11WK3D - Diclegis

Well, today is my fourth day on Diclegis. The exhaustion, especially over the weekend, has been pretty crippling. I literally laid in bed or on the couch the entire weekend. I had to come back to work today, and *knock on wood* seem to have a bit more energy in comparison to this weekend, but that's not saying a whole lot.

I am starting to feel like I'm being pretty whiny and negative, which is not at all what I had envisioned or wanted for pregnancy. It's not like pregnancy sucks in every way, either - I sort of enjoy the changes in my body, the little pangs and stretches in my belly, and my hair and nails have never looked so good. :P But the sick-and-tired part of pregnancy is so pervasive that it's difficult to brush aside in favor of the more positive things. Literally every day I'm googling "when will morning sickness end" and "when does pregnancy fatigue end". The answers tend to be not-terribly-comforting at this stage. I'm 11 1/2 weeks into this, and the internet says you start feeling better at around 14 - 16 weeks. That means at least two and a half more weeks before it gets better. Right now it's hard to imagine how I'm going to make it until 5 PM, let alone through the rest of this week, and next week, and the week after that at work.

So the first day I was on Diclegis the zombie-like tiredness was as bad as the nausea had been... and while the nausea was reduced, it still came back that afternoon/evening. The second day I had no nausea, just felt like I'd been running a marathon for two days, and I could barely get out of bed. Same thing on the third day. Today is day four, and the nausea is still at bay (thank heavens) and I seem to have a smidge more energy. Still would trade just about anything to be able to go back to bed. Except the one thing I'd have to trade, which would be a shorter maternity leave once baby actually arrives - I'm toughing it out right now because I want a FULL twelve week leave. I want every last hour of not-being-at-work that I can squeeze in with our new little one, and if I eat up my sick days now I won't have enough leave time to cover it.

Still, I am wondering if I might work some half days, take my computer home, and do some work from home between naps instead of trying to power through all of it here. I think I can probably get away with that about one day a week. Also planning on taking lunch breaks to nap in my office, even if the floor is hard and cold and uncomfortable.

Anyway, whine, whine, whine. I really wasn't expecting to be this down in the dumps when we've finally, FINALLY managed to get pregnant after all this time! I just have to keep reminding myself that as miserable as it physically feels right now, our dream of being moms is coming true at last... and keep hanging in there. <3

IVF#2 3DP5DT Headed home today

It's a struggle, when traveling halfway across the world, to figure out the right timing of meds and even the right count of how far I am past transfer. I had my transfer at about noon on Friday the 24th, here. But that equates to about 3 AM on the 24th at home. Which means right now, it is about 6:45 AM on the 27th here, putting me at about 3 days past transfer (or at least, I will be at noon). But it's only 9:45 at night at home, on the 26th, making it two days past there. Ay yi yi.... Also, I have to figure out my meds schedule on the way back. I take progesterone four times a day, estrogen three times a day, and a heparin injection once a day. I think I'm actually going to have to do the injection on the plane. YUCK. And it may end up meaning I have to start doing injections in the mornings instead of at night like I prefer, and oh, I really don't want to wake up to that. X.x I wonder if it would hurt to do one extra injection, about 12 hours after the first, so that I can transition back to a night schedule?

Anyway, here's what's been going down since the transfer. I got up the next day, got the rest of the money I needed from the ATM, took a taxi to Embio and picked up my meds (holy crap there are a TON), and took a taxi back to the hotel. Crawled back into bed for several hours, but went on a walk later that afternoon (about five or six blocks) to check out this amazing little toy store we'd passed on the way in. The store had beautiful vinyl dolls about four feet tall, dressed in little girls' dress-up clothes - some of the most elaborate dress up clothes I've ever seen, and I would have been DROOLING over them when I was a child. Anyway, the dolls were for sale (about 400 Euro, LOL). They'd been pretty well-loved already, most had marks on their faces and such, but they were so pretty! I would have loved to have one, but I think Kaitlin would find a four foot tall plastic child a little creepy. Anyway, then I walked about halfway back to the hotel, but made myself stop and sit at a Starbucks (with a decaf macchiato) for about an hour to rest before going all the way back. Back into bed, back to Netflix and websurfing (and freaking myself out about the possibility of triplets, OMG). Took a little walk a few hours later to eat dinner at a TGIFridays that I'd passed on my earlier walk. Ate an entire plate of ribs, and had lemonade WITH ROSE SYRUP IN IT that was unbelievably amazing. Gave myself the heparin injection after, which was awful. The needles are so much bigger than the Lupron ones, and they don't slide easily in. I have to like, stab... and keep stabbing hard... until it gets in where it's supposed to be.

