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I totally missed you, too! Then yday, I started thinking, "Is she ok? Did she have a bad reaction to the meds?" and all the other worry things. I am glad that everything went so well. That is odd about the freezing. I thought the labs wanted to freeze 5-day blasts. I don't know for sure, though. Do you know if you overstimmed at all? I hope you didn't for once! I feel fine--nothing new. I am still super tired. I wish that would pass. I am so excited to know the likely gender. I thought I would have to wait for 2 more months! I am looking forward to my call from the fetal specialist tomorrow, too, so I will have the big pic of my risk assessment. I am planning to take off work tomorrow and Friday. I am going to do some work on our master bathroom--fun, fun. I also need to buy some more maternity clothes. So, I may work on the house Thursday, shop Friday, and work more over the weekend. What time is your appt on Friday?

Thats how I felt those few days you were gone because of work. I kept wondering if something happened to you, or the baby...Funny how we get attached to people we have never met. But, I really enjoy talking to you. Im with you on the labs and the 5 day blasts. I dont get it either. I will press for more info on Friday, and I think my Re knows what Im getting at, at this point. 5 day blasts, when you have plenty of embies to work with, just makes sense to me. I dont think I am overstimmed. I dont have the pain in my ovaries I had w/ my IUI's when I pee, so Im taking that as a good sign, although tonight I think I more bloated and tender then I was yesterday, so Im not sure what that means. Hopefully tomorrow, that will subside some. I just keep drinking a ton of water and Gatorade, and going to the bathroom a lot, even a couple times last night. All good signs I think. You'll have to keep me posted on the fetal specialist call..That would be interesting to know where you stand, and maybe provide some needed relaxation. Nice to take off work (you need it!) but not to spend time working on your house and room! Spare time is so hard to come by, so I understand. Enjoy your time off from work though. Try to relax a little. My RE called, and out of the 22 eggs, 16 fertilized. Pretty much what I thought. For some reason, I was a little sad, I didnt want any of them to die off. Stupid I know. She said a few more may not make it to day 3, but if they dont, it will only be a few that die between now and then. Weird to think of what they really are. Anyway, dh is bugging me to do my PIO shot so he can go to bed, so Im off..Check in when you can. Oh-other then being tired, Im glad you are still feeling well. It all sounds uneventful, the way it should be!

I may have some mia time between now and the end of September. I just found out yday that a client of mine is going to make a big acquisition that is supposed to close on Sept 30. Translation--I will work tons of hours and life will be hell for a while! I have a feeling it will be much more difficult pg. I will have to make sure that I keep food stocked at work. It was nice being at home today. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. It seems like I need to recover from work these days! I also ended up working regular work today. I was going to try to totally stay away, but I need some info from 7 different South American countries asap, so I had to respond to some questions to keep things moving...oh well. On the good news side w/work, we got our raise info yday. I am getting a 13.4% salary increase and a bonus of over 10% of my salary. Sorry to babble about boring work, but I was so excited!! I guess it all pays off when I work a lot.:) It is strange how we get attached to people we haven't met in person, but I feel like I know a few people from the board fairly well. Even though it was infertility that brought us together, it would be strange to stop talking just because we get pg. I really like talking to you, too. Doesn't it make you wonder if we would be friends if we had met in real life?? That is so so great that you still have 16 left. I was hoping I would just have 2 or 3 to implant due to the likelihood I would not stim well from lousy fsh issues. I bet you will have at least 10 or 12 that are good. It is wonderful, becuase you can probably have 2 or 3 pregnancies from one retrieval!! I am glad you don't think you overstimmed, too. Awesome news! With all those eggs, you would probably be in a lot of pain if you had. Have the PIO shots been horrible? I was so scared of those. My specialist dr never called today. I hate it when they don't call when they say they will! I will track him down tomorrow, I guess. Best of luck on your transfer tomorrow. Let me know how it all goes!

