The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

 ...often go {slightly} awry. Our FET will be pushed back a few days - from next Thursday, November 19, to either Monday or Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. Additionally, there is a *slight* possibility that transfer could be pushed out even further. Here's why:

I had my uterine lining check early this morning (followed by acupuncture) and despite the fact that I've been taking estrogen 3x a day (which is one pill MORE than I was taking at first last time), my uterine lining is not up to snuff. So, our doctor and nurse conferred and decided that adding an estrogen patch (in addition to my oral pills) would be the best plan of attack: I'll stick it to my upper abdomen and the estrogen will be absorbed through my skin. Bottom line: my lining needs a few more days to reach optimum thickness, otherwise there's no point in putting an embryo in there - without a cozy home to potentially nestle in to, it would be an out and out waste to do the transfer. Which is not what anybody wants. So, we will change up the meds and they will re-check me this Sunday for signs of progress. If things look like they're back on track, transfer will be either 11/23 or 11/24. However, if Sunday's ultrasound shows that my lining has not responded appropriately, more medication adjustments will need to be made, which will then push transfer out a few days further (ie post-Thanksgiving Day). Never mind that we're hosting friends from Memphis for Thanksgiving for four days beginning Wednesday evening, November 25th. Or, that we're hosting a holiday party at our house on December 6th (which we thought would be post-beta and something fun to help keep us occupied should we get bad news again, but which now could very well BE beta day, if transfer is on Monday, November 23.) Best laid plans, I tell ya. Best laid plans.

So why isn't my lining where it needs to be? Well, there are a few possible answers to that question, the first being that my body just went through all of this a few weeks ago and going directly in to another try without a break can sometimes mean that the body is slow to respond. Basically, it's tired. And we need to wake it back up. The second explanation could be that taking estrogen orally can sometimes affect the potency as it goes through your digestive tract. And lastly, my body may be developing a tolerance to it, so I may need higher and higher dosages the longer we're on this road in order for it to have the desired affect. It all makes sense, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

An aside: I haven't felt well for the past week or so. I've been the kind of tired where your bones ache and your eye sockets feel like they're hanging down to your cheekbones. I've felt like I've been on the verge of getting either a cold or the stomach flu, depending on the day. On Sunday, it was both. And last night, I completely wigged out over something really trivial - hello, hormone overload. And now my lining isn't cooperating and today, the phlebotomist could locate my veins, but couldn't tap them - in her words, "it's like they've dried up!" In short, it feels a bit like my body is launching a revolt in protest. So much medication and emotional upheaval compressed in to a short period of time. Well guess what. I've got approximately 10 days to get my body on board with this transfer and I've got my game face on.

I can do this. This process won't win; WE will win. Third times a charm.