Wonderful News!!!!

Well today I had to go in for blood work to see if my HCG has increased from 26. It came back at 211!!!! This was great news! The nurse was very excited to give me what she called, "Wonderful News". My progesterone level was at 27. She said anything over 20 is what they want, but they still want me to continue with the suppliments to help that number increase even more. I go back on Wednesday for more blood work and then next week I get to have an ULTRASOUND!!! I'm so excited!

I had my first experience with nausea. I had eggs for breakfast yesterday and could barely finish them. After eating I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't puke, but just felt sick. I guess that's a good sign though ;)
I am noticing that I am eating smaller portions and getting hungry faster. I am also breaking out with zits! That's not fun at all, but oh well! It's worth it!!!

It Was Positive!!!!!

We are very excited to report that our pregnancy test came back positive today!!!! The nurse called at 1:19 PM while I was at family's dental office. It was so perfect to be there when I got this phone call!!! Even my Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Jack were there because they are in town visiting from Vegas! I think I'm still in shock right now though!!!! ;)

Anyway, the nurse said that a HCG (pregnancy hormone detected by blood work) result over 5 indicates pregnancy. Well, we had a 26!!!! That isn't really high, so they are going to keep a close eye on me. I have to go back on Monday for more blood work and then again on Wednesday more blood work. They also have me on progesterone supplements because my progesterone didn't come back as high as they would like. This tells them how thick the lining of my uterus is. Therefore, they put me on something to help thicken that lining to help that little embryo stick!!!! We are just hoping that our HCG number continues to grow!!!!! So please keep us in your prayers. We are so very excited yet cautious right now. However, how could we not help being excited???? It's impossible! So pray, pray, pray!!!!! GO UP NUMBERS!!! STICK BABY STICK!!!!

3 More Days!

Hi! Sorry I haven't made any recent updates, but there hasn't been anything to update on. Everyone keeps asking "How are you feeling?" I'm feeling normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. I feel like myself. I've been very good and gave up caffeine and I have not had any alcohol since July 10th. It feels good! I am still trying to get used to not having my morning coffee to "wake" me up, but that's ok. It's getting much easier. I do enjoy a cup a decaf every so often!

Well, Thursday's the big day! I'll find out in the afternoon sometime, so I will update then. I just keep thinking happy, positive thoughts! I know I will get pregnant at some point...one way or another...it WILL happen! ;)

IUI DAY!!!!

Well, today was the IUI. We'll find out if it worked on July 26th. I am going to be so impatient having to wait that long!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I could do it.
The procedure was pain-free. Just a little bit of cramping, but nothing unbearable. I just keep telling myself - "It only takes one!!! So come on little guys...SWIM!!!!" So keep praying for us! I really hope we get lucky on our first try!

Trigger Shot Night

Ok so tonight I have to give myself a shot to trigger ovulation. I have to take the shot in my stomach. I'm not too fond of needles so I'm really not too excited about this. But oh well! I could do it! I know I can! I just have to remember what the outcome could possibly be!!!!!
In 2 days I'll be getting inseminated!!!! YAY!!!!
I have all fingers and toes crossed! I'm crossing everything I could!!!!


UPDATE:
I gave myself the shot without any problems. It was a piece of cake! Didn't even hurt!!!! Not bad at all!

IUI UPDATE!

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!

I just got off the phone with the nurse. She said everything looks GREAT! I'm scheduled to go in for the IUI on Thursday, July 12th at 8:45 AM! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that day!!!

I will go back in on July 19th for bloodwork and then again on July 26th to find out if I am pregnant.

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

2nd Appointment ~ My Three Amigos

I had my 2nd ultrasound and bloodwork appointment today. They drew some blood to check my estrogen levels then it was off to the ultrasound room to check on those follies. It turns out that I have 3 follies on my right ovary that are mature. I have 1 on my left ovary that is still rather small. I am waiting to hear back from my nurse to find out what the next step is. I may have to give myself the trigger shot either today or tomorrow so the IUI will probably end up taking place either Tuesday or Wednesday!!!! I'm getting soooo excited! I'll update later once I hear from the nurse. In the meantime, here's a picture of my 3 amigos (the follies).
They are the black circles. They measured at 19mm, 17mm, and 15 mm. The trigger shot should be given when they are between 18 - 21mm...so anytime now!

1st Appointment...

Well, I had my first appointment this morning. I had an internal ultrasound done. They were observing the lining of my uterus and my ovaries to see the size of the follicles. From what the technician said, all looks good. The lining was good as were the follicles. Now I'm just waiting to hear back from my nurse. She will be calling to advise me of the next step. I'll update more later.

UPDATE:

Well, I got the thumbs up from my nurse! Everything looked good - hormone levels, uterus and ovaries. So she gave me approval to begin taking the Clomid. I started today and will continue for the next 4 days. I go back on Monday for another internal ultrasound and more blood work. They will be checking to see

how my follicles are growing. Here we GO!!!! YAHOO!!!

The Next Path on our Journey...

So here we were making a turn onto a new path. This path would hopefully lead us to some answers as to why this is taking so long! First thing we did was purchase a Fertility Monitor to help us pin point ovulation. We started using it in September of 2006. Now, we've heard great things about this monitor. People usually get pregnant right away! The manual even stated that if you do no get pregnant in 6 months of using this monitor go see a doctor. So we figured this would do the trick! No guessing when reading the OPKs anymore...the fertility monitor will just straight out tell us if and when I am ovulating. Well, the fertility monitor worked, but didn't succeed in helping us get pregnant. By the November we decided to get some help from the doctors. Jeff went in for testing in November. The results of that test showed a sperm count on the lower end (not too low, but low). We then scheduled an appointment for Jeff to see a specialist. The specialist recommended that I get fully checked before moving any further with Jeff. So I went to see my OB/GYN in February for a Fertility Consultation. He recommended that we do blood work to check if I am ovulating and that my hormone levels are within the appropriate ranges. That was to be done on the 3rd day of my next cycle. All my results came back within the normal ranges. All looked good! He also requested that I have an HSG done. This is a procedure where they check to see if your fallopian tubes are blocked. I had this done on Feb. 15 and OUCH! That hurt! It turns out my uterus is tilted so that was the cause for a lot of my pain. But, luckily we found out all was good there, too! No blockages! All clear! So now back to Jeff's doctor to fill him in on my results. Jeff's doctor requested another analysis to check the count again. This time it came back a little higher, but the motility was a concern. We also discovered that Jeff has a vericocele (a vericose vein in the testicle). Now, surgery could be done, but it would leave Jeff out of work for at least 6 months! Due to his type of work the doctor wouldn't want him to go back until he was fully healed. Instead, the doctor recommended that we go for an IUI. Seeing that the vericocele doesn't hurt Jeff, and it would prolong our trying to conceive, we decided to first get pregnant then he could go in for surgery. So that leads us to where we are now. I went to see a specialist at Fertility Center of Illinois and we are all scheduled to start our IUI cycle. My first appointment is on Monday, June 2nd. I will be having an internal ultrasound and some more blood work. I will also begin taking Clomid to help with ovulation. Eventhough I ovulate on my own, the doctor recommended taking Clomid to help produce more eggs. Just in case one doesn't get fertilized we may have another egg there that will get fertilized. From tomorrow on they will be monitoring my follicles and how they are growing. Once they are at a certain size I will give myself a trigger shot and the next day we go in for the IUI. Hopefully it will be successful! Tomorrow's the appointment so I will update more tomorrow...