Christmas is over!

I survived the house invasion and making dinner for 13 people!  Mom, dad, and Grandma left yesterday, so all that is left is to take down the tree and do a tun of laundry.  I did finally get my hair cut.  It was way to long.  When I start sitting on my hair I know it is time to cut it.  The guy put layers into it, when I specifically asked him not to do that.  grrr.  After 8 years of living in the area I still have yet to find a hair dresser that I like and who will listen to me!  J keeps reassuring me that it is okay.  I just HATE layers!  Photo will come later...

Yesterday

We spent 6 hours shoveling our driveway!

Dante loved the snow and bounded through it as we shoveled away.

He looked like a rabbit!

When he was done he was covered in mini-snowballs that prevented him from seeing. We had to give him a bath to get them all off!

Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies Recipe

Courtesy: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Chocolate-Chip-Butter-Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
  

Directions

• Melt butter in a microwave or double boiler; stir in vanilla. Cool completely. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar; stir in butter mixture and chocolate chips (mixture will be crumbly).
• Shape into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; flatten slightly. Bake at 375° for 12 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool on wire racks. Yield: about 4 dozen.

Dante in the snow...

Snow and cooking...

We are getting a big snow storm so I am cooking...
First up Chocolate Espresso Shortbread cookies...
Courtesy: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/12/espresso-chocolate-shortbread-cookies/ 
Makes 32 cookies
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (plain, or a toffee variety), finely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.
2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.
3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.
4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.
7. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

Next up Stew...
(Courtesy of the food network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/old-time-beef-stew-recipe/index.html)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds stew beef
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

New Plan...

This is the space I am using to work on my new fertillity plan. 

Goal: exercise 2-3 times a week
Monday: Yoga 30 min; walk for 30 min
Tuesday: Rest
Wed: Yoga 30 min; walk for 30 min
Thursday: Rest
Friday: yoga 30 min; walk for 30 min
Sat: Rest
Sun: Rest
___________________
Eat better:
Goal: Balance protiens and carbs
Breakfast (smoothie, oatmeal, eggs)
Lunch (salad w/ meat, sandwich wrap, soup)
Dinner (grilled meats, nut encrusted meats, stir fry, crock pots, pot pies, meat loaf, wraps)
_______________________
Joy Journal
Record daily efforts to meet goals.
___________________
Rules: no alcohol, caffeine

Going to start this on Monday. 

Happiness

I realized last night, as I was baking cookies, that I love my life.  I love my husband and the journey it took to find him.  I love our house and our dog and and truly hopeful that one day we will be able to expand our family with kinds of our own.  I know I have been obsessed with TTC and now I think I need to stop the obsession and step back and let things go as they should. 

We had family over yesterday to put up and get the tree.  J was talking with his mom and the Thanksgiving drama was brought up.  I mentioned how I was hurt by the comment that J's dad made in front of everyone.  J talked to his dad about it and it became a bit heated between them.  As much as I don't want to be caught in between father/son relationships, a part of me melted when J said that if his dad is not willing to respect his family and his wife he is not allowed in the house.  I melted b/c it means the world to me to know that I mean so much to him.  He means the world to me.  So I need to stop the obsession and focus on the here and now with my wonderful husband.  That just might be my New Year's Resolution- stop the TTC obsession and refocus that energy!

Natural Ways to Improve your Fertiity

This is something that I have recently been looking into.  Not sure what I think about it, but I do know there is something to it.  My mom was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at a very early age and all the doctors said there was no hope for her.  She looked into the homeopathic stuff and was able to put her arthritis into remission- which shocked the doctors.

So this is what I found:

It is especially important to include certain vitamins and minerals in your diet. Try to include:

• Vitamin C and Antioxidants: these vitamins prevent sperm defects and boost sperm motility. They also reduce stress on your eggs and reproductive organs.
• Zinc: zinc deficiencies have been linked with reduced testosterone and semen levels.
• Calcium and Vitamin D: A daily, therapeutic dose of these nutrients have been shown to help increase male fertility.

