First IUI

I had my first IUI today. It wasn't with my RE so I was a bit disappointed. I'm having a bit of cramping/bleeding that I didn't expect at all. I've been worried all day the swimmers are going to fall out.....!!

Here is our Donor:

Risks of using a sperm donor

I'm not sure if I'm just naive but the risk of DI children meeting and the potential for "incest" doesn't bother me even though I have a real life example of DI kids meeting (their parents knew and then told them). There isn't any reason to hide (for Lesbians) the use of a donor and that will need to be something that is always mentioned when our children are entering a new relationship. The real problem (IMHO) is when a couple decides to hide Donor Conception from their children or worse when clinics suggest they do this.

The transfer of genetic disorders is scary and something I've had to accept when starting this process. My nephew has special needs and one of the first things done was genetic testing of both parents - that is something DI children will not be able to do. Ironically even with all of this information I chose an anonymous donor after the only ID release donor that met our criteria gave me a bad feeling that I couldn't shake.

I am going to try (unsure if the clinic will let me) to get the empty vial so I can send it to CaBri for the Donor Semen Archive. Being able to do testing in the future seems worthy of the $60/year fee.

I'm Still waiting for my IUI and am feeling very impatient. I'm about a day late now and I'm getting dangerously close to missing an opportunity for a second try in October becuase I'll be away for a few days at the end of the month.

Parental Leave and Going Crazy Waiting

I've been wondering about parental leave. My DP is going to take 2-3 months and I'll take the first 9-10 months.

On a side note, I'm going absolutely BONKERS. I've called home for my messages about 20 times in the past hour. I'm so eager to get my results today that I'm actually driving myself mad. This is a bad sign - I didn't realize I was going to be THIS impatient.

I Finally got the results and my LH has gone from 5 up to 10

Mon- E 264, LH 5, P 3.4, Tues- E 316, LH 5, P 3.9 Wed - E 361, LH 5, P 3.2, Thurs E 570 LH 10 P 2.7

I hope the the jump in the LH level means I will be called in soon.

2 follicles = twins

How many follicles normally mature? I'm pretty sure on my test cycle I had only 1 follicle tracking at +1 cm and this time I have 2 that are over 1 cm (1 left, 1 right). Does this mean I could have 2 eggs this month or is this normal and one will likely fade away?

Confused

I'm feeling a bit confused this morning after going in for my u/s and blood work for 2 days. The u/s is different this time around and I'm not sure if it's because this is the "real deal" or because things are not progressing as they should. It's making me fear this cycle may be a bust.

I'm CD 12ish (technically 13 but I think I called it a day early) and I normally ovulate around 16. The tech today said that I've "reached the mark" which means my folicles are at 1 cm (1 folicle on Right, 1 folicle on Left) or above however also asked if I had a history of endometriosis and was checking to see if "two were stuck together". Both techs also asked if I was on any medication and seemed to poke around on the right a lot more than before. I took a peek on my chart and saw my u/t Left 1.9, u/t Right 1.3 - not sure if that is the lining or folicle size....

I'd love to bombared them questions! However there is a huge sign that says "technicians are not legally allowed to discuss any results" . All I get is the info they spill while doing the u/s and then a phone message with the results (that are super vague). Unfortunately I'd have to book time with the Doctor to further discuss but I work in another city so getting back to the clinic the same day isn't possible. Hopefully things will be clearer tomorrow. I honestly do not like when the techs talk during the u/s because it's their opinion before the Dr. has reviewed and they can make you worry.

First Day of Cycle Monitoring

I'm up early for my first monitoring appointment and have the typical "going to the clinic" butterflies in my stomach. I'm hoping all the water I just drank is making it's way down since I forgot when I got up this morning and now need a refill. lol Lovely to go on a Sunday morning - I'm soooo tired!!

Buying 8 vials

I've heard people have switched donors after 3-4 cycles that were unsuccessful however we pre-purchased 8 vials because we also wanted to make sure we had enough for 2 pregnancies with the same donor. We were concerned that if we pre-purchased only 3-4 and used all to get pregnant we may not be able to go back and buy more. Our donors last deposit date was August 31, 2006.

This was absolutely a gamble but I don't think I could handle ferequently switching donors - selecting this one was bad enough. I like knowing that when I call to have the goods shipped I know exactly what I'll be getting. We agreed we'd switch once this was gone if it didn't work. Although, I have to admit - when I called I had only asked for 6 vials and they told me they only had 3 because they'd already sold some that morning and I totally freaked out. I asked if they were sure (because I had confirmed the day before to buy 6) and they came back saying I was right, they actually had 9 - so I promptly said I'd buy 8. I don't know, but greed came over me and all I thought was MINE MINE MINE. So now I have 8 vials.... and hope it's good strong stuff.

Shipping Confirmed!

Here is what I've done.. not sure if I'm entirely happy with my decision but... SIGH.

I've asked for same day FedEx shipping for Monday the 24th (Cost $50 more) because calling my Dr. to ask would cost $25 anyway so I thought I'd just put in the money and get it over with. It will arrive sometime on the 24th which is CD13. Since my cycle seems to be a fairly steady 30 days I should be OK. ALSO, AF didn't come in the morning on Day 1, it came at like 10:00 pm so I'm not even sure if I should have counted that as Day 1. When I called in my CD1 I thought I should probably be considering my Day 1 to be the day following AF since it was so late however I didn't bother because I thought 1 extra day of monitoring if CD12 was really CD11 couldn't hurt anything.

The woman at the Cryo Lab kind of laughed at me and said she could tell I was freaking out - afterall - this is my first attempt so I'm bound to be a bit anxious!

Try #1 Waiting Game

The wait for my insemination date is brutal.. I can only imagine what the 2ww will be like.

I have one small concern/issue/reason to worry??? I've been ovulating on CD16 but CD12 will be my first monitoring appt. Now here's the problem - I can only have the goods shipped on Thursday to arrive on Friday (CD10) or shipped on Monday to arrive on Tuesday (CD14). Having the sperm arrive on CD14 is pushing it, isn't it??? God forbid I Ovulate early..... I was told the sperm only lasts 7 days as shipped so CD 16 will likely be on the 7th day.... aghhhhh.. I'm certain my Fertility Clinic will transfer it to storage but I was told they do not store except for IVF patients. I'm sure I'm freaking out over nothing and I'm sure plenty of people go over the 7 days and they have a way to deal with it. STRESSSSS... lol

CD 1

AF arrived today at 10:00pm... I'm official TTC!