Neglect

I know, I know. It's been awhile. It is really hard in the summer to sit in front of the computer when there are so many other things I'd rather or have to be doing. Let's play a little catch up! I'll give you the major events from good to bad!

IVF
Started taking the BC pills on 7/17. I went in yesterday for my trial transfer. I was nervous at first because everytime I've had a catheter in my uterus, I've had really bad cramping and anxiety. I didn't think Jay was coming and was surprised to see him sitting in the waiting room when I arrived. I'm really lucky to have such a supportive husband who wants to be a part of this process.

The trial transfer is when they "practice" putting the embryo back inside my body. Luckily the procedure went well and they were able to do it without any problems and it was short. During the real transfer they only have about a minute to get that embie in there and they want as little trauma as possible. They also did a sonohysterogram where they injected dye into my uterus to check for an polyps or blockages. I got the all clear and was pretty happy with how smoothly everything went.

I also received all my goodies by mail this morning. Holy cow it is a lot of drugs!

I was really pleased to find out how much my insurance covered! We were told to plan for 3,000-5,000 and our total was just under $2,000. I feel really blessed that even though our insurance doesn't cover IVF, it does cover a lot of the medicine! BTW- I don't usually like to talk about money or how much things cost. I'm not bragging by any means just being real and honest with the procedure. These are all things I wish I would have know from the beginning and I feel it is important to share as part of my experience. 

We also got a HUGE blessing from my parents this week. They recently made some extra cash selling one of their cars (My mom likes her new cars so they buy/sell cars pretty often and have NEVER made a dime. This is a first!) and told us they want to pay for the majority of the IVF procedure. Jay and I are sooooooo thankful! This is huge news and if we were to get pregnant, helps us start our baby's life without debt! 

We got the go ahead to proceed with IVF from our doctor and are nervously awaiting the injection part of the process. On August 6th we'll start with once daily Lupron injections. On August 19th we'll go to the doctor and hopefully get the ok to start on the stimulation injections. Our tentative date for the egg retrieval is August 31st. Our tentative date for a 5-day transfer is Monday September 5th or labor day! And we should know if we have a little on by September 19th. I'm still thinking about how I am going to blog this. I don't really want to announce our pregnancy at 4 weeks but I'm sure I'll say if it didn't work. Maybe I just won't talk about it at all and make some draft posts to publish once we get past the first trimester. We'll see! 

The Car

So we decided in June it was time to buy a family car. We really needed something to tow our boat too. We found a great deal on a used Tahoe in Columbia, SC. We drove down to take a look and bought it the next day. We were really pleased with our deal. The car was certified pre-owned so it had very extensive 1 year warranty. We thought we were in the clear! Upon driving it around Charlotte the next week, I noticed some of the electronics weren't working correctly and promptly took it in to a local Chevy dealership. The service manager explained that someone had took out the DVD/Navigation system that originally came in the car and replaced it with the standard radio. Big problems. Luckily it was under warranty and we were going to get a new navigation system and backup camera out of the deal. Sweet! Little did I know. (BTW- if it wasn't under warranty we would have been out a very pretty penny to replace the system ourselves! So beware when buying a newer used car that the electrical system is originally and intact!)

After two weeks in the shop, we were getting a little fussy and wanted our car back. We called the service manager and he explained that the  dealership in Columbia decided they didn't want to pay for the work to be done as we had originally discussed. A quick phone call to Columbia and they swore they'd pay asap. A few minutes later, the president of the dealership in Columbia called and said they wanted to come get the car and take it back to their shop to do the work to save on labor costs. Umm don't think so. Jay and I wrote up a contract that IF we were to give them permission to take the car and work on it, they would need to provide us with a rental car, pay our monthly payments as we'd only been able to drive the car for one week, and warranty the new parts for 3 years. Jay faxed the contract to the dealership early Wednesday morning. By 4 he hadn't heard anything back and called the president to figure what was going on. The president informed him that the car was in too bad of shape and they didn't want to fix it. Wait? How did you know what shape the car was in? Oh yea, because they drove to Charlotte and put our car on a flatbed and took it to Columbia. Isn't that stealing?! So now we've hired and attorney and are trying to settle with this group that they buy the car back from us and take care of our expenses. It has been a crazy experience!!! I feel like these things happen to our family all the time. Jay and I can't wait until this is all resolved and we don't have to deal with these people anymore. Once we finish with the litigation, I'll be sure to warn you about this dealership!