Anyway, I started feeling cramping at bedtime. And somehow I just had this feeling it was implantation. In fact, I had this certainty that it was boy/girl twins and I was pregnant for sure. :P

Then yesterday, I got up, had breakfast at the hotel buffet, got dressed all cute and did my makeup and everything, and went back to Monastiraki to blow the remainder of my Euro. Bought a bunch of really cute jewelry, some small gifts for Kaitlin, and then found this place that sells pre-decorated fake nails in the Asian style (with 3-d flowers and jewels and stuff attached to them) for 2 euro per set. Bought like six sets of them because they aren't in the States, and are so cute. I might have to get some different nail glue, though.... not sure I trust the nail glue that came with them. And I might have to save them until after I get through a first trimester safely. Also, there was this enormous flea market going on, with people lining the streets with booths full of their jewelry-making and art and woodcrafts and so on, and they didn't have this the last time we were here, so it was pretty fascinating. But, it was a LOT of walking, and I kept having to stop and rest for an hour or so in between, both because my feet hurt and because I was really tired. Finally had to throw in the towel and get back to the hotel. Had dinner at the hotel restaurant, though I did go out for just one more block of walking so I could pick up one last dessert at the amazing bakery around the corner (which I put into my mini fridge and forgot to eat last night, so I ate it first thing this morning. Chocolate dessert breakfast, mmmmm.) Was feeling a lot less certain I was pregnant by last night.

Did have to pee like three times in the middle of the night, though. Yay, hormones.

So, today is travel day again. I'm going to go have breakfast in a bit, finish up my packing (somehow I've managed to get all those meds into my suitcase, but it was NOT EASY) and get to the metro so I can get to the airport. In for a LOOOOONG day of plan flights (about sixteen hours' worth) and three hours or so at JFK in between. But I am looking forward to seeing my honey and my puppy and sleeping in my own bed with my own comfy pillow tonight.

Not looking forward to the rest of the TWW. When I get home I have to set up a blood test for my beta, on May 6th. In the meantime I'm supposed to return to work. But, I'm not going back until Wednesday at the earliest... I need at least one day at home to deal with jet lag. I might just take two. It's not like I don't have the leave time saved up.

I don't know what to think about this round. It's been kind of nice, having this impromptu exotic foreign vacation as a part of the IVF experience. I do wish Kaitlin could have come... it's a little lonely by myself... and yet my little introvert heart has been kind of thriving on the alone-time. I am vacillating between terror of triplets, apathy about the whole damn TTC circus, certainty that we'll get a flat out BFN, and hope that this is finally it. The hope seems the most fragile of all, this shiny veiled dream sequence playing out behind a curtain, that I'm not actually going to get to touch. And there are moments when my imagination does take me there, and I live in that fantasyland with my BFP and heartbeat on the ultrasound and a joint pregnancy alongside my sister-in-law and a healthy baby (or two) at the end... but I don't know if my heart dares to actually believe it. It keeps telling me the scenario is (as my parents used to describe Santa Claus and the tooth fairy) "fun-pretend". Not something that's actually ever going to be mine, but I can enjoy pretending for a while if I want to.

Sigh.

