Baby's First Photo

So I called my darling nurse Lana on Monday to report my dizziness and the sharp pains in my right pelvic zone. After checking in with Dr. M, I had an appointment made for me at 1pm. They were obviously concerned about an ectopic so I was slated for a urinalysis, sonogram and blood work. No matter the results I was so relieved that I wouldn't be spending a whole week at home in NJ wondering whether or not I was having a tubal pregnancy.

My sonographer, Emily, got the dildo camera right up in there and immediately spotted the gestational sac and yolk sac right where it needed to be. Massive sigh of relief, accompanied by the heart-racing excitement of having good news and seeing that little ball on the screen. 

Once Lana and Dr. M saw the sonogram results there was no need to take blood, phew. Being only 5 weeks and 4 days, there was no heartbeat to check for yet but I did get to take two pictures of my little lentil to show daddy back in New York. 

We also decided to tell family this week since we don't know when we'll see everyone in person again. Wednesday was my mom's birthday and we had reservations for her fave restaurant. I'd ordered a pair of silver earrings and a silver necklace with a ruby pendant for her and we'd also invites J's parents to join for dinner. After our apps course, I pulled out the two jewelry boxes and when she opened the necklace I explained the significance of the little pyrite bead on the back and then said, "And the ruby is the July birthstone." That comment seemed to fall flat until my step dad questioned it after a few seconds. So J and I each repeated a couple times "yup, birthstone for July" hoping it might sink in. Finally, Mom looked up at me trying to figure out why it was important and all the pieces started to come together. She totally cried like a baby, just as I anticipated :p 

Needless to say, we all had a great time at dinner. Everyone was pretty shocked. Well, 'cept J's mom who was expecting us to "make an announcement" this visit. She also squarely believes we've got a girl cooking. I'll take it!

P.S. My boobs are out of control painful, it is The Worst to take my bra off every night. On the flip side, still no running to the bathroom to puke so that's pretty awesome!

5dpiui

We had a super busy weekend which is always a good thing when you are in the TWW part of your cycle. On Friday I had a million little errands to do including a mega grocery shopping trip to my favorite Whole Foods (I made a delish tofu stir fry that I was pretty proud of!). Saturday was a bit of a sleep-in day and then packing and food prep. J went to pick up a friend at the airport and we had some spicy egg salad sandwiches (sriracha! yes!) with arugula side salads and homemade key lime pie.

By 1pm we were in the car headed towards Leadville, CO. Based on the heinous traffic, we decided to stop at Breckenridge first to check in to our hotel. A second friend met us there and we strolled around town and had a snack on the sunshiny deck of Modis. Afterwards, J's ultra-runner friends went back to Leadville for the night and J and I celebrated his birthday (32! woo!) with Crepes a la Cart and then the best plate of nachos I've ever had!

Alarms were set for 3:15am Sunday morning. We rolled out of Breck by 4am and arrived in Leadville just after 5am for J's "Silver Rush 50" race. It was a pretty cool start and I was feeling oddly emotional. Was it pride for J? Was it the gorgeous rendition of the National Anthem? Was it just inspiration rubbing off from these 400+ insane athletes who train so hard and believe so deeply in their physical and mental abilities? But it could have been sleep deprivation or a weird hormone spike. Who knows... I've had a couple of weird medications thrown my way this month and I'm sure they are still affecting me.

So I had a long day of chasing J around the mountains, trying to catch him at various points. I spent a lot of time at a sweet little coffee shop and a lot of time in the car. I also spent a lot of time browsing - and subsequently killing my cell phone battery - through the forums on Fertile Thoughts. Very helpful to read notes from and correspond with other ladies where I am. There's a whole section for those of us going through IUI in July and I found one girl in particular who had her transfer on the same day.