Certain foods and chemicals should be avoided if you are having troubles becoming pregnant. Cut back on:

• Alcohol: alcohol can reduce your fertility levels by up to 50%. It can also decrease sperm count and increase the production of abnormal sperm.
• Caffeine: caffeine, found in coffee, teas, cola, and chocolate, has been shown to reduce both male and female fertility levels. As little as one cup of coffee a day can cut your chances of conception in half.
• Xenoestrogens: xenoestrogens are estrogens found in environmental chemicals and pesticides. Produce and other foods can have high levels of xenoestrogens, which, if ingested, may disturb your balance of hormones. Imbalaced hormones are often the cause of fertility issues.

Source: http://www.epigee.org/guide/infert.html

I am going to try it for the next IUI cycle.  What could it hurt? 

I has a sad.

An in-real-life friend just finished her 3rd IVF cycle and got a BFN.  Why, or why can we not get working bodies?  I wanted her to get a BFP so much more thatn me.  We will be going through the same thing again next cycle (Jan) ... she will do one more round of IVF, while I will do my second round of IUI.  Infertility sucks.  Big time!

On break

This cycle I am not doing ANYTHING to try to concieve.  Not going to think about it....(which is hard, especially this time of year when I see children and a part of my heart breaks, b/c I want one with J soooo badly).  I usally read a blog about TTC stuff, but am not going to do it this month.  I need to stop the obsession.  I think a strict, forced break is just what my soul needs at the moment. 

Today was our holiday work party.  We go to a Chineese food place for a "lunch".  It is really kind of silly, but they have a drawing for prizes.  There were 9 prizes this year and I "won" a free day off of work.  I'll use it one way or another.  I had the option of changing for something else, but opted not too and am glad I didn't do it.  A day off will work for me and I won't get taxed on it like you will with the other "prizes". 

The misadventures of our oven

Last Christmas our oven went out.  We were hosting Christmas dinner, so I basically baked everything in the toaster oven.  It sucked!  So my parents decided to give us a great gift that year and it was a brand new oven(!!!).  We shopped and  found one I loved at Sears.  It is a gas convection oven.  Well come Easter the oven literally flips out and would turn on then off!  I was hosting an Easter brunch so it chooses that time to go crazy on me.  Well, we call, find out that a part has been recalled on it and get it repaired.  2 months later it happens again.  We go through the same process again.  Aaaand then it happens again. And again.  Which brings us to today.  We have not received the part that was recalled (AGAIN!) but both me and my husband get a call from the repair man who wants to put the missing part in our oven.  Usually we call them to schedule the apt when we get the part.  Turns out they think the part was delivered and it wasn't so now they are re-ordering the part and we will call them when it is delivered.  Man, I hope this happens BEFORE Christmas as I don't want to be making another Christmas dinner in the toaster oven! 
:faceplant:

Aaand it is official... BFN!

At least I don't have to take the progesterone any more!  We will most likely try again in January as there are no benefits to doing IUI's back to back and we will have a house full of people at Christmas. For the next IUI cycle they are going to have me do the Gonal F injections way earlier and do it twice before coming in for a monitoring apt.  All I can say right now is infertility sucks.  

13 DPIUI and BFN!

I officially go for a blood draw on Wed., but it doesn't look like this IUI worked.  I am on the fence about doing this for Dec, as we are going to have a house full of family, but also wonder if it will help in that I did take drugs last month and they could build up for the next month.

I am tired of all this Infertility crap.  We conceived once, how come we cannot conceive again????

FML.

IUI the procedure

I went in on Wed to do the IUI.  J dropped off the sperm at 8 am and we went in at 9:45am for the procedure.  His numbers where good.. 87 million sperm pre-wash and 13 million post wash.  According to my online research:

" A count above one million washed appears necessary for success, with a significant reduction in pregnancy rates when the inseminated is count is lower than 5-10 million (in other words, in most cases one should consider 5 million a lower limit for success, 10 million for cost-effective). Higher success rates are with washed counts over 20-30 million, while increasing counts over 50 million did not appear to offer advantage." Source: http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/iui.html

 I only had one follie on the right side that matured to 20.  That means our chance for a successful pregnancy is lowered to 6%. 

