I had my doctor's appointment on Friday afternoon, and it went pretty much as expected. Before getting into the nitty gritty, can I please tell you how much I adore my OBGYN? I go to Dr. Pappas at Mercy. His name is why I chose him in the first place...if a man named Pappas wasn't made to do pap smears, I don't know who was! Ok, seriously...I'm kidding. I chose him because:
1. I know several ladies who have gone to him throughout their
pregnancy/labor/etc and they all speak very highly of him
2. I really like his demeanor, and the personality of his nurse
3. When I went to him to start the whole 'baby making process,' I told him that
I wanted to be aggressive in testing/treatment/etc, and he has been 100%
on board with everything I've wanted
4. He's known to be very good in difficult situations. I really hope that I do
not have to see this side of him, but if I do at least I know he can handle
it
So yeah, he's great. I went into my appointment on Friday hoping he would go ahead and start me on Clomid since I'm still not ovulating very often (note- STILL haven't this month either...now on day 37), and that's exactly what he did. I have concerns that the dosage might not be right/enough, as I've had several friends on this medication that ended up having it increased after 2-3 months (months of wasted time, in my eyes), so I asked Dr. Pappas if there was any way to know the accuracy of the dosage sooner than later. Ends up, there is a test you can do to check particular levels at certain times of the month. Score. My next steps are:
1. As soon as I test positive for ovulation, I'll schedule an appointment at
the lab for 10 days after the positive read- this is where they will test
my levels for a baseline (not on Clomid at this point) read
2. As soon as I start my period, I'll start taking the Clomid (Days 3-7)
3. #2 above should make me ovulate MUCH faster than what I have been. After I test positive for ovulation again, I'll go back to the lab on day 10 and have the same test done that I had done on #1 above. This should tell me if my Clomid dosage is enough to do what it's suppose to do
After this, I have a follow-up appointment with Dr. P the first week of March. Easy as pie, right? I'm actually excited to start Clomid...I've heard lots and lots of positive stories from people I know who got on this and got pregnant within 2-3 months...plus, logic alone tells me that ovulating EVERY MONTH will only give me that many more chances of getting one of my eggs fertilized at the right time.
I realize that this is probably TMI for some of you...sorry! I laughed for probably 2 full minutes the other day with my friend Brad texted me and was like "so...how's your ovulation going?" I don't want this blog to only be about babies and ovulation and tests and blah blah blah....but right now that's my life so that's what ya get! =) My next post will not deal with this, promise.
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
January 31, 2012
January 26, 2012
O is for Ovulation
WARNING- if the words ovulation, menstruation, intercourse, birth control, period or baby make you uncomfortable, go ahead and skip this post and look up some YouTube videos or something. Especially if they make you uncomfortable in relation to me in particular, because we are about to get into it.
Last chance...
Ok, I warned you. Chris and I had a plan- I'd get off of the pill...use protection for a few months while my body figured things out...and then in the spring we'd stop using condoms and BAM! Baby time! I wanted an August baby. Obviously, planning is not an option with some people when it comes to babies! And I realize that now.
I got ON the pill when I was 16 because I had very irregular periods (that's the truth, it wasn't just a ploy to avoid getting knocked up) and I heard that the pill helped to regulate you. When I say I was irregular, I mean I would go 2 months without a cycle, but then I'd have a period for like 10 days. Then, the next month it'd be normal. Then I'd skip a month or two..it was all over the place. When I started the pill, I knew immediately that I LOVED IT. On the pill, my complexion was clear...I didn't get any sort of cramps...I knew exactly what day my period would start and when it would end/etc. It was easy. I did change pills a couple of times, but several years ago I landed on YAZ and that was the perfect one for me.
