Queer Conceptions: February 2013 - Page 4

[lovingisliving]

Hello all!  I apologize for not being active much over the last week...working retail sucks the life out of you (or maybe it's just me).  We had our sonogram Friday: 4 follicles in right and 2 in the left; 2 of the 4 in the right were getting quite big.  Expected to get a positive opk on Thursday, but *surprise* it happened yesterday!  So an early morning call to the RE nurse today leads us to insemination this afternoon Perfect timing, as I'm off today and had acupuncture scheduled this morning.  I attribute the early surge to the Fertili-Tea and acupuncture which are supposed to regulate your cycle; and it probably didn't hurt that I held our friends' newborn midweek!  So, as of this afternoon I can be added to the 2ww group   I have a strong feeling about this time!  It's been great reading everyone's ups and downs on here...knowing that I'm not alone. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week!  Until next time... 

[lizbian]

escher good luck with the appointment, I think your idea of trying alternatives is a good one.

lovingisliving yay!fingers crossed for you, we'll be joining you in the TWW in a week.

[Twomommyfamily]

Lovingisliving: sounds like the planets aligned for a nicely timed insem today!! Fx for you!! I will change your status to waiting to know as soon as I get home from work (can't be checking out MDC on a gov't computer... I'm writing on my phone at the moment)

Escher: I hope your RE understands your choice to hold off on clomid. I think it's good to try everything you can before doing interventions that you aren't exactly comfortable with. I hope that vitex and acupuncture end up working! Give it some time too, they may be not a be a quick fix, but that doesn't mean they aren't working.

Lizbian: wow the stress of selling your house and moving combined with the stress of ttc! Work in some meditation/decompression time when you can to give your body and mind a break! So exciting that your first insem is right around the corner!!

KWPX: sounds like you will also be in for a VDay insem!! Also your father really is a great guy and will be a wonderful grandpa!

Scorpioma: perhaps a break to think things over will help give you the time you need to focus on yourself and DP. Let us know what you decide for this cycle!

Granite: I will add your chart to the main page as soon as I get home from work!

Darcy: my RE won't beta test till I get a bfp. So we wait. Good luck with clomid this cycle! Does that mean you put off the HSG? Seems like you could still get the HSG done even if taking clomid. It sounds like if the follies grow then you will also be joining the V day insem club! It also sounds like you are working through some issues with DP. She definitely had every right to be angry about how kaiser mismanaged your care the last few months. It must have been surprising to hear that she would be interested in carrying since that didn't seem to be an option (until much later when she would be ready). How are you feeling with all this? It seems like so much is riding on this cycle and your body's response to clomid. I really want it to work for you!!

Afm, not much to report. 11dpiui. Already thinking of what we can do differently next cycle.
Edited by Twomommyfamily - 2/4/13 at 2:01pm

[jam51212]

Hello everyone! My wife and I are just starting to look down the road of ttc. This site was recommended to us by a friend! Looking forward to sharing in this experience with all of you :) 

[Twomommyfamily]

Hi Jam51212!  Welcome! Let us know where you are in your process and if you have any questions about any of the various details involved in ttc. Want me to add you to the first post as "waiting to be ready"?

[lea2012]

Hi all!

Welcome Jam!

twomommyfamily and Friederike – good luck with the last few days of the tww –fingers crossed for both of you!

lovingisliving – wow – sounds like things worked out well timing-wise for your insem. Good luck with the TWW – I’ll be joining you in a couple days!

escher – good luck with your consultation with the RE – I think it is good that you have a clear sense of what you want going into it.

lizbian – moving and ttc at the same time does sound stressful, but might be easier to do now than once you have a little one…your swim team is on such a journey – good luck with your upcoming insemination – I think we’ll be in the TWW together.

Darth, darcy and granite – I’m definitely planning to start acupuncture next cycle if things don’t work out this month. Three of my coworkers have started going to a student clinic in the area ($15 a session) and have been sharing their (positive all around) experiences.

Darcy – so good that you and DW are talking through everything so you can be on the same page as you move forward.

KWPX – your dad sounds sweet. I have an eager potential grandparent on my hands too, and I’m actually not telling my mom that I’ve started trying again, because I can’t handle her anticipation in addition to my own. Although I think her support through the process might actually be helpful. 

