Cycle #3 is underway

I guess I should document that our next IVF cycle has officially started.

I guess it's a big deal. It's not like I have much hope at this point, but theoretically this could be the cycle that leads to a baby we can actually take home.

Although I've been pretty nervous to get started, my first day at the clinic was a good one.

I never drive myself (the clinic is in Illinois, and usually David or my mom comes with me), but I decided to make a day of it, take my time, and enjoy being out of the house.

Since I'm not a fan of the freeway, I took the backroads. It obviously takes longer, but I made a long playlist and actually enjoyed the pretty drive. 

At the clinic I did an ultrasound, blood work, and a bunch of paperwork. Not to mention dropping $4000. No big deal, right? We already spent more than twice as much as our mortgage last year on fertility treatments. Why not throw away some more.

I thought I needed a "treat myself" day considering that besides the fairly monumental occasion of starting another cycle, April 15th was also my original due date. 

Last August was the first time I ever saw a positive pregnancy test. Of course I immediately Googled what the due date would be. It would have been April 15th. That early miscarriage wasn't something I thought about much after getting pregnant again in October. Losing my next baby too brought up those feelings again.

Do you know that if I get pregnant from this IVF cycle, it will be the third time I'm pregnant while being 31?

So anyways, to treat myself I went to Gurnee Mills, a huge outlet mall very close to the clinic. I walked the whole mall and got 3 miles of steps in.

I thought of a project for the next time I'm pregnant; if it lasts.

I want to try to wear a different pair of earrings every day that I'm pregnant. I already had quite a collection. A month ago I started trying to collect more. It's hard to feel excited to be pregnant again, but it makes me happy to think of each pair of earrings representing another day of staying pregnant. 

I'll document them every week... I know I'll need a lot to entertain myself and stay distracted. If anyone happens to read this... I would happily accept earring donations ;)

I found some good deals and collected another 15 pairs.

On the way home I got the call that the doctor reviewed my lab results. Everything looked good and I started medication that night. For the next week and a half I'm taking estrogen pills. Then I'll go to the clinic for another check-up, and if things look good I'll start more medications (including progesterone shots) and do an embryo transfer about a week later.

I already feel effects of the pills. They make me tired, emotional, incredibly hungry, and give me headaches sometimes. I was already tired and emotional, and I've been trying to lose weight, so that's fun lol. On the bright side, I have slept better the last few nights since they make me overtired. It's annoying though because I only had such a short window of feeling "normal" physically. That ship has sailed!

There are just over two weeks until the embryo transfer, so until then I'll be trying my best to accomplish all of my bucket list goals before potentially being on at least partial bed rest for most of the next year (mostly consisting of cleaning, organizing, finding things to do while stuck in bed, exercising, long walks, and outings around town).