On the mend

Just a quick update. Friday night was another rough night. I began the night upright, again. As the night went on, and I woke up often, I readjusted, and at about 3:30 am I managed to be in a flat position on my side. It was awful. And if I wanted to flip over, I still had to sit up and turn myself. So I didn't get much sleep. The gas was still so bad that I looked 4 months pregnant. The stretching of my stomach about killed me. But Saturday was better. I managed to get a little done around the house (light duty, of course) and even made an appearance at a party last night. Unfortunately, we had to leave by 8 to go home and administer shots. This will run our schedule for a while. They said the shots will continue for the first trimester. Keep that in mind if you invite us to any parties. They go in my back, so Jon has to do it. And it is quite a process with multiple needles, heating pads, markers, etc. It still hurts to touch my stomach, which makes me a little nervous. The doctor does a belly ultrasound (with a full bladder, mind you) during the embryo transfer to guide all of the equipment and what not. It can be very uncomfortable in a normal scenario, so I am hoping it will be less painful by then. My poor cat is feeling awfully rejected since he can't climb up on me. I have to go to a birthday party today with little kids and am nervous about them wanting to touch me (I have been known to encourage climbing in the past). But I will just have to sit down and take it easy.
the embryo transfer is scheduled for Tuesday. We will know then how many will be frozen as well (not all will live 5 days in the incubators).
Thanks for all the well wishes. I am getting there.

Fertilized

Last night was rough. I had some pain yesterday in the late afternoon and had to call the doctor. After walking me through some self tests, he concluded that sometimes when people are in pain, they swallow air. That air gets trapped in the body and can cause great discomfort. Yeah, no kidding. I could barely breathe. So Jon ran to the store for some Gas-X and I was told to sit up. Lying down was painful anyway, so I was somewhat relieved until bedtime. Lots of belching, which hurt to push out but temporarily relieved some of the discomfort. Per doctors advice, I slept propped upright. I was surrounded by pillows, and looked quiet ridiculous. I was worried about neck cramps, and getting any sleep at all. But my horseshoe shaped travel pillow was the perfect cradle for my head, and I managed to get some rest. I still woke up every 2 hours to pee (with my ovaries so swollen, they are fighting for space, making my bladder unable to handle large quantities of liquid) and re-adjust. I have dozed a little on and off today as well. We also started the Progesterone shots last night, which are oil based (so thick, and hard) and Jon has to give them to me because they go into my hip in my back. The needle is huge, and I am glad I don't have to do it to myself. This will continue through the first trimester. I am still quite uncomfortable, and still struggling with bloating and gas. The doctor says it will get worse before it gets better. I am hoping the worst was yesterday afternoon. I feel better, just not great. We have a couple parties this weekend, and I am hoping to be well enough to at least make an appearance.
I did manage to leave the house for a pedicure. A girl has her priorities, and was feeling wild so I went for a glittery blue- first time ever for that. I quiet like it. But was exhausted upon arriving home. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang, and my mood perked right back up with a flower delivery (thanks Mom & Dad!).
The doctor called this afternoon, and 20 eggs were fertilized and popped into the incubator. That is an outstanding number. My embryo transfer is scheduled for Tuesday, when they are 5 days old. They will put 2 in me, and the remaining embryos that live that long will be frozen. I pretty much plan on bed rest, and will allow myself to be up again on Friday. I have books to read, and my computer can come to bed with me.