I keep reminding myself that two weeks isn't that long. I waited much longer for this opportunity to come around again after the miscarriage. I can make it two more weeks. Not even that,  because the beta is actually set in 12 days post-transfer. I got my BFP on day 8 post transfer last time. And I know I'm not going to be able to resist testing around that time this round, although I dread how scary it will be if that second line doesn't show up on day 8, because I know what my brain's going to do with it.

Anyway, have to get up now and get dressed and moving. See ya'all when I'm stateside again...

IVF#2 CD27, Part Deux

So today I took the metro to Monastiraki, and wandered around the shops, and got a fish pedicure and a manicure (at a different place this time, it was upstairs in one of the buildings and much more spa-like in atmosphere. They had a gorgeous three-legged white Persian cat with one blue eye and one yellow eye. I tried to get a picture of him, but it was too dark in there. The lady said he lost his leg by falling from a seventh story. O.o) 

Also found the cutest pair of pale blue, lacy flats from a street vendor for five Euro (around $6).

Then I went and found Embio, and had an ultrasound (this time I was prepared for how fast he was, so it wasn't as startling.) He also pronounced my endometrium "very good," at 12mm. My embryo transfer is going to be on Friday at 10 AM, so I'll probably spend tomorrow wandering around too, since after the transfer I'm pretty much staying in bed at the hotel until it's time to go home.

After that I went back to Monastiraki again for dinner, and found a nice little outdoor cafe - they're so much nicer in April when it's not raining and cold! Ordered something called giaiurtlou kebap, based entirely on the picture on the poster outside the building, and it was AMAZING. Basically it's sausages on a pita,smothered in cream & cheese sauce. Oh my god it was good. I swear Greece has the most amazing food...

Afterwards I stopped by the requisite souvenir shop. Picked up a couple gifts for Kaitlin and a white Aphrodite-style sundress that I'd been eyeing the last time I was here. Took the metro back to my hotel and picked up an incredible dessert on the way. Did I mention THE FOOD HERE??? Holy crap the CHOCOLATE.

 

So now I am going to watch a little Netflix and probably take a bubble bath, since my hips and knees and feet are tired from all that walking. Hey, gotta burn off all these calories somehow, yeah?

If you have to nearly bankrupt yourself doing IVF, I am telling you, ladies, this is how to do it. I really miss Kaitlin and my tiny dog, but wow, so far I am having a pretty darned amazing time. Now if only this round will work!

CD14 – Disappointing News

I went in for my ultrasound on Saturday to see how many nice follies I’d have after this cycle’s round of Clomid… And there were only two or three very small ones, plus a gigantic, mysterious dark thing. They drew blood to try and figure out what was going on, and I left worried that I had some sort of a cyst that we’d have to deal with.  Got the call later on that afternoon – I don’t have a cyst (good news) but apparently I had already ovulated. And the RE said, based on the level of progesterone in my blood she’s pretty sure that I ovulated more than one egg. So the good news is, I’m responding strongly to the Clomid. The bad news is that we don’t get to do an IUI this cycle because the egg(s) are already gone.

So disappointed, sigh… I am going to take it as a sign from the universe that I am meant to put new tires on my car, since they’re almost entirely smooth and we still have the heavy March and April snows coming. Replacing my tires will be around $250 and I wouldn’t have had the money if I paid for an IUI this cycle. So as disappointed as I am that I have to wait another month before we can do attempt #2 – I should probably be focused on being grateful instead.

I’m not really surprised. My flow was so bizarre this cycle and then I got sick and had crazy high temperatures for a couple days… I have to wonder if my body got confused and decided to release eggs early as a result. Based on my temperature chart, I’m guessing I ovulated sometime around CD7, but it could have been even earlier than that. *sigh* So I knew this cycle was going to be weird – I was even worried based just on the unusual AF that I’d have to sit this one out. Now my body has decided for me, I guess.

So babymaking is on hold until my next AF begins – I’m just supposed to call the RE on the first day of AF so we can do another round of Clomid. Not sure when to predict AF will arrive. If I go 14DPO, it would be March 3^rd. If I go my usual 24 day cycle, it would be around March 7^th. I guess if it comes nearer the 3^rd I’ll have a better idea of when I ovulated, yeah?