" Searching through about a dozen medical journal articles and a number of web sites resulted in a rather wide range of statistics. Basically the odds of success are reported to be just under 6 percent and as high as 26 percent per cycle. The low statistics are with one follicle, while multiple follicles resulted in as high 26 percent success. Another influencing factor is sperm count. Higher sperm counts increase the odds of success; however, there was little difference between success with good-average counts and those with high counts. The overall success rate seems to be between 15-20 percent per cycle, judging from the articles which will be abstracted below. The rate of multiple gestation pregnancies is 23-30 percent.

According to different studies, either 3-4 follicles gives one the best chance of getting pregnant, while more follicles beyond that simply increases the risk of multiples. The U.S. study said 4 follicles, while other countries have data stating 3. The U.S. has a higher rate of multiple births, so 3 may be more likely to be the correct answer." Source: http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/iui.html

So now I wait until Dec 2, 2009 where they will draw my blood to see if I am pregnant or not. 

IUI: The process so far

Over the weekend we drove all the way to Rockville for the monitoring appointments.  My follies decided to take their own sweet time in developing.  I had 4- 2 on the right and 2 on the left side.  On the Right side there was a 16mm follie and a 10mm follie.  My estrogen was at about 190.  On the left was two 10mm follies.  They had me do another injection of FSH (Gonal-F) and I had to come back on Sunday.  On Sunday I had 17mm follie and they did not tell me the sizes of the other two.  My estrogen was over 280.  They wanted me to do another FSH injection but I was out of Gonal-F and no one in the SGFC office bothered to mention that we might need this while we where there!  I had to drive all the way back to Rockville to get it.  I was not happy about it and they got a piece of my mind about it. 

So that brings us to today.  I went in and my big follie measured 18.2 and one on the left measured 12.  My estrogen level was 560.  They want the estrogen to be over 200 and the follie over 18 before you trigger.  I will be triggering tonight.  That means we are all set to do the IUI on Wed.  They kept reassuring me that I can get pregnant with only one follie.  I hope that works!!! 

I cannot help but not be oh so hopeful for this cycle because they had such issues getting my follies to grow and be the right size.  I don't know why my body does not want to work the way it should with all these fertility meds.  It gets frustrating!

As a side note, though, J is getting good practice at injecting me with the meds.

IUI

Last night a dear friend came by and gave me my pampered chef stuff.  I was happy about that, but as always happens we started discussing infertility stuff.  I cannot tell you how nice it is to have a really good in-real-life friend to share these struggles with.  They are going through their 3rd IVF cycle and will be testing at the same time we will with our first IUI cycle.  I shared the IUI protocol with her.  She was amazed at how involved it is.  She underwent IUI 4 years ago and it was much less involved.  In a weird way, I don't know if this makes me feel better or not.  I am scared we are going to end up with a litter.  J does not seem to mind as long as we have healthy kids... eeek.  It would be just my luck to end up with a litter.  8-|  All the freak medical things seem to always happen to me.

Great response against the NY Times infertility series

This was one of the best responses I have seen to Stephanie Saul's bad articles about infertility.  I can only hope the NY times will pick it up as an editorial. 

Counting Chickens!

I guess I counted my chickens before the eggs hatched... I just got a call from Shady Grove, my authorization has been approved!!!!!!!  Wooo hooo! this means that I can start IUI in November!  We have been approved for 6 cycles of IUI!  HOPEFULLY this works!  I am going to call them now to see about ordering the meds and getting geared up for the IUI in November. 

Sick again!

I don't know what is wrong, but I hope I don't have the flu.  I've got a sore throat and a bad stomach ach and feel like I just want to throw up.  I hate being sick and not feeling well.  I am not a good sicky by any means.  All I have to say is yuck!

