In the 100's

Our ticker/widget has moved into the 100's. There are an estimated 199 days until our due date and we have survived 81 days so far. It seems so unreal.

I didn't realize how poorly I had been feeling for the first 9 weeks or so until I started to feel back to "normal." I have felt very good, and I appreciate it. I get a little cranky sometimes, and my fuses are a little shorter lived, but other than that I am doing good. I no longer have to eat every 1-2 hours. I can eat like a normal person, and not get nauseous. I am very grateful that my "morning sickness" never got truly bad. I pee all the time though. And am always thirsty. I have to carry a water bottle around with me.

From the outside of my uterus, you can feel a hardness that is getting bigger as the weeks go by. It is amazing each and every time B or I touch it. One of these weeks I will post some belly pics, once I get up the courage. We have been taking them every week since 4 weeks. I can't believe we are well into our 11th week and the 12 week mark is just around the corner.

We told our church friends on Friday and Saturday. Friday was our teaching team (we teach the 3 and 4 year olds at Sunday School). Saturday was the LGBT group from our church. Everyone was very excited. On Tuesday I will tell another one of my teammate's from school. The news will slowly trickle out, so we are not planning on making any huge announcement on fac.ebo.ok or anything, just waiting to see how fast news travels.

Oh, and lucky us, we received a bill from the RE's office (we haven't been there in a very long time) for our August IUI. The biller billed our insurance company 3 times and they rejected it. Now we have to figure it all out. Laurie-I know we have the same insurance, I may be emailing you for some advice!

Looking forward to 2009

Guess what I did today? I started temping again.
Woot!
We got B's car back from the shop yesterday(did I mention here that we have been without her vehicle since before Christmas?) and it was just a teeny bit less than expected, which was a nice surprise. We still have 2 more wheels to fix, but we will get it done.

I am feeling very positive about 2009. It has to be better than 2008, and I fully expect it to be.
I'm excited that on January 6th I am starting a Biggest Loser club at work. I am hoping to have to drop out of it because of pregnancy, but if not, at least I will begin a pregnancy thinner than now.

I am also excited about getting our known donor contract all set. I combined one from our previous KD and one from our PNKD into one document. I sent it over to him for review last night, and all is well. We will (hopefully) be meeting up in the next week or so to get everything signed.

I am all paid up at the RE's office (except for a $400 insurance balance, that I will fight if I need to) and once everything is signed, will go back for monitoring. I am feeling more relaxed about everything since we are back to using fresh sperm.

I also know I am ready to hop back on this TTC train because I am actually enjoying reading about other peoples' pregnancies and babies. There was a while there when I was dreading each post, and I didn't like the person I was turning into.

There is hope in my heart again, and I love it.

Speaking of hope, our Obama sign is still outside our house. We refuse to take it down until he is sworn in. Apparently a few of our neighbors have the same idea.

Tomorrow I will do my annual Year in Pictures Review.

School

Tomorrow is the first day of school for me.
I am looking forward to having 10 less kids than last year (24 instead of 34).
I love all of the new school supplies and the excitement of it all.
I just wish I had a little secret to keep.
I have decided to not cut my hair until we get pregnant.
I am thinking it will drive me crazy soon enough and I may have to cave, but as of right now, the plan stays.
I looked into other sperm banks today. For a local bank, it would be $360 including delivery. Now we just have to check with our RE to see if she will accept swimmers from them. I really don't see why not, unless she has some sort of deal or incentive with the 3 major ones she suggested.
I also filled out my insurance reimbursement paperwork today. All I need is the tax id for the bank and our clinic, which I think I can get tomorrow.
I know we will have to sit this cycle out, but I'm hoping to jump right in on the next.

Insurance...Help!

Does anyone have experience in filling out Health Insurance Claim forms?
I called the insurance company and they cannot process a claim without a procedure and diagnosis code. I called the cryolab and they do not provide procedure and diagnosis codes. They will only send me an invoice.
What do I do?
I have been looking online and have found lists of codes. I just don't know the code for sperm.
Any help would be appreciated...


