Breast Pump

Just found out the breast pump is covered under my insurance, as long as it is "medically necessary."

WOOT!

Non-stressed

This whole move has done wonders for my stress and anxiety. I feel safe. I don't worry if we go to bed upstairs without a phone by our bedside. I am fairly confident I will not hear gun-shots or someone will not break in. I never realized how unsafe I was feeling in the old house. I didn't like being home alone, especially at night. I didn't like B driving home at night. Here, it is a completely different story.
Apparently my body is reacting to the non-stress. I got a PEAK on the monitor today on CD16. FF thinks I will O tomorrow. CD17 folks. That's awesome. I texted our donor, so I hope he is in town and available.
*Edit* He IS available. Love it!
My newest doc prescribed me some prenatals. (Pre.nate Plus) I went to the pharmacy and neither my insurance nor B's insurance covers them. How is this possible? I am so frustrated. Luckily, a local chain of mega-grocery stores offers them for free. I took my prescription there after I found out. We are not poor people, just budget conscious and until December (after our credit cards are paid off), every nickel counts. However, had I not known about the free prenatals and I was poor (or uneducated) I may have just skipped getting the prescription filled. I know there are ways to educate women who don't know about these resources, and I would like to help.
Another thing that bothered me was dealing with unemployment. For the first time in my 16 years of working, I was laid off. I had to file for unemployment. (Luckily, I got my recall letter last week-so I won't be needing unemployment). Again, for uneducated people, or those without internet access, the process can be daunting. I just want to fix everything and help everyone. One step at a time.

I made a decision

Today is CD14 and the first HIGH on my CBEFM. If I don't ovulate in the next 6-8 days, then I am going to hop on the Pro.vera and get this show on the road.
We are one of the most fortunate lesbian TTC couples around because we have an AWESOME known donor who helps us out of the kindness of his heart. Therefore, cost is not an issue when it comes to trying each month (besides, of course, the CBEFM sticks, OPKs, pre-seed, Instead cups, etc). We are very, very, lucky. Not to mention, his swimmers are in the top 95 percentile. SCORE!
Settling into the new house has been amazing. We feel so much safer and calmer. Even the dogs have calmed down. It's absolutely wonderful in so many ways. We even have a local fruit/flower/specialty market that is a very quick walk from our house. We probably walk up there at least once every three days. LOVE IT.
All in all, life is good. B has been on vacation this whole week and it has been perfect. She goes back to work tomorrow, so I will be lone wolf for a while. Luckily I have tutoring and a conference to keep me busy this week.
Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there and the moms that take the place of dads.

More Supplies

So I was hoping to never have to buy any more CBEFM sticks, but I broke down and purchased some today. I have 4 left and I will start testing in 3 days, therefore I have a week to have more delivered. Done and done.
I also purchased 40 more opks and 20 more hpts...you can never have too many, right?
I've bene really depressed lately and I hate it. I will start crying over nothing. B says I should talk to someone. I don't want to talk to anyone. I barely want to leave the house. I'm hoping it will pass. The ebb and flow of my emotions coincides with the ebb and flow of my cycles. I get super hopeful and positive during ovulation and the TWW and then it all comes crashing down with the arrival of AF.
The "mother's day" season is particularly difficult.

PEAK!

CD25 and I got a PEAK!
Yesterday was a very positive OPK, so I was expecting it, but you never quite know with my body.
We did the insem last night and I will do another one after school today. Most likely, I will do one on Tuesday as well (depending on if I get a temp shift tomorrow or not).
This is so exciting.
I'm off the Met and waiting to be put into that study (the nurse emailed me last week to set up my initial appointment). I can't wait to tell her that I can't be in the study because I am pregnant. I'll have the confirmation in just 2.5 short weeks! Woot.
In not so exciting news, today it is back to work/school for both of us. This was a work-filled vacation, but we sure did reap the benefits of our hard work!

MIA

I feel like the follicular stage of my cycle is so boring, until its time for impending ovulation. Because of my typically late ovulation, my follicular stage lasts a while and usually during that time I go through a bit of a lag in blogging. Add on top of that a computer that is being repaired, and you get a MIA J.
Today is Valentine's Day, and my dad's birthday. If B is feeling better than yesterday, we will head to church and then head to my parents' house for lunch. Then it's home to spend the day together. We typically do not do presents for Vday or Sweetest day, but we did buy each other small gifts this year. Neither one of us was impressed. I think its best we go back to NOT buying each other gifts. =)
The best part of this weekend was going to the local Aveda Institute for a relaxation treatment and haircut. When we left, I hated my haircut (super short, but she didn't know what she was doing so the educator had to come over several times and teach her with my head). The educator had to finish the cut entirely and because it was "shift change" my hair cut lady was packing up her booth while the educator was cutting my hair. The educator had to ask her to move out of the way of the mirror so she could see what she was doing. Neither one of them put any product in my hair and I left there feeling like I had a bad hairpiece on (ala Donald Trump). When I got home, I wet it down and re-blew it dry. I added product and it ended up not being so bad. I got a lot of compliments on it and when I showed my friends a picture of what it looked like immediately after leaving the salon, they could not believe it was the same haircut.
I guess that is all for today. It's CD17 and I turned the CBEFM on just for fun to see what it would say (remember I got the false PEAK on CD12), well, it actually asked me for a stick, so I obliged. Low. I don't know how accurate the monitor actually is for this cycle, but at least I have my stick to compare.

