Queer Conceptions - October - Page 16

[Mizyellow]

Hey ladies, just checking in before I go to Cosi with the little man! Best place on earth when you have a 2 year old! We have the shipment ordered and are expecting it at noon tomorrow. Does anyone know how long the sperm extender keep the sperm for? I have been looking it up but haven't been able to find the numbers. I figured SOMEONE on here would know, since you ladies are my AI godesses. Hope you are all having a great day!

[escher]

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Mizyellow: I bet you're right that someone on here will know all about sperm extender. I love this board.

QOTD: I don't have any ultrasounds during cycles when I am TTC. I base timing on cervical position and softness and cervical mucus primarily (side note: for anyone out there who is not regularly feeling or looking at their cervix, I think it is an incredibly useful signal, and generally very easy to figure out, and I wish I had started doing it much earlier than I did), with OPKs and temperature and how I feel as secondary indications. I often but not always get a 7dpo progesterone test, and that's the only bloodwork I get during the cycle.

Library: I hope your allergies get better soon!

Isa: I'm glad the insems went so smoothly!

Indigo: Hooray for cbem pee sticks!

Amy: I'm so glad that the vitex seems to be doing something good for you. Hooray!

2ezforyou: Hooray for your RE appointment! I hope that she is reassuring and has useful ideas.

AmandaHope: I really hope this cycle is the one for you. Are you using the same history teacher donor as last cycle?

Max: What did your RE say today?

Krista: I know some REs think you should start progesterone 3dpo anyway, so I think you're probably perfectly safe if you decide to wait to start it until Monday. I hope your timing was exactly what your body needed!

Milletpuff: Any news?

AFM: I have just a few more days of this cycle. It has gone really quickly! I'm hoping the next cycle (also off) doesn't go too quickly--I have a number of projects I want to get done before we jump back into TTC. I know breaks can be awful (and I HATED the forced break after our miscarriage), but I wanted to put in a good word for planned breaks--this one is exactly what we needed and I am really enjoying it.

[milletpuff]

Thanks escher, my update is positive FRER, positive digital, beta of 10, and cramping and spotting. Not the update I was hoping to post. Last time my beta was 7 (chemical in July) so I beat my record by 3, go me!

Mizyellow, last time we used it, we got the package at like 8am on a Monday, donor made his donation at about 10am, and we insemmed on Tuesday night. I remember that being well within what they told me on the phone. I got preg that cycle too! But we had done another insemination before he left too.

As for monitoring, I have to request any, since the clinic can't officially "work with us" due to KD quarantine issues. So I am not following their typical protocol. And since I'm 100% self-pay, I try to minimize it if it makes sense to do. We did have 2 US this cycle because we did Clomid + trigger.

[maxK]

PrettyIsa- I thought you were taking a break? Did you inseminate? If so, I will move you to TWW. Just in case you did.

QOTD- I started getting blood work early on to check my hormone levels. It wasn't until I went to the RE and used Femara that they started regular u/s on CD3 to make sure there were no cysts and CD12 to see if we were ready to trigger and inseminate.

AFM- Spoke with the RE today. Just like the first RE, they are really suggesting that I am fully healed before TTC again. It makes sense and she expressed a lot of sympathy so it was ok. I went to my Guided Imagery appointment today, which exhausted me on the crutches even though DP drove me. We focused on my leg healing and then moving on to TTC when my body is ready.

I'll be switching over the thread keeping role to MissScarlett! Everyone wish her good threadkeeper's luck this coming month.

[justrose13]

milletpuff, come on little one... stick to the pole!

miss scarlett, may you have much threadkeepers luck! it's time you get your BFP!!!!!

[prettyisa]

Max/Scarlett--good luck to both of you! Max on healing up quickly and Scarlett on babymaking/threadkeeping duties. Yes, please, move me to the TWW! We're in for this month--if it doesn't take I'll have to wait out November due to thanksgiving, alas.

Millet--I hope it's just a slow starter--thinking sticky thoughts for you!

Escher--I'm glad you're enjoying your time off. I think taking a break sometimes (from anything that's getting stressful) can be very restorative.

QOTD--no monitoring at all, but I'm just at my regular dr's office and this is a pilot program since they're just starting to offer IUIs. If it doesn't work in 3-6 months with them they refer me on to an RE who will probably do a lot more. But for now, I chart and use the OPKs (and poke myself in the cervix, since that's helpful) and call them to say when we're coming in.