In the meantime we spent the weekend cleaning the house, going grocery shopping, and I spent some time with my mom yesterday since she came up to show me how to use the embroidery machine she gave me. I also painted my nails (though it came out goopy and I’ll probably redo them) after a couple weeks of being too busy to tend to them. I’m looking forward to next weekend, since that’s when we get to go look at our engagement photos and see how they turned out. :) And this afternoon on my lunch break I’m going over to Walmart to look into replacing my tires. I have to admit, I will feel a lot safer once I have the new tires on – and a lot less apprehensive about the coming spring snows. 

I kind of hope AF shows up as soon as possible so we can get another crack at this…

IUI#1 CD23 8DPI - Halfway through the TWW

It took about five or six days, but now the post-IUI-cramps soreness is gone. We’re at 8DPI and I have no symptoms worth noting. On Monday I thought I might have had a wee bit of nausea while I was driving during my lunch break; on Tuesday night Kaitlin and I went to dinner at Red Robin and I had a very brief moment of nausea as I was drinking bitter tea on an empty stomach. It was literally like, a one-second wave. Nausea is rare for me, but since that was 6DPI, it seems way too early to be feeling any such thing. So I don’t want to read too much into it.

  

Yesterday my BBT took a little dip – only by about .25 of a degree, though I did get up to go to the bathroom before I took my temp, so likely the starting temp was lower than that. I got up about 15-20 minutes earlier than my usual temp time, though, and the temperature overnight was wayyy in the negatives (thank you, Colorado winter) and that could also have contributed to the lower BBT. So while it *maybe* was an implantation dip, the circumstances are just too ambiguous to have any sort of confidence.

So yeah – that’s where we’re at right now. I took a second HCG test on Tuesday night and got a squinter – a second line was there but only barely visible, so I think the trigger shot should be completely out of my system by now. I’m going to take another test tonight just to be sure. Hopefully it’s pure negative, so I can be certain that if the line comes back over the next few days it is a real positive and not just the remnants of the trigger.

I’ve decided I’ll start doing daily tests on Saturday night, which is 10DPI. Each negative means it’s very slightly less likely I’ll get a positive the next day, which lets me ease into the disappointment of a negative result before AF just shows up in all its crushing glory. But I’m not feeling particularly optimistic right now. My guess is that we’ll be doing all of this again at the end of this month… Likely around the 26^th or so.

Other than that there’s not much exciting stuff going on. The weather has been awful – temperatures below zero most of the day. I didn’t even take my coat and hat off when I got home from work last night, but sat around in them until bedtime. I did obtain a little microwave for my office, so today will be the first day I’ll warm up my lunch in my own little space. And I have all my office decorations up, so it kind of looks like Valentine’s Day exploded all over my tiny space. I love it. ;)

At least we’re into the second half stretch of the TWW. By this time next week I should have a definitive answer as to whether our IUI worked or not. Seriously, of all of the parts of TTC, the TWW is the worst for me. I am not an inherently patient person. It sort of feels like my life is on hold and can’t move forward until I know whether I’m going to have a baby or not. And since having a baby is such a big part of my dreams for the future, I’m ready to get this show on the road, LOL.

Come on,  BFP!! In the meantime, here's this week's manicure. Sadly this one's not holding up so well, and it's chipping and peeling a lot. Will try something a little different next week...

IUI#1 CD20 5DPI - TWW Distractions

Well, today makes us 5DPI. And I have to admit, I still don’t feel very pregnant. If I do have a fertilized egg at this point, it’s most likely floating around in my uterus, thinking about attaching itself, and in the next week or so it would find a good spot, nestle in and implant.

