# Lesbians Using Donor Sperm, Part 9



## **Tashja**

New thread for a chat 

Hope you are all well !!




T xx


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## starrysky

Hi 

I posted earlier and lost the post and couldn't put it on again as was going out for my acupuncture. 

I am feeling a bit better (touch wood -    ) and hoping for a better calmer night. The acupuncture has helped I think.

My urine infection has been confirmed now and I have pregnancy -safe antibiotics. Not happy about it but I know it needs to be done. Now Jo has a stomach bug or food poisoning and has been throwing up all day.. It is coming at us from all angles, hope these baby (ies) are strong. 

Thanks for all your messages.

Hope everyone okay. 

Heather


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## nismat

Glad to hear that you are feeling a bit better and calmer Heather. The breahtlessness must make you feel really panicky. 
Poor Jo, suffering too - it doesn' sound like you are having an easy time at the moment, either of you.  

I'm sure the baby/ies will be nice and strong for you though; at least you're now a little bit nearer to your first scan. Hope that the weekend is a calm one for you.


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## Mable

Hi,
Heather, glad to hear you are feeling a little better, although bugs at home sound difficult. But your embies are so strong to have made it this far, and to have implanted. And yes, you could have 2 on board, I'd forgotten about that possibility! How exciting. Have you discovered the 'waiting for the first scan' board, on bun in the oven? I found this very helpful as everyone there is going through the anxious wait and sharing worries and symptoms. It is also very reassuring as people have their scans and see their pregnancies and then it's your turn.

Good luck Tamsin for the start of your IVF. How are you feeling about it all?

Monty has regained his birth weight so panic formula feeding over for now! 

 to Alison on the 2ww,
Mable


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## starrysky

Hi 

Well Jo has got over the worst of the bug and it hasn't come my way so far. Only one week to go. I will have a look at the waiting for the first scan thread. I had a much calmer night last night and although was still a bit breathless I fell asleep very quickly. I was reading today that sometimes progesterone can cause breathlessness in some people although it says towards the end of the first trimester. It actually causes overbreathing to enable more oxygen to go in to support everything that's happening. So maybe I am not mad after all  !!!!? 

Glad to hear that Monty is catching up. Just need to say again I love his name and am looking forward to that picture coming up. How are you coping? 

Alison     !!

Tamsin - not long now!!


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## Alison0702

Day 4 already!

I want to feel something...some signs some symptoms anything!  I have thought about nothing else but being pregnant today. I Have tried to stay busy at work, but the conversation with my colleague has seemed to always get around to babies.
Thought I was going to start   at one point so quickly changed the subject.

Came home and had a      at not so dp.  They havnt done anything really, apart from arranging to help tile a friends new shop next Saturday - the only day we have together all week. So I am not happy at all! Sounds stupid now I have written it down  

I have been chomping on brazil nuts and drinking pineapple juice since I got in. Still don't know how it helps implantation, but hey ho!

Have still got sore bazookas, and indegestion. Oh and I knocked back a mcdonalds today to have a cheese salad - the thought of grease makes me wanna throw up. Again, I do believe this is all in my head, but I have to be positive      
DP partner bought a pregnancy test today - was not happy with this either as it was a cheap Asda number. I wanted a clearblue one but I am sure they are absolutely fine.

Heather - glad you're feeling a lot better today chuck...

lots of   to everyone 
xxxxx


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## nismat

*Alison * - the first 2ww is one of the hardest to get through, as it's all so new! It's virtually impossible not to try and feel symptoms/interpret every little thing as a good or bad sign, but true symptoms so early in pregnancy (especially as you are still pre-implantation stage!) are very subjective indeed! Hope you manage to not drive yourself and your partner over the edge  

*Heather * - glad that both you & Jo are feeling rather better.

I am veering between feeling nervous, excited and calm about getting started on the IVF. 16 days to go... I can't really believe that it's going to be happening so soon I suppose. I need to chase up the rest of the drugs quotes today, and decide where to buy them from. I've got my first acupuncture session on Friday, and I'm wondering whether or not I should bother with some reflexology as well. Not that it's made any difference to the previous cycles! I also need to organise more hypnotherapy, and a chiropractic appointment to give my back a good overhaul, as I know you can't get treated in the first trimester (see - I'm _trying _ to think positive outcome ). Actually, I'm trying not to think about it all too much (completely contrary to all my hypno stuff!), as I can't help but think that it won't work first time, like for Heather & Jo, Misty & Bunny, Lee & Charley. Definitely need to start working on that positive thinking stuff .
Actually, what I could really do with is finding out what to expect in terms of side effects at different stages, just so that |I'm prepared. I remember Heather had terrible headaches, but what else did any of you experience in terms of mood swings (the bit Karen's really worried about given my PMT moods!), hot flushes etc.?


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## starrysky

Hi everyone

Tamsin - 16 days to go!! It will speed along once it starts, until the 2WW. I hope the acupuncture helps. The other side effect I got was bloating and aches and pains (I knew my follies were growing) from about day three of stimulating - that can feel quite uncomfortable. No mood swings - confirmed that with Jo! I had one hot flush again when d/regging I think but not too major, I just remember being conscious of it.I hope it does work first time for you - it did for Mable and Edith!!

I had a nice glass of the old pineapple juice and a few chocolate coated brazil nuts yesterday - I am sure the chocolate ones you get from M & S do the same job as the ones without chocolte and they are easier to eat. 

Best wishes everyone

Heather


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## nismat

Oh Heather, you made me laugh with your chocolate coated brazil nuts   But, as you say, there's no reason why they shouldn't work just as well as the plain kind   I actually really like brazil nuts anyway, and often eat a few on their own because the are so rich in selenium. Is it post ET that you are supposed to start on the pineapple juice/brazils? 
It's good to hear you didn't get too much in the way of mood swings; I hope that I'm the same. I've been lucky so far in that I haven't had any side effects from any of the meds (probably connected to the fact that none of them worked for me either  ), so this time I'm hoping for them to work really well, but still no side effects   Will have to wait and see.


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## snagglepat

Hey everyone,

I've been away for a few weeks on a 10 day Vipassana meditation retreat. It was fantastic, and I've come back very calm and contented. It's great to come back and see how much has gone on!

A huge welcome to Monty. *Mable and Edith*, you must be so happy!  I hope the c/s healing goes well.

*Heather and Jo*, huge huge congratulations to you on your BFP. The breathlessness sounds really unpleasant though. I hope that it eases for you soon.

*Tamsin*, you must be counting down the days until you start your IVF. I will be keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you that this is the one. 

*Alison*, the very best of wishes to you through this 2WW. I really hope you get a BFP!

Rae and I had a good chat about our own TTC last night. We're definitely going to kick off starting again as soon as I get back from Australia in October, and at this point we're thinking we'll try with me. We both have a feeling that it'll work with me, and are not so sure with Rae. Partly I think it's a stress thing - her work is so very stressful, and we just don't feel that that creates a happy and healthy environment for conception to happen. But it's still a way off. Interestingly, although I stopped taking Metformin a month ago, I ovulated this cycle. I don't know whether this was because there was still some in my system, or whether it might have kick-started my body into ovulating of it's own accord, but it definitely happened while I was on retreat. I had a whole day of cramps to mark the occassion. So that's a good sign. We shall see how things continue to pan out.

Best wishes to everyone.

Gina.


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## Alison0702

Evening lasses

*Gina* nice to meet you..must say I am VERY jealous about you being in Australia. I went a few years ago, and plan to go back very soon. Work for an airline so its very easy and cheap to get there. You and your dphave certainly been through the mill, and I'm sure bad luck has to run out at some point for both of you. But, it sounds like this 10day retreat has done the trick.
Well,enjoy that lovely ozzie red wine and please have one for me!

*Tamsin* - bet you're very excited now. 16 days will pass quickly I bet - just like the last 6 days have for me  NOT! HA HA. Sounds like your going to be busy mind with all of your lovely pamper sessions.

*Heather* how are you petal? I am going to go to M&S for some chocolate brazils cos I'm actually starting to gag now when I eat one. I know I should just not eat them but I have to try and do all poss 

Well,I have been great today. Been to work and from the moment I got in at 0730, my colleagues constantly whinged about everything to do with work. I mean come one, life is far too short! But I agreed with everything they said heh heh.
Havnt thought about testing at all until I got home, but think a takeaway will take my mind off it even more - thats what I'll tell Ju anyway 

My mam had me laughing yesterday. She said she was hoping I would have gone to see her yesterday so she could tell me if I was pg or not. I said "eh what you on about" and she reckons she can tell if someone is pg as they have glazed eyes.  
It's worked before apparantly 

I have had an "imaginary" symptom free day today. I must say, people at work have commented on how nice I have been - doesnt say much about what I'm like normally. ha ha. 

Well, must go and see what lovely indian dish I can pick off the menu...deary me life is sooooooooo hard!

Speak soon
Alison xxx


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## **Tashja**

Cyclers  

(Starrysky)Heather* & Jo - DICSI in Feb   

Louismummy & Partner* - DIVF 

2ww - Good luck!   

Alison0702 & DP - DIUI - Testing 01.05.06  

In between treatment

Eddie* - Clomid and DI 

Emma73* - DIVF in October

(Ejsmith2) Emma* - DIUI

(Feistyblue) Claire* & Beverley - Egg Share DICSI 

(Herbaltea) Sarah* - DIUI 

(Julesforgirls) Jules* - Donor eggs with partners eggs, then DIVF

(Midnightaction) Sarah* - Egg Share DIVF

(Rachjulie) Rachael* & Julie - DI 

(Snagglepat) Gina & Rae* - DI  

Tonia2*& Bron - DIUI - 15th May-ish  

Woo_Woo* & Lea - DI

(Nismat) Tamsin* & Karen - DIVF/DICSI - Start Mid-May 

Precious Cargo On Board  

Friskypony* & Pup - DIVF - EDD 11 April 2006  

Never Forgotten Angels 

Woo_Woo* & Lea 

Our Miracle is Here 

Evelet & R* - Proud parents to a baby boy born 16.08.05  
(Bagpuss1) Kerry* & Helen - DIUI - Proud parents to Edie born 02.01.06
Edith* & Mabel - DIVF - Proud parents to Monty born 12.04.06

Please let me have any additions/amendments to the above list - I hope it is all OK any amendments let me know  List might go a bit mad while I get to know you all !!!

* = Partner having treatment

Sending loads of love, luck and babydust to you all.

Tashja xx


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## **Tashja**

Hi all

Starrysky - Hope things are going well for you 

Alison - Hope 2ww is being kind to you hun 

Mable & Edith - Hows Monty (I love that name !!)

Still learning everybodys names sorry 

Hope everyone else is ok though.

T xx


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## nismat

Emma! I've been wondering how things were going for you, so its great to hear that you're on another 2ww    

Hmmm, testing early..... obviously it's up to you to decide whether it's better to wait and be able to keep on believing that there's every chance of getting a BFP, or to test early and run the risk of getting a BFN, which could make you feel really bad, even if you are actually pregnant and it's just too early to get an accurate result yet. 
I'm always slightly torn because my LP is short (usually 12 or 13 days), so I've only ever once got to official test date on 14dpo without my period arriving first. I hate being cheated out of testing!   However, over time, I've decided that, for me, it's better to wait and keep hoping (I also stopped charting my temps in the last 2ww, so that there's less to obsess over  ). 

Anyway, having said all that, I have heard of some women who have got faint BFPs at 10dpo. Personally, I really wouldn't test any earlier than 12dpo - is that Thursday for you rather than today? Really hoping that you get a good result from this cycle - whenever you end up testing!


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## nismat

I'm getting organised today - at last! 

I've done all my ringing round for drugs quotes (from the cheap drugs thread on IVF section), and I've found one (Fazeley chemist in Tamworth) who sells the drugs with absolutely no profit added at all, as he thinks it's terrible that IVF drugs are so expensive and is appalled at anyone wanting to make a profit from them. He was such a nice man to talk to! It will only cost £5.75 for registered delivery, so I'll be saving almost £190 compared to the clinic's package cost 
I've also got my back appointment sorted, and the hypnotherapy, plus I've finally managed to get more into the "my body is a temple" way of thinking/eating (after finishing my chocolate sex mad ball of fluff* yesterday afternoon ). 
Can't wait to get started now 

*ETA I did *not * type this in - it should have said chocolate bunn*y!


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## starrysky

Hi everyone

Tamsin - you are getting organised!!!!! That sounds like a good discount on these drugs. Not long now.

Hi EJ -   - hold out as long as you can without going mad!!!! 

Alison - how's it going?  .

Bit of an unexpected development here. Saw the GP yesterday and mentioned the breathlessness which although it is a million times better it is still lurking. She examined me and decided I had reduced air entry on one side and referred me to the local casualty. I came home, called the clinic and they asked me to go there. Feel worried now my GP will not like what I have done. Anyway they couldn't find any problem but decided as it is five and ahalf weeks now to do a pg scan. They said we wouldn't see a heartbeat and sure enough we didn't as too early (although of course I was hoping to be put out of my misery by seeing one!!) 

Anyway we saw a big blob so it was lovely to know the pg is in the right place. There was also a little blob and the consultant that that was probably a bit of blood rather than a twin but was not sure. Hopefully, all including a beautiful heartbeat will be revealed on Tuesday.

Good luck everyone

Heather


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## Alison0702

Day 8  of   - woohoo - getting nearer

Well, not much to report at all today. Had quite a busy day at work so kept me out of trouble. Have been a bit moody today, but that sometimes happens when my whole day is taken up with pointless meetings.

Anyway... I havn't had any real symptoms so to speak. I had a little burny feeling lower down this morning then that went. Still have sore boobs, and my nipples are still very itichy and tender but again nothing major. I read someoin'es post before who said youre not meant to eat fresh pineapple  why? 

I have been a complete pig on chocolate. I do like it, but lately, I have been stuffing it in. I have just eaten 3 chocolates/4 chocolate mints/1 mini dairy milk. So you see I am not kidding!!!!!! 

I am still constantly tired, and I am going to be at about 1000pm and getting up at 0630, so I am getting enough sleep. I'm probably tired cos my eyes are always looking at the computer screen!  

EJ - have you tested yet. Tamsin's right like you may get an incorrect result,and that wil only upset you. 

Tamsin - not long now.You can tell by the tone of your posts that your cheering up now and you sound very excited about starting IVF.It just shows how much money you can save by shopping around.  This has got to be your turn hun.  

Heather - helllloooo. Bet it was lovely to see your big (and little) blob today. Bet you cant wait for Tuesday though. What are they going to do about the reduced air flow? Take it easy lady!!!!!!

Well, bye for now, and dont forget to blow me a bubble for luck

Love Alison
xx


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## Mable

Hi,
Ooh so exciting - Heather - great news about the blob (s)! Sounds really positive, here's keeping fingers crossed for your little flashing white light on Tuesday!!

Tamsin - well done with your shopping around! Can I ask what is the grand total for your IVF drugs? (Not that I need the info as I am NOT having the next baby after all). Very exciting when they arrive.

Emma - hello! Good luck for the 2ww! Fingers crossed for you. Edith tested on day 12 with one of those first response kits, it was very faint and that was quite stressful not knowing if it really was positive or not. It was also exciting though.

Alison - fingers crossed for you!! Have you tried Westlife? Listening to them has proven positive results.

Monty hates Westlife - did I say already? He is utterly gorgeous and I remain besotted with him inspite of having very little sleep and his wails being very loud in the middle of the night. Tonight I am giving Edith a whole nights sleep and feeding him formula! 

Good luck


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## starrysky

Hi everyone

Mable - are you sure that your motivation is to give Edith a nights sleep and not instead to play westlife to monty all night in the hope that regular exposure will change his mind!!!

Alison - somewhere in the 2ww bit is a thread on the science of pineapple eating! I think the reason why you are not supposed to eat fresh pineapple is that it contains too much of  a substance called bromethin (spellling?) and that can cause uterine contractions (I am not sure if that's the same for concentrated pineapple juice). Some people say that when you are at the last stages of pregancy eating fresh pineapple can bring on the labour. So there you are!!!!!! The M 7 S pineapple juice is really nice as has a hint of lime!"!!! You are more than half way through the torture now!!

Heather


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## Alison0702

Greetings girlies!

Hope you are all ok.

Had an absolutely **** night last night. Started getting cramps and afte numerous trips to the toilet, sat and cried on the settee for an hour. Then all of a sudden got up and mopped the kitchen floor       

Really dont know what came over me! DP was lovely though and calmed me down. Anyway, today I have been happier. Still have pains (not really cramps) It feels like when your dying for a wee.

My cons told me that as I was on a "normal" cycle this month because of the drugs, I reckon  is due to show her ugly head tomorrow or sometime over the weekend. Hopefully she will stay away as on Tuesday morning I want to get up and say good morning to .

