Cold puppy butt

I knew that 60-degree November weather in Michigan would be short-lived.  We had our first snowfall last night, getting about 5 inches of accumulation.  

Good thing we got those lights up the day after Thanksgiving!

Since it was raining first, this snow was really heavy and there was a nice layer of ice underneath.  It was enough to close the schools for the day, but that didn't stop us from getting moving.  It was puppy pick-up day!  Josh had to drop me off at work so he could go pick up Lucy at MSU in the afternoon.

The doctor (ok, so actually the med/vet student working under him) said Lucy is doing beautifully.  They were surprised to see her already putting some weight on her leg, albeit tentatively.  She does have a good 8 weeks of recovery ahead of her though.  Lucy has a nice row of staples that we will make an appointment with our local vet to remove in a couple weeks.  She is on some antibiotics to prevent infection, and some other meds for pain and joint health.  She can only go outside to go potty, and we need to take her out on a leash for the next 4 weeks (ugh!).  Then we can start short walks (5 minutes) for the next four weeks, and we will have a follow-up with x-rays at MSU in about 2 months.  Her long-term prognosis is great!  She should be running, playing, and swimming(!) by this spring.  We do still need to get a few pounds off her to prevent similar injuries on her other limbs though.

I think they got a little carried away shaving her.... half her butt is bare!  Geez.... don't they know dogs can't wear pants to cover that up?!  Lucy only has to wear the cone when we aren't home... which is good, because we get the stink eye when we put it on her.

The puppy-dog eyes can easily be confused with the stink-eye, but rest assured she was unhappy with us.

Mostly, she is resting comfortably and we are so glad to have our baby home with us.  I just can't wait for her to get back to her playful puppy-self.

Fert Report

I mentioned yesterday how my ovaries were total rock-stars for this IVF, as they retrieved 27 eggs!  Turns out Josh had some pretty rock-star swimmers himself.  The nurse called with our fertilization stats today, so here is what he have:

27 eggs retrieved
21 of the 27 were mature
19 of the 21 fertilized with ICSI

So in some petri dish in a lab in Rochester, we have 19 tiny embryos growing.  How awesome is that!?!  Josh and I are hoping that they grow strong and we have enough to freeze such that we can complete our family with this group of embryos.  Embies for life, baby!

Egg Retrieval day

Today me and Lucy had our surgeries.  Things went REALLY well for both of us!!!

Lets start with the egg retrieval.  We triggered at midnight on Sunday for our noon appointment today.  I wasn't allowed to eat anything after midnight last night, so I stayed up late (for me) and had a nice little meal at about 11:45pm.  Then we slept in a little bit and left early to make a few quick shopping stops (an exchange, and to get some diet food for puppy) before getting to the REs office at 11:30.  We had to go to the Rochester campus, which is about 90 minutes away.

I got called back fairly quickly, changed, and a nurse prepped my IV.  Believe it or not, this was not only my first time under any kind on anesthesia, but it was also my first IV ever.

Everything crossed (pre-IV).  Hoping for a great retrieval!

They took my into the operating room, and Josh went off to do his thing.  He said the resources here were better than last time, I think he described them as "acceptable."  Lucky man, they even had videos.

Random tangent: There are some things about this process that suck, and there are other things you just get over.  The emotionally toll everything takes will never get old.  Needles and shots - I'm over it.  Doesn't bother me in the slightest anymore.  Laying on a table half naked with your legs spread in the air in front of a room full of people - I'm kind of over that too.  A little scary, I know.

So anyway, the nurse walks me into the OR and gets me situated on the table.  After the embryologist, RE, and anesthesiologist check my wrist-band to make sure they have the right person, I get a dose of the anesthesia.  I remember a nurse focusing a huge light on my crotch, then nothing.  I was out in literally seconds.  The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a recovery room.

Josh was still doing his thing (he had to wait a bit to go back, and my procedure only took about 20 minutes), so I just laid there in a dazed state for a while.  Soon Josh was sitting next to me again, and we talked for a bit.  Eventually I got some juice and crackers to munch on, and then they delivered the news:

27 eggs!

We were THRILLED.  Thank you, rock-star ovaries.  Thank you.

That is just so awesome.  We were hoping to get about 20, which would have been amazing, but 27 just made our day.  Now I'm definitely feeling it.  I was reminded again that the more eggs they take out, the higher the risk of OHSS.  So I just really need to take it easy these next couple days.

