Assisted conception (and the bits in between!) - part 3 - all welcome

[Caitni]

Right ladies, time for a new thread.

And a big welcome to everyone . Here's to many more success stories and healthy pregnancies!

Gilly sending you massive GOOD LUCK vibes for tomorrow. I'll keep an eye out for an update from you

Lottie hurrah for maternity clothes! When your underwear is sending you signs like that () it's definitely time to get shopping . So you saw the stats of twins on t'other thread - am actually quite proud I managed to convince my DH with stats like that . Although it now means he's convinced we'll have twins and I'm just fervently hoping we get a positive test . And not too sure I was a model of calm - the worst time for me was when I was so convinced that there'd be no eggs in my follicles that even the nurses and sonographer thought I was a bit .

Ailz good luck again for you - you're at the bit where I thought every thing went into warp drive!

But off to watch some Wire now. We've been saving season five for this tww so it's definitely the best bit so far of the whole tww (I actually said to the consultant at one point "god, it's going to be great to start treatment so we can finally finish watching the wire").

Gilly, a million good lucks and some more for today!
Thanks Lottie, yes get the maternity clothes, you need to some time. There are so many places to choose from. I found Next really good for stretchy jeans and they didnt look awful. and those nice fitted tops that stretch around the bump as you grow. good luck, very exciting. get a bra that fits, because trust me you will be buying new larger ones a few more times before 9 months is up. i went from a D to DD to E to F. that is a lot of bras!!! Thankfully i shrunk back to DD and stayed there, otherwise i would have had to throw out my underwear drawer.
Thanks Caitni i think you have a husband like mine, you have to be careful what you say to them because they latch on and believe it 100% and you have to say 'slow down, hold on we have a few more steps yet!' and not just in conception matters! it is like he thinks if i say it then it will definitely happen. men eh? and i have never heard of Wire. i am intrigued. My 2ww is coming up, not really looking forward to it. every bump and pain will drive me over the edge. good luck with yours, keep us posted on how you are entertaining yourself.
My EC tomorrow, took trigger shot last night. all done, just waiting around drumming my fingers on the table a lot. I am concerned about the fasting to be honest. although i have never been a breakfast person really, since i began ivf i have to eat really regularly because i get blinding headaches and nausea. oh well, whatever we have to do, we will do it!
Good luck to everyone

Ailz know what you mean about the fasting - I'm one of those people who's a monster if I skip breakfast - but it was fine (and I was up at 6am to get to the hospital in time!). Though I did send DH out to get snacks while I was in EC so there'd be stuff waiting for me when I got back up to the room - so was actually chowing down on pringles and the like when my hospital lunch was delivered (felt like a right greedy guzzler ). Hoping you get lots of lovely eggs. Is your mum coming over from Ireland to look after you & your DD? I'm also Irish (Cork ) and I've got my mum praying away at home - I'm the last of my siblings with no kids and she admitted she'd been praying for us since we got married two years ago. I'm about as religious as a teapot (and she knows!) but I figure everything helps at this stage and I appreciate her support.

Gilly hope you had a good app today (not that I've been obsessively checking since lunchtime to see if you're reported back...no siree bob, not me...whistles innocently ).

NotPrincessAnne was thinking of you today - how are things with you?

Today was my first day back at work since before EC last Tue and have been mildly productive but am feeling a bit down (convinced it's not worked) so am off home now. I reckon I need some telly and some lounging to make me feel better!

Big waves to everyone else.

Hello everyone

Gilly - so glad your appointment went well today. The meds bit doesn't mean much to me (yet) but it sounds really positive and now you've got a plan of action you can focus on that rather than your last cycle.

Caitni - so exciting about your blasts. Hope the mammouth Wire watch has lifted your spirits. You've got everything to be hopeful for.

Ailz - bloody hell how quickly has your EC come round. Have everything crossed for you tomorrow and will be thinking of you.

Lottie - I can't even bring myself to say the name of that bloody stupid shop. The owner's not even bloody french - she's Welsh! Maternity clothes - how exciting.

I'm very ashamed to say that I've got a terrible hangover and a voice like Marge Simpsons sister after yelling myself through a Take That concert last night. Got far far more drunk than I'd planned to get and am now feeling terribly guilty and concerned that I've ruined any chances of pregnancy this month. It was amazing though!

I got a positive on my OPK on Saturday and got EWCM on Sunday coupled with an hour of quite significant pain from the ovary with the follicle on it. My boobs are still sore (as have they been for three weeks now) and I can't make my mind up whether the pain (never happened before at ovulation) and the sore boobs are a good/bad/indifferent sign.

Anyway bd'd Monday, Wednesday (but then had vaginal scan so thinking maybe the lubricant might have killed any sperm as only bd'd about two hours before), Thursday (I think), Sturday and Sunday so now just in the tww limbo hoping against hope that I haven't pickled a potential person.

Off to a wedding tomorrow so will catch up with you all next week.

Good luck to everyone whatever stage you're at until then.

xxx

gilly I'm pleased for you that your appt went so well, and I was going to say the same thing about 15% morphology - that's pretty normal, by what I know. Can't wait until you get started again!