        

*Mable* - I take it you are one of Westlife's biggest fans. I do however think Monty (as young as he is) has great taste in music .   
I am more a Norah Jones girl but hey if listening to them is proven to be successful, who am I to argue 
How did your night with Monty go? Hope Edith got a good night's sleep.

*Heather* Thanks for the pineapple advice - not happy as I love it 
Mind you, I'm sure I can cope without it for a while. I'm going to Marksies at the weekend so I am going to splash out and treat myself on some nice goodies. I havnt been eating very much lately, especially at night, as a) I am too tired to be bothered to cook and b) I really dont want anything to eat.

Well, I am on day 9 of  now, and I can honestly say, it's bloomin awful. I look at my very expensive asda HPT every day and think "will this cheap load of **** work", no really, i think "shall i test early or not". I wont though as I really dont want to get a false result. It can only say  and thats final.

Anyway, I will speak to you soon.
Bye for now
Alison


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## nismat

*Heather*, so glad you got to see your blob(s) yesterday -it must have been reassuring. I wouldn't worry too much about not directly following your GP's recommendation to go to casualty. If it had been me, I definitely would have phoned/gone to the clinic as they must know exactly what to look for in terms of OHSS. Besides, if it's something that continues to trouble you, you can always just take yourself along to casualty at a later date.

*Mable * - hope that the formula feeding went well last night and that Edith got a bit more rest without the constant demands. It's so funny that Monty hates Westlife when you love them so much . Do you both feel completely exhausted from the lack of sleep? I am not good without my sleep, so that's one of the things I worry about coping with .
I thought I had put the drugs cost on my original post, but clearly forgot . It's going to be £841, inc delivery (clinic quoted £1030). So still not cheap, but I'm guessing that's because it's Puregon, which seems to be very hard/impossible to get discounted. Not a cheap drug. What was Edith on?

*Alison * - almost into double figures on your 2ww now - not too much longer! Hope that you get a super long luteal phase this cycle (like about 9 months..... )
I have to say, I'm with you on the music front too (but don't tell Mable!)

I have to say, I didn't know about not being supposed to eat fresh pineapple (I actually thought that it was what you were _supposed _ to have, and not the juice/canned etc.). I ate masses of it on my last IUI cycle - maybe why I got my damned period after just 10 days   Big oops. At least I'll know for this time 
I did always wonder about the pineapple connection; it contains an enzyme called bromelin which actually breaks fibres down (Aussies marinate meat in pineapple juice to tenderise it), and it stops jelly from setting. I couldn't see how it could help with implantation - it seemed like it would do quite the reverse, but I believed what I thought I had read. Clearly the pineapple juice must be different in some way - will have to go and check out the thing in the 2ww.

*Emma*, good on you for staying strong and not testing too early    Glad that you've found hypnotherapy helpful too. Would be interested to know more about the hypnotherapy CDs, as I find the self-hypnosis I'm supposed to do daily a bit of a challenge!

BTW, in looking back at the posts I found something very odd in one of mine! I would just like you all to know that I did not write anything about eating a "chocolate sex mad ball of fluff" yesterday - don't know how writing chocolate bunn*y got morphed into that!!   Very weird


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## Mable

Hi,
Last night went very well with Monty, thanks for asking - he didn't puke up his formula at 10pm, then woke at 1am and 4am, which is real progress already ie he slept in his moses basket for 3 hour stretches without requiring singing to sleep, rocking, kissing! Edith is beaming from having had a whole nights sleep. 

Tamsin, I'm rubbish with no sleep too, I need at least 10 hours a night but the joy of having Monty here completely outweighs the dazed feeling you get with lack of sleep. And you've got Karen so the teamwork helps - and it's not for ever! Good to hear about your drugs - you're ready to go. Edith was on Puregon but I don't remember it being particularly expensive or tricky to get hold of. Lots of organic food now...

Good luck to you girls waiting   

ps the "chocolate sex mad ball of fluff" stuff did rather take me by surprise Tamsin, but I thought, good on you!


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## starrysky

Tamsin - I too wondered about the chocolate sex mad ball of fluff!!!!  . You must be getting down regulating brain already!!!!

I think the reason why pineapple is good is that it has selenium which aids implantation but I could have invented that!!!!!!! It does make me laugh. My mum thought I was mad when I was talking about pineapple juice and brazil nuts because in her day you couldn't get them and people did get pregnant. Also I am sure that some people ttc naturally must eat pineapple and still be pregnant!!!!! However, I still have a bit of pineapple and some nuts every day!! Has become force of habit. 

Thanks for your reassurance about not following the GPs advice. I still feel a bit uncomfortable about what happened and am currently not at work but with no sick note as she said she would give me one after my trip to casualty so she would know how long to put. I am sure all things considered she will write me one for a week, until the day after the scan but I do feel a bit AWOL at the moment. 

Alison - if you are really paranoid about that ASDA test I would splash out on a Clearblue!!    . It is day 10 now, that is a  . I am reaaly keeping my fingers crossed for you. Are you testing 2nd May then? That's our scan day.

I am obsessed with the blob, and at several angles I am sure Jo and I are sure we can see something inside!! (I am almost positive this is impossible). I just can't wait till Tuesday. This has been an anxious time too. I didn't really expect it to be so anxious. 

 to everyone

Heather


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## nismat

Glad I entertained you all with the chocolate sex mad ball of fluff stuff   I wonder if it will happen again if I type bunny ? Very funny. Ooh, no it didn't.... I really don't know what happened before, although I am aware that it now sounds like I'm protesting too much and just had a mad moment   

I went for my first session of acupuncture today, which I wasn't particularly looking forward to, having had it in the past (with a couple of bad experiences). Anyway, it was fine, and the acupuncturist was easy to talk to and has treated other women through IVF. Even better, she actually turns out to be a lesbian herself   I had begun to strongly suspect that she was, as she hadn't blinked an eyelid when I said I was in a same-sex relationship and trying to concieve, and she knew all the terminology and was asking about donors etc. Anyway, she did indeed reveal that she's gay too. So that was unexpected, but encouraging! 
Apparently my body is fairly well balanced (thank heavens, given that I haven't started this much in advance of the IVF), although there is low energy in the kidneys, which is often linked with fertility problems. Not that she felt that I necessarily have problems as such, but it clearly won't do any harm to boost it. Looking forward to more next week now


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## Tonia2

Hello all!
it's been a while since I've posted but I've been mostly keeping up!!

Welcome Monty!! You know, my first car was a deep orange coloured mini (same colour as our VW Kombi coincidently), called Monty. Well, I called it Monty, everyone else called it 'the pumpkin... ' 
So, I love the name!! I'm so excited and relieved all went well, I was checking the email obsessively around the time of his birth, couldn't wait to hear... You guys must be tired. I'm guessing it could be hard when you're so excited and grateful he's here, to then allow yourselves to be exhausted and overwhelmed like any other new parents. I hope youre getting lots of rest and support!!

Nice to meet you *Emma*. I started posting in late October I think so must have just missed you...good luck 

Hey, I'm really confused about the pineapple thing...? do we, don't we...

*Tamsin * I loved the chocolate mad ball of fluff thing...didn't get it at all but loved it! Yay! re. the acupuncturist. I've been meaning to look into it but I think I'm a bit scared of the idea of the needles (pretty lame for a nurse huh?!). Have had a couple of sessions of Reiki with my massage therapist though which has been nice - I always feel great afterwards. Good luck for next week.... 

*Heather * -that's so cool seeing the blobs!! Your anxiety is sounds really normal - it's easy for us all to forget that once we get the BFP then there's a whole new road to go down... it's just the beginning. I hope it goes really well. Are you hoping for twins or do you not mind either way? I'm still thinking of them as Skippy & Boom... Good luck for Tuesday.

Good luck *Alison* only a few days to go!  I'm of the frame of mind not to test early - the question of not knowing whether the test was accurate would do my head in so it's easier to wait!! good luck..

There's lots of people waiting on news hey...?

*Misty * are you still out there? How are you doing?

I've been a bit discouraged with the whole TTC deal lately but honestly not had alot of opportunity to think about it. I'm studying full time this year and still working night shift and finding the mix a bit rough after being relatively lazy for a few years.  What's made it worse though, is darling DP, Bron, is also studying (Bachelor of Ed - to be a teacher). Its her first time at Uni (my third!!  )and we've had tears and hysterics from her at least 2-3 times _every week_ so far this semester.  Correction - hysterics is probably an unfair exaggeration, she's just been crying lots and questioning everything and going to give up on a regular basis. I've found it really unsettling as she's usually the level-headed one of the two of us!! and I already get overly anxious about my own study, let alone having to coach her daily through hers as well!! The last 8 weeks haven't been much fun -It's been a bit rough, to say the least, but at least currently we've agreed to try and be nice to each other, and to stay together for now  !! Heh! She has been doing better the last week or so. AND got a distinction for her first assignment!! 

We have an appt with Dr. this Wednesday to discuss/plan IVF, though since we missed our last IUI cycle (because of that *%#  8%# radiographer) we've decided we'd like one more go at IUI before we launch into IVF properly. But we'll get all the IVF preliminaries rolling so we have minimum delay if the IUI doesn't work. Can't wait to be doing SOMETHING again. It's been two months of sitting around doing nothing...

Hopefully this mammoth post makes sense. It's nearly 4am on my first night of night shift, I didn't get much sleep last night and so it's nearly 24hrs already since i"ve slept and right now I'm MEANT to be doing an essay that's due on Monday... I'm feeling slightly delirious  & I'm sure this post sounds like it...

love to all
Tonia

PS thanks *Tashja * for the updates! My partners' name is Bron and w'll be doing our last IUI in about 2 weeks most likely...around the 15th May or so.


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## Alison0702

Good afternoon ladies

Well, on day 11 of   and it is dragging so badly now. I am also on day 20 of cycle and still no   I have spent most of the last 2 days on abit of elastic, back and forward to the loo, just to make sure. I'm starting to wear a whole in the wood flooring!

Not sure how I feel at the mo cos I have still got cramps/pains, swollen tum, feel like my (.) (.) are like rocks and will explode out of my bra at any time. Hmmmm who knows.
I was so tempted to test this morning, but resisted. 

I went for day 21 blood test and the result came back at 27.4. I asked the doc if that was good, and she said it normally between 30-100. So I spoke to my consultant and he said that this was compatible with 1 follicle, so I felt better after that. 

We're off to friends tonight to play poker. As i will definetely be the only one sober, I am hoping to win. Going to a christening tomorrow and I am a bit nervous about how I will feel. I know I'm being stupid, but after getting a bit emotional every time I saw a baby in a buggy today, I'm sure you can see where I am coming from  

Tamsin..bunny turned into that!!!!!! I am wondering what you were thinking about when you wrote that post. I did read that a few times and thought it was me who just didnt understand it. Glad it was you!     Getting closer...how u feeling now. Its the 16th you start the nasal spray isnt it. 

Heather.. Tuesday is looming for you both too. How exciting!  

Well I'm sure you will all join in on my chant

                  

See you's tomorrow and have a great weekend.

xx


----------



## Mable

Good luck for tomorrow Alison!!

Heather - I've had a close look at Monty's 6 and a half week scan pic (don't forget to ask for 1) and it looks like a black kidney bean (the pregnancy sac) with white all around (the rest of the uterus) and in the middle of the bean there are very small bits of white and that's also where I saw the tiny white flashing light which is the heartbeat. Hope this is reassuring as it sounds like you remember seeing stuff!! Good luck for Tuesday. I hope you are feeling ok waiting, I remember we were a nervous wreck and Mr Parsons kept us waiting an hour. When we got in, he was waffling along trying to work out the potential due date and I had to ask him to hurry up because I was almost exploding!

Monty is growing, finally. He looks like a real little boy now! Am trying to get a pic on here but not succeeding at the moment.
Good luck to Alison and Heather


----------



## starrysky

Can't believe it - did enormous long post and lost it when my computer disconnected!!!!!!!!!
.

Firstly - Barney!!  . Barney is a stray cat who saw Jo and I coming along the road at 11pm last night and decided that we were the ones to help him out of his predicament. Of course he was right. We took him in much to our own cats fierce opposition. We fed him - I have never seen a cat eat like that. We placed him outside in the garden as our cat would never have had him inside and in the morning he was still there looking very depressed. Jo called around and got him a place in Last Chance Animal Sanctuary. We took him this afternoon, they are wonderful and will never put an animal to sleep unless absolutely necessary. The stories of the cats made me feel very emotional, mind you they are the lucky ones. 

Anyway I kept a safeish distance from him incase of toxoplasmosis but then on the way to the rescue centre he had a massive toileting accident and I have been worried since that I may have breathed in toxoplasmosis. I have done a bit of research since (looked at a hundred websites!!) and think I am okay. 

Mable - can't wait to see our flashing kidney bean. I hope we don't have a long delay. I really like all the staff there and I rate them really highly in terms of how helpful they are but they are shortstaffed. If we are forced to wait to long we will have to occupy a scan room and do the scan ourselves!! Monty grwoing - how amazing. Cant wait to see the pic.

Tonia - I wish your radiographer could know she has annoyed people at the other side of the world!!  . It is just too important to mess around with if you don't know what you are doing. As to twins for us I would be ecstatic with twins but will also be ecstaic with one. Good luck for this next IUI, I hope it is the one.

Tamsin - I am really really pleased you have found a good acupuncturist that you like!! I am sure that will help you with the process.

Alison - not long now and only two words - NO AF!!!

Bye everyone

Heather


----------



## lucky2010

Hi Heather,

Just to put your mind at ease even more... the chances are that if you have a cat already and have been in close contact with them then you will already be toxo-converted and can't get toxoplasmosis as will have antibodies. 

We have similar animal crisis as we (stupidly) agreed to look after a friends baby mini poodle for FOUR weeks whilst she's away... our two boistrous terriers are desperate to play but this dog seems never to have been socialised and is totally traumatised... we are having to find alternative accommodation and are very stressed out by the whole debacle!!!

Hope everyone is well.

Rach and Julie


----------



## LouisandPhoebe

HI everyone and welcome little Monty to the world.  Sorry i have not been on for ages i started back to work this week (full time for 2 wks then 3 days a wk)  It has been so so hard leaving Louis and my class are so lively ( reception).  Lee has loved having him to herself for the last couple of days and today she had him till 2pm then a friend had him for an hour and brought him to school and he came to staff meeting with me.  Poor lee has to work till 10pm then has him again tomorrow.  These two weeks will be long but at least i will have a wage at the end of the month.  Fantastic news Tamsin about the IVF.  I have found our BFN very tough, before i went for the IVF i thought it would work 1st time and have had really low times since our result.  Louis makes it all better though.  Lee has her Laparoscopy to remove her cyst next friday and then we have an appointment on the 15th May to discuss next round of IVF and if we will use lees eggs or mine.  Does anyone know how soon after cyst removal u can start IVF again ?.  Good luck to everyone on 2ww.  Lee found the wine bit tough but she was not allowed caffiene either so no chocolate or coffee/tea which was worse for her.

Take care everyone

Lots of love

Charley, Lee and Louis
xxx


----------



## LouisandPhoebe

Woops the message is abit out of date as posted on the part 8 bit just before it went to 9.  We were ment to have the cyst removed ( lee was) on friday but they cancelled till this friday because an emergency came in.  We were so mad after waiting 6 months and getting childcare and days off work.  Oh well its the good old NHS for you.  

Hope your all ok

love 
Charley, lee and Louis xxx


----------



## **Tashja**

Hello ladies

Please can you let us know your thoughts :-
http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,56343.0.html

A poll will be going up soon with some dates on it so we can set a date.

We are also thinking of making this a monthly chat if people are interested.

T xx


----------



## nismat

Hi all, how's everyone's long weekend been so far? We went out and bought Karen a flashy new bike on Saturday, plus a new saddle for mine to make it a more comfortable ride (I won a bike in a raffle last year, but it made me too sore to ride it!). Anyway, we took advantage of the unexpectedly sunny weather yesterday, and went out with friends for our first ever bike ride on a cycle track from Colchester to Wivenhoe. It was so lovely to get out into the countryside and to see areas we would normally never have been to. Hopefully we'll keep it up and explore a lot more of the countryside around here over the summer. I like getting out into the countryside and walking, but Karen's not so keen, so hopefully cycling is the answer that will satisfy us both. We were decidedly saddle sore afterwards, but I felt so much better for getting out and doing something physical. 

*Tonia * - good to hear from you  It certainly sounds like things have been busy and stressful for you & Bron in recent months. I hope that things run much more smoothly for this last IUI cycle, and that maybe you won't have to worry about moving on to IVF. I found it a bit of a struggle to balance the last IUI cycle with already thinking about IVF, as it felt like I was expecting the IUI to fail if I thought about the IVF at all. I did try and stay realistic about it though, as I know thinking about the one couldn't _actually _ affect the outcome of the other!  
BTW, I looked more into the pineapple thing, and the reason for taking the pineapple (juice), is definitely for the selenium, which is present in very high levels in brazil nuts. I really have started to wonder if all the fresh pineapple is what brought on my period so early and so heavy on cd10 of the last IUI cycle; who knows, but I've decided to skip the pineapple and just concentrate on the brazils I think. Probably none of it makes much real difference, but we all like to try and tip the odds in our favour don't we? 

