Preparing For The Pregnancy No Nos

There are things in life I choose not to partake in.  Not really for moral reasons as some people believe, but merely because I find it unappealing and in some cases illogical or just far too expensive.  Granted, some things are completely for moral reasons, but I'm not talking about those types of things today.

There are also some things in life I find tolerable and occasionally enjoyable that in the coming months will be off limits. 

And there is nothing quite like the thought of NOT being able to have some things to make you want a last round of those things.

It started last week when I got the exciting news that I could be knocked up in 2.5 weeks.  There are some things as a pregnant lady you should avoid (and in my case actually contractually obligated to avoid).  Some of these things I would typically avoid anyway like smoking.

However, there have been a few moments where I’ve enjoyed (well sort of enjoyed) things over the last few days that I may have normally chose not to.

Like on Friday while hanging out with some of my AMAZING friends I tried a caramel apple martini (caramel vodka and apple juice).  HOLY MONKEY! I felt the vodka burn the whole way down after 1 drink and thought…so this is what it’s like to drink hard liquor.  Not a fan.  I’m also a wuss and lightweight and I’m ok with that.  I don’t get alcohol its expensive and tastes funny.

Or on Saturday (and yesterday morning actually) enjoying some nice shrimp (seafood will soon be out of my diet).  Yum, and thank you Neya for breakfast.  Seafood I get.  As long as you are shrimp, crab, or tuna…everything else is a nasty.

Or the last few meals out where I would normally drink water I’ve actually ordered a soda.  A nice cold glass of water is SO much better than a soda, but I guess I should enjoy the caffeine while I can.  I won’t drink coffee though becuase, well… that’s just ludicrous and disgusting.

 

So as I "prep" for what's to come I get more excited.  And the more excited I get the harder I pray for a healthy easy pregnancy, and more importantly a perfect, healthy baby (babies) for my IP.

It Has Begun

So yesterday (or Wednesday if you are reading this later) I had what I thought was just some blood work to check on something to do with the cyst they found on Friday during my ultrasound.

After the blood was drawn (by the way I LOVE the nurses at this fertility doctor’s office, I give them an A++) I was asked to wait a few minutes in case the doctor (let’s call him Dr. L) wanted to see me.  Dr. L decided to do another quick ultrasound and found the cyst had already shrunk and was almost gone so he decided to go ahead and start the process.

Within a few minutes I had a nurse giving me a tutorial on how to prepare my needle and medications, how to clean and dispose of things, and how to administer the giant needle into my rear end.  To be completely honest I was having a mini panic attack.  I don’t mind needles/and shots, but they are not a pleasant experience either.

I went from thinking that because of the cyst it was still going to be a couple of weeks before I can begin the process to being shown how to do an injection that would start tonight!  I don’t know if I was mentally ready to handle that change, but I barely made it through the demo (seriously hot flashes, clammy skin, not in my stomach, I thought I was going to pass out!)

After the nurse left the room and I waited for my calendar I talked myself down and although still a little nervous I got my excitement back.  The nurse came in with a giant box of drugs (click that link if you want to see WHAT drugs) and gave my calendar to start that night.

 

After some changes to ensure the transfer was happening on a Friday so I can avoid missing work as much as possible the Transfer date came back as 11/29.  That’s 15 days away!! In 15 days I may have a baby (or 2) clinging to my insides and growing.  HOLY COW!

My rockstar of a husband did my first injection last night and although I was freaking out for an hour (or like 8 hours) before the first shot it was actually pretty painless.

Here were some helpful tips I got from the Nurse:

1.       Do not ICE the area.  This is usually done to numb the area making the shot less painful, but since it is oil based the cold skin actually causes the medication to harden (even if using a heating pad after) and makes the aftercare more pain.  If you just suck it up for the injection pain the after-pain is much more tolerable when you do not ice it.  This worked for me! It barely hurt during the shot anyway.

2.       Use a heating pad after the shot.  This will help the pain and keep the medication warm to keep it from getting ‘stuck’.  I did this for about an hour after and although a little tender at first I felt great after.

Of course… this is my first and only injection so maybe this stuff won’t be true after today, but for now it worked great.

My calendar is below if you want to see the mass amount of drugs/injections I will be taking on a daily basis.  They will continue after the last day on the calendar, but I haven’t gotten that part yet.

The Drugs

Instead of boring EVERYone with a list of medications I decided to put them in a seperate entry so you can read it if you want, or just read the interesting stuff I'll post next.  You can see the calendar on my next entry as well if you want to see how long and how often I have to take this stuff.

Estradiol Valerate shown as EV on my calendar – Injection (Needle in my bum)

“Estrogen is a hormone naturally produced by the ovary during the natural ovarian cycle. Estrogen thickens and builds the uterine lining... It is taken from the beginning of the cycle and continued until a pregnancy is confirmed.”

Taken from this blog http://blog.circlesurrogacy.com/2013/06/27/surrogacy-medications-explained/

Progesterone shown as P4 – Injection (Needle in my bum)

“Once the uterine lining reaches its critical thickness, a second hormone is added, progesterone. Progesterone makes the uterus receptive by inducing it to produce the proper nutrients to support the embryo...

