tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451710575181580592012-02-16T02:46:22.326-08:00the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-49151353483066899772008-10-22T13:30:00.000-07:002008-10-22T13:34:34.163-07:00

So after almost 2 years and lots of crazy,  we have decided to tell a bit of our tale.   This has been a time that has strengthened our relationship and our relationship with our families.  It has been a time of shame, a time of disappointment, and now a time of hope renewed.  This journey has been long and tiring, and looking back we would not have changed a thing.  Thanks to all our friends and

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-79804958328471266752008-10-22T13:20:00.000-07:002008-10-22T23:52:08.532-07:00

August 12thSo here begins a (slightly altered) journey I have longed for since I was a little girl. I have always pictured myself a mother; I was always the one looking out for the kids who were bullied in school, who packed extra fruit in case someone forgot. And still to this day, as many family and friends can attest, I make sure all around me are fed and celebrated in a special way. All the

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-89244382602659717472008-10-21T19:24:00.000-07:002008-10-23T21:04:35.500-07:00

August 24th The blood work and the antral follicle count were today, after 3 reschedules. Now for those of you who do not know, (which I assume is most of you), an antral follicle count is a predictor of the "babies in waiting" follicles who may or may not become an egg to ovulate. My previous counts had been in the teens, and this time we had a count of 8. WHAT???? Panic set in and I thought,

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-66442836815972021652008-10-21T19:20:00.000-07:002009-01-15T19:30:29.212-08:00

August 27thThe de la Calle parents finally came out to Seattle. That was a treat and we had a blast even though we had to schedule and reschedule activities around our fertility clinic appointments.So with my parents on board, literally and figuratively, we headed to Seattle Reproductive Medicine (SRM), where all our baby dreams would come true. I remember telling my parents "this will be a

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-35993514984351961812008-10-21T19:19:00.000-07:002009-01-15T19:34:30.243-08:00

September 3rdSome of you may remember that I was living with some significant abdominal pain from July to September. Well, we found out that it was my gallbladder (who I affectionately named Shrek) causing me to suffer. I did not know how this was to affect the process, so we asked Dr. Amy. She told us that we had to wait until at least 6 weeks from the day of surgery to have the IVF embryo

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-66181303549175005562008-10-21T19:18:00.000-07:002009-01-15T19:35:48.601-08:00

September 10th I thought it might be a good idea to have a complete physical before we embark on this science experiment. I have not had one in well... too long! I met my primary doc, filled her in on the happenings, and got the thumbs up to move forward.

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-42058516517418688552008-10-21T19:15:00.000-07:002009-01-15T19:37:05.780-08:00

September 15thI have never been so happy to get aunt flow. She brings with her the knowledge that we are yet one step closer to our final destination... mommyhood. So, this is important because in four days I begin to take birth control pills. It is a funny thing that our first medication on the road to conception is a contraceptive. Counterintuitive, yes? Well the reason is that you have to take

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-46244000165494293192008-10-21T19:14:00.000-07:002009-01-15T19:40:17.805-08:00

September 22While we were out of town we got the phone call from IVP, the pharmacy we get all our fertility meds from. This was tricky... to be able to talk to them while keeping it a secret from the other 4 gals on the trip. Well, we managed to be secretive and we also managed to not have a heart attack at the final cost of the meds. This was the first time we heard about all the meds, because

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-74327354119955988922008-10-21T19:10:00.000-07:002009-01-15T20:06:57.995-08:00

September 24thTime for the talk with Dr. Amy and to get our action plan calendar. We were very excited for this appointment; we went in with a long list of questions and and an even longer list of hopes. She gave us the rundown of what the next couple of months would entail, as well as a briefing on the meds. She talked a lot about when the embryos would be placed in my uterus and how they were

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-23644988921123686002008-10-21T19:09:00.000-07:002009-01-15T23:52:07.159-08:00

September 27thAfter a nice night out with friends to celebrate my Buddy's (Andi's) 40th, we were off to a relaxing weekend at the Salish Lodge. We thought of this as the treat before we had to deal with raging hormones and unstable emotions. What a nice weekend we had sponsored by our parents and siblings. This was a much needed respite from the trying-to-conceive 

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-69812445927198060592008-10-01T19:08:00.000-07:002009-01-15T20:07:37.255-08:00

October 1stNow mind you, we are both nurses, but because of my nutty idea that we had to experience everything about IVF, I dragged Andi to a class on how to give a shot. We were in there with another couple and after seeing them struggle I felt like we were wasting our time. Andi kept telling me that if a regular Joe would be trusted to give his wife a shot, I was in great hands. The only things

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-43837428601979730742008-10-01T19:07:00.000-07:002009-01-16T01:09:48.603-08:00

