Baby Pics

As far as my study is concerned -- fate has certainly decided.  I went into the doctors office after not getting my AF 10 days post Provera, they did blood work and an ultrasound.  As a result they decided to remove me from the study since I actually ovulated on my own this month.  The whole reason for the study is to induce ovulation - so I got the boot.  Oh well .... I'm still blessed have a beautiful little girl.

Although the doctors office advised that I should take a HPT if I don't get my period within the next 2 weeks.  If I'm pregnant, I'm gonna hit the floor!  That would be something!  I'm not sure what or how I would feel about it but it would surely be something!

Here's our baby the day we brought her home from the hospital, 5 days old:

12 Days Old

2 Weeks Old - Little Porker

Blessings

What a week!  I'm starting ICLW a little late this month, but I have an excuse.  I received a placement last Monday.  I got a call from my caseworker to pick up my newborn baby girl from the hospital.  She was born last Wednesday, October 14.

Alexa Grace

I love her so much already.  I would have posted sooner, but my computer at home is broken.  It has been such a busy week for us, I took off work last week so that I could take care of her.  She's with my sister-in-law now, because I came back to work today.  She is such a little blessing.

I still haven't got my period, just a little brown spotting today.  I'm about to call the doctors office and find out what's up with that.  I still plan to continue on with the study ..... I think I've lost it.  It must be the lack of sleep, baby is up every 3 hours - but we're up with a smile.

 

It's Happening

I started my Provera right on schedule, I picked it up on Tuesday and took my first pill of five on Tuesday night.  These must be really strong pills because I was told that my period should begin approximately 24-48 hrs after the last pill, I'm already starting to feel like my period is about to come any day now, PMS blah!  Once my period arrives, I'm supposed to call the doctors office so that I can come in on the 3rd day of my cycle to begin the gonadotropins. 

Since everyone has been asking me, what are gonadotropins?  I did a google search to get the "correct" response:  Gonadotropins are used in the treatment of patients who do not ovulate or ovulate infrequently. Most patients who have difficulty ovulating are treated initially with clomiphene citrate (Clomid, Serophene). When clomiphene citrate is unsuccessful, the next regimen is a combination of clomiphene citrate and gonadotropins, or gonadotropins alone.  Patients with endometriosis who have not conceived following medical or surgical treatment are also candidates for gonadotropins. Finally, patients who have abnormal ovulation, or “luteal phase defect,” can also be successfully treated with gonadotropin therapy.

On a whole new note, I think I received a call last night from a placement caseworker.  When I got home last night, my 11 year old daughter told me that Child Services called.  Of course she didn't take a message, that would be crazy!  So I emailed my caseworker this morning to see if she had called, she said it wasn't her but believes that it may have been a placement worker calling with a placement.  Huh, I think I missed out on my 1st placement, cause she didn't call back!  So I asked my caseworker if she would list my cell phone number as my primary contact number so that I won't miss any more calls.

I guess I'll just have to see what happens next, lately it's been kinda exciting around here.

Updates

So far I have good news! I had my HSG test done yesterday and both tubes are still very much open and my RE says both ovaries and uterus looks great! She said the only problem is that my left ovary is sort of hiding behind my uterus, which may be the result of the scar tissue and adhesions brought on by the endo, but she wasn't too concerned about it. Although this is very good news, I couldn't keep myself from asking - "If everythings so great then, why can't I get pregnant"? She says she believes that my problem is more with ovulation now.

Now that I think about it, this makes a lot of sense to me because I always believed that I had some sort of luteal phase defect. Although my period shows up every month on time, I usually start to spot and lightly bleed about a week before it's due. I just thought it was because of the endo. The only problem with this is when I do get bleeding similar to a period it's usually very light and only lasts about a day or two. I'm not kidding, a 20 ct box of tampons usually lasts me about 4 months. Most of the time I only need to wear a panty liner. I always thought I was getting my period because the bleeding was at the same time every single month for the past year or so.

It turns out that I'm not getting regular periods and therefore, not ovulating. Huh! Well .... I'll be picking up my Provera on Tuesday and then progressing on with the gonadotropins when I get a "real" period, hopefully shortly after taking the provera.

Moving Forward

After much debate, I have decided to move forward with the infertility study. I received a call this morning from the RE's office and am now scheduled for more bloodwork tomorrow, DH has a semen analysis scheduled for Wednesday (he's so excited), and my HSG on Thursday. If everything checks out, I will pick up my Provera next Tuesday and begin the gonadotropins once AF arrives. We do have a busy week ahead of us. This is good for me, because idle time drives me crazy. It's so hard for me to sit back and wait for other people.

We haven't received a placement yet, looking at our schedule .... that may very well be a good thing for now. Although, I did receive a call from our new caseworker last week letting me know that it's time for us to take another training class. The good thing is that it can be done online.

After the Silence

We began our foster/adoption quest approximately 9 months ago - completed all of the classes, inspections, and home studies at the beginning of the summer. Then there was this long period of silence - it seemed like nothing was ever going to happen. I thought they had lost our file or something. I would call every so often only to be told that our file is awaiting the final approval. I must admit that it was very depressing because we had put off any future IF treatments (knowing that time is not on our side) in order to pursue this route first.

I decided to participate in an infertility study at my RE's office approximately a week ago, involving gonadotropin releasing hormone meds since I don't ovulate regularly. I figured why not, since this foster/adoption process doesn't seem to be going anywhere too fast, it's already been 9 months! Besides injectable gonadotropins was going to be our next step anyway. Last week I went into the office and did all of my blood work, ultrasounds, and etc. Besides the endometrioma on my right ovary, amazingly everything looked ok. So now I'm scheduled begin the meds within the next few weeks.

Although I should have known not to plan anything, because things just don't go as planned in my life. Needless to say, several days after my doctors visit, I received that looooooong awaited call from Child Services - saying that our licenses have arrived and our new caseworker needs to come out to our home for a final walk through. Really! I had hope they would eventually call, and at the rate they were going I certainly didn't think it was going to be anytime soon. Believe it or not, she came out within 2 days of the call and advised that we would be added to the call up list and should be expecting a placement within the next few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I am excited beyond words!

So now what? Seems I have a conflict in my schedule for the next few weeks! Do I back out of the study in anticipation of the placement? Oh my God! We always wanted to achieve both, but just not at the exact same time! I'm 33 years old now, so I know I can't put my fertility off much longer not to mention I have endometriosis which may be growing back even as I speak. I'm almost positive I won't get pregnant anyway. This is crazy!

My husband thinks we should just press forward with both, and see what happens - kinda just let fate decide and throw all the planning out of the window.