FANTASTIC friends

Ok get this....I am ALREADY feeling better since my post a few hours ago. The reason for this is my AMAZING friends! Even though we live thousands of miles apart SO many of them have reached out to me and given me a BIG LOVE HUG and really good advice! I am feeling much better now....and I KNOW I can get through this 2 week wait with their love and support and if it doesn't work out this time they will ALWAYS be there to pick me up when I am feeling down. 

 YOU ladies know who you are and I just want to say THANK YOU for being YOU. I also found these Words of Wisdom on pinterest that make me smile!

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This inspires me to be SHE

Fingers crossed, that is all we can do

Jamie ready to come in for egg transfe

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. To be honest, maybe it is because I am scared to put anything in 'writing'. 

 Here is the IVF update................ 

It is all done and dusted, they have put two embryos back into me. The reason they have put two back in was because one was not very good quality and the other was OK which means our chances of this working this time are not GREAT! 

 I will test NEXT Monday.  I know when I have read on IVF discussion boards everyone talks about how awful the 2 week wait is.  Today is this first time it has actually hit me.  I am not doing very well today with the 2 week wait.

You KNOW these embryos have been put back into you and you are just waiting....hoping...wishing....and asking yourself SO many questions...after egg transfer have they even continued to grow? 

THEN will they be strong enough to implant and survive? I am coming up to what should be 'implantation' stage but WHO knows they might not have even made it past day 3.  I always hear about 'implantation cramping' and I HAVE NONE OF THAT.

 I have tried SO hard to be super positive but when the call came through on Wednesday to say they wanted to transfer two back in right away I knew it was because the quality was NOT great. The Consultant and all of the Nursers and Embryologists were AMAZING and the whole procedure went like clockwork.

Nonetheless I don't feel like it has worked this time, I am trying to remain positive and hopeful BUT am also preparing myself for the REALISTIC outcome. 

I just wish someone could promise me and my hubby that it WILL work at some point. All of the injections and the hormones that I have put my body through WILL be worth it (I think I have coped really well thus far BUT today is really hard.  I feel like I am PMSing x 1000.

So that is the update for IVF

I have already had to start thinking of PLAN B which will hopefully begin in October to allow enough time for my body to get rid of everything and flush it out of my system.

Sorry for a DOWNER of a post BUT I always said I would be totally open and honest

Keeping them crossed

Egg Collection Done!

I'm back home after egg collection.

  I have to say it was NOWHERE near as bad as I thought it would be and I am not in very much pain (I keep waiting for the pain to kick in). 

I think I made a little bit of a fool of myself when I was waking up. I was telling everyone how I was going to have a 'treat' on the way home. That 'treat' was my beloved Starbucks. My Consultant found that very funny. OH well. 

 The Consultant went in and my lining & hormones all look good and they collected 11 eggs. Now its the waiting game. Apparently I get the call tomorrow to tell me how many have fertilised and then IF we get some healthy fertilised eggs we have to wait to find out if we are going to day 3 or day 5 (getting to day 5 is best). Here are some pics from the day. Please excuse the face. I was not allowed to wear ANY makeup or any nail polish and was up at 5:45 so look very tired. Im off now to paint my nails! 

Hubby before we went in

Thumbs up before the procedure

My 'treat' SoyaMilk Chai tea latte, no water and only 1 pump of chai
 (they usually put in 4 pumps but that is WAY too much)

No more INJECTIONS!

HAPPY SUNDAY! 

OK I have been MIA but this IVF stuff has been taking over a little I am SO pleased to announce that I woke up this morning and DID not have to do ANY injections!!!!

Last night at 10:00pm I gave the final 'release' injection and will be going in Monday morning for them to collect the eggs!

I can't believe how fast this IVF cycle has gone.  If you have a choice I totally recommend the short IVF cycle! 

Thank you to my WONDERFUL husband, amazing friends and families and my Mala Beads from tiny devotions.  These are some of the things that have made the injections totally bearable OH yes and prune juice!

I have no control over what happens next, but I can stay positive and know that everything happens for a reason and that....

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whatever wednesday

I couldn't think of an appropriate title for this blog as I have two topics today, so I thought WHATEVER Wednesday would work. Maybe I will do WW on a weekly basis??

1) Stimms & IVF update... Ok so the stimulation's are going well, I THINK. I hope I am growing healthy and happy little eggs. The problem is I have no idea what is going on in there. BUT I am going to see my Consultant tomorrow to have a scan.
Last night I went to see my reflexologist which was such a nice treat, I adore reflexology.  My reflexologist is also trained in positive visualisation so she did some different techniques with me to encourage a mind/body connection.  My head is a little FUZZY so I am sorry if this blog doesn't make that much sense today.

Speaking of IVF I found a seriously interesting article today that has caused me to add BUY avocados on my TO DO LIST for today. If you are going through IVF you might want to read this article...

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2)  Ok I have a serious BLOG crush on the fantastic Megan at The Detoxinista.  She is very healthy and not into white flours,  sugars and processed food.  She has SOOOOO many fantastic and interesting recipes that I have tried and loved (and they are easy to adapt and add in your own things).  I have to give her credit because she certainly inspired me to start to re think my eating and ways to get healthy.

She has recently just posted this one that I WILL make as soon as my bananas get spotty and brown and maybe add some cocoa nibs...PB flourless mug cake 

I have also successfully made her yummy cauliflower pizza recipe, although I have to admit my first attempt was a little soggy but then she shared THE SECRET to making it and it WORKS.

