First Cycle 4/10/17

My period finally arrived.. I know bittersweet, so off we went to our first baseline appointment. This is were they do a transvaginal ultrasound to check out your ovaries.  They also take bloodwork to check your hormone levels.  Chris came with me, into the room and all, which we found out later is rare for husbands, but it was so much information I needed him with him to help me process it.  The doctor gave us the all clear to start our first medicated cycle.  We decided on the oral pills Fermara, the doctor said it was better than clomid, as it didn't thin your lining.  This was also the least expensive option. After I got dressed and we were about to leave, the nurse came running after us and said to come back they had another option for us. Totally confused we entered the room.  Turns out they had recently received a donation of injectable medicine from a patient who recently gave birth and wanted to help out another couple. The nurse and doctor explained that it was completely free and would really increase the chances as the medicine is much stronger.  We felt like it was a sign and we just had to go for it.

The new plan was to take the oral pill for a few days and then switch to the injectable for a couple days before ovulation to really "stim" my ovaries. I would come to the office several times a week for "monitoring", basically same as baseline to check the ovaries and bloodwork.  We started the Femara that night and continued for 5 nights, on the 5th night we began the injectables, called Follitism.  The shot was not nearly has horrible as I imagined.  Chris did all the prep work for me (loading the pen) and I just had to do the shot.  The first one took me about 15 minutes to actually do it.. I screamed, laughed, cried and then finally did.  Then laughed hysterically with my husband since I didn't even feel a thing. We did shots for a total of 4 nights.

I went in for monitoring on 4/19/17 and we had only 1 mature egg, and none that were even close behind...basically the same thing if I didn't take any medication, very disappointing, but staying positive.  Got the call that night to take what is called a "trigger" shot.  This shot forces ovulation to happen on demand. We went in the next morning on 4/20/17 for our IUI. Again, Chris came with me. We dropped off his "sample" in the morning and went back together for the procedure. All and all it was pretty painless.  Just a lot of cramping. Then you get to lay there for about 15 minutes with your pelvis lifted, which leads me to believe that the whole lay with your legs in the air myth is true!! I spent the rest of the day home and Chris stayed with me. We watched movies and relaxed and tried to keep our minds off the next 2 weeks.

We would need to come back in on May 4th for our beta test (bloodwork to confirm pregnancy).  I would also need to take Progesterone suppositories for the 2 weeks while we wait. Little did I know this would be the worst part of the month... the waiting was horrible but the progesterone literally kicked my ass! But it would all be worth it if I had a little Peanut growing inside me.

Here is a picture of us in the office waiting to start the procedure.