Brad Paisley Concert, ONE YEAR Anniversary and Update on Cycle

Yesterday started out like many other this week...a monitoring appointment. We we're up early and got an early start...must have been all that sleep the day before. Ha.

We left around 2:00pm for the Brad Paisley concert, since we wanted to get something to eat before hand, since food there is SO expensive and it takes about an hour to get to Nissan/Jiffy Lube Live. I was feeling kinda nauseous so I just told Tim to pick something cheap and quick and I would try to stomach the idea of it, if possible. He picked Burger King. Not exactly what I had in mind but whatever. We got some burgers and made it to the pavilion. We ate in the car and it started pouring. It was hilarious to watch all the "children" running around in the rain as they were trying to put food away and cover up things in their tailgate area. I say "children" because most of them were probably between the age of 15 to 23 years old, DRUNK, obnoxious, ignorant and apparently irresponsible. Tim said, "oh, they're just having a good ole time, leave them alone"..I thought obnoxious and we discussed the fact that our children will never go to a concert alone until they are our age. I never acted like that and I would be appalled if my children ever did. These "children" just think it's so cool to walk around wet, covered in mud and with their big-gulp cup with beer in it (to cover it up of course, news flash....cops DO know what's in there!!).

After we ate and the rain slowed down a little bit we gathered everything and started to make the LONG walk to the pavilion. We made it about half way and I realized that I didn't have the tickets. Lovely. We turned around and went back to the car to get them. Tim was just a little mad...not at me, just that we had to walk all the way back and get them in the rain. But we did and turned around and walked all the way to the pavilion, through the drunk fest of "children". There were a few even wilder "children" that were getting citations, which I thought was funny, and the highlight of the walk over there. We went to go in, and the guy checked my bag and asked, "is that a professional camera"? I said no, and he asked if the lens comes off and I said yes. He then proceeded to tell me that "professional cameras" were not allowed. I looked at him, and said "Are you kidding me, I am far from a professional photographer. I am in the freakin' fifth row to see one of my favorite artists and you are telling me that I will now not be able to have a camera?????"1 I was LIVID. He said sorry and said I would have to take it back to my car. That meant walk ALL the way back to the car, in the rain and mud and back AGAIN. What??? I was soooo mad. I cursed at myself for not bringing my other camera/less professional camera for a just in case scenario such as this one. I never thought this would happen. I pouted the whole way and through the night, especially later on when I saw other people with detachable lens camera taking plenty of photos! UGH!

We made it in and went to go sit in the pavilion and the security guard informed us that no one could get in until 6:30pm and it was only 5:15pm. That meant standing in the rain for one hour and fifteen minutes. We stood under a tree with our umbrellas and other people waiting. It was miserable. Finally they decided since it was raining so hard that they would let people in at 6:00pm. Amen. Our seats were so awesome! I was psyched that they were only $45 bucks and we were in the 5th row! People around us said they had paid $150 bucks per seat and wondered how we got such a deal. I said, well thanks to Citi Card, I got a great deal!

We watched Justin Moore, which was really good. he sings some great country songs and reminds me a lot of Jason Aldean, which we love too.

Tim couldn't relax until it was time to take my injections. You know we swore that we would not let IVF control our lives and let us stop living and this was a perfect situation. Saturday morning, I called Nissan and informed them that I was coming to the concert and needed to take some injections at 8pm and if the First Aide area would be available to use and they said no problem. I brought my prescription, my doctors name and number, my ID, and everything I needed. Finally, we went over to First Aid, which was right next to where you would go if you were arrested or too drunk to function...it was so funny listening to all the people there from inside First Aid trailer. The nurses were so funny and they were like, oh this is nothing! Tim gave me the iinjections and we were back in our seats right at the start of Darius Rucker.

Brad was wonderful, as usual. He was so good last year and again this year he didn't let anyone down. He was so close to us, I like almost got emotional. I blame that on the meds. Everyday, I swear I fight back tears like 3-5 times, since these meds.

