Thursday

May 31 - Day 21 of IVF

A gentle drizzle of rain fell on my car while I drove to work this morning. Lord knows my yard will be thrilled today as it is mostly brown and crunchy already --- and it is not even June yet! I know, I know, there is a cool invention called the water hose that helps prevent a yard from becoming too dry, but that actually requires me going outside and turning it on after a hard day at work. :)

Last night, Jennie was excited to receive her free XM radio from the UPS man. One of the many perks of this IVF process is all of the "rewards points" we are accumulating from our financing. We cashed in a few of these magical points to help Jennie with her hour long commute to Bellevue a few times per week. I have had XM for nearly a year now and absolutely love it! I cannot say enough good things about the programming content and clarity...

Only a week until Jennie's doctor visit. I believe she has a week left until she must cease exercising (other than light yoga & walking).

LINK OF THE DAY: XM Radio

Wednesday

May 30 - Day 20 of IVF

Well, it's Wednesday already -- the days just keep flying by. Unfortunately, I have nothing exciting to report today. We're still 8 days away from Jennie's first doctor visit. One of Jennie's first medications will be completed this Sunday, but it's only a daily pill (not an injection). Various injections will pretty much be a daily routine for another month or so...

The LOST (TV show) season finale was a week ago. I am already anxious for it to return. Most LOST fans are aware of Lostpedia.com, but my LINK OF THE DAY is another excellent source of LOST info.

LINK OF THE DAY: The Tail Section

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Tuesday

May 29 - Day 19 of IVF

As of today, we are officially one third of the way through this IVF process (19 out of 56 days) and we haven't even begun the hard stuff yet. Jennie is becoming a real pro at giving herself shots and never utters a complaint.

Yesterday we had a great time visiting friends down in Murfreesboro for a cookout. While fifteen people showed up to eat burgers, hotdogs, and enjoy the nice weather, only five stayed until the end of the hockey game.

Jennie & I got home a little before 11pm and went straight to bed. We were pretty exhausted from all the activities of the long weekend. Our puppy dog (Maggie) slept over at my in-laws and hopefully didn't terrorize their dog, Copper.

Just 9 days until Jennie's first big office visit (Suppression check). After that, she will have several visits per week (Estradiol level checks & routine Ultrasounds).

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! Regarding my link of the day below, can we send Jack Bauer (TV Show: 24) over to assassinate the leaders of China? :)

LINK OF THE DAY: China creating Viruses & Malware; readying for war against the world

Monday

May 28 - Day 18 of IVF

Happy Memorial Day! Jennie & I are feverishly rushing around the kitchen preparing some last minute dishes for a cookout today in Murfreesboro. Our good friends (Mike & Tori) are hosting a Memorial Day & Stanley Cup final viewing party today. Go Ottawa Senators!! :)

Jennie woke up this morning promptly at 6:30am, unwrapped a fresh syringe, and gave herself a Lupron injection. I'm a little curious how many days will pass before Jennie begins displaying all of the menopausal side effects. From what I understand, all of her medicine right now is basically suppressing her female stuff (Desogen & Lupron) to prevent any type of ovarian activity until after June 7th (Suppression Check). Then, she will take a 180 degree turn with hyperstimulation (Bravelle FSH injections, HCG, progesterone in oil, etc)...

I need to run for now, so I can finish frosting a "Davey surprise" lemonade party cake. Check out the recipe below in the LINK OF THE DAY.

LINK OF THE DAY: Betty Crocker Lemonade Party Cake (TERRIFIC RECIPE ALERT)

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Sunday

May 27 - Day 17 of IVF

It's a good thing we set the alarm clock as we would have overslept for Jennie's first injection. Last night, we dismantled the crown molding on an old armoire. Trying to move it into the future "baby room" proved to be a tight fit. Hopefully our neighbors didn't hear our 10:30 pm "Trading Spaces"-like adventure. As Jennie has only a week or so left before she begins a 10-pound lifting restriction, I need to get all the hard "labor" out of her while I can.

This morning I woke up to Jennie unwrapping a fresh syringe. I waited for Maggie to hop up on the bed expecting food (from the sound of all the unwrapping).

Ouch! That's the only thought that crossed my mind as Jennie plunged the needle into her gut. She did it so quickly that I wondered if she had done this before. :)

LINK OF THE DAY:Trading Spaces website

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Saturday

May 26 - Day 16 of IVF

So much happened yesterday, I don't know where to begin...

The IVF financial manager successfully collected all of our lab, surgery, and doctor fees yesterday morning. Now we are fully paid up to date (except for the 5 to 6 Ultrasound office visits remaining). So, you could say we are fully committed to some "baby-makin'". I am entirely optimistic that we will have twins or triplets... :)

Last night we had dinner with Jennie's folks at Red Lobster (we used the Christmas gift card from Aunt Val). Thanks Val! It was very delicious! After dinner, we went to the local Putt Putt mini-golf for a fun night of carpet golf...

