We finally made it down to visit with Mama an Maddy (K & J) to baby A. I am in love! She is the sweetest baby! She was sleepy, and warm, and cuddly and smelled amazing. Mama and Maddy appeared completely blissed out and happy with motherhood. I think we overstayed our welcome a bit, but I couldn't put baby A down. While there I had the opportunity to cuddle her, change her and feed her. I also accidentally cursed the poor family with a diaper blow-out. They explained that she hadn't had any yet and I remarked how odd that was, since L (boy I used to nanny) had them ALL the time and required outfit changes each time at least once a day. About an hour later... she had a blow-out. Poor DH was super freaked out (OCD issues), but I think he's calmed down now. :) It was adorable seeing DH hold A. She was so tiny in his big hands. It brought a tear to my eye. Soon he'll be holding his own baby...
Congrats again D family. We are so happy for you!!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Medication Order
H-O-L-Y C-O-W!!! I knew that the IVF meds were expensive, but c'mon! I received my finalized list of prescriptions from our IVF nurse and here they are:
1 - Follistim 300IU
3 - Follistim 900 IU
1 - Leuprolide 2 wk kit
10 - Doxycycline
1 - HCG 10,000 Units
5 - Medrol 16 mg
1 - Tranxene
1 - Loestrin
10 - Menopur 75 IU
60 - Prometrium 200mg
1 - Progestrone in Seame Oil 50mg
The bolded meds are ones that all the pharmacies I spoke to *thought* my insurance would pay for as they are not IVF specific or IF specific medications. I searched online and phoned the recommended pharmacies, and I'm all set up with one. I hope that the insurance will pick up more of the bill, but we're prepared if they don't. My nurse coordinator will send the prescriptions off tonight and then the pharmacy will contact me to schedule a shipping date. A couple of nice things about the pharmacy I ended up choosing is that they do overnight shipping Monday thru Thursday for free. Also, they were the ONLY pharmacy I called that included the syringes, needles, syringe insulin and sharps kit for free. One pharmacy I called charged $1-$3 for each needle/syringe which could cost me $54-$162 extra! Every penny counts in this crazy IVF cycle. Oh, and my nurse got us a coupon from the Follistim rep for a free 300 IU cartridge. Bonus $$. That will save us a cool $249!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Momentous Weekend
This was a big and busy weekend for me. My mom, dad and two sisters were in town visiting and DH and I took Friday off from work to spend time with them. We had a lot of fun together. They left this morning and I miss them already.
The other big momentous thing this weekend was that I told my employers about our upcoming IVF. This is the email I sent them:
Dear M & D,
As you know, life can throw you curve balls. N and I have been thrown one in regard to having a family. We’ve consulted with several Dr’s and found that for us to have a child we will need to use the medical procedure known as In-vitro fertilization. You may wonder why I’m telling you about such a personal issue, but this will directly impact your family and my work schedule.
Please forgive my telling you this in email, but I wanted to give you and D the opportunity to absorb this information before talking in person.
We have decided to move forward with IVF this summer. Our start date for this is July 12th. To go through a cycle of IVF I have gotten the following info from my doctor
The other big momentous thing this weekend was that I told my employers about our upcoming IVF. This is the email I sent them:
Dear M & D,
As you know, life can throw you curve balls. N and I have been thrown one in regard to having a family. We’ve consulted with several Dr’s and found that for us to have a child we will need to use the medical procedure known as In-vitro fertilization. You may wonder why I’m telling you about such a personal issue, but this will directly impact your family and my work schedule.
Please forgive my telling you this in email, but I wanted to give you and D the opportunity to absorb this information before talking in person.
We have decided to move forward with IVF this summer. Our start date for this is July 12th. To go through a cycle of IVF I have gotten the following info from my doctor
- I will have many early morning appointments:
- 1 appointment around July 13th that will most likely be around 7:30 AM and last approximately 30 minutes.
- Then appointments either every day or every other day (about 5-7 total) approximately 3 weeks after that. These appointments will most likely be around 7:30 AM and last approximately 30-45 minutes. During this time, I would still be available to work but would have to look at slightly altering my schedule (more info below)
- After these appointments, I’ll have to take 2 days off for a surgical procedure (including recovery time) approximately around August 17th.
- 3-5 days after my surgery I’ll need to have approximately 2 weeks off. These are the approximate dates August 20th or 22nd through September 4th. During these weeks I’ll be on a combination of bed rest and lifting restrictions. At the end of the 2 weeks, I will be able to come back to work at my regular hours.
