Super-Secret Post
Originally written throughout month 21
Partway through the month
We’ve been using the ClearBlue Fertility Monitor. It was affordable because someone lent us the computer part and we just had to buy sticks for it. It gives us a heads up a few days before ovulation, but apparently, for us, there’s no guarantee of how many days that heads up is.
I just got that heads up, so in 1, 2, or 3 days, we have our first intervention. I didn’t realize until recently that really, this is the first thing we’re actually changing in the process. We had a red herring before of a possible cause; medication was prescribed and taken for what turned out to be a completely unrelated problem, but we never got to the point where we expected the medication to make a difference. So Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday is the first time our odds will be different. So much has been going on that I lost sight that nothing before now was tangible progress but just paperwork and tests.
We’re not good candidates for this. It seems so silly to bother, but considering our other personal circumstances, this makes sense. We can’t start IVF until after we move, and this is about 5% of the cost of IVF, so we may as well give it a shot for two cycles while we’re waiting around anyway and in case it saves us money. And if the clinic we’re referred to doesn’t “prescribe” IVF without this step, we’ll have it checked off already.
After the IUI
Luckily, our schedules are flexible, because at this stage, every morning you pee on a stick when you wake up and that’s when you find out if you’re tied up at the doctor’s that morning or not. I am jealous of the ladies who run like clockwork.
The procedure wasn’t too bad — worse than advertised but better than I expected — although I’m a bit crampy. The worst part is that unlike after tests, I’m not allowed to take ibuprofen (I guess since it’s bad to take while pregnant).
Hubby stayed at the clinic for my half of the procedure. For one thing, I thought it would be weird if he wasn’t physically present while knocking me up. But it was also really great because he’s a really easy-going guy who lightened the mood significantly (which is NOT easy to do when stirrups are involved). And it was really great to hold his hand <3
3/4 of the way through the month
The last 2 weeks of the last few months hadn’t been so hard, wondering if we’d conceived or not (after a year, you’re pretty sure it’s not going to happen; after the doctor tells me it won’t, I’m convinced). But this month, with the intervention in place, I am back to nailbiting any time I’m not doing anything to take my mind off it (and studying, apparently, does not count).
End of month 21
The IUI majorly messed with my body. For a week I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to tell if my period had come. Then the spotting stopped for about 36 hours. Then, a day late, 11 days after the IUI (day 26), and on my fifth wedding anniversary, I proclaimed the IUI a failure and had a glass of wine with dinner.
One down, one to go. Month 22’s eligibility depends on ovulation landing on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday since I’ll be on work placement and unable to take a day off.