Day 236 - Ultrasound #2

Yawn. I'm such a Garfield. I wasn't meant for early mornings. A late night & an early morning appointment left me sleeping paranoid that I was going to miss my alarm & then the ultrasound. I woke up at 0430 thinking I'd overslept. I was surprisingly alert, but quickly came to my senses & went back to bed. When the alarm did finally go off at 0600, I certainly wasn't ready for it! I hit snooze until 0640 (yes, I did) & then rolled out of bed, rushing around. 


I left for the city just as the rain began to fall. It poured & spit & quit & then repeated itself on the way in. I managed to find a 2 hour free parking spot near the clinic. Oh the small things in life! I met with the Psychologist first. I'm thinking I shocked her out of her morning routine, as I was the first patient she saw. I think most of her patients are couples with emotional issues about infertility. Husband blames wife, wife blames husband, baggage from the past, etc, etc. In I waltz. Cancer. Husband from another country. No job. Living with Mom. Chemo on the horizon. And who said I didn't like to stir the pot??!! :o) We had a wonderful visit & she was very friendly & comforting. We talked a lot about Italy. Glad I'm not alone in my love of Italia!


Next up was a bit of blood work. I've been taking baby Aspirin to help thin my blood & it's definitely working. My arm looks like it never has before from the needle. Nice purple spot. (My injection sites are also looking a little 'funkier' than usual) 


I sat in the waiting room for awhile again & after it had been about a 1/2 hour, I thought I better check again. The receptionist said she'd check & see what was going on & I hadn't even sunk my butt into the chair when they called my name! Impressive! Apparently the ultrasound machine was giving them some hassles today.


I'm pleased to report that I have 9 follicles. Always dreaming of being an Overachiever, I was hoping for 12, but 9 is fine. I have no idea if they look good or not, but I guess we won't really know for a few more days. I am to return in 2 days time & take an additional shot in the evenings for the next 2 nights. 


The nurse came in to talk to me about my new prescription & it turns out her daughter just joined the Island Princess as a Dancer! How fun! I did my best to reassure Mom that her daughter would be fine & in good hands... She'll have the time of her life! It brings me great joy when I hear of young people venturing abroad at a young age to experience more of life than just university & marriage & mortgage & kids... I believe that travel is the best education money can buy. Don't get me wrong, I think it's fantastic to earn a degree & become educated in a field you love. But what if that field you love is in the south of France & full of lavender? :o) 


I picked up a Jugo Juice & a zebra print shower curtain & headed for home. I was planning on heading straight to bed, well, after a quick detour to see if the wigs were here. They weren't. But, I did get a lovely letter from a collection agency. Are you kidding me? I declared bankruptcy! I've been discharged! The cheeky sods at the Royal Bank have only NOW sent my 'account' to a collection agency. I didn't hear a peep from them while I was in bankruptcy... a friend reckons they are trying to double dip & get more from me! Good luck! I called the collection agency & the guy was pretty aggressive. When I told him to contact Meyers Norris Penny, he said it wasn't up to him to contact them & I 'better get used to a lot of phone calls'! Ha! I'll email MNP tomorrow... 


I was headed for bed & the phone rang twice. I just got nestled under the covers & it rang again. 10 minutes of sleep. Another ring. Argh! Okay, fine! I'll get up & deal with a few things. 


I never did make it back to bed before midnight. I worked on my Oncology notes & questions for Thursday's appointment, filled out a 9 page questionnaire for my Naturopath appointment tomorrow, completed my 3rd shot of the day and played with the dogs for a bit. I was supposed to edit Mom's day planner, but her computer was on vacation. 


