Thursday, August 27, 2009

Who's Visiting

Ok, you see that little ticker to the left?

Yeah, the one that says 512.

I want to know who the heck is visiting under the radar! Let's face it people, me and the five subscribers can not be racking up that many hits on my little blog.

Come out from the shadows and identify yourselves.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

What I do...

For those of you that don't know, I'm a landscape designer and this is what I do everyday in some form or fashion. Most days I LOVE what I do. Today was one of those because I got to paint a plan. I love PAINTING, to bad there isn't much money in that.

Landscape plan for Ad.

This is an ACTUAL yard I designed, but changed a bit with the plantings simplified. I pre-dominantly work with a company called, Dogwood Landscapes. Jason Cory, the owner asked me to develop a plan for an ad campaign he's doing to high light my 'design services'.

So, I'm not charging him anything on this even though it's worth $270. He's not asking me to pitch in to pay for the advertisement, I figure that $270 is my share of of the advertising expenses.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Below!!!!

Hooray!, It only took me an extra 9 days to do it but I'm at 169.2! This is the first time I've been under 170 since before Nora's pregnancy. I'm officially 1.6 lbs away from the 'pre-pregnancy'
weight..... The ironic part is that I've been at 'pre-pregnancy' size for over 3 mths now. I sort of feel like those 5 lbs that have been holding on a new success just because it wasn't about size, it was about toning.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Mission Incomplete

Mission: To assimilate into the culture, gather data and report back to mission control. These are my findings so far.

These are the things I do know.

I know how to cook fabulous meals from all genres, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, American

I know how to be a domestic goddess. (i.e. housewife)

I know how to drive a car.

I know how to assimilate into almost any social situation.

I know how to play varied sports,(tennis, golf, bowling, you know the ones that count)

I know I have traveled extensively in the U.S. to broaden my knowledge of the land.

I know how to use all forms of purchase, cash, credit, or check.

I know how to speak with no accent so not even the best linguist can nail down where I come from.

These are the things that I don't know

I do NOT know lyrics to any song, maybe the chorus, but not the entire song. I have absolutely NO knowledge of classic rock and know only one nursery song 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' - 'folk' music - FAIL

I do NOT know about the old lady that ate a fly and died, apparently this is a critical piece of fictional Americana I was not briefed on. - toddler literary training- FAIL

I do NOT like football, I understand it but find it boring. - lazy Sunday afternoon training - FAIL

I do NOT like video games. The Wii has held my attention far longer than all previous programs. - Couch potato training - FAIL

I do NOT like fast food. (note: If I must eat, Wendy's is the only choice) - French fry worship - FAIL

I do NOT like coleslaw, potato salad, or any other marinated in vinegar vegetable. - Culinary assimilation of picnic foods - FAIL

I do NOT like Winnie the Pooh, the Mouse(you know of whom I speak) or his clubhouse song(see 'Do NOT know lyrics'). - Knowledge and appreciation of animated characters - FAIL

You see according to Rich, I'm a Russian spy, and my training was 'incomplete' based on the HUGE holes in my knowledge of Americana. I will admit nothing. I know nothing of this training he speaks of.

Again, I will admit nothing. I take this thing called the 5th. (historical documents - PASS)

Saturday, August 8, 2009

I've Met Someone

It was love at first sight. Ahhhhh, amore'.


Let me tell you a little about him.


His name is Keurig, (CUre -egg), fall in love with the international mystery ladies. (Rich teases me about my Russian training, figured I'd go a little native. Note: Russian training another post)


OMG is he hot! His body is sleek and toned and hard as metal. What more could a woman ask for?


He doesn't care if I don't wear make-up and my hair is a mess every morning when I see him.


I love to push his buttons and make him 'purr' at my every command. He's ready to go any time of day. We do have some steamy moment together.


I know, I know I'm a married woman WHAT was I thinking. It really is for my own sanity and Rich is cool with Keurig. I mean, this work widow gig is rough, the late nights, early mornings are enough to drive a woman off a ledge.

Since Keurig is sure to be around for a LONG, LONG, LONG time I guess we should introduce you to him.

Isn't he handsome!?
Keurig

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Dr. Craptastic Take Two

How did I pick the short straw! Last appt. of the day, office going nuts. I kid you not, children RUNNING around the waiting room. Three boys just bounding around, asking where the restroom is. They then walked RIGHT into the back of the office looking for the restroom. Excuse me!

This one dad(back in the waiting room) kept saying, 'Angel, stop it or we're going to the car' So, she would do it again with no follow through on the consequence. I wanted to scream "My 21 month old is more behaved than this!" BIG pet peeve is parents not following through with discipline.

