The latest

I had my first ultrasound today since we started the stimulation drugs. I was a bit nervous going in and not knowing what to expect. I was excited when we found 10 follicles developing already!!! I have 7 on the left side. Four of them were measureable and 3 were visible, but could not be measured. I also have 3 on the right side. I could not wait to call Richard and tell him the news. My estrodial level is a bit low, but they did not seem too worried about it. The doctor told me to continue the low-dose ovidrel at night to help get the estrogen levels up. So, I stay on four shots a day and go in for the next ultrasound on Friday morning.

Richard returned from Oklahoma last night. I am so glad he is home! I had to start all of my injections by myself while he was away. I actually gave myself all of the morning shots. I had friends help me with the evening shots. It was hard to stick myself! I was surprising more emotional than I thought I would be about having to do this myself. The first morning, I cried a bit when I injected myself. It did not hurt at all, it was just strange not having Richard there. Through all the fertility treatments, it has always been about all the tests, ultrasounds, bloodwork, etc. that I have had to go through. When Richard gives the injections, it is something we do together and that time has become very important to me as we work to help bring a child into the world together. I am so glad he is back and we are in our regular routine again. Who would have imagined I would get so sentimental over getting a shot!

Hit me with your best shot...

Richard gave me the first injection tonight. The anticipation was far worse than the actually pain of the needle stick. It is sore now though and I got a bit nauseated after (then again, I had chili dogs for dinner and they did not bode well with me at all!) I do think that my belly will be quite sore for the next month. The first drug is Lupron which is a supression type drug. It actually works to completely shut the ovaries down. Once that is achieved, we stimulate the ovaries! Crazy huh? Shut them down just to stimulate them again! That is the way things work though in this IVF protocol.

One down...too many to count to go...