Christmas is around the corner!

Wow I can't believe it is almost Christmas! I feel like there is so much to do.  I have a few Christmas parties which I am partly dreading.  I LOVE the holidays but dieting during this time of the year is VERY difficult!   Weight watchers has just revamped there program.  For the most part I knew what I could eat and the point value of the food but now I have no idea!  Customers have also brought me awesome gifts but a majority of them include great treats which really is hard to enjoy in moderation.  So I am hoping that I can make it through December and at least lose a little weight.
As of today I have about 45 days until I start IVF!  I am sooo excited and I just want to get started.  I wish I could have started some of the process this month but the timing didn't happen.  I just have to learn a little more patience.  It will be here soon and then I am sure it will fly by.

Thanksgiving

So I have had a very busy couple of weeks.  First my acupuncturist put me on a cleansing diet.  I couldn't eat for 3 days.  I just drank water and a lemon juice/maple syrup mixture.  That was really hard to do but I did it.  Then I could only eat fruits and vegetables for the next 20 days.  I have never craved carbs so much in my life!  Now I am back on weight watchers and it is going well.  I am not sure how Thursday will be so I am hoping for the best.
The only other issue lately is Nate has had a few freak outs.  He thinks we cant afford kids.  He did everything out on paper and freaked out.  My feeling is NO ONE can afford to have kids on paper.  You just do it and it all seems to work out.  He says he doesn't want to just get by.  I say it doesn't matter how we do it having kids is one of life greatest gifts and if everyone waited until they were ready and had enough money in their opinion NO ONE would have kids.  So after talking to his brother in law he realized what I was saying is right.  This is the one thing in life you just do and it will work out.  I am not saying we can't plan ahead but I also feel that if we waited until Nate felt ready we would be childless forever.  Also who knows how long his insurance will cover IVF.  They could change there policy and the coverage in 2012 and then we would be stuck with nothing!   So after presenting my argument and our awesome brother in laws wisdom (they have 3 kids) Nate has finally calmed down.  I forget that the male instinct is to provide and Nate is realizing that this is happing very soon.  I have to understand he needs to freak out every once in awhile because it is a big responsibility and I am sure for him it is scary. I would be lying if I said sometimes I freak out.  What if I am a bad mother and my kids end up being serial killers or screw up their lives.  What if my kids hate me or feel like they can never talk to me.  What if I screw up their lives.  All my life I have wanted to be a mom but what if I am just not good at it.  
 What if I can't keep them safe!  Every once in awhile I get scared.  Thats when I feel that if I just love them and doing everything in my power to help them grow and nurture them it will all work out!  A lot of our friends don't have a ton of money and their kids are some of the happiest I have ever seen!  So I am not sure how many freak outs will happen between now and January but I think it is part of the process.  I think when we look at our child for the first time we will instantly know we made the right choice.

It's been awhile!

Wow it has been a while since I blogged.  I have been soooo busy!  We went to a great wedding this past weekend and then went down to Salem.  We also were treated to a fabulous dinner on Sunday night by the Hanks! 
 Acupuncture is going well.  I need to get back to the gym but I was looking at my schedule and I don't have a lot of time.  Good news is November 1st is on a Monday, I feel like that is a sign to go back to the gym 1st day of the month on what I consider the first day of the week.   
I also just got a Mac Book Pro which I am in love with.  I still have no idea how to really use it but I am learning. I am considering moving the blog onto a site I can create on iweb but I am not sure if i know how to use that.  I think I need some lessons!!!  

Acupuncture!

So last week I had my first acupuncture appointment.  I LOVED it.  I slept great that night and felt relaxed for days after.  I am going back on Friday.  I also found out that I can pair acupuncture with losing weight as well and Adam the acupuncturist also specializes in that as well.  So hopefully Friday I will know more about that.  The only downside to acupuncture is the price.  Insurance doesn't cover it but if that is the majority of the out of pocket expenses for this whole experience that I should be thankful. 
The reason I am starting now is the follicles I am producing now will be the ones that will be mature during the actual IVF cycle.  Acupuncture helps make the best follicles so I start now and continue through until the end of the cycle which will be in Jan/Feb. 