I know this is a lot of time for me to take off. As IVF is not an exact science, the dates are not exact but are estimates of how my Dr’s think I’ll respond to the medications. I could need more or less time off, or the dates may be off a bit. Additionally, the cycle could be cancelled at any point and then started up a cycle or two later.
I appreciate the fact that it is hard to find a good caregiver for your children and that you’ve been down this path before. What I would like to suggest is that for my appointment days I would come in late and then work a bit later, until 5. For the full days that I need off I would like to take them as an unpaid leave of absence. This way, you would be able to hire a temp nanny and not be double paying, and I wouldn’t have to try to make up that lost time.
I understand if you are unable to make this situation work and I will have no hard feelings if this is the end of my employment with you. I will try to make whatever you decide to do work out the best way possible for both of you and of course, the girls.
As this is a private matter, I would appreciate that it is kept private. We have told very few people in our lives and prefer to keep this within a select trusted group at this time. I know this is a huge request and I don’t expect an immediate response. Please talk about it and then hopefully we can sit down and work out all the details.
Sincerely,
E
I anxiously awaited a reply. (I sent this late on Friday night… around 10 or so.) This was their reply that I received Sunday afternoon:
E,
There is no lady more deserving than yourself to bring a child into this world; and no child (including the D sisters) more fortunate to be held in your loving, nurturing arms. We are excited for you and N and will most certainly be sharing our prayers (and perhaps a few nail-biting sessions) with you.
In all honesty, you say you appreciate how hard it is to find a good caregiver as if you have no perception of the magnitude of our admiration and the girls love for you. You are our person - we are your family - it will be our pleasure to return some of the flexibility and good will you have so generously showered upon us. Of course, we are touched by and ever grateful for your continued consideration for our best interests - even during this period when you are surely pummeled by myriad emotions concerning your own situation.
Nay shall we toss you aside like a spark plug or air filter that needs replacing. The positive and lasting impression you have graciously bestowed upon our lives makes your place in our family just that. No worries at all about work schedule or having to try to make up time - your emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing must be primary considerations. We'll just work together on the details, put a general plan in place, and figure the rest out as we go.
Thank you for the advance notice and for sharing this personal confidence - trust that we will guard it with the same degree of trust we hope for and expect from you. We will talk more next week; in the meantime, we will be sending our positive thoughts, prayers, and blessings for you, N, and your family to be!
All our best,
M & D
Wow. To say that I’m blown away is an understatement. My last work family and I had discussed the possibility of my taking time off for IVF and they said they would try to make it work, but the undercurrent/tone was one of non-cooperation. Today at work M came down to talk to me after the girls fell asleep at naptime. She is so happy for me. They are excited and really want this for me. They truly want what is best for me and my family. I suppose I am jaded after how my last job ended, but this is so overwhelming and I’m so grateful at how blessed I am that this seems to all be working out. She reiterated that I don’t need to worry about anything. They will work their schedules around mine no matter what happens. What a HUGE relief. D also is super excited. On his way out the door this morning (after saying goodbye to the kids who were up at the unreasonable hour of 5 AM) he said to me “Congratulations! We can’t wait to hear some good and exciting news in the next couple of months!” I am so happy at this point. I think that I’m swinging way over into the optimistic side of life. Yeah!! I am going to be employed through all of this and have their support!
- 1 appointment around July 13th that will most likely be around 7:30 AM and last approximately 30 minutes.
- Then appointments either every day or every other day (about 5-7 total) approximately 3 weeks after that. These appointments will most likely be around 7:30 AM and last approximately 30-45 minutes. During this time, I would still be available to work but would have to look at slightly altering my schedule (more info below)
- After these appointments, I’ll have to take 2 days off for a surgical procedure (including recovery time) approximately around August 17th.
- 3-5 days after my surgery I’ll need to have approximately 2 weeks off. These are the approximate dates August 20th or 22nd through September 4th. During these weeks I’ll be on a combination of bed rest and lifting restrictions. At the end of the 2 weeks, I will be able to come back to work at my regular hours.
I know this is a lot of time for me to take off. As IVF is not an exact science, the dates are not exact but are estimates of how my Dr’s think I’ll respond to the medications. I could need more or less time off, or the dates may be off a bit. Additionally, the cycle could be cancelled at any point and then started up a cycle or two later.