LL Hope you and the growing twins are still doing well!

Aliz best of luck on EC!

Summer have fun at the wedding, hopefully you will have good news when you return.

just waiting, waiting, waiting... DH text'd me the other day while I was at work to ask when we could test, I chuckled and nearly wrote back that he could test anytime... but I have to wait until early next week!

Hi guys, yes Caitni my mum is here from ireland (Galway) to babysit and she too is praying like a lunatic. she even went to medugorje (Bosnian catholic pilgrimage for anyone who doesnt know, which may just be most people in the world! She carries around a picture of Padre Pio! i too am about as religious as a teapot and she keeps saying 'its no good to just have me doing all the praying, you have to pray too' i assure her that i am. I too will accept all the help that i can get! what would we do without them?! I got 10 eggs, i believe that is quite good (i really and truly know nothing) and had be best sleep under anaesthetic. my dh was really jealous when i told him. we sound like drug addicts. So i am sending lovely encouraging vibes their way tonight. Have faith in the little things Caitni, they might be listening! be hopeful, but guarded of your feelings. is that possible? sending good feelings and thoughts and steering some of my mothers prayers your way, although you may have enough of these!

I might just take up your mantra Lottie and make up a song, but i wont be admitting it to anyone ! That was funny, and it worked! pilgrimages and songs, what next? I had to fast from midnight night before to EC which was at 7am, which really meant skipping breakfast! not really that difficult at all. but i didnt have procedure til 10.30. i think i was ok because of drug free day, not so cranky. good luck with your bra search!
Gilly oh the gown was dashing alright, slippers kept falling off and they did not match my hat which was a terrible shame, standards are slipping. and yes i was in the last cubicle and waited from 7 to 10.30. but entertained myself by filling out about 400 consent forms for various things. and my embryologist had the highest fanciest heels too and quite a revealing dress, which my dh said was for the benefit of the guys doing the sperm samples. hmmmmmm so glad your appt went well, it is great to hear re-assuring things isnt it. you almost expect them to say, no sorry everything was pathetic, i recommend you never come back. and yes it is a 3 month package, i am persuading myself that this is the case before i even get any results. My dh was phobic about syringes but he really took to it, very proud of himself. he didnt exactly enjoy it, but i think it makes them feel more involved in a way. we also have 15% morphology. seems to be the average! i want to know what happened to the other 85%? no one ever mentions them!
Summermagic yes it has come around very quickly, but very slowly too. i dont know. as for the ovulation pains. i too used to get them, only after i started taking clomid and when i stopped too. it is not pleasant, always seemed to get it when i went to bed. but i always saw it as a good sign. Good luck with it, sending mums prayers your way too and to everyone else on here. i will have to tell her to top up on the prayers as i am sharing them. also as for the pickling a little person, well my dd was not pickled when she was born, and she really should have been as went on hols with a friend when i was about 5 weeks pg and didnt know it. oh my lord the alcohol that was consumed. felt v guilty, but she is very clever so feel less guilty now!
Thanks Islegrin you keep us posted now. apologies for such a long post, i am using up all the paper.
bye xxx

Gilly I think LL had a good suggestion (the first one - about telling them you don't want to intrude upon them and you'll make a nice getaway out of it.)

Ailz keep the prayers and the songs going!

I've the feeling AF will be knocking at my door any day now. DH says he's not going to get sad until we know for sure - but I'm feeling the sands running through the hourglass...

Morning ladies

Ailz woo hoo! 10 eggs is BRILLIANT! Well done you and your clever ovaries . Hope they had a fun time in the lab of love overnight and you've had a good phone call from the embryologist this morning . Your mum sounds great - and having all that prayer force in the house has got to help. And bet your DD is loving having granning over .

Gilly great to hear that your review app was so good . She sounds like she has a proper plan for cycle two, which must be a big weight off your mind. A clued up doctor is an answer to prayers and bodes extremely well for your second go. Your dilemma about your friends in Newcastle is tricky...I'd personally not want to stay with them. I think Lottie's suggestion no. 1 is a good one and is the sort of thing I'd get my DH to do. That way you get to avoid spending a weekend in nesting-ville without making them feel like they can't share their (total normal) excitement about the impending birth with you and your husband.

Islegrin sorry to hear you feeling a bit downhearted about your chances this month...I'm also due to test early next week so I totally understand the nervousness - I was hovering around the HPT shelf in boots the chemist yesterday in St Pancras station like a potential shoplifter but was too nervous to actually buy any [sigh]. Your DH sounds absolutely lovely BTW - he's a good support to you. My fingers are staying crossed - I'm with your DH on this one

Lottie thank you SO much for your wise words the other day . I gave myself a good talking to on the way home from work after posting that and had copped myself on by the time I got home but I still appreciated hearing about your mini squidges (if I had any class of a singing voice I'd probably be singing to my fellas too!). It's not that I'm feeling positive now so much as not feeling negative iykwim. Of course I want good news on Tuesday more than anything but I've also got such a sense of dread (see behaviour in boots yesterday). And I keep thinking that this day next week we'll know [gulp].

