we are home....

We are back!!! Woo hoo! Although I hate to leave India during Diwalli (big festival; lots of partying and gift giving...beautiful lights and fireworks)..I was glad to come home...I missed my children and dogs desperately...(and my bed!)..Before we left we did get to have dinner with Stacey and Lee one night and Gene and I had a fish pedi spa...later when I'm not tired I will update with pics...it was creepily wonderful...they eat off of the dead skin on your feet... basically you dunk your feet in a big aquarium for about 30 minutes.....it just freaked me out when I looked down and my feet were covered in fish....as long as i didn't look I did okay...I missed Bec after she left I needed her there to initiate my sightseeing excursions...gene and I just hung out and watched tv primarily after she left...we were planning on going to taj mahal but were too lazy!! isn't that terrible!!! Poor Gene works 28 out of 30 days a month so I must say he deserved some rest!!!! Overall, it was a great trip...the only thing that would make it better is if we get a BFP in two weeks....we made some new friends and have found a wonderful physician...we are very blessed.....The best part is that if we all have bfp we would all be back for baby pick up around the same time..except for stacey and lee who are on twin baby pickup...for some reason couldn't talk them in to getting on the same schedule as the rest of us with a sibling project...lol....keep us in your thoughts and prayers....

I have no idea what day it is.....

Well, let me catch you up to speed...I tracked Gene's flight...I gave myself trigger shot as soon as I saw his plane was in the air...isn't the internet the bomb???  He got here Thursday night...we had the egg retrieval  and his contribution around 5:00pm and then we waited.....I must give Dr. Shivani credit...there was no comparison with this retrieval vs the mumbai one...I have not taken a single pain pill...I have felt very good....we have went sight seeing....met friends for dinner....Anyway, as you know I had 4-5 follicles prior retrieval...they retrieved 4 eggs..one was immature...3 fertilized...two grade 1 and one grade 2...we are using two surrogates...the embryo transfer was today...now we are in the two week wait..oh, did I mention that we met our surrogates and I was a giant compared to them?? They do not speak english so we had an interpreter...not much was said but they looked terrified!! I wanted to hug them but I was scared they would break!!! lol...they are young..early twenties....cute girls...I hope we didn't make them too nervous!!keep us in your thoughts and prayers....and pray for a BFP!!! (big fat positive)

Day 7-the race is on....

Okay...I am right on schedule...or shall I say...ahead of schedule...my follies are at 20 and I need to take my trigger shot...problem is...gene hasn't left yet...he is in the airport awaiting his flight....21 hr in all...trigger shot is 36 hrs before egg retrieval...his plane to india is supposed to leave 10 minutes after my trigger shot is due...yikes!! I am going to put it off for 30 minutes and check the airlines to see if the flight is en route...omg...this is cutting it way too close...if i take it and the plane ends up not leaving the runway...all is in vain..if i don't take it i can suppress ovulation but my eggs have better chance if we do it sooner than later...quality can be decreased the longer they sit after follicles are mature....geez...nothing like a little stress....actually, this chaos is a good sign...this is how we roll...and in the end, it all works out.......

Day 6-shots, scans and elephants

Well, peeps, I am a little better today....my labwork was "ok" and my scan showed another follicle trying to get in the race, so keep your fingers crossed....we need all of the contenders we can get....my follicles continue to grow...my lead follicle is almost 18mm..yikes!! it needs to slow down just a tiny bit...Gene's 21 hour flight doesn't leave until tomorrow...he will be here thursday 8:15pm delhi time....but the tricky part is i have to have a trigger shot 36 hours prior to egg retrieval to induce ovulation...so, what happens if i trigger and his flight is canceled or delayed??? OMG...I don't want to even think about it...we were not anticipating me responding so well this time..or so fast...geez....i guess it is true what they say, every cycle is different....anyway, after dropping off my meds at the hotel, Bec and I headed to yet another market (we asked Rahul to walk with us as this one made us a bit nervous...we did not stay long)..we then headed to a temple but en route rahul asked us if we would like to ride an elephant...of course we both said yes, heavy ovaries, bloated bellies and all....let me tell you; it is a wee bit more frightening than it looks! all I could imagine was the "saddle seat" that was tied on with a rope; getting loose and us being upside down under its belly!  Then a pack of dogs started following us and I got worried about a stampeded, but that was all in vain as we had an uneventful trip overall...that is until we paid the man...apparently he thought his elephant ride was worth more that usual...so, we followed Rahul's lead and made a run for the car!!! We finally made it to the temple and it was gorgeous!!! Marble intricately carved everywhere, statues encrusted with gold....beautiful, simply beautiful.....of course I don't know how to spell the name of it and they didn't allow any pictures inside the gates...but, mind you, they do not play around at that temple...they have seperate lines for the ladies and the men...and let me put it this way, they do a very thorough job of frisking you before you enter the temple....and that is all i'm going to say about that....I did want to add a thank you to everyone that has been kind enough to post on my blog, especially yesterday when I was down...for some reason I can't post a comment on my own blog...i must not have the settings right, lol...anyway, i appreciate your thoughts and prayers; you don't know how much your comments mean to me....they do lift me up; please keep them coming!!!  take care, need to rest now...my follies have a big show tomorrow so they need their rest....rene'

Nice elephant!!