I appreciate the fact that it is hard to find a good caregiver for your children and that you’ve been down this path before. What I would like to suggest is that for my appointment days I would come in late and then work a bit later, until 5. For the full days that I need off I would like to take them as an unpaid leave of absence. This way, you would be able to hire a temp nanny and not be double paying, and I wouldn’t have to try to make up that lost time.
I understand if you are unable to make this situation work and I will have no hard feelings if this is the end of my employment with you. I will try to make whatever you decide to do work out the best way possible for both of you and of course, the girls.
As this is a private matter, I would appreciate that it is kept private. We have told very few people in our lives and prefer to keep this within a select trusted group at this time. I know this is a huge request and I don’t expect an immediate response. Please talk about it and then hopefully we can sit down and work out all the details.
Sincerely,
E
I anxiously awaited a reply. (I sent this late on Friday night… around 10 or so.) This was their reply that I received Sunday afternoon:
E,
There is no lady more deserving than yourself to bring a child into this world; and no child (including the D sisters) more fortunate to be held in your loving, nurturing arms. We are excited for you and N and will most certainly be sharing our prayers (and perhaps a few nail-biting sessions) with you.
In all honesty, you say you appreciate how hard it is to find a good caregiver as if you have no perception of the magnitude of our admiration and the girls love for you. You are our person - we are your family - it will be our pleasure to return some of the flexibility and good will you have so generously showered upon us. Of course, we are touched by and ever grateful for your continued consideration for our best interests - even during this period when you are surely pummeled by myriad emotions concerning your own situation.
Nay shall we toss you aside like a spark plug or air filter that needs replacing. The positive and lasting impression you have graciously bestowed upon our lives makes your place in our family just that. No worries at all about work schedule or having to try to make up time - your emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing must be primary considerations. We'll just work together on the details, put a general plan in place, and figure the rest out as we go.
Thank you for the advance notice and for sharing this personal confidence - trust that we will guard it with the same degree of trust we hope for and expect from you. We will talk more next week; in the meantime, we will be sending our positive thoughts, prayers, and blessings for you, N, and your family to be!
All our best,
M & D
Wow. To say that I’m blown away is an understatement. My last work family and I had discussed the possibility of my taking time off for IVF and they said they would try to make it work, but the undercurrent/tone was one of non-cooperation. Today at work M came down to talk to me after the girls fell asleep at naptime. She is so happy for me. They are excited and really want this for me. They truly want what is best for me and my family. I suppose I am jaded after how my last job ended, but this is so overwhelming and I’m so grateful at how blessed I am that this seems to all be working out. She reiterated that I don’t need to worry about anything. They will work their schedules around mine no matter what happens. What a HUGE relief. D also is super excited. On his way out the door this morning (after saying goodbye to the kids who were up at the unreasonable hour of 5 AM) he said to me “Congratulations! We can’t wait to hear some good and exciting news in the next couple of months!” I am so happy at this point. I think that I’m swinging way over into the optimistic side of life. Yeah!! I am going to be employed through all of this and have their support!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Bad Nanny Day
Ok, so I know I'm in major PMS mode today, so I'm trying not to flip out on the kids. However, the little one has been so whiny lately and today is no exception. This is why we are at my home, and she is parked in front of the TV and I'm in the office decompressing. Not the best nanny of the year type move, but it will keep me sane for now. I just need to make it through today and then tonight DH, and I have a fun date of Todai and the movie UP planned. Now to get back to the urchin...
Thursday, June 4, 2009
IVF Consultation
I came home form work yesterday to this beautiful bouquet of flowers.
It has all my favorites in it: daisies, hydrangea and roses! It was thoughtfully sent by C. Thank you! It was such a nice surprise to come home to. DH and I then left for our IVF consult appointment.
