This Is Why I've Been So Quiet

I'M PREGNANT!!!!

I can't believe our first IUI worked!

After MULTIPLE home tests, we went for the initial beta today and it came back at 113!

We have our second beta on Thursday and fingers crossed it doubles!

IUI Day!

I'm all inseminated. Procedure was fine. Things got a little complicated because my uterus/cervix is tilted so they had to re-adjust the speculum a couple times (which one thing no one tells you is they can't use lube so that's fun) and they had to change catheters to get past the tilt but after that, smooth sailing. Pain free with just minor cramping afterwards. I am a little tender now but it's not horrible.

So let the 2ww begin!

CD14

I skipped yesterday. But don't worry, all my symptoms are the same as they have been. Well, I was horrifically irritable yesterday which is more than my mild irritability but all the rest are still the same.

So today was our follicle scan.

We are ready to go!

I had 1 follicle that was 19x20 so I take my trigger shot tonight and we have the IUI on Wednesday.

Shit just got real.

CD12 (And Some Helpful Explanations)

As I post my symptoms every day, I realize that some people read them and are probably like, HUH?

For instance, ovary pressure. I could probably ask someone what that felt like and they may give me a completely different answer than I would give. So I'm going to go through some of my symptoms and really explain them cuz someone could be experiencing the same thing but use a different term than I do.

• Ovary Pressure- When I say I have ovary pressure, what I'm feeling is a kind of pressure or discomfort where my ovary is. Especially when I pee. Usually when I have a good follicle growing, I'll get a discomfort in the ovary that has the follicle whenever I empty my bladder. It literally feels like the follicle is the size of a baseball and emptying my bladder moved it back to it's normal spot and oh can I feel it. I wouldn't say it's painful all the time, but the bigger it gets the more painful peeing can become. I also feel the pressure throughout the day depending on what I'm doing. Definitely can feel this pretty painfully the bigger the follicle gets during sex. Gets pretty uncomfortable but it's a good sign things are growing so I don't mind it. Basically to me it all feels like a mass/bubble/heaviness in my ovary. I think I explained that the best I could.
• Twinges- Twitches or spasms. Usually when I'm about to ovulate or get my period, my lower abdomen/pelvic area twitches. A few specific random spots over and over again. 
• Cervix Pain- For me it's a stabbing or shooting pain that goes through my cervix. Never experienced this pain before I had my child (who wasn't even delivered naturally) but I get it now whenever my cervix is opening (and sometimes closing).

Another thing I would like to mention is what exactly I am doing this cycle as far as fertility sign tracking. I realize I don't exactly need to do any of this since I am being monitored by ultrasound, but I like to anyway.

This cycle I am

• Temping 
• Using A Fertility Microscope 
• Using OPKs

I may start checking my cervix but it really isn't necessary since we'll be doing IUI.

CD9

Ok, lesson of the day. Don't take an OPK too soon after ending Clomid because you can get a false positive. I've never had a problem with that before but I guess there's always that possibility.

But anyway, here's the symptom list...

• Hot Flashes
• Cervix Pain
• "Fullness" in my lower abdomen by my ovaries

CD8

Wow was yesterday a cranky day for me. I was wondering when the Clomid mood swings would really set in lol. Luckily I have an awesome husband who knows it's just the meds talking. (love you!)

This Picture Immediately Came To Mind

So here is the list of symptoms for today (and as always, it's updated as they occur):

• Tired (could just be the past week catching up with me though)
• Sensitive Nipples
• Ovary Pressure
• Cramping (especially in ovary area)
• Ovary Pain
• Hot Flashes

CD7

Today is my last dose of Clomid. Not much to report. I'm a little cranky today but that could just be from the puppy. I have no pressure in my ovaries but that doesn't mean nothing is happening. It just means they aren't big enough yet which obviously wouldn't be happening on CD 7 anyway.

List of symptoms:

• Irritability 
• Ovary Pain
• Hot Flashes
• Sensitive Nipples

CD6

Ok, CD6. There were a few days there I didn't update, but mainly cuz nothing was really going on. (Plus my best friends were in town so we were pretty busy).

SO here is the update.

I started Clomid on CD3 and surprisingly haven't had too many side effects. I've got my usual hot flashes and some ovary pain and maybe a little nausea (but that's not entirely Clomid related, I get nauseous close to ovulation on natural cycles too) and I was dizzy for maybe half a second on CD4 I believe. Ok and we can't forget the irritability on CD4 too.

I've been keeping track of all my symptoms on Fertility Friend for both my obsession and the surveys I take at every appointment for the PCOS study. If I don't track it all, I'll forget everything the second I go to write it down.

Fertility Friend has been the best thing I've ever done to chart my cycles and symptoms and honestly, I've learned a lot about my body's pre-ovulation signs in the 6+ years I've been keeping track. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to conceive because you never know if that eye twitch you get every so often doesn't end up coinciding with ovulation. Trust me, I have some odd ovulation signs that I never would have thought could be ovulation signs if I didn't chart and notice a trend.

But anyway, I go for my first follicle check on Friday and hopefully we see some growers.

UPDATE: I also ended up having some cervix pain which is always a good indicator of ovulation (and AF). Whenever my cervix hurts, it's because it's opening.

List of symptoms:

• Hot Flashes
• Ovary Pain
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Irritability
• Cervix Pain

Progress!

Oh. My. God. I love my new RE!!! She is super nice, her nurses are super nice, and she asked me what *I* want to do! Even the internal ultrasound was painless which is awesome since they always were fairly painful with my other doc. And best of all, I get to participate in a study on PCOS and Clomid! And with it comes a discount on IUI! I even asked her if I wasn't close to ovulation if I could start Provera to get things rolling and she said yup! I just have to wait on blood test results to make sure I haven't ovulated (since the ultrasound showed tons of follicles but no dominant one) and I can start Provera. And as soon as I get my period I go in for a baseline ultrasound and sign the consent for the study and start the Clomid! Oh my gosh I'm so excited I don't know what to do with myself!

I can't believe this is really finally happening!!!