Got back into the rear waiting and witnessed something sort of wrong. The sonogram tech came out of the sono room, I could hear crying in the room. She had a discussion with a Dr. right in front of me and another patient about a womans' 20 wk. scan. Apparently, the baby has dextrocardia, heart on the right side of the body. Ummm, is it wrong of me to think that they shouldn't be discussing that in the open!? (adding fuel to me wanting to leave this office)

On to Dr. Craptastic.

The conversation was actually much better. No exam, No sonogram. Just a repeat beta to make sure my #'s are going down. He does want us to wait a cycle before TTC again and then wants to start Clomid. He was once again trying to convince me of a few things and I just let him talk. No need to argue with a Dr. from the old school. That was the extent of it.

Little concerned about the no sonogram to rule out any lingering tissue but I have one scheduled next week with the new Dr. I'll discuss trying again with the new Dr. and see what she says. There are MANY mom on my October '07 boards that got pregnant on the MC cycle. That's the plus, the con is everything else I read. The fact of the endometrial lining not having time to regenerate to the proper thickness to support a new pregnancy, the higher risk of recurrent MC, my hormones(messed up as they are) really needing time to stabilize.

The BIGGEST CON: I just don't know if I'm ready again and would hate to question my decision after it was too late. Not that a new pregnancy would be a mistake. I just think my mind and emotions need to be wholly present in the joy of a new pregnancy and not carrying unresolved sadness into what should be an exhilarating, bonding, and hopeful moment in our lives.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Last Week

I don't know where to begin this since my thoughts are all scattered in my brain. Best to start at the beginning....

Most of you know that Rich and I started our trying to conceive journey again this summer. I think both of us went into it having gleaned SO much knowledge and faith from last time that it would happen.

Here's the beginning.

It took me 25 days to ovulate. I normally ovulate cycle day 18 to 21 so I thought annovulatory cycle, nothing new with my PCOS. Then surprise, July 4th I got a eggie present! YEAH! The timing was perfect since it was a long weekend for Rich and I both.

Now I will say that time has taught me to NEVER go into a cycle thinking 'this is the one'. After all the infertility and treatments you just learn not to set yourself up for disappointment by hoping too much. So I started taking my progesterone(Provera) like I'm suppose to. You see I don't produce enough progesterone after ovulation to hold my uterine lining long enough for a egg to implant. (see: Luteal Phase Defect)

I started spotting at 8 days past ovulation, despite the Provera so I checked myself out of that cycle. Tested 12 days past ovulation, got a negative so stopped the Provera. I had what I would call a period, 4 days, heavy, med, med, light.

This is where it gets crazy.

Friday, July 24th, left ovary has been CRAMPING for 2 days now. I think cyst or really early ovulation which sometimes happens after I've ovulated really late.

Saturday, July, 25th...play tennis match but just don't have any energy, feeling out of sorts., spotting a bit

Sunday, July 26th...wake up SUPER tired but decide to meet a friend at the gym at 1pm. Do a KICK ASS workout of almost two hours but feel great. Come home and start feeling fluish, headache, slightly nauseous. I took my blood pressure it was 110/72 so perfect there. Spotting heavier that night.

Monday, July 27th...wake up to full on period type flow and immediately call my Dr's office. With all the cramping and not feeling well I thought maybe an ovarian cyst had burst since my period stopped 7 days prior. Gwen, the nurse takes all the information over the phone and then asks, 'Your sure you're not pregnant'. Me, 'Well, I took a test at 12 DPO, it was neg.' Her, 'Oh ok"

So I continue to cramp and bleed all day but it fades off later in the day.

Tuesday, July 28th...wake up to even more bleeding and worse cramping at 6:30am. At this point, I decided to test just to MAKE SURE I wasn't pregnant. You can imagine what happened next, I POAS and there was as DARK line, no questioning it. There it was.

I immediately call the Dr. Office and put a panicked message on Gwen's nurse line. She calls back almost immediatly and has me in at 10:45....I called at 9am.

So I arrive and sit in the waiting room for 45 mins! The nurse finally calls me back and as I explain things she's giving me looks like there are horns on my head. She also questions whether I know when I ovulated...ERRR I chart lady! So there's another 15 mins. of my life.

