Egg Quest Fail!

So my IVF cycle got cancelled today for poor response. I got a much better response from my gmail account getting hacked. It turns out that mass spamming everyone you have ever emailed inthe past few years with an ad to cure ED is actually an effective way to reconnect with forgotten friends. In your face, Facebook! I even got an email from my Auntie Betty. It really brightened my day to hear from everyone.

To brighten your day, here is a cute picture of my dad and Declan at Wrigley Field. A silver lining to my IVF fail has been the opportunity to spend so much time in Chicago. I really like this town.

I had been lining planning to go to do my next cycle in Denver if this one didn't work, but as of today, I loathe Denver and everything it stands for. So now who knows where we will go!

The Smartest Thing I've Done in a While...

d

was to get Declan a leash for his birthday. He actually loves it, because he has more freedom to explore because he doesn't need to hold my hand. He can run ahead or lag behind. Sure, strangers are pointing and laughing at us everywhere we go, but hey, at least it keeps him from running into the street on a wild goose chase.

Declan's Double Digits

Declan turned two on Sunday with a minimum of fanfare on Sunday, with just me and my mom and dad in attendance in Chicago. We are looking forward to partying when we finally get back to Little Rock.

Declan and the Bean

Posting some pictures for Shane, working hard today!

Three cheers for me...

After really some subpar results from my ovaries last week, things are turning around a little. Just when the plug was about to be pulled, my eggs started to grow. Downside is that the injections continue, and we had to buy another $4k in medication, bring our total so far to $10,700 just for medication. But that's okay because they offer free shipping. Gory details: one of my ovaries seems to be a dud. I wonder how long that has been the case. I have only 5 eggs developing right now which is pretty subpar, so there's still a good chance that we might convert the cycle to IUI. We should know after my monitoring appointment on Thursday. That will be a tough decision. Until t hen, injections injections and more injections! My legs are black and blue.

Poor Man's Wye Mountain

I can't believe we didn't make it this year!

Updates

I kind of left it hanging there. After our last post about my

crazy-o-meter, I decided that I had misrepresented myself. I was having a couple of really bad days but they weren't on account of the drugs. So really I've been at zero all week. Even more impressively, since coming to Chicago I have been injecting myself with 3 needles a day. The first one was a bit dramatic for my needle phobic self, but with only telephone support from a licensed psychologist and last minute coaching from my personal physician, and about 85 false starts and resterilizations I did it. Now it's nothing. I am so punk rock about it now. This morning I was injecting myself with my left hand while physically fending off a crying toddler with my right. I am very proud of myself!

Unfortunately it is looking more and more like it is all for naught. My follicles are just not responding to the medication. My RE has extended the "stimming" part of the cycle to give my body more of a chance to respond but I feel like we are prolonging the inevitable. I go back Tuesday morning for another look-see.

In happier news, Declan turns two tomorrow. For one of his birthday celebrations, we turned his car seat- he's officially forward facing now! One more step to official bigboydom.

How I Feel Today

Crazy-o-Meter:

8. That's right, 8. I went from zero to 8 in a day. You have a problem with that?

Homicidal Impulses: Three.

File it under "Bee-cause it was there..."

Day 2 Stats:

Crazy-o-Meter (1-10): 1.0

Homicidal Impulses: Zero, and holding.

Egg Quest 2010 continues

So after setting a goal of 12 eggs for Declan in his egg hunt, and having him get exactly 12 eggs at the Calvary egg hunt, I also have managed to come up with 12 eggs- in the form of 12 antral follicles, so I am greenlighted for my IVF cycle that got cancelled last month. I started injecting the drugs yesterday. By which I mean Shane started injecting me. I have a few days of that luxury before I have to fly to Chicago without Shane and start injecting myself. They are intramuscular injections, with a lot of fluid and a big old needle. It's no foolin around. I Vagal every time I think about it. Wish me luck. I will keep you updated as to my progress here. I am most interested in how crazy the drugs are going to make me. I will monitor and report daily as follows:

Day 1 Crazy-o-meter Reading (1 - 10) = 1.5

Day 1 Homicidal Impulse Tally = Zero

In other news, here is Declan, appearing for the first time in non-footie pajamas. It's a little heartbreaking for me, he is growing up so fast. But look at those sweet little feet, free at last.

Happy 1st Birthday Sadie!

Sadie made for a very elegant birthday girl, and was far more restrained than some other one year olds I could mention when it came to digging into her bday cake. There she is with her mom, Brooke. Declan missed the party because he was napping- but I enjoyed it immensely!

Is it just me or is James looking more serious now th

at his dad is running for Congress?

Easter Saturday

So Saturday was a big day for us with four planned events. We had an Easter Carnival and Egg Hunt at

Calvary Baptist and a Dog Easter Egg Hunt at Reservoir Park, then Sadie's first birthday party, then dinner at the Becks. WIth a big day like that ahead you have to prepare. I was most worried about getting Declan in fighting trim for his egg hunt. We started off the morning with some carbo loading and a last minute practice egg hunt in the living room.

We knew that all the other kids would be encumbered by their Easter fancies- seersucker suits and flouncy dresses, so we pulled out the tracksuit and
sneakers for Declan. We loosened him up with a few rounds of "Bunny Hoops" at the Easter Carnival , then it was time for the big dance. All our hard work paid off and Declan collected 12 eggs all on his own! Huzzah!

Happy Easter!

So now that Easter is actually here, we celebrated with a solo egg hunt, for Declan only at his Pop and Wissy's Lake House. We seeded the lawn with 50 eggs, each one with only one M&M inside. Then he spent the afternoon collecting eggs at a leisurely pace. He ate his way through all 50 M&Ms, but the cutest part is that he seemed sooo surprised by the opening of each and every egg. Like he could hardly believe his luck, another M&M! It made for a good photo ops - 50 seperate instances of pure joy!

Doggone Easter Egg Hunt

Then we swit
ched gears and brought the dogs to the big dog Easter Egg hunt at Reservoir Park. One of the local humane societies

hides 5,000 eggs filled with dog treats in the
woods. There is also an Easter parade for the dogs so they

got dressed up in th
eir spring finery - Nellie as a the bumblebee and Phoebe as Dorothy. THey had fun looking for eggs, but Nellie, true to form, kept burying all the ones that she found under the leaves.

A Visit to the Old Mill, or, A Thousand Ways to Die.

Declan and I went to the Old Mill today. You may recognise it from it's cameo appearence in Gone with the Wind. Anyway, it was the most hazardous place one could ever try and photograph a toddler east of the Grand Canyon. Terrifying, I tell you.

Egg Quest 2010 v.3

We are pleased to report a 100% increase in Easter Egg collection. At his second hunt of the season, Declan managed to pull in TWO eggs this time. If this geometric progression continues, he would collect a respectable 32 eggs on Easter Sunday. Here's hoping!