*Alison*: hope you're managing to keep busy and not get too stressed. The last few days of the 2ww are truly awful.   

*Heather * wishing you lots of luck for your scan tomorrow   . I hope that things can start to settle down a bit once you've seen the heartbeat of your baby/ies, as I know it's been a very worrying and stressful time for you. Sorry about the added  concerns, but I'm sure that you don't need to worry. Interesting to hear what Rach had to say about the likelihood of all us pet owners already being sero-converted.

*Charley & Lee*: I thought I'd read that message earlier  but then again, not sure I ever replied to it at the time. Sorry to hear that you've felt so low after the IVF BFN, although I suppose it's inevitable that it should hit hard - especially when things worked so well with the IUI for you Charley. At least if you've converted from to IVF from IUIs, you do get somewhat hardened to the failure of cycles, although it doesn't stop it being sad of course (hope that doesn't sound insensitive, it's really not meant to be )
How frustrating that Lee's cyst removal was cancelled at the last minute; I hope that everything goes ahead for the coming week. I'm afraid I know nothing about the likely wait afer the cyst removal, but at least it's only 2 more weeks before you get to have all your questions answered by your consultant. What stimms and dosage was Lee on last time? Did they have anything to say at the time about Lee's response level? If you two had the choice, which route would you prefer to go for the next IVF? Trying again with Lee's own eggs and hoping that with more stimms she would get a better response and hopefully then get a BFP with her own genetic child, or using your eggs Charley? Karen keeps joking about me using her eggs, but given that she's 48 and peri-menopausal, that ain't gonna happen! I think that it's wonderful to be able to have the possibility though; a real sharing of growing your joint baby 

*Emma * - just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you - will have to go and check the donor thread to see how it's going for you


----------



## Alison0702

Hi there 

_Number of sleeps till test date - 1 woohoo!_

Well, it's been busy on this board today. Hope everyone's had a good weekend. I was at work today, but home now.

Well, feel like I have reached a . Tomorrow is test day. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I'm very nervous, but not sure why.
Flamin hell!!!!!!!

I have had burny feelings again. Not period cramp, just funny burny feelings. Its like when your dying for a wee, then go and it hurts! Not sure if I'm explaining this well at all. I've been going the loo loads aswell so it may be a bladder infection? My boobs are not sore anymore really, only when I pinch the old nipples. But, thats probably down to the fact that I'm pinching them 

 I'm a bit unsure about the whole period cycle too. My consultant said I shoud be on a normal cycle this month, hence have period day 28ish ( now day 31)however, Im not sure if he has forgotten that i am very irregular. Hmmm, dont know what to think..can anyone help with this?

Heather - good luck tomorrow chuck...bet you're getting excited now. Hope your chilling out a bit more now. Cant wait to hear all about it tomorrow. 

Tamsin..ooh only 15 days to go until sniffing starts. Did you book karen on that long caribbean holiday 

Well, have to go and get ready. Our friends are taking us out for dinner tonight to take our mind off tomorrow, so going to have a long bath now.

Can you please send me lots and lots of good luck bubbles..as I am sure this will help 

Bye for now, and speak to you tomorrow. 
 xxxx


----------



## **Tashja**

Alison - sending you loads of luck and bubbles for test date tomorrow !!!

T xx


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

Quick post tonight as I am a bit distracted!!

Alison - fingers firmly crossed for you!!!!       .

Rach and Julie - thanks for your reassurance about Barney and his germs!!! Apparently he is settling in well today in his new temporary home. I hope you get your poodle sorted out. We were so stressed by Barney, which I suppose was a good distraction!!


Louismummy - sorry to hear about the operation delay, it is so annoying, anything that causes a delay. I hope they rearrange soon. I was really gutted when our first IVF didn't work so I understand how you feel.

Tamsin - your cycle ride sounds nice. I have only been to Wivenhoe once but I really liked it there.  We went to the beach at broadstairs today which is where we went on the last day of our 2WW. 

Emma - sorry to hear you are not hopeful. I will keep my fingers crossed for you that there is still good news to come. 

Thanks everyone for your good wishes for tomorrow. I hope I am on here tomorrow with good news    .

Love

Heather


----------



## Alison0702

Hi everyone

Well, it's all over for now. Was greeted with a   this morning. Feel very   and work has been awful today. But I left early and went to the metrocentre for some retail therapy.

Still havnt had my period yet, so the clinic have said to test again on Thursday - dont think it will make the slightest of difference though. Felt really strange this morning, woke up at 4.00am and lay awake thinking "shall I just get up now and get it over with" but didnt. It reminded me of when I was a kid early hours of Christmas morning. When the alarm went off, I said to Ju that I didnt want to do the test. Up until this morning, there was the glimmer of hope that I could be, so I didnt really want to shatter my illusions. Ah well, illusions shattered, tears shed but we'll be straight back on that Clomid as soon as   shows up.

Heather - How did your scan go today? Can wait to hear about it.

Speak soon
xxxx


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

Alison - I am so sorry that it hasn't worked for you this time  . Take it easy, and take a bit of time off to adjust if you need to. And I absolutely approve of retail therapy. What did you buy? Have you considered acupunture to support the process? I am such a big fan of it as I am sure it helped me a lot but it is difficult to tell. Keep us posted on Thursdays testing. 

Well, our scan was this morning. (Mabel - we went in straight away, we got Di and she was absolutely lovely). I was so nervous. Straight away we saw the heartbeat, it was beating away really strongly. The sac was enormous! What a difference a week has made. I can't believe the change. We have one baby due on 22nd December!!  .

Love to you all. 

Heather


----------



## emma73

Hello everyone - would it be ok to re-join this thread?? I think I may be on the list - I had an IVF cycle last October which resulted in a BFN - and am having a natural FET this month. 

I usually post on a different thread on here - I have a baby already and sometimes feel bad about trying for another - but we have had a really rough time. Had a few wobbles in my realtionship too - hopefully all you ladies will be able to understand. 

Congrats to all who are pregnant - and baby dust to all. I see there is another emma here - so I'll call myself emmab

Look forward to getting to know you allxx 

Emmab xx


----------



## Mable

Heather,
Yay!!!! NOW you can celebrate and relax - with a 97% chance of a live birth, so many congrats to you and Jo!!    Did you get a pic? Its amazing you saw the change from last week to this - by 12 weeks they are fully formed and I just couldn't believe it!

Sorry to hear about your BFN Alison - hope you are luckier next time. How many goes do you have? We only had 4 goes, it puts the pressure on.

Emmab - you are very welcome here, the attempt to have a sibling is just as valid and hard as trying for a first, I think.

Am off to see Westlife in brighton next weekend!!
Mable x


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

Hello Emmab, you are certainly welcome to join us!

Sorry to hear you have had a rough time but wishing you     for your natural FET. 

Mable - we did get a pic, two actually, one for each of us which was nice of Di. I've been discharged from Kings which felt very odd having been there for so long. But we said they would hopefully be seeing us in about a year for Jo. Enjoy Westlife! Is Edith staying at home with Monty? 

I was going to go back to work today but need to see my GP for sick note from last week, got appt at 12.20pm so I have written off going back today. Apparently I have made a mistake on my email "out of office", It says I'll be back on 26/11/2006!!!!!! Better go back before then. 

How's things for you today Alison?

Best wishes everyone.

Heather


----------



## nismat

*Alison * - sorry that you got a BFN this time . Although it's terribly disappointing, I hope that it doesn't take too long before you can pick yourself up and get back on another try. Will you be going straight into another cycle?

*Heather * - woohoo on seeing that wonderful, magical heartbeat  It's amazing that things can change so much in a few days in terms of what you see  And how lovely that you both got a pic to take away - just the way it should be  Hope that you can ease yourself back in to work without it being too stressful.

*Emmab * - welcome back ; I remember you posting on here before. I still can't get over the fact that your son was born at such an early gestation; you and your partner must have gone through a pretty hellish time, especially with losing his twin earlier, and I can't imagine that it has been easy caring for such a premature baby. How is he now? I think that circumstances like that would rock even the most stable of relationships, but I hope that ultimately it has brought you together as a couple. 
Wishing you lots of luck with your FET this month - how many embryos did you have frozen? What actually happens in a FET cycle? Do you have to take any kinds of drugs, or do they just work out the timings by scans, as if you were on an IUI cycle? Hope that it all goes smoothly for you, and that you conceive a brother(s) or sister(s) for Luke this time around. Sorry for all the questions! 

I finally ordered my drugs yesterday - should be with me tomorrow morning. Only 6 days until I start sniffing...... gulp!


----------



## Alison0702

Good evening lasses

Well,  arrived this afternoon. I'm quite pleased actually as I was starting to worry in case it took months to have a period, which would mean delaying another go of treatment. So, I start taking 150mg of Clomid from tomorrow for 5 days.

I have decided not to drink much alcohol while taking the clomid. Worried last time as I had loads of nights out, and thought my poor little follicles would shrivel up like little prunes.

So I am in positive mode again, and so pleased that we can get going straight away! . I am going to go back to the gym to try to lose some weight. It might help, you never know.

*Heather* - Cant believe the difference in a week! Its amazing isn't it! Hopefully this will stop you from fretting so much, and that you can now start to enjoy the most magical thing that's happened to you. Bet you's cant stop looking at the picture. So are you back to work tomorrow then? 
Yes, I am going to start accupuncture. You and Tamsin have sold it to me. I got some vest tops from M&S and a gorgeous gingham top from limited collection - very nice! 

*Tamsin* - How long do you have to sniff for? Then do you go onto the injections? When would you go for EC? Soooooooo many questions. 

*Mabel* - I thought Westlife had split up! Have a great time petal. 

*Emmab* - Welcome! Hope you have lots of luck this time round hun. This f ertility lark realy has an effect on your emotions so I am not surprised at all that you had wobbles in your relationship. Stay positive and let rip at us if you need to. 

I'm off to do some housework now so stay happy and speak soon.
xxx


----------



## nismat

Alison - great to hear that you're straight into another cycle - it always made things a bit easier to bear for us when we knew that we were only a matter of days away from another insemination! 

As for the IVF, I start sniffing on day 20 of this cycle, then once my period arrives I'll book in for a scan to check that I have down-regged, for between cd5-7 (depending on where it falls around a weekend). Once the scan is OK, I then start stimming injections for the next 12 days or so. I'll be going in to the clinic every other day from about cd9 for blood tests and scans to check how the follies are growing. If all goes well, roughly around cd16 I'll have my trigger injection, with egg collection 36 hours later. At the moment, if I follow an "average" pattern, it's likely to be around 3rd-4th June for egg collection, with embryo transfer 3 days afterwards. Fingers crossed that it all goes to plan!


----------



## emma73

Hi - thanks for the welcome girls - I went on to the "anyone using donor sprem" thead misatking it for this thread- and thought "bl**dy Hell" - I'm never going to be able to keep up -their list is HUGE!! So - I'm quite relieved to see that there are a few less people to get to know here!

Tamsin - I only have one embryo frozen - not feeling very positive really - but cant just leave my little mebryo sitting in the hospital - have to try really. I havent had a IUI cycle - only DI - but I dont need to take any drugs and the embryo (if it survives) will be transferred about 2 days after I ovulate? I think its something like that anyhow? I'm trying not to pay too much attention to it so that I dont get too obsessed - but have to go back in for bloods and scan on the 13th. 

My son is great - thanks for asking. He should be almost 17 months but is really almost 21 months. We still have 6 monthly checkups but should be getting dishcarged soon - there are some pictures of us and him on his web page - link is below if you fancy a nosey. 

I wanted to ask you all something - I havent read over all the previous posts and dont want to offend anyone - but for those of us who have had no success with DI or IUI and have to move on to IVF do you think of yourselves as Infertile? I struggle with this sometimes - at my clinic they regard me as infertile - I regard my self as fertile trying to get pregnant in a clinical way. I dont see how 12 attempts at DI can be the same as a year of trying to concieve naturally - what does anyone else think?? 

Heather - its lovely to hear of first scans - congratulations -  and Tamsin - lots of luck on your IVF - I have had two full IVF cycles now - 1st one resulting in my twin boys - the last one a BFN. I hope you get that BFP!!


I'm sorry I know I have missed almost everybody - but hello to you all - it will take me a while to get to know you all and where you are all at!! 

Bye for now
EmmaB


----------



## Tonia2

Hi all,  
We had our appt yesterday with Dr and have decided to go straight to IVF.    I don't think I ever really thought I would have to go this far with treatment... so it's taking a bit to get my head around it. Dr siad that once you've had 6 goes at IUI statistically the chances drop right off and he thought I might just get more & more discouraged if I kept trying with IUI. So we've decided to go for it with IVF. Unfortunately, for various reasons we can't actually do the EC/ ET bits til the last week of July /first week of August, which gives us plenty of time to get ready but that also means another whole three months waiting!! I am so sick of waiting!! It means that come July August we'd be 7 monthsi nto the year and only had one attempt so so far...


----------



## Tonia2

Whoops -I hadn't finished that post and accidentally pressed some button... not sure what happened but it just posted it!!

Anyway, re. our IVF at least we'll have more idea of dates and planning etc before hand and I won't have to go to silly radiographers that don't know what they're doing!

   Welcome *Emma * - I have had exactly the same thoughts about the whole 'am I infertile?' thing. I chuckled when I read it becuase it sounded like a conversation I had only a day or so ago
... Like you I don't think of myself as such, because if I was with some guy then it would be highly likely I wouldn't be having to have treatment. I have no physical problems that they've found, so I'm technically not infertile. I think I see treatment as a direct consequence of me choosing to be with Bron and so it's just one of those every day kind of things to deal with... I don't think the clinic should imply or treat you as you are infertile, _especially_ if you don't think of yourself as such. I guess lots of other women on the IVF programme who are infertile might have alot of hangups about what it means to be infertile, so I'm guessing most clinics are really familiar with having to help someone through that, and probably expect that everyone feels that way...maybe? We're pretty lucky in one sense to be spared some of that, I suppose. But it is strange to be having to go to so much trouble when there isn't a medical problem. It does frustrate me some days, when I have moments feeling sorry for myself and thinking about how unfair it all is! And I agree with you, IUI is nothing like being able to ttc naturally - at least a male /female couple can try several times per ovulation!

Thanks *Tamsin* for the hello and the tips on the pineapple juice, I've heard so many conflicting stories! Good luck for this cycle...I'll be wiaitng to hear how you find it! Dr reckons I could easily do EC without sedation or analgesia... I figure he's never felt it and I'm not thinking I like the idea... 

Sorry to hear your bfn *Alison*... it's so hard.  Look after yourself.

Yay for the heartbeat *Heather*! you must be so relieved !!Congratualtions!

*Mable* it's so good to hear how things are going with having a new member of the household - you don't sound sleep deprived or exhausted or anything!!??  I stumbled across a Westlife CD in the shops here the other day. I must confess I didn't buy it (am waitng to find someone who's got one to have a listen) but I gave it more than a second look, and thought of you!

Love to all, and good luck, 
love Tonia


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

Alison - I am glad that if   had to appear that she has done so quickly. It is good that you can just get started. I remember a 60plus gap in wiating for AFs for me and it was worrying and frustrating. 

Tamsin - fingers crossed indeed!!!    

Emma - I didn't think of myself as being fertile but towards the end I did see myself as having "fertility problems" (the more tests I had the more I thought that). On the other hand, I did  find myself saying to Jo that I had nine treatments which if it was nine times of trying to conceive naturally with a man wouldn't be that many!!! Good luck with your embie - sending her/him many positive vibes   

Tonia - it does feel odd changing to IVF, I remember saying to Jo that I would never have IVF, it seemed too much. That is a frustrating weight, but time to eat lots of organic food etc!! I am really not sure about egg collection without ANY pain relief. I didn't have sedation or general anaesthetic. I had a local anaesthetic. I wouldn't have wanted to be without that. It was only just bearable. 

Off to have  a cup of tea in the garden and try to de-stress after my return to work today. it is awful. They say they are supportive on the one hand and then I found out I had been put down for loads of extra work. It is just a nightmare, and so hot. Thanks for all your congratulations on the scan, I do feel more at ease. 

.

Heather


----------



## Mable

Hi,
Am still so excited about Heather and Jo's Christmas baby - I think names like Holly, Mary&Joseph and Herod will be in order...?!

All this IVF is exciting stuff (Tonia - August is a great time to conceive a spring baby) - it certainly increases your chances and you get to have your eggs analyzed, which is always good! But it is true that we are NOT infertile, just have no sperm so end up having these ridiculous procedures - but if you get pregnant, you won't care how you did it.