33

I haven't blogged for a while, clearly. After such a hiatus, its hard to know where to begin. The last spring was so busy, that it is a blur. Then summer started, and I was a cleaning, baby gift making, project completing machine for the first few weeks. Nothing interesting or worth blogging about. Just productive in many ways.
All of this "getting things done" led to the second half of my summer. We are doing Invitro Fertilization (IVF), again. We had 2 embryo transfers this spring, both were negative. So without anymore frozen in the bank, we were set to go through a fresh cycle again. I predicted this round would be different than the last for a variety of reasons. 1) I am not working. So if I want to stay in bed all day, I can. This greatly reduces my stress level. Even though I don't feel really intese during the school year because I love my job, it obviously takes a toll mentally, and physically as I create lesson plans and chase after children all day. 2) My diet is different. I have mentioned going gluten free before, and what a difference it made in my physical well being. I should mention now that I am not so much gluten free, as wheat free. That was my allergy, and eliminating all gluten can be tedious, so I decided to stick to wheat only. And peanuts. And melon. And oats. And blue cheese. And all the other foods that I am allergic to, and never liked anyway. 3) I kicked up the acupuncture to 2x a week. That should help stimulate my ovaries, and balance my body.
This IVF cycle has been rough on me, I am not going to lie. Last time, I felt great. I worked out up until the day before my embryo transfer, shots went well, etc. This time, I have been uncomfortable for a week, and cried almost every time I had a shot. Jon had to help give them to me and I bruised after almost every one. It looks like someone has been punching me in the ovaries, and it feels like that every time I go over a speed bump, or hit the curb in our driveway.
This morning I had my egg retrieval surgery. I am in a lot of pain, and had some trouble coming out of anesthesia. Throwing up uses too many muscles near my ovaries, so that didn't help. But they took out 33 eggs. Yes, 33. I was a little egg factory, so it is no wonder I was uncomfortable. We won't know until tomorrow how many were fertilized because they go through a process of cleaning the eggs before they introduce them to the sperm. Did you know that a mature human egg is about the same size a typed period (.)? One day at a time, and the hard part is over.
I mentioned earlier this year, when I turned 33, that I felt really great about this year, felt lucky. Thirty-three is my favorite number. Should I find it a coincidence that today I had 33 eggs removed? I think it is a sign. Keep your fingers crossed, I'll keep you updated through the blog.

Fabric, fabric, fabric

This last Saturday, I had an opportunity to meet Heather Bailey (which is weird to say because my sister-in-law is also named Heather Bailey), who is one of my favorite fabric designers. Her lines are very bright and hip, and her patterns are whimsical and fun. She lives here in Gilbert (her kids even go to one of our rival high schools), and I was sort of awestruck. I had to have my friend Amy along to keep me in check so I didn't appear like a stalker and stare too much. But she had some great samples of her work, and I bought a couple patterns. I ended up spending some time this weekend with the new patterns and making some Henrietta turtles and some Ollie elephants. It is as close as I get to a local celebrity and it was fun. I of course bought some more fabric, and am itching to start a new project. Because, you know, I have so much spare time.

Mary Poppins review

So, I saw Mary Poppins tonight at Gammage. I can't even tell you how excited I was for this. Mary Poppins is one of my all time most favorite movies, and I especially love the soundtrack. My mom had it on a record and I listened to it over and over as a kid. We had the movie on VHS, which was watched a lot, and if you know me at all, you know I watched it over and over and over and over and over. Eventually we recorded the soundtrack on to an audio tape (with Annie on the other side, another favorite) that I continued to listen to until it melted in my car when we moved to Arizona.
Mom, if you haven't seen it yet, you may want to skip my review. And if you aren't as familiar with the movie, you may not care, but I am so disturbed that I needed to get it down in writing. I'll start with the high points. The cast were amazingly like the characters in the movie. I thought Katie Nanna had been beamed through time and placed on stage. their voices were top notch when they did sing, and the dancing was very well coordinated. "Step in Time" was brilliant in the dance coordination, and they all had on tap shoes, which added to the effect. They had almost the entire cast in unison with the sweeps and everything. I was thrilled that it was done well. But the rest of it pretty much sucked. They kept some characters, but not their odd charm and personality. For instance, Mr. Banks talks to the Admiral in the street, but never did they address the fact that he sets off a cannon every day at noon and the whole house shakes and everyone has to scramble to keep the breakables from falling off teh walls. Scenes were out of order, and some just plain omitted. Bert's bipolar uncle was no where in the story, which also means that one of my favorite songs was gone too - "I Love to Laugh." The scene in the park when Bert dances with penguins was creepily done with statues instead of penguins. The words to Supercalifragileisticksxpialidocious were changed, and the scene where they sang it was new. As a purest, I can't believe they changed the song that is most known and associated with the movie. I was appalled. I hate the song "Feed the Birds" and they did a reprise of it 3 times. Really? I find it hard to believe that of the 18 original songs from the movie that the stage writers could only find ways to include and adapt 6 of them. The movie is only 140 minutes long, you could easily have used the exact same script. They also took time to write new songs, and turn them into main focus pieces of the entire production. Mary Poppins was not "Practically Perfect" as she is in the movie, but came off as goofy and silly as opposed to composed and wise. Mrs Banks came off as pathetic and insecure, which was obviously planned and so leaving out "Sister Suffregette" only took away from her strength. "Let's Go Fly a Kite" was sang with Bert & Michael instead of Mr. Banks, which took away from the whole meaning behind the song.
Was I glad I went? Yes. Would I see it again? No. I guess I should have known better. I assumed that since Annie and Chicago were both well done on the stage and in the movies, I thought this would be the same. I have always wanted to see the Lion King, and I think the movie is ho-hum, so maybe I won't be disappointed. On a positive note, when I got home, I immediately downloaded the soundtrack from the 1964 Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke movie from iTunes onto my iPod. I am happy once again.