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We made it out of there and we're home by 1:30am. The alarm went off way too early at 7:00am and Tim was less than thrilled to get us and get moving for my Dr.'s appointment. We stumbled out of bed and made it on-time. The doctor and nurse were going back and forth about whether I would be ready to trigger tonight or if I would have to wait another day.  The nurse gave us all the instructions and I asked for her to mark the "X" on my butt to show where Tim was to give me the shot and when she did, she said, "oh you don't have much of a butt, let me get the smaller needle for you guys to use"...AWESOME! So instead of the 1 1/2 inch needle, we will only use the 1 inch. I know that doesn't seem like a lot but when you see a needle that big, an 1 1/2 seems HUGE!!

Ultimately, it would come down to my blood work and what my estrogen showed. On Saturday it was 1800. Today when I got the call from the nurse, it was 3391 and so they were convinced that the other follies would definitely be ready and mature by Tuesday. So, I still have around 12. We will take the Trigger shot tonight/early Monday morning at 1:15am and that makes my retrieval Tuesday at 1:15pm!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!!!!! I am so glad to see the Menopur and Gonl-F done with! I have a nasty bruise on my tummy from them and my Sharps container is FULL to the max. Not bloated at all (which surprised the nurses because I have so many good eggs) but my boobs hurt and the nausea is TERRIBLE! But no complaints here...I hope I am nausea for nine more months! :)

Oh and today is our ONE YEAR anniversary! I cannot believe it has been one year already! I am so happy. Being married to your best friend is the best thing in the world.

Ok, I think I have rambled on enough. Tomorrow, I will update on how the shot went. Going to make a fruit salad and some extra good food to eat while I'm home recovering and then on bed rest.

Update

Well where to start..it's been over ten days since I blogged last and a lot has happened.

First, I'll start with how the meds are going...I started with 20 IU of Lupron on Friday, May 7th..and other than being really nauseas and having terrible headaches...I was fine. I went in for blood work and sonogram on Friday, May 14th and I was told everything was perfect and we could start the stims! I was beyond excited. We went to Tim's softball game and then when we got home we sat down to figure it all out and we both looked at one another and we're like, wait what do we do..(mind you, we were conscious when we took the Injection Class)...but somehow at 11pm at night after a long day, our brains weren't working...imagine that. But thankfully our clinic gives lots of lovely handouts and educational videos on their website, so we eventually figured it all out. There are 2 shots to be given each night. 150 IU of Gonl-F (which isn't bad at all) and 75 IU of Menopur (which is so PAINFUL, it brings tears to my eyes). So by now, we have a routine and it works great expect the last part when Tim gives me the bigger Menopur shot...I just cringe, it hurts so badly. I think because it's such a large amount of fluid going into my muscle..ugh, no fun! Icing before does help a little and heat and massaging it in after helps a lot. I still am taking 5 IU on Lupron each morning, so it's a total of 3 shots per day, along with all the oral meds. With adding the other two shots, I haven't had any side effects other than headaches and some weird twinges in my ovaries, oh and peeing A LOT..because I guess my ovaries are growing, like they should be!! I got really mad the other day when I posted that I wasn't feeling well on Facebook (I know, ugh, hate Facebook) and someone (pregnant with the same disease I have and knows were doing IVF) said "maybe it's all the crap the doctors put you on"...I literally screamed some choice words and felt like crying. People can be so RUDE and INCONSIDERATE! To call the miracle drugs that will be the only way I will be able to be a mom, crap, ugh, I was ready to punch a wall. I prayed about it and Tim and I talked and I felt much better. I just can't stand people sometimes. Ok, enough of that.

These are my night-time shots.

This is my morning shot.

I went in on Monday for blood work and ultrasound and I have 5 follies growing on one side and 7 on the other. Dr. Not mine, but still Nice, said "it's all about quality not quantity"...yeah, yeah, ok and I thought, "it's my wallet, not yours". I go back tomorrow to be checked again. As of right now, it looks like we will continue the stims and then most likely "trigger" on Sunday night to have the retrieval on Tuesday morning. WOW!