AFM--it looks like we had the timing right--this morning my temp went up a full degree! So now I am doing what y'all do and hanging out, waiting to see what happens.

[Miss Scarlett]

Waiting to know

Good Morning! A quicky (well, you know what I mean) because my Mom is in town and it's her birthday and large amounts of carrot cake are being consumed!

A recap:

Monday u/s CD 12: About ten follicles ranging from 13-18 mm

Tuesday night: Happy cervix, one ICI late night

Wednesday u/s CD 14: 3 *beautiful* follicles 24, 24, 25mm. *this was me FREAKING out* Went straight home and triggered, inseminated late that night.

Thursday: THE MOST FERTILE CERVIX EVAH. EWCM, insemmed last vial at 10am.

Friday: Temp SHOT up and entire degree.

Needless to say I feel great about the chain of events, here's hoping.

Max, could you please move me to WAITING TO KNOW

Thank you all for the sweet words and support, I'm excited about that threadkeepers luck for next month, hopefully I can keep from screwing it all up!

Pretty Isa--Sounds like we are really close in our cycle! Yay for a 2WW buddy!

Max--I am SO SO SO SO sorry. What an awful ordeal. I hope the time passes quickly.

Oh Millet-- s

Escher- Proud of you for being positive and productive!

Amanda-- Get back on that horse sister!

Library-- My allergies have SUCKED as well, but Ive been trying not to take anything for fear it would damage my CM even more than the clomid already has. I have no basis for this fear, but I figure if it's drying up my nose mucous it's doing the same to mucous in other parts. As for signs (which I think is absolutely fascinating) I am a Sagittarius, and I mean CLASSIC, and DP is a Pisces (shoot me). I was really hoping for another sweet Sag, but if this is the cycle, it'll be a Leo (meh).

QOTD--We started with zero intervention and have slowly progressed to our current state of clomid, u/s x 2, and trigger. I didnt want to get here, but here we are. The bad thing about this situation, is that before I always felt like there was another trick up my sleeve. You know, "well, we could always try clomid, or we could always do some ultrasounds, and finally, well worst case we do the whole trigger thing." Now we are here, and the only trick left is IVF, it's a scarily vulnerable and hopeless place to be, but I'm staying positive and moving forward.

One thing about all the intervention it is taking to get knocked up, I am officially planning a home birth with little to no intervention for the birth. We'll see how that goes, but it's the plan for now.

[maxK]

Miss Scarlett- When I first started TTC we thought we would get pregnant right away. The truth is with frozen sperm it really cuts down our chances of conceiving. I never thought I would be trying IVF, and now a year later I have already paid for that procedure. This process has really taught me a lot about myself and what I am willing to do to get pregnant. I definitely thought I would be moving on to adoption before IVF but it turns out I really care a lot more about being pregnant and having a baby. No matter what happens I know everything will be ok. The medical interventions are here to help us and I know your time will come soon. Keep your chin up kid.

[seraf]

QOTD- call me low tech, I've not had a single ultrasound in 2 pregnancies and 8 tries (and 5, going on 6, donors, LOL, why does that make me feel a little, um, wrong? Like, when people ask if your kids have different daddies{oh, totally unrelated question, when filing out paperwork that asks how many sexual partners you've had, do you wonder if they count, since you've kind of been _contaminated_ by their bodily fluids?}). They dopplered for his heartbeat when I was having a threatened miscarriage and during labor, not once with her.

Yellow - COSI! I have had a membership there since DS was 5 months old. Used it to get into a dozen science centers across the eastern US. DD was born after a day of playgroup there. I like Cosi!

A girl at work set 15 cents on my medcart and said, "That ought to buy you a couple of tadpoles." I may have done bad math, but I decided at 20,000,000 sperm for $500 sperm are 400 for a penny. Cheaper than I ever realized. So I'm going to put my special 15 cents into the bank and order some sperm this week. And a speculum.

Seraf

[escher]

Happy Halloween!

Milletpuff: Congratulations on your pregnancy, but I'm sorry that it isn't entirely good news yet. I have absolutely everything crossed for a sticky healthy baby for you. Good luck taking good care of yourself during these hard next few days until you know for sure. I'll be thinking of you.

Max: I'm glad that your RE was sympathetic. I'm sorry they are also saying to wait, but I guess it is useful that both REs are giving you consistent advice.