But honestly, I’m not holding my breath. I just don’t feel pregnant at all. Which is not to say I don’t very much hope and wish for it… Over the weekend we had lunch at Panda Express and Kaitlin got the coolest fortune in her cookie:

So I was super excited that maybe the fates were referring to a BFP, even if I’m not really feeling anything. What I wouldn’t give for a little spotting or cramping today, something to indicate implantation. I’m going to wait until tomorrow to start testing out the trigger, since the stash of pregnancy tests I ordered won’t arrive for a little while.

In the meantime, I spent the weekend running errands with Kaitlin and getting started on the SCA embroidery project I’ve been assigned by my SCA Laurel, Duchess Berengaria. We also stopped by the Shane Company and I bought Kaitlin’s wedding band, the one that will go into her e-ring. The rings are now with the ShaneCo jewelers being sized and attached to each other. We went to the Apple store so she could have her iPad with the broken screen replaced, and got super lucky – the kind folks at the store had quoted her a price of $50, then said she actually didn’t qualify and should pay $300. But because they’d quoted her the $50, they honored it… and she was able to get her iPad replaced for a fraction of what she would have had to pay otherwise. This is great because it allows her to save more to have her teeth fixed.

And, I received the stash of little office-decorating supplies I’d ordered from Amazon. So when I got to work today, I replaced my wintery decorations with all the little dollar-store Valentine’s day things I’d picked up – heart-shaped tinsel wreath on the door, heart-shaped candy dish with V-Day chocolates, red table runner, pink rose-shaped scented soap petals, a glass rose, love-themed window clings, etc. I plan to grab a few more hanging things so I can add a couple of them hanging from the ceiling and my cabinets. Oh, and some encouragement-themed magnetic poetry for the side of my filing cabinet. In addition, while at Walmart I picked up that $50 microwave I’ve been eyeing. After work I’ll go get it out of my car and set it up under my desk… then next month, hopefully, I’ll be able to afford the $75 mini fridge and I’ll have a full on lunch station in my office – awesome.

I also repainted my nails, so I’ll put up a photo in the next day or so. This time they’re glitter red with red and white texture flakes… They’re kind of cool. While we were at Walmart, there was a photography group there offering these awesome 12x18 linen-look portraits for $20 plus a $5 sitting fee… so I signed Kaitlin and I up for an appointment at 8 PM on Monday the 17th. Basically the company dresses you up in Victorian-era pearls and lace, and you get a large sepia-colored portrait. Of course they will let you do other poses and you can buy those too, which we probably will… this is going to be our engagement photo session. I love this idea, because it lets us do something a little costumed for our engagement photos. Since our wedding is likely to be costume-esque also, it just seems really appropriate. This will give me the chance, too, to buy some makeup and hairstyling bits for both of us – I want bold eyeliner, false lashes, and to give Kaitlin lots of neat, shiny curls. I’m also going to wear my green PinkyParadise contacts, which will really bring out my eyes. Something exciting to think about while I’m waiting to find out if I’m pregnant… and if I am, it will be like a celebration, and if I’m not, the photoshoot will be somewhat consoling as we gear up for round #2.

Wow, now that I re-read this, it was actually quite an eventful weekend, even if it really felt like I wasn’t getting much done.  This time next week I will be 12DPI, and can start testing in earnest. Hope the week goes by fast!

IUI#1 CD13 – Trigger Shot...?

Well, I had negative OPKs yesterday. When I called the doctor, she told me that the Ovidrel trigger shot is only carried by two pharmacies in town, and neither were open Sunday, so she asked me to do another OPK today and call with the results. My morning OPK was negative (though I think the line is getting darker) so I called it in and left a message.

I’m actually hoping maybe I’ll still get a positive test before I have to have the trigger, because I believe the shot has to be self-inflicted and that squicks me out. Ugh. I’d much prefer it if my body would just do the surge thing naturally so I don’t have to stick a needle in my own stomach. But, I figure I can’t go get the prescription until after work anyway, so I will get the chance to do at least one more OPK first. Maybe I’ll get lucky and it will be positive all by itself, which would mean we could do the IUI tomorrow afternoon?