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On the way home, we got an update on puppy.  Her surgery went beautifully too!!    She was recovering well and awake.  The vet expects a full recovery :) 

The Puppy Doctor

I triggered last night, and if I thought I was uncomfortable toward the end of stims I had another thing coming.  I am sooo bloated, constipated, achy.... ugh.  I really hope we get a bunch of eggs tomorrow so I never have to do this again. 

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But today, we have bigger things to take care of.  We had to take our baby to a specialist at Michigan State animal hospital.

Quick back story:  Sometime in September, Lucy started limping and favoring her left hind leg.  Seemed to get better, then worse again.  Took her to the vet.  Vet was worried about hip dysplasia so we got some meds and were ordered to keep her activity level down to see if it got better.  No dice, so we took her back two weeks later for x-rays.  Vet didn't think she had hip dysplasia, said to keep resting it.  Vet calls back 2 weeks later saying that she showed x-rays to some colleagues, and maybe Lucy does have dysplasia.  Referred us to a specialist at MSU who specializes in canine orthopedics (he is actually one of the best in the country).

So today, we hit the road nice and early to get to an 8:30am appointment in East Lansing.  We met with a vet student who took a history and did an exam.  He took the x-rays we brought to show the vet, and then we got to meet with the vet himself.  The vet checked out Lucy's leg for approximately 15 seconds and informed us she had a ruptured ACL.  According to him, her hips look great for a 2-year old.  Yeah, we were a little miffed at this point.

So, he recommended a TPLO surgery, and he could do it tomorrow.  We talked (for about 30 minutes actually), and since we were expecting Lucy to need surgery anyway (just not on her knee and not the next day) we decided to leave her there to have the operation.

I have been a mess all afternoon.  There are lots of tears.  I'm sure it is part hormones, but I can't stop worrying about my baby.  She must be super scared and she is all alone (an exaggeration I realize, but she isn't with us).  And no one will be there holding her paw when she wakes up from surgery tomorrow.  So I'll just keep her in my thoughts and prayers.  We really need to get her fixed up.  She has been sad since I stopped taking her on my runs and Josh stopped taking her to the dog park to play.  We just want our happy puppy back!

So tomorrow is puppy and mommy surgery day.  Say a little prayer for us!

Meet me in the parking lot

I had to go in for my last monitoring appointment today - yes, on a Sunday.  The RE wanted to check my progress one last time.  I met my nurse in the parking lot - she had to let me into the building since the doors were locked, and then we headed up to the office.

Everything looks good.  She still measured 13 follies on the right, many of which were 20mm or bigger.  She measured 11 follies on the left, but some weren't even 14mm yet, so she wasn't sure how many of those would mature by the retrieval.  Overall, I am hoping we get somewhere around 20 eggs, which would be amazing!

Our retrieval time is noon on Tuesday, which means we trigger at midnight tonight!

Go Blue, Beat OSU!

I  squeezed in a few last workouts this week.  I got a nice and easy run in on Monday, and then on Tuesday I just did some easy weights in the gym at lunch.  Tuesday night was day 5 of stims.  I don't want to push it, so I'm done.  No more exercise (beyond walking) until I am cleared by my doctor, which will be sometime in January if I'm lucky, but more likely February.  :(  (My RE is very conservative with IVF pregnancies, and I will be in his care for the first trimester.)

Su 11/20: rest
M 11/21: 4.06 easy, 37:16, 9:11 pace
Tu 11/22: 30:00 min free weights on the balance ball (8 upper body exercises, 10-15 reps, 3 sets), 2x1:00 planks
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Now on to the real excitement of the weekend - its the BIG game!  Michigan vs. Ohio State, one of the best rivalries in college football.  Except, it hasn't been very interesting lately.  Michigan hasn't won since 2006.  Its about time!  So, thats how I plan to spend my afternoon.  Let's Go Blue!

10 pts: Oregon over Oregon St

9 pts: Stanford over Notre Dame

8 pts: Michigan over Ohio St

7 pts: Wisconsin over Penn St

6 pts: Michigan St over Northwestern

5 pts: Georgia over Georgia Tech

4 pts; Virginia Tech over Virginia

3 pts: Rutgers over Connecticut

2 pts: Florida St over Florida

1 pt: South Carolina over Clemson

Update: Not bad, my highest score of the year.  I'm still in third, but only 1 measly point out of second with one week to go.

