Still Not Too Much to Report

Since we haven't started the treatments yet, there's not too much for me to "report", but I am still just on a high from our fund-raising. We've had some interest in our Craigslist ads, which will help.

Hmm, less than 2 weeks until my surgery. Have been in a bit of pain some days & a tremendous amount of pain some moments. I'm definitely feeling different pains than before the hormone suppression, but hopefully this means the surgery can be better since those lesions will have been "active".

Hope everyone had a great weekend! :)

Yard Sale Over!!!

Some prep pictures from yesterday! Bringing the furniture into town for the yard sale. Aren't the dogs cute? :)


We made $393.31 from the yard sale! Can you believe it?! I almost can't, but I was there & saw it all!! :) It was almost twice the amount I was praying God would bless us with! We had almost everything sell & only some books, clothes, & glad-ware type items to cart to Goodwill!

After deducting gas from the truck we borrowed from Dad & our cost of lunch (which we had planned on using some money for as a treat for all the hard work), our net amount to add to IVF savings is $346.31. I know it's an odd number, but what a beautiful number! It is the most successful (money-wise, stress-wise, & get-rid-of-stuff-wise) yard sale we've ever done! And, we have more space in the house & barn now! :)

Thanks Mom & Dad, JM & Sarah, & others for donating items & space for us! We appreciate it so much. We are hoping to do one more big(ger) one by the end of the year... but not for a couple of months at least! LOL

Fundraising (Planning): ON!

So, after the encouragement from the comments yesterday, I am in super-nerd mode & trying to brainstorm any ideas possible for fundraising! I had class last night (for my Maternal-Infant nursing class... a sim lab with a cocaine using woman at 34 wks along, but it was interesting. Got to see a real time c-section which confirmed I want to avoid that at ALL cost.) & got to speak with another classmate dealing with IF. She is the only person I know IRL that is dealing with IF. She was encouraging me to speak to my Pastor or deacons about help. The other classmates came in & were extremely supportive of helping us however possible. Fish fry, s'ghetti dinners, car wash, yard sales, etc. I've been blog-hopping like crazy today, so I can't link back to the blogger doing a 1/2&1/2 raffle. I thought that was a neat idea if we can sell enough tickets!

Also, tonight is my last day on the hormones & hopefully my own hormones will kick-in off the Zoladex implant! I'm pretty excited about having my own metabolism back (so I can lose the weight I've gained on this junk) & get out of menopause! At least with IVF on Lupron it will be a month at most (or I guess with the "average cycle"). Still hopeful about having the money needed for the December cycle.

Anything to Say?

Not really, but I feel like I should blog.

I only have 2 more doses of hormone replacement. The Zoladex effective period is over tomorrow, so I'm also stopping the HRT. Not sure when my REAL hormones will begin being produced by my body, but my GYN said it would actually be a good thing if I went through a menses before the surgery to "highlight" the areas (sorry for any men-folk out there... TMI, I know!) of endo growth. I have three weeks until my surgery. I hope they can get all that endo of my bladder. I also hope I don't have to stay overnight in the hospital... what a horrible way to spend a birthday!

Hubby has already scheduled many overtime hours for the upcoming weeks. This weekend will be a 4-day weekend for me, but he will be working every day. I know that the IVF savings is very important (duh), but I still feel a bit selfish & want to spend some time with him. I guess I can spend the weekend catching up on school work & clearing the house out.

We had already planned a yard sale for this Saturday to get rid of some stuff we've had in the barn for years. In our first year of marriage, we were doing great as far as getting rid of excess stuff (okay, mostly me that had excess stuff!). Then we moved so far "out of town" that yard sales became much harder. We have to trailer stuff "into town" to set up, since there's not much traffic in our area. My brother has an optimum locale for yard sales, so we're heading there. I really hope this will be the last for our stuff & by recommendation from Morrisa & Shawn we'll start asking others for donations. I'm thinking hubby won't appreciate the excess donations in the barn to store, but we'll see how that goes! :) I'm wondering if car washes would actually be helpful? Even if it was $200 or $300 profit... maybe ask lots of friends to help & take 'em out for CiCis or something afterwards as a "Thank You"? Any advice out there? Is it even worth the bother?