Now to call USAA and get Kaitlin added to my account so we can work on consolidating her loans. :)

I repainted my nails twice over the weekend and I don’t care much for either look, so I probably won’t take a picture. I broke a couple nails, too, while helping some folks load Kaitlin’s old washer and dryer into their car after selling them on Craigslist. Happy that she was able to sell them, but bummed that it messed up my pretty nails… sigh.

Really looking forward to doing this IUI. I know it’s coming in the next day or so, but just really, really wanting to get the TWW started so we can find out if it works!!

IUI#1 CD10 – The Clomid Challenge

Life has been a whirlwind this week and I haven’t had the chance to blog. But here’s the latest:

Tuesday afternoon, Kaitlin and I left work early and met up at a mental health counselor’s office. We’re required to attend donor-related counseling before our RE’s office can inseminate with donor sperm (or eggs.) So while we were there, we talked to the counselor a bit about the possibility of embryo adoption. As it turns out, our RE runs an embryo donation/adoption program from her office, and she has a waiting list that the counselor said moves pretty quickly. An embryo adoption costs only the amount of the transfer – somewhere from $4000 - $5000; without all of the medications, ultrasounds, egg extraction and fertilization procedures involved with IVF.

This actually is a very attractive option for both of us. Not just because of the price, but because neither of us is wedded to the notion of having a genetic child. We want a child to raise from birth, and I want to be pregnant – but it really doesn’t matter if that child isn’t our biological relative. So if my eggs do turn out to be lackluster, we have another option besides the $20,000 IVF procedure. What we talked about is going through four IUI cycles first, so we can use all the swimmers we’ve already bought. If none of those are successful, then we’ll be looking at embryo donation instead.

Anyway, a little earlier this week another person from the NorthWest forums shared her story on the thread I’d posted about my low AMH / high FSH worries: She said when she was 33, and her AMH was .73, her doctor put her on 50 mg of Clomid, gave her a trigger shot and did an insem… and she ended up with 4 good follicles and TWINS. Whoa. My doctor has got me on 100 mg of Clomid. So I went from being terrified I would not be able to have a child at all, to being terrified that I’d end up pregnant with multiples. My god, this whole TTC thing is the craziest roller coaster I think I’ve ever been on!

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the RE again. This time it’s another blood test and an ultrasound to see if I responded to the Clomid. Then I guess we decide if we’re going to do an IUI. Now, normally I’m ovulating around Day 11, but I guess you don’t ovulate while actively taking Clomid… so hopefully we won’t miss our window. Maybe just MAYBE we might even get to do an IUI on Sunday (or Monday, though I’m hoping not because I have a bunch of things on my plate at work.)  Then our first TWW begins.

In the meantime, I spent a good portion of this week trying to work out solutions to Kaitlin’s debt management, since her student loans are going to come due in March and she has some major dental work she needs done, but doesn’t have enough money for it. I think I’ve come up with a few good strategies. Kaitlin was home sick yesterday so she’s going in to work tomorrow while I’m at the doctor. Then on Sunday we’ll get started on some of her debt reshuffling.

Also of note this week, at work I switched offices with one of my staff members. My new office is at the back of the hall, smaller and with very different furniture. I love it. I love the position of it, I love the arrangement, I love how I can decorate it and still fit all the things I need to fit into it. I bought some little stuff at the dollar store to decorate for winter … crystal beads, a white table runner, a dish of hershey’s kisses and some adorable, light blue, mini snow boots (that actually have lip gloss in the heels.) I’m already planning for Valentine’s day decorating. I feel like this office is really mine. Like I came home, or something. I’m already fantasizing about buying a tiny refrigerator and microwave to stash under my cavernous desk, and hanging all kinds of cute seasonal decorations from the ceiling.  I’ve been so happy about it, honestly, that I haven’t gotten much work done today because I keep staring around happily at my new space.

Oh, and here’s a pic of this week’s nails – I’m redoing them tomorrow. One more week of wintery-themed nails, and then a whole month of Valentines!  YAY!!

