Summer is in sight

Well, once again it has been too long, and although I have a splitting headache at the moment (thanks Lupron!), I figured I couldn't put this off any longer. My academic year is pretty much at a close. Today was graduation and I got to get all dressed up in that goofy academic regalia and sit through a grueling graduation ceremony in the nearly ninety degree weather. It was not fun. But it was good to see some of my favorite students graduate. It is so hard to imagine being in their shoes - it was such a long time ago that I was there.

So aside from today's festivities, I still have a 2 day meeting on campus on Monday and Tuesday, but then that's it! I have all kinds of plans for the summer, starting with the current cycle at CCRM. I started my initial injections (microdose Lupron and Saizen, which is human growth hormone, to hopefully get some really good eggs growing) on Thursday and tomorrow I will add in the FSH drugs (that's follicle stimulating hormones for those who don't know), Menopur and Gonal-f. For the next three days, I will be doing 5 shots a day, which is the maximum for me. The Saizen only goes 5 days total, so once I'm done with that I'll be down to 4 shots a day for the rest of the cycle. I am now the master of shots, but when this all started I had to bury my head in a pillow and let my husband give me the shots. Once I had to start doing it myself when he was out of town, it has gotten much better. I feel much more empowered and not afraid of them at all. I am the biggest wimp, but am pretty proud of how much I have progressed.

I guess I should mention that we have already passed the first potential hurdle in this cycle, which was the suppression check. I went in for my ultrasound on Wednesday morning to make sure that the birth control pills had my follicles nicely suppressed, with no renegade follicles starting to grow ahead of time, or any residual cysts from the previous cycle. So we got the go-ahead to start the meds, obviously. I was worried about that since I've had cysts cancel my cycle before, but that was at the local clinic. It would have really sucked to have to cancel this cycle since we have already booked our flights. So I will be monitored here one more time on Wednesday morning and then will fly to Denver on Thursday. I'm very excited.

But I'm even more excited about our vacation to Mexico. We will just be lounging on the beach all day and snorkeling, and even drinking! Right now I can't drink, but after all those eggs have been removed from me, fertilized and grown into embryos and frozen, there is no reason why I can't relax and have a good time. So the timing couldn't be better. That's what I am looking forward to at the moment, and then when we are back from the vacation, we will begin our hunt for a new apartment in NYC. That will be a big adventure.

That's it for now. I am off to the city to meet my husband and some dear friends who are in from out of town for dinner. I'm looking forward to a nice evening of catching up and relaxing, as well as celebrating the school year that has finally come to an end.