Day 5

Today is considered day 5 of our FET cycle. I have been wearing the estrogen patches and taking the pills for 5 days now and have 15 more to go until our scheduled ET on Thursday, October 11! 🙂 I had my appointment this morning for blood work only and was told I will only receive a call if my estrogen (E2) level is low, in which case they would up my estridol pills from two to three per day, otherwise I may not hear anything, if the E2 level is good/high enough. The nurse asked me if I was enjoying how much “easier” this cycle is than a fresh IVF one and I said “yes.” Though wearing the patches is kind of annoying/uncomfortable, it isn’t painful like the injections are (since I am only doing 1 daily right now vs. the 3 I was up to during my last fresh IVF cycle) and as she pointed out, there are a lot less monitoring appointments with an FET cycle.

I actually will not return to the office I was at this morning (where we go for the majority of our appointment and consultations) until the morning of my Beta blood test to determine if this cycle is successful on Monday, October 22. My next appointment is on Day 14, a week from Friday, on October 5 at the downtown office at 8:00 a.m. for a “lining check.” If all looks good that day, I will begin the PIO shots and progesterone vaginal suppositories either that evening or the following day. So in the meantime I just need to keep up with my schedule for when I am to change the patches and how often I am to do the pills, take Baby Aspirin and do my Lupron shots. I have been having a lot of vaginal discharge, that looks like cervical mucus, the past few days, but from what I understand that is normal and common with all of the estrogen medications that I am on.

In other news, my father had orthroscopic surgery on one of his knees this morning. It’s purpose was both exploratory and therapeutic. His doctor was hoping to see what, if anything, might be causing him so much pain lately, as well as remove anything that might be contributing to the pain, as it has been about ten years since he had both of his knees replaced. Though I have not spoken with him since the surgery, I did get a message from my mom this morning, to let us know that it went well and that he was in the recovery room and that they hoped to go home late this morning or early afternoon. He has been on my mind and in my prayers all day and I am glad to know that so far it appears the surgery went as planned.

Bob and I had a nice anniversary celebration on Saturday afternoon, after we celebrated my Mom’s birthday with our family that morning. We really enjoyed the play we attended, but didn’t make it to dinner, as I didn’t feel well towards the end of the performance. I think it was either something I ate at brunch that morning, the meds I am on, or a combination of both. As much as we had been looking forward to our dinner out, I knew I would be more comfortable at home. So we ended up going home early, ordering pizza and relaxing the rest of the night there. I felt back up to par by mid-day on Monday and then came down with what appears to be a cold. 🙁 So it has been a rough week for me physically, but emotionally, I continue to feel positive and optimistic going forward with this cycle! 🙂

Sean’s 4th birthday is next Tuesday, so we are getting ready for the week long celebration! 😉 Between his actual birthday celebration on October 2 at preschool, dinner out at his favorite train themed restaurant “Snackville Junction,” a party with his neighborhood playgroup friends on Wednesday and our family party that Saturday, it should be a pretty awesome week for him! 🙂 It’s hard to believe that our little boy is almost four!

Before I sign off, a few recent Sean stories…

The other day a couple of Sean’s friends were over and he was showing them his railroad crossing themed bank, that he got from Bob’s parents last year for his birthday. Soon after his b-day, he managed to break some parts of it, so it doesn’t make noise anymore or light up completely, as it once did. Bob has tried to fix it, but hasn’t been successful. I heard Sean telling one of his friends, “that’s okay (that it is broken), my daddy can fix it. My daddy can fix anything!” I just thought that was too cute! 🙂

Since Sean began preschool, we had to move his car seat from behind the front passenger side seat, to behind the driver’s side seat in our minivan. This is because his school offers an “express” drop-off and pick-up option where we can do so with out having to park and get out of the car. The way the traffic flows for the “preschool expressway,” it is easier for the teachers assisting in getting the kids out, if they are on the driver’s side of our cars. Though many days we walk/stroller to and from preschool, it is a nice option to have and we have used it a lot, especially on days like today, when I have a Dr. appt. Anyway, Sean’s car seat has been behind the passenger side seat since he was a baby and we knew it would be an adjustment for him. He was upset at first, but quickly found ways to feel better about the new place he would be riding and as he told Bob and I later, he likes where his new seat is, because he can “be by my mommy!” (since I am usually the one driving him)

Lastly, sometime in the last week or so, Sean tripped, fell and hurt himself. Though there wasn’t any areas on his body that appeared to need a band aid or ice pack, he clearly was shaken up and sore. When I asked him, “where does it hurt?” Sean replied, “all around me!” I just love how children his age chose their words to describe what they are thinking and feeling! 🙂

Thank you for your support, thoughts and prayers! I imagine I will check in at least a few times between now and my lining check on October 5, however I may not have a lot of cycle related news to share. Though it is nice not having so many monitoring appointments during an FET cycle, it is also an adjustment as the fresh IVF cycles got me use to frequent updates and information about how things were coming along. Anyway, I am hoping and praying that the lack of stimulation of my ovaries this time around, will contribute to a more hospitable environment in my uterus for our little embryo when s/he is transferred two weeks from tomorrow!