This turkey is not trotting.

It's 60 degrees and sunny today.  In Michigan.  On November 25th.  As a runner, having perfect running weather the day after the largest-calorie-meal-of-the-year should be a dream come true.  Unfortunately, this turkey is not running anywhere today.

I went in for my second monitoring appointment this morning (at 6:45!).  Everything is progressing along quite swimmingly: I have 11 follicles on the left, largest ~13mm, and 13 on the right with a few 15-16mm.  The nurse was very pleased with the progress, and said we are on track with a Tuesday retrieval.  She did warn that with so many follicles, I am at risk for OHSS, and reminded me that exercise or excessive twisting should be avoided.  I'm honestly feeling a little uncomfortable - I definitely feel my ovaries and experience some cramping on and off all day.  To explain a hidden double meaning in the post title, I'm also constipated (hahaha, I'm so clever).  The nurse says this is another common side effect as things get a little crowded in there, but it is important to help things along as much as possible since it will only get worse.

I go back in on Sunday for another ultrasound, and until then keep with the same dose of meds.  I'll spend the rest of today catching up on sleep lost from my Black Friday shopping adventure last night (not really worth the effort, but I wasn't shopping for that many things to begin with) and doing some more deal hunting online.

Happy Thanksgiving

I think this is Josh's favorite holiday of the year: it centers around a feast and football :)  And Josh's mom, sister, and I make some really darn yummy food!

As we gather with family today, I am reminded that there are so many things I am thankful for.  While my life feels empty in some ways, it is overflowing with love and joy in others.  I am happy I will be surrounded by family today, and thinking of those who we are not physically with this afternoon.  We are lucky in so many ways, and today of all days is a time to celebrate all the gifts God has given us.

I am especially thankful for these two.

No, it's not snowing here (its actually beautiful for November!). This picture is from last December, but I really like it!

So far, so good

I had my first monitoring appointment today, after 5 days of stims (today is the morning of day 6 but I take my shots at night).  Things seem to be moving right along!

I wore some fun socks.  Maybe these will be my lucky socks this cycle!

The nurse started looking at my left ovary, and was a tad concerned.  She measured 7 follies, nothing was larger than 8mm.  She thought I may need to up my meds.  Then she looked at the right... Jackpot!  She measured 11 follies on the right, all between 8 and 14mm.  She is guessing we will stay on course, pending blood work results, and come in for another check on Friday.  But as for now.... so far, so good!

Congrats, JV!

Well, I wasn't sure it was possible, but Justin Verlander did it.  Last week he took home the AL Cy Young award, and today he was named the AL MVP!

JV is the first starting pitcher to win both awards since Roger Clemens in 1986.  He had an awesome year winning the pitching triple crown, and in my opinion the award was well deserved.

I still want to get my hands on a JV cape.  It would make a great addition to my outfit next time I go to a Tigers game.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

...you know, since I don't keep a decorated tree in my living room year round.

Since I'm not entirely sure how my IVF cycle will fall next month, and I'm not sure how I will be feeling, I've been trying to get ahead on Christmas a little bit.  I already started mixing and freezing a bunch of cookie dough for a baking weekend later in December.  And for the first time ever in my life, the tree is up and decorated before Thanksgiving:

I absolutely LOVE the Christmas season!

The time I did drugs in my car.

Lots of good stuff to post about today.  I met my friend Lauren for our annual shopping trip to Birch Run.  We usually have pretty good luck kicking off our Christmas shopping together sometime in mid-November.

I managed to pick up a few gifts this year, and I cherish the time we spend together chatting and catching up on things.  Lauren is getting married in June, so between the wedding and my treatments, we had plenty to talk about.


After we had dinner, I had to get down to business - it was stim shot time.  Since these injections are in my stomach, I have no issues doing them myself. I probably could have waited until I drove home, but wanted to be sure I was keeping things as consistent from day to day as possible.  So, I set up shop and did the shot before hitting the road:

I am hoping the guy that parked two spots over didn't call the cops when he saw me drawing up drugs from a vial into a syringe in my car.