I stopped taking the pill in November 2010 (we continued to use condoms for a few months) so that my body could figure out how to regulate itself without my feeding it hormones everyday. It immediately got pissed off. I didn't have a period for like three months...then I'd 'spot' for a day or two...then I think my first real period was in like February. I was actually excited about it (weird, I know). After that, it was just like I was 16 years old again...I was all over the place and remain that way to this date. It's very frustrating. Most women would probably be excited about not having a period every month, but when you are trying to make a baby and that's all you want, the fact that you don't have a period every month (and thus don't ovulate every month) is very hard to deal with.
You see...if you don't know when you are going to have a period, you can't predict when you are going to ovulate. And unless you happen to have sex within that very small ovulation window (and it 'takes'), you can't get pregnant. That window is anywhere from 1.5-3 days for most women. And for most women, that's a window that happens every month. For me, I have 1.5-2 days on an average of every 45-50 days. And I pretty much have no way of knowing when that will be, except I get some help from two of my favorite tools- the ovulation predictor test and the 'my cycles' tracker ipad/iphone app.
This is the ovulation tester kit that I buy every 30-40 days. I pretty much pee on a stick every single day (except the seldom days I have where I am actually menstruating), and I see a blank circle staring back at me. On the rare occasion that it actually smiles at me, that means that I'm actually going to ovulate within the next 1-2 days, and trust me it's GO TIME.
And this is the 'my cycles' app that I have on my iPad and iPhone. I use it to track my periods (shows a red line at the top of the day), the days we have sex (shows a heart) and when I test positive for ovulation (shows a piece of paper). It also show a green line on the top of the days that it thinks you could be fertile (although this isn't accurate for me). It uses your past months to predict your next few months for you, based on an average. It's not right and I don't count on it, but it IS helpful to know when things have happened and to have my 'records' with me when I see the doctor. You can track LOTS of things on it (such as cramps/tenderness/etc), but I just use it for menstruation/ovulation/intercourse.
So 'most' women ovulate around day 12-14 after the first day of their period. This is when they are most fertile. I've been tracking around day 25-45 (greatly varies, I know). As of today, I am on day 33 and have still not tested positive on my ovulation test. It's frustrating.
I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon (dealing with this stuff) and expect to be put on clomid, but we'll see. I'm going straight out of town after the appt, so you fearless readers will have to wait to hear what happens on Sunday or Monday. =)
Thanks for reading! Hopefully we'll hear good news tomorrow...
Have a great weekend!
Last chance...
Ok, I warned you. Chris and I had a plan- I'd get off of the pill...use protection for a few months while my body figured things out...and then in the spring we'd stop using condoms and BAM! Baby time! I wanted an August baby. Obviously, planning is not an option with some people when it comes to babies! And I realize that now.
I got ON the pill when I was 16 because I had very irregular periods (that's the truth, it wasn't just a ploy to avoid getting knocked up) and I heard that the pill helped to regulate you. When I say I was irregular, I mean I would go 2 months without a cycle, but then I'd have a period for like 10 days. Then, the next month it'd be normal. Then I'd skip a month or two..it was all over the place. When I started the pill, I knew immediately that I LOVED IT. On the pill, my complexion was clear...I didn't get any sort of cramps...I knew exactly what day my period would start and when it would end/etc. It was easy. I did change pills a couple of times, but several years ago I landed on YAZ and that was the perfect one for me.
I stopped taking the pill in November 2010 (we continued to use condoms for a few months) so that my body could figure out how to regulate itself without my feeding it hormones everyday. It immediately got pissed off. I didn't have a period for like three months...then I'd 'spot' for a day or two...then I think my first real period was in like February. I was actually excited about it (weird, I know). After that, it was just like I was 16 years old again...I was all over the place and remain that way to this date. It's very frustrating. Most women would probably be excited about not having a period every month, but when you are trying to make a baby and that's all you want, the fact that you don't have a period every month (and thus don't ovulate every month) is very hard to deal with.