EDIT
Our insurance does cover sperm. (90% up to $5000). We have Uni.ted Health Care. I called the RE's office and the biller said she has never done it in her 25 years of billing. I did a little investigating online and I think the procedure code of 89343 should work with the standard 628.9 diagnosis. I called and left RE biller a message to see if she thinks that will work.

Distractions in E-bay listings

I'm trying to stay positive, but it's so hard not to be utterly devastated. Yesterday I crawled into my pajamas, pulled my hair into a ponytail and lounged around the house all day (Save the 15 minutes the tow truck guy was here to put the spare on our van).
I also tried to distract myself by putting together a boat-load of ebay listings. Please check them out. If you end up bidding, let me know and I will throw in something special. =)
Today on my agenda is:
1. Take the van to the tire shop
2. Take the repair bill from yesterday to the insurance agent for reimbursement
3. Call the health insurance company (still haven't done this!)
4. Swing by my friend's house with a small delivery
B will have to spend the night at her mom's house this evening and tomorrow night as well. Her mom is having knee surgery and will need help around the house and with the dog. I will go tomorrow as well, but cannot spend the night due to our own doggies. I hate sleeping without her, but there is no way around it.
I want to send out a super thank you for all of your encouraging and understanding comments from yesterday. You guys are amazing. Thank you!

Clomid-Day 1

I am glad that I have the opportunity to start these drugs during the summer when I don't actually have to be anywhere. I'm not a real fan of medicine, and don't take anything I don't absolutely have to (which upsets B when I prefer to complain than take anything). So I am very grateful to be out of school at this point.
However, with this given free time, the pressure to get things done is harsh. I'm home all day, so the house should be clean, or at least cleaner by the time B walks in the door. I am estimating that 10% of this pressure is actually from B, while the other 90% is just the way I'm feeling. While I was lying in bed this morning, I was thinking of all the things I could do today.

• The van needs an oil change (we have a coupon for a free one from our dealer)
• Dishes need to be put away and a few need to be washed
• Call the insurance company to find out about reimbursement for sperm
• Sweeping/vacuuming (hate it!)
• Friend is having a garage sale and I would love to stop by to visit
• Books can be taken to used book store (extra money would be bonus, but I mostly just want them out of my house)
• I have a DVD to send to KD, but that would require packaging it up and getting to the post office.
• Office has to be cleaned and organized
• Laundry, laundry, laundry (enough said!)
• I checked 3 books out of the library and would love to just sit and read, read, read.

So there you have it. All the things I could do today. We will see how much actually gets accomplished. It's hard to be motivated in the summer.

Ok, ok, ok...

I get it, thanks for all of the advice!
We are going through Cryogenic Laboratories and their cost is $345/vial (but I calculated it with the shipping cost of $190) . So that is where I ended up with the $600 number. I wish we could have afforded 2 vials this time, and perhaps we could have, but I need to make sure the shipping charge is just per ship, not per vial.
Tomorrow, if B doesn't work too long, I am going to have her call the insurance company and see how we go about this reimbursement process. I am sure there will be a ton of red tape to sift through. The funny thing is, when I placed the order, my debit was charged immediately, since then, the sperm has been shipped, but the debit was credited back to my account. I'm not quite understanding, but if it doesn't straighten itself out in the next few days I will call. I already called once and left them a message about it, but no one seems to mind just yet. Perhaps they will debit it again once they have confirmation of delivery?

Tonight marks my official entrance into Summer. I have been at a workshop all week, so have been unable to truly enjoy the end of school. Tomorrow is my first real day off. Woot! Woot!

And a triple Woot! goes out to Baby Judith's two mommies! Congratulations ladies!

More medication please...