Apologies to those I missed! Who else is inseminating this week? Looking forward to joining some of you in the TWW...

[Friederike]

Yes, we need more people in the TWW. It was a bit lonely with just Twomommy and me. So welcome loving. 6 follies are a lot. Did you take any stim meds or do you normally have so many? What would you think abouzt having multiples? I am looking forward to many more moving over in the next couple of days

Jam -

Lizbian  - So did the Viking Icicles arrive already? Did you stare at the tracking page lots? Did the delivery guy look curious?

Escher - good luck for your doctors consultation!

Twomommy - 12 DPO today for you, right? Any testing happening? Hope you're feeling well.

Everybody else who I forgot, I am sorry, but good luck for great egg growth and/or insems.

I have a Question of the Day for everybody: What are the things that you deny yourself during the weeks leading up to O / in the TWW?

I am asking, 'cause I had a McD cheeseburger yesterday while on my way from work to my guitar group and felt a bit guilty about it afterwards. I was very hungry though and only had 5 minutes.

So for me it is: soda, fast foods, chinese take out, alcohol, caffeine, candy, runs that last longer than 2 hours, hot tubs and sauna visits. All stuff that I like  occasionally, but not right now. And also - TMI warning - sex during the time of insem (the turn-off factor of some anonymous guy's jizz) and orgasms during possible implantation days (due my superstitious belief it could harm an inplanting egg, which I know is silly).  How about you?

[lovingisliving]

Friederike - I've not been on any stim meds and last time we did a sono there weren't as many. Fx that is a good sign for this try! As far as multiples, I've warmed up to the idea of twins, however they don't run in my family. But I'm open to being the freak accident in the family

Things I avoid before and during 2ww: cut back on my love of chocolate, no alcohol, no fast food. I've never been one to really drink soda or coffee. I amp up my meals to be healthier and try to keep my body as relaxed and stress free as possible, by doing things I love.

Good luck to those nearing the end of your 2ww and to those who will be joining the group soon!

[scorpioma]

welcome jam and congrats on being in the TWW lovingisliving...and those entering it soon!

twomommy, for now you can move me to Taking a Break, and if we decide to try (which won't be until Feb. 20 about, with my longer cycles), I will let you know! we are really in the midst of discussing whether we want/need that break, and all the pros and cons. The tricky thing is that we would have to take March off as well because of KD's schedule...

Our KD is getting his semen analysis Friday (DP is driving him, ha!) so we'll have more info very soon.

Also, you are getting so close to testing! excited? anxious? 

love to you guys!

[lizbian]

jam51212 welcome!  hope you get something out of the group, I'm sure you will.

lea & granite yay - looking forward to being TWW buddies.

Friederike yep looked at the updates all the time. Sent yesterday, arrived 11am so sitting on my kitchen worktop. Some men are about to come and dig up some of my floorboards so may have to move it & the obvious 'human tissue' notice! The delivery guy didn't bat an eyelid which is quite amusing in itself. Love the TMI warning. Getting DW to check the position of my cervix. She's getting more used to it, still freaked out by the CM thing though but gradually wearing her down!!!!! Thinking Sunday & Monday going to be the insem days. Next time will order later, didn't know how long would take so didn't want to risk missing out completely.

Good QOTD - for me given up alcohol completely.We don't really have any fast food chains on the island (no Maccas, burger king, KFC etc as all banned) so only chips I have to give up. I don't drink tea or coffee so no worries there and don't smoke so not been a massive change. Just trying to avoid peas as apparently they're a natural contraceptive!

Today the politicians in Britain are voting for whether to pass a law to allow gay marriage. Of course it's caused all sorts of debate & the press rang me up for a 'quote' (I'm their gay spokesperson it seems). It'll be interesting to see if it goes through. We can't even have civil partnerships here in Guernsey so may have to make a visit to the mainland for a celebration.