You see...if you don't know when you are going to have a period, you can't predict when you are going to ovulate. And unless you happen to have sex within that very small ovulation window (and it 'takes'), you can't get pregnant. That window is anywhere from 1.5-3 days for most women. And for most women, that's a window that happens every month. For me, I have 1.5-2 days on an average of every 45-50 days. And I pretty much have no way of knowing when that will be, except I get some help from two of my favorite tools- the ovulation predictor test and the 'my cycles' tracker ipad/iphone app.
This is the ovulation tester kit that I buy every 30-40 days. I pretty much pee on a stick every single day (except the seldom days I have where I am actually menstruating), and I see a blank circle staring back at me. On the rare occasion that it actually smiles at me, that means that I'm actually going to ovulate within the next 1-2 days, and trust me it's GO TIME.
And this is the 'my cycles' app that I have on my iPad and iPhone. I use it to track my periods (shows a red line at the top of the day), the days we have sex (shows a heart) and when I test positive for ovulation (shows a piece of paper). It also show a green line on the top of the days that it thinks you could be fertile (although this isn't accurate for me). It uses your past months to predict your next few months for you, based on an average. It's not right and I don't count on it, but it IS helpful to know when things have happened and to have my 'records' with me when I see the doctor. You can track LOTS of things on it (such as cramps/tenderness/etc), but I just use it for menstruation/ovulation/intercourse.
So 'most' women ovulate around day 12-14 after the first day of their period. This is when they are most fertile. I've been tracking around day 25-45 (greatly varies, I know). As of today, I am on day 33 and have still not tested positive on my ovulation test. It's frustrating.
I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon (dealing with this stuff) and expect to be put on clomid, but we'll see. I'm going straight out of town after the appt, so you fearless readers will have to wait to hear what happens on Sunday or Monday. =)
Thanks for reading! Hopefully we'll hear good news tomorrow...
Have a great weekend!
January 24, 2012
Weekend Review
I'll start with Thursday, because that's when I went with my friend Mel and saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Have any of you out there read these books/seen the Swedish versions of these movies? OMG- so good! I'm an avid reader- generally about a book a week (although since I got an iPad several months ago I find myself playing games and searching the internet instead...I need to get better). I'll admit, though, that I had a hard time getting into the first book. There is a LOT of detailed background in the first few chapters, but if you can push through those it is totally worth it. And then you can't stop until you finish the series...or at least I couldn't. The Swedish films were outstanding and very true to the book. I didn't know if I'd like the American version (mainly because the book is harsh in certain areas and needs a movie to do it justice in that respect for the storyline/character development in my mind), but I was impressed. Good flick.
I have no idea what I did on Friday night...how awful is that? Saturday was eventful, though. I cleaned the house, and around 4:30pm the Maloneys came over to drop off my two favorite girls in the world. I offered to keep the girls overnight so that Hay (BFF) and her hubby could have a date night and relax on Sunday. I also did it because I have so much fun with these girls that I would rather have them with me than not! They are funny...smart...loving...and EASY. Seriously, they are a 'routine' family and it totally works for these kiddos. The youngest, Millie, has an amazing nap/nightime routine that makes putting her to bed so easy. After dinner, Millie gets a bath and gets to play a while. Then...between like 8:30-9:00 (normally) she gets a lovie (tiny, cute blankets with ribbon that Hayley makes) and her paci and you read a book....and then you tell her it's night night time. You then go lay her down and she totally puts herself to sleep! No joke. She doesn't even want read to or anything anymore...she just knows it's time to sleep. It's amazing...and she does the same thing at nap time. It's crazy! And both Millie and Saylor (aren't those great names?) wake up happy and loving and sweet....love these girls so much.
So after an eventful Saturday night of playing with some friends and dancing on the Kinect and what-not, we all crashed out. I woke up at 7:30 expecting the girls to get me up any minute, but they slept in til 9:30am! Another reason I love them! LOL. We made cupcakes (Saylor got a cake-maker for x-mas, equipped with all kinds of icing tools and everything)....we played hide and seek for at least an hour...we took Barley and Suka to the dog park....we played a lot...it was lots of fun. And Uncle Chris was a big help all day as well, letting the girls climb all over him and helping them with games/etc. We finished up the evening with our weekly Sunday dinner at the Maloney's house. Good times.