Monty is SO cute - is getting into looking around him and thrashing his arms up and down. When I smother him in kisses, he almost smiles...

Good luck Tamsin and Alison - with Heather's success, we are on a FF roll...

 ( M is 3 weeks old and 7Ibs 5oz)


----------



## Alison0702

Morning all,

Put a days holiday in today and I's lovely and sunny outside. 

Well, Ju has said goodbye to nice Alison, and hello to nasty Alison. Started my Clomid this morning  
I am really hoping my body is getting used to it now and I dont turn into a phsycotic crybaby. I'm nice really...honest    
*
Mable* - you made me guffaw with your Christmas names! Ha ha imagine! . Have you got any piccies of Monty downloaded yet? Not long till Westlife. We're going to Brighton sometime this summer. Have a friend who lives there. Is the nightlife good?

Emmab - I had a nosey at your pics, and he is absolutely gorgeous. I cant believe how small he was. Its a flamin miracle.

*Heather* - How much baby stuff have you bought now then?

Tonia August will be here before you know it. It is a right pain to wait though. All we ever seem to do is count days for some tablets or treatment. BUT it will be worth it in the end when you get your prize...Just keep focusing on that!

On the lesbian insemination website, they have little get togethers (Tamsin I think you go to them). Is there anything like that on this board?

Bloomin sun's gone in now. Doesn't look like I'll be sitting in the garden afterall. Have a busy weekend planned. We're out tonight for a meal with friends. Tomorrow night we have friends coming over and I'm cooking. Sunday will most likely be spent with my head down the toilet! Hmm

Well, have a great weekend
Alison
x


----------



## evelet

Hello!

Just thought i'd say that the Lesbian Insemination Support board gettogethers are organised by the members so maybe the FF lesbians group could do the same thing? Am not sure how geographically far flung everyone is though. Someone just has to invite everyone else round!!!

Good luck to all...

Eve x


----------



## LouisandPhoebe

Hi everyone

Sorry i havent been on for a while i dont seem to get any spare timeto go on the computer anymore.  Well i am back to work 3 days a week with the summer born reception class and they are lovely.  I am thoroughly enjoying the change of year group but they have so much energy.  Louis is also benefiting from time with both his nanas. 

Lee went for a laparoscopy today and it went very well.  Our consultant at the clinic did it - what a lovely man.  He removed the cyst ( 5cm) and said there was nothing else wrong with her and that her tubes looked fine and their was no sign of endometriosis exept for on the cyst and that has now gone.  He said we can start IVF next month again.

Poor thing is in bed resting at the moment its her first operation and she is very tender.

Louis is doing so well and has 5 teeth now and can comando crawl.  He will be one in july so we will have a little party.  We might go on a euro camp holiday at half term or St Ives not sure yet.  

Our best bit of news is that the court have said YES to lee adopting Louis and the hearing date will be in the next 5 weeks. We are all so excited and we dont have to have the civil partnership either.  We are going to delay it for a year so we can save for the honeymoon as we are desperate to go to the maldives.  

Tamsin - I am so excited about your IVF cycle i hope it all goes smoothly.

I hope eveyone else is ok  

Love

Charley, lee and louis
xxx


----------



## **Tashja**

Hi !!!

Sorry I have not done the list for a few days   Will do it tomorrow !!! 

Louismummy - Hope Lee feels better soon - I had one done in December and it was my first op too - It was quite pinfull ((hugs))

If anyone wants to arrange a get together then there is a board to post your announcement on - GO FOR IT !!! lol

T xx


----------



## LouisandPhoebe

Hi T

What is the recovery time like. The worst part is not being able to pick up and cuddle louis.  

Charley x


----------



## **Tashja**

Ummmm I was in hospital for a while because I had a D&C and a bad reaction to the GA 

I think I started to feel better after a week but a week and a bit after the Laparoscopy I got rushed in again because they missed the ectopic and I had to have a Laparotomy.

So with regards to recovery time I am not really a good person to ask  

I would say she should feel fine in a few days to a week - be prepared fo lots of windy-pops though  

T xx


----------



## nismat

Hi all, hope everyone's being enjoying the sunshine of the last few days  A shame when we have to work though!

It's great that you're all so excited about my IVF  Don't worry, I'll be keeping you all posted on all the details as we go through it. Just can't believe it's happening  It's been very interesting reading the discussions about IVF and "infertility". At the beginning, we never thought that we would end up doing IVF - like Heather said, it seemed like a step too far. However, as the IUI failures got more and more frustrating (especially because you have absolutely no idea _why _ they haven't worked - there are so many possible factors), IVF became more and more appealing. Psychologically, we were ready to go on to IVF after IUI#5, but the clinic persuaded us to have one last go at IUI, agreeing that after than, IVF would be the way to go. I feel much happier with the fact that we will gain so much more knowledge through the process, especially regarding the egg quality/fertilisation process. I'm not nervous about EC (although I definitely wouldn't want it without any sedation at all ), much more concerned about how I will respond to the stimms. Not worrying too much though, as it's really a case of wait and see. At least they can adjust the dosage.
As for feeling fertile or infertile, I defintely don't regard myself as infertile. I just need access to sperm, and the conception process is being helped along by clinical methods. And it's because of the relative success rates vs financial outlay that we have moved on to IVF, as all we want is to get pregnant ASAP. If we had a known donor, we'd still be trying at home. I suppose that I no longer believe that I have no fertility issues whatsoever, as I think that if I was uber-fertile it would have worked within the 6 attempts at IUI, but I still don't think that it as serious as being a fertility problem. I don't see how they can regard a single DIUI (or DI) each month as being equivalent to having several attempts at home with fresh sperm (whether from a known donor or as a straight couple). Timing just is so much more crucial with frozen sperm (and a single attempt!), and I believe that it's this which has been my biggest problem. I ovulate overnight, and I think that it's entirely possible that the majority of the frozen sperm are dead by the time the egg pops out, for me.

*Emmab * - Louis has such a great smile in his pics! He looks like a very happy little boy, even after all that he's been through. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that the frozen embryo thaws successfully 

*Tonia * - very interesting to hear what your doctor said about the success rate after 6 IUIs dropping off. Even though that wasn't articulated to us, we did feel that if it hadn't worked by then, chances were that it wasn't going to. Not that it couldn't, but financially it didn't seem worthwhile to keep throwing money at this route when it was already expensive but with only a 7% success rate (because I only ever produced one follie). Sorry that you have to wait; the whole waiting game was not part of what I expected when we started ttc, but have become resigned to it by now. I no longer set myself those "deadlines" e.g. we'll have a baby by Christmas05!!! Err, no, OK, I'll be pregnant by Christmas 05!! No, scrub that one, pregnant by Christmas 06....maybe?  Now I just focus on "I will get pregnant at some point in the future" and "we *will * have our baby/ies"

*Heather * - sorry to hear that work bosses are stressing you out by piling on the workload. Grrr! 

*Mable * - Herod!!!?!  That truly did make me laugh out loud  Somehow, I don't imagine it will make it to Heather & Jo's shortlist 

*Alison * - hope you find it better on the Clomid this time around. 
Re; the lesbian insem MSN group get-togethers, as Eve said, we just initially organised one, and took it from there (Eve was the impetus behind it btw, and has held many at their house ). Needless to say, everyone from the initial group is either heavily pregnant or have their babies, except for me , so it would be quite good to have a still-ttc group instead! They've all been London/SE based, but people travel in from Colchester (me!), Southend, Cambridgeshire & Oxford. Newcastle is a bit further afield though  Having said that, I come up to Newcastle reasonably regularly as it's where 2 of my siblings live, plus my gorgeous niece & nephew. So we could maybe meet up for a coffee on one of my trips up there.

Charley - glad to hear Lee's lap was successful, if rather sore in the aftermath. Hope it doesn't take her too long to recover so that she can get the full benefit of Louis's hugs  His commando crawl sounds so cute - that's how my niece Ella crawled for ages! 
Truly wonderful news about the adoption, I'm so happy for you all! I wonder how many have already gone through - I bet that you'll be one of the first families created by these new laws.

Phew, long post! Hope you're all still awake at the end of it!


----------



## Mable

Still awake here, Tamsin.   Love your ticker!

Congrats to Lee in her adoption of Louis! This seems to have been straightforward for you guys, I'd be interested to know how you organised it.


----------



## Alison0702

Hi Tamsin

I think you're right about Newcastle being a bit far..there's not enough geordies on this board!   

But yes it would be good to meet up for a coffee when you come up.. Just let me know if you're here. Are you originally from this neck of the woods?

Have a good weekend...
Alison x


----------



## starrysky

Hello all,

No real news here - Apart from Jo seems to have developed morning sickness!!!   

We are looking forward to a little holiday we just booked - going in 2 weeks to Dorset.  Hurrah!  

With a get together - How about we go with the idea of meeting up for Brighton Pride? 

Lee & Charley - Congratulations on your adoption, you must be pleased!  Charley: Jo had a lap a couple of years ago & says you have to gently rub Lee's lower back in a clockwise circle to help with wind!  

Mable - Herod could definately be the winner for us!  

Alison - We may have bought the odd thing!  

Tamsin - All the best for down-regging, not long now.  

Love Heather.


----------



## emma73

Hi everyone - can I offload just a little? I'm feeling a bit fed up after reading an article in "The Scotland on Sunday" about IVF and single women and lesbians accessing fertility treatment. Here is the link if anyone fanices a read - maybe I'm just feeling a bit sensitive this morning?? Here is the link - be interested to know what you all think.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=684862006

Hope you are all having a nice weekend - and thanks to Tamsin for signing Lukes guest book xx

Emmab x

This post contains an unconfirmed link/information and readers are reminded that FertilityFriends.co.uk or its owners are not responsible for the content of external internet sites


----------



## nismat

*Emmab*, I had a look at that link and the article seems like very thinly veiled prejudice to me! The comments from the co-ordinator of the National INfertility Support Network were particularly infuriating, and definitely advocate discrimination based on sexuality. She clearly doesn't believe that we should have a right to bear children. As for "couples with a biological problem need to be the priority", well, my partner can't produce sperm to get me pregnant; seems like a biological problem to me! There is a terrible shortage of donors, and it's obviously causing a great deal of distress to many people, but why should single women and lesbians be any less entitled to have children than heterosexual couples?

*Alison * - I'm actually a Yorkshire lass by birth/upbringing - but end up going up to Newcastle for family events more often than back to my mother's in York!

Right, signing off for a few days now as I'm working up in London. I'll be on the drugs by the time I get back on-line


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Hi Emma 

Thanks for sharing the article, very interesting and the media at work again!!!!   

I am a single woman TTC with a known donor through a private clinic, who is a gay man in and in a committed partnership.  However after a few failed attempts of AI in the home setting we turned to a clinic. It wasn't until we got to the clinic did we discover that he had a low sperm count   and so are now on an IVF/ICSI path.  I do feel slightly put out that I have to pay for treatment, however if we were a couple we would have been entitled to free NHS care with such circumstances. 

I have 2 freinds who are lesbians and on a quest to be mums, both have also had to pay for all their IVF cycles, despite one woman having Polycyctic ovaries and so once again if she was in a straight relationship again she would have been entitled to NHS care to help her conceive.

To be honest I haven't heard of any single women getting funded NHS care/treatment in UK, but agian I don't seen why we shouldn't.

Also with such shortage of donors you would think that clinics would be encouraging women to bring a known donor if possible, 5 London clinics I contacted refused to treat me/us as a private pt as we were 1) not married or 2) not in a committed relationship together, but they would have taken me on as a single woman using their donors sperm (if they have any!!).

Going down a known donor route is much more expensive  than using the clinics donors, adding more than 2K to the treatment - as all the tests that the clinic would absorb and share out between clients have to be paid for by you, and most annoyingly you have to wait 6 months after the sperm has been quarantined, like the anonymous donors, even though we had been TTC beforehand and had all our sexual health tests and certificates done before starting on this road - the clinic counsellor has tried with **** to change this for several clients, but said there is no budging at the moment!!... Sometimes I feel that honesty doesn't pay!!!

Anyway when we have our babies and BFP's it will all be worth it, and there are many happy single mums by choice, and same sex families with happy healthy children   that the media stories fail to share....!

Best of luck to everyone


----------



## bagpuss1

Good evening everyone,

Edie has just started sleeping through the night!!! Yay!!!! she now sleeps 6-6 and does not have to be woken for a feed!! Sorry, I know it sounds quite a boring announcement but to me it is amazing, our little girl is growing up fast!!

I have been following everyones stories and you are always in my thoughts.

I went to the adoption agency last week to see about Helen adopting Edie, they have said that we have to have been living together as a family for at least six months, so we can start the proces in about 1 1/2 months time. They actually tried to talk me out of adoption by saying that having parental responsibility is the same and there is less red tape. They did say that Helen and Edie would both have to have medicals God knows why. *Charlie* how was your experience, am really interested to know what you guys went through.

Love to everyone,

Fingers crossed to you *Tamsin*, my 2ww buddy!!!!

Love Kerry and Edie


----------



## evelet

this is new law in england and wales (re the adoption) and no one knows what's going on! strictly speaking the non-bio parent has to live with the child for 12 months before adoption can take place (the law initially said 6 months but was changed to 1 year). different local authorities are approaching it in different ways. one of the reasons they may want you to think PR is just as good is because it means they don't have to do anything! we are going to approach our new local authority in North Lincs when we move there in June. Really though its outrageous that you need a medical. Are you using a solicitor? I am definitely going to use one simply because I don't want ANY hassle at all and hopefully any mad requests for medicals or anything like that can be dealt with by the solicitor.... No doubt the process will smooth out soon enough. The fact that Louismummies have been able to adopt him is because the court has given special leave to waive the 12 months requirement. 

@ Tamsin....  good luck


----------



## Mable

Hi,
Just to advertise the South London Lesbian parents group. Big launch is Sunday 21st May 3-6pm at East Dulwich Community Centre, 46-64 Darrell Road, SE22 9NL (free parking).


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

Tamsin - are you started yet?? I am sending you loads of    

Alison - how are you? Are you cycling again now?

Mable - thanks for letting us know about the group.

Tonia - we have decided that it was Boomerang who stayed, we went to get some photos printed the other day and found a border with boomerangs on it so have  a photo of my IVF bump.

Kerry - Glad to hear yuor sleep is increasing!

I am okay, back at work a week now. Feeling a bit tired with sudden feelings of nausea that come and go. I am still having daily cramps and discomfort in my stomach area, sometimes in the middle, sometimes quite low. I do hate that. Please reassure me again that this is normal. Mable I think you said that  Edith had this for a while?

Love and   to everyone.

Heather


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

Me again off work because I decided to listen to my instincts about this crampy discomfort and stay at home and rest.

Anyway I watched my usual quota of baby programmes this morning and was especially pleased to see that test tube babies was on. I waited to see who was on as sadly I have seen nearly all of them and feel like I know them all (anyone else watch it)!! And there was a lesbian couple I have never seen before!! It was really nice, and they spoke about how they expected to be treated less well and had been surprised by that not being the case. 

Off to lie down for a little while now.

Heather


----------



## Mable

Hi Heather,
Think of the cramps as your uterus stretching. Edith had them all the way through her pregnancy, they do sound horrid as they are like period pains which you don't want.

Am back at work  . Monty puked up all over my new t shirt this morning, so I am wearing his sick proudly down my front.


----------



## nismat

Hi all,
Back on-line again! Have just spent a couple of hours surfing all my regular sites when I should have been working..... not so clever!

The down-regging is going fine so far, certainly nothing in the shape of side effects at the moment (although I don't know if they would show up after only a couple of days or not). The bitter aftertaste from the Synarel spray isn't very pleasant, but doesn't last too long. And Karen got me some lovely Charbonnel & Walker truffle hearts to take the taste away!  She's so good at little surprises like that (and I'm rubbish!).

*Heather * - your break in Dorset sounds like something to look forward to, especially with extra time to rest. Karen & I are both taking next week off work, and we'll be heading up to Yorkshire for a few days. Hoping that the weather holds of course! It'll be so good to have a break, and to have some time together before the relentless clinic visits start in earnest the following week.

*Kerry * - I'm not surprised that Edie sleeping through the night is big news for you - sounds like a great achievement! That 2ww we did together seems like a _very _ long time ago now (almost a lifetime!), and it's wonderful to see the beautiful baby you now have as a result of it  She looks so sweet in her picture


----------



## **Tashja**

Cyclers  

Louismummy & Partner* - DIVF 

2ww - Good luck!   