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This was most likely my last good workout for a while, so I made sure to get in a few good quality runs.  Here is how the week looked with 18.7 miles:

Su 11/13: rest
M 11/14: 3.51 pace, 30:51, 8:48 pace
Tu 11/15: 5.28 easy, 48:16, 9:09 pace
W 11/16: 3.76 easy, 34:11, 9:05 pace
Th 11/17: Insanity Cardio Recovery and Cardio Abs 50:00 min
F 11/18: rest
Sa 11/19: 6.15 long, 57:51, 9:24 pace

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And, I can't forget college football picks for the week:

 

10 pts: LSU over Ole Miss

9 pts: Oregon over USC

8 pts: Oklahoma over Baylor

7 pts: Florida State over Virginia

6 pts: Clemson over North Carolina

5 pts: Ohio St over Penn St

4 pts: Miami (FL) over South Florida

3 pts: Michigan over Nebraska

2 pts: Iowa over Purdue

1 pt: Rutgers over Cincinnati

Update: NOT a good week.  I managed 19 points, which was 2nd highest in our group and moved me into 3rd place just ahead of Josh.  The entire group had a dismal week with all of these upsets.

Good thing I'm not trypanophobic (afraid of needles)

Today I went in for my baseline ultrasound, and everything looked good.  No cysts, so we are good to start stims (meds to stimulate my ovaries to produce more than one lead follicle/egg) tonight. 
My baseline blood work (for my records):
Estrogen: 36
FSH: 2.1
LH 0.9
Progesterone: <0.2

And tonight, shot time.  I am rather lucky in that I can mix my meds (4 vials) all into one shot.  Some ladies have to take many shots a day, I have one short skinny needle that I can stick in the flabby part of my stomach (sub-cutaneous).  Not bad at all.

It took me about 15 minutes tonight, but I was reading the instructions every step of the way.  Josh handles all the shots that go in my ass, but I figure I would handle these.  It wasn't so bad, and I'm sure I will get more efficient at it.  I've never given myself a shot before, but once I got over the initial hesitation, everything was fine.  Only 9 (or maybe less) more nights to go!  (Of stims.  I think I will be getting a shot every day for the next two months or so...)

40 weeks from today

will be my estimated due date  if I get pregnant.  I officially started cycle #13 (19 months) of trying-to-conceive today, which will be our first IVF cycle.  We hope to be celebrating the birth of our child in late August next year!

I go in for baseline testing tomorrow, and should start stims tomorrow night.

Doggus Interruptus

Josh came across this article on CNN yesterday about an ad campaign using humor to promote contraception, and had to laugh at the print ad they used as an example:

I had to admit, having a dog has definitely affected our bedroom activities at times.  It doesn't help that Lucy is very protective of me, oh, and our bedroom door doesn't latch (old house, damn door frame) :/

Bet you never thought you'd see an ad promoting birth control on this blog, huh?

Monday Miscellany

I already have plans for March 23, 2012.  The newest Hunger Games trailer was released today, and I am beyond excited to see this movie.  I haven't been to see a movie in the theater in years (yes, plural), but I have plans to go in 2012.

The Hunger Games movie trailer, C Lions-Gate

If you haven't read the series by Suzanne Collins, I HIGHLY recommend it.  I loved these books (even though they are young-adult classified).  I think I'll read them again this winter...

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My legs LOVE Mondays.  (The rest of me, not so much.)  For the second week in a row, I kicked a sub-9:00 min/mile pace run.  3.5 miles in 30:52 today.  Woot.

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Also, check out The Hungry Runner Girl's blog - she is giving away $100 Lulu giftcard!  I own nothing lululemon, so this would help me acquire the only piece of lulu I will ever own.

I'm patenting this move.

My holiday baking is underway!

Awkward flour pouring. 

As of this weekend, I have my first three batches of cookie dough in the freezer.  I go a little overboard each year, so I have to start early so I'm not completely overwhelmed on "baking weekend."  I try to get as much dough made and frozen ahead of time as I can, so then about 2 weeks before Christmas I start baking/decorating/assembling.  I make a ton of cookies and treats.  I bring them to gatherings, hand them out to neighbors, and bring them in to all the shifts at work and groups I work with.  I get the feeling they are very much appreciated!

One of my cookie trays from two years ago.  Yumm!

I really love the holidays, and I love baking.  I can't wait for Thanksgiving and the Holiday season that follows!

Make Your Move

It was a great day for a run here - I'll be thankful anytime I can get mid-50s in mid-November in mid-Michigan.  So I cranked out a solid 8 miles - what may be my last long run of the year.  I still managed a decent total for the week - 19.12 miles - while doing 2 Insanity videos.

