Los Porchs

i am sitting on the deck watching charlie play with dirt and water and make her own mud. she looked at me and asked if she could get her hands and feet dirty. it's saturday afternoon and we have no where to be today -- go nuts kid. "i'm making poop." three-year-olds, folks, they are something. oh no. she's approaching the water table with a bucket of muddy water.  she redirects herself to a large bucket and dumps all of her containers into it. "this is a perfect holiday. this is a perfect holiday in our new house." i have no idea what she's talking about but it is so important to me that she have these experiences not only because it's fun and builds her immune system something fierce, but because it connects her to nature. she mixes the muddy water with a mini frisbee she got today at the farmer's market and then rinses it off in the "clean" water in her water table. she is quickly distracted by the frisbee and seeks a playma...

Last night I started my other medications; I've been taking Lupron for about a week now. I started Menopur (I used this my first IVF cycle) and Gonal something. Super fun, three shots each night.  ;)  I think it helps that I can put this in perspective -- I've been through child birth. I can probably handle a few shots here and there. It feels much more "meh" thing go round, to be honest. Perhaps it's because I know the struggle isn't in the stimulation process, but in the transfer process... or because I am actively chasing a three-year-old around wondering how the hell I will keep up with an infant if my whole body sounds like Rice Krispies when I stand up after we play on the floor.  We'll see, I guess. One day at a time and all that jazz, right? I continue on this path until Monday morning when I go back for ultrasound & blood work so we can see how things are going. Friday's tests showed that I had like 20 something follicles on each ovary (...

throwing water balloons at your kid counts as a bath, yes? asking for a friend. we had so much fun filling water balloons today but charlie wouldn't let us pop any! so finally, porch and i just started tossing them at her. at one point, she had one in her swim suit top and it popped and it was the most  h y s t e r i c a l thing to happen to her all day. its the little things. we're makin memories  (and counting balloons as baths, it's decided) xo mama porch

I have a class tomorrow to teach me about the injections for this cycle.  It seems a little silly since I've already been through an IVF cycle, but since it's been 4 years, I figured the refresher couldn't hurt... especially since I didn't get any kind of guidance whatsoever for that first cycle. I legit had to watch videos on YouTube and even then, felt like I was wingin' it. The drugs should arrive sometime this week and I know that it's going to go from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye. Charlotte must feel it too because her behavior this weekend has been a trainwreck of emotion.  She is currently laying on the floor, kicking the garbage can, screaming because she wants to go to Ikea and yet doesn't want to go to Ikea.  Being 3 is hard work. Our neighbors probably hate us. xo Mama Porch

Happy Cycle Day 1! Instructions from the clinic today included starting birth control pills on Thursday and continuing on that path until mid-June.  I'll be ordering my injections in the coming days and then attending an injections class in June.  This is a bit humorous to me as I've obviously already done this before, but after 4 years, I feel a refresher can't hurt. Lupron will start mid-June and then once I get back to CD2, we'll do baseline to see how things are progressing.  If all goes well, I'll continue the injection protocol and be a hormonal hot mess express.  Let's hope I'm done watching Gilmore Girls before I get to that point!  :) Fingers are crossed! xo Mama Porch

Today is CD 2 (CD = cycle day) Today I stopped by the lab here in town and had my blood drawn.  No joke, I felt like I lost 1/2 my blood supply.  I think I counted 10 or 11 vials.  Full work up!  I got handed a container of juice afterwards because the young lady was nervous about how much she had drawn.  Cute, honey, super cute.  This ain't no thang in the scheme of things! We are on our way, folks.  All that's left (I think) is my HSN which will either be late next week or early the following week.  The important thing is that so far, the stars have aligned and we have been able to get things done quickly without having to wait for another cycle to start.   I am feeling really thankful and appreciative for everything that has brought us to this point.  Here's hoping everything continues on this way! Today we are venturing out with our sassy 3-year-old to Target and Costco -- pray for us. xo Mama Porch

No good IVF round begins without its fair share of testing.  All of the tests!!  Our list of ordered labs and testing is pretty impressive. Mama Day 3 blood work (I'll spare you the laundry list) Urine analysis Annual with pap - scheduled this bad boy today and got an appointment for TOMORROW... now let's hope tomorrow doesn't end up being day 1 :/ HSN (hysterosonogram) ~ day 7 Porch Blood work Urine analysis The good ol' semen analysis After all of this is done, we can begin the prep cycle (back to birth control pills) & then move forward if things are going well.  I try really hard not to jump to conclusions, but here am I: Over here! I jumped to this -- Day 1 will likely be Thurs/Fri this week.  Day 3 testing on Sat/Sun.  HSN on Thurs/Fri of next week.  Prep cycle the following month (May) and hopefully starting injections (!) and kickin' off the fun in June.  :)   Fingers crossed that our bodies c...