We got to the appointment super early (no traffic) and checked in and I paid our current balance for the SHG and HSG tests that our insurance declined to pay. It’s been interesting seeing what the insurance does pay and what it considers to be part of the lifetime IF coverage. Dr. Opie greeted us and we headed back to his office. He is such a happy guy! We sat down and he asked us if we had any questions that he could address first and then he would go over all of his stuff. I whipped out our list of questions, and he very clearly and simply answered all of our questions concerns. One sad note- he doesn’t want me traveling during my 1st trimester which means I can’t go to Vegas to see B get married. L He then covered the whole IVF process in detail and pulled up my test results and had a cool graphing tool that he plugged my test info/age info, and it showed the clinics success rate with woman who are the same profile as me- it was 94%!! He was a bit shocked and reminded us that it was skewed a bit as there were only 32 women in that particular group. However, he does give us a high chance of it working 70% or so. After all of his info he said he wanted to do one last hormone panel test which would tell him what amount of meds to start me on. We asked if we could start the IVF on my next cycle which would be a start date of June 14th. Unfortunately, we can’t because the ER and ET would fall during the embryology labs bi-annual cleaning when they shut the lab down and do a deep clean. So, we figured out a tentative start date for my next cycle which is July 11th. Yippee! He is going to have the nurses come up with a schedule for me with dates and prescriptions that should be ready for me in the next week or so.
On the way out I stopped in the phlebotomy lab for the quick blood draw. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been drinking a ton of water, so it was hard for the 1st nurse to find my veins. She grabbed a 2nd nurse that found one and quickly got the sample. We left and decided to go out to dinner to celebrate. It’s exciting! We are both very hopeful that this will work.
On the work front, I’m planning on telling my employers once I have the schedule from the nurses that has dates. DH has been helping me craft my email and I think it’s done I just need to plug in the dates. DH is going to make a calendar or spreadsheet that lays out the time off more clearly. Hopefully, my employers will be ok with this, but if not that’s ok too. Having a baby is more important to me than any job.
It has all my favorites in it: daisies, hydrangea and roses! It was thoughtfully sent by C. Thank you! It was such a nice surprise to come home to. DH and I then left for our IVF consult appointment.
We got to the appointment super early (no traffic) and checked in and I paid our current balance for the SHG and HSG tests that our insurance declined to pay. It’s been interesting seeing what the insurance does pay and what it considers to be part of the lifetime IF coverage. Dr. Opie greeted us and we headed back to his office. He is such a happy guy! We sat down and he asked us if we had any questions that he could address first and then he would go over all of his stuff. I whipped out our list of questions, and he very clearly and simply answered all of our questions concerns. One sad note- he doesn’t want me traveling during my 1st trimester which means I can’t go to Vegas to see B get married. L He then covered the whole IVF process in detail and pulled up my test results and had a cool graphing tool that he plugged my test info/age info, and it showed the clinics success rate with woman who are the same profile as me- it was 94%!! He was a bit shocked and reminded us that it was skewed a bit as there were only 32 women in that particular group. However, he does give us a high chance of it working 70% or so. After all of his info he said he wanted to do one last hormone panel test which would tell him what amount of meds to start me on. We asked if we could start the IVF on my next cycle which would be a start date of June 14th. Unfortunately, we can’t because the ER and ET would fall during the embryology labs bi-annual cleaning when they shut the lab down and do a deep clean. So, we figured out a tentative start date for my next cycle which is July 11th. Yippee! He is going to have the nurses come up with a schedule for me with dates and prescriptions that should be ready for me in the next week or so.
On the way out I stopped in the phlebotomy lab for the quick blood draw. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been drinking a ton of water, so it was hard for the 1st nurse to find my veins. She grabbed a 2nd nurse that found one and quickly got the sample. We left and decided to go out to dinner to celebrate. It’s exciting! We are both very hopeful that this will work.
On the work front, I’m planning on telling my employers once I have the schedule from the nurses that has dates. DH has been helping me craft my email and I think it’s done I just need to plug in the dates. DH is going to make a calendar or spreadsheet that lays out the time off more clearly. Hopefully, my employers will be ok with this, but if not that’s ok too. Having a baby is more important to me than any job.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Happy
This hat makes me happy:
My mom made it for me after I told her (actually I sent her a link) to one on Etsy. I think that these little elf hats are adorable and I can't wait until I have my own little elf to dress in it.
My mom made it for me after I told her (actually I sent her a link) to one on Etsy. I think that these little elf hats are adorable and I can't wait until I have my own little elf to dress in it.
Monday, June 1, 2009
It's Here...
This is the week I’ve been waiting for… our final IVF appointment is on Wednesday. This is when we will get our final IVF protocol, prescriptions and ask any final questions. I’ve been trying to prep by writing down questions as I think of them, but I’m sure more will come up during the meeting. This is also the week I tell my work family about the time off I’ll need for IVF. Yikes! I hope it all goes well and is over soon!
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