for 4 days...sigh). So Lindsay from over at A New Breed of Mom was kind enough to do a guest blog for me today.
 ENJOY!!

My Story: Struggling with Secondary Infertility
By: Lindsay Williams at A New Breed Of Mom


My Story: Struggling with Secondary Infertility

First I’d like to thank Aly for asking me to guest post. Aly and I have become good friends as we are both trying to conceive. I’ve found her blog and I truly enjoy reading it and feeling part of a community of woman TTC. Infertility sucks! We need to support each other, stay positive, and share our stories. Here is mine.

When my husband and I married in August of 2009, infertility was not something on our radar. We both entered the marriage with a child from a previous relationship and we were excited to have a child together. Both of us have always planned to have more children and when we got engaged in 2008 children was something we discussed in length.

John wanted a whole litter of children. I wanted two more, which would still give us a combine total of seven children. Phew! After a great debate we agreed to have two children together, after we got married, and would negotiate a 3rd child together. In all of these conversations, we never once discussed the possibility that we’d have to face infertility. Since we’ve both have had children before that thought didn’t even cross our minds.

After the honeymoon was over, I was all about the next task on the agenda – getting pregnant. When a month passed and I didn’t fall pregnant, I began to chart my cycle and read up on everything there is to know about getting pregnant. You might say I was obsessed. Just a little. I have a tendency to do that.

One of the first things I noticed charting my cycles was that I was averaging a 40 day cycle. That is not normal. Three 40 day cycles and four months later, I made an appoint with my gynecologist with the suspicion that I had thyroid problems or maybe this thing called PCOS that I had read so much about.

My doctor asked me if I was having a period to which I replied, “Yes, but it is only about 3-4 days long and is very light.” She told me that as long as I was having a menstrual cycle that meant I was ovulating and, although, my cycles were a little long that I needed to give it a full year before I sought fertility treatment. A blood test showed that my thyroid levels were normal so I had nothing to worry about.

I went home and waited for my period to start. 

It never did.

I can’t tell you how much money I spent on pregnancy tests that first five months.

And how much time I obsessed about every. little. possible. symptom.

Not knowing what else to do, I called back my gynecologist and made another appointment. She sent me for another blood test to see what my androgen levels were. She used that test to help diagnose me with PCOS. The first course of action was Clomid. For the next two months she prescribed progesterone to help jump-start my period and then Clomid to help induce ovulation.

The Clomid didn’t work.
Except for making me terribly moody and emotionally.

Finally, my doctor sent me to a Reproductive Endocrinologist RE just as she started me on my 3rd round of Clomid – the highest allowable dosage. My RE cut right to the chase. He said since I already started with the Clomid he’s let me finish it out and then do an ultrasound on my ovaries to see if the Clomid even worked to stimulate my ovaries.

The Clomid didn’t work.

It was on to shots.

My RE started me on Follistim. And then if the Follistim works to help my follicles grow, we would “trigger” ovulation with a HCG shot. After a long wait and several weeks of struggling with the insurance company to gain pre-authorization for my medications, we started our Follistim adventure.

For about 10 days I gave myself a shot in the belly every night. I hate shots. John had to give me the first one because I was too scared to do it. I underwent a gamut of tests to make sure my fallopian tubes were open (which they were), my follicles were growing (which they did), that my hormone levels were ok (they were ok), that my husband’s sperm count was good (it’s good), and that I don’t have “hostile cervical mucus” (I don’t). Finally it was time for the “trigger shot”.

Now, a year after John and I said “I do” we are waiting. We are waiting to find out if all of our efforts over the last year will finally pay off. Will this month be THE month? It’s hard to tell. The nurse at the RE office said to wait until this Saturday, September 5th to test. If we test before that the HCG from the trigger shot may give us a false result.

In the mean time I am getting my hopes up, despite trying not to get my hopes up.

And I am symptom watching.

Please cross your fingers for me and baby dust to you and yours! -Lindsay



I want to Thanks Lindsay for taking the time to tell her story. Please visit her blog at A New Breed Of Mom   to see more of her work!