As expected, the cramps I was experiencing before my interviews did presage the end of that attempt; but we picked ourselves up and kept running because we had a number of projects in progress that have been doing an excellent job of keeping us distracted.
The interviews went well and we both secured offers conditional on background checks, references, etc. It would mean stepping down from a position of responsibility for me and a cut in my hourly rate (although since I am only contracted for the weekend, with the applicable increases I will have a satisfactory wage even before overtime.) A has accepted an offer to stay working in her ward after she negotiated hours better suited to her study (and more conductive to a social life.) This puts us in a very strong position from this summer, when I will have completed my period of training. In the mean time, between visits from the new op's manager and promotion changes, there is enough going on at work to keep me busy.
And as to this months attempt: we started a little later than expected. My cm and basal temperature were not showing the slightest indication of anything resembling interesting and we were beginning to think this month wasn't going to happen. On day 19 (Monday), I noticed some wet cm whilst I was at work and figured we should at least get in a try this month - if we want to fit in as many tries as mother nature will give us a shot at before our step-up deadline of August (the anniversary of our first attempt.) After a quick call to A, we arranged an insem for the next day, which R and I conveniently both had off.
Day 20; and low and behold, fertile cm, agreeable temps and R at our door - the planets must have aligned yesterday, because everything went according to plan. I'm inclined to believe Goddess arranged the situation for us after we were starting to get frustrated with the delay between ewcm and insem, and how often we were having to do these things on days when either R or I (or both of us) had to work. As it is, we're looking at another magic cycle and we're channeling every available resource into directing positive energy in the right direction. I'm using a rose quartz bracelet as a fertility totem for this cycle and We've asked a friend whose circle specialises in fertility spells to help. There are baby pictures and magazines dotted all around the flat to emphasize our objective (including one in the snack draw as a deterrent for me, lolz) and we're trying to keep to fresh, in season foods to draw health and vitality into ourselves.
Try number 6 - the second magic cycle - is here.
Showing posts with label fertility monitoring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fertility monitoring. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
In which there is a day, an insemination and absolutely no reference to Henry Fielding
8:30 am, 11 November
Signs it's going to be a good day
* The radio greets us with Bon Jovi and the playlist just gets better from there
* More ewcm than I've had on any given morning in the last six months.
* The new lodgers are on their way out for work
- Sorry, if this is graphic btw but it seems to be the case that whilst you're ttc, you're so focused on the many amazing things your body is doing to prepare for baby that you sometimes forget that not everybody has the same endless fascination for mucus and follicles and linings.
14:00
A flurry of cleaning, a warm shower and then a cup of tea whilst waiting for A to get home from work. Nothing left to do this evening but pop in a movie and pour out the (non-alcoholic) mojitos. R confirms he has finished class and is en-route.
-the new lodgers (vecino & vecina) return from work
22:30
After talking all evening and enjoying a fabulous dinner cooked by my very talented partner, R does his manly duty and heads home, leaving us to get down to business with the goods. I should mention at this point that the bed we're currently using (whilst waiting for a new one to arrive) is a large bunk with a 'study' underneath. Every movement makes the bed sway and creak. The lodgers are in the next room. There were rounds of creaking, shushing and intermittent giggles but we got the job done. We even discovered that the bed is the perfect distance from the ceiling for me to prop my legs up and check out the pretty colours A had painted my nails for the occasion (she'd made me put my socks on as soon as they were dry and made me swear not to look)
So that's it. Our only insem attempt for this cycle. The Hail Mary Pass.
Signs it's going to be a good day
* The radio greets us with Bon Jovi and the playlist just gets better from there
* More ewcm than I've had on any given morning in the last six months.
* The new lodgers are on their way out for work
- Sorry, if this is graphic btw but it seems to be the case that whilst you're ttc, you're so focused on the many amazing things your body is doing to prepare for baby that you sometimes forget that not everybody has the same endless fascination for mucus and follicles and linings.