Meanwhile, we're looking for a new car and may be headed up to DC this weekend to pick one out! Here's hoping that transaction runs smoothly!!!

Fleas
Sophie, our "foster" wheaten terrier went to her breeder's house to get bred (I don't know if that is grammatically correct!). She returned home Saturday under the watchful eye of my family who was in town for a wedding. Jay and I were in Pinehurst for a different wedding and didn't get home until late Sunday evening. On Monday, Jay headed out of town for work and I spent the day unpacking and cleaning the house.  Monday night while cuddling with Sophie on the couch, I noticed some dark spots in her golden wheat colored fur. OMG upon further investigation I noticed they were moving. Disgusting. I threw Sophie in the tub and doused her in flea and tick shampoo that we luckily had on hand when Boomer got a flea as a puppy. Meanwhile I was cursing my beloved husband for being out of town at this critical time. As a kid, it seemed like everything bad always happened when my Dad was out of town. I guess the bad luck is in my genes! I promptly removed all bedding including our down comforter and 6 down pillows and bagged everything up in garbage bags to stop the spread of fleas. I slept with an old sheet and blanket with no pillow that evening :)

Things seem to be under control. I haven't found any live fleas on the dead ones so looks like the meds I picked up at the vet have been working. The vacuum has been running like crazy and all our bedding stuff is still locked up in a "flea free zone" until I know for sure that they are all dead and gone. The dogs are still pretty itchy and I'm going to take them in this afternoon to see what else I can do. Any of you ever experienced a flea circus in your house? How long did it take to get rid of them? Any ideas or suggestions?

I know this was a super long post but now you're all caught up with the craziness that is our life! Hoping you're having a relaxing, peaceful summer!

By The Way

We met with our RE on June 30th and started the IVF process. I figured it would start pretty quickly but no, like everything else you deal with in infertility, you have to wait. I'm EAGERLY waiting for my period to begin (isn't that a change!) so that I begin taking 24 days of birth control pills. Fun stuff. The think that is how long it will take to really suppress all of my hormones. I'll start taking Lupron injections after that for more suppression for about 8-12 days and then tentatively on August 20th I'll get to start the good stuff. The Stimulants! Stims are drugs that stimulate your ovaries into growing several eggs for IVF. I'll be taking those injections for 10-12 days right up until its time for ER (aka Egg Retrieval) which is very tentatively scheduled for September 1st. Hopefully 5 to 6 days after the egg retrieval, they'll transfer back two good embryos that in two weeks time with become a positive pregnancy test!!! All the timeline is very tentative. It could happen before, could happen later, could not happen at all. I run the risk of hyper ovarian stimulation syndrome which is when ovaries become dangerously large and overstimulated. This happens to a good amount of PCOS patients. Please say a prayer that I'm one of the lucky ones that won't get OHSS. That's all for now. Posts later with pictures of everything we've been up to!

Remember

This is something I came across that I want to remember. Not anything really for the blog. Something that makes me feel better about our choice.

"What do I think God meant when he gave me infertility?

"I think he meant for my husband and I to grow closer, become stronger, love deeper. I think God meant for us to find the fortitude within ourselves to get up every time infertility knocks us down. I think God meant for our medical community to discover medicines, invent medical equipment, create procedures and protocols. I think God meant for us to find a cure for infertility.

"No, God never meant for me not to have children. That's not my destiny; that's just a fork in the road I'm on. I've been placed on the road less traveled, and, like it or not, I'm a better person for it. Clearly, God meant for me to develop more compassion, deeper courage, and greater inner strength on this journey to resolution, and I haven't let him down.

"Frankly, if the truth be known, I think God has singled me out for a special treatment. I think God meant for me to build a thirst for a child so strong and so deep that when that baby is finally placed in my arms, it will be the longest, coolest, most refreshing drink I've ever known.

"While I would never choose infertility, I can not deny that a fertile woman could never know the joy that awaits me. Yes, one way or another, I will have a baby of my own. And the next time someone wants to offer me unsolicited advice I'll say, "Don't tell me what God meant when he handed me infertility. I already know."