After our consultation and our carrier map results we did a final IUI since we didn’t have a Letter of Authorization for IVF treatment yet, just for the consultation. This time we didn’t have sex as many times as possible after the IUI like usual and I immediately felt bad about it. I committed my BFF’s Palm Springs Bachelorette party. I wanted to get on the road before traffic got bad so she and I headed out early afternoon. Before we left Nick and I gave it one more go. I should mention this round I was on Menopur injections which weren’t too bad. But on June 1st I got the negative test result. It was sad but sort of expected, by this time I had a list of things I determined I’d done wrong (not enough sleep, didn’t eat healthy, or cut out caffein, too stressed etc.)

Our plan now, was to wait for the letter and when we got back from the Alaska cruise we’d start. I promised myself I wouldn’t mess anything up. On June 4th I started my period and since we weren’t leaving for the cruise until the 7th I asked if we could begin birth control, that’s the first part of the IFV treatment. The Dr. agreed it would be OK to start after looking at my bloodwork and U/S. I think my body was exhausted. The first days on the cruise I got sick. It could have been something I picked up on the boat but I think I might have just been beat. I slept a lot since we had some days at sea and by the time we’re got to Ketchikan I was feeling better. I took my pills and enjoyed the crisp cool air and the fine mist that was constantly falling on us.The natural beauty of Alaska was exactly what we needed! On the 20th I was off the birth control and we met again with the fertility office staff to sign the HUGE stack of consent forms that we had read through on our drive back from SF. I also got the schedule drugs I’d be taking.

There was another test I needed to do before they could begin everything. They put a lot of saline in my uterus to check the surface of the lining and make sure it’s suitable for the IVF transfer. The Dr. who performed it was Dr. Dhesi. She was introduced to me by Dr. Baker and she ended up taking over our treatment. I really love Dr. Baker, but Dr. Dhesi was great and I have come to love her as much as Dr. Baker. She is very calm and smart and patient and just an all around sweet lady. The test went fine and we were good to continue.

On the 2nd day of my cycle I began injections. I had been watching videos online bc this was very intimidating. The biggest difference between this and the injections I had done already was that I had to mix the medicine myself. One of the videos I found very helpful was made by a couple who are doing IVF, they’re super cute and I still watch all their videos, but the thing that won me over is that Alex (the lady doing the injections in the video), is that she’s a nurse and she was very clear and calm and did her shots like a pro! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BSGmgfNX6FE So watch that, then you can compare and contrast what a hot mess I was when doing my first injections!

The night I started my injections I had an early shift at work and then we went to go visit Nick’s cousin Frank who was at Cedars Sinai for a very serious procedure. Nick hadn’t seen Frank or his sister in such a long time so we wanted to pop in and show them some love. Frank was very hungry, hospital food wasn’t cutting it for him. He REALLY wanted PIZZA!!!!!!!! But he couldn’t have any bc there was too much of a risk if he ate solid foods. We made every attempt to change the subject but somehow it always came back to food :((( poor guy! Nick’s cousin Theresa decided we should give Frank and his wife Kathy some alone time so we went off and ate and caught up with her. She is a very sweet lady and she loves us based mostly on our Facebook relationship, lol but she is awesome and we totally adore her too!!! By the time we got home it was a later than I had anticipated and I was more tired than I had anticipated. I laid out the vials of medicine and the syringes. I had to withdraw 1ml of saline and inject it into one vial of menopur, mix it carefully then withdraw it from the vial and then inject it into another vial of menopur then change the needle and inject it in me. Then I had to mix saline with Gonal-F and withdraw 150 units. I didn’t have a system at this point and I wasn’t used to seeing what the medicine looked like in the vial vs. the syringe and right after I did the injections I had a SERIOUS freak out. SHEER PANIC. I looked at the Gonal-F vial and it looked so empty I was confused, and thought I took way too much!!!! Nick was trying to help me figure out what I did wrong but I got mad and closed the bathroom door so that I could have a minute to retrace what I had done and figure it out. THIS made him more upset and we both agreed that it was a horrible experience. I wasn’t truly put at ease until the next night when I did the Gonal-F and saw that I had more than enough left (1 vial got me 3-4 doses). Anyhoo. The next night went a lot smoother and the following night even better. Nick attempted to record the first session but it came to a screeching halt with my freak out.

It wasn’t til I had been doing the injections for a while that I was comfortable enough to have Nick record. I had done them at work in the Lactation Room which was a little weird, but nothing compares to sitting in the back seat of my little Suzuki with untinted windows in the dimly lit parking lot of King Hua Restaurant during the reception for our friend’s John and Maura’s wedding! I was certain someone would see and call the cops bc it looked like I was doing drugs!!!! And I was… with my dress pulled up to my chest exposing my bruised belly. So awkward.

Later that week we did the final shots, including the trigger shot!! Up next was the egg retrieval we had long awaited!