We have a very busy weekend ahead. My Master's Degree graduation from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Social Work is Friday! I am still in denial that I am actually finished and they are really going to give me a Master's Degree!?? Freaks me out still. I don't think it will hit me until the fall, when after 19 years, I will not be going to school. I love it though, my new found freedom is so nice! On Saturday, we have our 5TH ROW concert tickets to see Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and someone else (ugh, the name slips my mind right now). I LOVE Brad Paisley and he was so amazing last year so this years show I'm sure will be great too! And then Sunday is our one year anniversary. WOW! I cannot believe it has been one year already, it still seems just like yesterday! "Trigger" will be that night and then the whole next week we will be consumed with the retrieval, recovery and the transfer (which looks like the 30th).

Some other things that have happened in the past few days weeks and thus the reason of no blogging (but that doesn't mean I don't read everyone else, because I do!):

1. SIL, Megan and her boyfriend, Julian were in town for 8 days from New Mexico. We miss them so much, so we had some fun times while they were here. We got to spend Mother's Day at PB Dye Golf Course for brunch and then go to Liganore Winery, which was nice. Also, Tuesday evening we had crabs at our house and with my MIL, it was such a fun time!! I took some photos and then they some how got erased...so I don't know what happened there!

2. Tim has officially started back to softball (ok..three weeks ago was the first game) and his team is off to a better start then normal. They haven't one a game yet but let's be serious...the have won ONE game in 3 YEARS. But the game they did win last year, knocked the highest ranked team out of the playoffs...so it was AWESOME! This year they are really scoring a lot of runs so I bet they will win one this yea too! It's still so fun regardless of who wins! All the guys on the team are so nice and I love hanging out with all the wives late into the night on Fridays! We both really enjoy our time! Of course this year, many people came up to me asking why I wasn't pregnant or that they expected me to be wobbling over to the bleachers this year...blah, blah, I know...I said at the last game last year that I would be pregnant when I came back this year so it was kinda a bittersweet day of the first game. I'm over it now.

3. Last night, I had my RESOLVE support group. I LOVE RESOLVE and the women who are in my group. For those of you who don't know what RESOLVE is; it's a support group for women struggling with infertility and it's a blessing in every way! I have blogged about it a few times. We meet once a month and give updates on our cycles, bitch about doctors, infertility, clinics, meds, shots, ignorant people, pregnant 15 yr old...you name it, we complain about it, but it's so nice to get things off your chest. As a social worker, I am a big believer in support groups and therapy so I love it. However, each month I attend, I say this is the LAST month I am going to be able to attend, but somehow, I am always back again, along with everyone else. If it wasn't for RESOLVE, I and/or my sister wouldn't be here. My mom stumbled across a RESOLVE article back in the early 1980's and she contacted them and they got her in touch with Dr. Stillman, who performed many surgeries on my mom and finally after 13 years my parents were able to have me! My mom was the 4th person in the US to receive IVF, but got pregnant the month before they were to start, but Dr. Stillman had been her doctor for about 6 years before me. So having Dr. Stillman as my doctor is so amazing to me! I love him and am so blessed to have him hopefully help us conceive too. It will be a great story to tell our children that without him, none of us would be here!

4. A side note...a few of my friends, some real and some online/blog-related found out they are pregnant. :) Some IVF, some not, but I am HAPPY FOR EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU!!

5. We went strawberry picking on Saturday and had a lot of fun. I have been picking strwberries since I could walk I think, so it's normal that we go every year a few times. This year Tim was eager to come too....don't ask me how that happened, but he came along and we had fun. I just ate them and Tim picked. It was fun though!

He picks....I eat.

Ok, well enough for now..I'm going to go take a nap but I promise I'm going to be keeping up with my blog each day!

Wahoo!!!

So excited!! I just got tickets for Tim and I in the 5TH ROW to see Brad Paisley (along with Darius Rucker and Justin Moore) on May 22, 2010...yes, the day after graduation and the day before our one year anniversary! He is only like one of my FAVORITE country artists, not to mention, such a great performer!!!!! I checked for available seats and basically they were around where we sat last year when we saw him, so I was going to (possibly) pass but then it said there was a promotion for individuals with Citi Cards...and I so happen to have one! I put in the first 6 digits of my card, and up-popped..row E in section 103! How cool! They weren't even anymore expensive then the others! I'm so happy! Tim and I got into a huge argument last year at the Paisley concert so we vowed last night not to let it happen this year! Wahooooooooooo!!!!