On Christmas Eve Paul and I stopped at the Rite Aid near his parents' house to get our flu shots. We don't have a Rite Aid near us, and Rite Aid had an agreement worked out with our health insurance that it wouldn't cost us any money to get a flu shot there. My university requires employees (and their spouses) to earn 70 "HealthyU points" each year or we have to pay more for our premiums each paycheck. A flu shot is worth 15 points; this is why we got them. It was Paul's first flu shot. Unfortunately he did have some side effects that day. Aside from a sore arm, I didn't notice any side effects. I've had the flu shot a few times over the past 10 years. Ian had his flu shot earlier this month. Nadia who didn't get one this year. Paul also had a physical this morning (worth 30 points) for the first time in several years. The only other times he had a physical over the past 10 years were when it was required for a home study when we were pursuing domestic and the international adoption.
I had an RE appointment this morning for my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork. I was given the desired "green light," which meant that the stabbing began this evening. Dr. Z started me on 150iu of Follistim and 75iu of Menopur. The last two ivf cycles I started on 150iu of both meds and then my dosage of Menopur (Repronex the first cycle) was dropped to 75iu on the 4th day. I am to go back on Monday just for bloodwork. The nurse gave me 4 boxes of Menopur for my 4 boxes of Repronex, and she gave me another Follistim pen. This is at the least my 4th Follistim pen, and in all reality I could have used the same one all these years. Thankfully they are free. The Follistim didn't bother me, but I admit I didn't enjoy the Repronex injection. The first time I gave myself an injection in the stomach was almost 8 years ago. I've given myself over a hundred belly shots, but it's been over 2.5 years since my last one. I guess I forgot that it's a bit painful. As I was tempted to scream OUCH, I reminded myself that if these shots result in a sweet baby in my arms, they are absolutely totally worth it. It helps to put things into perspective. It feels a bit surreal that the egg retrieval is less than 2 weeks away. The reason it feels that way is because with the previous 3 ivf transfers, I was on Lupron shots for weeks before the stimming started. I'm grateful that Lupron isn't a part of the protocol any more, but it just didn't seem like I was really so close to starting the ivf cycle. I'd appreciate prayers that the "right" number of eggs would begin growing over the next few days. I have no idea what the "right" number is, but God does!
As you can see from the pictures, Nadia enjoyed the Christmas party at Aunt Debbie's house today. Ian didn't have quite as good of a time because he wasn't feeling well today (cough, runny nose, etc.). Hopefully he didn't spread his germs to anyone at the party. Nadia ate one deviled egg, two chicken nuggets, pretzels, grapes, crackers, chips, and three Hershey kisses. She also enjoyed playing with Olivia (Paul's cousin's stepdaughter who is also 3.5 years old).
They both napped on the drive down to Debbie's house. Ian's nap was the typical length (30 minutes). Nadia slept much longer than that. She took a nap seven days in a row! Only three of those were taken in a bed (at Grandma's house). The other four were taken in the car. We shall see what happens when she goes back to taking her nap in her own bed starting tomorrow. Ian napped for 20-30 minutes almost every day; one exception was yesterday when he only napped for about 7 minutes in the car. Of the past 7 days he only took a nap in his crib two times as I let him sleep in my arms on Monday. Last Saturday he took his nap in a highchair at Paul's parents' house. Ironically, that was his longest nap. This evening he slept some on the way home. It's the first time in quite awhile he's taken two naps in one day. I think the darkness made him think it was time for bed. Hopefully this won't interfere with his ability to sleep through the night tonight. In light of his not feeling well I thought it was good that he got a little extra sleep today.
On Christmas Eve Paul and I stopped at the Rite Aid near his parents' house to get our flu shots. We don't have a Rite Aid near us, and Rite Aid had an agreement worked out with our health insurance that it wouldn't cost us any money to get a flu shot there. My university requires employees (and their spouses) to earn 70 "HealthyU points" each year or we have to pay more for our premiums each paycheck. A flu shot is worth 15 points; this is why we got them. It was Paul's first flu shot. Unfortunately he did have some side effects that day. Aside from a sore arm, I didn't notice any side effects. I've had the flu shot a few times over the past 10 years. Ian had his flu shot earlier this month. Nadia who didn't get one this year. Paul also had a physical this morning (worth 30 points) for the first time in several years. The only other times he had a physical over the past 10 years were when it was required for a home study when we were pursuing domestic and the international adoption.
I had an RE appointment this morning for my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork. I was given the desired "green light," which meant that the stabbing began this evening. Dr. Z started me on 150iu of Follistim and 75iu of Menopur. The last two ivf cycles I started on 150iu of both meds and then my dosage of Menopur (Repronex the first cycle) was dropped to 75iu on the 4th day. I am to go back on Monday just for bloodwork. The nurse gave me 4 boxes of Menopur for my 4 boxes of Repronex, and she gave me another Follistim pen. This is at the least my 4th Follistim pen, and in all reality I could have used the same one all these years. Thankfully they are free. The Follistim didn't bother me, but I admit I didn't enjoy the Repronex injection. The first time I gave myself an injection in the stomach was almost 8 years ago. I've given myself over a hundred belly shots, but it's been over 2.5 years since my last one. I guess I forgot that it's a bit painful. As I was tempted to scream OUCH, I reminded myself that if these shots result in a sweet baby in my arms, they are absolutely totally worth it. It helps to put things into perspective. It feels a bit surreal that the egg retrieval is less than 2 weeks away. The reason it feels that way is because with the previous 3 ivf transfers, I was on Lupron shots for weeks before the stimming started. I'm grateful that Lupron isn't a part of the protocol any more, but it just didn't seem like I was really so close to starting the ivf cycle. I'd appreciate prayers that the "right" number of eggs would begin growing over the next few days. I have no idea what the "right" number is, but God does!
As you can see from the pictures, Nadia enjoyed the Christmas party at Aunt Debbie's house today. Ian didn't have quite as good of a time because he wasn't feeling well today (cough, runny nose, etc.). Hopefully he didn't spread his germs to anyone at the party. Nadia ate one deviled egg, two chicken nuggets, pretzels, grapes, crackers, chips, and three Hershey kisses. She also enjoyed playing with Olivia (Paul's cousin's stepdaughter who is also 3.5 years old). 
They both napped on the drive down to Debbie's house. Ian's nap was the typical length (30 minutes). Nadia slept much longer than that. She took a nap seven days in a row! Only three of those were taken in a bed (at Grandma's house). The other four were taken in the car. We shall see what happens when she goes back to taking her nap in her own bed starting tomorrow. Ian napped for 20-30 minutes almost every day; one exception was yesterday when he only napped for about 7 minutes in the car. Of the past 7 days he only took a nap in his crib two times as I let him sleep in my arms on Monday. Last Saturday he took his nap in a highchair at Paul's parents' house. Ironically, that was his longest nap. This evening he slept some on the way home. It's the first time in quite awhile he's taken two naps in one day. I think the darkness made him think it was time for bed. Hopefully this won't interfere with his ability to sleep through the night tonight. In light of his not feeling well I thought it was good that he got a little extra sleep today.
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