Anyone 

In between treatment

Eddie* - Clomid and DI 

Emma73* - DIVF in October

(Ejsmith2) Emma* - DIUI

(Feistyblue) Claire* & Beverley - Egg Share DICSI 

(Herbaltea) Sarah* - DIUI 

(Julesforgirls) Jules* - Donor eggs with partners eggs, then DIVF

(Midnightaction) Sarah* - Egg Share DIVF

(Rachjulie) Rachael* & Julie - DI 

(Snagglepat) Gina & Rae* - DI  

Tonia2*& Bron - DIUI - 15th May-ish  

Woo_Woo* & Lea - DI

(Nismat) Tamsin* & Karen - DIVF/DICSI - Start Mid-May 

Precious Cargo On Board  

Friskypony* & Pup - DIVF - EDD 11 April 2006  

(Starrysky)Heather* & Jo - DICSI in Feb  

Never Forgotten Angels 

Woo_Woo* & Lea 

Our Miracle is Here 

Evelet & R* - Proud parents to a baby boy born 16.08.05  
(Bagpuss1) Kerry* & Helen - DIUI - Proud parents to Edie born 02.01.06
Edith* & Mabel - DIVF - Proud parents to Monty born 12.04.06

Please let me have any additions/amendments to the above list - I hope it is all OK any amendments let me know  List might go a bit mad while I get to know you all !!!

* = Partner having treatment

Sending loads of love, luck and babydust to you all.

Look forward to seeing you all in chat on Monday !!!

Tashja xx


----------



## Alison0702

Hi everyone

Heather - good idea to take time out and relax. All this worrying is not doing you any good! Are you feeling ok apart from the cramps?

Tamsin - Glad youre ok so far. Sounds like a nice break is a great idea. Just what you need before the frequent trips to the clinic.

Mable - I bet there will be many a pukey t-shirt in your house from now on. Bet you smelled lovely. 

I have finished my clomid, and I was absolutely fine. Didnt cry once, and didnt have any mood swings really. Just the norm  
We've got a week off in July and going to book a week in either Barbados or Antigua. Going to hold off till after this treatment just in case it works  

Got my scan next Wednesday to see if my follies have grown any with the clomid, so fingers crossed they have so I have my 2nd go at DIUI.

Wel hopefully you are all well.

Speak soon
xxx


----------



## harmony802005

hi ya there
i thought i would post a big hi ya me and my gf are currently looking for a sperm donor so didnt know weather i could join this post r not hope everyone is ok and hopefully speak soon xx


----------



## Alison0702

Hiya harmony

Welcome to the board..of course you are welcome.

Good luck with the donor. Are you looking for someone you know, or are you going to a clinic?

Speak soon
Alison


----------



## harmony802005

well we r looking for someone at the mo,um i have been pg 3 times but sadly mc and then i had 2 lots of iui which went really wrong and also done di with a donor who said he had a clean bill of health but didnt and i ended up getting a std so its quite hard for us to find a donor,is there any like donor banks out there like there in usa hope i havent gone on to much luv harm xxx


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

Alison - wow, Barbados or Antigua - that sounds great!!!!! It's always good to have a holiday in mind - let's hope your tx works and you end up going in a few years time instead!!!! We were going to west coast USA later this year after our civil partnership which is September but now shelved for the future too. 

Tamsin - glad you are not feeling the side effects too much. I would always have a piece of chocolate after my injections too. 

I am actually feeling reasonably relaxed about the cramps, thanks to Mable for reassuring me. I feel well otherwise - on and off nauseous feelings, still got sore boobs, so still feeling pregnant. I have been having these cramps every day since the egg collection and nothing terrible has happened yet so slowly but surely I am believing that they are not doing harm. I am seeing them as a sign to rest though and not push myself at work. 

Welcome Harmony - I am sorry you have had such a rough time with trying to conceive and with your miscarriages. It sounds like you have been through the mill. I wonder how we keep going sometimes. Are you carrying on with a clinic, or wanting to inseminate at home?

 to you all

Heather


----------



## nismat

Hi *Harmony*, welcome to you and your DP on this thread, although sorry to hear of all that you have gone through so far in ttc. I hope that you manage to find a good trustworthy donor; it must have been a complete nightmare to find that you had contracted an STD  . 
Regarding your sperm bank question, there aren't any UK banks that you can use in the same way as US ones (i.e. get the sperm shipped directly to you, to use at home) - they only supply clinics. Up until April, there was one US bank (NW Cryo) that could ship to your home here, but they have only anonymous donors and so aren't allowed to anymore as it contravenes the HFEA regulations now in place.

*Alison * - what great news that the Clomid didn't turn you into a monster this time around! Fingers crossed for your scan on Wednesday that you have responded well.

*Heather * - glad to hear that you are feeling a bit more relaxed about stuff. I bet you can't wait to reach the second trimester  I saw Nina yesterday; she's so happy that the IVF worked for you this time around, and kept saying "your turn next"! Hope so. I found it really hard to concentrate on the visualisations around getting a BFP and actually being pregnant - bizarrely I can imagine us with a baby, but not the in-between stage! I'm going to have to work _very _ hard on believing that I can actually get pregnant 

The Synarel certainly seems to be kicking in now, as I have had a permanent headache since yesterday afternoon. I'm not really used to them, so I'm finding it pretty difficult to function. I feel completely lacking in energy and motivation (not helped by the fact that I didn't sleep well, and feel like I'm starting a cold - although that could also be down to the sniffing I suppose). Ugh. Feeling very sorry for myself  Just need to try and focus on the end result, and the fact that this isn't going to go on forever.

Hope you're all enjoying your weekends,
Tamsin x


----------



## Alison0702

Tamsin Sorry to hear your feeling so rubbish. I have heard that the headaches are dreadful. But, like you say, you have to think of the prize at the end of it!  

You should treat it like a good excuse not to do much  . Are you going to take any time off work while your going through treatment? Lots and lots of   to you! I have sent you quite a lot of good luck bubbles too! 

Heather You take it easy lady!

Harmony Dear me you have been through it haven't you! Poor thing. The sperm situation is a nightmare, so unless you can find a donor yourself it costs quite a large amount of money going through a private clinic. 


I start ovulation testing from tomorrow. It's a right pain that cos I have to do 4 samples a day and test one at the same time every day. He needs me to do this so I can predict exactly when I ovulated should the test show the LH surge. I hate carrying wee around at work     

Well, must get on. Enjoy your weekend and speak soon
xxx


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

Alison - your ovulation testing sounds like a right pain. If that was me I'd probably leave the evidence all over the office. I think work should be cancelled when we are ttc. I am doing pretty well at not being there!!!  

Tamsin - I had buserilin injections and the headaches i got were bad too but they do pass when you start stimming, and it will come round quickly. Nina is so lovely, she helped me a lot not only with feeling positive about pregnancy (which I though was impossible, I never thought it would work after so many tries), but also with the EC and preparing for a negative). I do hope that this your time.    .

Have had a few bad crampy days but touch wood it is a bit calmer in there today. I have done very well at staying relaxed but last night I nearly lost it!!! I was just getting so fed up with it, as it was almost constant. Looking forward to going away for a few days. 


Hi to everyone I haven't mentioned. How old is Monty now??

Heather


----------



## emma73

Hi all - really quicky from me - i have to go for embryo transfer tomorrow - IF it survies. I was reminded at my scan yesterday that chances are slim - just what you need to be told when you have your knickers down waiting to be scanned! So I phone tomorrow at 11.00 am - please keep your fingers crossed.

Emma xx


----------



## starrysky

Emma - sending positive vibes to your embie     - and will keep my fingers crossed for you!

Heather


----------



## emma73

HURAY - after having a dream that my little embryo died I am very please to say that it survived. Dont know anything else about it - hoping trasnfer goes well. 

Emma xx


----------



## nismat

Emma, that's fantastic!! Good luck for the transfer later


----------



## starrysky

Emma that's great news. Good luck for the 2WW    . Well done embie. 

I am having an anxious time (again ) due to cramping pains that have got worse over last few days. 

Went to doc this afternoon who has referred me to the early pregnancy unit which I was pleased about but they have a one week wait. I was booked in for an appointment next Monday, even if it was Friady that might have been okay. 

I came home and just thought that I cannot after all this waiting wait another seven days, so I called them and have got somewhere to go privately, and they will see me this afternoon. Although I am worried I would much rather get the scan done. Waiting would be like the 2WW all over again. 

So keep your fingers and everything  crossed for me, I'll let you know the (hopefully) good news later on.

Love 

Heather


----------



## Marielou

Hiya girls,
Just popping in to remind you ....

  Donor night in Chat Garden room 8~10pm TONIGHT! All welcome!  

Marie xx

ps ~ Emma, all the very best for ET today


----------



## irisbea

Hello im just saying hi as a new user, waiting to see whats happened after my 4th iui last tues/weds. Ive already half convinced myself it hasnt worked and feel i need to plan for the future, if it doesnt work ill have 2 more goes then try IVF.

We( my lovely partner and I) are using id release donor sperm from rainbow flag in ca at the moment but if it comes to IVF I want to consider using my best friends sperm because hes the best.(if you knew him youd understand)  The only problem is hes HIV +, now before anyone gets superconcerned IUI and IVF is used routinely for straight couples and theres been no transmission either to mum or baby via this route in all this time.

The thing is I cant find anywhere that will consider this for us, because we are not husband and wife or partners which I find a bit galling. Ive tried chelsea and westminster NHS trust and a clinic in spain. Does anyone have any suggestions? Im also wondering if it isnt discriminatory, to offer a service to straight couples but not to others.  what does anyone think?

It may be irrelevant, I may be pregnant as i write(surely id feel different though) in any case id like to explore this for the nebulous 'next time'

Good luck to all you lovely ladies


----------



## Fifebloke

Hi Irisbea

While what you say about using washed sperm may be true with regard to transmissibility of HIV/AIDS, I would doubt whether any clinic would take the risk of possible cross-contamination or bad press.

All donors are screened for HIV & AIDS and I've never heard of a clinic using an HIV+ donor.

Are you saying that clinics do use HIV+ donors/partners?

As you say, maybe this is all academic anyway.

Good luck

David x


----------



## nismat

Hi *Irisbea * & welcome! I hope that you are proved wrong re: your negative feelings for this cycle, but I can also completely understand your need to plan ahead for the future, in case of the worst case scenario. I've also always thought that I would "feel" pregnant during the 2ww if I was; but no BFP yet to prove that theory right or wrong! 

I had no idea that IUI/IVF procedures were routinely used for HIV+ straight couples, but I suppose that it makes a lot of sense if the HIV is transmitted via the seminal fluid rather than by the sperm. Is it something that is done routinely in this country, or more in the US? Interesting! 
Re: the known donor, I can see how it would be hard getting clinics to accept you at all especially with the added dimension of the HIV+ scenario. JJ1 who posted on page 6 (I think) of this thread, is a single woman using a known donor (gay man), and she did eventually find a clinic who would treat them, despite not being a couple/married. Not sure which clinic it is though - you should try sending her a private message to find out more. It does seem rather unfair that so many clinics won't consider you bringing a known donor - you're acting very responsibly, and after all, they are going to make money out of you! 
Good luck!
Tamsin

PS *Heather * - hope you've had a reassuring scan this afternoon


----------



## Mable

Hi,
Just a quickie from me - bath time is approaching - GOOD LUCK to Emma AND Heather.      

Welcome to Irisbea - interesting considerations for you, sorry no time to consider thou at present. Great again to have input from David, on the 'other' side.

Tamsin - sorry to hear about headaches. Hopefully when you start stimming you will feel better - you'll be half way there as well. I feel so positive about this IVF for you (no pressure though..).

Hi Alison, Tonia and Harmony - anyone else I've missed. 

Monty is watching Neighbours.


----------



## Alison0702

Heather - hope everything went ok this afternoon. You two are certainly going through it at the mo. Hope the scan has calmed down your nerves a little bit. 

irisbea - welcome! Good luck for your     

Emma - Fabulous news chuck! Lovely   for you two. 

Tamsin - How's the headaches. Hope you are ok 

Mable How was the westlife concert? Any piccies of little Monty yet>

Anyone up for the chat tonight at 8? Might have a look in after my tea.


----------



## emma73

Hi everyone - I now have one little embryo on board! ALl went well - thanks so much for all the wishes of good luck. The transfer went very smoohtly except for the fact that I went overbaord on the full bladder request so much so that all that could be seen on the scan was my bladder. I was terrified of peeing on the DR! Anyhow they drained off my bladder with a cathater and the nurse said I was like a Camel   How mortified was I! Still felt a lot better afterwards! So bring on the 2ww - go back for blood test 2 weeks today. 

Heather - I do hope your scan has calmed your nerves - I was going to try and stay away from the boards for a little bit - but now i'll be popping on to see if you are ok. 

Welcome to Irisbea - I know of one lady and her gf who is trying to concieve with a known donor at edinburgh - and I think it was a bit of a hassle for them all as they didnt have any such forms to cover them etc etc - however I doubt they have the HIV as an issue. I hope that you are pregnant and dont have to worry about the next step. Would you not consider carrying on with an unknown donor?

Right - I am finally going to put my feet up. 

Love to all

Emma xx


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone - just a quick message to say that the baby is fine - I'll post again tomorrow as I am shattered. I am still very sore. 

Love and   to everyone. Emma put your feet up!

Heather


----------



## Alison0702

Hi all

Feelin a bit down today. Have taken a day's holiday as I cant face that bloomin place at the minute. I thought I would get all of the housework done but spent most of the morning  

I'm feeling very nervous about the scan tomorrow as I have a horrible feeling the clomid wont have worked. I dont know why I am feeling like this, but dreading it. Worried that they wont be able to see my left ovary again, and what if there is a decent follicle hiding  

I know I shouldn't get upset until I have something to get upset about, but I was just thinking, I've been on flamin drugs for the last 9 months, and only had 1 attempt at DI. 

Please please please let it have worked again this time

                   

Anyway, I hope I have brightened up your day   I feel a bit better after getting that off my chest!


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

Alison - sorry you are feeling so down, I am sending you   and hopes that the clomid will have worked. Its horrible when you don't know what is going on in there. Forget ghousework, unless it really helps. I would recommend some chocolate and treats today for sure. And a good film.  . As an alternative to housework you could always try Living TVs cleanaholics, I saw it for the first time yesterday and couldn't belive my eyes!! There was one woman who works full time Monday - Friday then does eight hours cleaning on Saturdays!!

Emma - that full bladder, catheter and speculum thing is a challenge. I felt better the second time round when I knew it wouldn't squirt out!!!!!  . Masses of good luck to you. 

Irisbea - welcome! I am afraid I don't have much advice for you on your donor but best wishes for this 2WW . It is worth remembering some people feel nothing at all and others like me were absolutely sure their period was en route. 

I have mild pain today, pretty constant but feel better with yesterdays reassurance. This is obviously going be my big pregnancy symptom, I just hope it goes in time. Got my first ante-natal appt on Thursday so looking forward to speaking with the midwife then and have kept the early pregnancy assessment unit appt incase she thinks I should still go. 

Tamsin - how is it going, headaches moving on? Hope you are doing okay. 

Mable - Any joy with Monty's photo yet, dying to see him!! How is Edith, is she on the mend?

Love and good luck to all 

Heather


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## Fifebloke

Hi Irisbea

It looks like there are a number of clinics in the UK happy to treat with sperm from an HIV+ donor. See -

http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/15/8/1657

Drop an email to the HFEA and see if they can identify them for you if you're having difficulty finding one.

Best wishes and Good Luck

David x

PS Thanks Mable!

This post contains an unconfirmed link/information and readers are reminded that FertilityFriends.co.UK or its owners are not responsible for the content of external internet sites


----------



## Mable

Here he is!


----------



## Alison0702

Mable he is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! 

Love to you all
xx


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## starrysky

Wow!!!!!

Hello Monty!!!!!!!!!  .

He is cute and so peaceful looking?!!!!!........

Heather


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## nismat

What a lovely photo of Monty!   

*Alison * - hope the scan is positive tomorrow - I too always imagine the worst in advance, and go in ready to fight battles that never materialise! It must have been so frustrating with all the time you have waited for your bodyto co-operate with the drugs.

*David * - excellent link! Good to have your input 

*Heather * - glad you saw the baby again and that everything is OK. I hope that the stretching cramps aren't with you for too much of the time, as the pregnancy goes on.

*Emma * - I'm sorry to say it, but you really made me laugh with your worries about peeing on the doctor!  Must have been pretty hideous for you at the time, but it certainly makes for funny reading! Everything crossed for you on this 2ww. 

I'm glad to report that the headaches haven't persisted - feeling a lot better since yesterday. I'm drinking loads of water and I'm sure that it's helping a lot. Karen & I are off for our break up to Yorkshire in the morning; really looking forward to it. I should get my period when we're away, and then book in for my scan/start stimms next Monday or Tuesday. THen it really will feel like something's happening!


----------



## irisbea

Thanks so much david, will go see


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## Mable

Ta, he is quite expressive, he snores and grunts and squeaks. We go to get parental responsibility for me tomorrow. Exciting times...

