It wasn’t so bad, I was clumsy and my needles are a little short for drawing the meds up but all in all no sweat.

The needle didn’t hurt at all going into my stomach but the medication burns like a sonofabitch!

 

I’ll do my second tonight then starting Friday it’s 3 a day. Oh goodie.

Well, that bitchy aunt must have missed her flight or something because she didn’t show up at all yesterday.  I had to call the doctor at 6pm and let him know she was a no show… thus putting off the first injection.

 

Thankfully a later flight was available and she showed up first thing this morning.

 

I’ll call the doctor again today and let him know and plan on doing the first shot this evening.  With the schedule we had worked up that had included a prompt Aunt Flow I was supposed to go into the doctor’s office on Saturday morning for blood work and then back on Saturday afternoon for ultrasound and additional drugs.

Her lateness shifts things to Sunday, I’m pretty certain they can’t get the blood work done on a Sunday but I can’t wait until Monday because I wouldn’t have enough medication for my Sunday evening shot.  Hum.. we’ll have to see what the Doc says.

--

 

Another thought,

 

Am I the only 33 year old who regularly looks in the mirror and mushes her stomach chub around to try and see what she will look like when she is pregnant?  Am I the only one who does this?  Oh… I am?

(blush). 

 

Anyway, I remember doing something of this sort when I was a teen or maybe even a preteen, but it seems since I’ve started seeing the RE (and maybe have a shot at actually getting pregnant) I’ve started doing this again.   It’s like I can’t resist.

 

I’m a bit of a free spirit and I always sleep in the nude. (I can’t stand pj’s wrapping around me while I toss and turn in bed)  Every night as I crawl into bed I catch site of myself in the mirror (shiver) and I find myself doing the tummy thing. 

 

I think I need therapy! Hehe..

 

 

 

 

 

I brought home my meds yesterday and assuming I start my period today, I will take my first shot tonight.

 

Because this is a first (IVF) for me and it will help keep things straight I want to keep track of everything here.

 

CD 1, December 7^th , Tuesday (pending period)

-         PM sub-q injection of Decapeptyl 0.1 (similar to Lupron, it suppresses the production of LH)

 

CD 2

-         PM sub-q injection of Decapeptyl 0.1

 

CD 3

-         AM sub-q injection of Puregon 100 IU (FSH – Follicle Stimulating Hormone)

-         PM sub-q injection of Puregon 100 IU

-         PM sub-q injection of Decapeptyl 0.1

 

CD 4

-         Same as CD3

 

CD 5  (Saturday)

-         AM sub-q injection of Puregon 100 IU

-         AM see Dr. for Blood work

-         PM see Dr. for ultrasound and further information on drugs.

 

I should have named Dr. Voyeur, Dr. Nervous because more and more that is how I see him.  Not that I don’t think he will be steady enough while he is handling my ovaries and their products, but I’ve finally come to a realization of WHY he comes off as so nervous so often.  In truth he is doing it ALL for me and that's not really his job

.

With most of his patients the nurses take care of the goings-ons but because he doesn’t have a nurse who is competent in English he finds himself having to do it all himself.  I felt that lack in this yesterday when he went over the injections with me.

 

Dr. Voyeur went over the protocol clearly enough, but when it came to how I give the injections, his explanation was less than a minute.  “blank stare”.

Um… I’ve never, ever, EVER given an injection of any kind.

 

Thank goodness I knew I had somewhere else to turn.

 

Yesterday afternoon I went by the Embassy clinic and spent 30 minutes with the Physicians Assistant.  She thoroughly explained how the injections should be mixed and administered.  She provided me with needles of two sizes and alchohol whipes which my RE did not.

She also volunteered to assist me if I should need it. Well, she could assist me any night except tonight of course. (she is busy) And tonight is the FIRST injection, the one I feel I need a bit of assistance with.

 

I think I will call the other nurse from the embassy clinic. We are pretty good friends and I don’t think she would mind supervising while I poke myself in the tummy the first time.

 

I don’t know how anyone else felt when they started their first IVF, but I was so excited/nervous/hopped-up that when I left the clinic yesterday, meds in hand, I was shaking.   That was weird.

 

This week is insanely busy at work (Secretary of State Visit yesterday/today/tomorrow) and my husband being the head of the technical security has been v. v. busy with this.  He did manage to take time out yesterday to go to my appointment with me, and I was very glad.  It really helps to have someone else to try and keep the instructions straight, damn my two-second memory!