Gluetin Free

It has been 1 month since my cleanse, and my decision to be gluten free. I found out a few years ago that I had some mild food allergies. These allergies didn't seem to affect me much, so I ignored them. But after some experimentation, I realized what an impact it made on my life. So no more wheat, or peanuts (and other things that I never really liked anyway like melon, oats, and cheese mold). The great thing is that corn, potatoes, and rice are still on the list of foods I can eat, so I am not completely out of starch. I sometimes miss crackers, pizza, and cake, but have found good gluten free substitutes. It is easier than I thought it would be. But I would be lying if I said I didn't miss beer. There is supposedly a gluten free beer out there, but I have yet to try it. I am amazed at how much better I feel. I can think more clearly, have lost 7 pounds (the goal is 15), am not as tired, and have a great energy level. I really hope my body can concentrate on sustaining a pregnancy as opposed to fighting allergies all the time. I think there is a direct link, and hope this helps.
I also am appreciating my new energy level because of my schedule. I practically need to schedule time to pee I am so busy. But I am really enjoying my 2 classes, even though they go pretty late at night, and have had a successful semester so far with my new kids. I don't have things down pat yet, but am not scrambling at the last minute as much to put together a lesson. I had a wonderful birthday weekend in Las Vegas with my parents. We had great food, and I saw Bette Midler, and Love. It was awesome. I love that town.
I am exhausted, but love the feeling of learning, and living. They say everyone should eat vegetarian 2 days a week. I feel the same about gluten for those that aren't allergic to wheat. Give it a whirl!

First Day Jitters

I decided this weekend that I wasn't busy enough and signed up for 2 classes at the local community colleges. I am terrified for tomorrow. I can't for the life of me figure out what has me so worked up. College was horrendous the first time around. I hated it. I did what I had to do, dropped out often, and forced myself to finish in 6 very long years. Hooray for me. I am now a much wiser woman with a career that I love, going to get some extra knowledge for both work and play. Why the stress? I think it all has to do with time management. Can I get it all done? You should see my schedule. If I want to do everything I want to, I will have to pencil in time to pee for the next 5 months. Maybe I am crazy. But I always work better with a schedule, and I have slotted my Monday-Friday out rather well, in my opinion, and saving the weekend for whatever the week may bring. Probably a lot of sleep since class is on Tuesday and Thursday nights, downtown, until 10 pm. I don't know when I will have time to snuggle with Jon or the cat. But I will be learning, which is one of my favorite things to do. And I will be able to take some of those things and apply them to work. It will inspire me professionally, and personally. I keep thinking about that Etsy shop...... I took quite a few classes this summer, and not only really enjoyed them, but also felt I had a better grasp on work with the knowledge I gained. It has helped me feel more solid about this school year, and I feel like my routine has improved, and I am utilizing my resources more efficiently. I am excited to see what classes will be offered this summer as well. I don't need an Associates degree, but if that is what happens with a class here and a class there, so be it. I may get a couple certificates in the process for the resume. Just in case I need it. If I had more spare time, I would take more classes. I just wish I didn't feel like I was going to throw up.
What am I taking, you ask? A basic Fashion Design class, and Pattern Design I so I can maybe make my own dresses. I really wanted to take Fashion Illustration and Sewing with Knits, but couldn't get in. Too late. But I will keep my eye out for this summer, as well as Pattern Design II and various other enticing credits!