The combination of estrogen and progesterone is continued for approximately two weeks until the pregnancy test.

Weekly ultrasound examinations and blood tests are performed while the hormones are taken to ensure a proper response. Once pregnant, both hormones are continued until the eighth or ninth week of pregnancy. At that point, the pregnancy produces its own hormones. Therefore, supplementation is no longer needed.”

Taken from this blog http://blog.circlesurrogacy.com/2013/06/27/surrogacy-medications-explained/

hCG 1000 or 5000 – Injection (Needle in my bum)

“HCG helps in the follicle maturation process and triggers the release of mature eggs from the follicles... The hCG trigger shot will then assist in the final maturation process and ensure that the mature eggs are released from your follicles.”

Taken from this site http://www.justmommies.com/getting-pregnant/fertility-medications-and-natural-supplements/hcg-trigger-shot

Baby Aspirin – Pill

“81-83 mg low-dose aspirin. Assisted with cycle stimulation and impending embryonic implantation. This medication will continue until 12 weeks of pregnancy.”

Taken from article http://www.conceiveabilities.com/surrogate_medications.htm

Prenatal Vitamins – Pill

Extra vitamins for me and the soon to be growing baby

Doxycycline (Doxy) – Pill

“Pre-cycle antibiotic for both partners. Treats any possible low-grade pelvic and/or prostatic infection.

Taken from article http://www.conceiveabilities.com/surrogate_medications.htm

Dexamethasone – Pill

“Some doctors have you take other medications as well (Dexamethasone to suppress male hormones to increase implantation, antibiotics [Doxycycline] to guard against any infection that might have gone undiagnosed, etc.)”

Take from article http://www.surromomsonline.com/articles/gs_process.htm

Medrol (methylprednisolone) - Pill

“Medrol is a low-dose steroid pill to suppress the autoimmune system from interfering with embryo implantation.”

Taken from article http://www.conceiveabilities.com/surrogate_medications.htm

The Problems With My Locks

Hair.  I have issues with mine on a regular basis.

There is an embarrassing story coming (so just hold out until the bottom…or skip to the bottom)

When I was young I hated the color.  It was red and I hated that I stood out and people always made comments on my hair color.  I hated that in 1^st grade we learned about bar graphs and when we did hair color the teacher forgot to put “red” as an option so I was left off the list.  I died it once only to find out you can’t use “temporary” dye on red hair since it just absorbs the color so I had odd brayish (brown and gray) hair for like a year.  I like the color now, but Jordan is not convinced I’m a redhead.  She insists that it is brown.

The length is an issue.  I prefer a nice short cut.  It’s quick and easy to take care of.  But when the wind blows you can’t put it in a ponytail…and that sucks, because like my feet (see here), my face is opposed to being touched.  Long hair can get heavy (despite what Paul says) and having it up all day gives me a headache.  It takes 20x longer to brush and wash and dry.  But my hubby prefers it long, and now that I’ve had it long for so long I’m sure I’d hate having short hair.

The real reason I’m writing today is the perception of hair.  Hair is what makes you look fresh and clean or like you haven’t showered in a week.  Hair is what makes you look put together or like you don’t own a brush or maybe you enjoy the nest forming on the back of your head because you want a place for hummingbirds to feel welcome.  I have no idea why a hummingbird was my bird of choice.

So I’ve heard of this “No Poo” thing…where you don’t use shampoo and conditioner because according to people out here somewhere shampoo strips your hair of natural oils and destroys it (or something like that)…so like 6 months ago I gave it a shot.  HORRIBLE idea.  My hair was a greasy mess, like I just dipped my head in bowl of old KFC fryer oil.  The vinegar and baking soda are supposed to “wash” your hair.  LIES I tell you! I tried it for 2 weeks and it was the nastiest thing I’d ever done.

THEN to fix the problem I had created I went and bought a nice expensive “salon quality” shampoo and all that did was leave my hair feeling like it was caked in melted wax.  I spent a lot of money on it, so I had to use it all (because I’m cheap like that) so for the last 4-5 months on the days I washed my hair…it was gross…the days I just rinsed with water my hair looked awesome…so I knew it was the horrible shampoo. 

All that to say the last few months my hair has been a nasty nightmare.  So when somebody pulled me aside at work today to make a comment on how sometimes it looked like I didn’t bathe because my hair looked sort of dirty I sort of freaked out internally.  First I thought HOW EMBARRASSING.  I thanked them for “letting me know” because really they were doing it to try and help me and did not mean it in a bad way.  I fought the urge to tell them WHY my hair had been like a greasy KFC candle because I didn’t NEED to justify my horrible hair.

Instead I blog my justifications so I feel a little better about myself.  I do shower, I swear.  I just had a couple failed experiments with my red locks.

However, rest assured that the awful shampoo is gone (only because Taylor dumped out half of the bottle to make a very expensive bubble bath) and I am back to my normal shampoo so I have shiny (not oily) and bouncy (not waxy) hair once more that actually looks better after shampooing instead of worse.

