Thursday, March 27, 2008

It's all fun & games til you end up under the hammock...

Today marks the 7th day after insem so we decided to start the belly pictures. I know that may seem odd since we don't even know if we're pregnant. I just figured, what the hell, may as well take them. The worst that can happen is they become our "before" pictures. :) Trina wanted to take them out on her hammock. She is in love with this thing. She lays out there and reads, talks on the phone or just relaxes at least once every day. Sometimes after work I'll hear her pull into the driveway and I'll wait for her to open the door and come in. Instead she'll make it to the patio, drop her bag, kick off her shoes and flop into the hammock. It's her zen.


On a side note, this is why pregnant women shouldn't play around on hammocks...



Now that could not have been good for the baby. Notice how I kept taking pictures instead of helping her up? Classic. :) Not sure how long it'll take to live this one down. Surely posting it on the web for all to see will help my case.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Stealing the Limelight

Today started out on a sad note. We had to take one of our pet rats, Indy, to the vet to be put down. We buried him under our tree and did some therapeutic landscaping to ease the loss. He was a good little guy and we'll miss him.

Luckily that's where the bad news ends. Trina is feeling more and more confident that she's pregnant. Her temp is still up and yesterday the smell of chocolate covered donuts made her stomach turn. Is it even possible that this is a pregnancy symptom? Who cares, it's fun to dream.

Last week when Trina and I were at the doctor's office waiting for the swimmers to prepare for their journey, I was texting back and forth with my kid brother. During our chat, he jokingly said that he was going to run out and get his girlfriend pregnant just to steal my spotlight. Well, today he called and when I didn't answer (we were at the vet) texted me "Call ASAP". I was a little worried and returned the call right away. "Remember when I was joking about knocking 'K' up?" They took 6 different kinds of home pregnancy tests. 4 of those tests came up positive including one that was 2 mos expired. The 2 they bought from the dollar store came up negative. Today they went to the doctor who confirmed that she's 4weeks pregnant. Note to self, no dollar store tests... :) I'm so excited for them and I'm glad our baby is going to have a cousin the same age. I told him that since we didn't live close, he needed to start a blog right away so I could keep up with all the news, big and small. Trina suggested he name the blog "Stealing the Limelight".

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Calm, Cool & Collected

I'm REALLY not a patient person so I expected these 2 weeks to drag on. I thought that as soon as we left the doctor's office I'd be dying to know if it "took". I generally replay things in my head over and over and "what if" myself half to death. I'm calm. I can't really explain it. It's sort of surreal. I know we did everything in our power to make this work. Trina's been on prenatal vitamins for months, we upped her protein last month, we suffered through the Clomid, we've charted and tested religiously. On the "medical side" the doc said our motile sperm count was very high, we inseminated on our peak day, Trina's temp went up the next day and it's stayed up since then. I can't say I'm overly confident that we are pregnant, though I'd like to think we are. It's more the feeling that if we are pregnant then that's awesome and if we aren't then it just wasn't meant to be. I'm feeling very zen about the whole thing. That being said, I reserve the right to freak out at any point. :)

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Whew, What A Day (Looong Post)

Ok then, where do I begin? Last night we had a wonderful time out with friends. One of Trina's old highschool buddies is in town for a work conference. He's quite the character. I've never gotten so many "second looks" before. Then of course, I've never hung out downtown with a red headed, bearded man in a kilt either... We took him to my very favorite restaurant where we met up with my bestest friend, her wife and their daughter. We had good food and good conversation. After dinner we played some pool and I got thoroughly beaten down by both my wife and her friend. A good time was had by all. I finally hit my pillow around 2am. It was a great "last night" of freedom. This morning my alarm was very loud and went off very early...