Oh well, I'm not sure what we have planned today, but tomorrow is the big day! First day of Lupron subcutaneous shots (this will last for 14 days).

LINK OF THE DAY:HomestarRunner.com : DNA Evidence (CARTOON)

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Friday

May 25 - Day 15 of IVF

Happy "the-Friday-before-Memorial-Day" to everyone! Don't you love these 3 day weekends? I wish you a safe, relaxing holiday...

Timeline correction: Two days until Jennie begins her Lupron shots. I was wrong -- she begins on Sunday, May 27.










Predators News: My InsideHockey.com article from yesterday...
Kevin Greenstein's Misery in Music City

LINK OF THE DAY: Dog Breeders Issue Massive Recall Of '07 Pugs (HUMOR)

Thursday

May 24 - Day 14 of IVF

Jennie's FedEx package arrived yesterday afternoon chock full of syringes. It is rather intimidating to stare into a box full of needles, I must say. The IVP Care drug company admitted fault for not shipping the complete order initially. Oh well, only a couple more days until Jennie begins "shooting up".

While last night was an amazing night of television (the LOST season 3 finale and the American Idol finale were great), I am still a little numb from the pending sale announcement of the Nashville Predators to Canadian businessman, Jim Balsillie (co-CEO of RIM, makers of Blackberry mobile devices). This is the same man that made no secrets of trying to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins last year with intentions to move them to Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario or Hamilton, Ontario. I can't say that I'm totally shocked really. Nashville is an enigma --- I won't bore you with my ramblings and rantings, but I am extremely disappointed in the corporate community in Tennessee (i.e., lack of corporate support for anything not football, NASCAR, and horse racing has caused Leipold to lose money and prompted him to sell). This is more than a black eye for the state of Tennessee...

LINK OF THE DAY:
Mother blames Satan for burning baby in microwave
Wow! Some people don't deserve to have children. It is an abused privilege.... :)

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Wednesday

May 23 - Day 13 of IVF

I know the next few days are still the calm before the storm, so I should enjoy them as much as possible. Jennie still does not seem nervous at all... Beginning Monday, I will assist her in the daily IM shots -- this will be scary. I guess it's a good thing I'm a computer programmer since I fainted in our "How To Give Shots To Your Spouse In The Butt" class....

This afternoon we will be receiving another FedEx Overnight package full of 50 - 60 syringes. It seems that they forgot to send the complete Subcutaneous Needle kit for Jennie's FSH injections. I am hoping this was just a quick oversight by the drug company and not a mistake by NFC. Oh well, the important thing is that they are not charging us for them.

No big plans for Memorial Day. Maybe I can grill out some burgers and enjoy the day off with some nice weather... Jennie & I had a productive evening last night reorganizing our garage. It never ceases to amaze me how much "junk" one can accumulate over the years.

LINK OF THE DAY:
The Nietzsche Family Circus

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Tuesday

May 22 - Day 12 of IVF

Nothing new to report today.

Our biggest complaint with this whole process has been communications with NFC. Trying to get someone to return a phone call is like pulling a tooth sometimes.... I understand they are busy, but when you leave multiple voicemails for someone over several days, it seems inexcusable.

UPDATE: I was mistaken. Jennie spoke to someone at the clinic today, so they did return her call. I guess I'm just being too anxious.

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Monday

May 21 - Day 11 of IVF

Well, the countdown is on.... less than a month until Jennie gets "implanted" with fresh embryos if all goes well during her follicle hyper-stimulation period.

June 7th is the big day for her suppression check and trial embryo transfer.
June 18th or 20th is the big day for her implant.

Today should be fairly uneventful as we are moving closer to beginning her shots.

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Sunday

May 20 - Day 10 of IVF

Today was our final day of Zithromax (antibiotic). Jennie & I both had to take a 5-day Z-pack. She is down to her final 13 days of Desogen and is a week away from beginning her Lupron shots. Oh boy! Those shots are known as "menopause in a bottle". She will be having hot flashes and mood swings. I can't wait! :)

We drove up to Clarksville today to visit our friends Bill & Erica. It was good to see them and spend time with 2 year old Ella.

Another highlight of today was watching the Red Wings lose to the Ducks! The Stanley Cup finals begin on Memorial Day evening...

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Saturday

May 19 - Day 9 of IVF

I went to a semi-annual coin show today over in Gallatin with my pal, Clay Douglass.

Jennie & I are still doing well.

Friday

May 18 - Day 8 of IVF

Today is my mom's birthday... she is 39 again for the 17th year in a row! hehe

Jennie & I began the IVF cycle 8 days ago... We have been preparing for this process for years now.

All is well here.

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.