[jam51212]

Thank you everyone for the welcome!!! We're actually very new to this whole process but we're trying to build a support system here since we're not really sure what to expect! We moved to Illinois from Michigan about 3 years ago, where most of our family and friends are. We have really only had a consultation with the doctor and that's about it.  We  plan to use a sperm bank although we don't know which one yet. Any advice and tips are welcome! If you're in the Chicago area we'd love to try and meet up!

 

twomommyfamily - please add us to the first post :)

[Twomommyfamily]

Friederike: im feeling completely fine, normal. how are you my tww sister?? thanks for the QOTD! As for what I change: throughout the month I am trying to eat more protein- fish and chicken on occasion, tons of Greek yogurt and eggs. I was a vegetarian before ttc and my DP is still veggie. I try to eat as little soy as possible (for the phyto-estrogens). I stopped drinking coffee. I drink green tea, only one cup in the morning, during the follicular phase. During the tww I'm only drinking Rooibos tea (because it has no tannins and doesn't impact folic acid absorption). Other than that no big change. I haven't eaten fast food since I got food poisoning at a macdonalds in middle school.

Jam: I don't personally know any sperm banks in the Midwest area, but I'm sure someone here does. Do you have any specific criteria you want in your sperm bank? Low cost, low family limit, willing to be known donors, etc? Will you be doing ici/ivi/iui yourself at home or iui at a doctors office?

Lizbian: wow! The papers call you for a quote! How cool! I hope Britain votes in favor! My sister just moved home last week after living in England (Nottingham) for the last 3 years. She went to grad school there then stayed on to live with her professor boyfriend for a while. She got a "partnership" visa to stay that long so for a while my mom had two daughters in registered domestic partnerships.

Afm, I broke down and bought frer and tested this morning. Bfn. I do believe this is the final verdict. I think we insem'd too late. I'm going to ask about IUI 24 hours after trigger rather than 36 if they are going to have me trigger so late in my cycle. I want those follies to grow earlier in my cycle! anyways, I will be a good girl and follow RE's orders and test again on Saturday before quitting progesterone and opening the flood gates for AF. I'm actually looking forward to a sweat in the sauna this weekend at the spa. Gotta stay positive.

[escher]

Hi Everyone,

Jam: Welcome! We love The Sperm Bank of California, but there are lots of great banks out there. When are you hoping to start insems?

Lizbian: Your insems are coming so soon now! I'm excited for you. Peas are a natural contraceptive? I had no idea!

Lovingisliving: Hooray for being in the TWW! I'm glad that you feel so good about this insem.

Twomommyfamily: How are you feeling about being in the last few days of the TWW?

Scorpioma: It will be interesting to get the results from your KD's semen analysis. Has he ever had one done before?

QOTD: While TTC my wife is staying off refined sugar and caffeine, and during the TWW she doesn't use her normal face wash or cream. She never drinks much alcohol or eats much fast food.

AFM: The RE phone consultation had to be postponed until next Monday, so I have more time to wonder about it. My wife had a long conversation yesterday with her chiropractor (who she sees three times a week) about what she should do to improve her fertility, and he feels like the most important thing is for her to add more fat to her diet. So we'll be working on that! He suggested we wait for a few months before we try acupuncture, but I'm not sure we're going to follow that recommendation. If we had free unlimited sperm we would certainly wait, but as it is we may want to get started sooner rather than later.

[Twomommyfamily]

Escher: I have to ask... Why does your DP not use her usual skin care products in the tww? What is in her skin care that she is avoiding during tww?

[lizbian]

Guess what ladies? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21346220 the MPs have approved the legislation for Gay Marriage!!!! Massive step forward for the UK.

escher apparently peas are but I think you need to eat quite a few. I just have to be a bit careful as I'm veggie so also avoiding soy. I say do it with the acupuncture, it's not like it will do anything bad.

twomommy yep the press call me every time they need to interview someone gay. They've already interviewed me twice about gay marriage on TV before & wanted to film Abs & I 'walking on the beach' or 'drinking tea looking over our wedding album'. We said no!!! Good luck with the other tests,I hope it's not a BFN but if it is you've got the right attitude & it's good you're thinking about ways to increase chances.

[fmorris28]

Scorp, Enjoy the break. Have sometime with DP and yourself nd include some cocktails! All this TTC does make you want a drink sometimes lol! Cheers.