What lesson did I learn? Don’t experiment with your hair when you still have to actually show up to work looking professional.

And proof I have red hair and an excuse to show you one of my favorite pictures of all time.

Friday Afternoon List

 It’s Friday.  I’m exhausted.  And yet I have 500 things going through my mind that I want to share, laugh, or whine about.  So I’m giving you a random list of things.

YAY for random things!!!

1.       A few days ago I went to hug Jordan before I left for work.  She kept her arms at her side and would only bend them at the elbow.  I asked her “Jordan, what are you hiding?” She hung her head in defeat and lifted her arms as 2 bottles of nail polish dropped from her armpits.

2.       I went to a midnight showing of Thor last night.  Great movie.  Glad to hang out with Tiffany, Megan, and Heidi.  But I am SO stinking tired.  Oh to be a full time working mom of 3 (I’m sure a stay at home mom of 3 would be in the same boat…as I’m sure my husband is today).

3.       I love small ice cubes…like the ice cubes that are the size of peas (I hate peas, but pea sized ice is fabulous).  I would send Justin inside AMPM to get me cups of this ice while pregnant… I would send him now, but he’d just say no and call me lazy.   I am lazy.

4.       My feet are claustrophobic.  I am not.  Merely my feet.  I hate socks.  I only wear them when I have to.  I NEVER wear them if not also accompanied by shoes.  I hate walking around in just socks.  I must always have my sheets un-tucked at the foot of my bed so my feet can peek out of the bottom and be free.  This is why I sleep a quarter of the way down on our bed…so my feet can hang over the edge and not feel trapped by bars of cotton bedding.  This is also why we will NEVER have a foot board on our bed…NEVER… HOW would my feet escape?  Poor feet.

5.       I have a cyst on my left ovary.  I know you were curious about my ovaries…and your curiosity is sort of weird.  You should really stop thinking about my innards.  I know this from my non-baby ultrasound today.  This could delay things, but that’s a story for another blog.

I have more to say, but my favorite number is 5 and I don’t want to stop a list with number 7 or 8 because…that’s awkward.   I would stop it on 9 because that’s Justin’s favorite number.  I would also stop it on 10 because it’s a multiple of 5.

Happy Friday

The Star Girls Return

So as I mentioned before I have a band forming in the back seat of my car. They have decided music just isn’t for them.

So today Bella and Taylor decided they wanted to be “Funny People” when they grow up.  So they began making up jokes that they could tell people on TV.  I’m pretty sure the first one they had heard somewhere before…the rest are just ridiculous and only funny because each joke was followed by squeals of delight and laughter from the girls.   

What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A gummy bear

What do you call a pink house with lots of flowers?
A flower house

What do you call a house full of chickens?
A chicken house

What do you call a yellow house with pink flamingos?
A flying house

Those are the ones I could remember…  so so horrible and yet they found each other to be the funniest people on the planet during our 15 minute ride to school.

World's Greatest Smile

I intended on doing a “So Sayith” blog last night all about Jordan, but instead we went out for a belated Birthday Dinner celebration to enjoy one of Jordan’s favorite dinner foods…breakfast.  The IHOP by us has kids eat dinner free every day so it was a perfect little way to eat breakfast for dinner.

I still wanted to give an all about Jordan update, because she’s a stinking cute and compassionate kid and from I’ve been told most all my friends let me know she is the “favorite”.

I’m mom…so technically I don’t have a “favorite”, but I am the first to admit that I totally have a favorite and that favorite just happens to change from day to day depending on how the kids are behaving.

Maybe I’m a bad mom, or maybe I am just willing to admit how all us moms really feel.

Picture one for today…proof of my daughters interesting taste in clothing.  She LOVES to pick her own outfits out and most days that means she is wearing several layers of things that do not match, but she is proud of her unique style (tutu with hightop sparkle shoes)

 

Anywho, so Jordan had about $60 in birthday cash to spend so we headed to Target on Saturday.  She picked a Hello Kitty scooter and hefty Baby Stroller.  I call it hefty because it won’t break after one use since it has actual metal parts.  She was thrilled use both and share both.  She is a great sharer.

 

At one point during our shopping excursion she asked me how much money she had left.  I told her $25 and she told me I should save it to help buy a house ::heart melted:: I told her thank you, but daddy and I would worry about that and she should just have fun spending her birthday money.

Last night she found a nickel on the ground and handed it to me saying “Save this, don’t spend it, it’s so you can buy us a new house”.  Apparently the kids have noticed us talking about our savings plan to finally own our own home.

And that to end it everyone in the family told Jordan 1 thing the LOVE about her and here is what we got:

Daddy: I love Jordan’s smile

Me: I love that Jordan is a great sharer and she’s super compassionate ::insert Taylor “what’s compassionate?”::

Elijah (with a little coaxing): Jordan plays with me

Taylor: Nothing, because she’s so CRAZY all the time ::insert lecture on being mean from mommy:: I like when she is calm