We need to do some fertility dances for Emma's 2ww, especially Heather who has the most babydust around her at the moment (cramps allowing).


Mable
ps Edith is healing fine, thanks for asking - still has her bump, diabetes has gone, just tired of course..


----------



## lucky2010

Monty is gorgeous. David is helpful. Welcome to Irisbea. Thinking of everyone. I am too tired to string proper sentences together. 
Rach x


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## Alison0702

Hi all

Quick update..scan showed I had absolutely no decent follicles.

Very sad.

Think we're going to give my body a rest from clomid for the next couple of months. Mind you I might change my mind in the morning.

Hope everyones ok


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## evelet

sorry to hear that Alison. Really sorry..

hope the break helps (if that's what you decide to do)


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## starrysky

Sorry to hear your news Alison. That is so frustrating, and it is difficult with clomid as you can only take it for so long. I had twelve months worth on and off and couldn't have any more. Hope your nights sleep brings you the answer  .

Heather


----------



## lucky2010

Alison, so sorry about about what your scan showed. Thinking of you. x


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## Mable

Hi,
Alison - how devastating for you.   Have you discussed IVF with your clinic? Sorry if this is inappropriate in your situation.

I got parental responsibility for Monty today - in homophobic Bromley of all places. Was SO simple (thanks to Evelet's advice).  It feels great, to be his legal parent.

  to Emma 

Mable


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## LouisandPhoebe

Hello everyone

This board is so busy it takes me ages to read all the posts.

Monty is beautiful- you both must be so so proud.

Tamsin- not long now i am so excited for you i cant wait for the result ( positive of course!!)

Alison- I hope your coping ok with your news there are so many hurdles to overcome with ttc and its such an emotional rollercoaster.

Emma - wishing you all the luck in the world ( and glue) i hope he/she sticks in there.

I hope everyone else is doing well and keeping sane.

Well we went up to the JR yesterday and saw the heard of the unit and he was so lovely.  We took Louis with us as all the nurses kept asking us to bring him in so he was cuddled by them all.

Lees op has been a sucssess and all is healed.  The doc said that because she produced such good quality eggs ( although there were only 4) and they fertilized well ( 3) and we got top grade embies (A 8 cells) she had a 50% chance of conceiving and they decided not to stick this time.  He wants her to have a month break so she can be scanned after her next period to check all is well with the cyst removal and then start again on the IVF at the end of June.  SO its back on the IVF rollercoater again!!.  It feels so good to know were going to be starting again soon.  If this cycle works there will be exactly 2 years between Louis and a potential new baby which would be perfect.  If it doesnt we said one more go at full IVF and then i will go again.  We have enough money left for this cycle and then its on the plastic or remortage.  He is uping her drugs from 225 to 300 for the gonal-F or we may have puregon- whats the difference?  IS 300 a high dose? 

Hope everyone is ok, 

Lots of love

Charley, Lee and Louis
xxx


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## **Tashja**

Alison - sending you BIG hugs hun  xx

Charley - Glad to hear Lee is recovered - 2 years is a nice gap to have !!

Mable - Excellent news - CONGRATULATIONS !!

Hope everyone is ok 

T xx


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## bagpuss1

Hi Mable,

Hope your sleep is a bit better......

Congratulations on your parental responsibility, how did you go about this

We went to our clinic last week, our donor is still producing and now is named, we have ordered enough for four treatments so we will have access to this from xmas so who knows what might happen... Edie might get a sibling.

Love to everyone.

Kerry and Edie.


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## Alison0702

everyone

Thanks for your lovely messages, it cheered me right up  

Just after I posted last night, my consultant called and said as I was not responding to clomid, he would get me started on Metformin and that there's much more chance of ovulation with that and clomid together. So, I am much more positive today. However, he did tell me that I was overweight and that I should lose a bit of weight and get lots of excercise and it might help. Hmmph   

So, we got our best friends round last night, had wine and an indian takeaway..  

Mable - We're going to get a loan and try IUI another 4-5 times, and if it doesnt work, we'll then go onto IVF. Congrats on your news, bet you're sooo chuffed!

Charley - Glad Lee's a lot better now, you've got lots of exciting things to look forward to. 2 years is a lovely gap, and not as stresful for you and Lee. 

Rachjulie - Hows things with you at the mo?

Evelet - Hope you are well. I'm sure the break will do me good..lots of lettuce leaves for me  

Emma - how are you? Hope the   is being kind to you petal 

Heather - I am def going to give accupuncture a go, you make is sound so nice. There's a woman who specialises in fertility in Newcastle too, so I'll give her a ring.

Big hugs to everyone, and speak soon

xxxxxxx


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## Mable

Parental responsibility was as follows: Following Evelet's guidance, I downloaded the form for step parental responsibility from the court service website. There are guidance notes with it, which tell you what to do and what papers to take. You both take it to your local county court, with your passports, the baby's full birth certificate and your civil partnership registration certificate. Then the birth mother signs Parent A and the non birth mother signs Step Parent part and they witness it and sign and stamp it. Then you send it to the Principal Registry in London for them to enter it officially. It took all of 5 minutes!

Now Kerry, where is my 'how to get baby to sleep through the night like Edie' advice!!


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## Alison0702

Hi

Eventually managed to upload a picture of my little furry babies ( I am not very technical )

Ellie is our dog and Gladys is the cat.

Bless em  they were caught asleep on the back of the settee when we were decorating.....


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## bagpuss1

Hi Mable,

You are joking!!! I sent you loads of tips by e mail, I am so sorry, will try to send it again now.

If that does not work then I will post it on the site.

Here goes.

Love kerry and edie.


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## Mable

Hi Kerry,
Just got your tips this morning, thanks VERY much. What a cute pic of Edie!!

Hope the PR thing makes sense, if you can't find the form on the court service website I could put on the link which Evelet sent me. (I couldn't find it first time). It is SO easy, you must do it!

Also, can I publicise 'Pushchair Pride'. Evelet has registered a group for Europride (London) on 1 July calling us 'Pushchair Pride' and is inviting as many lesbian parents as she can find to come along with their kids (all ages welcome). We want to march together in as big a group as we can muster  so that we can show what a big community we've become. 

Anyone who is interested can contact Evelet at [email protected] if you they want to join in and please ask everyone to spread the word! We'll be going - would be great to meet as many people as possible there!


----------



## emma73

Hi everyone hope you are all well. 

I'm starting to go a bit demented in this 2ww - had a good "feeling" about it all but the old nagging doubt is creeping in - cant wait for it to be over. Roll on the 29th!!


Emma xx


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## lucky2010

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/GetForm.do?court_forms_id=1098

Here is the parental responsibility link x


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## starrysky

Hi everyone

That's great information on parental responsibility - it is good that it is so straightforward. 

Alison - love your furry babies!

Kerry - a lovely photo!!!!

Tamsin - good luck for stimming, hopefully you will leave these headaches behind now. 

Definitely up for Pride, will email evelet! 

Emma - hope your 2WW is going well and I will do a dance for you    

Hope you are all having a good weekend. We are off on holday tomorrow to Sandy Balls holiday park in the new forest (great name!!) so speak to you next week. 

Love

Heather


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## starrysky

Just spotted that there is another cute photo  of Monty - looking very serious, is that his Westlife face?

Heather


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## nismat

Hi all, we're back from our break in the wet North Yorkshire Moors  Stil, despite the weather it was just lovely to get away from everything for a few days (including the telly, as the reception there is virtually non-existent). We had a bit of an L-word fest with the DVD player though! It didn't rain all the time, and we got out and even did some cycling (although I didn't realise how uphill our route was going to be - Karen would have killed me half way up if she had had the energy ).

My period finally arrived on Saturday, 2 days late (I actually had a 14 day LP!), so I've now been stimming for almost 2 weeks (but no more headaches to report). I'm booked in for my scan on Wednesday morning, so hopefully everything will be OK and I'll be able to start stimms then. Can't wait! Beginning to get excited now, and definitely starting to feel positive about the outcome.

*Ali * - so sorry to read that your ovaries still aren't behaving. I hope that the Metformin + Clomid produces better results, and quickly. Have you any particular plans re: weight loss? Going to Weightwatchers meetings is the only thing that really works for me (and is something I really need to do again, having put half the 2 1/2 stone that I lost back on again )

*Mable * - how fab that you've got PR for Monty, and that it was such an easy process. How much leave have you/did you take, and how are you all getting on?

*Charley * - great to hear that Lee's op was a success and that they are so confident about progressing to another IVF cycle so soon. It really does seem to be egg quality rather than quantity that is the key factor doesn't it? I just did a bit of research about Gonal-F vs Puregon; both are forms of recombinant (i.e. manufactured) FSH; Gonal-F is Follitropin alfa and Puregon is Follitropin beta. I don't think that there is much difference between them at all, they are just made by different pharmaceutical companies. I _think _ (although not sure) that the units of the 2 drugs are equivalent. If so, then Gonal-F is slightly cheaper, and more widely available from a variety of home pharmacy services. I had a lot of work to get a reasonable price for Puregon. I'm initially going to be on 200iu of Puregon, but expect that they will be increasing the dosage v early on, since I didn't respond to Puregon on my IUI cycles. I would say that 300iu is a highish dose, but not mega high (I've read of women who are on 450iu or more per day!). Having seen how Lee responded on the first cycle, they obviously want to try and get more of those high quality eggs from her!

*Kerry * - so, is that carrot, sweet potato or butternut squash puree all over Edie's face and bib?  She looks so quizzical with those eyebrows!

*Emma * - I hope that the 2nd half of your 2ww doesn't drag too badly - it's always horrendous the closer it gets to test date 

Tamsin


----------



## Mable

Hi,
Just watching Chelsea flower show with Monty groaning on my front - (wind?). Good to hear from you Tamsin, hope you enjoy stimming.

I met some lesbians at the weekend who did 15 IUIs each before each falling pregnant. That's long-haul for you - I wonder how they kept the faith that it would work one day.

Good luck to Emma


----------



## Alison0702

Tamsin - good to hear from you chuck. Hope you're ok and that scan tomorrow goes well!  

Mable - 15 IUI's. They must have been demented. Hope Monty enjoyed flower show. I have to say, he is beautiful. You must be so proud. You say in your profile that you're next..how long you going to wait?

 

We took a while to start with this ttc business as I was really worried about what other people thought about two women bringing up a child. I think it stems from being picked on as a kid, and even now, still care about what people think of me. 
I worried about our child being picked on because of us, and thats why it took us a while to get on this journey.

I told a good friend of mine today about our plans, and he is gay too, and after he said how fab it all was, he said "so are you not worried about what people will say". That brought all my worries back again. I know it's silly, as it's kind of normal nowadays, but I just wanted to know what you all thought about this topic. 

What have people said where you work about the ttc/pregnancy situation? My close colleagues and bosses are great and know the score, so thats not an issue. Luckily!

Anyway I would really appreciate your thoughts on this.

Alison


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## evelet

don't even credit any of that "2 mums having a child will cause bullying for the child" stuff with any more thoughts. there are a million and one reasons why a child might be picked on. having lesbian mums is definitely a reason. but so is being too fat/too thin/too tall/too short/freckly/ginger hair/a different accent/being clever/being 'stupid' etc etc. all any of us as parents can do is equip our children to deal with life in a confident and assured way and the only way to do that is ensure that they feel secure and happy at home. have the same RIGHT as any other woman to have a child. your child has the right to be treated with love and respect and grow up in a secure home. if you can provide that then what's the problem?

my sister is also a lesbian and has 2 kids from prior straight relationships. She (like me) is overweight. A child at her son's school said to him once "Your mum is a fat ****". My nephew said "Yes. So?". Its never been mentioned since. 

ros and i decided several years ago that we would not allow any homophobic discussions in our lives. that includes those "well i'd rather you were straight but of course I support you" and now also includes "do you worry about Jude getting bullied for having lesbian mummies". Don't let it in your life. Be confident about your choices. 

Good Luck


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## emma73

AArrggghhh - I just typed a huge reply and lost it. I wouldnt allow your self to worry to much ALison - I worry too but what evelet has said is so true-  and in all my time worrying nobody has ever said a thing!!!

Basically what I have also learnt is that really nobody actually cares. They may get bullied at school for a whole host of reasons, but I hope Luke will have a "yeah AND??" attitude to any comments like evelets nephew. Its a non issue - and must become one in your household - otherwise your future child may pick up on the anxiety and then feel that there is something wrong. 

Hold your head high and be proud of who you are and your decisions. 

Right - me bit - I'm going NUTS!!! convinced myself that I'm not preggers and going loopy. Whats made it a bit complicated - and I wanted your opinions - is that we dont actually have the money for another IVF and a friends boyfiends is thinking about donating to us so we could do di at home.. We didnt ask him - my friend did!They have a  7 month old baby togehter. I think its just too complicated to contemplate but cant get the prospect of it out of my head.

Hoping seeing your points in black and white will help. Surely its a bad idea??

Love to all 

Emma xx


----------



## snagglepat

Hi folks,

I've been out of the loop for a bit, but wow, what a lot has happened in the last few weeks! There are a few interesting discussions going on here too. 

*Emma*, we've only ever used known donors (we've used two) and, for us, apart from not managing to stay pregnant, it's worked really well. It is something you need to go into with your eyes wide open though. There's a really good sticky thread at the top of the 'donor sperm/eggs' board on known vs unkown donors that has a lot of information in it and might be worth having a read of if you haven't already. For us, it's made a real difference knowing that our own donor has donated before and the relationships have worked out well - more specifically, he's stuck to his word around issues of involvement. Using a known donor does mean he has a legal right to claim paternity should he choose to, so you need to be able to trust him absolutely. The fact that you already know this guy and you know how things have worked out for your friend is a good start, but ultimately, you need to work out if the kind of relationship they have is something that you would feel comfortable with too. Our donor isn't going to be involved at all, other than to be contactable if the child(ren) ever want to meet him, and for future siblings, which suits us perfectly. Our previous donor was going to play a kind of 'uncle' role, as he was a long term friend, but that didn't work out and now we're very happy with the arrangement we have with donor no 2.

The money makes a big difference too. There's no way we could have afforded to go on as long as we have even with IUI, let alone IVF. Our next attempt (in the autumn) will be our 17th.

It's a lovely offer he's made, but however tempting the idea of 'free sperm' might be you need to work out if the longer term implications of using a known donor will fit for you. They work for us, but it's not for everyone.

*Alison*, homophobia does still exist and might become an issue in the playground with your kids, but like everyone else has said, having lesbian parents is no more of an issue than having fat/old/hippy/uncool parents. Our kids are going to be raised in a rural, vegetarian, low-impact, recycling, mostly self-sufficient home without a TV. The fact that they're going to have two mums pales into insignificance really.  It's one of the reasons (but not the only one) that we're planning to either Steiner or home-school.

Best wishes to everyone!

Gina. x


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## Mable

When I told someone at work I don't know well about Monty's birth, they said "Oh what a lucky boy, having 2 mums!" I was so delighted to get this response, it felt like the first time anyone (straight) had said something spontaneously positive about our parenting. I kept thanking her, for God's sake  

It is easy to internalize all the insidious homophobia and fear that is around, we all have to remind ourselves that straight people having kids have this kind of positive reaction to their parenting all the time. For our own mental health, we need this too - we also have double the work to do, we have to educate those who are unsure, we have to overcome our own insecurities. 

I found it helpful to read books on what really matters in parenting - it is very clear that the gender of your parents is not a real issue. The rest is homophobia.

Hi Gina! - good to hear from you. I love your self-sufficient low impact home with no TV - that would mean giving up big brother though... Do you have a composting toilet? Am thinking of popping one in the shed.


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## snagglepat

Hehehe. Mable, I nearly typed 'compost loo' in the above list but then thought it was too much of a fib as we don't have one yet, although we plan to when we move out of the city next year. We do pee on our compost heap though, and it does it the world of good. We have a little gizmo called a Whizaway (http://www.whizaway.com) that helps us do it without scaring the neighbours, and without dopping our pants. We used to pee in a bucket in the shed and then tip it over the heap before we got it - you could easily do that. 

Also, for those of you not so sqeamish about such things, we collect our menstrual blood by using a mooncup (http://www.mooncup.co.uk/wc.php?u=315) when we get our periods, then dilute it and use it to water our house plants. They love it!   

Gina.

PS - love the picture of Monty. Thanks for sharing it.


