Pick Of The Litter

Fert report is in!

She had 22 eggs retrieved yesterday, with 17 of them being mature.  As of today, 16 have fertilized and are chugging along. 

16.  Holy motherfucking shit, it's like a Little League team.  My donor truly is the original Ovarian Rock Star.

Transfer set for Friday afternoon at 1:30, but there's a good possibility that will be pushed to a day 5 (Sunday), given the number of embryos and the fact that her last cycle had a 5 day transfer.

Wow.  For the first time I am so SO excited.  We finally have an even playing field! 

Bring on the H2O bitches-I'm ready!

We Have Liftoff!!

I peeked at the nest on Friday and saw.....

Aren't they adorable!?  And it's a little appropriate right now since....

We got the phone call this morning-our donor is doing her HCG trigger tonight, with retrieval Tuesday morning.  We'll get the fert report the next day, and then play the transfer by ear (it's set for Friday, which is day 3, but on her last cycle she made to a 5 day, so it's very possible we'll be told to come in for a Sunday transfer).  So here I am trying to get my thank-you card and gift together to bring up tomorrow, because I want to make sure she gets it on Tuesday.

Question for those of you who did DE-did you go to the retrieval with your spouse/partner?  I'd like to, in case of any insurance issues, since I'm the one who deals with insurance, but I don't want to potentially see the donor (I saw her picture only once, but just in case).  Thoughts?

We're on our way! 

Um, Really?

Look at what I noticed on my Estrace bottle this morning...

Yeah, that about sums everything up, doesn't it?

Lining's looking good, donor started her meds this past Friday and is apparently an Ovarian Rock Star, because we might have a retrieval this Friday instead of next Monday or Tuesday.

Holy shit.  This is actually happening!

...And A Partridge In A Flower Box

Last Monday, (the day I started chemically starving my ovaries Lupron) I noticed an odd thing outside my bedroom window.  The day before we put up new shutters (well, we've had them in the basement for four years, but we just got around to painting and installing them) and added our usual flower boxes underneath the windows.  Our bedroom faces the street, so it gets lots of sun and we like to look at something pretty as the summer progresses.  On Monday morning, I saw a bird sitting in the flower box.  Just sitting there.  Staring at me:

Awwww, I thought, isn't that cute?  And, in all the years that we've put up these window boxes, I've never, EVER, seen a bird sitting there!  And, just staring at me?  Weird!

I had no idea at the time what kind of a bird it was-it wasn't a pigeon, was too large for a sparrow, definitely wasn't a crow.  But, it was odd that it wasn't afraid of me, that it wasn't getting spooked and flying away.

The bird finally did fly away, and I saw this:

Looks like the beginning of a nest, doesn't it?

Sean and I watched, fascinated, as every day the birds kept building the nest (yes, there are two birds involved in this one).  There's even a bit of blue landscape tie in the midst of all these twigs and grass blades.  Sean was a little worried that either the cats would freak them out or that we now can't open our bedroom windows or that the concept of watering the flowers is now kaput.  But I was engrossed in this process.

So, starting on Friday the bird (birds?) didn't leave the nest.  Just sitting there again.   And, on Saturday we finally saw THIS:

Yup, two little eggs.  Sean figured out, finally that they were mourning doves, which are common around here, and we did (okay, I did) some research.  They're monogamous birds, both parents incubate (mom at night and early morning, dad during the day) and feed the hatchlings something called crop milk, which they produce in their upper digestive tract.  We can tell the difference between male and female now, because the male has these cool iridescent feathers along the back of his neck and head.  The babies should be hatching within the next 5 days or so.  The not-so-cool part?  Doves tend to rebuild nests in the same place if they feel secure and can have up to 6 broods a year.  We might be screwed on the flower front, at least this summer.

Now, I'm totally not trying to read into this, but really?  Doves building and incubating a nest THE DAY I START LUPRON?  Symbolism, perhaps, or just coincidence?  I'm going with symbolic, seriously, because why now, after all this time?  I have never had something like this coincidentally happen before.  I mean, look at the symbolism of the dove to begin with -peace, faith and hope.  Because doves form pair bonds, they're common symbols of love, specifically marital love, and are mentioned in the Old Testament (Song of Solomon, 2:10-12, which is used frequently in Christian marriage ceremony readings) In ancient Christian tradition the dove is a symbol of mothers and motherhood, specifically the Virgin Mary.  Many people see doves as the reminders that miracles are still possible.  In Hinduism, doves are seen as messengers from the divine.

Should I still see this as symbolism or just a weird coincidence?  Should I not even think of it at all so I don't drive myself even more insane than these hormones are already making me?  I don't know.

All I know is that it makes me happy to see this right now.  And, I'm just going to go with that.

Slumbering Ovaries

Well, hello there Lupron.......I know it's been awhile, but you were kind of a shitty house guest to begin with, and I see that this time is NO DIFFERENT.

Ugh.  Yep, we "officially" began our DE cycle yesterday, after being told that my ovaries are cold and dead suppressed and I swear that I'm already feeling the side effects (combined with the three months of birth control pills, and....well, you get the drift).  Can't wait to add the Estrace into the mix on Sunday-good times!  Whoo-hoo!

I'm glad to be moving forward, finally-we were put on hold because there was a chance that I'd be working (and have 100% coverage for the cycle), but Urban School District apparently has "take your sweet-ass time" as part of their hiring process, so we decided to move forward regardless.  I mean, if you interview and seven weeks later have still heard nothing (and was told that I'd "just have to wait" as an answer when following up), then perhaps it's not the district for me.  I do have an interview on Friday (in the district where I got my first teaching job), so we'll see if that pans out better than the last one.  Hopefully I won't be in the throes of the Great Lupron Bleed-Out for it, but you never know.  Yah!  GREAT times!!

Strap yourselves in-we're in for it now!