5dpiui Summary
Five days later, where I am with things? I had a dip in my BBT this morning, a surprising 97.9, even though I didn't feel chilly at all when I woke up. Haven't noticed much in the CM department, but over the last several days it's either been really wet or creamy. There's been a little <ahem> breast or nipple sensitivity, but I attribute that to the spike in progesterone that should happen after ovulation. I've been feeling something in between cramps and little twinges in my lower abdomen for the last few days. I'm continuing the following:
          Baby Aspirin (81mg)
          Prenatal Multi Vitamin (2)
          Immunotect capsule (2)
          Maca capsule (gelatinized)
And I've stopped taking the DIM supplement. For whatever reason, that seems to stand out in my research as something that should be discontinued after pregnancy so I'm being cautious. I'm reluctant to give up the Maca because I credit that hormone balancer with keeping my endometrial lining nice and thick.

Concerns
Was worried about the spotting I saw on 2dpiui but feel confident now that it was just residual blood from the transfer. With the cramping I'm feeling, I have a worry about ectopic fertilization. The feelings have pretty consistently been on my right side and that's where all of my eggs matured. I've read a few anecdotal accounts of ectopic pregnancies being more common in IUI patients than natural conceptions. But none of those are from particularly reputable sources so I have no idea.

Cycle Day 7: BOGO Sale

Buy one, get one... Two posts for the price of one. Here's the update of what I didn't know when I wrote the previous post. 

1) I believe I have a new symptom to record: hot flashes. It's summer time and NJ has been having some wretchedly hot 90+ degree days with insane humidity, so I could be off-base here. However, the fact that I'd sit around the air conditioned house during the day and actually feel chilly enough for a blanket and then totally sweat my tush off when going to sleep kind of makes me think... maybe that's what a hot flash feels like! I was literally dripping sweat and had to throw off the sheet and turn the AC down a touch. I hold out hope that I'll never have need for clomid again (!!!!) but in case I do, remember the hot flashes...

2) No in-laws this holiday weekend, after all. Bummer. I've been sitting in the airport all evening waiting for my 5:15 pm flight to depart while they've been at the Philly airport also waiting. Unfortunately their flight was finally cancelled (it's now 11pm). As for me, I did get on the plane for about two hours. But a brilliant airport employee left the jetbridge unsecured and the storm that came through before we pushed off from the gate smashed the equipment into our wing. WOMP womp :( So we all deplaned and have been waiting ever since for a new aircraft to come in from another place in the country with no storms (not a lot of those tonight. hurricanes and storm cells abound!) Hoping for a plane in the next 30 minutes or so... which will get me into Denver just before 2:30am. Poor J needs to come pick me up then. Ouch. 

The Irony:

I really had stopped worrying about wacky mood swings with the in laws. All I'm feeling is a touch over-emotional, but I've been keeping good control of that when I realize it is a chemically induced over-reaction.

The Good News:
None of this effects our ultrasound or IUI schedule! Deep breath in, deep breath out..... Very excited about our dates next week. 

Cycle Day 7

Today is the seventh day of my cycle and I've taken the full course of clomid- all 5 pills at 50mg doses. I'm definitely feeling the overstimulation in the ovaries, though primarily in the right side. In my previous two natural cycles I've had ultrasounds that showed my right ovary was dominant and my HSG revealed a very slow spill of dye on the left. Just gives me pause, room to wonder what the deal is with my left side and why it's riding the short bus. 

Aside from feeling my hyperactive ovaries kicking into gear, I'm pleased to say I'm not feeling many other symptoms - probably because I'm on what seems to be the lowest dose. This last week I've been "vacationing" at my parents' in NJ and my mom and I are swapping lots of stories, memories, general catch up stuff. Whenever she lobs one at me that is even remotely emotional I get crazy choked up. Funny enough, that's the extent of my over-emotional, PMS-y mood swings. So far :) J's parents are visiting Denver with us for this upcoming holiday weekend and I'm a little anxious about ending up with sick mood swings while they happen to be staying with us. Eeek! I'll need to remember to stay focused, present and calm.