Got my IVF Calender!!

• Signed my life away for IVF cycle,, but

Well Obviously, the IVF package I thought I would be signing up for is not quite what I thought it was. Well, our RE used to offer "OBP-- Outcome Base Plan" for 3 cycle IVF package. The most expensive one but we get the % of money back if no live birth. That % depends on your age. That OBP plan is no longer available!!! They say they haven't had that for a while now.. I was like huh?  The new plan is 1,2,3 cycles with no money back. I signed up for 3 cycle one, only because I wanted to have some "insurance" that I am getting most out of it. I would be super lucky if I hit BINGO after 1st try. But the life isn't always so easy. Never known what happens, so that's how I decided.  

• My Protocol

The nurse ordered all the meds and I paid. Unfortunately, my insurance (as primary) didn't pay anything but my DH's insurance (as my secondary) picked up most everything except $260. So that's all I paid for the first cycle. I was very lucky on this one. I still not quite sure what exactly the nurse ordered for me but I see some meds on my IVF calender I received. 

7/26 instruction on shots with nurse

~ 8/5 I will be on BCP

8/5~8/15 Lupron and Dexamethasone

8/16~8/17 Lupron, Dexamethasone, Follistim, Follic Acid

8/18~8/21 Lupron, Dexamethasone, Follistim, Follic Acid and Luveris

8/22 Lupron, Dexamethasone, Follic Acid and Cipro

RE thinks I will respond to meds well so he puts me on low dosage on most of them. That's a good news for me. :D

8/22 is the day my monitoring starts. I was told to receive another calender.  Looks like ER and ET happen around the end of Aug to early Sep.

I will post more updates soon!

Pumpkin Pie

This Pumpkin Pie is so special! It's kind of weird to say by myself, BUT!! I had never had SUCH A YUMMY Pumpkin Pie like this in my life!! I think the usage of condensed milk makes this so special. Sweet, but not overly sweet. Very sophisticated flavor!  I HAVE TO share the recipe with you. It is so easy like you won't believe. I hope you can try soon!!! 

Prep Time: 15 min

Start to Finish: 1 hr 15 min

Ingredients:

1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree

1 (14oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

1 ready-use pie crust (9 inch)

Direction:

1. Preheat oven to 425F degree. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk,  eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.


2. Reduce oven temperature to 350F degree and continue baking 40-45 min or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish with cool whip! The more the better :D

Recent days,, update on IVF and my mom & hub's Lost in Translation

I haven't had time for anything these days including twitter and blogging.  I went camping at Infenion Raceway, Sonoma California last week and it was a blast. It was really the FIRST TIME camping in my life and I am surprised that I did good! I realized it's ok to use bathroom on the wheel! I have to blog about it soon.

Anyways, my mother who lives in Japan is now here for 3 months visiting! This is her 3rd time staying for that long. She is retired and lives alone so it is nice to have her here. The only sad part is that she is stuck at home all day everyday while I am at work, since she doesn't drive. I feel bad about it. She doesn't speak English and my husband doesn't speak Japanese. But somehow they seem to communicate just fine, or at least that's what they think. Listening to them, it is totally "lost in translation"!  When I hear them talking, it's funny because they are not communicating but they think they are having catch ball of conversation just fine. It's hard to explain. The other day, my husband told her to "stir" the pot on the stove so it doesn't burn, my mom says OK! But she just stands and watches it. My hub asks me "why is she just standing there, I told her to stir". I ask mom "what did he tell you?" She said "Oh, he told me not to touch it" LOL! hello~!? He didn't say that! Well basically they are a bit off whenever they talk. So I am in the middle, back and forth between them, explaining she said this, he said that,,,translating ALL THE TIME!!,,TV, jokes, conversation, EVERYTHING. Whew! Lots of work :)
My mother and I can be both hard-headed at times, so I am hoping not to have too much argument with my mother (you know how it is..!), and rather enjoy the time together! I am the only child so now I can see mom as if she is my big sister and enjoy each other's company I hope! She will be with me during this first IVF journey this summer!

As far as IVF goes, I spoke with nurse the other day. She briefly went over what is IVF and general idea of what my August IVF will look like. For now I am on BCP. She will order medications and have them ship directly to the office so when I pick it up, she can show me and explain everything about meds. I will know then WHAT meds I will be taking and HOW MUCH DOSAGE I will need. Good news is that RE put me on really low dosage of meds so it will help me $$$ wise. This meds instruction/consultation is at the end of July. I will start in the first week of Aug and monitoring starts on 8/22, and maybe egg transfer will happen around 9/2?
It sounds like my July will still be pretty peaceful. 

OH OH OH! Attention to all IF girls!!!!: We had a SA on my hub the other day. The count was 45mil, motility 3%. In 2008, it was 7mil, 53%. The nurse said it was a compromised result and we still need IVF. The thought of IUI went through my mind for a sec. I am still on the "GO" for IVF though. I thought it was interesting change in SA.