Su 11/6: 3.51 easy, 33:25, 9:31 pace
M 11/7: 3.52 pace, 30:38, 8:42 pace
Tu 11/8: Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance 40 min
W 11/9: Rest
Th 11/10: Insanity Cardio Core & Balance 40 min
F 11/11: 4.01 easy, 37:20, 9:18 pace
Sa 11/12: 8.08 long, 1:18:56, 9:46 pace

And of course... its Football Saturday!  With only 4 weeks remaining in College Pick 'Em, I need to make my move.  I'm tied with Josh for third place, and we are 13 points out of first.  We will need some help to climb to the top, but lets be real:  the only competition I care about at this point is the guy sleeping next to me each night.  Just need bragging rights in the house and I'm happy :)

10 pts: Arkansas over Tennessee

9 pts: Oklahoma St over Texas Tech

8 pts: Georgia over Auburn

7 pts: Florida St over Miami (FL)

6 pts: Texas over Missouri

5 pts: Kansas St over Texas A&M

4 pts: Michigan over Illinois

3 pts: Stanford over Oregon

2 pts: Michigan St over Iowa

1 pt: Nebraska over Penn St

Update: 46 points this week, moved 1 point ahead of Josh, but still 13 out of first.  Three more weeks to go.

Happy 11 Day

Happy 11-11-11.  Make sure you celebrate at 11:11.

Earlier this year, I plugged the date of my fifth cycle TTC into an EDD (estimated due date) calculator.  If that cycle worked, I would be expecting a baby around November 5th of this year (coincidentally my Dad's birthday).  Knowing that first time moms often go past their due date, Josh and I talked about how neat it would be for our child to have the birth date 11-11-11.  Well, that's not gonna happen.

I wish I didn't remember stuff like this, but I can't help it today.

Black Friday shopping is only two weeks away, so I'm trying to distract myself with gift lists and strategic planning with the help of all the early leaked ads.  What's on your Christmas list this year?  I'm having trouble thinking of much of anything, since all I want is apparently much harder to get than I ever imagined.

The Last (sushi) Supper

Josh took me out for dinner tonight.

*Awwww*

I paid.

*Oh.*

I really love sushi.  There is a great little restaurant in Bay City that offers All-You-Can-Eat sushi (made to order) on Thursdays for $16.95.  We've been many times.  The sushi is good - nothing special - but good.  And plentiful.  I think we ate 7 (yes - SEVEN) rolls tonight, plus our appetizer sampler (also included) and miso soup.  We are stuffed.  But I am so glad I got in one more round of AYCE sushi before I get knocked up.

(Wish I had a picture to share, but I forgot.)

IVF "training"

Today we went in for our "nurse's appointment" for IVF.  Some clinics make you go through a class or training, ours does a private 1-hour session with the nurse.  Love this.

This is going to be a fairly boring post, but I do want to document our visits and protocol this time around.

Our nurse started out discussing our protocol with us:  I will get a shot of Lupron Depot for suppression today.  The Lupron will prevent me from ovulating on my own during the IVF cycle.  My RE uses this depot shot, which means I will only need 1 shot (vs. a daily dose) and there is a delayed release of the medicine.  This doesn't appear to be a very popular protocol from my research, but my RE uses it exclusively in long-Lupron protocols and has great success.  And, who am I to complain about a few less shots at home?

After I start my period next week, I will go in for a baseline ultrasound and blood work to verify I don't have any cysts and check my estrogen level, among other things.  Then I start "stims" - I will be on 150iu (2 vials each) of Bravelle - a follicle stimulating hormone - and Menopur - which stimulates FSH and luteinizing hormone (LH).  I can combine these 4 vials into one shot which is great.  I will have to give myself a shot in the belly for 10 days, while they monitor my progress via blood work and ultrasound on days 5/7/9.

Then, when my follicles are ready, I will take a shot of hCG to trigger ovulation and go in for egg retrieval 36 hours later.  The mature eggs will be fertilized via ICSI, and then we will go in for blastocyst transfer 5 days after the retrieval.  I will be under anesthesia for the ER (technically sedation), but awake for the transfer.  While they are doing the ER procedure, Josh goes to give his sample.  Both of these visits take place in the Rochester office (still performed by my RE), which is about an hour and 15 minutes drive for us.  Oddly enough, its only about 2 miles from my brother and sister-in-laws house.