----------



## nismat

*Gina*, I had no idea of the benefical impact of urine on compost, or menstrual blood on house plants  I suppose that the latter makes a lot of sense, when you think of fertilisers like flood/fish/bonemeal! My, the things you learn on here 

*Alison * - your worries were one of the reasons that it took us soooo long to get around to actually ttc (5 years or so!). It was something that I was really worried about, Karen less so. I was really concerned about continually having to "out" ourselves, as the automatic assumption on seeing a woman with a child is that she is the child's bio-mother and straight. I don't know exactly what changed, maybe it was just the passage of time, but now I don't even give it a second thought. Possibly what made the difference is that I decided that I would always be up-front about the fact of being a lesbian parent, rather than letting people make assumptions, and then getting tied up in knots having to correct those assumptions. Also, I think that many people would just be really "English" and be too embarrassed to delve much further. I know that this isn't directly related to the bullying thing, but I think that it is part of the bigger picture. If you just present your family as being completely normal and acceptable, then most people won't do much to question it (or at least not to your face). And then if our children grow up viewing things in this way, and feeling loved and supported, then those are the best tools that any child can have to deal with difficulties in life, whether they are related to our sexuality or not.

*Mable * - what a wonderfully affirming comment from your colleague (for which I too would probably have been pathetically grateful!  ) She's right though! I remember reading about parenting guru Robert Winston saying much the same thing when asked his views on lesbian parenting: something along the lines of "two nurturers; what could be better?" 

Had my scan today; all OK to start stimms, but because of the BH weekend and needing scans/blood tests, they want me to hold off starting stimms until Saturday. Grr! I just want to get on with it. It's going to mean re-arranging some work commitments as well - inconvenient, but I have to put myself and the baby-making first!

Will reply about Emma's KD issues later - must go and pick Karen up from the station now!


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## Alison0702

How dramatic was I yesterday!!!  

Thanks for your replies, it made me feel a lot better. What you said it absolutely true and any child would be brought up with no insecurities about the lesbian parenting issue. I dont know why I got uptight about it. Mywork colleagues think its great and even people who dont know were ttc, ask me if we've ever thought about having a baby cos we'd make great parents. 

Anyway enough about that rubbish. I collected my metformin today so will start taking that soon, and hopefully that will get those little follies working!

Gina - I too had never thought of urine or menstrual blood, but you have certainly opened my eyes  

Emma - I agree with Gina, it is a lovely offer, but you do have to think long term. My gay best friend offered his services too. He had really thought about it, as he wanted to help us knowing how much it all cost. He said he wanted no involvement but obviously would be around to see him/her grow up. Trouble is, he is a very active gay boy   and although I trust that he would not put me to any harm, the thought would always be in my mind and I didnt think it was worth the risk. But, not everyone has a friend like me ha ha ha

Tamsin - Saturday is not too far away! You can tell you're getting excited about it all. 

Hugs to everyone else!
xxxx


----------



## Mable

Emma - when is test day?

Gina - do you *REALLY* not have a tv? We lived in Mozambique for 2 years without a TV and nearly went mad. Have to say that middle of the night TV is essential with a baby. Am also into about composting, do wee on heap and invite visitors to do same. Draw the line at menstrual blood though, doesn't it smell?!!

Is funny that people do assume I am Monty's 'birth' mum when I am changing his nappy in Mothercare, and I feel kind of a fraud! People ask me about my experience of breastfeeding, my birth story, and sometimes it feels a bit laborious explaining that I didn't give birth to him but I'm still his mum. Sometimes I'm too tired to go into it. But when he's older and understands I'll have to get right out there quick.

Good luck to Emma


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## snagglepat

Hi *Mable*,

If people ask you about your birth story, why not tell them? You may not have been the one giving birth but you were there right the way through. You have a story too and it's just as valid. Being around birth a lot these days I've become really aware of the imapct of the birthing journey on the partner. Why not just tell the story. It's yours too.

As for breastfeeding, have you thought about trying it too? There are lots of adoptive mothers who breastfeed their babies, and regular nipple stimulation and maybe a few cups of fenugreek herbal tea can be all it takes to get going (although sometimes more encouragement is needed). I've been looking into this a lot recently so am happy to talk more about it if anyone is interested. R still needs a bit of encouragement I think, but I'm really keen on the idea of us both breasfeeding our child. There has even been research done on the health benefits - two lots of antibodies going into baby are better than one.

The menstrual blood on the plants doesn't smell at all. It's watered down and it soaks into the soil. The plants absolutely thrive! I love the thought of you inviting your visitors to wee on your compost heap!    Might have to try that!

We do currently have a TV, though we're weaning ourselves off it. We're in the process of getting a new computer set up with a DVD player on it so we can still watch films when we want a slobby evening in, and once that's done we'll be freecycling the TV. We're just aware that it can take up so much time - we can just get lost in it sometimes and then a whole evening is gone where we've done nothing and not actually gained anything by what we've seen on TV. It's what we're aspiring too. Whether we'll actually get there or not remains to be seen. 

And wow! Mozambique! That must have been an amazing experience.

Hehehe. Reading back over the stuff I've been writing on here these last few days makes me realise what total hippy nuts we must sound like.   

*Alison* - good luck with the Metformin! I'm supposed to be on it all the time, but I'm taking a break from it until we start trying again. It worked really well for me and I was ovulating happily within a month of starting it - and that's without Clomid. Do be sure to only take the tablets with food though - and a decent amount of food too. Most people find their digestion is messed around quite a bit when they first start it. I found I always ended up with a bad tum (and a lengthy stay in the bathroom) if I ate anything overly fatty or rich too. I did lose two stone on it though - which is beginning to come back on now I've stopped taking it, so it has its good sides. The unpleasant side effects had worn off for me completely after a month or two as well. Good luck!

Gina.


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## emma73

Hi - just a quick one from me - test day was to be Monday but AF has arrived early this morning. I spotted on Wed which is very unusual for me - in fact unheard of - to spot so early, so naturally I was beginning to think it was implantation bleeding. So thats second attempt failed. 

I know I'm lucky to have Luke but I miss his brother so much it makes me ache and I never got to experience half of my pregnancy. I'm not sure what the next step is for us - I dont know if I can do this again.

Thanks for all the good luck messages - and good luck to everyone. I'll be back when a bit cheerier!

Emma x


----------



## nismat

Oh Emma, I'm so sorry to hear that your period has arrived  
I can feel the pain in your words, and I wish that it wasn't so. Sending you hugs


----------



## duff

Hello!

I've been lurking for months so thought I'd better introduce myself.  

I've just had my fourth cycle of IUI with anonymous donor sperm, trying clomid this time.  I've got to say, clomid made me nuts but it produced a couple of hefty follicles. Unfortunately it ended with a very early miscarriage.  I think I was pregnant for about two weeks.  My HCG has taken an age to drop back down.  To be honest, I'm seeing this as positive.  It's like my body is desperately trying to hold on to it.  

Anyway, I'm finally starting to bleed a bit which is a great relief.  I've done all the crying I had to do for this little one and want to get onto the next attempt.  The clinic said to wait two months but then it's all systems go!


----------



## snagglepat

Oh Emma,

I'm so sorry to hear your news. Do take all the time you need to move on from this, and know that we're all here if you want a space to get it off your chest some more.

Duff, welcome to the board, well, to commenting here. Really sorry to hear about your early miscarriages. We've had a couple too, and they're horrible things to have to go through. Are you TTC as a single Mum or do you have a partner?

Gina. x


----------



## duff

HI snagglepat,

I have a partner.  In fact, way back when we first started TTC (6 years ago!!) she was going to get pregnant.  We tried for a while with her but tests showed she was peri-menopausal.  Anyway, we then tried a couple of goes of IVF with my eggs but the embryos transferred to her.  IUI seems like a drop in the ocean money-wise compared to that.  I think about the money we've spent on this crazy project in terms of cars.  Even though it seems like a fortune, we've only really spent in total the equivalent of one of those new Minis!


----------



## Alison0702

Oh Emma, I'm so sorry to read your post. Take care! xx[br]Posted on: 26/05/06, 16:53*Gina* - WOW 2 stone...You have made me a very happy woman!

[move type=scroll loop=-1 direction=left step=6 delay=85]       [/move]

How did you lose so much?

I've heard that make very good friends with the toilet on them! Did you have side effects straight away? AND what were you like when you had alcohol? I'm worried cos I'm off on an all inclusive holiday in June!!!!

*Tamsin* - Are you still stimming from tomorrow? How long does that last for?

*Heather* - Missed ya, hope you had a good holiday at Sandy Balls     

Hi to everyone else


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone,

Back from holidays a day early, have enjoyed & been cheered up by the entertaining & thought-provoking discussions that have been going on!  

Emma - So sorry to hear your IVF didn't work.  

Have seen Boom (Looking very active & well) on a scan agin today, a scan badly needed after yesterday's events.  Whilst walking in the woods yesterday, I started bleeding heavily - VERY scarey.   Ended up in A & E in Salisbury: Thankfully the bleeding stopped but not before I had endured a very uncomfortable internal!  
At one point I was provided a Men's large Incontinence pad to soak up the blood.  Very horrible, please send positive vibes whilst we weather this storm.  

Tamsin - Good luck with stimming.  

Duff - Welcome, nice to see another new person here.  

Gina - Nice to see you back on the board.  Your hippyness has made us smile in a day of adversity.  

Alsion - Hope the metformin does the job on the follies but not on your bowels!  

Mable - we love Bb too & would struggle without our TV.  

Heather.


----------



## nismat

*Duff*, welcome to our ever expanding group! Sorry to hear of the early miscarriage after a BFP, but as you say, although it's very sad, at least now you know that you can definitely get pregnant. I hope that it's not too long before it works again for you, and that this time you get to carry a baby to term. Interesting to hear that you tried IVF beforehand using your eggs and DPs uterus - where were/are you having treatment? My DP is also peri-menopausal, but she's never wanted to get pregnant, so it wasn't a route we ever explored. I like the monetary comparison - it does help to put it in perspective a little bit more. Our medical costs so far have been £9,500, although that is likely to increase by up to £1250 by the end of this cycle, depending on whether I need more drugs/ whether we have ICSI/go to blastocyst stage. I dread to think how much the shared IVF must have cost you! Are we talking standard model or top of the range convertible Mini?! 

*Alison * - yes, I am still starting stimms tomorrow, and on average you stimm for about 12 days before your HCG trigger injection, with EC 36 hours later. Have been feeling a bit fed up having to wait (especially as it has caused so many problems work-wise, having to re-schedule stuff for weeks when I thought that I would have finished treatment). Looking forward to getting on with it properly, but slightly worried that the 200iu isn't going to be enough to get the follies off to a good start  Nothing I can do but wait and hope though - should have rung the clinic today rather than increasingly work myself into a state at home. I can't tell you how tempted I am to just increase it myself from 200iu to 250iu - I won't run the risk though. But I know that I'll be kicking myself next Friday if there aren't many follies in evidence (oh god, here I go with imagining the worst possible scenario before anything at all has happened - this is so typical of me ). I read on another board here that it's crucial to have enough stimulation in the first few days, as that's what determines how many follies develop. The later injections just help them grow. At least I'll be having a blood test after just 4 days of stimms, and the dosage can be adjusted then as needed; many clinics don't seem to do any monitoring until you've been stimming for about 7 days! 

*Heather * - OMG, yet another horrible scare, you poor, poor things.   So pleased to read that Boom is still hanging on tightly though and doing well. You must feel like just retiring to your bed and being put to sleep, at least until the end of the first trimester. I hope that apart from yesterday's events, you had an enjoyable break away from everything.

Right, that's it! I MUST get off this computer, I'm getting completely obsessive with all these ttc message boards and it is NOT GOOD for my mental health!


----------



## starrysky

Hi

Tamsin - I wish I could hibernate for the whole pregancy not just the first trimester although it is a shame because of course I also want to enjoy it, having waited so long. Felt a bit more healed this morning but getting sorer now so won't stay on long. I am also suffering fom OKC (obsessive knicker checking!).

Have  a good bank holiday weekend everyone.


Love

Heather


----------



## Elur

Hi Everyone

Hope you dont mind me jumping in to ask if any of you have had a variance in follicle size during injectible IUI? I'm single from Dublin - where single women and lesbian couples are NOT eligible for fertility treatment!  .  I attended LWC in London, did 6 IUIs with same donor, all BFNs. Then went to Boston & got pg on my 7th IUI (4th injectible IUI) in December age 38. However m/c Jan. Was gearing up for another injectible cycle this week and on my CD 7 u/s scan i had 1 x 16mm follicle and 4 others between 10 & 12mm ie its almost like the big follicle is too big and the others too small. Therefore the cycle got cancelled. Has anyone else had such a variance in follicle size and what did you do to address this in future cycles??

Really starting to get worried about turning 39 and time running out....

Heather, hope you are ok and over your scare....

Best wishes to you All


----------



## Tonia2

wow! How busy has this board been? So much to respond to... !!

Welcome to the newbies, *Duff * & *Elur*. So sorry to hear for both of you re. your m/c s. 
*Elur* - I'm not up with all the details but when I was having IUI they were aiming for the follicle to be at 20mm - that's when IUI happened. They would scan me at day 12 or so to check it was around 16-18mm, so that then they'd know which day to do the IUI. Not sure why 16mm would be too big.

*Emma73 * - so sorry to hear your news. It's so heartbreaking every time.. look after yourself.

*Tamsin* - I'm watching your IVF prep with great interest! it won't be long before it's me... I hope you have been able to settle about the drug dosage and all... it's so stressful, all the little details. I so know what you mean about all the hassle with scheduling and rescheduling too. I had a "moment" last month where I just refused to make another phonecall to re-arrange dates and appointments once again, and instead I just sat in a heap and cried. Bron, bless her, made the calls, which was just what I needed right then... Usually it's just me doing it! Good luck with this cycle.

*Heather* - I'm so glad you're all ok! You must have been terrified... hope you've been able to continue to rest & heal, & the OKC doesn't take on a life of it's own.

*Gina* - I've just sent you a PM but I forgot to say thanks for the tip about the mooncup - I've not heard of it before & have no idea if they're in Australia. The packaging and disposing of tampax etc has bothered me for years and so on the strength of your testimony & the ones one the mooncup site I've ordered myself one! Albeit a bit nervously. Bron's completely freaked out by the idea so is waiting to see how I go with it!! ...oh well... I figure it doesn't hurt to try something new. I was freaked out by the idea of tampons when I was a young teenager, I suppose it's all the same really... All my female friends and rellys might end up getting one each for christmas!! Heh! 
I thought the Whizaway was a cool idea too! Very cute! We sometimes send our male vistors out to our lemon tree to wee - apparently boy's wee is very good for it! Hadn't thought of the compost idea though. Not sure about the neighbours view of our compst heap from their kitchen window...

Bron & I don't have the telly on either! I think we must also be closet hippies!! We decided not to have TV in early 2002, so it's been over four years and so I've never even seen an episode of big brother.... We do have a tv set but it's covered most of the time and it's only hooked up to our DVD player, so we can watch the occasional movie. I honestly don't know how anyone has time for TV! This probably sounds really nerdy but what I do miss is the documentaries and current affairs programs. And whenever I go to someone else's place where the TV is on, I'm transfixed, because there's all these funny ads I've never seen (that have been on for years!). heh!

*
Mable* - I love the photo of Monty! How did you come to be living in Mozambique?

*Alison* - good luck on the metformin! Hope it doesn't make you feel too revolting.

Hello also to *Kerry, Charley, Eve, Emma, Rach & Julie*...& others... I hope I haven't missed anybody out!

We're heading down to Hobart on Tuesday afternoon for a IVF work-up appt on Wednesday. I'm really excited and a bit nervous, it's all becoming a bit real and I think I'm also still bit sad we've had to come this far. All these contradictory emotions will be worth it for a BFP! We're staying in a cute B& B which I'm really looking forward to - we havn't been away togther for ages because of studying, and so it'll be a welcome break, even though it's only one night.

Love to you all and thinking of those who are going to go in the march sometime next month ( I think it's next month! ) I wish I could join you !!

Cheers from very far away, 
Tonia


----------



## duff

Hi Nismat, you asked about our treatment - we've been with The Bridge Centre clinic. I know lots of people have a good experience with the LWC but we started there and found them terrible! Their ethics committee wouldn't allow me to donate eggs to my gf! And yeah, who wants a brand new convertable mini anyway? 

Elur - I wonder if it isn't that you had too many follicles getting close to a viable size rather than one too big? Those little 'uns weren't_ that _ little and may well have had a growth spurt giving you potentially five eggs being released! Clinics only really do IUI with 2 or possibly 3 follicles just in case they all work. I had similar the cycle before last with 4 big follicles after clomid (I was kicking myself that we spent so much on IVF drugs a year ago and the wonder drug Clomid did nearly as good a job!). That cycle was abandoned and I was put on half a dose for the last cycle which produced a nice, even 2.


----------



## Elur

Hi All

Heather, glad to hear you are a little more healed... look after yourself.

