Palouse Falls

I have the greatest husband EVER. Yesterday was a tough day for both of us...so we struck out on an adventure in our Jeep. We ended up at Palouse Falls which was just what we needed to forget for awhile. There is nothing better than hiking around a waterfall with your BEST friend and getting some mud on the tires of our Jeep. I thought you all would like to see some pictures.

Minor Break down

Well I would call it a minor break down...Rob probably has a different name for it but fortunately for me I am the one writing this blog (tee hee) We drew up our first series of injections after we pulled out the prescription to figure out which needle belonged to what. I was doing good all day and I took one look ah the Low Dose HCG and the water works began...Rob did so good staying cool calm and collect. I put my hands over my eyes and sang ....I am henry the 8th I am...and voooallla I got both my my injections. They actually didn't hurt that bad. YEAH so we are on our way! Tomorrow at 7am we will do it all over again....I hate this part by the way. I really really hate this!

Lifes little twists...........

So we have been preparing for Rob to be the one giving injections but the nurse threw a little twist in yesterday. I will be needing Follistim 2 times a day starting Sunday and going until Tuesday. So I must figure out how to inject myself....YUCK! Hopefully after Rob gives me my injections tonight I will get a feel for it and I can start injecting myself with Follistim. I am still getting only one shot of Low Dose HCG which I will leave to Rob. This is by far the hardest thing I have ever endured. Yesterday I was in a waiting room with about 30 women. Thankfully I got there at 6:30 am and was the second person there. Basically they are so quick with blood and ultrasounds that you can throw dignity out the window on these mornings. Nothing is sacred anymore :(
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I would have to go through so much to begin a family. I have an injection station in my kitchen next to the fridge since half of my medicine needs to be refrigerated. MY KITCHEN IS FULL OF NEEDLES!!!! Anyway wish me luck on this part of the adventure because I am entering the FIRE SWAMP with Buttercup I hope to come out alive :)

First Lab

I had my first Lab today at the Center in Spokane. (note to self ...get there at 5:30 am) There are 40-50 couples going through this IVF cycle with us. You can imagine all of us fighting to get our blood drawn in the morning and rush off to our day jobs. The lab this morning thankfully only included a blood draw. The next set of labs will be blood and ultra sound to watch the follicle count for potential eggs. LeAnn, whom I haven't introduced properly, is our nurse coordinator, called to let me know that my blood results we good this morning. I will be talking about LeAnn ALOT since she is our direct line to the doctor and our results. The next appointment is on Friday which will be the blood and ultrasound. LeAnn will call us after the next lab morning and let us know the proper doses need for the injections that start Saturday night...YEAH US! I have 4 more days injection free......oh how I dread the needles waiting for me.

BIG Stinkin' needle

Is it true that the Lord never gives us more than we can handle? I am going to be asking him that very question everyday through this whole process. Today Rob and I had our injection class in Spokane at The center for Reproductive health. There was a slide show of the whole process of invetro fertilization given by a nursing assistant. After the slide show the needles came out and Amy's face went white. Rob did very good giving fake shots to a small tummy on the table. I was ok with the Follistim shot and the Low HCG because they were very small needles. I even gave the tiny tummy a shot myself....but out came the Progesterone shot which was a BIG daddy. To get the thick Progesterone (in Oil) out of the vile and into the syringe there was a VERY large needle used. After the syringe is filled a STILL VERY large needle is needed to inject the thick liquid into a muscle. Rob is my strength and my light, I am so lucky to have my husband and my best friend there as my ROCK. I will post all my drug info tomorrow but after a stress filled day this is all I had. Hmph search out and conquer BIG Stinkin Needle in my dreams tonight...

Happy New Year!

We rang in the new year last night with some Great friends. I am thankful that finally 2011 has begun...onward bound. I got my NEW calendar in the mail yesterday. Rob and I have elected not to be part of genetic procedure that would potentially come at the end of our process. I have realized that I haven't explained our process thoroughly since starting this blog. So from the beginning....Rob and I have elected to go through Invetro Fertilization or IVF. The doctor who has ran multiple tests on the both of us and has concluded that we have a 1% chance of getting pregnant on our own. After spending the last 3 years of our lives trying to get pregnant I am excited that we have a doctor who is 80% sure he can get us there. On January 14th we will drive to Spokane to attend a class on how to give injections. Everyone who knows me is well aware of my horror of needles, thankfully Rob has stepped up and will be the one giving me my daily injections. We are on schedule to start our medications on January 21. Once I start the injections I will start blood and ultrasound testing approximately every other day to monitor my Folicle (Egg) count. Once the doctor sees the Folicles where he wants them we will schedule the Egg Retrieval. This is the process of extracting the eggs from me to be fertilized in a lab. Thankfully I will be sedated for this process as it can be pretty uncomfortable. The day after the Egg Retrieval is considered Day one of our pregnancy. The doctor's will watch our little embryo's grow each and everyday and if we have enough viable healthy embryo's by day 5 we will transfer two of them back to me. After a successful transfer there is a 2 week wait before we can have a blood test done to determine whether it has all been successful! I will keep you updated with all our progress. Thank you all for your love and support.

The Calendar

On Friday we received our calendar in the mail. It has our schedule all mapped out from January 14th to the beginning of February and our possible Egg Retrieval date. On the 14th Rob and I will be attending a class together in Spokane to learn how to give injections. Thankfully Rob has stepped up and will be giving me all my medications. All of you who know me well are aware of my phobia of needles and blood. It is ironic that I have to conquer one of my biggest fears to go through this whole process of becoming pregnant. It will be soooo worth it in the end. It is happening very quickly and I will begin my medication on January 23rd. Keep sending us your good thoughts! Happy Holidays!