14:00
A flurry of cleaning, a warm shower and then a cup of tea whilst waiting for A to get home from work. Nothing left to do this evening but pop in a movie and pour out the (non-alcoholic) mojitos. R confirms he has finished class and is en-route.
-the new lodgers (vecino & vecina) return from work
22:30
After talking all evening and enjoying a fabulous dinner cooked by my very talented partner, R does his manly duty and heads home, leaving us to get down to business with the goods. I should mention at this point that the bed we're currently using (whilst waiting for a new one to arrive) is a large bunk with a 'study' underneath. Every movement makes the bed sway and creak. The lodgers are in the next room. There were rounds of creaking, shushing and intermittent giggles but we got the job done. We even discovered that the bed is the perfect distance from the ceiling for me to prop my legs up and check out the pretty colours A had painted my nails for the occasion (she'd made me put my socks on as soon as they were dry and made me swear not to look)
So that's it. Our only insem attempt for this cycle. The Hail Mary Pass.
Sunday, 10 November 2013
Wishing and hoping and praying
Due to Scheduling conflicts, we missed this cycle's O date.
Along with monitoring basal body temperature (bbt) and cervical mucus (cm) we've been using ovulation test sticks from around day ten of my cycle. This cycle, there was no faint build up to the results line; one day the window was blank, the next it was a strong line. R, the donor, and I have some pretty tight schedules this week but he's going to try to meet us at the flat tomorrow. It seems a little like locking the barn door and all that...but at least it's a try. For me, at least, the cycles we don't get to try hurt that little bit more than the negatives. Now we just have to figure out how to distract the new lodgers from the length of time R is spending in the bathroom. We've also been in contact with the group who cast our fertility spell at the start of summer to arrange a re-casting and hopefully a boost for our last try of the year (We'll be abroad for a month over Christmas and New Year, so we'll be skipping the December cycle and possibly January, depending on timing)
Things are a little sensitive at home with the impending birth of our nephew (A's sister's due date is this week) Either way, we will be visiting next weekend. A couple days in Ireland will be a pleasant change of scenery and maybe a nice distraction during the TWW - if we pull it off tomorrow.
Along with monitoring basal body temperature (bbt) and cervical mucus (cm) we've been using ovulation test sticks from around day ten of my cycle. This cycle, there was no faint build up to the results line; one day the window was blank, the next it was a strong line. R, the donor, and I have some pretty tight schedules this week but he's going to try to meet us at the flat tomorrow. It seems a little like locking the barn door and all that...but at least it's a try. For me, at least, the cycles we don't get to try hurt that little bit more than the negatives. Now we just have to figure out how to distract the new lodgers from the length of time R is spending in the bathroom. We've also been in contact with the group who cast our fertility spell at the start of summer to arrange a re-casting and hopefully a boost for our last try of the year (We'll be abroad for a month over Christmas and New Year, so we'll be skipping the December cycle and possibly January, depending on timing)
Things are a little sensitive at home with the impending birth of our nephew (A's sister's due date is this week) Either way, we will be visiting next weekend. A couple days in Ireland will be a pleasant change of scenery and maybe a nice distraction during the TWW - if we pull it off tomorrow.
Thursday, 31 October 2013
And on it goes....
Halloween. The date we had chosen as test day for this 'magic' cycle. And although my period has come and gone, we are in a better place than we were at this point after last time. There's still a strange sense of suspended time hanging over the house though. It's like when you know there's rain coming - even when you have no need to leave the house, you still keep looking out the windows and wondering where it is. I keep looking at the cupboard thinking 'that period was pretty light/short..' I know how ridiculous it would be - taking a test after my period - but it's almost like I'm missing the closure of that negative. Funny, that's what it was like waiting for my period last time. Maybe I need them both to make it real. Managed to hold off taking it anyway.
Thinking of using the instead cup for next attempt although we're still debating weather to wait until after the new year to try again(not wanting to risk long-haul flights if I do get pregnant in the next couple cycles). Will continue to think these things over and distract ourselves with research.
