Well that wasn't so bad!

Ok so I just did my first Estrogen injection. I think it definitely could have gone worse :) I got a little confused at first about which size syringe I was supposed to use, but I figured it out. The syringe I am supposed to use comes attached to a needle I don't need to use, so I got confused. I figured it out though. 1ml syringe, 18g needle to draw the medication up out of the bottle, and 22g to inject. Throw away 27g needle. OK. Got it. 

Here's what it looked like just before I did my shot, while I was icing the area:

The one attached to the syringe in the picture is the needle used to draw up the medication. The one still packaged is the one to inject.

Once I had iced the site, I did it. I remembered to check for blood first, too. After the shot, I massaged it a little and now I'm giving it some heat. It wasn't so bad at all! 

Yay me! I'll get used to this soon, but for now, I'm glad I didn't forget anything and I did it right. Delestrogen, I'll see you at the same time on Friday night.

All clear!

Today is a beautiful fall day, which for this being Texas and still just September, is an amazing thing!! We woke up to temperatures in the low 50s and put our kids in pants and hoodies for school, and welcomed fall with open arms. I even got to pull out my long sleeved shirts as I got ready this morning. Hooray!

As soon as I dropped Brian off for school, I headed up to the clinic for a blood draw to check levels on various things, and an ultrasound to check my lining and to look for cysts. As quick as they started, they were finished, and we got the all clear! No problems! We are still on track for an Oct 21ish transfer!

I'm set to start my Delestrogen injections tomorrow night. I'm glad the Lupron uses a smaller needle, it made it easy on this beginner. I'm a little nervous about the bigger needles used for the estrogen, but I will get through it.

IM Has been out of the country for a couple weeks now, and her return has been delayed a couple times for more business. Please join me in praying for her!


Heavenly Father, thank you for this gorgeous day!! Be with IM in her work and travels today, help her to see you in the beauty that surrounds her. Draw her closer to you and open her heart to your Spirit. Give her success in the job she has set out to do, and bring her home safely and soon. Comfort them both as they are apart during this time, and let each of them know they are not alone, you are with them. Thank you for the opportunity to give them such a special gift. Guide my every step and action, and let the light in me for you shine brightly to them, and show them who you are. It's all in Jesus name I bring these things to you, Amen.

Loopy!

Give me a week or two to feel the side effects, but I have been so excited and so ready to start the process, starting with Lupron, that I'm kinda giddy about it.

This morning was my first shot... forgive the bad photo, my cell was the only camera I could find at the moment. This is what my "work area" looked like just before.

There it is! Three pills (2 are prenatals) and a Lupron shot. Don't forget that sharps box!

It took me a little while to psych myself up to doing it, so I did a heavy load of dishes while staring at the equipment and getting mentally prepared. Once I actually did it, it wasn't so bad. So hooray for overcoming that! It did raise up a little and itch quite a bit for about an hour but that went away.

So now there it is... We've officially begun making dreams come true :)

God, thank you so much for this opportunity to help J&J. Please help me to be a vessel not only by helping them achieve their dreams to be parents, but to lead them closer to you. Draw us close together and create a bond that no one else could imagine and a friendship that last always. Thank you again for choosing to use me as your vessel. I love you and want to honor you in all I do, for Your Son's Name, Amen.

Late update!

My sincerest apologies for not updating sooner!

Guess what? The screening went so great! We were able to get in on Monday the 14th for my blood tests and did everything including a mock transfer that day! While we were still there, we got our calendar to move forward. We are set to transfer hopefully two embryos on October 21st! I start my Lupron injections tomorrow (the 18th)!

Ready, set, go!

Here we go!

Since the last post, we have spoken with more than a few couples independently, and one via an agency but I have not heard back from any of the other agencies. We were *so* close with a great family in the spring, but things didn't work out, unfortunately. Recently, one couple who caught our eye, we spoke with via email for about 3 weeks. Just when it started to look like we may have been ready to move forward, God provided me a day of "rest" from it and I was able to see some red flags really clearly, and got myself out of it before it was too late.

Everything seemed fine, there were little things I was willing to negotiate/compromise on, as long as they were little things, but then I had a day to take a step back and thought about things... I realized that all those little things piled up into a really big thing, and I fought my heart all night over it. In the morning, I prayed about it and made the decision to call it off. Instantly I felt a peace about it.

Later that afternoon I got a call from a local couple, who I immediately felt right with, but prayed about a lot that night.

Despite "feeling" right, I knew there were things I needed to know before we could say a definite yes, and even then I wasn't holding my breath. We have been able to have lunch with both of them and email back and forth, as well as talk on the phone, and we really like them. Yet, I didn't want to admit we were matched because I feared the same that has happened before would happen again. Like if I said or did something, it would go away.

Today I came to terms with my fears and finally admitted we are matched. Within the next few weeks I will be going to screening, and we'll see what happens from there. I'm cautiously optimistic. I know what can go wrong, and I have a hard time not getting my hopes up, so I'm praying "be still my restless heart" and for God to make it happen if it's His will.

Psalm 23: 2 He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake