Weekend in review

(I know! It's not a post about trying to get pregnant!)

We went to Houston this weekend to visit a very dear friend of ours. He is a witty guy who likes to tease by stretching the truth (i.e. lying, but he's a lawyer, so that line's a little fuzzy). He had me convinced for years that he is younger than me. He's not. He's just that kind of guy. So, naturally, I love him.

Despite the fact that our car got towed and my binoculars broke, we had a really good time. Lots of good conversation, food, drinks, etc. We also got some good bird pictures.

We ended up driving down to Galveston and visiting the beach. That's where we got the bird pics and I ate soft shelled crabs. I'm still not so sure about them. They weren't the worst things I've ever eaten, but they weren't the best either.

We were on the beach in blazing Texas sun for a good hour and a half to two hours. I wore no sunscreen. I'm very very pale. I did not sunburn. I was shocked and surprised that I didn't, but I didn't. That's the power of the vitamin D.

TTC: Another prescription

I had an appointment Tuesday to take a look at my ovaries and to chat with my physician.

My ovaries are just fine. She believes that I am ovulating but that I may still need some help with that. I will go in next Tuesday to have a pelvic ultrasound (or sonogram?) and will probably do more IUIs on Thursday and Friday.

Lady physician says that even though I ovulate without Clomid, that after 3-6 failed IUIs, she usually prescribes Clomid. I told her I won't take it. That it makes me crazy. She said, no matter! we will just skip Clomid and go straight to the shots. A friend of mine had to use the shots and she said they are way better than Clomid, so I'm not distressed by this. I am encouraged that we have further options if our current option doesn't pan out.

I also had blood work done. Turns out, I'm low on my thyroid stimulating hormone. Which means I have hypothyroidism. I'll start my Synthroid tonight.

This makes my fourth prescription. I'm not thrilled about this. Once again I feel like we are doing a work around rather than fixing the problems. However, I've decided to stick with the prescriptives route until after we have a baby, then I'll start on a more natural approach to fixing me. Who knows, maybe pregnancy will be the thing that does fix me.

TTC: Next!

Day 1 of this cycle was Saturday. I got to feel like a steaming pile of crap while visiting my friends in Dallas. However, we still managed to have a lovely visit.

Husband had his urology appointment today and everything looks good.

Tomorrow I have an ultrasound to look at my ovaries and an appointment to speak to our physician. We are going to ask about getting Husband on the shots and getting me tested for insulin resistance.

This last IUI failing was not that hard on me, probably because I'm not clomid-crazy. But it was hard on Husband. He got pretty upset while we were driving. And, I hate to say it, but this made me happy. It made me feel like I'm not alone anymore.

Here's to the future!

TTC: Day of reckoning

with the pee stick(s). Yes, it should be plural. I have no self-control when it comes to peeing on things.

It was negative. All of them were. All five.

I'll probably start my new cycle this weekend and I'll go in for a sonogram to take a look-see at my ovaries Monday.

I don't believe I'm too upset about this. However, getting a negative on a pee test and getting your period are two different types of "you're not pregnant". When my emotions get hormonally whacked, I might be more upset.

I am looking forward optimistically to the next cycle. I can tell that I've gotten healthier. the quality of my menses have much improved, which will improve my chances of implantation if we ever fertilize an egg. I think we will have a much better chance of conceiving a healthy child once Husband is on the shots he's supposed to be on (HCG). I'm also happy to have a chance to put more $$$ into the emergency fund.

I am a little sad that I won't have a reason to pee on something for awhile. I do like peeing on sticks.

Habit forming

I'm happy to report that last week, I ate breakfast twice. This week, I've eaten breakfast three times so far. That's a 50% improvement!

What am I having for breakfast? Soaked five grain cereal mix. It's a mixture of oats, some stuff and flax seeds. I've also taken my cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil every morning as well. I'll need to figure out how the cost of my vitamins are going to factor into the budget. I might need to make a separate sub account for Vitamins. Right now they are part of Groceries.

Working out is not going so well. My work out partner has abandoned me to go vacation with his wife and baby. What a jerk.

I will attempt a 15 minute workout tonight.

TTC: Confessions

I'm obsessing. Here are the things I've indulged myself in.

1. Calculated the chances of being pregnant at the end of each successive IUI
   This was also done because I just couldn't figure it out. Unsolved problems drive me nuts. In case you are curious, the chance of getting pregnant with each individual IUI is still 1/6, just like the chance of rolling a 1 on a six-side die is 1/6. But if you roll three times, your chance of rolling a 1 is much better than if you just roll once.
   
   
2. Repeated internet searches on "implantation dip 5 dpo"
   Monday my temps dipped down to my coverline. Often times that is an indication of implantation. I reviewed my past charts and this has not occurred before. If you want to view my charts, http://www.tcoyf.com/members/meriage/pccharts/4.aspx, have at it. Obsess with me.
   
   
3. (This one's the worst) I did a craigslist search for maternity clothes
   I hang my head in shame. Shame.

I don't like to identify a problem without offering a solution. So, what am I going to do to keep myself from obsessing during the next week?

I believe I will focus on our finances and exercising. Husband and I have read Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" and are applying it to our lives. Slowly. We are working on building our emergency fund. To that end, we are cutting back expenses. I haven't bought new clothes in a few months.

We are also trying to cut back on what we spend on groceries. I budget $300 per month for groceries. We spend $600. I think this is outrageous. Therefore we are tracking how much we are spending per meal.

I'm also exploring options for buying meat in bulk. My parents have grown too many vegetables than they can store in their freezer, so they are buying a new one and giving us their old one. A friend of mine raises grassfed beef and is getting ready to slaughter. I'll see how much we can get a quarter of a cow for.