Babies on the Brain

Yesterday was our first IUI cycle. It was definitely interesting. We got to C.C. at about 9:15 and waited until about 9:50 for the spermies to thaw. We got to the room where the insemination would take place and got the show on the road.

***Graphic Detail Alert***

They had to use an extra long speculum in order to get past my (deeper-than-normal) cervix. This took a couple of tries, and because any sort of lubrication would affect the sperm adversely, it was a little uncomfortable. Once in place, our RN inserted the catheter straight into my uterus. Then they injected the little swimmer up into my uterus.

 We stayed in the room for about 15 minuted more while I layed flat on my back to make sure the little guys made it safely to their destination. For the rest of the day, Jenn didn't really allow me to do much. My job was to take it easy and relax. This was actually exhausting. But today was back to work. I often wonder if me being on my feet for 10 hours a day would be a bad thing, but I guess I am not the first person to get...

Tags: babies, gay and lesbian, iui, pregnancy

So yesterday was a big day for us. We had an appointment at C.C. at 11 AM and they did an ultrasound to check my follicles. We have 3 very large and mature follicles that are ready to go! They gave us the green light to administer the trigger-shot at 9:45 last night. Tomorrow, at 9:45AM we will go in for our first (and hopefully last) IUI procedure. 

We are really surprisingly calm about this whole thing today. Jenn and I talked about how we are excited, but really not that nervous. We are just ready for this show to go on the road. Tomorrow after the IUI, Jenn jokes that she is not going to let me out of bed, although I am not so sure she is joking.

She has been saying a lot about wrapping me in bubble wrap for the next two weeks while we wait, then keeping me wrapped for the nine months after that. I think the waiting will be the hardest part of this whole thing. According to my app that tells me when my period should start and when I ovulate (right now), on the 28th of this month I should be...

Tags: babies, gay and lesbian, iui, pregnancy

So today I had my HSG. OUCH!!! I was reading what other people had to say about their experience, and they said it was uncomfortable and that they were told to take some pain meds before going, but my experience differs. I was not expecting the sheer pain of the balloon being inflated inside my uterus. It felt like a menstrual cramp on steroids. Sorry to be so graphic, but OMG!!!!  Afterwards, the cramping was pretty bad as well, and now it is light. I wish I would've known, and taken a vallium or something.

On to the better news. The reuslts were completely positive. The Doctor said everything looked good, and my fallopian tubes were "nice and open", allowing the contrast liquid to flow freely through them. Those results made Jenn & I super excited. This means that we can go ahead and order the "stuff" (as Jenn calls sperm) from the Cryobank. We have narrowed down our selection to a few choice donors, but we are trying to go through a less expensive bank which we are trying to get approved by Carolina Conceptions. We shall see.

So full steam ahead!

Tags: babies, hsg, lesbians, pregnancy

One small success already is the baseline scan that Dr. Park performed on me. He found that my uterus looked good, and there were no cysts on my ovaries. WHAT? Being diagnosed with PCOS a few years ago, this was a surprise to me. Supposedly, my previous OBGYN had done scans and told me that I had several cysts on my ovaries and that it would really made getting pregnant difficult. Now, to hear that there are none, well I am just not sure how that happens, but we are soooooo excited!

 SHHH: I have to stop myself from looking for baby things online...

Finally! We have actively started the baby-making process. Today we had a baseline ultrasound. Jenn was taken a little by surprise when the nurse brought us into the room and immediately asked me to remove my pants and undies. lol. The look on her face was priceless. The meds have been ordered, and were overnighted. I am so not looking forward to the "trigger shot", but other than that, I am feeling really happy right now; we both are. The medicine I will start on Saturday is Clomid.

Clomid (Clomiphene) is used to induce ovulation (egg production) in women who do not produce ova (eggs) but wish to become pregnant (infertility).

The risk of getting pregnant with twins or more may be the most well-known side effect of Clomid. During clinical trials of Clomid, 6.9% of pregnancies were twin pregnancies, 0.5% were triplets, 0.3% were quadruplets, and 0.1% were quintuplets. To reduce the chances of having twins while taking Clomid, your doctor should always start you on the lowest dose first, 50 mg, before trying higher doses.

Tags: babies, family, gay and lesbian, lesbian, pregnancy

Tags: babies, family, gay and lesbian

Now that we are aproaching the end of the month we are trying to get things financially in order to be able to start this process. Jenn and I were talking the ther night, and we thought it was funny that whenever we recieve some money, that we think to ourselves "that is 1 IUI treatment". We have babies on the brain, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

This Easter weekend we were able to finally share the great news about getting married, with Jenn's grandparents. We were a little bit nervous to be honest, but not only were they super excited, but they welcomed me into their family, gave me a belated birthday gift (now I'm in the grandchild rotation) and also gave us a very generous wedding gift- thus the conversation about IUI's.

We will be going on our first real vacation tomorrow to visit my family in Florida, and go to Disney World too. For those of you who know us, WE LOVE DISNEY!!!!!! So needless to say, we are giddy with excitement and really looking forward to the much needed R&R. Between the impending hormone shots, pills, X rays, IUI's, and other not so...

Tags: babies, gay lesbian, pregnancy

I have never been one to blog but seeing as though all of this is a new experience and it seems to help my wife, I figured I would add my two cents about some current issues. We both have parents that are absolutely amazing. My parents are currently staying with us while their house is being built and it has been absolutely wonderful so far. For the past six years my parents and I have had a different relationship because they have not really embraced my ex’s; let’s just say some of my ex’s were “different” to say the least. From the age difference to the over controlling ex’s my parents never really gave any of them a chance.  Although all but one (the age difference turned my parents off before they even met her) probably deserved the distance from my family, I learned many life lessons which have allowed me to grow up and become a much better person and the wife I am today. My attitude has changed because at the end of the day, you really only have your family and the one you love; and if they can’t get along then it makes things...

Tags: babies, gay lesbian

The fairytale goes...

We met and fell madly in love. We got engaged and got married. We live in a beautiful home with our 2 dogs and then… children.

For the most part that is what happened between Jenn and me (hi I’m Christy!). We are currently working on the last bit. Jenn and I are starting the journey of conception the super-duper hard way. Since we are spermically challenged (do you like my made-up term?), we need some help from doctors, labs and turkey basters (just kidding about the last part…yuck). It is not very romantic, but unfortunately that is just part of the gig when you are in a loving lesbian relationship.

We try not to let too much get us down. We drove a few hours to DC to get legally married, we hold hands in public and watch the people stare, and we really are just normal. We have great and stable jobs working for a large corporation, and have pretty good benefits with insurance. The problem is that infertility is not covered by our insurance, and in fact that is the norm when it comes down to it.

Jenn and I had our first appointment...

Tags: babies, gay and lesbian