Hi Ann..Just have a few hours before my appointment this morning. Im working, and trying to get a few things done. I feel like 3 days of bedrest is a death sentence! Its really going to be hard for me to lay there and do nothing. I have some books to read, and of course there is tv, but yuck! Congratulations on your raise and bonus! That is really great, and does make all that hard work worthwhile, or at least make you feel good that someone has noticed. How does your employer treat pregnancy? Do they lighten the load, or is it business as usual? I guess if nothing else, working a lot during this time will really make your pregnancy time fly by since you will be so busy. Even with your fsh issues, you still got pregnant on your own. It really is great, and just goes to show, anything is possible. Do you think you will try to have more, or is he it? Are you still planning on using Zane for his name? (I love that name!) The PIO shots havent really been too bad. They arent fun, but all in all, I dont think its horrible. I also have only had a few days worth of them, so maybe in a week or so, when Im sore as hell, I might think differently!
Im feeling really calm going into this transfer. At this point, what will be, will be! I hope you track down your Dr, I agree, thats annoying. I would rather then not make a commitment to call, if they arent going to do it. Have a great weekend, and I'll post on Monday! Hopefully by then, I will be in very early pregnancy!!

With pregnancy, it is completely business as usual at work. Same goes if you are sick--no one cares, and they just want your work done. I would like to have one more, but I am so thankful to just have one after all that we have been through. I really didn't think I would even get to have one. Yes, we are completely set on Zane Guy. I am sure that won't change! I am glad the PIO hasn't been too horrible so far at least. You are tough!! I hope you have a relaxing weekend and don't go stir crazy. I am also glad to hear that you are relaxed--should be good for implantation. How many embies did you end up w/? I got a call from the fetal specialist's office today. All they told me was that my first screen stuff came back normal. I am happy about that of course, but I thought they were going to give me more of an assessment (e.g. your Downs chances are 1 in XXX). Maybe that is after the AFP screen? They said they sent the results to my ob/gyn and I see her Tuesday, so maybe I will learn more then. I jut got done painting our master bathroom. There was so much trim work to do...ugh, I am beat! After I was done, I read in my book that pg people aren't supposed to paint because of the fumes and repetitive motion--great! It looks so much better. It used to be this ugly light, bright green color. We just painted it a neutral color to sell--BIG improvement. How many did you get transferred? I know you were deciding between 2 and 3. Well, I hope you enjoy your weekend as much as possible. I will be think about you and thinking sticky thoughts for the embies!!

Hi Ann! I thought "OH NO" when I read that you painted your entire bathroom!!! I had a girlfriend who moved when she was about 4 months pregnant w/ her 3rd and proceeded to paint every room in their new house! She just wore a mask and had good ventilation in the house. Great news that your 1st screening was normal. Im sure you will get more info tomorrow...How exciting, another appointment! Will you see/hear the baby again? ET went well..We tx'd 2 Grade A, eight celled embies back. All of the embies were high quality, and we froze the other 14. Bed rest was a challenge. Too much thinking time on my hands! It was hard to not get up to do something for myself. Now I just hope it was all worth it!

OMG, that is so great you froze 14!!! You can have loads of kids if you want! Can you do whatever you want now, aside from lifting heavy stuff and doing housework, etc.? It will work this time! You count the ER day as the same as the O day, right? So, you are 8dpo today.?.? I had to cancel my appt tomorrow (work). I rescheduled for Thursday. On top of that big project coming up, there was one person above me on it. That person has a conflict with another client and can't work on this transaction, so I am on my own. It will be a challenge...I went shopping yday and got v frustrated. On top of the maternity selection being 1% of the normal selection, everything I tried on had arms too short, pants too short, shoulders too small, etc. I didn't buy anything except a casual jog suit thing (arms still too short) and a winter shirt (not so helpfull w/our record-hot summer). Oh well! How do you feel? Did you have any cramping or anything?

I'll be happy if we get 1 or 2 kids from this batch, and this time!!! Its strange, when I had ET on Friday my RE told me they will freeze all 14, then if we do FET, they will thaw all of them, and then grow to blast for another 2 days..I have never heard of it being done that way before. Usually it seems like you do a 5 day blast, and then freeze, or you do a 3 day tx, then grow to blast, then freeze. I havent ever heard of freezing, then thawing, then growing. Whatever!!?? We are going to Palm Springs this weekend, my DH is playing in a golf tournament and we are meeting a bunch of friends. All the girls are getting massage's, and of course lots of time out by the pool. I cant get a massage, and I cant swim. Ugh. Not looking forward to that. No housework, thats fine by me! I know in the end, if I get a bfp, it will all be worth it, and we have spent so much money, I will follow the rules, but all the restrictions seem so over the top to me. Im feeling down today for some reason, I can only come up with that fact that all the "doing" is over, and now there is just waiting. I guess when I am doing something, stimming, whatever, I feel proactive. Plus as we all know, the 2ww is hell. I have had cramping all weekend, but I think thats due to my stomach/constipation. I was so constipated from the meds, that the night before ET I was up for an hour in the middle of the night in agony. My RE told me to take Milk of Magnesia, which I did on Saturday, and I think it worked a little too well!..Im sure my cramps are just a residual of that. Too soon for anything else really. I HATE your work for you!! I know you have to do what you have to do, but I wish cancelling your appointment didnt fall into that catagory! Ok- I guess I can wait until Thursday. I have heard before the maternity shopping is really frustrating, and you are tall, so I bet its even more so. Have you looked online? I would think there is a ton to be found there, just not sure how different the selection is vs. what you can buy in a store. I know you arent big, but do they have a Big and Tall for maternity wear, or is that a store just for men? Are you still feeling good? How is your belly looking?

Moving my appt is no big deal, since it isn't an u/s appt or anything. However, there has been talk that I may have to cancel my Vegas trip over Labor Day weekend, and I won't be happy if that happens. To top it off, we have holidays on Friday and Monday of that weekend, so I wasn't even going to use vacation time!! We'll see, though. I haven't heard of thawing and growing, but it makes sense. It probably helps seperate the good embies from the bad ones--like some may make the thaw that don't grow. Wow, to go to Palm Springs and not be able to swim or get a massage would really be a bummer! What will you do there? If you think the ivf stuff is over the top, wait until you start reading the pregnancy dos and don'ts! I have only been there once (I want to go back and liked it), but I got really sick the day I was arriving. So, I didn't get to see much besides a clinic and the hospital. It was the year my mom died and I was trekking around the country. PS was the one place where I decided to splurge and stay at a nicer place, and then I got sick! I was there alone w/my dog, and they wanted to admit me to the hospital for tests (I ended up just having a stomach virus, but they thought my appenix was an issue). What a nightmare!! I know what you mean about the stimming and proactive. When I did injectibles, I felt bad when I wasn't doing the shots in a strange way. I hated the shots, but I still wanted to do them for some reason. Was I right that you are the equivelent of 8dpo today? I know you are pretty anti-testing, but you could possibly get a bfp by Wednesday and almost for sure by Friday!! Have you decided if you will test? I am dying for you to. My belly looks about the same as it has for the past few weeks. I did look online for maternity stuff yday. After all the trouble I had w/fit, there is no way I can order online w/o trying on. It is frustrating. They barely have tall clothes for women in general, but I've never heard of it for maternity. I went in a tall store just a few months ago for the first time. The clothes were a joke! They were so matronly and grandma-looking. Nothing was even remotely stylish! I don't know what I will do. On top of that, I hate shopping, too. Aren't I just a ray of sunshine??:) I feel very sorry for you on the constipation thing. That was a horrible experience that I never want to go through again. The Milk of Magnesia working too well would definitely be better. I know this is reeeealy stupid, but I always wondered if straining to would affect implantation. Isn't that dumb??

Straining to poo and it affecting implantation..hell, thats not weird! I have thought about that, plus some..Sneezing it out, bumbs on the road "knocking" it out, laying on my belly, and "squishing" it out..I have thought of it all, the past few days, and more. Irrational thoughts, arent they the best?! I have no clue what Im going to do in Palm Springs. Without the pool, and massages, and since I dont golf, there isnt much to do. I guess I will try to seek out some shade by the pool, read, and relax, or do the same in my hotel room. What a pain in the ass! I shouldnt complain, Im greatful for the chance to try IVF. Pregnancy do's and dont's..I guess thats true. At this point, I will be happy to get there. I think the hard part for me to grasp right now, is that Im doing all this, or not doing things, and I dont even KNOW if Im pregnant yet. At least once you get to the pregnancy donts, you are confirmed. You are such a good employee, but any chance in telling your boss that you can not cancel your Vegas trip for whatever reason you can make up that would prevent you from cancelling it? You deserve this, I hope you can go. It would be great to have a break from work. We usually go up to Northern Ca to my in-laws over the holiday weekend. I asked for the time off last week, and my boss hasnt gotten back to me, which isnt like her. I have a feeling its an issue, and thats really going to piss me off. Cant say I blame her, I have really had a lot of time off since starting my IUI's, and even more for IVF, but for the most part, they were random hours here and there, a lot of which I made up. It wasnt like I was on vacation or having a great time somewhere! I wont like being told I cant have time off, if thats the case. Im a good worker, and there is no reason for that. I took today off, but ended up working, in hopes that would persuade her. I also had all day Friday off but worked half the day since my ET wasnt until noon. Work-I wish I could do without it. I was told to count Saturday as day 1 post transfer, so today Im really only 3dpt. I have also read it the way you thought it was too, and they both make sense. I guess since its already an embie @ day 3, I could be 6dp"o"(remember I had a 3 day tx not a 5 day)..I dont know, I say Im not testing, and really I have no desire to, because I am scared as hell, but come this weekend, when I dont have anything to do...You never know, I guess. I would hate to test and be bummed out earlier then I have to be though, especially when I am with a bunch of friends in Palm Springs. I really hate shopping too, so I feel your pain. Did you Google/search maternity wear for tall women? I know its a stretch..I dont know, are you handy w/ material, a needle, and thread?! : ) You could always start wearing those moo moo dresses that the big Hawaiian mama's wear. Just lots of fabric sewed together on one side! Very business like!! : )

Your post really made me laugh. I am glad to know I am not the only one to think of strange things that may interrupt the embies. To think people used to get pg when doing rigorous activities, like working out in the fields, and didn't know they were pg for months! It is a wonder we are all here. Not a chance on telling my boss that about the trip! If they make you cancel a trip, they pay for all the costs involved. I will just have to wait and see. I hope you get your time off! I know that you had a 3-day transfer, but it doesn't matter since you count from the ER and not the ET. So you may get a bfp on Friday, very possible on Saturday, and probable on Sunday! And that is w/hpts!! Do you have a beta scheduled? I can sew on a button, and that is about it. I can't even hem--wish I could! Hmm, moo moo...I may fail the dress code policy at work w/that one!! I will figure something out or just wear the same dirty clothes a lot.:)

You know, I was telling my DH the same thing. Way back in the day, no one ever did things like bed rest, no housework, and things like that. Those ladies worked just as hard as their dh's did, if not more so. Maybe your company policy of reimbursing you for all the costs involved of a cancelled trip will be somewhat of a deterent for them. What a waste to have to put out extra money like that, but I guess sometimes its worth it to have their employees do what they need them to do. When will you know, or will it be a last minute thing? Im afraid to test. Im a big baby. Im already nervous, anxious, depressed, excited, everything. If I am pregnant, this baby is going to come out confused!! I just dont want to see a bfn, and Im going to freak out if it is..I guess Im trying to delay that as much as possible. Part of me also thinks, we spent a small fortune on this IVF which included this "free" beta, and Im already so bitter about the money, I dont want to spend another penny on it all. If its a bfn, we need to decide what we will do..Obviously w/ so many embies on ice, we need to do a FET, but since we paid for 2 fresh cycles, It sort of bums me out. We can use a FET for our 2nd cycle in place of a fresh, but the fresh cycles are only 3500.00 not including meds..I say only, but its really not cost effective to use a FET as a counted cycle in the plan..My brain goes crazy over this crap at night. Had we known I would have such a great response the 1st time, we wouldnt have paid for 2 fresh cycles, as I need to use them w/in 12 months, which means I cant use another fresh cycle for a new pregnancy if I have a baby from this cycle. Im just rambling now...I do have a beta scheduled for 9-1. Results that same day. So you can only sew on a button. Not good, considering your current situation! I cant even do that, so Im impressed.