October 2ndSo the meds came to the house today in a giant brown box. I could not wait to rip it open and see what was inside. Now, we were told that some of the meds were going to have to be refrigerated, so what did we do yesterday? The only logical thing two nutty lesbians trying to have a baby for two long years would do... price out new refrigerators. Why? Well the simple answer is that we

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-14043117157755557812008-10-01T19:05:00.000-07:002009-01-15T20:14:23.910-08:00

October 7thThis is it, the big day! We start our 'injectable' meds. We were very nervous to draw it up, and even more nervous to give it. You would think we had never seen a syringe before. All the great info from the injection teaching class, 4 years of nursing school, and a combined 21 years of actual nursing experience... out the window! After a couple of "are you readys?", the shot was in and

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-63813045012420514232008-10-01T19:00:00.000-07:002009-01-16T01:10:04.837-08:00

October 16th We arrived home from Chicago and were jolted back into the conception race. Fly in at noon and then head over to SRM for our suppression check (an IVF term meaning that my body has not tried to get ready to ovulate before it shoud).  We got the "all clear" to start the follicle stimulating meds.  So now this needle-phobe will get 3 shots a night starting tomorrow.  Now I will be on

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-55023980822671354072008-10-01T18:57:00.000-07:002009-01-15T20:17:04.340-08:00

October 19thToday I went in for the first blood draw to check my estradiol level.  This blood test will tell Dr. Amy if she should increase or decrease my follicle stimulating meds.  We got a call later in the day to let us know that our number was "strong" and they would keep everything the same.   Our next visit will be for another blood draw and an ultrasound to see how many follicles we have

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-11925577396110741042008-10-01T18:56:00.000-07:002009-01-15T20:21:19.857-08:00

October 21We were very very excited this morning!!  Today is the day we get to see all our wonderful, plentiful follicles.  I told the sonographer that my ovaries did not feel as full or heavy as they did on clomid; she assured me that this was normal and that sometimes this happens.  I shrugged my shoulders and we started the US.   She started to measure and count while Andi was trying to write

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-83375286728117369422008-10-01T18:55:00.000-07:002009-01-15T20:22:01.520-08:00

October 24As  you all know, I am very tenacious and very rarely give in.  We went in for the second ultra sound to check the follies today.  Remember when that know-it-all sonographer told us that 11 was all we would have?.... well, I showed her- there were 13 this time.  HA!  The left ovary produced 7  "eggs" in sizes ranging from 9-17 mm and the right ovary produced 6 ranging in size from 13-

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-15705365774845129302008-10-01T18:50:00.000-07:002009-01-15T20:22:45.375-08:00

October 25 We were instructed to give the HCG shot at exactly 8:45pm, not one minute before or after.   HCG is the medicine that makes you body release the eggs precisely 36 hours later.   This was going to be fun since we had dinner plans with friends that evening.  So that evening as we were getting ready to go out we made sure we had everything in our purse... lip gloss, money, id's, vial of

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-66197679133783780172008-10-01T18:45:00.000-07:002009-01-15T20:23:41.475-08:00

October 26What a wonderful day.  We got up and I had to take a pregnancy test.  Let me explain.  Since we gave the trigger shot last night we had to be sure that it was absorbed by the body.  The only way to do this is a prego test, as HCG is the pregnancy hormone detected by the home pregnancy tests.   After peeing on the stick we got our first positive pregnancy test.  What a weird feeling. We

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-13090242821509111982008-10-01T17:00:00.000-07:002009-01-15T20:24:25.781-08:00

October 27This was the most nervous I have been this whole journey.  It was to the point that I was shaking a bit.  When we got to the fertility clinic we were sent to an empty lobby and then brought back to the OR waiting area.  I had already taken 10mg of Valium but I was still very nervous.  The nurse that came to place my IV had to try 3 times because of this, and because of my elevating

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-20012792750124253322008-10-01T16:59:00.000-07:002009-01-16T00:12:24.384-08:00

October 31Tonight was all about relaxing and prepping for the biggest day of our lives.  We decided to attend a dinner at our pal Kihan's.It was a vegetarian feast!  Wine was flowing and garlic was roasting.  I have never eaten so much Brie and Garlic.  No wine!!!!  It was lovely.  We felt it was the perfect way to spend our last night on our road to pregnancy.

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1845171057518158059.post-20326106313668950322008-10-01T16:52:00.000-07:002009-01-16T01:07:56.676-08:00

November 1Today was the big day!  I had a very early appointment to have acupuncture at 8am.  We had to make sure that we remembered to take a progesterone suppository exactly 2 hours before the transfer.  Well, about half an hour into the session we remembered and now we were behind schedule.  I panicked and thought "wow, now we blew it".  I also had to continue to drink the 36 ounces of water

the buddieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347818605533200251noreply@blogger.com0