Truckin'...

Well ladies and gents, I am finally, mostly recovered from the trip to the new IVF Clinic for the all-day screening. I suspect that my having chosen to fly rather than drive or take the train resulted in more stress than there really needed to be, but it was an adventure anyway.

We left the house around 5:30 Thursday evening – BAMF and The Ginge being kind enough to not only drive us to the airport, but bring Pooka along as well, so she could see us off. Mama agreed to stay at the house with Pooka, so that she’d have a responsible adult near at hand. I saw on the Facebooks that Mama and Pooka sat up a little after bedtime to finish watching an episode of “American Horror Story.” Good show, that.

Meanwhile, Hubs and I flew down to Washington-Dulles, had an hour layover, then flew back up to Newark, where we caught a cab for the 20-minute ride to our hotel. We arrived just after midnight. Not my favorite thing ever. The hotel was nice, though. Very modern. Lots of bright pastels and large photos covering literally the entirety of one wall in each area. The only downside was that when we went to flush the toilet in our bathroom on Friday morning, the bottom of the tank sort of exploded water everywhere. Now THAT was a sight to see. Ha!

We got breakfast with Mum and Dad (read: Intended Parents) early-ish on Friday morning, for which they refused to let us pay. I suspect Hubs may have anticipated that, so he only ordered a bagel and coffee. I, on the other hand, expected to pay for our breakfast, so I got a tasty egg white and veggie ciabatta sandwich with a side of fresh fruit.  We had a great conversation and lots of laughs, as per the usual.

After breakfast we took the hotel’s complimentary shuttle down the road to the IVF Clinic where we met with a very nice social worker who, as I predicted, asked us all the same questions we went over on the phone. And Hubs and I took the same personality profile as last time; after which the social worker informed us that neither of us are crazy, so that was good.  We did blood work, the results for which won’t be available till either this coming Friday or Monday. I doubt there’s anything wrong with either of us, though.

We also met with the social worker and Mum and Dad all together and went over everything that Mum and I discussed and decided early on. No, I’m not going to argue about terminating the pregnancy if the parents and doctor think it best. No, I don’t mind if they attend every single OB appointment. Yes, they can obviously be in the delivery room. Yes, I’ll carry twins. Blah, blah, blah. Mum and I had a giggle over all those questions, simply because we had already agreed on the answers.

I also got to have another sonohysterogram. That’s where they fill my uterus up with sterile water and check it out via ultrasound. Normally it hurts and makes me crampy, but the doctor who did it must have magic instruments because I didn’t even flinch. He said everything looks… Guess the word, folks? That’s right; perfect. MUAHAHA! Mum was of course pleased to hear it over lunch, which they ordered out. (Pizza is my downfall, and yet I managed to stick to one piece only! Huzzah!)

As we were finishing up our lunch, one of the nurses came in to discuss medications and the like. It’s VERY different than the last IVF Clinic’s regimen. I’ll be back on “dinosaur shots” (leuprolide, which BAMF once thought said, “liopleuridon,” hence “dinosaur shots”) even though this is a frozen cycle. They’ve decided to keep me on Estrace pills and Vivelle patches because they worked well for WiggleWorm and Tempest, but they want me to do the progesterone as intramuscular injections. Mind you, I’m not much bothered by needles, but If they’re going to keep me on the same type and dosage of estrogen, why not keep the progesterone the same, too? Additionally, they’re going to give me seven days worth of steroid shots post-transfer, to ensure that my body doesn’t reject the embryos. Clearly they don’t know me well. I joked that if they put me on steroids to prevent rejection of the embryo, they’ll more likely ensure that BOTH embryos will implant. But I was only half joking. I don’t call it the Uber-Ute for nothing!

The new IVF Clinic also apparently feels it necessary to do a kazillion ultrasounds in addition to the regular bloodwork to monitor beta hCG (pregnancy hormone) levels. Thankfully, I can have all of that done close to home, and won’t need to go back to the Clinic except to undergo the embryo transfer. After which, I will be instructed to go back to my hotel room and lounge around for 24 hours. That’s also new. The last Clinic sent me home about an hour after the transfer. Ah well; if the doctor says “be lazy,” then I’m gonna be lazy.

The trip home was long but good. We flew from Newark to Chicago, and got to spend a couple minutes with my in-laws, who we get to see far too rarely. We tried to see if there was a slightly later flight so we could spend some extra time, but we wouldn't leave Chicago until 9:00pm Central Time, and it would cost an additional $150 to switch the flights. From Chicago, we flew back into the Queen City, where Mama picked us up and drove us, at long last, home.

On an unrelated note, I’ve spent this month learning to work out and eat healthier. It’s. Working. By my measurements, I’ve lost about five inches off my midsection, not to mention whatever has slipped off my thighs, arms and other fat-lumps I’ve been dying to burn for years. I haven’t lost diddly as far as the scale is concerned, but frankly I don’t care. I’m watching myself get smaller, and I love it! I’m not starving myself – if anything, I’m eating MORE, but better. As I type this, I’m pausing intermittently to spoon plain Greek yogurt with a bit of honey and raspberries into my mouth. Best. Diet. Ever.

I’m also learning to break my empty-carb addiction. It turns out that I may have a mild sensitivity to wheat gluten. Just enough to make my face and fingers swell a little after eating them. Having switched to mostly gluten-free or at least sprouted grains, I can now fit my wedding and engagement rings easily onto my thumb.

Well readers, it’s been real. It’s been fun. It’s even been real fun. But it’s also almost 11:00 and I still need to jump in the shower before I can crash for the night, so for now… Th-th-th-that’s all, folks!