This Really is the Last Time, I swear.

I just got the call and it's 182!!! That's waaaaaay better than I hoped for. Holy shit I'm so fucking relieved.

So, it turns out this cycle was a success. All that extra shit I went through to determine the best possible time to put embryos in my uterus was WORTH IT. However, this breast tenderness I've got going on is not a constant thing (it comes and goes) and it's making me really pretty nervous about my HCG Beta blood test I'm having tomorrow. When I had my ectopic pregnancy in 2010, I knew something was wrong pretty early on and my breast tenderness did pretty much the same thing it's doing now. When I was pregnant with my son, I remember my breast tenderness was strong and unwavering. I'm nervous that my HCG levels will be below 80 mIU/ml, which can be an indicator of a non-viable pregnancy. When I had my ectopic, my levels never got above about 50 mIU/ml. I know there is really no sense in worrying about it because it's going to be whatever it is... but we are so close to what we have been working for that I am going to be pretty devastated if it doesn't work

Due to a nationwide shortage of my usual progesterone-in-oil, I have been using some compounded stuff that uses ethyl oleate and HOLY SHIT IT HURTS. It goes in a lot easier, but it seriously hurts. I hope the manufacturer gets their shit figured out soon because I would like to go back to my old formulation as soon as humanly possible.

I wish I could figure out this damn body of mine. My temperature has continued to fluctuate between 98.4 and 99.8 and I'm hoping thats just because of the progesterone and not residual pneumonia. My husband has been amazing since we got home. Before the transfer, I picked a bunch of recipes from the internet and he's made them for me, despite the fact they've ended up being faaaaaar more complicated than I had realized. I haven't gone downstairs since I went upstairs after we got home on Tuesday because he wants me to stay comfortable in bed or in the computer chair. To be honest, I'm getting a little stir crazy. Tomorrow my husband will have shoulder surgery, so I will be the one taking care of him but that's fine with me. I reeeeeeally need to get outside and do something.

So, today is the day we have been working towards. It's transfer day . I developed a low-grade fever yesterday afternoon and I am PANICKING. I called the nurse line at the doctor's office today just to make sure that we can still go ahead with this. I really don't want to cancel but I also don't want to waste $3000 on an embryo transfer that's possibly doomed before we even begin. My RE said, multiple times, that a fever is definitely a reason to cancel. My temp never got higher than 99.6, and it was normal all night, and it's still normal this morning.... but still. I feel like I've been nothing but a problem patient this cycle. I don't remember it being like this my last two FET's. I really really REALLY just want this to fucking work this time.

We spoke with our RE yesterday and she reviewed with us the results of my ERA (Endometrial Receptivity Array). It turns out that the standard clinic protocol was not really compatible with my uterus. Apparently, my body needs almost a full additional 24 hours of progesterone before I am optimally "receptive" to an embryo. So, this explains why I had three failed cycles last year. My body wasn't ready.  So, we have added the extra day into my protocol for this cycle and I'm feeling pretty good about it. Of course, it doesn't matter how good I feel about it... it will either work or it won't... but I wager a little positive thinking couldn't hurt? Also, my pneumonia wasn't "walking pneumonia", it was regular pneumonia. And, it appears to be close to running it's course. Thank you, doxycycline! Embryo transfer is scheduled for next Tuesday! 

After everything else!!! Now I have pneumonia!!! Granted, it's just technically "walking pneumonia", but this cough is horrible and I cannot WAIT to be feeling better. I started on antibiotics and have the super spiffy codeine cough syrup to help me through it. I'm hoping to feel better by Sunday so that I actually have a chance of studying for my last final on Tuesday. I'd like to earn a 4.0 GPA this semester. It would be a good thing for my overall GPA (3.65).