Waiting for our flight

Leaving as two... Hopefully coming back as two plus one or two maybes!!  

Our bags are packed, ready to go......

Okay...maybe not quite but we are getting there.   For those that know me...I HATE packing, especially for two weeks.  We have the challenge of trying to get everything into one suitcase. Why? One they charge for luggage in the US.  Two..we have a convertible...not sure how much space we have.  So...we might be doing laundry.  Or do the inside, outside, method with underwear!:) Okay...just kidding.  I think we are almost ready.  Hoping to leave tomorrow by 11 at the latest.  Our flight isn't till 5:40 or so...but in Detroit and who knows what the border will be like.

Our latest update is that the donor is doing well, has 16-20 eggs!!  So that is pretty good.  Me?  Another injection this morning for my estrogen. Dennis is a great nurse and has been pretty gentle so far.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed today.  Once worked was all wrapped up it hit me we are here...this is it...our real chance of a family.   I got really excited, scared, emotional....like I said before...not sure where to go with my feelings.   It's sort of like a dream right now...floating, surreal... (and I'm not drinking) !!

Enough procrastinating for me....Thanks to everyone who is praying for us, supporting us....it means a lot.  We will take all the positive thoughts and crossed fingers and toes we can get.

Protecting my heart

"You must be so excited!!!"  I keep hearing this comment over and over from everyone.  Don't get me wrong I love all the support, love and energy from all of you.    And ...yes, of course I am excited.  We have been waiting for a long time for this opportunity, for higher odds of having a family of our own.  We are super excited to be away and have a vacation too!

Another part of me however is scared, nervous and cautious.  I know that the odds are for us...but nothing is a guarantee.  To some this may sound negative, but to protect my heart I need to be realistic.  I need to be prepared for the good...and the bad....  To be honest I probably won't be truly excited till we get to the 12 week ultrasound.    It is quite a balancing act at times and not everyone understands or gets it.

So...fingers, toes and everything in between crossed!!!   Less than a week till we leave!!

Planning, planning, planning!!!

We have decided since we are going to be in California we might as well make a trip out of it.  It had been suggested this could be our "Baby-moon".  Last hurrah till we can't travel like this anymore!!:)  

So...we are taking two weeks over all while we are there.  The plan is to fly into San Diego, be there a few days, then up to Thousand Oaks(where the clinic is).  We have to be there for Dennis to do his thing and be to get test...then we have a few days off till I am back for the transfer. We will travel around there those days.  After that up the Pacific Highway we go, stopping at different spots till we hit San Francisco...then we fly home!  So excited to see this stretch of the highway....supposed to be gorgeous!!  We have ideas of what we want to do...but going to take it day by day.  The best part is we decided to drive in style...so we are renting a convertible!! Just hoping our luggage will fit in it!!!

So....flights are booked, a couple hotels are booked, car is booked and most important my mani-pedi is booked (merry christmas from mom and dad!!) ....we are getting there!!

Kablamo!!

This is how Dennis has been describing him giving me my needle! Yup...this round I don't have to do all the crazy subcutaneous injections that make me feel like crap.  YAY!! (That is what the donor has to do).  But I do have to get my body prepped and ready to accept an embryo.  So, starting today and continuing twice a week till week 8 or 10 I believe (FINGERS CROSSED) I get to have estrogen injections.  There are suppository ways to do this...but this was is more accurate, concise and a lot less messy.  The only thing is I can't give them to myself...these are IM, not subcutaneous.  What that means is it has to go into a muscle, not fatty tissue like in my past cycles.  SOOO...Dennis is my nurse...and it is a longer needle now.

SOFT talked us through it yesterday and told Dennis no Ka-blamo!:)  He did a fabulous job tonight! One down!!!

The ball is rolling...

Last Wednesday I got an email late in the afternoon from the California clinic with "our schedule".    I had in my head that we would get a good months notice. This would give us time to notify work, plan our vacation week before and get organize. I had figured by now we were looking at the middle of July.  Nope...retrieval day for the donor is July 1 or 2nd (so we have to be there) and transfer day the following sunday or monday!

WHAT??!  So I had a freak out...huge.  Don't get me wrong I am excited and we have been waiting for this forever...but it took me by surprise how quick.   I was worried  about work, worried about booking everything...no way...no how.  I  already had to be in the clinic the next morning for blood work and ultrasound.   I thought...this has to change.  Well, it did not.  The nurse at SOFT told me it was normal it could be this fast and it's not unrealistic. Basically the donors have control....so...game on for us!

That day we met with our coordinator (who is now the same because of my job change).  We had given her a heads up so she knew this was coming.  I must say she was amazing, so understanding and compassionate. I feel awful leaving work, especially since I am overlapping a week with my inpatient colleague and someone else being off for surgery.  I know I have no control but I still feel guilty.  She was amazing though...her motto "Family first!" WOW! So different than the philosophy on my old program.  She reassured me to not worry, she had a plan...and the told Dennis multiple times to "BE SUPPORTIVE".  So awesome.

I decided I would let some of my new colleagues know..hoping they would understand better why I was leaving them high and dry.  I sent an email and everyone has been super understanding...