Follow up appointment

Yesterday was our follow up appointment with Dr. Hill.  The good news is I am ready for IVF as far as my test are concerned.   The bad news is we can't start anything until January which means the egg retrieval will not happen until February.  I am disappointed a little just because January seems so far and as most of you know I am very IMPATIENT!    I need to stay positive and think that at least I have an option and insurance will cover it.  I just get nervous that something will change and we won't be able to start IVF. 
On a good note I get to start something I have wanted to start for a long time.....Acupuncture!!!!!!!!!  I am sooo excited!  The fertility clinic works with an acupuncture clinic in the same plaza.  they specialize in fertility acupuncture.  I met with Adam the acupuncturist yesterday.  he told me to start now because the follicles that are growing now will be the ones I was have when I start IVF.  It takes up to 5 months to grow follicles.  So next week I have my first appointment.  After that we will come up with a game plan to continue acupuncture right up until IVF.  I have a minimum of 20lbs still to lose.  So that's all for now.

More great news!

Yesterday was my surgical hysteroscopy. It was in Stratham, Nate and I left with 15 min to spare. We had to be up at 4:45 so it was hard to leave earlier. We started on our way and I put the address in to our garmin. It said no address found. Great, i thought I didnt bring the directions because I didn't think I needed them. I guess I rely to much on technologes. So i tried calling the clinic and of course at 5:20 am at this point no one was there. So i tried mapquest on Nates phone. I found the directions and we were on our way. We get to Stratum and clearly the mapquest directions were wrong, after driving around for 10 min. Nate and I were getting frustrated with the directions and each other. We finally got ahold of the clinic and found our way 10 min late. I learned a couple lessons yesterday. Always bring the paper directions even if you have a GPS!  Also leave 20-30 min early if you don't know where you are going. 
So I get ready for the surgery.   Nate finally gets to meet Dr. Hill!  He is one of the best doctors I have had or worked with.  He explains everything and makes sure you understand everything.  The surgery didn't take very long and i was waking up to alot of pain!!!  They gave me something for the pain which made me nauseous.  So they gave me something for that as well.  Dr. Hill had gone out and gave Nate  some pictures and explained everything look really good. I also had no polyps which is great.  I remember at my last ectopic surgery I had quite a few and that is not ideal for pregnancy.  So I was happy to hear that my uterus is clear and ready for babies!  I spent the rest of the day sleeping with my heating pad.  Today I still have my heating pad on and have alot of pain but it should get better as the day goes on. 

What A Week!

So this week so far has been really busy!  On Monday I had to be up early again for more tests.  They took more blood and I had the vaginal probe ultrasound.  It sounds way worse that in really was.  It actually was a very easy test.  I then went home from work early because I think I caught a stomach bug going around.  NOT FUN!  Then on Tuesday I felt better and was invited to go to York beach.  I spent Tuesday and Wednesday there.  What beautiful days!!! The ocean felt amazing and it was nice to take a mini vacation!  This morning I had to go back tot he clinic and Dr. Hill went over the actual IVF cycle and what my schedule would look like. So depending on my period I will start birth control (yes I know its weird, but they help control your cycle and produce good eggs) probably in mid December.  Then 19 days after my period starts I take Lupron every morning.  Lupron is an injection drug which means I get to play with some needles.  this is a great site to explain what lupron does exactly http://www.ivf1.com/ivf-lupron/.  Then when my January period starts I lower my lupron dose and start FSH (Gonad-f) injection at night which is a ovulation stimulating hormone. I also have more blood work and an ultrasound on day one. On day 5 of my period I have more blood.  I still take lupron and FSH and I also add another injection of HGM called Menopor which helps develop multiple eggs.  Then when my follicles hit 18 mm Nate has to give my a big injection to "trigger" ovulation.  Then exactly 36 hours later I go to Reading, MA where the egg harvest happens.  I then call back the next day to see how many eggs have had a successful fertilization.  A few days later they will implant up to 2 eggs.  Then I have to wait 12 days before I have my first blood pregnancy test. From there if it is positive i go back every couple of days for blood and ultrasound.  So that is the basics in a nut shell.  If all goes well I would be due in late October I think.  Next week is my hystroscopy so I am sure I will have more to blog about that.