Bloodwork and OTs

I took the kids with me to the hospital yesterday morning. We were gone for 90 minutes, but we spent less than 5 inside the hospital. I could have my blood drawn at a clinic that is less than 5 minutes from our house, but it takes days for them to give the results. I was called with the results after I had been home for only 30 minutes. Our trip would have been a bit quicker, but we also walked to the pharmacy and picked up 3 syringes of Ganirelix as they were only able to give me 2 on December 12 (and the original Rx was for 5). My E2 was 618 yesterday after 4 days of shots (compared to 36.5 a few hours before I took my first shots). The first four nights I was on 150iu of Follistim and 75iu of Menopur. They told me to only take 75iu of each last night and tonight. I am to return tomorrow morning for bloodwork and an ultrasound.  In 2007 (first round of ivf) I was on 150iu of both medications for the whole cycle. That time my E2 went from 22.9 (the day before I started stimming), to 166.6 (after 3 days of stimming), 444.3 (after 5 days), 1,043 (after 7 days), 1,612 (after 8 days), and 3,224 (after 10 days). In 2009 (2nd round of ivf) I started at 150iu of both medications, but then he dropped me to 75iu on the 4th day. With that cycle my E2 went from 8.7 (two days before I started stimming), to 511.8 (after 3 days of stimming), 693.9 (after 4 days), 1,267 (after 6 days), 1,936 (after 8 days), and 3,198 (after 10 days). Both times I stimmed for 10 days. All that to say that my E2 is going up faster than it did in 2007 (as it was 444 after 5 days that time compared to 618 after 4 days of stimming this time), but it's very similar to what it was in 2009. That year I was on a higher dosage the first 4 days than I was this time around, but I was also on Lupron then, which I haven't been on this cycle. I'm guessing that's the reason the result is slightly different. I'll probably start the Ganirelix on Thursday depending on how big the largest follicles are at that time. I didn't need bloodwork done to know that my ovaries have been busy. I'm already getting uncomfortable.

Paul got a call yesterday from the doctor's office saying that his cholesterol was high. They want him to try to lower it through diet and exercise. He's to return for a re-check in April. He's been told this before. Hopefully he'll do something about it this time.

I had emailed another OT a few weeks ago. She called me back yesterday and apologized for the delay in getting back to me. She was really nice and said that anytime I want to call her or email her, to feel free to do so and she'll try to help. She said that in light of the distance, she doesn't want us to feel like we need to bring him in to see her. How nice is that! Her suggestions included putting food in a mesh bag for Ian to practice chewing and also to use a body brush to help with his sensory issues. Karen came yesterday for the first time in 3 weeks. She was doing his annual evaluation almost the whole time. She said she found it ironic that Ian had been in speech therapy a few months ago as she said he scored off the charts in the verbal areas. She'll conclude the evaluation next week. I did mention the other OT's suggestions to her. She said that the joint compressions we've done before have the same effect as the body brush. She did agree that it might help to use the mesh bag. She also gave me a different sippy cup to try with Ian that has a straw. We shall see if we can teach him to suck from a straw. I was very pleased yesterday as for the first time EVER he put a lollipop in his mouth. He always asks me for one when they give me two at the bank drive-thru, but in the past it never went into his mouth. He didn't suck on it for very long, but still it felt like progress that he put it in his mouth and left it there for a few seconds.

We're starting potty training today. With Nadia it was one of the most challenging aspects of parenting I experienced in the first two years of her life (the others that would be in that list would be be her time in the NICU, the sleep deprivation the first four months, and the first few weeks of nursing until I got her off the shield and she started gaining weight). Since eating and sleeping have been so VERY challenging for Ian, potty training doesn't seem as daunting, but time will tell how difficult it is to potty train Ian. I'm going to try through Saturday night and at that point decide if I think he's ready or if I should put him back in diapers.