In other news, I am still waiting on the insurance authorization.  Sigh.  I wish it would just come in so we can finally move on to IUI.   

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on the world- Anonymous

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day was created to promote, support, educate and provide awareness for grieving parents nationwide (and worldwide).  Too many families grieve in silence, sometimes never coming to terms with their loss. Our goal is to help others relate to our loss, know what to say, do or not say, not do and to help families live with their loss, not "get over" their loss.

Did you know:

• 983,000 babies died in 1996, from miscarriage and stillbirth.
• In 1995, 15.7% of pregnancies ended in fetal demise, miscarriage or stillbirth.
• Those figures don't include neonatal loss, SIDS, or other causes.*
  

*According to The Center for Disease Control Trends in Pregnancies and Pregnancy Rates by Outcome Vital Health Stat (21)56 done in January 2000

More information about today can be found here: http://www.october15th.com/

You all know someone who is missing their angel and if you don't think you do, you do now. Unfortunately J and I have suffered a miscarriage.  We miscarried during the 11 week.  The baby only measured 8 weeks and 5 days.  We saw the heartbeat during our first ultrasound (156 bpm) and all looked great, until it ended in January of 2008.    We will never just "get over" our loss.  How can you "get over" something that you loved before you ever knew it?  We will, however, move on, though and not let our loss define who we are.  I really hate how there seems to be a stigma with pregnancy loss.  I feel we should talk about it more and not hide behind the fact that it happened.

I am sending all the love, thoughts and prayers out there to all the people who are like me, and who have suffered losses.

NY Times Infertility "series"

This is a new "series" on the NY Times.  They are exploring infertility and it's price.  I think it is spurred on by all the Octomom and Jon and Kate over-hyped stuff.  I did not know if anyone had seen this series or not.  The two articles I saw are:

• The Gift of Life and It's Price
• Grievous Choice on Risky Path to Parenthood

IMHO, I am a offended by the articles as they portray only the negative side (high costs, health problems) of infertility.  I wish they would portray some positive sides (those who have happy health children) of infertility.  No one asks to be infertile and go through all this stuff just to have a family.  Where are the stories on those of us that are going through the heart ache of infertility to get a family?  The media has no clue about us.  It breaks my heart. 

Bye Bye accupuncture

I cancilled the apt for today.  I am no longer going to be doint accupuncture.  In a way I feel like a small weight has been lifted.  I am going to need to start fertillity yoga soon for the relaxation aspect.

IUI will be in November

So it looks like the insurance authorization has not come in yet.  That means we will be doing our IUI in November.  I made Jason promise that he has to be around for it.  That means if he goes out of town for work he needs to come back to do his thing so we can hopefully make a baby.

All I have to say right now is that this TTC business gets so old so fast- especially when you deal with insurance companies!

In other notes, I think I am going to stop acupuncture as nothing has been happening b/c of it and I am getting tired of wasting the money.   

It looks like we will be doing two different injections for the IUI.  We will do a FSH injection that should help stimulate the follicles growth and then we will do a trigger on CD11.  I now need to call the OB and remind them to fax over the information that they needed to fax over.

Le sigh!

On to the next cycle...

Today is 12 DPO in my cycle.  I started spotting.  This means AF is just around the corner.  I guess we are now on to the next cycle.  That means I will be "good".  No more alcohol.  I will do fertillity yoga for 2-3 days a week. 

I am hopefull that the authorization came through and we can start the IUI this cycle.  I guess we will find out tomorrow as we take our injection class training. 

le sigh!

I am a bitter b!tch

I am bitter b/c  everyone of my IRL friends ute seems to be working right now and mine isn't.  It is making me so bitter.  Don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone else's baby, just mine and DH's, but I am very afraid we will never get pregnant again- I just don't understand how we could get pregnant once without even trying and now we can't get pregnant at all! 