Granite, mye 1st insem was a few days after v-day...ordered the swimmers on v-day though. High hopes for a great cycle this time! Please believe I get the same feelings around babies. I think we all share that lol

Twomommy, sorry about that bfn, You seem almost like meeh after you see that, start planning the changes for the next cycle. Now you never know if the bean is a late implanter, so don't give up hope just yet.

Darcy, You're more than welcome! Hey, you're clomid was cheaper than mine, lucky! Mine was closer to $20, but still not bad. And those little things count a lot though! I've also looked into IVF, cheapest quote I got was around $12,000 for everything. Needless to say thats y I looked into a free IvF study. I'm with you on DP not going for that cost as well. Either way it goes, I hope you get a BFP asap..between you and DW :) High hopes for some nice sized follies!

Lizbian, and so begins the journey of the international travelling swim team! :) GL! Sure hope they pass the law. I happened to go one year during pride in Birmingham when I was visiting family, and it was such a lovely experience! I can imagine the uproar its causing though, I mean I'm Episcopalean (CofE), and I know there have been a lot of issues here in allowing same sex marriages in the Episcopal church. FX for it to pass.

Escher, Maybe if you're RE suggests clomid, you can explain your reservations, and if they're insistent on meds maybe suggest Femara. They should atleast listen to your wants seeing as you're paying them for the service. Just talk to her and see what her thoughts are.

Lovingisliving, I worked retail many years, and it sucks the life out of you like a leach on your leg in the amazon you didn't know was there! Woo on the 4 follies!!! And Good luck with your TWW!!

Jam, Hope you have a short and sweet stay here. Theres so much help here! You came to the right place!! You know we used Midwest Sperm bank, which is in Chicago, and they were actually the most reasonably priced..besides IDANT Laboratories. Are you planning on doing meds or unmedicated cycles? Will you be temping or charting your BBT?

Friederike, Good question. For meeh its, caffeine, alcohol, hot tubs, nd anything generally unhealthy for conception. I also try not to have any sex around the time. I try to wait atleast a few days...DP was ready that day lol.

AFM, Not too much to report...discussing options with DP, and getting into spring cleaning...its that time again!?

[chortles]

Yay lizbian! I saw that headline earlier and was so thrilled

Re: the face moisturizers, I'm guessing its anything with retinoids (particularly Retin-A)?

[SanDiego78]

more to write later, but just wanted to drop in to say that DW has her HSG yesterday and was a total champ!  I went along with her b/c they mentioned she may not be able to drive afterwards... which she was actually a-ok to do so.  She said it didn't hurt as bad as people say, and she didn't have any spotting after which the doctor mentioned may happen.  That's my girl!  The doctor said that he didn't see any problems during the exam, but we'll get a full report of results pretty soon. 

[DarcySD]

Lizbian - Thank you for the support! Glad the swim team arrived safely! What did they find that would suggest pcos? I don't know anything about it. 

escher - So far so good with the clomid. The first day I had a horrible headache but I am not sure if that was due to the clomid or if I was just dehydrated from a long hike in the heat. It got so hot here in San Diego over the weekend! I'm sorry if it was written somewhere but I can't recall... why is RE going to suggest clomid? 

 

lovingisliving - Congrats on the well timed insem!! 

 

Twommommy - Sorry about the BFN. What dpo are you? It seems like you still have some time for a BFP.  RE did rec putting off the HSG because she didn't want to do both clomid and that in one cycle. I pushed her to let me and she said it was up to me but I ended up agreeing with her. We are definitely taking a break after this try so I will probably do the HSG in March. Yes, it shocked me when Meg said she would carry. It's a lot of emotions but I am glad to know it's an option for us if need be. I am really not expecting much this cycle. I am only on 50mg of clomid and I feel like it's not going to do much. I guess we will see in 1 week! 

 

Welcome Jam!  Hope your stay is short and sweet! We first used Pacific Reproductive because they were within driving distance (2 hours) in case we wanted to do insems there in addition to Kaiser. We also liked them because they are lesbian owned and had a lot of WTBK donors. We have run out of money and they have increased their family limit so we switched to The Sperm Bank of California - lower cost, lower family limit but less of a selection. One of their phone counselors hates me because RE is being a pain about signing one of their forms but other than that they have been great. 