This week has been crazy so far, as I had a HUGE meeting with my #1 customer today and spent all day yesterday/today finalizing some pricing/presentations/etc. I'll post some details about all that later....
Until next time, enjoy some photos of who I talked about today. At the top are my doggies, Suka and Barley. Suka is the black/white female on the left, and Barley is the red/white male on the right. Suka is 5 and Barley is 4...and they are my babies. Millie is the grinning toddler, and Saylor is the one on skates.
I have no idea what I did on Friday night...how awful is that? Saturday was eventful, though. I cleaned the house, and around 4:30pm the Maloneys came over to drop off my two favorite girls in the world. I offered to keep the girls overnight so that Hay (BFF) and her hubby could have a date night and relax on Sunday. I also did it because I have so much fun with these girls that I would rather have them with me than not! They are funny...smart...loving...and EASY. Seriously, they are a 'routine' family and it totally works for these kiddos. The youngest, Millie, has an amazing nap/nightime routine that makes putting her to bed so easy. After dinner, Millie gets a bath and gets to play a while. Then...between like 8:30-9:00 (normally) she gets a lovie (tiny, cute blankets with ribbon that Hayley makes) and her paci and you read a book....and then you tell her it's night night time. You then go lay her down and she totally puts herself to sleep! No joke. She doesn't even want read to or anything anymore...she just knows it's time to sleep. It's amazing...and she does the same thing at nap time. It's crazy! And both Millie and Saylor (aren't those great names?) wake up happy and loving and sweet....love these girls so much.
So after an eventful Saturday night of playing with some friends and dancing on the Kinect and what-not, we all crashed out. I woke up at 7:30 expecting the girls to get me up any minute, but they slept in til 9:30am! Another reason I love them! LOL. We made cupcakes (Saylor got a cake-maker for x-mas, equipped with all kinds of icing tools and everything)....we played hide and seek for at least an hour...we took Barley and Suka to the dog park....we played a lot...it was lots of fun. And Uncle Chris was a big help all day as well, letting the girls climb all over him and helping them with games/etc. We finished up the evening with our weekly Sunday dinner at the Maloney's house. Good times.
This week has been crazy so far, as I had a HUGE meeting with my #1 customer today and spent all day yesterday/today finalizing some pricing/presentations/etc. I'll post some details about all that later....
Until next time, enjoy some photos of who I talked about today. At the top are my doggies, Suka and Barley. Suka is the black/white female on the left, and Barley is the red/white male on the right. Suka is 5 and Barley is 4...and they are my babies. Millie is the grinning toddler, and Saylor is the one on skates.
January 20, 2012
Blog-Lift & 2012 Thoughts
I admit, I didn't want to post again until I had some time to actually get my blog looking more presentable and less like the writing on a cement wall in a prison cell. So, BAM - here it is in all of its yellow glory. Who knew that I liked yellow? I didn't know...until I started looking at templates and this one seemed to be the perfect match of cute and clean to me. I hope you enjoy it. =)
Since it is January, I think I will start off with a list of things that I am looking forward to/hoping for/dreaming of for 2012:
1. I am hoping to continue to be a better friend. It has taken me a long time
(30 yrs, really) to not only realize what I did badly in friendships,but also
to know what I expect out of them. I no longer dedicate time and effort to
people who don't deserve it. I no longer hold on to past friendships in
hopes that they will be what they once were and instead just accept what
they have become. I no longer try to get points across in a very passive-
aggressive way...I am direct. I cherish the friends who are there for me
and who allow me to be there for them. I've learned a lot, and I'm still
learning
2. I am looking forward to Chris getting Lasik eye surgery (my b-day present to him). He has been dependent on glasses/contacts to do ANYTHING for most of his life, so I know this is going to be very exciting for him. Those of you who know Chris know he doesn't get really excited about much besides the Razorbacks, so I can't wait to see his smile when he wakes up in the morning and rolls over and can actually SEE my face. Oh...wait...maybe the fact that he can't currently is why our marriage is so good? Blerg....