--

My beginning stats:

 

E2 41.6 pg/ml

Endometrium 4-5

FSH 2.92 mIU/ml

LH  2.15 mIU/ml

--

 

Never have I been SO ready for my period to start!

 

I’ve been home two days now, why haven’t I posted? I don’t know..

I’m tired.

I haven’t been feeling well.

Maybe still a little depressed.

Did I mention I’m tired?

This is supposed to be my last week at work and I think it is going to be a bitch. We are having a Secretary of State visit and everyone is working overtime. Work called me twice today, the second time they asked me if I wanted to work overtime.

I said no, but I know they won’t be put off that easily, they will ask again... and again.

I know these visits are tough on everyone but in my mind I’ve already quit work. I know..bad attitude but I have.

I saw my RE yesterday and he thinks everything looks good for the IVF. I have to go in for blood work Monday morning then back again after lunch to discuss my medications and schedule. Two appointments during working hours my first day back in the office. They are going to hate me this week, I can just tell.

I’m struggling with a bad attitude, I think I have a big hawnking chip on my shoulder and if they do anything to piss me off I’m likely to not be very nice about it. I’m such a wus though, I feel guilty for having this chip and I haven’t’ even gone off on anyone yet! Gah.. dorkdome.

Anyway, my IVF is first and foremost, work just better step lightly.

—

I arrived home just before 4pm on Friday, during the ride home my husband tells me he has planned a cookout at our house for about 12 people the next day at noon!

I cried.

I’m not kidding, I cried. How could he do that! He said it would be our last chance but damn I was so tired after 24 hours of travel that I was nearly cross-eyed.

The next day I went to my doctor appointment which was at 11, so of course I was late to our own cookout. Everyone was already there when I arrived home.

Poke was cooking but I quickly discovered his entire menu consisted of steak, ribs and potatos. I’m sorry but that just wasn’t cutting it!

I quickly put myself to work in the kitchen making some pasta and vegetables (and even made cookies for later).

Everyone hung around until about 5pm or so and I can’t say I was sorry to see them go. I was so tired after that my husbands penalty was to spend ‘special time’ cuddling until bedtime.

Poke had to work all day today and I’ve just sat around the house feeling pretty much like shit.

My misplaced luggage was supposed to be delivered this evening, but of course it hasn’t been. I cant’ even call them about it until after 9 tomorrow. "Sigh"

Anyway I’m home and my IVF is on. Wish me luck please.. this is the only chance I get for at least another year and a half. I really wana make a baby.

~Sanorah

I'm still very tired, but i'm enjoying the visit with my family.
I'm having a hard time remembering to take my birth control pills while i'm traveling, so they have been willy-nilly taken any time of the day i happen to remember them.  heh.. hope that doesn't cause any problems.

No luck finding a place to live yet.. the search continues.

Sorry I haven't called you H, been so busy, I doubt i will get to see you until i move home in January.

I miss my man!

I need sex!

see you girls later!

~Sanorah

Well I’m in Oklahoma and very tired.

I swear the more I fly, the less I like it.

Not sure how much time I will find to post (private time that is) but I’ll try to drop a note every once in a while. 

Best girl friend (besides my sister) tries for two months and gets pregnant with twins!

I’d be so jealous if I didn’t love you so much H , Ok Ok, maybe I’m a little jealous anyway, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you, I’m so so so happy for you and M.

You will be an awesome Mommy.

IVF next month... maybe we will get to be pregnant together, how cool would that be!

The Marine Ball was a lot of fun.

We started drinking at about 7pm Saturday night and didn’t quit until about 3:30am. That was more than enough to make me feel like total shit all day Sunday. By the end of the evening I had shed my 3 inch heels and was running around in my ball gown and hotel slippers, my feet still hurt this morning! And once again I am reminded that there is no such thing as a comfortable long line bra. Owies.. But it was a wonderful night.

 --

I’m slow at making close friends and it has been in just the last 4 or 5 months that I have started to call a couple of the people here at post good friends.  For a normal tour that last 3 years it wouldn’t be so bad, but now we are leaving in January. 

It figures.

I’m really going to miss some of these people when we move on. We had so much fun at the Ball with these people.

We always say we will keep in touch but I’m not really very good at that.

 

I still email occasionally with three people from our last tour, but as time passes the emails become less frequent.  I still think about those people a lot though. I’ve always been that way.

Some days I still think about people I knew when I was in grade school or middle school. I wonder where these people are, who they have become. I’ve tried to find some of them through the net, no such luck. 

 

I know that as we move from country to country we will continue to meet and come to adore so many people and that I will always wonder about them. It’s hard sometimes, leaving so many people behind.  I’m glad to have known them though.