 

lea2012 - Thank you. DW really does not want to go to therapy so we have spent the last few days making time for discussions about all of this. It has been going pretty well but I told her we might need to go if things don't improve. 

 

Friederike - Good question! DW would laugh if I typed out my whole list  of what I have "given up" but here are the big things. No regular deodorant, no sushi, no alcohol, no caffeine, no HFCS and no swimming. I have also completely changed my skincare regime, makeup, haircare, don't use plastics, only stainless steel cookware and special laundry soap. I also stopped buying food with more than 5 ingredients. DW is on board but it's hard when we go over to other peoples homes and if we go out to restaurants. 

 

scorpioma - Good luck with KD semen analysis! 

 

fmorris - Thank you! We will be starting our spring cleaning, too. 

 

San Diego - Glad the HSG went well!! Are you enjoying the chilly weather today? 

 

AFM - We are in the process of switching sperm banks and our top guy just sold out again until April! They are having problems with my registration info so there has just been one delay after the other. Ugh! Oh well.  DW has been really helpful with the paperwork aspect which is a relief. Also, my horoscope said that I would probably stop trying to have a baby until July. Weird, right? Haha. If this month doesn't pan out we will be taking a break until the summer. I am hoping DW will start charting so we can have a few months record before she starts trying. I think I will try July, August, & September and then switch to her. I don't think we can afford the more intensive interventions like injectables and IVF. 

[KWPX2]

SanDiego - FX for open tubes! 

TwoMommy - I am still hoping and crossing fingers for ya. Having only done one cycle thus far I don't think I fully understood  exactly how not being successful would feel. It is lovely to have folks here pulling for you. So here is my tossing positivity into the ring for ya  

Jam -  Welcome! I just joined up last month. This is truly a loving and supportive group of folks. There is a lot of knowledge and information among this bunch!  Good luck to you and may your stay be brief!

Liz- What wonderful news! DW and I are very hopeful and excited that soon the gay marriage issue will no longer be an issue this side of the pond in the near future. Admittedly, I am not knowledgeable of British geography and politics so I had to google (it is a verb now)  Guernsey. The politics sounds very complicated (Guernsey in relation to the UK). Hopefully the "permission" of gay marriage will spill over onto your island soon! 

Friederike - Still got the positivity for you as well!  Any symptoms or gut feelings? 

Granite - Good luck upcoming! I have my eyes on a potential Valentines day insem as well. I've honestly never been fond of VD but this could change my mind. DW utilized acupuncture to help regulate her cycles. I used it after insem for help with implantation and am still using it to gear up for the next round plus some other issues (Knee pain, sinus problems etc) We both recommend it.

AFM, 

I went to the RE tonight for an US on CD4. I have follies in both ovaries and no cysts that are of a size to interfere with ovulation. I will re-start letrozole (slightly higher dose this time) . It seems my RE is impressed with the number of follies I am producing (Keep in mind I am 42 yr old)  she was excited to think I might ripen 5-7 eggs this cycle. I really am not looking forward to the O pain with that many eggs launching.  I have already set up a pre O US on the 13th. Hopefully that means a trigger early on the 14th and insem on the 15th. 

About my dad...He has been very sweet through this. I truly hope he gets to be a grandpa and enjoy it. He is young (67) and developing dementia. He has been doing well of late but we have just come through about 2 years of him being pretty checked out. I hope he keeps on the high side for a long while but we have been told by his neurologist his disease process is very unpredictable. We will take what we get and call it a blessing.

QOTD - I have given up gluten and adhere to a low carb diet. I eat a lot of eggs (we have our own organic chickens) and good fats. I have generally given up alcohol although I enjoyed a beer tonight (yes I know it has gluten) as I am still entertaining AF. This will be the last until the next AF or the baby is born. Coffee is out and decaf tea is in. Although now that I know it can interfere with folic acid absorption I will probably switch to roobios tea until we know more about our pregnancy status. I have also given up the cat box. This is actually a joke as DW is usually the one who tends to that. I just know she will read the post and get a laugh.