Whew.  That was long, sorry.  But that is nothing compared to all the paperwork we had to sign.  Obviously we we made aware of all the fees - sign.  How many embryos are we willing to transfer - sign.  What about selective reduction - sign.  And should we both die while we still have embryos frozen, what happens to them (what?  now we need to work on a will) - sign.  Willing to use donor sperm (no) - sign.  And I think there were a few more pages too, but this was heavy shit.  It definitely feels all grown up and real now.

We learned some cool things: like if I am pregnant, I will be monitored by blood work and ultrasound every other week through the first trimester.  That's 5-6 ultrasounds!  Many women don't get to see their baby that many times in their whole pregnancy!  Definitely one of the few pluses to IVF.
And we learned some not-so-cool things: like I am on activity restriction not only through the IVF procedure, but throughout the entire first trimester!!  Yikes!  What exactly am I allowed to do?  Walking and prenatal yoga.  Wow, I'm gonna be bored!  Apparently not only is the risk of OHSS high after ER, but that risk persists for a while since my follicles are likely to re-fill with fluid, leaving my ovaries large for a while until it can all drain.  The risk of doing too much activity is torsion - the ovaries can twist since they are free-floating in the abdomen which has serious complications. So, I guess I'm officially sidielined for what I hope is approximately 3 months.

After all of that, the nurse showed us how to mix our injections.  I brought our box-o-meds, so she went through all of it with us.  It will take a little time, but it doesn't seem so bad.  Then she gave me my shot of Lupron, and off we went.

My emotions are definitely a little all over the place today.  Nervous, excited, scared, anxious.  But mostly, I'm hopeful for what will be waiting for us at the end of this crazy journey.

Hello, legs, there you are!

Whew, finally!  I finally managed a good tempo run this afternoon, my first pace run since the marathon.  I have struggled to keep a sub-10:00 pace on my runs lately; I feel like I'm running fast, but I'm not.  Lately, my normal, relaxed 9:xx pace has just taken soooo much effort. 

Until today.  I enjoyed some unseasonably warm November weather for Michigan (60 degrees).  I started off on my run with no specific plan, but about a 1/2 mile in, Garmin showed me I was running at a 9:20 pace.  I thought, "Huh, this isn't so bad.  I'm gonna push it a bit."  I finished the first mile in 9:06, and decided to keep pushing it since I only had time for 3-4 miles.  I was working hard, but just on the edge of uncomfortable.  Mile 2 ticked by in 8:42, and mile 3 in 8:28.  I stalked Garmin that last half mile, and kept with it for an 8:25 pace.  Whew! 

3.52 miles pace, 30:38, 8:42 average pace.  My legs are back, baby! 

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The New York City Marathon was on Sunday.  Geoffrey Mutai is amazing.  He unofficially ran the fastest marathon ever in Boston in April of this year, and then he went and shattered the course record on his way to winning NYC.  Wow. 

I bring up the NYC marathon, because it is officially on the top of my "Marathons I Want to Run List."  Actually, its the only race on the list.  I don't plan to spend the rest of my life running marathons, but when I get the itch, I plan to scratch.  And at some point, I want to run NYC.  After reading race reviews, seeing pictures, and reading about just how AWESOME it is, I so want to be a part of it! 

Beautiful Lengths

I chopped my hair:

I had an 8" ponytail cut off, which I am planning to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.  I chose Beautiful Lengths because of 2 reasons:  their wigs are free for those in need (Locks of Love are not), and their minimum requirement is 8" (Wigs for Kids is 12").

At least all those prenatal vitamins have been good for something - I've been on them for over a year now!

Insane

I have access to a great gym at work, and they recently ordered copies of the P90X and Insanity workouts by Beachbody (NOT a referral link).  I have done P90X before, following the full 90-day program as written (well, minus the diet part anyway).  I still occasionally throw a P90X video into my workout rotation every now and then for weight training.  On Thursday, I thought I would give Insanity a try. 

I tried one Insanity video a while ago, and I remember it being hard.  This time around, I went with Pure Cardio - at a little under 40 minutes, it fit well into the limited time I had.  Let me say this - wowza.  Two days later, and I sorta feel like I ran a marathon on Thursday!  That 40 minutes packed one heck of a punch.  I was breathing quite heavy and pretty out of breath after the 10-minute warm-up!  (I should have worn a heart rate monitor, but I bet the warm-up got me to at least 80% of my max HR.)