3. I am looking forward to our beach house! A group of about 8 of us have a beach trip planned for late April, and I am already counting down the days! I'm going with my favorite people in the world, so I couldn't be happier. Should be a very relaxing and fun trip
4. I know you are going to laugh, but I'm super excited about a few TV shows that are coming back soon, and some movies that I expect to see this year. For example, I haven't seen the last season of either Weeds or Dexter, but they will come out on DVD this year and I will get to catch-up. I also plan on catching up on True Blood (Season 3 forward) and I REALLY want to start watching Shameless. This week, my favorite reality show ever....The Real World/Road Rules challenge...starts. I've never missed an episode. And Big Brother will be back this Summer. Sa-weet!
5. My biggest dream for 2012, of course, is to have a lil Hottinger. I have always wanted kids (several, much to my husband's chagrin) and have waited a really long time to start trying. Chris and I wanted to enjoy each other and have some time to ourselves before bringing a child into the mix (we've had 9 years now). We also wanted to be able to afford for one of us to stay home with the babies, which has only been a reality for the past year and a half or so. Everyone says that you are never ready....but we are. We have been. And frankly I'm getting impatient. 2012 seems like the perfect year to have a baby to me!
So yeah, 2012 could be a great year! Here's to relationships, vacations, hobbies and baby-making!!
Cheers...
Since it is January, I think I will start off with a list of things that I am looking forward to/hoping for/dreaming of for 2012:
1. I am hoping to continue to be a better friend. It has taken me a long time
(30 yrs, really) to not only realize what I did badly in friendships,but also
to know what I expect out of them. I no longer dedicate time and effort to
people who don't deserve it. I no longer hold on to past friendships in
hopes that they will be what they once were and instead just accept what
they have become. I no longer try to get points across in a very passive-
aggressive way...I am direct. I cherish the friends who are there for me
and who allow me to be there for them. I've learned a lot, and I'm still
learning
2. I am looking forward to Chris getting Lasik eye surgery (my b-day present to him). He has been dependent on glasses/contacts to do ANYTHING for most of his life, so I know this is going to be very exciting for him. Those of you who know Chris know he doesn't get really excited about much besides the Razorbacks, so I can't wait to see his smile when he wakes up in the morning and rolls over and can actually SEE my face. Oh...wait...maybe the fact that he can't currently is why our marriage is so good? Blerg....
3. I am looking forward to our beach house! A group of about 8 of us have a beach trip planned for late April, and I am already counting down the days! I'm going with my favorite people in the world, so I couldn't be happier. Should be a very relaxing and fun trip
4. I know you are going to laugh, but I'm super excited about a few TV shows that are coming back soon, and some movies that I expect to see this year. For example, I haven't seen the last season of either Weeds or Dexter, but they will come out on DVD this year and I will get to catch-up. I also plan on catching up on True Blood (Season 3 forward) and I REALLY want to start watching Shameless. This week, my favorite reality show ever....The Real World/Road Rules challenge...starts. I've never missed an episode. And Big Brother will be back this Summer. Sa-weet!
5. My biggest dream for 2012, of course, is to have a lil Hottinger. I have always wanted kids (several, much to my husband's chagrin) and have waited a really long time to start trying. Chris and I wanted to enjoy each other and have some time to ourselves before bringing a child into the mix (we've had 9 years now). We also wanted to be able to afford for one of us to stay home with the babies, which has only been a reality for the past year and a half or so. Everyone says that you are never ready....but we are. We have been. And frankly I'm getting impatient. 2012 seems like the perfect year to have a baby to me!
So yeah, 2012 could be a great year! Here's to relationships, vacations, hobbies and baby-making!!
Cheers...
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