I am so excited to say our post op appointment and Education Day went without a hitch and John and I have “official” dates for some very exciting stuff! I say “official” because with infertility, there is no such thing as official. Things can change in the blink of an eye but for now, I’m staying positive and hoping we don’t veer off the road like we did in Take 1.

With that being said, here’s an update on upcoming appointments and plans. We will go back to Cincinnati the day after Christmas for another ultrasound and a final go ahead to the January 3 date to begin the meds. That’s right.. January 3 will be the beginning of the shots!  I’ll stop taking the birth control on December 30 and from there, approximate dates are two follow up appointments the week of January 5 and then the egg retrieval and the transfer the week of January 12. How are those plans shaping up to make 2015 possibly the best year ever?! Even though the dates are not set in stone, I can’t help but be super excited when I play pretend and imagine how each step will go!

We left our appointment with a whooping 9 (nine!) prescriptions and the beginning stages of light bruising from the one millionth time of having some blood drawn. I’ll go into more detail about each medicine once I begin the whole regimen so I can tell you about my experiences with them as opposed to reciting what I find on the line while Googling. For accountability and educational reasons, I’ll be taking: Gonal F, Cetrotide, Ovidrel and Crinone.

Briefly – here’s a summary so you’re not completely lost in the dark.
Gonal F is the daily shot John will so lovingly give me. The injection provides the FSH hormone that helps cause the ovaries to produce eggs, the stimulation portion of the show.. This med also has some crazy side effects so I (and John) have that to look forward to.
Cetrotide is kinda like the opposite side of Gonal F since this prevents the eggs from being released too early by blocking the GnRH hormone to give eggs time to develop.
Ovidrel is the same injection I took with our IUI attempts. I will take the injection 36-40 hours prior to the procedure because it provides the hCG hormone which stimulates the release of a mature egg, in perfect timing for conception.
Crinone is a progesterone gel that I will take twice a day for about 10 weeks after the transfer to nurture my body and help maintain the pregnancy.

So there’s some quick learning for you on this lovely December 23rd afternoon! I’m sure you can guess what I’m asking Santa to bring this year and while we’re at it, I hope he brings you everything on your list! We are headed to Florida for some relaxation on the 27th, hooooray!!

Merry Christmas! and as always, let me know if you have questions! xo