CD12-WTH?

I got a PEAK on the monitor this morning.
CD12. It went from 3 days of lows to PEAK.
I haven't seen that little eggy in quite some time, but I sure wasn't expecting it today.
I am guessing it is due to a faulty stick. The blue dye was smearing.
I am not sure if the monitor will continue to test accurately now. I know normally after one PEAK day it automatically gives you another PEAK day. I am not sure what will happen tomorrow morning.
My plan for today is to pee on an OPK while at school. If it is positive, we will arrange for our donor to stay at a hotel near our house (how awesome is he that he is willing to drive in the snow that is headed our way all day today and tonight?!)
I am guessing that it will not be positive, though. I did have a temp shift downward today, which for some people is an indication of impending ovulation. For me, I think it was an indication that I did not sleep with the down comforter or pants. =)

33rd cycle

When I logged into FF this morning I noticed that I am on my 33rd cycle since I started charting. For a typical person, that is just short of 3 years, right? Well I started charting in August of 2006 . We didn't start actively trying until November 2007. So, technically, we have been at this TTC business for 2 years and 3 months. 4 of those months I was pregnant. 3 of those months we were on a financial break from trying. So out of the 27 months we have been trying, 7 of them don't count...which puts us at 20 months of actively trying to get pregnant. Since my cycles are a week longer than an "average" woman, I can divide 20 by 4 and take off another 5 months of trying. This puts us at 15 months of trying to get pregnant. However, we have only tried 11 times (since some cycles were longer). It still seems like a lot, but the "typical" person takes 1 year to get pregnant. Not too bad. I can't believe I just ran through all of that math and all of those rationalizations.
33 is my favorite number. "Typical" 1 year to get pregnant....this cycle is it.
I'm just sayin' =)

Today is CD9 and the first day the CBEFM asks for a stick. This cycle has officially started!

Our computer has some sort of spy-ware on it that I cannot get rid of. I have run avast a few times, and each time it finds viruses and adware, but the problem still persists. It is also preventing me from doing much on fertility friend. I have been updating my FF at school.

Temp was 97.6 this morning.
At least the outcome is clear(er) now.
Onward and upward.
Bring on the baby.

Two questions:
1. Anyone having problems with FF?
2. Any preggo/new moms have CBEFM sticks or OPKs they want to donate or sell at a reduced price? I need to purchase some more but was waiting to find out about this cycle.

For those of you playing along at home

• Temp was 98.4 this morning.
• Test was still negative.
• I am now 15DPO.
• Normal luteal phase is 12-13 days.
• With Sprout's pregnancy I got my first positive at 11DPO.
• I know every pregnancy/cycle is different.
• I am at ease with however this cycle turns out.
• I had fun on FF yesterday looking up charts with "late positive pregnancy test (>15DPO)" and "negative HPT before positive HPT"
• I am still extremely tired everyday. If I am not pregnant than I seriously think something else is wrong with me. I've never been this tired so consistently in my life.
• I have decided I will test every other day if my temp remains high.

In other non-ttc news, I received my new teaching certificate in the mail today with my National Board Certification listed. My new certificate is now good until 2020! Woot!

Another test

I took a different brand of test tonight..after holding my pee for 3 hours...and there was nothing.
So I guess we will know for sure tomorrow morning (14dpo). Either my temp will drop or we will get a confirmation from another test.
Thank you for all of your supportive comments!

I am getting good

at interpreting the CBEFM sticks and the OPKs. It only took me 2 years, but by saving the CBEFM sticks for the last two cycles, I can totally see the surge. (Why didn't I do this sooner?!?)
Anyway, we are going to do another insem today, and perhaps tomorrow.
Our donor is amazing. Shout out to NKD! (He reads the blog)

*edit to add* Guess who got a positive OPK? Woot! Woot! Perfect timing. If I don't get a temp shift in the morning, we are good for another insem tomorrow afternoon.

7th HIGH

Today is CD16 adn the 7th HIGH on the CBEFM. Clearly, my body has confused the monitor, which I was afraid of. The OPKs are teetering near positive, but no clear positive as of yet. My temp was way low this morning, so perhaps today is the day I will get the positive OPK and tomorrow will be the PEAK...I wish my body was more predictable.
We did our 3rd insem last night, and are skipping today. I want to wait until I see a positive OPK or a PEAK before doing another. I am very grateful for a super accommodating donor.
Yesterday was my first day back to work after the holiday, and it went pretty well. I am already looking forward to the weekend though! I am so tired!