So that’s the update for now… fingers crossed that tomorrow shows promising results to the Clomid. <3

IUI#1 CD4 - Discouraged

I think today is maybe the most discouraged and scared I've been thus far in my TTC attempts. Yesterday morning I had blood drawn for CD3 blood work. I waited all day for the call from the office with my results, because if the doctor wanted me on Clomid I'd need to get it from my pharmacy that night.



But they didn't call until 4:10 in the afternoon. By then I was in a meeting that didn't get out until after 5, and the office was closed. They left me a voice mail that the doctor had my blood work, she had a plan for me, and I needed to call them before 5 with my pharmacy phone number. Which I take to mean that the doctor did want me on Clomid this cycle. But they didn't say what my FSH was or indicat whether or not there was a problem. It does appear they intended for me to go on meds, but because I couldn't call back before they closed, and because it was Friday, I couldn't get the meds. By the time they reopen on Monday I will be on CD6. Most doctors have you take Clomid from CD3 - CD7, so it will probably be too late if I wait until Monday. All I can think about now is what if that means we have to skip this cycle? And what were my test results? Should I be worried?



I'd posted on the NW Forums and most of the responses indicated that my low AMH could very well be a big problem... Several other ladies there are also dealing with it and having to resort to IVF. Will I have to do IVF? Can I afford it? Am I willing to accept the prospect of a childless life? I realize I am working myself up when it's possible there isn't a major problem.... But it's the not knowing and the inability to get anymore information for the next two days that's killing me. Why oh why couldn't they have called just a little earlier in the day??



Add to that the fact that Friday's work day was particularly stressful and I am just not doing so well today. Trying to keep busy with cleaning and chores and repainting my nails.... But this is going to be a long, long two days until I can call the doctor again. :( Well, in the meantime, here's a pic of last week's pearly white glitter nails. About to take the polish off and do a shaded blue glitter look...

CD23 – Counting down to AF

I called the doctor’s office today to see if they had my blood results yet. Turns out they should be getting them in today, so I should be hearing from the nurses this afternoon or tomorrow. I’m so impatient, LOL… But today is CD23, so if my body follows its average 24 day cycle AF will start on Wednesday or thereabouts. I can’t wait. Once it starts, we really get going with this whole TTC thing.
I spent most of the weekend getting caught up on sleep, cleaning the house, and playing a video game. All things I am sure I will not get to enjoy nearly so indulgently once we’re moms. Kaitlin and I also talked about our home improvement plans, and plans for the baby’s nursery. From the day I bought my house, I had picked out the northwestern bedroom to be a future nursery / kid’s room. It’s been sitting empty for five years and I cannot wait to be able to fix it up and get it ready for a tiny occupant. *hearts*In the meantime, I’ve spent the last several weeks trying to pass the time by painting my nails. I’ve been a chronic nail-biter since high school and have never been able to keep my fingernails looking nice for any real length of time. But lately I’ve really enjoyed painting them and doing different glitter looks, and now they’ve actually grown out. I did a deep red spangled look for Christmas, and then last week a frosty blue with iridescent glitter at the base. Right now they’re pearly white with iridescent glitter at the tips. I’ll probably keep them this way for a week or so, then change it up again next week – maybe combine the frost blue with the white? I haven’t been ambitious enough yet to make an attempt at French tips. I’m going with sort of a wintery theme since it’s January, but looking forward to doing some fun Valentine’s colors next month. It’s a nice pastime that helps make the TTC waiting more bearable. And it’s another luxury that I suspect I’ll have little time for as a new mom. :P So I’m enjoying it while I can.Things are actually feeling pretty great at work at the moment. I got entirely caught up today, so tomorrow I will tackle some projects that have been on my “when I have time” list for too long. It would be nice if this momentum would continue, since it’s rare that I actually get to feel like I’m really on top of my stuff. I’m finally starting to get over this sicky bug, too. Just a little bit of stuffiness and coughing left, but my energy is back and so is my voice. So all in all… today is a pretty good day!