My evening shot was a bit of a drama. I pulled out the supplies & the directions. As I'm reading, it says to administer the injection in your stomach. Nothing about the thighs. I'm not a belly shot kinda girl (just ask my photog friends for THAT story!), so I was pretty worried. I called the Health Link number & the gal on the other end couldn't really say. I called the Medicine/Herbal/Poison Control Centre. After being on hold for 10 minutes, I hung up. I was supposed to do the shot at 2000, it's now 2015. I call the IVF number & of course, they are closed. But their message says to call Foothills switchboard & have the Fertility Doctor paged, if it's an emergency. Well, I'm not really an emergency, but is there a nurse available? Nope. Next thing I know, Dr. Wong calls me back! He said I was fine to do the shot in my legs, as long as I get it in somehow! Phew! Good stuff! I apologize for troubling him & head to the loo to do the shot. If these shots were tequila, I'd be plastered by the end of the day!!! :o)


I'm not sure what I did this time, but again, I got a nice big lump at my injection site. I'm just not meant to give myself needles... Anyhow, it's done & dusted & only a few more days of these needles. Then it's back to the big one! Yikes!


I'm off to bed... Have a peaceful sleep...
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

My dog who hates to have her photo taken.

Playing shy

Tolerating a kiss or two...

Day 232 - Supernanny Rides Again... & Then Sleeps!

Oh happy day! I slept in until 0745! I was loving every minute of my sweet, sweet slumber past 0630! Harrison was awake before Heidi, but not by much - Heidi woke up around 0800. 


We had a great morning together. Heidi had a bottle, diaper change & went to sleep around 1000. Harrison & I coloured, read books & I sang him a few songs. I don't think I could come up with anymore farm animal noises for Old McDonald's Farm if I had to! Harrison is by far, the first & only human being to enjoy my singing. I wonder if he's had his hearing checked... either before or after! I bought him a Toy Story book & we read it about 6 times. It was a one sentence per page kinda book, so I became quite adept at elaborating!


I filled his water table with warm water & he played with his cars & tractors for awhile, but he was quite concerned about 'Tina' & if she was going to come out & play with him. We had some snacks & Gold Star for Harrison - we made it to the potty every time! Yay! 


Pretty soon it was time for lunch & then a nap. I've never seen a toddler so well behaved. When I said it was time for a nap, he literally RAN downstairs & crawled into his bed (with my help, of course). He picked out 2 books, we read them both, he asked to go potty, we did & then he laid down, turned his head onto his pillow & said, 'Bye!'. Wow! I was impressed! No crying, no fuss, no muss! I knew that Jenn & Mike kept both the kids on a regular routine & it pays off! They are by far the most well behaved kids I've met! Harrison & Heidi are pretty good too! :oP Sorry, couldn't resist that one! I know where to go for parenting advice when the day comes!


Heidi had woken up about an hour before Harrison laid down for his nap. By 1245, she was getting antsy. I knew Jenn wanted to leave right after she was finished work, so I had packed up all of my things & cleaned up the toys & dishes. All I had left to do was my shot. Today was my first day of fertility injections & they had to be done at 1300. I didn't want to hold Jenn up, so here I was in the kitchen, pants around my ankles & a crying baby who wouldn't quit unless I held her. Like I need any more pressure when I'm about to stab myself in the leg! Bless Heidi's little heart - she hung in there while I did my thing. A few hot flashes later, I was cleaned up & keeping Mama's youngest happy & quiet! 


Mom came home shortly thereafter & we loaded everyone up in their respective vehicles & we were off! I survived my first 3 days, well, 2 days as Supernanny! Hooray! 


Okay, I'm exhausted. Can I go home now? Valentina & I made our way home & I unpacked & prepared my laundry. 7 loads! Yes, it had been awhile! I started washing & drying & folding & sorting & nope, it's not going to be finished tonight! I'm pooped! Again, how do these Mothers do it? I'm in awe...


Sweet dreams of sleeping babies & smiles & laughter...
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Harrison played & played & played some more.

He was such a good little boy - at lunch time, I said, 'Okay, your lunch is ready. Can you sit at your table please?' He literally RAN to his table & sat down & waited patiently for me to give him his lunch! What a Superstar!!!

Their nifty little video monitor to tell what baby is doing. Note the clippers in the background. Harrison came upstairs with them & was putting them through his hair & my hair. I didn't think they worked, but Jenn later reassured me they did indeed! Thank goodness Harrison didn't find the right button - my head shaving party would have been much earlier!!! :o)