Day 20: 12 million, when it only take one!

I just got home from my first IUI! Easy, painless, and quick. I signed a paper explaining the motility, count, etc... They told me they like to have at least 3 million active sperm post-wash, and my little sample had 12 million! Woohoo! Another little interesting fact I didn't know before, aparantly the sperm sample I was using was frozen on 4/3/2006, I noticed that on the paper I signed. Anyhow, I thought it was interesting :o)

Easy and quick, they did the procedure it took less than 2 minutes. I didn't feel anything. Next they set a timer for 5 minutes for me to stay laying on the table, and told me to relax and for the next two weeks to treat myself as if I am pregnant. :o) They also told me I could stay as long as I liked, I think I stayed laying down for maybe 8-10 minutes before I left.

Next IUI tomorrow at 1PM! Then the two week wait begins...

Day 19: I can hardly contain my excitement!!

Day 19 is a good day!! I went in at 7AM for my usual, now daily, bloodwork and ultrasound. I got follicle measurements today!!! I have 19mm, 17mm, 13mm, and two smaller ones. EEK! The doctor looked at the ultrasound screen and said, "Well it looks like you pull the trigger tonight!" I almost bounced off the table with excitement!! The probability is that the 19mm and *maybe* the 17mm would release an egg, since there is still 24-36 hours or so for it to mature to 18. I got my phone call at 1:18pm today, so glad they didn't make me wait all day!! My estrogen level is 1,114. That sounds crazy to me!



Here is the super exciting part... My IUIs are scheduled!!!!!!!!!! I do my trigger shot tonight between 6PM-12AM. I go in for my first IUI tomorrow (Day 20) at 3PM!!  At 2PM tomorrow I have to call the Andrology Center to start thawing my donor sperm, that has been sitting there frozen for more than 4 years! My second IUI is scheduled for 1PM on Thursday (Day 21). The reason I am having two IUIs done on consecutive days is because I am using frozen sperm, and that is standard practice of the fertility center I am going to. If it was fresh, it would be one IUI.

If I haven't already explained it, IUI stands for InterUterine Insemination. The procedure takes all of 1-3 minutes. They insert a small catheter through the cervix directly into the uterus, and inject the sperm! It is painless, but can cause some cramping. After it is injected, they have me lay on the table for 5-10 minutes before leaving. That is it! Then it is best practice to "take it easy" for the rest of the day.

One hour before my scheduled IUI procedure the Andrology lab thaws the sperm, and also "washes" it. During this process they put the sample in a test tube and then a centrifuge, which seperates the sperm from other fluids. They then take the sperm and add liquid media on top, and then the most active sperm swim up into the media. The final sample contains just the most active sperm. Right before the IUI procedure, they will tell me the sperm count and motility of the sample.

I am going to do my Ovidrel injection tonight at 7PM. This shot "triggers" ovulation to occur, usually about 36 hours after the shot. With the times that my IUIs are scheduled, The first will be 20 hours after trigger, and the second will be 42 hours after trigger.

I have hope that this will be it!!! After this comes the "two week wait" before the blood pregnancy test, scheduled January 6th. I will probably post a small update tomorrow and/or Thursday after the IUI(s). Fingers and toes crossed the I get pregnant!

Who is my Dad?



Luckily, I haven't been asked this question yet by my 3.5 year old. She isn't really old enough yet to get the concept, though she does see other kids' dads at her daycare/school. I know this question will come soon enough, and as much as I want to say I am ready and prepared to answer this inevitable question, I know it will knock me off guard the first time I hear it. It is all about age appropriateness, and I'm as prepared as I can be :o)

So what brought me here? I've always wanted a child much more than I was ever interested in dating. I've dated a guy, and I've dated a few women. The right person hasn't stumbled upon me yet, and I'm not out there looking because it simply isn't a priority of mine. My priority is being a Mom because that is what I have always wanted to be. I'm the girl at 17 that bought baby clothes and put them away in my cedar chest with hopes and dreams to one day put my baby in them, and those dreams all came true when I had Emoree.

I did a good deal of searching to find the right donor for me. I decided to go with an anonymous donor from a cryobank because a: I did not want someone else to have any legal rights to my child(ren) and b: the cryobank I chose is very selective and only uses donors with stellar medical histories. The donors are honestly screened for any disease or genetic disorder you could think of. The donor I chose was the closest match I could find to my own physical characteristics, and apparantly I made a good match since anyone and everyone tells me Emoree looks exactly like me.

So what do I have to show my child(ren) when she/they get older? I have a 13 page physical/behavioral characteristics profile of the donor, a complete medical profile, a picture from when he was 18 months old, and an audio interview clip of his voice as an adult. There is no identifying information to try and find him, not that I have an interest to. However, when my child(ren) are old enough, there is a donor/sibling registry online that makes it possible to maybe find a sibling or donor, but that decision will be my child's and I will support them in whatever decision they make.

My opinion of donors is a positive one. I know many others see them as people just trying to make a few bucks, but on the other hand that donor gave a part of them that allowed me to have a family.

If this cycle works and I do get pregnant, Emoree and baby #2 will be full-blooded siblings. I bought 4 vials when I was trying to concieve Emoree, and only used two the first time to get pregnant. The other two vials (when using frozen sperm, the fertility center I go to uses two vials per cycle in two consecutive IUIs to increase the chance of pregnancy) were kept frozen and I have been paying storage fees of $360 a year for the last 3 years. If this try doesn't work, I don't know if I will try to concieve again. The donor I am using is not in the program anymore and there are not any vials available to purchase... so here is to hoping that the first try makes it happen!