Another friend emailed me last night to tell me that she is 3 months pregnant.  I tried to be happy for her, but I am really not because it is just another reminder that my ute hates me.  She is 16 weeks today and is already 99% sure she his having a boy even though she is suppose to find out the sex in 2 weeks.  Um okay- another friend had the same thing happen to her- she was 99% sure she was having a boy and they did the big apt and tell her she is having a girl. 

I broke down last night and cried myself to sleep.  DH understands, but still thinks I need to stop "stressing and worrying" about all of this stuff.  Um, easier said than done, DH! If I could I would stop "stressing and worrying".

Thanks for letting me vent.  I needed to get all of this out and DH, as good as he is, just doesn't quite understand where I am coming from with all of this stuff sometimes.  

Christmas

Mom, dad and grandma are coming.  I found the BEST christmas gift for them...

2010 Calendar Girls Calendar

It is the one based off of the movie!   I loved the movie and ams so happy that I can get the calendar!

SA results

DH's sperm are starting to look healthier! The SA that we had him do at the beginning of the month came back. Great count: 85 Million; Great motility: 81%; not as great morphology 11 % (This was done with the stricter Kruger method of counting morph. so to be in a "good" range would be to have a count at 14-15%.)

DH quit smoking in June and that could be the cause of bad morph issues. Also Shady Grove put him on antibiotics so that should also help!

Here is what I found online about bad morphology..

• Common causes of abnormal morphology include varicocele, drugs, heat, infrequent ejaculation, infection and smoking. If the man ejaculates on a regular basis three to four times each week, I advise taking antioxidant vitamins and a brief course of antibiotics. A repeat semen analysis will be performed in one to two months. If the problem persists, intrauterine insemination may be necessary. If a pregnancy has not occurred after three to six cycles, in vitro fertilization with ICSI (sperm injection) may be considered. 

 But when I was talking with the nurse about all this, she mentioned that my insurance has not approved the treatment yet, so we are unsure if we will be able to do an IUI in Oct.  BCBS requires an authorization.  We should get it, but who knows when it will come... all this waiting and we will see stuff is driving me crazy!

The Family Building Act of 2009

I think this is something very important for all people facing infertility...
Dear Friends and Family,

I don't normally do this, but occasionally a piece of legislation occurs that "catches my eye." The one that has caught my eye is the Family Building Act of 2009. I feel that is a very important piece of legislation, so I would like to take this time and encourage you to write your Senator and Representative and encourage them to support these bills.

• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062602805.html

The Family Building Act of 2009 (H.R. 697, S. 1258) "takes an important first step toward improving the way insurers view infertility," but it is "not a silver bullet for improving the way [in vitro fertilization] treatments are conducted and covered," John Zhang, founder and director of the New Hope Fertility Center in New York City, writes in an opinion piece in The Hill. The bill, introduced by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) in the House and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in the Senate, would require health insurance companies that cover obstetrical services to cover non-experimental treatment of infertility, including IVF.

I am including sample letters to your representatives and senators with this email. All you need to do is fill in your information, and send it to your congressmen.

• Find your representative here
• Find your U.S Senators here

__________________________________________________________________________

The Honorable Mark R. Warner
United States Senate
459A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Warner,

As a voter and a constituent, I urge you to support the following bill that would provide coverage for infertility treatment:

• S 1258, The Family Building Act of 2009 which would require insurance coverage of infertility treatments by all health plans that also cover obstetrical benefits.

According to the CDC, infertility is a medically recognized disease that affects 7.3 million men and women in our country. Still, many insurance companies do not provide coverage for treatment to overcome this disease, but single out infertility for exclusion. I find this to be discriminatory. Well-managed insurance coverage will not place a large burden on insurance companies. Studies have shown that infertility coverage may actually reduce costs by limiting costly treatments that have low rates of success in treating the underlying problem.

In fact, a recent employer survey conducted by the consulting firm William M. Mercer found that 91 percent of respondents offering infertility treatment have not experienced an increase in their medical costs as a result of providing this coverage.