In the meantime, Happy Hallowe'en to all who celebrate
Thinking of using the instead cup for next attempt although we're still debating weather to wait until after the new year to try again(not wanting to risk long-haul flights if I do get pregnant in the next couple cycles). Will continue to think these things over and distract ourselves with research.
In the meantime, Happy Hallowe'en to all who celebrate
Monday, 5 August 2013
All Systems are Go!
Well, here we are. Attempt one, insem one down. Go team!
Yesterday, was a bit of an adventure, I'll tell you that.
I took the test just after lunch - remind me to never again try that at work. I had to dodge a team manager with the ovulation stick in hand. I then left the stick behind the toilets cistern whilst I waited it out, figuring I was the only woman on premises. I hadn't counted on someone forgetting to write on the handover note that we had an extra member of staff. My heart almost stopped when I saw her heading into the toilets (only two toilet stalls and I stupidly left it in the one everyone uses) Nothing was said though. I think we got away with it. cm was wet and slippery - just right for what we had in mind (Needless to say, we were very happy with the timing of this when I found evidence this morning of spinnbarkeit, highly fertile cm)
As I headed home, I expected to feel some last minute jitters but as I thought about it, I realised that I had no doubts. I felt so sure that this was right. A was waiting for me in high spirits when I got home with a big smile and a dish of arroz con pollo, in honour of the occasion. We always celebrate with food from my partner's native Peru.
R came over after dinner and we hung out for a while before getting down to business. We had decided beforehand that he would leave his deposit with us just before he started home so that A and I could have some privacy. It matters a great deal to us that this process of creating our child be as intimate as it can be - regardless of the tools and trappings required.
It went quite well. We took it in turns to hold the container and keep it at a decent temperature whilst we waited for it to liquefy. Then, after insemination, I lay with my butt propped up on a pillow for twenty minutes whilst A tidied up the dinner plates and kept an eye on the time.
R has plans for tomorrow so we decided not to go down the three day insem route we had planned. Instead, we are going to do an insem today, after breakfast and one after dinner tonight.
keep your fingers crossed for us.
Yesterday, was a bit of an adventure, I'll tell you that.
I took the test just after lunch - remind me to never again try that at work. I had to dodge a team manager with the ovulation stick in hand. I then left the stick behind the toilets cistern whilst I waited it out, figuring I was the only woman on premises. I hadn't counted on someone forgetting to write on the handover note that we had an extra member of staff. My heart almost stopped when I saw her heading into the toilets (only two toilet stalls and I stupidly left it in the one everyone uses) Nothing was said though. I think we got away with it. cm was wet and slippery - just right for what we had in mind (Needless to say, we were very happy with the timing of this when I found evidence this morning of spinnbarkeit, highly fertile cm)
As I headed home, I expected to feel some last minute jitters but as I thought about it, I realised that I had no doubts. I felt so sure that this was right. A was waiting for me in high spirits when I got home with a big smile and a dish of arroz con pollo, in honour of the occasion. We always celebrate with food from my partner's native Peru.
R came over after dinner and we hung out for a while before getting down to business. We had decided beforehand that he would leave his deposit with us just before he started home so that A and I could have some privacy. It matters a great deal to us that this process of creating our child be as intimate as it can be - regardless of the tools and trappings required.
It went quite well. We took it in turns to hold the container and keep it at a decent temperature whilst we waited for it to liquefy. Then, after insemination, I lay with my butt propped up on a pillow for twenty minutes whilst A tidied up the dinner plates and kept an eye on the time.
R has plans for tomorrow so we decided not to go down the three day insem route we had planned. Instead, we are going to do an insem today, after breakfast and one after dinner tonight.
keep your fingers crossed for us.
Sunday, 4 August 2013
Ain't no stopping us....
Is it considered obsessive if I make it through three ovulation tests in one day?
Most days of my cycle (anywhere from 21 to 36 days) I get a big blank in the test window of my stick.
cycle day (CD)10, I get suspicious symptoms and test on a whim - faintly positive. CD 11, three slightly stronger positives. I'm torn. It looks like we're building up to a surge: today is day thirteen and the line is almost there. Cm still says no-go.