Woo hoo! Here we go!!!!



Day 5 - only 4 follicles

Well, for the first  time I don't feel like blogging...I don't want to talk about it...I don't want to say it out loud...but, if I did that the purpose of this blog would be jeopordized...i write this to help other couples that are faced with infertility......to say that I am bummed is an understatement......i run the statistics and don't like what i see....normal fertilization rate is 75%...not every follicle always has an egg (remember last time i had 16 follicles and they only got 4 eggs) due to my age quality is likely low....blah, blah blah....of course, all of this I already knew except for the number 4....basically, I need to remain stress free (yeah right!) and pray really hard....ok, I can do that....well, at least the praying part....I have been working on the stress part...a massage, a pedicure...got a hair appointment....i just need to keep busy....maybe I should take Bec's approach...just pretend i'm on holiday....oh, I did forget to mention another issue...this time i'm responding too fast...im 3 days ahead of schedule...and gene will not arrive until late thursday night!! Yikes!! Dr. Shivani is going to try to slow it down...will likely do egg retrieval on friday!!!  Last time they had to really crank up the meds but this time I'm taking less and going faster...go figure...but the problem is if you go too fast then your eggs dont mature properly and they don't fertilize...yeah...something else to worry about....I guess I will take it one day at a time...at least she is not making me take that painful im injection like last time...so far, only subcutaneous (in my belly fat!)...that is a plus for having a chunky tummy....makes the injections much easier....ok..my pity part is over and I guess i will get ready for tomorrow...of course, Dr. Shivani only counts the "good follicles" ; she said there are a few more but they are not big enough...can't wait to see what kind of mischief my follicles get into tonight!!  rene'

Day 4 shots/relaxation

It was decided that today should be a day of rest, it is sunday after all...so, after breakfast and shots went to the. top of the hotel for a swim...it was lovely....if I closed my eyes I could pretend I was on vaction and not a human pin cushion over 15,000 miles away from my family.....I miss my family....I can't wait until Gene gets here Thursday....of course by that time my ovaries will probably be huge and painful and I won't feel like doing anything and he will be ready to go sightseeing, I'm sure!!! I have found him 3 places to buy mocha so maybe that will make it up to him...I can't remember finding a place at Mumbai that served mochas...that is his addiction; mine is diet dr pepper and I'm afraid that is nowhere to be found in India that I know of...But, i always look; you know, just in case....Bec and I went to an awesome Italian restaraunt tonight...they had mochas and beef...woo hoo!! Almost felt like home.....I can't wait to take Gene there....My internet was down for quite a long time earlier....and that was not a good feeling.....the IT guy from Svelte came up to check the computer and he appeared to be scared to enter my room...apparently bec and I are intimidating to some men...lol...oh, I wanted to mention the two things that happened on this trip that caused me great anxiety...1st, I was in the elevator...the lights went out and it started crashing toward the ground with an Indian family screaming the whole time (apparently a brief blackout..didn't last but a couple of minutes), and 2nd, the lights in my room seem to pop on in the middle of the night....scares the crap out of me...(apparently safety feature after yet another blackout-which is much better than an intruder, I must say). Anyway, tomorrow is the big day...a new shot and ultrasound and lab....hopefully all will go well...

Day 3 shots, shopping and new friends

This is the outside of Svelte...did I mention it sits on top of a mall???

Inside shot of Select Citywalk mall

security outside of our hotel

Today was pretty uneventful as far as medical issues. I shot myself twice and then proceded to work on some of my laundry.  After Bec got back from her appointment we ventured out on foot and went to the mall and she introduced me to the world of massage...Bad, bad girl....I am hooked...she is to blame for my new addiction....as you can see, I am roughing it in this third world country....After our massage and brief shopping, we met up with SCI liason Meg, her husband Bob and their beautiful son Toby for drinks....of course, Bec and I were limited to just one...but still, good times were had by all. It was great to finally meet one of the people instrumental in us choosing Dr. Shivani. We have been very pleased so far. I continue to be impressed by Dr. Shivani and her staff daily.  I hope that we can get together with Meg and her family again before they have to leave Dehli. I will include some night shots outside our hotel but they did not turn out very well. Maybe you can still get the general idea.  So far, no plans for tomorrow. Monday will be the exciting day. I will get the painful, as Bec says, "Bum" shot added to my regime and some labwork and maybe an ultrasound, too. We also are going to try to see the accupuncturist as well. We did call to set up an appointment but for some reason, they were unable to understand us on the telephone.....FYI, don't ever use the word "box"  or "rooting" in a sentence when talking with an australian...apparently they have different meanings over there than in the usa...trust me...been there, done that...in fact, they can be offensive....hmm..who knew???