Insurers argue that bearing children is a lifestyle choice. In fact it is. But it is not a choice to have a disease that prevents a person from having the option to bear children. Insurers raise concerns about some treatments and the possibility of multiple births and the associated costs. Reproductive doctors are careful to help couples minimize the risks associated with multiple births. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Aug 29, 2002) concludes that the incidence of multiple births is actually lower in states that have enacted an infertility insurance requirement than in states without coverage, because couples with insurance coverage are free to make medical decisions when pursuing some infertility treatments, as opposed to other couples who must also weigh financial considerations that often result in medical risk taking, multiple births and a high rate of complications during and post-pregnancy.

In 1998, the United States Supreme Court ruled that reproduction is a major life activity under the "Americans with Disabilities Act." This ruling demonstrates the importance of reproduction and the impact that infertility, in which the ability to reproduce is impaired, has on the lives of men and women.

Many affected by infertility do not feel comfortable speaking publicly about this very private struggle, but we represent all racial, religious, and ethnic groups, as well as both sexes. We are neighbors, co-workers, friends and relatives, and we just want to experience the joy of raising families without having to bankrupt ourselves in the process. Please support infertility coverage legislation and help fulfill the dreams of thousands of couples waiting for a family to love.

Thank you for supporting S 1258.

Sincerely,

Name and Address here

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The Honorable Frank R. Wolf
United States House of Representatives
241 Cannon Building
Washington, DC  20515

Dear Congressman Wolf,

As a voter and a constituent, I urge you to co-sponsor the following bill that would provide coverage for infertility treatment:

• HR 697, The Family Building Act of 2009 which would require insurance coverage of infertility treatments by all health plans that also cover obstetrical benefits.

According to the CDC, infertility is a medically recognized disease that affects 7.3 million men and women in our country. Still, many insurance companies do not provide coverage for treatment to overcome this disease, but single out infertility for exclusion. I find this to be discriminatory. Well-managed insurance coverage will not place a large burden on insurance companies. Studies have shown that infertility coverage may actually reduce costs by limiting costly treatments that have low rates of success in treating the underlying problem.

In fact, a recent employer survey conducted by the consulting firm William M. Mercer found that 91 percent of respondents offering infertility treatment have not experienced an increase in their medical costs as a result of providing this coverage.

Insurers argue that bearing children is a lifestyle choice. In fact it is. But it is not a choice to have a disease that prevents a person from having the option to bear children. Insurers raise concerns about some treatments and the possibility of multiple births and the associated costs. Reproductive doctors are careful to help couples minimize the risks associated with multiple births. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Aug 29, 2002) concludes that the incidence of multiple births is actually lower in states that have enacted an infertility insurance requirement than in states without coverage, because couples with insurance coverage are free to make medical decisions when pursuing some infertility treatments, as opposed to other couples who must also weigh financial considerations that often result in medical risk taking, multiple births and a high rate of complications during and post-pregnancy.

In 1998, the United States Supreme Court ruled that reproduction is a major life activity under the "Americans with Disabilities Act." This ruling demonstrates the importance of reproduction and the impact that infertility, in which the ability to reproduce is impaired, has on the lives of men and women.

Many affected by infertility do not feel comfortable speaking publicly about this very private struggle, but we represent all racial, religious, and ethnic groups, as well as both sexes. We are neighbors, co-workers, friends and relatives, and we just want to experience the joy of raising families without having to bankrupt ourselves in the process. Please support infertility coverage legislation and help fulfill the dreams of thousands of couples waiting for a family to love.

Thank you for co-sponsoring HR 697.

Sincerely,

Name and address here

Happy Birthday to me...

So it is my birthday. I am 34...35 is just around the corner. I am very hopeful we can get pregnant before I turn 35!

Jason and I are going estate sale shopping. I made him pinky swear last night that there will be no WoW today. He is addicted to WoW, so I thought since this is my birthday he should spend one day away from his addiction for the sake of his wife. I am hopeful it works. He did pout when I made him pinky swear, though. I so married the right man for me! The pout was cute! :-)

My terrible, horrible no good day! (Thank you, Alexander!)