Summer I was at your description of your voice! Take That concert sounds great and hope the wedding is lovely.

Big waves to everyone else. I've got to go and get cracking on work - I was very productive Wed & Thurs but I seem to have tailed off somewhat today...must by the Friday feeling .

Thanks Gilly. your situation poses quite the dilemma. however i do think you need to do what you think is right for you. what makes you feel good. dont be concerned about anyone else. have a really good think and decide if you would truly be miserable. i would definitely only stay if i could be totally honest with this woman about your struggles, otherwise you will be miserable. i can see you are in the exact same time warp as the rest of us. it is so impossible to plan our future, esp the very near future. we have no idea when to plan a holiday, whether we can go to a wedding if it involves travel in case of scans etc. waiting, waiting, why are we waiting....good luck with your decision.
Islegrin dont give up, try not to be disappointed in advance. you just dont know. i know it is the not knowing that is the hard bit. you want to put the result off, but you want it now at the same time, whatever it may be, so you can plan. oh sigh, sigh, we have to be positive and yet guard our hearts from disappointment too. as soon as i figure out how to do that i will let you know. dont hold your breath. hugs and shoulder pats and understanding looks going your way.
Thanks Caitni, I am laughing to myself, a bit out loud actually, when you wrote copped myself on! how irish, we still say that and get funny looks. i do it on purpose of course. and you gave yourelf a good talking to. i hope you did it out loud, give people something to talk about! hee hee. yes we love granny, my dd is in heaven, she pretends my mum is a playground and climbs all over her and jumps and slides off. my mum just takes it.
Well, we got 9 fertilised eggs! hurray! i must say i am not hugely surprised because we respond well to everything, but still dont get pregnant. so have mixed feelings about any good news. of course i am thrilled that it is not bad news, but still reserving my crazy excitement for the bfp. oh may aswell. dreaming and trying to remain positive as best i can. ET tomorrow of course. excited. there were lots of women in for their second and third ivf yesterday, so it keeps me from getting to excited. i have made up my mind that it is a 3 round thing.
has anyone else frozen their embryos. is it something to consider? i signed the forms but still thinking about it.

PS i have almost finished a whole packet of jaffa cakes while contemplating ET. needed to confess to someone.

Ailz well done on 9 fertilised! That is stonkingly good. It's another IVF hurdle cleared! Understandable that you're keeping your hopes in check but I'm so glad you're positive (it's rubbing off on me ). You have a very good chance and it's important to remember that

Ailz, NINE is wonderful!!! Now we'll just keep our prayers going that 3 or more keep going strong. Are you taking them to blasts? Best of luck for ET and BFP in two weeks!

Thanks all for your kind words, we all know how difficult we are to console in the dark days of the cycle. I tested this early morning - 69% BFN. Of course, I expected it, but I was still hoping I was wrong. Father's Day here is Sunday, and I wanted to give DH good news! I only have two more shots at IUI, then I think we're done (DH is worried about me going through IVF, so he is voting against it). What am I doing wrong?!?! (rhetorical question - I'm just disappointed, and staring at the abyss of being childless)

On the upside, I have a wonderful DH, and a great life!!! Maybe I can get a dog...

Thanks islegrin. yes praying for that too. sorry about your bfn. I like your positivity, i am a fan of positivity. Keep going. IVF, as a matter of interest, is not as bad as it sounds. i was really dreading it, but it wasnt so bad.
pets are great stress-relievers apparently. i wouldnt know, but i have heard!
good luck love, thinking of you.

LL - so typical of you... you're so busy caring for each one of us that you forget to include your drama-o-the-day! I'm so glad the fellas are wriggling and growing, it much have been quite unnerving!!! It's good to know that some of those things can happen and still have a positive result, it will make more people here reassured, if it ever happens to them. Keep off your feet and take good care of yourself! We're all with you.

As for IVF - I MIGHT be able to talk DH into it, but there's no way we could do 3 cycles. The expense would drown us! (I catch myself saying that after we bought a house in Hawaii... where real estate is so expensive it could kill you - literally!) I can't really see going into debt for $60k for two additional cycles. If I was going to spend that kind of cash, I could have two infants from whatever country I like. But the way I feel now - there's only a slight glimmer of even doing ONE cycle of IVF. My DH is such a "let's cross that bridge when we come to it" (or his famous phrase is "you're giving me ketchup before I've even got the FRIES!" (chips to you Brits) He refuses to discuss it until after we've done 6 rounds of IUI (our selection, not the docs). So I'm left worrying to myself, feeling like I'm not meeting the deadline, and my sweet, loving, actually-awesome DH is of no comfort because he won't discuss it yet. We also have my frail MIL staying with us for a few months, so we don't have as much alone time to talk as normal. It's a taste of parenthood for us both. I'm really confused today, because he didn't even want to acknowledge the neg test - I guess because it was early... sad day today - but tomorrow will be better.

Love to all - sorry for the blubbering!