Hmm, sorry this post kinda sucks. Nothing new to note. I was planning on calling the IVF nurse & asking about the price increase & if they anticipated another one prior to December. I was also thinking about emailing/calling the adoption attorney we have heard about & seeing how much they estimate an adoption to be. I know we're not emotionally there, but I just wonder about it. Especially with the increase in IVF cost.

Hit with the Paperwork

Well, I was excited to get our IVF paperwork packet from the clinic today until I saw the pricing sheet. Since January, the cost of the "average" cycle went up $2,000. And we have no IF coverage.

This hit me pretty hard. Just the fact that we have to do this & also the fact that it went up so high. The donated meds, too, is not ALL of the meds we will need to use. If we are approved (which only depends on if the meds are available, not in a qualifying sense), it will cover $1900 of the $2800 meds category.

So instead of the amount we thought we'd have to save, we will have to save approximately 50% more. This sucks.

Spoke with DH more about this & he was very supportive. He is still encouraged to do the cycle. Thankfully they are offering OT at his employment this summer & if he can maximize on his hours, that will help with the IVF savings. Also, since I was budgeting for the original amount & how much we would need to save every month... I can revisit that & see if there is any way to squeeze more money out of the budget towards IVF. We also have a couple of small summer vacations planned that will not cost very much, so we are nixing the 4 year anniversary trip to Savannah. I'm a little disappointed about that, but it's okay. Maybe on our 5 year anniversary.

So, all in all... our cycle will still hopefully happen unless we cannot get all the money in time. If not, I guess we will proceed with the cycle in the beginning of the year. Only time with tell.

Only Three More Days off Hormones!

For preparation for clinicals, we had a tour of the labor & delivery & the post-partum floors. Thankfully, we didn't see any newborns.

It was easier than I expected to emotionally detach myself from the whole process, although there were definitely random thoughts. For example, my gyn was there with 2 patients in the delivery area. I couldn't help but wish it was me. Sitting in the room, excited with my husband, ecstatic about the new life our child would have... but I'm still not there.

I think I've recently felt more emotionally level. I'm not sure if it's because it's the couple of days before I'm due for my next Zoladex implant... because last week was BAD! Thank God I'm feeling better & getting through my work/classes without incredible stress. The past semester, with the medication & hormonal changes & the crazy class schedule, was extremely hard on me & it's relieving to know that there's a huge chance it will be better this & following semesters.

So, only 3 more days of my hormones & Zoladex "active" implant. I'm not sure how long it will take for the Zoladex to get out of my system.

Still excited, though, since we have a bit of a time schedule. A couple of weeks before the surgery, several months until we start all the meds for IVF. We're definitely praying that this is what we are being led to do & that if God wants us to head into another direction. We want to be open to what & where He is leading us.

A New Start

I'm giddy & nervous & annoyed all at the same time yesterday...

GIDDY because I got to talk to the IVF nurse at our clinic & she was very nice. I didn't think she'd be rude, but didn't expect her to be so nice. They are sending us some paperwork regarding the cycle & what to expect. Our cycle will "officially" begin December 4 with our stims. It seems so right around the corner, although it is 6.5 months away! I know with the way this past semester went by that it will sneak on up on us. Additionally, we won't have the money all saved up by then, so that was our goal start date. And the dates appear to line up nicely with the end of the semester (at that point).

NERVOUS because it's still overwhelming. Will I be able to handle those big PIO shots? Will I have to use the shots or can I get the supplements? Even though we fit the parameters, will we be able to receive donated meds? Will we have a successful cycle? How many times will we have to do this? This could be just another step along the way of being unsuccessful. BUT, I'm trying to stay positive about because I am definitely excited to moving along.

ANNOYED because, well, we have come to the point where this is our best option. So many other people never even realize how intricate the miracle of conception, carrying a pregnancy, & birthing is. I mean, it's disgusting & enraging to hear stories of parents that treat their children not only "not good", but horrible. I mean, throwing them off of highways, wrapping them in plastic & discarding them, on & on. BUT, I do not want to focus on the negative!! On to other things!

I am hoping to contact several acupuncture clinics around here & decide on one to go to this Fall.

Guess that's it for now! Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!