The workout is basically this: 10 minute "warm-up" that get progressively more intense, break, stretching, break, 15 minute "work-out", break, cool-down stretches.  Yes, the actual workout segment is only 15 minutes.  But because of the intensity of the warm-up, and even the stretches, I felt I got a very solid cardio workout in.  Shaun T encourages you to take breaks as needed, and I definitely took a few myself to catch my breath.  I didn't find any of the moves difficult or needing modification, but there were plenty of times I couldn't keep up with his maxed-out pace, so I just did as much as I could.  My glutes were definitely feeling this workout the day after, and today my calves, upper hamstrings, glutes and inner thighs are rebelling.

I think I will try a few more Insanity videos here and there, but I don't plan to follow the 60-day program.  I plan to be sidelined from this sort of activity very soon..... (wink)

I still managed to run a few miles this week as well, though today was pretty darn slow.  I took off early and it was freezing (literally, like <32 degrees).  It took me the first 5 miles of the run to feel warmed up and loosen my legs enough to have a comfortable stride.  Here is how I fit the 20.34 miles in:

Su 10/30: 4.02 easy, 38:28, 9:34 pace
M 10/31: Rest
Tu 11/1: 4.04 easy, 38:26, 9:31 pace
W 11/2: 5.02 easy, 47:43, 9:30 pace; Ab Ripper X
Th 11/3: 40 min Insanity Pure Cardio
F 11/4: Rest
Sa 11/5: 7.26 easy, 1:13:51, 10:10 pace

And of course, its football Saturday.  Go Blue!

10 pts: Oklahoma over Texas A&M
9 pts: North Carolina over NC State
8 pts: Arkansas over South Carolina
7 pts: Texas over Texas Tech
6 pts: Alabama over LSU
5 pts: Michigan over Iowa
4 pts: Cincinnati over Pitt
3 pts: Baylor over Missouri
2 pts: Utah over Arizona
1 pt: Syracuse over UConn

UPDATE: Pretty bummed that Michigan lost.  Not sure how they are going to make it to Indy now...  As for this week, I had 34 points, and Josh and I are tied for third in our pool.

Ever wonder what $2,572 of fertility drugs looks like?

Oh $HIT.

Oh yeah, and this doesn't include $800 of Lupron I need.  My RE's office is kindly donating our Lupron this cycle since they have some on hand and it wasn't covered by my insurance.  (Actually, none of this was yet - I need to submit a separate claim to my health insurer, who is separate from my prescription drug coverage, and I *think* it will get covered, but who knows how long that might take.)

We don't start for a couple weeks yet, but we have a nurse's appointment next week where we learn to do all of the injections, and the details of the protocol, and sign a million papers.  I wanted to have all of this stuff for that appointment so the nurse could go through it with us.  (By the way, I just have to say how much I LOVE the nurses at my clinic - they are so nice and patient!)

Eeek!  This is getting more and more real every day!

Oh, yes I did

But how could I resist?  The bib and boo hat were 75% off.  The sleeper was half off, and it was the last one, and it will *probably* be the right size!  If Target had any infant Halloween costumes left, I probably would have bought one of those too!

Green light

We passed one last hurdle this week, and have the green light to proceed with our IVF cycle.

On Monday I went in for an SHG (sonohystogram) and what they call a "mock-transfer."  The SHG was done to make sure there were no abnormalities in my uterus that would prevent a viable pregnancy.  My RE inserted a catheter with a balloon into my cervix, and then filled my uterus with saline.  Nothing abnormal there, yea!  The mock-transfer only took a few seconds afterward.  Since embryos are so fragile, the doctor wants to make she he will have no trouble transferring them.  Se he "practiced" with the same type of catheter they use during the embryo transfer just to make sure everything went smoothly.  No problems there either!  The whole procedure took less than 5 minutes.  I felt a little bit of cramping, but no significant pain.  I went back to work after and did a 4 mile run in the afternoon, so it didn't keep me off my feet at all.

At this point, I am very nervous about this cycle.  I am pretty scared about all of the meds and hormones and how I will react (and how Josh will react to how I react) and how uncomfortable I might be.  It will all be worth it in the end, though.  I want this baby more than anything and I will do whatever I have to at this point to make that happen.  I am also keeping a very positive outlook and am excited.  I try to hold onto those positive thoughts to get me though.

Beautiful people

This quote was shared with me this morning, and it reminded me that we all struggle in some way.

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.  Beautiful people do not just happen."

 - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross