Counting your eggs before they hatch

Yesterday I went for a scan with my obstetrician.

The goal was to see how many eggs we'd managed to get lined up via all my various drugs. This guys is pretty good, expectation wise, we knew going in that we were likely to not have too many due to my AMH profile.

I think he was even being nicer to me that day than usual. The scan itself was pleasant even - well, compared to your average pap smear for example.
At the end of the day though - we didn't get as many eggs as we wanted.

He said it was up to my partner and I if we wanted to continue with the cycle but advised us that it probably wouldn't yield favourable results. Then of course, you have to pay the fertility clinic as veritable butt tonne of money no matter if you end up up the duff or not.

Which leads us to now postponing this cycle and trying again next month maybe.

Adventures of a Human Porcupine

So we're actively counting the days now until we can start an actual cycle and I'm excited, nervous, and yes, kinda impatient. I'm also not looking forward to becoming a human pin cushion but what can ya do, eh?

Well, today was the day it begun. My friend had offered to help with the needles as she'd been through it before, but I'd gone through it all with the nurses so I was fairly confident with what to do. I'd been told to do it early, and at a consistent time so I woke hubby up early because I wanted someone there in case I did mess up but I thought it I had too much fuss or people around then I might freak out.

I know I shouldn't complain. Both of my grandmothers and my paternal grandfather have had to use needles everyday for Diabetes or what have you, so there's no reason I should get so worked up about needles for a couple of weeks, right?

IVF: I'm Very Flustered

This post isn't going to be too informative, but more of a vent. 

So this week, I attended an IVF information session during the week at like 10am and it's fortunate I work rotating shifts because otherwise I would have had to have taken time of work and I'm not the kind of person who likes doing that. As someone I work with pointed out, technically I could use my sick or annual leave because it's a specialist sort of appointment but I feel like a jerk if I cut out on my work friends when I'm not actually sick. 

As it was, I was the only person there who didn't bring their partner which made me wonder if they all work shifts or what they did to escape the workplace. My husband would have been at work but as it happened he had the day off on account of being horribly sick so he missed it anyway. 

Not that it really mattered, this was pretty much what happened in the session. 

Not the traditional method of getting information to the brain but...

So it was just as well it was only me taking notes because there's no point in us both being brain exhausted. 

It also gave me a chance to people-watch, something I like to do occasionally. 

All the men looked so grave. I have to say it. They held their partners around the shoulder or laid their hands on top of hers. I felt like I was invading at a funeral or something. These people looked delicate, wrought and tired. No one looked optimistic but they had the giggles every now and then. 

I was afraid that one of these women was going to fall apart dramatically, which thankfully did not happen. 

Prolactin Problems!

Hi all, I know it's been a while before posts but hubby and I have had our brains so chock full of baby-info that we're all just lucky I was able to function enough to turn my computer on and find the darn keyboard. 

So - Prolactin! What the hell is it and why have I never heard about it until now?

If you're like me and like text book definitions: 

Prolactin (PRL), also known as luteotropic hormone or luteotropin, is a protein that is best known for its role in enabling mammals, usually females, to produce milk. It is influential in over 300 separate processes in various vertebrates, including humans.^[4] Prolactin is secreted from the pituitary gland in response to eating, mating, estrogen treatment, ovulation and nursing. Prolactin is secreted in pulses in between these events. Prolactin plays an essential role in metabolism, regulation of the immune system and pancreatic development.

Thanks, Wikipedia! Buddy ol' pal! 

So it's basically a milk hormone that us females have schemed up to dastardly take on the milk formula giants..

Wait, that's not a text book definition, or even a dumbed down one... but it does give me a good idea for a dramatic movie... 

Anyway, I'm talking about Prolactin because apparently I have a problem with it.