I didn't know that you paid for 2 cycles. I thought you were just paying for one, straight-up cycle. Did you do that shared-risk thing? I thought you said your RE didn't do that. I know you don't like testing, but you should be able to get a bfp loooong before September 1st. That is like 17dpo!! I don't know how you resist. I have lots of will power with some things but not that one! Even if you get a bfp, you will still want to do your free beta, because you will want to check for your hcg doubling. It won't be wasted money! Your FETs should be comparatively cheap, shouldn't they? Yes, the trip will be a game-time decision. Trust me, it is no deterent for them. One of the guys I work with canceled a trip to Japan TWICE! That had to have been expensive. I also didn't mention that I have 16 days of vacation time that I have to use by the end of the year or I lost them. I doubt I can use that many, though.

You are right, we didnt do a shared risk, my RE doesnt offer that (I wish she did). What they do offer though, is a disount on multiple cycles, or "package" deals. So, it was cheaper to pay for 2 fresh cycles, then to have this one not work, and then pay for another fresh cycle. Thats why I was saying..Hindsight is 20/20, but had I known I would respond so well...We would have only paid for 1 cycle. Who knew. I was so completely paranoid about this cycle not working, I never imagined I would have this many embies frozen after ER and ET, and was afraid if I did get my DH to agree to what we paid for now, he would want to wait a long time financially before coughing up the money again for another fresh cycle. Sure, the FET's are cheaper, but it all just sucks, how we paid for what we did. Again, I shouldnt complain, Im lucky I got the chance, much less to do it all over again if need be. No HPT testing!! Really, Im so afraid of the disapointment. Probably like when you got your bfp, if this works, I dont know if I would be able to grasp it. Im just expecting it not to, but in the mean time, tricking my mind into thinking positive. Your company paid for 2 trips to Japan that were never taken? Oy! They really are serious then. I guess Vegas is a drop in the bucket to them. I hope you can go...When you say about your vacation time, and using it by the end of the year, do you mean the end of Dec, or the end of your fiscal year for your company? Thats BS that they go away if you dont use them, but yet they put you in positions so that you cant even take time off!

Well, just think of it as paying for insurance when you didn't have any wrecks!! You certainly got a great response and lots of good embies! That is by far the best, most important part. No hpts, wow. I wish I could test you w/o your knowing, because I want to know SO badly!!!!! Honestly, if you don't get af by next Tuesday or so, you are likely pg. I can't believe they scheduled your beta so late. Yes, I have to use my vacation time by the end of December. That is why I say there is likely no way. Then after year end I will have another 28 days in my account. I will get to use some of those for extra maternity leave!! Unless I have a c-section, because then you get 11 weeks of regular mat leave time off. In a way, I think they should pay us for vacation time not used, but then people would abuse it and not record it when they take time off. It should stay in our "banks" longer, though. When I say they pay for the trip, they pay for all your out of pocket for canceling and any difference in the cost when you go (i.e. if your plane ticked costs more going later they pay the difference).

Geez..I just freaked out on my dh, because he accused me of not wanting to go to my in-laws over the holiday weekend because I still havent found out of I can have the time off. I think I must be a little on edge today. Of course I want to go, but its still 1 1/2 wks away, and I thought I would inquire again on Monday. UGH!!!!!!! Our IVF thread got its 1st BFP from our first beta. Twiggy is next, then me. I wish I had woken up today and thrown up! Then I would have known for sure. Im afraid its going to be a bfn. I just cant test. It would be nice to know, but only if its a bfp. When you got your bfp, you had no signs right? Specifically, cramping, that you can remember? I have cramped since ET (I think I mentioned this before) and I have noticed its worse when I am active, like when I have been sitting for a long period, and get up and start walking around..I still get them when I am sitting, but it doesnt seem as strong. I know cramps can mean nothing or something, I just wish after an IVF cycle, I knew how my body was feeling on the inside. Only thing I can think of, is everything is going back down to size in there. I wish I had A sign! My time off all stays with me, and just rolls, year after year, month after month. You can eventually max out, but I dont know what the max is..More then I have ever had, thats for sure! So tell me something else. I need to live vicariously through you. You are feeling good, belly hanging, going to start going to work naked because you cant find clothes...What else? House going ok? Bought anything at all for Zane or his room? Does using his name feel strange to you?!