It's GO time!

J and I are in the throes of moving to our new place and it's been quite the hectic week! Most of our stuff has been moved from point A to point B but it's the little stuff and the cleaning that we've got left -- and we shall deal with it tomorrow. What we'll also be doing tomorrow is beginning my injection medication. I took a break from schlepping boxes and instead, spent the first half of today up at our fertility clinic getting my baseline ultrasound and having a consult with the nurse. I'm pleased to report that my ovaries are, and I quote, "beautiful" and the ultrasound tech told me that my follicles are all looking as they should at this stage and each one seems to have an egg in it, which is great news! The one "benefit" to having PCOS is that there are typically more eggs to work with so we are definitely hopeful that we have at least one golden egg which will be the key to building our family.

The schedule is definitely intimidating. We will start the Menopur and Follistim injections tomorrow (Friday) and we will continue with those two for four days. On Tuesday, August 3, I will have an ultrasound to see how things are developing. At that point, they will have an opportunity to adjust my med dosage if needed and also, a third medication (Ganirelix) will be added to the mix. I will continue taking those three until I take HCG and lupron prior to egg retrieval. After that first ultrasound on the 3rd, I will have blood work done almost daily and an ultrasound nearly as often. Most of the ultrasounds and blood work will be done in town at a gynecology practice they partner with, but some will have to be done at the clinic in Carmel, which is about an hour and a half away. Additionally, I will also need to find time for my acupuncture treatments. In short, it's going to be an interesting few weeks! I am very grateful that my boss is being so accommodating, but it will still be a challenge. My schedule (which is definitely subject to change) is below. At this point, assuming all goes well and to plan, it appears my egg retrieval will be on Tuesday, August 11, embryo transfer will be on August 16, and first pregnancy test would be 10 days later on August 26!

I can't believe the time has finally arrived for us to get this show on the road! I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about taking the medication (and I did voice my concerns with the nurse today) but she said the doctor has started me at a relatively low dosage and the clinic has a low incidence of severe Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, so that was definitely encouraging. She told me to expect the injection sites to be quite sore and even bruised, to feel very moody, very bloated, very uncomfortable, and to expect headaches and fatigue and some nausea. All of that, while unpleasant, I can handle -- it's the heart palpitations and tachycardia issues that we sincerely hope don't come in to play. J is pretty nervous about giving me injections but he's been reading over the instruction pamphlets so I think he'll do just fine. I'm sure tomorrow's injections will be the most nerve wracking but after that, it'll become much more routine....or at least, that's what we hope! 

Please say a few extra prayers, send up good thoughts, or whatever it is you want to do to put positive energy and vibes into the universe on our behalf as we enter in to this process tomorrow -- just think, if we're successful, this time next month, we could have VERY good news to share!! 

Thank you all for your continued love and support -- this is a huge deal for us and having you all on our team truly means the world <3

Update: I just learned that tonight is a blue moon! The last one was in August of 2012 and the next won't be until 2018 -- there's something about the rarity of the event and the fact that we're starting our medication tonight that makes me feel an extra boost of positivity. Once in a blue moon...