Catch Up

Ok, so I'm creating this blog to keep you all posted on things that are going on with us. When I first had the idea for this blog, I kind of just wanted it to be about our progress with P90X. And I would post a "before" picture and an "after" picture. And the more people knew about it and expecting an "after" picture at the end, the more we would have to actually stick to it! But then the more I thought about it, I thought it would be good to document everything that's going on because it will all tie in together.
And as most of you know, the big thing that's going on is our struggle to have a baby. I know that some of you want to know what's going on but are not sure if you should ask us or how to handle the situation. So I thought, by starting this blog, I could keep you all updated and informed. So if you are interested, then log on and see what's up. But if you aren't, don't and you don't have to hear about it! :) I do have to warn you, I will probably say some gross words like "sperm" and "uterus", so if you don't want to hear about any of that stuff then don't read it! I will try to put a disclaimer at the beginning of each post to prepare you!
We're sharing this blog with people that are very important to us and we appreciate all of you being in our lives. We really value all of your support and love.

OK, so...I'm not sure who knows what but here is the break down. We've been trying to start a family for 2 years now. The first year went by and I was getting very nervous and worried that something was going on, but the doctors always tell you to try for at least a year at our age. So when the year was up, we made an appointment to get checked out at the Tulsa Fertilty Center. My insurance didn't cover very much for these tests so we knew we would be limited on how much we could do at one time. But we thought that if we could find what the problem was, we would know what to do to fix it and figure out the cost later. Well, it turns out nothing was wrong with either one of us. Our only option at this point was to wait until I could change my insurance at work to where it covered more. So in October 2009 I finally got to change my insurance and we made our follow up appointment at Tulsa Fertility Center. We had to do a few more tests and then it was on to the IUI (Intrauterine Insemination). And basically, this is a process where I am put on fertility medicine to help form follicles that release the eggs. I take a "trigger shot" that forces me to ovulate. They track my ovulation very carefully and then schedule a day for insemination. On that day, they take David's sperm and spin it and wash it and then all of the good viable sperm are placed in a small catheter and then inserted through the opening of the cervix into the uterus.
Then we wait.
A week after the insemination, I go back in for a blood test to check my progesterone level. This determines how thick the lining in your uterus is (the thicker the better because it makes it easier for the fertilized egg to attach and implant) and if the level is not high enough, I'm prescribed hormones.
Then we wait another week until I take a blood pregnancy test.
Well, we went through all of this in December and our first cycle came out negative. The doctor said that everything did what it was supposed to do and my body reacted how it was supposed to, it's just that it doesn't work every time. Actually, there is only a 30% chance of this working each cycle.
So we found out it was negative on New Year's Eve. I feel like I handled the news pretty well and it's probably because I had other things on my mind...like the party we were having that night! I had so much to do, I barely thought about it all. I didn't actually think about it all and break down until the Sunday after New Year's. I think I just got upset at the idea of having to start the process all over again because all of the medicine effected me so much. My hormones are all over the place, I have headaches all the time, and I'm sooooo moody. It's like PMS x 100! But then I got over it and started getting excited that I would be going back to the doctor the next day to try again. I was trying to be optimistic.
Well, so I go to the appointment and I'm supposed to have an ultrasound done to check for cysts because the fertility medicine I was taking sometimes causes them. I didn't think anything about it and I was just expecting to be in there for about 5 minutes, they would give me my prescriptions and schedule out our appointments for the month and I would be on my way. Well, that didn't happen. It turns out I had a cyst. So the only thing to do is sit this month out and try again later. The cyst will go away with the help of birth control that they gave me to take for this month and then I will go back in for another ultrasound. The only problem is that next mont is our ski trip, so I don't know how all of the scheduling is going to work out, but more than likely, I will have to skip February too. :(

So that's about everything having to do with that! I will now try to focus on more positive and upbeat things...like P90X!
David and I have really buckled down and focused on getting in to shape. Last year we waited too long and before we knew it, it was summer and we were NOT in the shape we wanted to be in. This past Sunday we did our first P90X video. We also started running again and I'm walking 2 miles almost every day at lunch. This week, we've only been able to do parts of the videos because we are so out of shape and sore from the days before! So this week we are just going to try to go through all of the videos to see what we're getting in to and then the REAL thing starts on Sunday!!! We will probably still have to take breaks during the videos but we are going to do the whole thing! So stay tuned for our "before" pictures (David is sooo looking forward to me posting these pictures for everyone to see).