Today, I'm officially pregnant.

By the calender, if all goes well and our babies are transferred in two weeks, then today is officially my first day of pregnancy :)

Technically, not pregnant... no babies in this womb.  But according to the calender I'll be two weeks pregnant at conception... so, I'm pregnant!

That's exciting! :)

On another note, the Gamill long arm that we rented went crazy last night and we only got two rows of my quilts done (I'm quilting them side by side to save time).  So we're going back next week to finish.  I'll have to hurry to get them bound for the trip!

The NEDC sent us a letter.  The embryos we adopted have some extra fees, $830, for transporting and storing... well, we knew this might happen but it was definitely not in the front of my mind.  Last night (after the long arm machine went kaput) I got home pretty stressed, got my shot, got the mail and found out about the fee.  I cried... Mat was amazing, as always.  Between these meds and all of the stresses we're going through right now, it was just too much!  So... that sucks.  We'll be able to do it, though, and that is a blessing.

But it's the fee for all 15 of the babies- so it's about $55/baby.  That's a good way to look at it! And when we go back for a future pregnancy with our embryos, we won't have another surprise fee.

Upped Estrace and worse headaches

Yesterday my Estrace got upped and my headache was worse.  I had to take Ibuprofn twice yesterday... I'm not sure if it's from the Estrace or the build up of the Lupron.  I could certainly still function.  I'm also a bit nauseous.  Again, nothing earth shattering, just different.

My mom and I sewed this weekend.  Almost done with the new nephews car seat quilt and I'm going to get started on a smaller version of the cut-up quilt using Papillon Charm Packs.  Tomorrow we're going to quilt the twins quilts on the Gamill :)

I like that we're getting them quilted before we go to NEDC.  We can bring them with us to snuggle up with :)

headaches but no hotflashes!

The Estrace seems to have leveled out my internal thermostat.  Woo hoo!  No more waking up in sweat!  No more stripping off layers to cool off!  It's fall and now I can enjoy warm sweaters and PJs :)

I do still have the headaches though... a bit nauseous and I'm pretty bloated. 

But babies are totally worth it!

Next week my mom and I have the Gamill rented out to quilt the twins quilts.  That will be nice to have them to snuggle up in when I get back from TN :)

Hot flashes, nephews, and starting the estrace...

Each night I wake up sweating.  And my husband is fine (last night he actually woke up cold)... so that's interesting.  I've had some tenderness at the injection spots and in the breasts. 

Our nephew was born!  That's exciting!  Yesterday we made the trek out to WI to visit him in the hospital.  He's a healthy adorable little boy!  Both he and my sister in law are doing well :)

Got the call yestreday while I was holding my adorable new nephew that I was cleared to start the Estrace today.  My ultrasound and lab looked good!  Praise God!  So I've started Estrace.  1/2 a pill twice daily for now. 

I just hope the side effects aren't as bad as the Reclipsen!  I'm praying!  But even if they are, it's all part of God's plan for us to get children.  I'll just cry... a lot... and then some more! 

It probably won't be that bad... but I don't think I've ever taken Estrace before, so I'm really not sure.

headaches, crazy dreams, and normalcy!

I've gotten headaches for the past few days.  Nothing earth shattering, just maybe I should take some ibuprofin kinda stuff.  And last night I dreamed that all of our new neighbors in ND (neighbors being a strange word... the closest is over a mile away) came over to introduce themselves.  One had made some mulberry wine which I tasted and loved... one was names Seive... they were all friendly and gave me canning tips.

But I'm relatively back to normal.  It's amazing!  I love it!  People can talk to me without me wanting to or starting to cry!  Oh normalcy, how I've missed you!

My first ultrasound and lab test is tomorrow.  I remember when we went through the IVF rounds I got poked for labs so much that my elbow was all bruised and sore.  This time, since it's a frozen embryo transfer, they aparently only need to draw blood and do an US twice!  That'll be a nice change... and we already know we have 15 babies so that takes so much of the pressure off.  My body didn't respond well at all to the ovary stimulation before, so it's nice to get to skip that step.

My dad came out to the farm today to take some pics of us for a Christmas card.  I think they turned out pretty well :)

Mookie hears things with his radar ears and turns his head for every picture :)

And my mom gave me a great sign with our name on it and a farmall... but I forgot to hold it up for the pictures!  We're still deciding where to put it... on the house, garage, or by the well pump... but either way it's a great sign!  And soon there will be more of us living here :D

My sister's getting married today!

And yesterday was my last day on the evil Reclipsen... So now it's working its way out of my system!

I woke up feeling so much better!  I was actually joking with hubby and not bawling by the time I was in the shower.  Praise God!  I'm off the crazy pills!  I feel so much better... such a blessing that I feel better for my sisters wedding!

Granted, all of the other meds I'm taking or will take have some effect onme, but not nearly so drastic.  For instance, Lupron, which I'm taking now, gives me hot flashes and vivid dreams.  Something I can live with when the slightest thing doesn't make me cry.

Last night I had a dream that if you took a picture of someone holding up a mirror in front of a mirror, that if you had another similar picture you could see what the person in the first picture was seeing.  So if you looked in the first mirror in the second pic aiming it at the first pic, you could see things that weren't actually in the picture but that you could see if you were there when the picture was taken.  It was really strange!

So glad that I'm off Reclipsen for my sis's wedding!  There will be dancing tonight :)

God is awesome!

Our nephew is about to be born (BIL and his wife are having a baby) and I made him a quilt.  I put the first verse of "Jesus Loves Me" on the label.  Maybe I'll post a pic if I get time...

Thaw and transfer agreement

Well the whacky vivid dreams started last night.  There were zombies... hehe.  Lets hope tonight's dream is not about anything scary!

I'm so lethargic... and stressed.  I can't stand being less-than-rational but it seems I really can't get around it right now.  Hopefully rationality will return on Friday, because Thursday is my last day with the OC!  Yay!  Three cheers for not taking evil hormones...

Last night my injection site really hurt and turned red.  It only lasted about 15 minutes... but Mat was amazing and calmed me down and took great care of me.  I am so blessed :)

We sent in our thaw and transfer instruction form today.  It's just the form that says how many embryos we want thawed and transferred, but it took a lot of thought and prayer.   Eventiually we settled on 2.  But if (and only if) they were both of very low quality we want a third. 

The one time we had surviving embryos (from the 6 eggs they got out of me through two IVF attempts) there were two of medium quality and I had a twin pregnancy (with weak heartbeats from the beginning).  So, apparently my body is ready to hold on to babies, just the mix of hubby and I doesn't create viable children who'll live past the first trimester. 

I'm hoping and praying that our new babies will!  Their sibling embryos gave their biological parents twins :)