Finally get into an exam room and see the Dr., I've been calling him Dr. Craptastic we will stick with that. Dr. Craptastic enters the room, I've never met him before since the practice has 6 Dr.'s. Here's how the conversation went. ( a lose outline of what I remember)

Dr. Crap: " So what's going on here"
Me: "Well, I'm pregnant, cramping bleeding. I bleed a bit with my daughter so I guess I need to get checked out and maybe put on progesterone to make it stop. I have PCOS and last time Dr. Tagechian had me on metformin and progesterone until 14 wks. I did do 8 days of Provera this cycle but I tested, it was negative so I stopped taking it"
Dr. Crap: "I don't have time to look in your chart to know everything"(me dumbfounded)
Dr. Crap: "Progesterone is used to bring on a period, not sustain a pregnancy"
Me: "But there is bloodwork proving that I don't have the correct progesterone rise to sustain pregnancy. Dr. Tagechian used the progesterone last time to correct that end of my cycle so there'd be a bigger hormone drop, hoping to kick start my estrogen and ovaries to ovulate'
Dr. Crap: (putting up his hand to SHHHHush me) "You need Clomid, we need to simplify this. No temping, no progesterone, no OPK's, just have sex and you'll get pregnant. " (me on verge of tears)
Me: Well apparently I am/did get pregnant and now I'm bleeding.
Dr. Crap: Nurse, we'll do an exam (him squishing around on my nether regions) "We'll need to confirm this with blood. That's it, they'll take your blood up front" - Dr. Crap leaves.

I honestly think I was in shock at what just happened. There was no explanation of the exam, of if it was a miscarraige what to expect, if it wasn't what MIGHT be causing the bleeding. Needless to say Dr. Crap needed lessons in bed side manner. I returned home, very confused and infuriated. I called and left a tearful message with Gwen about the appt. and could I PLEASE talk to Kathy Watkins my nurse practitioner since she knew my case. (Note: Dr. Tagechian was out of the office all last week)

Kathy called me that night at 7:45pm from her house, while she was eating dinner to talk me off my ledge. I can not even beging to express the gratefullness after what had transpired earlier in the day. She noted everything I said about no instructions and being put-off in my chart for Dr. Tag. to see, although I'm sure nothing will be done to Dr. Craptastic.

Wednesday, July 29th...more bleeding but less cramps. Have to call and beg for beta # at 4pm right before office closes. I'm told that it's an 85 by Gwen. Dr. Craptastics nurse didn't bother calling.

Thursday July 30th...spotting, no cramps. Go in for more bloodwork early in the morning and proceed with my day.

Friday, July 31st....spotting but feeling good. I took another HPT in the morning and it was still as dark as the Tuesday test so this was reassuring. The nurse that took blood on Thursday ASSURED me that they would call on Friday not to worry. Long story short, they DID NOT CALL. So Rich and I went through a torturous weekend of not knowing.

Sunday, Aug. 2nd...I took another HPT and it was much lighter and my boobs had deflated. Just expecting the worse at this point.

Monday, Aug. 3rd....I wake up and immediately call the Dr. office at 9am for results, left message.

1pm - left another message.

3:30pm - left a panicked message with Gwen. I also took the time to call a different Dr. office and start the paperwork to transfer - more on that later.

4:15 - FINALLY get a call from Gwen she tells me that Dr. Craptastic and his nurse are deciding what the next step is. Me: " Well, while they decide can I have my number?" Gwen. " It's a 69" I could hear the ache in Gwen's voice. So, we discussed that it was probably an early miscarriage and that I'd wait for instructions.

So here I am on Wednesday, all the bleeding has stopped. I see Dr. Craptastic tomorrow at 4:20 for hopefully the last time.

I have an appt. with the new Dr. next Tuesday at 10am. It's an all female practice that was highly recommended by my friend, Kathy. Kathy saw me through to the other side of this last week. She took Nora whenever I needed her too, would call just to chat and let me vent if I needed too. I will be forever grateful to her for all her words of kindness and hugs.

I also have to thank my October '07 mommies for all the hoorays for being pregnant, boos for Dr. Craptastic, and big hugs at the end of all this. I wish I had some of you here in Atlanta(IRL)

For those that ask, I'm fine. Emotionally, it has been a very taxing time but Rich and I have held on to each other through it. We understand the risks with my PCOS, that I'm twice as likely to miscarry than the average woman. We are also realists and know that it didn't happen without good reason. Nature knew better than us, we accept that although it's hard.. For now, I think we will have a pause in our trying to concieve journey to just breathe. I know it will happen again in time and that timing will be perfect.

ETA: Please DO NOT post anything on Facebook about this. There are people we would rather not share this with.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Small Update

I'm at 170.4 with 8 days to go...we will see what happens.