10DPO

No news. We picked up some Doll.ar Store HPTs last night, and it was stark white this morning. Still way early, so hope is not lost.
I've had no other symptoms though either.
Occasional nausea..but that seems to be related to hunger, and it is different than my MS before.
Extreme tiredness...but I am attributing that to the holiday season and 75 excited 10 year olds.
I am pretty sure I will test everyday until we have an answer. (We bought 5 tests last night and my usual luteal phase is 13 days.)

We have crosshairs!

Since Jake ate my thermometer, I had to buy a new one (that seems to be working quite well, but giving me temps a few tenths lower than typical.) I switched to the new thermometer on CD17. Our timing looks right on to me. How can I only be 3DPO though?!?! You will also notice on the chart that I was sick for a greater part of this cycle. I still have a cough, but for the most part am better. That fever kicked my a$$. B, however, is still sick. She coughs all through the night and does not get a very good night's sleep. Please send all of your healing vibes to her. Thanks!

5 more days until Winter Break!

Today is the day...

our 2010 baby was conceived.
I am almost positive.
I have never been more confident on timing than I am today.
OPK was nearly positive yesterday, today's CBEFM stick was nearly PEAK and then I did an OPK at school and it was positive. No doubt about it.
I did an insem after school and will do one more tomorrow after school again.
I also put up the Christmas tree tonight to surprise B. We weren't planning on putting up any decorations, but I had a change of heart. This new found optimism is wonderful.

*edited to add* As of 4:45 this morning...we have a PEAK reading!

CD14

Today was day 5 of HIGH on the CBEFM. If I was "normal" I would have a PEAK tomorrow. OPK was not positive today. Darker..but not positive.
I have decided to keep all of my OPK and CBEFM to compare day to day. I love obsessing.
Speaking of obsessing, I cannot obsess over my temperature for the next day or so because Mr. Jakerpants decided to chew mine to bits. He even chewed off the tip. I need to purchase another one, perhaps tomorrow.
My friend who we purchased our crib from a while ago (in fact, we still owe her some money on it), would like us to pick it up from her house this week. She wants the space in her house, and it is totally understandable..just a bit unexpected, on the week of our EDD...
I've been a bit emotional lately, with the holidays (which I am not in the spirit for), the EDD, babies being born, being sick, etc....I'm hoping it gets better soon. Hopefully once we are in another TWW, I will have something to keep my mind occupied. And then the new year will start...and it will be a blank slate. 2010 will be our best year yet.

The Waiting Game

This time we are waiting for ovulation.
Currently I am on CD11. Still low on the CBEFM, but I am expecting a High tomorrow. If yesterday's OPK was any indication of impending ovulation (based on the darkness of the line), then the Big O is right around the corner.
Let's keep those positive baby vibes going! Congratulations to Sarah at Farmer Femme! I called B at work when I saw the news. (She may have shed a tear or two of joy for you!)

Austin, TX

Well we got here last night, right before the thunder and lightening. Apparently it hasn't rained in weeks, and when we arrive, the sky opened up. Coincidence? hehehehe.
Anyway, we decided to do the trip in two days of driving, instead of 3. It didn't make sense to stop driving at 4 everyday, so we just plowed through. Now I have an extra day in Austin. Woot!
I had a temp shift yesterday morning (CD16)...now remember that we did the insem on CD14. If I was only temping, I would be excited about our timing on this Hail Mary pass...however, I am also using OPKs and the CBEFM. Yesterday (CD16) I got a positive OPK and today (CD17) I got a peak on the monitor. FF is suggesting I will ovulate tomorrow (CD18), which would be such a long time for those swimmers to stay alive. I have had fertile cm....but this really is a shot in the dark. God has perfect timing and there is Divine Order in my life.
Speaking of God (jeez...what a segue..ha!), I am making A drive me to Unity Center today so I can walk and see the labyrinth. Woot! Other than that, I don't know what is on the schedule. I do believe we are going to the LBJ museum tomorrow and possibly shopping on Saturday. I leave bright and early on Sunday.

CD13

Today was day 2 of the "high" reading on the CBEFM.
I ordered a new box of sticks on August 16th. Yesterday, I used my last stick. So, I had to go buy some at a local pharmacy. Let me tell you how hard they were to find! The first one I went to didn't have any, the second one had a box, so I bought it. I noticed the box was not sealed (all the sticks inside were), but I counted the sticks and they were all there. When I got home, I looked at the bottom of the box and realized the sticks were expired. So I went all the way back to the pharmacy to return them. They had no other boxes. Then I went to 3 other pharmacies. All were out. Finally, at my final stop, I found a box for $51.99. Holy cow! I paid $30ish online! I am hoping to use my receipt and return the unopened box I receive in the mail...whenever it finally arrives. I was very thankful to finally find them.
My body is not cooperating with ovulation around my epic road trip. If I get a "peak" reading tomorrow, I will do a quick insem in the morning. I leave on Tuesday morning for Texas. Our first stop is Mt. Vernon, Illinois and our second stop is Hope, Arkansas. Our final destination is Austin, Texas. We will arrive there on Thursday evening. I fly home on Sunday. Keep those good ovulation vibes coming!