Back at work after IUI try #2. This time it was at our normal office which took a half hour to get to even with traffic, which put us there a half hour early. So we walked around a shopping center for a little bit first, and I’m glad we did because we were waiting another half hour before they called us in. Our own doctor did the procedure this time. There was a little speculum pain, but otherwise it went smoothly.
Sperm stats: 20 million in the sample. 55% motility. 3 out of 4 on progression. Not as good as the first vial, but our doctor said it was great so we’ll trust her.
Before leaving the room, the doc suggested Nutella come in for a blood test next week to measure her progesterone levels. I asked if this was standard and she said yes. I asked how much blood was needed and she said ‘a little bit.’ Nutella’s arm is still not 100% over the horrible-no-good-very-bad last blood draw, so she might wait on the progesterone test, which the doc said was fine. We waited in the room for about 15-20 minutes and then left. Nutella had very mild cramping afterwards, but not enough to warrant any medicine.
Nutella and I were re-assessing our plan yesterday and decided that for try #3, we’re going to inseminate on the surge day. We’ve been doing it 24 hours later and feel that it’s *possible* that’s a little too late. The sperm can live up to 12 hours after being thawed, so it wouldn’t be a bad thing if they were already swimming around at the time the egg was released. If it comes down to it, we’ll switch to another donor for further tries (since we only bought 3 vials of the current donor) and do two IUI’s per cycle.
So that’s it. The TWW has begun. Oh, and we found it amusing how there was a copy of Seventeen magazine in the waiting room. Nice touch.
1 In Vermillion 
I am happy you are in the wait with us. If you did two inseminations would you do one on the surge day and one 24 hours later? I am also interested to hear your thought process about switching donors because we have thought about this too. I don’t know what to “blame” on the sperm or me. I hope of course that you do not have to worry about any of those decisions and we both are happy, pregnant and due in late march. Everything is crossed for you guys. p.s. seventeen magazine is hysterical in a RE’s office.
Yes, we’d do one on the surge day and one on the next day. I’ve heard people say it doesn’t significantly increase your chances, and I’ve heard other people say it does. So I figure if we don’t get pregnant after the first 3, it’s worth a shot.
At this point, we’re not sure if any of our original donor sperm is left to buy, but we figured if it hadn’t happened by try #3, that’s another thing we can change to see if it makes any difference. This donor’s sperm has been good so far (analytically-speaking) but it’s possible it just doesn’t want to combine well with Nutella’s egg. Who knows!
Nice to have company in the TWW 🙂 Good luck to you, too.
i think that an insemination on the day of the surge could work (if this one doesn’t). no since in doing the same thing and expecting different results, right?
but i’m hoping this one works!!!! there seems to be quite a wave of lesbian pregnancies going around lately, and i’m hoping that you two will catch it!!
Here’s hoping Eagle Scout earns his badge this month!!!
Good luck to you guys!! The new banner looks great.
I think changing things up always depends on what you are changing. Purely personal. We’ve gone back and forth about switching donors, one IUI vs two, etc. There’s so much to think about and ultimately so much out of your control.
I’m on the TWW with you….
Doing one on the surge day may not be a bad idea. I have found that I tend to ovulate on the day of my first positive OPK
Good luck! Switching your timing seems like a good idea. It’s so hard when there are so many factors including the unknown. I hope you never have to decide about #3.
Good luck guys! 17 magazine–that is a hoot!
ugh the timing… for us we kept with the same donor for 6 tries… it turned out to be more about my ovaries than the sperm.. on the timing front.. our try that worked was like 20 hours after we detected a surge (clomid aided)… but everyone is different… good luck on number two.
Good luck with the TWW !! I’ll be reading along ….
“We’ve been doing it 24 hours later and feel that it’s *possible* that’s a little too late. The sperm can live up to 12 hours after being thawed, so it wouldn’t be a bad thing if they were already swimming around at the time the egg was released.”
agreed. it’s always better to be early (since they live 2 or 3 days) then even a hair late.