Thanks Tonia & Duff for your responses. Basically I work back and forth between here and the US (which will not be lasting more than a couple more months!), therefore I have been trying to tie in a IUI with my US trips as they are less strict on the 2 - 3 follicle strategy there. And given that I turned 39 a few weeks ago, I need at least a few good follies to up my chances. The cycle I got pg in December I had 4 - 5 good follies and was pg with a singleton (m/c).
So, this time the RE thought there was little point in proceeding with only 1 follie which was already 16mm on CD 7 and was likely to ov early way before the others would have caught up. However I did have a sneaky u/s scan on CD 9 and one of the smaller ones had grown to 18mm, whereas the 16mm had decreased to 15mm.... weird.
Anyway, hope you are all doing well. I am planning 1 or max 2 more IUIs and will then do IVF in London either Lister or LWC.

Best to All


----------



## emma73

my goodness - so many long posts. 

I'm still here - and feeling fine. Am looking into Egg share at At cromwell in Darlington. They will treat me, have sperm and its a fraction of the price - IF they accept me. 

Otherwise its on to ebay to sell all my posessions to raise £3,750 - quite alot of money really! 

Havent got time for perosnals - Luke stirring - but just wanted to say that I hoe everything has settled down heather- how bloomin scary.

Will come back later when Luke alseep again, by the way - I think its great that some of you dont have tellys. I spend for too much time in  front of the tv every night!!

Love to all

EMma xx


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## nismat

Hi *Elur*, and welcome . That is so interesting hearing the real differences in treatment protocols with the US - in many ways I think it's a good thing that there's more regulation over here, but I'm sure that it does mean that it's harder to get pregnant when there are so many more restrictions over what is permissible. It would be very interesting to read some studies on the relationship between multiple follicles and singleton/multiple pregnancies, and just how much higher the risk is depending on the number of follies you produce. I hope that you are back on track to still get an IUI this cycle - every month counts as we get closer to the dreaded fertility-loss-40. BTW, if it comes to it, I think that the Lister is supposed to have better statistical success for IVF than LWC. The availability of donor sperm (or the lack of it) is a key decider at the moment though - it was the only reason why we stayed with LWC for the IVF.

*Tonia * - hope that your short trip & the IVF consult have gone well, and that the B&B proved a nice relaxing break. I'm feeling more level-headed again about the IVF, if surprisingly detached from the process. In some ways, because there are so many decisions to be made, and so much clinical/medical based stuff, it doesn't feel like it's something that's actually connected with my body or with baby-making! Que sera, sera is how I'm feeling at the moment - I certainly don't feel in control (which would normally freak me out in itself), but I'm actually fine with it - maybe the acupuncture and hypnotherapy are both helping with that.

*Duff * - I've heard lots of good things about the Bridge - and of many people who have moved there from LWC! I can't think of anyone I know who has been to LWC who is actually all that happy with the treatment they have received there (including us). We were going to change clinics for the IVF (to a local clinic in Colchester), but the donor sperm situation effectively scuppered that one. I quite like most of the staff at LWC, but it somehow doesn't have a very professional feeling about it - certainly doesn't inspire confidence in me anyway  Fingers crossed that the luck kicks in for us on this IVF cycle though.

*Emma * - glad you are feeling past the worst of the upset and are already looking into egg share - I hope that option works out for you. 

My treatment seems to be progressing OK. Had a blood test this morning and the clinic wants me to up my Puregon from 200iu to 250iu for tonight and tomorrow, then scan on Friday am and see where we go from there. I was expecting an increase, but being pessimistic, thought that it would need to be much more, so I'm actually quite pleased (although there's a niggling concern that maybe they are just being rather conservative with my dosage again......)


----------



## **Tashja**

Hi guys 

Sorry I haven't been on - I have been a bit poorly, poorly 

Will come on and do the lists tonight 

Hope you are all well.

T xx


----------



## Mable

Hi,
Just a quickie from me to say good luck to Tamsin's follies for stimming. I've been ill all week with a flu type thing and still feel quite wiped out.

Hope I don't give it to the boy, who is growing up so fast, is now making eye contact with us and doing little half smiles. Also little yelps of pleasure when looking towards the window.

Welcome to Elur and Duff.


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone

I think I've said hello to Duff but not to Elur yet so HELLO!, thanks for your good wishes. 

Get well soon Mable and Tashja.

Tonia - I am watching Australias next top model at the moment and was thinking of you as there is the woman from Hobart!!

Good luck Emma, there was a wonderful post from someone on FF who had entered loads of TV quiz shows to try to raise the money. I watched her on The Weakest Link and she won!!!  I would never have thought of that. We have borrowed and will be paying it offf or a long time. 

Tamsin     to you. Hope these follies growing big time. 

Gina - my mind is still on the plant watering thing!!! 

As for me had first part of nuchal scan on 28th May, Boom jumped, turned to the scanner, waved, was stomping his feet and boxing in the air with his hands. So the bleed has not harmed him. They now think I have a second sac so we have lost a twin sometime in the very early stages. That is why I have been cramping as the uterus is trying to miscarry the empty sac. They are not 100% sure, somehow it makes a lot of sense. Still feeling quite vulnerable, with the tail end of bleeding still going on, the cramps are easing a bit. Have been signed off for a further two weeks.  

 to everyone

Heather


----------



## nismat

Oh Heather, that must have been really odd to hear that there is a second sac in there - but wonderful for you to see that Boom is so obviously doing well. It makes a lot of sense with all the bleeding and other problems if Skip did at least briefly implant, but not develop properly. I hope that the cramping continues to ease off, and the bleeding, and that soon things start to feel more "normal" so that you can start to enjoy your pregnancy more. It's good to see Boom's ticker number edging ever upwards - and I hope that I can soon be adding a ticker to my signature!

It was my first scan today, after 6 days of stimms, and hoorah! I have actually responded to the drugs!!  There were definitely 5 follies of around 10-12mm each, and possibly one or two more, so there aren't a huge number but I don't care - I was so worried that I wasn't going to respond at all. I still think that I probably should have been on a higher dosage initially, because of course I know more than the doctors  I'm concentrating on quality rather than quantity, and hoping that there may turn out to be more than one egg in some follies. I feel a lot happier now; my dosage has been increased again to 300iu, and it's back in on Monday for another scan, when it will probably become clearer when egg collection is likely to be. Until then, I'm carrying on with the copious amounts of water and extra protein intake to grow good strong eggs. We haven't been given our donor choice yet, so they'd better get that sorted on Monday too. 
I went for another hypnotherapy session this afternoon, which has also made me feel really positive. I can finally start to imagine myself as being pregnant (which I've never been able to picture before), so I'm going to carry on thinking lots of positive thoughts. I felt so positive that I actually went and bought a babygro from John Lewis - pale yellow & white stripes with teddy bear faces on, very cute .

*Mable * & *Tashja*, hope you're both feeling better soon!


----------



## Tonia2

*Heather - * hope you're feeling a little better now, and the bleeding has settled completely. Like Tamsin said it must be a bit odd, but I'm really glad that little Boom is unaffected by it all! How did the model chick from Hobart go? We were down there on Tuesday, it was FREEZING...their coldest morning so far all year, apparently (it's winter here).  Brrr!
*
Tamsin * - yay for your follies!!  Well done! Good luck for your scan on Monday-I hope it's even more good news. I'm going to be starting the pill on the 20th June, then start sniffing Syneral (that's down regging, right?) on the 7th of July. Or was it the 14th... can't remember. can't wait to get started though... The babygro sounds cute! Similerly, I have a box of baby things I've bought in optimistic moments!

*Mable* Hope you're feeling better! Has Edith recovered ok from the birth?

love to all, 
Tonia


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## Alison0702

everyone

Havn't spoken to you all for ages..have been reading everyone's posts though!!!!!

Nothing happening for me at the mo, going to start my metformin on Tuesday, and going to Antigua at the end of June. Looking forward to the holiday I must say!

Heather - Hope your feelin ok, and that the cramps are getting a lot easier. 

Tamsin - Good luck for your scan tomorrow chuck! Go follies go! 

Tonia - No TV either?? Couldnt be without my tele. Currently watching dog borstal which is very educational for me, as we've recently had barkbusters out to tell me how to deal with my mad dog - who is now 6 but has always been a naughty thing! It has worked, and she's a sweetie now. Hope you and Bron are ok.

Emma - Are you local to Darlington? 

Tashja and Mable - Hope you are both feeling loads better

Hello Elur and Duff!

Take care all and speak soon
xxx


----------



## nismat

Couldn't resist doing a new egg-themed ticker this morning!   even if the ones on the ticker are all broken!  
All is going well for me; my 5 follies were still all there at yesterday's scan and growing well, so although no new ones have appeared (which I didn't really expect to happen) it's good because they are all pretty much the same size (varing between 13 and 16mm), so hopefully they should all contain mature eggs. I've got another scan tomorrow, and if they are around 18mm I'll then do my trigger injection in the evening and have egg collection on Friday morning - it seems to have come around so fast!   
I had weird broken dreams last night about egg collection; in some we were too late for our appointment, then I had one where they couldn't do the collection because they didn't have any scalpels to cut me open (which of course they don't even do   ). The best one was where we ended up with 2 eggs per follicle   And here I was thinking that I had no worries about egg collection! Actually, I'm still not worried about the procedure, just the being there on time thing (I won't know what time it will be until they book me in tomorrow). They start at 8.30am through to 11am - I hope we don't have to trek down and all the way across to West London for 8.30am, that would be a real bore. 

No other news for now!

Tamsin


----------



## Mable

Good luck to Tamsin for your eggs. 

Am on the mend, but Monty not sleeping (1 hour in total last night). Poor Edith is tearing her hair out.

Mable


----------



## duff

Hi Tamsin,

Good luck with the egg collection!  Your follicles sound very good to me.  I had egg collection done twice last year and really had no problem at all.  Believe me, I'm the biggest wimp when it comes to anything internal  but it's a fine cocktail of drugs they give you.  My partner was quite distressed watching the procedure but I didn't feel a thing.  If I had to do it again, I'd do it at the drop of a hat.  

Expect to be totally useless for the rest of the day and into the following day.  Both times I lay on the sofa and watched films in the evening afterwards.  I know I saw Chicago but I couldn't tell you a thing about it!  Oh, and you'll need good snacks to help you recouperate.  I'd recommend a trip to M&S to stock up!


----------



## nismat

Duff - thanks for the M&S stocking up tip - sounds like a very good plan (and I can get some of Heather's fave choc brazils for the 2ww )

Well, EC is definitely on Friday, at 10am (although we've got to be at the hospital by 8.30am - that's going to be a very early start from Colchester!). Another follicle mysteriously "appeared" at the scan this morning, making a total of 6 (I _thought _ I had seen 4 on the LHS at my first scan, but the sonographer said just 3 ) and they are all of very similar size, between 18 and 20mm which is perfect. So I'm feeling really positive about that side of things. Sadly though, it seems that the Cromwell don't allow partners to come into theatre with you for egg collection. I would have liked Karen to be there, and she's really disappointed about it. We're going to ask again on the day, but apparently it's standard procedure there. Ditto for embryo transfer  

Right, got to detach myself from the computer and go off to my acupuncture appointment.

Tx


----------



## Alison0702

Tamsin - Get you with your huge follies! All the best for Friday. Will be thinking of you  

                         
Alison


----------



## starrysky

Hi everyone,

Tamsin - We are both very excited for you & will be thinking of you on Friday morning.  Definitely stock up on the Brazils & I can also recommend the M&S pineapple juice with lime (it is pressed not concentrate, which apparently is important), I'm still having both every day!  

Mable - hope things have settled & you are all getting more sleep now.  

Tonia - Hobart girl is still in & a fave for me & Jo.    

Alison - You must be really looking forward to going to Antigua.  

Hello to everyone else.

We had another scare yesterday, more bleeding!    Not as much as last time, off for a scan later this morning.  Feeling reasonably calm, its amazing what you can get used to.  Everyone send us positive vibes please.   Will post later.

Heather.


----------



## irisbea

tamsin, hope all went well today

heather hope everythings ok fingers crossed for you.

My last iui didnt work so im onto my next, 2 follicles this time and really good sperm, 95 % motility, honestly i feel like a wine expert when they give me all this info and show me the stuff like im suposed to say vey nice or something. 

Im so hoping this does it, if not they advised a laproscppy to remove a chocolate cyst on the left and then IVF. I contacted the bridge re the HIV ( using a gay positive friend as donor)withhout actually saying yes) so if this doesnt work we ( all 3 of us) are going to meet with them.

doing lots of positive thinking though (am imagining twins!)

jo


----------



## Alison0702

everyone

Heather - How was your scan this morning chuck? I'm glad you are feeling calm though, cos getting completely streessed about things wasn't helping you at all. Let us know how it goes.

                   



I started Metformin on Tuesday and have felt remarkebly ok. Well, didnt eat anything yesterday and was up at 4 with bad belly but nothing major. How long did it take for the tablets to kick in for you? 
I hope I'm ok for my hols, as I want to enjoy it rather than have my head down the pan.     

Irisbea - Good luck this time round!  

The weather is gorgeous in Newcastle which makes a change! Taken the rest of the week off so I can lie around and do nothing!

Bye for now


----------



## Mable

Nearly in the safe zone Heather - then you can relax! Good luck to you.

  to Tamsin for some lovely eggs.

Funny to think Monty started out as an egg in a petri dish. He gave me some lovely smiles and happy leg kicks this morning, having kept us up all night again!


----------



## nismat

The sleep deprivation sounds like NO FUN *Mable * - but I can't help but hope that one of my petri dish eggs becomes something as wonderful as Monty .

*Heather*, sorry to hear of yet more bleeding - I hope that you had another successful and reassuring scan seeing Boom in action.



irisbea said:


> honestly i feel like a wine expert when they give me all this info and show me the stuff like im suposed to say vey nice or something.


This made me laugh *Jo *  Good luck for your 2ww - sounds like you're in with a good chance of it working 

Have been to M&S to stock up on food so that we don't have to do anything much for the next few days but relax, but I completely forgot about the chocolate brazils! Will just have to make do with my Crazy Jack organic ones, which I think are pretty yummy anyway. Karen will be amazed to see the fridge when she gets home tonight - I always grumble about buying ready-prepared food normally 

Will let you all know how many eggs we got - am starting to get slightly nervous now, but not in a really bad way, just anticipation.

Tx


----------



## starrysky

Hi all,

Update on us:  Boom is fine, active as ever.  That's the good news.  The bad news is: Had our Nuchal whilst we were there & it has come out as very high risk.  We are off to see consultant on Monday & will think about it more then.  We have always been open to ther idea of a child with disabilities but we are more worried about the potential for serious health problems.

Mable - We are going to celebrate regardless the move into the 2nd Trimester.

Jo - Great news about your vintage wine!!        As horrible as today has been, that quite cheered me up.

Alison - I would say it took about 3weeks for my system to settle down with the Metformin & then occaissionally it would just kick off again for no apparent reason.  Hope the weather lasts all weekend.

Tamsin - Hi & fingers still crossed for tomorrow.

More news Monday.

Heather.


----------



## Mable

Hi,
Good luck to Tamsin    Thinking of you and your lovely eggs.  

Oh Heather, what a rough ride you have having. Is it any consolation to say that they can get these things wrong. Not sure what odds they gave you but the whole thing is quite a lot of guess work. Boom is so lucky that you feel positive about him/her with or without disabilities - hopefully they can let you know a little clearer what you are dealing with in order to prepare.

Good luck everyone and enjoy the weekend. Thank goodness for the Big Brother live feed in the middle of the night - we get to watch people sleeping on tv.
Mable
ps Edith is 38 today, sure she won't mind me sharing that.


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## starrysky

Happy Birthday Edith      
Lets hope Monty gies the gift of a wonderful nights sleep!!  Jo says have you tried baby massage with lavender?

   to Tamsin    

Love Heather.


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## Mable

I smother him in lavender cream, he smells like an old lady. Doesn't stop the screams thou... 

We now have baby gaviscon for his reflux and the puking is improved. Hopefully this should encourage him to lie down on his back again rather than being held upright all night.

     Tamsin


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## Alison0702

Good luck Tamsin, thinking of you  

Heather - Like Mable said, they can get these things wrong, but Boom is very lucky to have such positive parents regardless of the outcome.  

Happy Birthday Edith - hope you have a good one!   
............ and a good night sleep for the both of you 

Have a good weekend


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## nismat

Very quick update from me: egg collection went really well this morning - don't remember a thing about it 
We got 5 eggs, and the lab just called to say that the sperm sample was a really good one, so they've done IVF rather than ICSI, which has saved us £500 - hurrah! Now we've just got to wait for tomorrow's call about fertilisation 

*Heather * - sending hugs to you & Jo re: the high risk nuchal scan result . Does it just relate to Down's syndrome or it it other physical disabilities as well? I hope that the consultation on Monday gives you more concrete information to work from.

And happy birthday to *Edith *   

Going to go and rest in the hammock now!


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## **Tashja**

NEW HOME ...... http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,60007.0.html

T xx


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