Babies, Babies

Our friends are here visiting from Chicago. They have two kids. The youngest one is our god daughter. They are so precious, it's great to have them here! Yesterday I went to the grocery store to get all the stuff they need to eat. It was so nice walking around in the baby isle.

Last night as we went to bed, me and Tom watched a little TV before we fell asleep. All of a sudden we could hear our god daughter crying, and we just turned off the TV and listened to it. I got butterflies in my belly just hearing a baby in our house. I slept really well :)

This morning we played together and I watched both of them as their mommy was getting ready. I gave the baby her breakfast, she was sitting in my lap eating her apple cinnamon puree'. There can't be a better way to start the day!!

They went to Disneyland today, I'm sure they will have a great day in the sun with Snowwhite and Minnie. This will be a great weekend!

It's a long month

And now we wait. This is the worst part. I keep on googling "early pregnancy symptoms" even though I know that it's way to early to tell. I've been feeling cold the past 2 days and for me that is very unusual. I haven't been sick in almost 3 years (knock on wood). So the fact that I am feeling chilly makes me think that I am pregnant because it affects your basal body temparature. Silly, I know.

I woke up in a bad mood and just feel irratable in general. Poor Tom.

I'm in Love

Yes, It's true, I am in love. With baby Ella.

Yesterday my coworker who is on maternity leave came into the office and brought her new born baby Ella, 3 weeks old. It was the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. She was so tiny and I got to hold her for a good 20 minutes while she was sleeping. She was all curled up against my chest, and had that wonderful baby-smell. I have been thinking about her ever since. I can't wait to have one of my own.

The Stimulus Package

For everyone who ever tried to get pregnant, you know how your life revolves around it. Every little sensation in your body makes you wonder if it has anything to do with your ability to carry children. But all we can do is try and wait. Let nature take its course. Do everything in our power to make it happen and create the ideal circumstances.

Today Barack Obama is adressing congress regarding his plan to get the economy back on it's feet. Talk about pressure to perform. Both Mr Obama's and Tom's stimuli package need to contain hard work and action. But most of all, it requires patience.

Took My egg shopping

Yes, I took my egg shopping today, hoping that all that testosterone at the Apple store makes the little suckers hang on for queen and country. Our very good friends from Chicago are coming to visit next week with their kids. It will be great to see them, and also to see if this house is baby-friendly. We went to the ghetto yesterday and picked up a play pen for the baby. I hope it doesn't bring any bad ju-ju. 

Two Dark Purple Lines

9 days after cycle start. Tom better get to quarreling the dust bunnies  or there will be no hanky panky! Kidding. 

Some women say they can "feel" when they ovulate. I don't feel anything. Its Saturday morning and I am enjoying my coffee. Maybe my eggs just need their caffein first. 

Swimmers and purple lines

Tom is going for his other semen analysis and my doctor told me that his lab results were actually only borderline. And...my ovulation test showed a faint purple line last night. Time to get to work! I'm hoping Cupid and Mother Nature get together for a pow-wow this weekend.

Good News: I have follicles

My doctor called me back with my blood results and they were as she put it "beautiful". I am producing follicles, my hormone levels are where they should, my thyroid is "perfect". Not sure what an imperfect Thyroid is, but hey, whatever works! I will continue to perform the ovulation tests as she still suspects that when my cycles are 30+ plus, I don't ovulate. So it's best to keep track.

So maybe it's Tom. His sperm analysis came back abnormal last week, and he is due for another test to confirm. His motility and count is low plus there are signs of infection.

His PCP (Primary Care Physician) suggested that he does a complete detox and of course quit smoking. The latter is working well, he has cut down significantly and I know it's hard for him.

As far as this "detox" goes, I think it's a load of bs. I want his urologist to tell him that, not his PCP who handles coughs and belly-aches. My doctor recommended that he sees his urologist for consultation. Tom knows this, but he wants to quit smoking completely before he does another sperm analysis - and I agree with that.

She also referred him to one of the top urologists in the US who is based here in LA. Of course, he is outside our network. My care provider told me to talk to the doctor and see if he would be willing to submit the claim.

I am hoping this never comes to IVF which, btw, is FREE in Sweden. That is not the case here...

Follicles and Ovulation Tests

After my first visit and consultation with my doctor, the investigation of why I'm not knocked up yet consists of a series of steps.

Number one is blood work, which I had done on Monday (4 days ago). That is the first step in trying to determine if I do indeed ovulate properly. As my cycle is very irregular (20-40 days) so is probably the ovulation. So I will leave blood work before I ovulate (3 days after the first day of my last period) and then 7 days after ovulation. Which doesn't make any sense, since I don't know when I for sure ovulate :-)

So anyway, I do the "pee on a stick" ovulation test. They are expensive ($25-$40) which is ironic, since pregnancy tests of the same brand are cheap ($10-$15). They even have pregnancy tests at the 99 cent store for, yes, 99 cents!

I am now 8 days out since my period started, so ovulation should be coming up. I'm testing every day, but it is a lonely little purple line. The pictures above show what the test looks like.

My doctor was supposed to call me with the lab results from the blood work on Monday. The test is the first of 2 to determine if follicles are building in my uterus i.e am I producing an egg?

I am keeping my fingers crossed that she calls me today.

Why This Blog, Why Now?

The answer is simple. Because I think about it constantly (becoming pregnant, not blogging)

My husband and I have been "trying" now for 13 months and just started the process of investigating..More of these details later.

It seems like everyone around me, married or in a steady relationship, are getting pregnant or already have their little ones. Some of them more than one! And I could not be happier for them. But it makes me wonder why it's not happening to us, who want it as much as any other couple in love and ready to take the next steps.

I asked my husband and he is OK with me posting details of the process and our life. I'll leave last names out though.

Since this does not seem to be happening "au naturel" I am looking forward to getting there by the support of others and the doctors advice and knowledge. Stay tuned!