--

 

My husband left on TDY today and he wont’ be back before I fly to the states for two weeks.   I felt so sad when he left and he could see it, he asked what was up, why was I about to cry. He has had this job for 5 years now and has left on to many TDYs to count in that time, why was I being such a baby now.  I didn’t tell him, I just kissed him goodbye and sent him on his way.

It was tough today because I’m starting my period today.  That in its self is enough to leave me weepy. It means another month that I’m not pregnant. (Even though we weren’t trying this month).

It is also because I know in a month and a half I will be saying goodbye to him for a very long time. For me it makes saying goodbye now, even for 3 weeks much harder.

As the time nears for him to go to Iraq I find myself getting much more emotional about it.  I need to toughen up a bit, if I can just figure out how.

--

 

Besides being tired from the weekend, I’m in pretty good spirits today.  Thank God, I’ve been so down lately I’ve been worried about MYSELF..lol. 

I am looking forward to the trip home, it will be good to see my family, especially my sister.  I’ll be home soon Enuj!

This blog is of course all about trying to get knocked up.  With more than 3 weeks of birth control pills go to there really isn’t much to say about the subject though.

I hope that by January I will be able to  turn this into a pregnancy Blog, if not then for the next year it will likely become a ‘bitch’ blog.  I vote for the pregnancy thing.

For now I am pretty Blah.  Still emotionally unstable from the pills but at least the BCPill induced morning sickness has gone away.

 

This weekend is the Annual Marine Ball.  I’m usually very excited about this event but this year I could almost care less.  There are so many REAL issues in my life at the moment that I can hardly fret over what dress I’ll wear and how to fix my hair. Sigh..

 

Next week I’ll be flying back to the states for a two-week visit.  I’m sure I’ll be able to find time to blog while I’m away… now if I could just find something interesting to say.

Photo removed for space

BRAN CASTLE

Our weekend in Romania was very nice.  It is kind of funny but all I had heard from people in Bulgaria was how POOR of a country  Romania was. (Romanians and Bulgarians don’t really like each other much) Well let me tell ya, Romania is much more developed than Bulgaria!  Budapest is a really large city with wonderful parks and a wonderfully developed infrastructure of roads.  

Probably my favorite thing in Romania was all of the gothic buildings, even small houses in the villages usually had some sort of goth iron work or spires on top.  I was going through the photos we took and we don’t have very many good ones, mostly because they were all taken out of the car window. I will try to find time tonight to shrink a couple of the best ones and post them.

 

Bram castle is a very small castle, and honestly not real impressive as such things go, but it was still enjoyable.  I purchased a small lithograph/watercolor painting of the castle that I will eventually put in a scrapbook with photos from the trip.

I also picked up a blue and white glazed plate and a full sheep skin.  The sheep skin for some reason smells of petrol (didn’t realize it until we had it in the house), I hope it will air out enough to keep.

 BRAN CASTLE

 Photo removed for space

What we all enjoyed the most was just driving thought the mountains and small village towns.  Every where you look old and new worlds are clashing.

 

Shepard’s still wander the hills with their flocks (sheep/goats/cattle)

-Sports cars swerve around said sheep crossing the road.

Roma (Gypsies) travel in carts pulled by skinny abused looking horses.

-The carts are usually full of junk salvaged from dumpsters.

Farmers bring in the winter hay pilled high in wagons drawn by donkeys.

-15 floor hotels tower over the small mountain villages sporting 4 stars on their signs.

Gothic churches tower over uniform rows of very old tombstones.

-4 robed priest pill out of a shinny red car.

Roadside venders display their wares in open fronted shops, they offer Traditional Rugs, wood carvings, old style pottery and Russian dolls along side coconuts carved into a monkey (WHY they have these, I really can’t say)

-Across the street is a Shell station with 10 pumps selling Pringles and CokaCola.

Old ladies in head scarves and aprons walk the roadsides.

-Tourist in evening gowns bar hop along the strip of hotels.

Old men ride their basketed bicycles along the edges of every road.

-Ambulances flashing red lights fly along the same road. (most likely to scrape an unlucky bicycler off of the pavement)

25-foot haystacks line the fencerows.

-McDonalds sack blow into the ditches beside these fencerows.

We drive for 30 minutes through the Romanian countryside without seeing a single streetlight.

- Huge Power plants nestle along the foot of the mountain and puff steam and smoke into the air.

 

Photo removed for space

Gothic Building in Budapest

 

It was a lovely time.

I think a tour in Romania would be no problem.