Scarlett and Isa: Hooray for good timing! Those are impressive temp jumps that you both had!

Seraf: I like your calculation that sperm are 400 for a penny (or at least 200 a penny for IUI ready sperm). That does make them seam cheap!

AFM: I'm hoping that AF holds off for a few more days so I can feel like the vitex and b-complex have made my luteal phase longer. We'll see!

[LibraryLady]

Happy Halloween everyone! Feeling much better after a rough morning Friday. Allergies and, well, tummy trouble, combined in a very unpleasant way. All is well now, looking forward to our trick or treaters tonight!


Amy~ Yes, Aspidistra is our nickname. It's a type of houseplant~ we were talking about plant/flower names we liked such as Rose or Hazel, and then got silly and this one stuck.

Krista~ For your QOTD, initially we just had the 'femara scans', an ultrasound to make sure all was well before we started taking the femara. The last two cycles we had an additional scan to make sure there was a useful follie a-baking before insemming. That was all the intervention we had.

MizYellow~ Can't answer your question, but hope you have a WONDERFUL break!!!

Scarlett~ FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!! EVERYTHING CROSSED!!!!!!!!!! Carrot cake makes happy eggs, I promise.

Millett~ I'm happy for you, very excited and keeping my fingers crossed. Keep us posted xoxoxoxo

Isa~ Everything crossed for you too! This is it, we're on our way to a string of dancing veggies!!

Max~ That's a very thoughtful reflection. I'll bet this has been quite a week for you inside and out. Biggest hugs of all.

Seraf~ That's some interesting math! I never thought about it like that, but you're very right! Something to keep in mind xo

Escher~ Glad you're in good spirits, hope you're looking forward to a spooky holiday tonight!

No news here~ my baby's back from Washington, got to go to the Jon Stewart rally yesterday, now we're chillin' on the sofa watching scary movies and preparing for another week. I'm four months as of yesterday, which is a nice feeling. Happy spooky night tonight!!!

[starling&diesel]

Originally Posted by prettyisa

Starling—have you ever gone to the website where you can map out all of the star positions and find out the rising sign and all of the other minor ones? Apparently (and I’m not into astrology, so I don’t really know, this is all a hangover from a long-gone relationship) some people have a very strong secondary sign that pulls them away from their primary one. Maybe she’s both?

That's funny ... pretty much all of my astrological knowledge is a hangover from a long-gone relationship too! I find it fascinating, but don't have the energy to pursue it in any real way. Except to read my horoscope in the paper now and then.

Originally Posted by milletpuff

Thanks escher, my update is positive FRER, positive digital, beta of 10, and cramping and spotting. Not the update I was hoping to post. Last time my beta was 7 (chemical in July) so I beat my record by 3, go me!

Sticky, sticky vibes!

Library, glad that you're feeling better! I can't imagine having allergies that bad!

This board is so busy! I'm sorry not be able to keep up. I am reading and thinking of you all. Good luck to everyone in the TTW!

QOTD: We do an u/s to check the thickness of the lining before we do the transfer, then another u/s at seven weeks to confirm the pregnancy (and hear that fabulous little galloping heartbeat!) and then the 20 wk scan.

[giggleblue]

back in action

we are back in the game, with a retrieval and transfer anticipated the week of november 28.

wow, it's been a minute, right?

[LibraryLady]

Way to go Giggle!!!! I anticipate excellent things!

[Mizyellow]

Ok ladies! Good news, Chels and I deposited the goods yesterday afternoon. It was a much better experience than the last time. Allllmooostt romantic. I couldn't help but giggle though because I have the maturity of a 6 year old. Bodily fluids make me laugh. There was still no pos OPK but then this morning I woke up and my temp went from 96.2 to 97.9! Wow!! I kept testing to see if it was a fluke, it never went below 97.7! I tested this morning and the OPK was so dark. So that is a bit confusing but I am taking the OPK with a grain of salt. So hopefully this is it!! I am thinking great baby thoughts you Isa and Scarlett! Maybe we will be due date buds!

[LibraryLady]

Yellow~ That's excellent. The temp spike is the best sign, much better than the opks. Do you check your cervix? It'd be interesting to know that now too. Still, everything crossed. Can't wait for your dancing veg!!!

[Miss Scarlett]

Okie Dokie Folks

The new November thread is up so let's make like babies and head out into November.