Well, my sister's wedding is done and over, so now I can fully focus on this TTC business. The ceremony was nice and the reception was a blast. Everyone looked amazing, especially my sister (who almost seemed to be glowing the entire evening). But I am getting ahead of myself, and this is a baby blog, sooooo..we had our RE appointment on Thursday. She told us that my uterus and tubes are all clear and ready to go. I also had to have an std swab and now everything on the checklist is done. As of today(CD22), I have still not ovulated (or detected a surge), so if I do not bleed by June 11th I will take another (unnecessary) blood test to determine I am not pregnant and then start the pro.vera to induce the period. Then I will start on the clo.mid, ultra sounds, and trigger shot.

We need to order our sperm, ASAP and have it shipped to the RE's office. We have been holding off, in hopes of being able to get a bulk discount, but I just don't think we are going to be able to scrounge up that kind of money, especially not after my sister's wedding. B's insurance does cover 90% up to a lifetime max of $5000, but we have to pay out of pocket first and then get reimbursed. So we will just purchase our one or two vials and see what happens.

With this wedding being over, I can now tell my sister about our TTC plans. She knew we were going to start trying, but she has no idea of what we have been doing. When she gets back from Jamaica, I will fill her in. We will still not tell my mother, until we are actually pregnant because she would be asking way too many questions and telling way too many people. Plus, it would ruin the huge surprise when we actually do get pregnant.

I leave you with one picture from the wedding. Most faces are indistinguishable, so I feel comfortable posting it. If you are my friend in real life, check out my my.space for more!

In other news, today is Motor City Pride and we are excited to go. It's not going to be too hot or rainy!

Insurance.

So I have spent the last few hours researching our different insurance policies online. Why do they make it so difficult to find ANYTHING about coverage online?
Currently, I have Blue Cross PPO. Since I had my surgery, my deductible has been met and I am now 100% covered on any office visits. I did not evenhave to pay my deductible this year ($1250) because as part of our contract we agreed to switch to this insurance if the school district would cover the deductible cost for three years. Next year is the last year that they are covering the deductible. I didn't realize what a blessing this would be. I have normally been a very healthy person and would pay maybe $60 in medical expenses a year.
Bets has the option of adding me to her insurance during open enrollment. When I found her coverage online, I got a little excited.

Infertility
Diagnosis and Treatment of Infertility:
90% of eligible expenses after satisfying $200 deductible.

Covered Health Services for infertility services and associated expenses including:
● Treatment of infertility when provided by or under the direction of a Physician.
● In vitro fertilization, gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) procedures, and zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) procedures, and any related prescription medication treatment.
● Embryo transport.
● Donor ovum and semen and related costs, including collection and preparation.
● Artificial insemination

Any combination of Network and Non-Network Benefits for infertility treatment is limited to a lifetime maximum of $5,000 per Covered Person.

● The cost of any prescription medication treatment for in vitro fertilization, gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) procedures and zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) procedures counts toward the $5,000 lifetime maximum.

The participant-paid coinsurance amount does not count toward the plan’s annual out-of-pocket limit.

Reproduction
Same as:
● Physician's Office Services
● Professional Fees
● Hospital-Inpatient Stay
● Outpatient Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services.
● Voluntary family planning.

The following are covered:
● Voluntary family planning.
● Abortions (Elective and Therapeutic).

The following services are not covered:
● Surrogate parenting.
● The reversal of voluntary sterilization.

So I am thinking that I should be added to her insurance as soon as possible.

Last time I was at the ob/gyn she ran a complete hormone analysis, in fact, she ran it twice because my Prolactin level was high during the first one. Everything came back A-ok.

What other tests should I have done? I went last cycle with the possibility of no ovulation. I don't want to go too many cycles without fixing whatever may be wrong. Should I call and schedule an appointment?

In September she told me I should have no problem getting pregnant and have a good chance of actually getting pregnant in the next 3 months (because of the D&C).

My mind is racing, so any advice would be helpful!