Too Early?

So now, I feel like we insemed too early. Although, early is better than late...it isn't if there isn't any EWCM up there to keep the swimmers alive! I HATE I HATE I HATE CLOMID. It really messes up KB's cycles and makes this whole game a lot less predictable and scientific...and I like things to be scientific...it gives me peace of mind and less ambiguity.

We are going to get some Pre-seed I think, perhaps that will help if KB is not going to produce any EWCM of her own...and maybe, just maybe we are ovulating late this month...despite the cervical position and ovary "tinges." We have yet to obtain a positive OPK (although our last round of clomid we never got one either).

Now I am thinking of maybe getting two more vials after the next two are done. That's what straight couples do, isn't it? They just have sex more to increase their chances.

I didn't think this would happen this ttc/tww cycle...but it has. I AM GOING CRAZY HERE! I think I need some B-12 tablets to get my stress under control. How is it that I am more stressed out about this than KB? After all, she is the one carrying (soon hopefully)...AAAARRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH!

Showtime

Tonight is night number one of three insems (because we are over-zealous)! KB's temp dipped this morning and since we cannot count on a reliable LH surge due to wonderful clomid, we figure we'd rather be a little early than late. Plus we got three vials this month. Not quite EWCM, but almost. And KB felt "twinges" in both ovaries last night (which is typical for her). So come on new donor! Let's do this!

On another-but not entirely unrelated-note, I held an infant for a few minutes at work today. I am not sure if this is good or bad luck yet. I haven't decided. I guess we will find out in two to two and a half weeks. WOOHOO!

Adding to the regimen

So we are now adding to our regimen. We have been reading a lot about clomid thickening ewcm and making it diificult for sperm to get through the cervix. The good news is that over-the-counter remedies have been shown to help. So we are going to try robitussin, beleive it or not. And we are also adding evening of primrose oil and eliminating dairy and citrus fruits. We should have started the robo yesterday according to most sites. But we figure better late than never. The last thing we want is a hostile sperm environment. I wanna make them as comfortable as possible. Maybe I should bake some cookies and wrap them in a warm fuzzy blanket! :)

Last Hoorah and thank you clomid...

Yesterday, the wife and I joined a friend for some drinks, and our last hoorah before starting the whole ttc process again. And Yesterday was also cd7, otherwise known as day 5 of clomid. Usually, the "clomid crazies" don't kick in for KB until after she is actually done taking the medication, while it works it's way through the system for a few weeks. I think we saw a glimpse of them early this time though.

Let's just say that once again, there were tears...and once again, the tears were about our poor elderly cat who is oh-so-terrorized by our dog.

One piece of advice for all partners of clomid users...meditate during the clomid crazy weeks, and never let your wife drink alcohol while she is on clomid...because the interaction seems to create lots of tears. Thank goodness this was the last hoorah and we will not be drinking in between our cycles from here on out (pregnant or not)....

I just hope I don't have to go through yet another month of clomid after this one!

Baby Daddy Drama

So we called our spermbank to make our order for next week, and OF COURSE our sperm donor that we liked and have already been using is no longer available. That threw a major wrench into our plans. Well...maybe not a major wrench...but I really didn't want to have to pick another perfect donor. The good news is, we picked a new one in a matter of hours...apparently he also has super-sperm and has several offspring...which is fine with us. At least we know that we will have a higher chance of pregnancy with the super-swimmers. So at-home insem happens next week...should be a crazy week. KB will be smack dab in the middle of tech week for a play she is in...and the clomid always makes for a fun time (she says sarcastically)...

Come on super sperm!

You want us to put that where?

We had our appointment with the RE 9 days ago...and we are now on a fun "series" of baby-making drugs...I say "we" because even though I don't physically have to choke them down, I will have to deal with their side effects in less direct ways. :)

KB started day one of Clomid this morning. Day 8, she switches from Clomid to Estradiol, followed by progesterone following ovulation (if we can figure out exactly when that is...which we will probably not be able to do considering Clomid is a mindf*ck). So there is the cocktail. On top of that, we are continuing the prenatals (of course) and I got KB some Red Rasberry Leaf Tea to help thicken the uterine lining (it can't hurt, right?). And since she typically is low on iron, she is now swallowing some delicious liquid iron in the morning.

The best part about KB's cocktail, is the pharmacy mess up. So KB went to pick up the drugs last week, and learned that the progesterone suppositories were going to cost us $400...and we decided that we weren't paying that much for a "just in case" drug when we don't actually know that she needs this. KB called her RE and said this was not doable. So he called the pharmacy and had them switch that and the estradiol to oral pills. But the pharmacy decided to keep the former instructions that stated, "insert vaginally" and printed that on the bottle.

So, because KB started getting confused and second-guessed her recall for what the doctor instructed her, she went back to the pharmacy and asked them if these were the correct instructions...to which they replied, "no, you take those pills orally." So KB answered, "then why does it say to take them vaginally? Shouldn't you have updated the directions when my RE changed the prescription?" The chick just walked away.

I'm sorry, but what if she had inserted them vaginally and something bad had happened or they just didn't work and she wasted money and time this go-around for nothing? Couldn't we have had some sort of pharmaceutical malpractice suit? Isn't it their job to make sure the directions are correct on the labels? You would think...wouldn't you...

Regardless...we have it all figured out and looks like we will be inseminating mid-next-week. We're going all out and doing three vials this month. It might be a little over-zealous, but Clomid makes Ovulation prediction rather difficult sometimes...and hey...straight couples often do it much more often when they are actively trying to get pregnant...so...why not up our chances?...this stuff is expensive...

Going for it.

Lots of decisions have been made in the past three weeks. Initially, we were going to put ttc on hold until our new health insurance (that covers fertilit) kicks in in November. Well...we've had a turn of events.

My wife hates her job. She has for a while. I have been encouraging her to quit and go back to school for her master's in Library Science...which she really wants to do. The problem is that her job pays well, and currently, it is what supports us.

I looked over our budget and projected surplus after July of 09 (which is when we move to the Boston area) and discovered that we will have more than enough in our nest-egg for her to not seek out a job in her current field once we arrive in New England. In fact...say she did not find a job for a year...we would be able to pay our rent for a year and then some (although we would be scraping by a little). So...worst case scenario...we would still manage. Therefore...we are trucking full-speed ahead...because our worst-case scenario is extremely unlikely...and it doesn't factor in my measly residency salary next year (which will help some)...and KB will find a job doing something...hell...she'd probably be happier working at a coffee shop than in her field!

Now that we have made that decision...it is okay for us to keep trying to get pregnant before we leave...we were previously afraid that if KB got pregnant right away...she would be showing and nobody would hire her. Now that she isn't going to be looking for a professional job...we don't care! Yippee!

We have an appointment with our fertility clinic a week from next Monday...just a consult. So far we have tried at home twice, on clomid. We were going to abandon the at home tries and have an RE do IUI, but alas, we have decided to chance it. We are going to try at home for another three cycles, on clomid (perhaps a higher dose than previous attempts) and if our RE permits it, an estradiol creme to follow the clomid. We think that the clomid thinned KB's lining last time, so this time, we would like to prevent that (hence the estradiol).

So here is to our new decisions! I feel good about this. Better than I have felt the entire past 6 months!