I woke up at 2 am with an eye infection. I realized it was probably conjunctivitis (pink eye) at about 4 am when I just could not get back to sleep. So I called into work. Then I called and called and got into the Dr.

But I still had my AM yearly OB apt. at 9 am. So I went to that, but it was okay especially after the HSG I had earlier in the month. I LOVE my OB. Every time I go there she makes me feel so good and is like my own little TTC cheerleader! She told me that she hopes to see me again soon within a month when I am KU. She said that she knows IUI's don't usually work the first month for people, but she has a feeling it will work for me. It made me feel so good! After the hell of the first OB who made me cry in the office on the first visit and told me that I had only 2 years to get KU, she is such a breath of fresh air! Big Smile She confirmed that I had a yeast infection and wrote me a prescription for diflucan. (Oh joy!)

Next, I had the regular Dr's apt. Turns out I was correct and I do have pink eye! Oh joy! So for 7 days I have to do the eye drops.

Then I went to the pharmacist, who took one look at all the prescriptions and declared that I was having a bad day! Indifferent He then gave me a pink pen to make me feel better!

Why does all of this crap have to happen all at once on one day? Seriously world, why am a cursed???

RE apt.

So I finally met with the RE after having to reschedule the apt so many times b/c DH insisted he had to be there and kept traveling to Texas!

So this months plan is to do all the tests, that I knew I needed but my OB did not want to do anything more b/c of DH's SA results. I go for the CD 3 Blood draw tomorrow and then it will be a HSG on Monday. DH got to redo his SA at home and felt so much more happy about it. Our RE does not like LabCorp, where DH had to do the SA the first two times. Apparently DH was not the only one who had issues with it. Shady Grove will do the lab work in house, so that means he could take it home and drive it in, which was so much better than going to a room by the front door that has a window where you can see people's feet (that was with LabCorp).

If the test all come back okay we will start IUIs in October. Insurance will cover 6 of them. Anything else will be out of pocket. DH and I think that if nothing comes from the IUIs we are going to try the dreaded out-of-pocket expense of IVF.

It feels great to finally have a plan and to start getting all these tests done. Hopefully DH will stick around long enough to do the IUI's. The RE did say we could do frozen IUI's with the same clinic in Maryland. Frozen IUI's are where they freeze DH's sperm and unfreeze it and insert it in me at my O time. She said she doesn't like to do that though, b/c it can damage his spermies. So now I am praying that DH stays around long enough for us to do all of this...

Husband is home!

Last night I picked up my husband from the airport. He came home from his week in Texas. I am still mad at Texas for stealing my husband away for most of the summer. I know I will get over it, but I need time. :-) It is nice to have him back, though. We are going to his sister, Jenny's wedding and going to see my parents this weekend in the state of Washington. I am looking forward to it.

WHY WHY WHY?

Why would anyone want to be pregnant for a total of 12 years and have 19 children?
See story here.

In the beginning...

This is the start to recording my journey in life.  I am an educator who works in the development of educational curriculum.  I married my husband on 4/6/08.  We where going to get married on 8/8/08, but in November of 2007, I discovered that I was pregnant.  We ended up miscarrying the baby at 11 weeks in January of 2008.  That was probably one of the hardest things I have ever been through.  But I had the loving support of My husband and we got through it.  We decided to go ahead and start trying to conceive again after our wedding.  So far we have been unlucky in that department, but we hope that one day, our dream of expanding our family will become a reality.

We have one very big and very goofy dog, Dante.  He is a Bovier des Flanders.  The breed was bred to heard bulls... yep you read correctly- bulls.  Basically cows and bulls will walk in the direction their face is facing.  Boviers will jump up and move the bull's face into the direction it needs to go.  They have a beautiful "bounce" and are very independent, but still need to be in the same room as you are in.    As Dante has gotten older he has discovered he has a voice and can bark.  Now he loves to bark at people.  When he was younger he NEVER barked.  His bark is so deep that every time he barks, I jump.