This Weekend
First, an overview... KD flew in last Thursday evening. Fertility signs being what they were, we decided not to have a business meeting that night. We went ahead and started the next evening (Friday) and did one each night for the next three days. We decided to skip Monday's in lieu of a Tuesday morning meeting because my body just wasn't cooperating. So, our final business meeting was this morning, about an hour before I dropped KD at the airport. KD was a rock star. Despite his jokes about how little cumulative time and energy he was investing over the weekend, I feel that we asked a lot of him and he couldn't have been more easy going about the whole thing. The weekend itself was a blast; full of fun and relaxation... so why the heck was my body so screwed up?!
For the first time since I started charting, I did NOT ovulate on day 15 or 16 like usual. In fact, today is day 18 and I *still* have not ovulated. This is kind of a problem since, as you may recall, I put KD on a plane this morning. Fortunately it's not the end of the world. Sperm can live in fertile conditions for 3-5 days, depending on who you ask. So, as long as I ovulate before 6am on Friday, we have every reason to be hopeful. Of course, the closer you inseminate to ovulation, the better your chances are, but we're not out of the game by any stretch - not yet at least. The only thing I can imagine is that I was more stressed than I felt and that held ovulation off. I didn't feel stressed at all, but maybe something was going on subconsciously? Let me qualify that. I didn't feel stressed in the beginning (like, back when ovulation was supposed to occur), but when it didn't show and didn't show and didn't show, it was hard to keep the anxiety from creeping in. The good news is that I - FINALLY - detected the hint of a surge this morning on an OPK. Also, my monitor moved to "high" for the first time this cycle. All of this means it is very likely that I'll have a positive OPK within the next 24 hours, my monitor will move to "peak" tomorrow morning, and I will ovulate within the next 24 hours after that. Keep your fingers crossed. :-)
Crazy cycle aside, it was wonderful having KD here. It was nice to be in my own surroundings and have M close by, and I'm glad she got the chance to be a part of everything. Another change for this cycle that turned out to be a good thing is a new method I discovered. MAJOR TMI AHEAD -----> Please skip to the next section if you aren't in the mood for the gross stuff. So, using a syringe for the inseminations is kinda messy and I have had some trouble with feeling like it wasn't exactly effective (case in point: November). This time around, I started using instead cups, the little plastic numbers you can use as an alternative to pads and tampons. Basically, I used the syringe to put the... uh, power point slides... into the cup, squeezed the top together, and inserted. It was still a little messy, but once it's in, it's in. Nothin' more is getting out and I'm free to go about my day. We had a meeting right before attending a concert on Friday night and instead of laying around with my hips in the air, I went to the concert and had a good time, leaving the cup in the whole time so that all the appropriate networking has time to occur. ;-) Here's a little bonus TMI tidbit... I have one in right now. I could be getting knocked up as I type. LOL!
The future
I didn't want to update on this before because I hadn't talked to KD, but now that we're all on the same page, here's the scoop on moving forward. The NP suggested at my appointment a couple of weeks ago that if the timing and travel are becoming too difficult (how prophetic!), we could have KD come out one more time, make a few deposits at a local cryobank, then have her do IUIs with frozen specimens for the next few months. That way, we could go in whenever we get the surge, we don't have to worry about plane tickets, and - best of all, in our opinion - we don't have to infringe upon KD's schedule any longer. This suggestion comes at a good time as KD is about to launch a major recreational project that will take up much of his time. If KD is able to come out for the donation trip at a time that coincides with my next ovulation, great - we'll get in one more round of insems with fresh specimens. If not, she doesn't seem to think we'll be decreasing our chances much by moving to frozen. (This is contrary to just about everything I've read, but she does do an awful lot of this, so she must know what she's talking about.) Anyway, KD is down with this plan so it looks like that's the direction we're moving in. If I don't get pregnant this time around, we'll see her on day 2 or 3 of my next cycle for an FSH test, set up our account at the cryobank, and book a plane ticket for KD. I have a feeling the first half of my next cycle will pass very quickly with so much to do.
The Murphy's Law breakdown - cycle #3
The future
I didn't want to update on this before because I hadn't talked to KD, but now that we're all on the same page, here's the scoop on moving forward. The NP suggested at my appointment a couple of weeks ago that if the timing and travel are becoming too difficult (how prophetic!), we could have KD come out one more time, make a few deposits at a local cryobank, then have her do IUIs with frozen specimens for the next few months. That way, we could go in whenever we get the surge, we don't have to worry about plane tickets, and - best of all, in our opinion - we don't have to infringe upon KD's schedule any longer. This suggestion comes at a good time as KD is about to launch a major recreational project that will take up much of his time. If KD is able to come out for the donation trip at a time that coincides with my next ovulation, great - we'll get in one more round of insems with fresh specimens. If not, she doesn't seem to think we'll be decreasing our chances much by moving to frozen. (This is contrary to just about everything I've read, but she does do an awful lot of this, so she must know what she's talking about.) Anyway, KD is down with this plan so it looks like that's the direction we're moving in. If I don't get pregnant this time around, we'll see her on day 2 or 3 of my next cycle for an FSH test, set up our account at the cryobank, and book a plane ticket for KD. I have a feeling the first half of my next cycle will pass very quickly with so much to do.
The Murphy's Law breakdown - cycle #3
I AM pregnant because...
... our timing sucked. Not so much to make it impossible, but the odds are definitely not in our favor.
... we have a totally optimistic and feasible plan for moving forward, so I'm not feeling a ton of pressure to make this cycle work. Actually, I'm really looking forward to "handing over" the management of this process.
... I am not pregnant according to this little analysis. ;-)
... our timing sucked. Not so much to make it impossible, but the odds are definitely not in our favor.
... we have a totally optimistic and feasible plan for moving forward, so I'm not feeling a ton of pressure to make this cycle work. Actually, I'm really looking forward to "handing over" the management of this process.
... I am not pregnant according to this little analysis. ;-)
I AM NOT pregnant because...
... given our timing, it is very likely that if successful, this cycle would produce a girl.
... despite my initial desire to avoid a fall baby, I have gotten very excited about the possibility of having a baby in November. Getting to stay home throughout the holidays and the coldest part of the year sounds too good to be true!
... KD proclaimed this cycle the first one in which he has felt good karma working on our side.
... um... I really, really want to be.
... given our timing, it is very likely that if successful, this cycle would produce a girl.
... despite my initial desire to avoid a fall baby, I have gotten very excited about the possibility of having a baby in November. Getting to stay home throughout the holidays and the coldest part of the year sounds too good to be true!
... KD proclaimed this cycle the first one in which he has felt good karma working on our side.
... um... I really, really want to be.