Last night, we sat and talked it through. Today, I'm going to sneakily test at work (yes, I'm a pee-on-a-stick addict at this time of the month) and if cm is more receptive, we're putting in a call and going for it.
See you on the other side :D
Most days of my cycle (anywhere from 21 to 36 days) I get a big blank in the test window of my stick.
cycle day (CD)10, I get suspicious symptoms and test on a whim - faintly positive. CD 11, three slightly stronger positives. I'm torn. It looks like we're building up to a surge: today is day thirteen and the line is almost there. Cm still says no-go.
Last night, we sat and talked it through. Today, I'm going to sneakily test at work (yes, I'm a pee-on-a-stick addict at this time of the month) and if cm is more receptive, we're putting in a call and going for it.
See you on the other side :D
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Counting Rainbows
So, it turns out that this month wasn't going to be our month.
After waiting on hot coals for what feels like forever, I got up one morning (the day of our city's Pride parade, no less) to a raised basal body temperature (bbt) and signs of fertile mucus (ewcm)
We had by that time given up on the likelihood of my ovulating this month and were planning to meet up with R for the Pride day festivities in town. Needless to say: if this was going to be it, we would probably have to edit our plans a little. I took an ovulation test around breakfast and then, being me, I took one after lunch just to be sure - both negative, no matter how hard or how long we stared at them. Not even a maybe-tomorrow shadow of a line.
We were disappointed but we're choosing not to dwell on it. The way we see it, we could be in for a long ride and we can't start getting bogged down before we've even had our first attempt. As it was, we went into town and had a great day and our camera is full of photos (like that one on the bar, for example) that we might not have taken. And it's probably for the best that Felix's due date would not be the same week as my birthday. With birthdays so close together in my family growing up, it always seemed more pleasant to have birthdays spread out over the year.
R was also disappointed, when we told him. He's been living the my-body-is-a-temple diet for weeks now and focusing on the fertility boosting foods we've found from our research. When I asked him if we could buy him a drink at the festival, he smiled and shook his head. "I'm keeping myself in readiness for the next time," he said. And whilst we assured him that for the next two weeks at least, he could relax his diet a little, he insisted on keeping to the fertility regimen. Bless his heart. We have been so lucky to find such a wonderful man as our donor and future uncle to our child.
So whilst this week has had a little disappointment, our life is still full of rainbows.
After waiting on hot coals for what feels like forever, I got up one morning (the day of our city's Pride parade, no less) to a raised basal body temperature (bbt) and signs of fertile mucus (ewcm)
We had by that time given up on the likelihood of my ovulating this month and were planning to meet up with R for the Pride day festivities in town. Needless to say: if this was going to be it, we would probably have to edit our plans a little. I took an ovulation test around breakfast and then, being me, I took one after lunch just to be sure - both negative, no matter how hard or how long we stared at them. Not even a maybe-tomorrow shadow of a line.
We were disappointed but we're choosing not to dwell on it. The way we see it, we could be in for a long ride and we can't start getting bogged down before we've even had our first attempt. As it was, we went into town and had a great day and our camera is full of photos (like that one on the bar, for example) that we might not have taken. And it's probably for the best that Felix's due date would not be the same week as my birthday. With birthdays so close together in my family growing up, it always seemed more pleasant to have birthdays spread out over the year.
R was also disappointed, when we told him. He's been living the my-body-is-a-temple diet for weeks now and focusing on the fertility boosting foods we've found from our research. When I asked him if we could buy him a drink at the festival, he smiled and shook his head. "I'm keeping myself in readiness for the next time," he said. And whilst we assured him that for the next two weeks at least, he could relax his diet a little, he insisted on keeping to the fertility regimen. Bless his heart. We have been so lucky to find such a wonderful man as our donor and future uncle to our child.
So whilst this week has had a little disappointment, our life is still full of rainbows.
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