When I think back to this morning it feels like another day all together. Was it really a short 15hours ago that I woke up, turned off the alarm and stumbled o the shower? While the hot water was nudging me awake, Trina got up, took her temp, peed on a stick and inserted it into the proper place in the monitor. A few minutes later she came into the bathroom to tell me that today was the day. I was estatic and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that part of the elation came from knowing I didn't have to go to work. I was exhausted. I finished my leisurley shower and called work, they were very excited. I'm lucky to work with a good group of folks who love me. Trina and I crawled back in bed to snuggle while we waited for the doctor's office to open. We were so excited to make that call, nothing could bring us down. Well nothing except the nurse telling us that our doc was on vacation this week. What!?! She said she'd have to see if any of the other doctor's could fit us in and she'd call us back. Trina cried. I held her and told her everything happens for a reason. Either we'd inseminate this cycle or not, it'd all work out. When the phone rang a few minutes later, I was definitely NOT expecting the nurse to tell us they could fit us in if we come right now. OH SHIT! We jumped out of bed and hap hazardly threw on clothes and brushed our teeth.

It's an hour drive to the doctor's office without traffic. Luckily I got us there in one peice and without another speeding ticket. We even had time to grab a bite at the cafe after telling the lab to start preparing our lil swimmers for the big day. After breakfast, we went upstairs to check in. We were sent to see a woman in the back. After a few phone calls she turned to us and said "This isn't covered by your insurance." We told her we already knew that. "Well that means you have to pay up front." We told her we knew that too. Then she said "Well, I don't normally deal with infertility so I have to go find out how much it'll be." and walked off in a huff. When she came back, she gave us a figure that was about twice what I had expected. When Trina asked her why it was so high, she glared and kurtly replied "Because your insurance doesn't cover infertility treatments." I'm not sure why that rude little woman kept saying we were infertile. We're both fertile as all get out as far as we know. I could tell my wife was about to jump on this woman like a ninja monkey so I handed over my credit card and put my hand on her forearm. You know, just in case. As we walked off I told Trina we'd work it out later. The pager the lab had given us was vibrating and beeping impatiently. Our swimmers were ready downstairs and this insignificant woman wasn't ruining MY day, dammit.

After we picked up our "specimen", we went back upstairs and were ushered into a room immediately. We met both the doctor and nurse that would be doing the procedure. They both seemed very nice. I was SO relieved. I held Trina's hand while they went to work. Apparently Trina's cervix was tightly closed and didn't want the catheder to enter her uterus. He had to try 3 times and ended up using a torture device he called a "grasper" to pull on her cervix while the catheder pushed it's way in. I could tell Trina was in alot of pain. I hated it for her. When all was said and done, the doctor told her to take it easy for 24hrs. He explained that she'd have pain and bleeding due to the rough entry. With that said, he left us to "rest" for 30min before leaving.
On the way home we swung by our favorite used bookstore to pick up some reading material, rented some movies and picked up some take-out. As the doc predicted, Trina's had some really gnarly cramping and some bleeding. We've spent the entire day on the couch watching movies. She's cried at least once an hour and I've done my best to console her. I feel pretty useless at this point. All I can do is rub her belly when the pain gets bad. She can't take a hot bath and Motrin is off limits. Apparently it can mess with ovulation, a little bit of info I didn't know until today. They said she could have a dose of Tylenol if the pain was too much, but Trina's not much for taking meds. She's a strong woman. She's going to be a great mom. :)

And now, for your viewing pleasure...

One pager to tell us when breakfast was ready and one to tell us when the swimmers were ready. :)


That's our swim team! Hard to believe that TINY amount of fluid will give us the child we want so badly.

The famed
"turkey
baster".




Tools of the trade. The grasper is that long menacing guy on the bottom right.




I was more than a little shocked to see what looked like chunks of my wife in this bucket. No wonder she's in pain.

Whew, all done. Not even the grasper can keep my baby down.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Quick update

We are now on CD10. Trina took her last Clomid yesterday. Trina is known for having EVERY side effect listed on EVERY medication she takes, so I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this week went. She had some cramping and some mood swings, but nothing like what I braced myself for. Mostly she's been quick to cry. Bitter coffee? Cry. Commercial with babies and/our puppies? Cry. I have to leave for work. Cry. We've gone through lots of tissues and all the chocolate, but all in all, it was uneventful.