Bob, Meg, and Toby

directly across from our hotel....

Day 2 shots and shopping

Wating in the lobby for our car to arrive.....

I gave myself my injections today and didn't see Dr. Shivani. I will go back to clinic on the 17th for an estradiol level and i'm hoping an ultrasound. I'm taking 400 iu of gonal f daily and I withdraw this from a 300 gonal f pen and withdraw the excess into an insulin syringe which results in 400....i do appreciate the frugality of Dr. Shivani as I would have simply just paid for a 400 gonal f pen and used the included needle..cost goes up significantly with each dosage increase...i was freaked out at about 2 am when I realized I had 300 gonal f instead of 400; i emailed Dr. Shivani and she immediately emailed me back explaining why I had the 300 dose pens...wow! When does she sleep?? She was very nice and explained to withdraw the excess and even offered to pay for a taxi for me to come back to clinic for another demonstration if I didn't understand.... I have started to have a little fullness in my ovary/abdomen area and a little lower back discomfort and some breast tenderness...I hope that is a good sign!! I don't remember having any symptoms this early last stimulation as I was a slow responder in that one!!!

In the afternoon, Bec and I went shopping to some local markets...I loved them!! Got to haggle a little and I finally bought a sari!! Maybe I should wear it to the airport to meet Gene next week....lol....also bought some good luck elephant/stuff...would be cute to decorate a nursery with...just saying!!!!  (Especially since it is illegal in India to find out the sex of the baby...indian elephants go with boys and girls!!! 

Watching him pack up my new sari!!!

  Was going to order room service but decided I would rather have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich....so bec and I headed to the market for a few groceries....then back to the hotel for a little rest..after all, my eggies need to be pampered!!!

Let the shots begin!!!

Started my injections today.....2 in the abdomen...not so bad....growth hormone and 400 of gonal F daily until I go back in 4 days....then an estriadiol level and any necessary adjustments or addition to the meds...Oh, the jet lag....i'm awake when I should be asleep and asleep when I should be awake...but, I did get the biggest box of meds as compared to bec's....she was jealous I could tell, lol....wanted to do a bit of shopping but decided I was too tired......we also went to lotus temple...it was pleasant...had to remove my shoes though and I did not care for that...all i could think of was the number of bacteria and parasites I could acquire through my feet...a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!!! I will attempt to upload some photos later...I'm not very computer saavy so I can't make any promises!! The bargain of the day was a personal pan pizza, lemonade, garlic bread and piece of chocolate cake for 220 rupees...(about $2.50)...it was delicious!!! Think I will nap for a bit....Rene'

I made it!!! Look out Dehli!!

It's official...I have arrived...last night at 8:15pm to be exact...pretty uneventful flights...about 20 minutes before boarding at each connection ( i had 3)...of course there was an irate passenger on  my newark-dehli flight and I was hoping to see a air marshall in action but to no avail...i had the video camera ready and everything...everything went smooth..i enjoyed continental much better than air france...the seats seemed more comfortable and a little bigger...bec and rahul met me at the airport...somehow i missed customs totally and popped outside where the taxis were...i totally missed bec and rahul...they had a sign and everything!!!but i called rahuls cell and they were right behind me...apparently I'm a much better solo international traveler than I gave myself credit for...it was great to meet Bec...I'm so thankful she is here with me! Although it is my first time in Dehli it feels familiar and comfortable...very similar to mumbai except not so crowded and the streets and traffic so far has been much better!  After breakfast and a swim and a brief tour of the mall, I went to isis for my appointment. Dr.Shivani was so nice and even prettier in person!! They drew some labwork and my ultrasound showed a AFC of 7 (in mumbai it was 9 on baseline)...but that's much better than the one in Jackson that showed 4!!!  Of course, I still wish I had the October 2010 AFC as it was 17...I will go back tomorrow to go over labwork and start my injections!! She wants to check my hormone levels before starting...I am glad of that, but...I always dread the results...I'm not used to failing tests, remember??  I must give the bathroom at Isis a thumbs up as well..remember the "hole" experience at Rotunda....Overall a positive experience so far, except that I miss my family terribly...we did get to skype last night but sometimes that just makes me miss them more....but I am so thankful for technology right now!!I'm having some jet lag....got to get on dehli time soon so I can enjoy the sights!!!  Rene'

omg...it's about time...

I can't believe that monday I will flying on the big bird...alone...omg...i don't even go to the mall alone...what was I thinking? lol....of course, gene will join me at some point.....I'm just having a minor nervous breakdown...how will he and the kids make it without me? Or worse yet, what if they make it better without me??? Ugh...I'm not sure I thought this through...i was much braver when it wasn't so close....I'm not ready...but, ready or not, Dehli here I come...At least Bec will be there and we will finally get to meet...of course, I will be looking forward to downsizing on the vitamin regime...you would not believe the pills i've been popping...it's funny the things you do to have a baby.....lol....im planning on continuing the accupuncture while in India...that should be interesting....well, better go, havent even packed yet....Rene'