And if you are after treats she has lots of healthy ones that I have made and enjoyed like these seriously yummy peanut butter balls!

AND some really yummy shakes like this Choco-Cado Milkshake (perfect for IVF)

Ok go have a little look and happy cooking.  Let me know if you have any other recommendations of healthy eating blogs

 

IVF journey has started

Happy Monday It is dark and rainy today BUT I had a lovely weekend.....

I love late evening walks along the canal, everything is so beautiful and refreshing.  I also ADORE this house on the next street over.  It was for sale here, unfortunately it was too much money.

We have also properly started our IVF journey as the injections have begun.  

I am so pleased to announce that the injections do not hurt NEALRY as much as I thought they would and I can do them myself.  I started off with just one injection to STIMMULATE my eggs, this was with the EPI style pen below.

Today I also started a second injection that is a proper 'syringe needle'. The second needle is to make sure that the eggs I am producing do not 'release'. 
 I much prefer the EPI pen style one BUT this is all part of our journey and it is not really that bad.
Other than feeling a little tired and some mild headaches things are ok SO far.  I know that once your eggs are really growing that you begin to get uncomfortable.  I am seeing my Consultant on Thursday for a scan to see how things are going.  FINGERS CROSSED

On the health side of IVF I am trying to eat a lot of protein right now, as that is excellent for the eggs.
I am also trying to get lots of rest and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.  I have also upped my intake of water and green tea.  I always drink a lot but am trying to have more water to help keep headaches away.
SO far SO good, it also helps that my hubby has been a star!  
And waking up to this little doll every morning makes my heart SPARKLE

 

little changes....

As I have mentioned before I have been working really hard to improve my health and fitness in preparation for IVF. BUT that would be a total waste of time if I was trying to 'detox' myself and left my house full of toxins. Today I am going to share with you some of the fabulous products I have introduced into my household and I love them. Some might be a little wacky but HEY it works for us.

Lots of plants have been added to our household as these wonderful things help rid the home of pollutants and toxins. There is a really short and informative article that outlines the top 10 houseplants to help clean the air found here.

Our cleaning products have been totally revamped!  Our house still sparkles and shines but without the heavy chemicals and fake 'smells'.

Ok this is one of the products that I have only just found and think it is great.  I got mine from Lakeland.  Basically it is an air purifying bag that contains bamboo charcoal and removes odours in the house.  Totally love it.  I don't THINK our house smelt though, so I only bought it for its purifying properties ha haha

Ok another one that is out there and a little whacky.....  When I went for a massage recently the therapist had a beautiful Himalayan Salt Lamp in her treatment room.  It gives off the most beautiful relaxing pink glow and it was so soothing.  I decided to do some research into it and many different websites stated that they were very good for purifying the air and their 'ionising' properties.  This might be true Im not totally convinced BUT I love the glow and its great to have on in the bedroom when you just need to unwind

My skin!  If I am being so careful about what I put into my body and am making sure everything is as organic as possible then I need to be JUST as dilagent about what I put onto my body.  I bascially went though all of our old skin products and identified the ones that were full of parabens and other nasties.  These have slowly been replaced with a much more natural approach and my skin LOVES it.

Ok Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish is THE BEST product in the world for cleaning your face! If you haven't tried it you are missing out.  Lots of people I know who started using it adore it so GET ON IT!  The reviews on the website speak for itself.  The smell is amazing and it is just SO natural.  It comes with a polish cloth that really removes the day away.

At night time I then massage in all natural rosehip oil and wake up with beautiful radiant skin.  Hey if it is good enough for Miranda Kerr then...

In the morning I use Khiels but BE careful as I was shocked that many of their products contain nasties!  But this one I was told doesn't.

Finally I delight my armpits with GreenPeople rosemary deodorant. Im kinda a sweaty person and this does the trick. Their products are divine!

Tiny Devotions-my secret weapon

I had a lovely weekend BUT am starting to feel nervous. Tomorrow is hopefully going to be the START of my IVF journey. The idea is that I will not be doing the 'long cycle' which means I will not have as many drugs PUMPED into me BUT I will have hormones pumped into me. Unfortunately I will be needing to administer these via injections (YIKES) every day.

  After my Consultant does a scan, I will come off the birth control and will then hopefully start my stimulating injections as soon as my 'Aunt FLOW' arrives. 

I have been to acupuncture & reflexology this weekend to help get me in the 'right frame of mind' BUT one of my secret weapons has come from a dear friend in Canada. 

 A few weeks ago I had a special package waiting for me and opened it up to find something very intriguing from a company called Tiny Devotions & a beautiful handwritten note from my friend.  Seriously tears were flowing!

If you have not heard of the FANTASTIC tiny devotions before you need to go have a look.  I had never heard of them before so did lots of investigating and watched the Q & A about Mala beads video with the founder of Tiny Devotions below (serious Girl Crush).

So Saturday was the day that I decided I would begin my MALA beads journey.  I am hoping they bring a wonderful gift into our lives.  My friend also had them specifically 'blessed' for fertility by the team at Tiny Devotions.

Here I am with the beautiful beads.  You would not believe the number of people who asked me about WHERE they came from.  You might be sceptical BUT if you can't think positively through something like this what can you do?

Keep on sparkling