It's hard to imagine that in 3 to 5 days, we'll "officially" start trying to conceive. Today at work I told my immediate coworkers and my boss that I'd have to call in one day next week. My coworkers were very excited for me. My boss asked why and when I told him it was for a "pregnancy related appt" he said "Why do YOU have to go?" I said "Because she's my wife and this will be OUR baby" He said "I didn't go to my wife's pregnancy appts" I said "Well that's because you're a bastard." I don't think he knew what to say after that. He just sort of blinked alot and I smiled and walked off. Tonight I called my mom and told her that we'd be starting next week. She wished us well and told me to tell Trina that she was thinking of her. :) It's nice to have so many people in our corner. We've already had alot of support from friends and family and we've barely even started the journey.

All that's left is the waiting. I'm no good at waiting. I think that's going to be the hardest part for me. Right now I have to wait until she ovulates, then I have to wait to see if it worked, then I either have to wait to try again or wait to see if it "sticks" then I have to wait to find out the sex, then wait for him/her to be born... That's SO much waiting. Stupid waiting...

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Austin Trip

We drove to Austin to see my dad and step mom this weekend. Trina took some allergy meds in anticipation of the "nature" we'd soon be tromping through. Trina NEVER sleeps in the car, but about 45min into the drive, she drifted into an antihistamine slumber. Now, I'm a bit of a leadfoot and Trina is constantly telling me to slow down. Trina was sleeping... Having to wake her up and tell her we were being pulled over was not fun. I briefly toyed with the idea of seeing if she'd sleep through it. After getting back on the road I was prepared for the tongue lashing I deserved. She surprised me by not being angry or snippy. No mention was made of my ticket during our family visit. When it was time to go, she asked me for the keys. I just smiled and tossed them to her. Forgive, but don't forget folks. I love my wife. :)

The trip went really well (minus the run-in with the law). We told my dad and step mom that our first insem was going to be this cycle, not next like nearly everyone believes. We showed them pictures of our nursery and talked about the things we've already purchased or received. I brought a print out of our donor info and my dad looked at it briefly while I explained how much information we are actually given. We've made sure to keep them updated on our progress over the last few months, but I wanted to have a face-to-face talk with them about the pregnancy now that it's "time". I know my dad loves me and loves Trina, but he is an old fashioned guy. He's had trouble with my being a lesbian, then the wedding, now this. I know he's trying and never says anything negative, at least not to us. Hopefully our being open and honest from the start will make it easier for them to ask questions if/when they feel like taking an active interest. I figure when our baby gets here, they'll have no choice but love our amazing creation. Who doesn't love babies??

Dad's dome-house.




Walking up the dry creek bed with the pooches.


Avoiding what's left of Onion Creek's water.

Dad on the dam.
Rube in his element.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Our Nursery

Our beautiful nursery is finished just in time for our first insemination. In it is our biggest splurge to date. The comfiest, most expensive glider and ottoman in the universe. When Trina's tookus first hit the cushion, she knew it was THE glider. Then we looked at the price tag. EEK! We sat in every glider and rocker we came across for months trying to talk ourselves out of it, but it was no use. THE glider was prettier, THE glider reclined, THE glider had lumbar support, THE glider matched the wood in the room perfectly. Thanks to my father, stepmother and a few friends giving us Babies R Us giftcards for various holidays, we were able to go and order THE glider. I've been told that THE glider will pay for itself in the first few months. When sitting up all night trying to comfort a fussy baby, it's reclinability and sheer comfiness will ALMOST make life bearable. Here's hoping.

Our Nursery




Our beautiful Pinehurst Crib


THE Glider (moose sold separately)




On a related note, tomorrow or possibly the next day will be CD1. The feelings of anticipation are nearly overwhelming. We've decided that we're going to go ahead and get pregnant on the first try. I know that for some, it takes months, even years, but not for us. We have a plan and we're sticking to it. I've had a talk with Trina's ovaries, uterus and a ton of various girlie tubes and passageways. I feel confident that we're all on the same page. I plan to have a similar conversation with our donor sperm. A pep rally, if you will, for the little swimmers. I know, I know, there are many of you reading this right now shaking your heads thinking I'm nuts (or worse) but I feel that if we all work together and have a positive attitude we can make this happen. Go team! :)