A SHOT at Love

Like Becky said, I've been giving her a nightly intramuscular shot of progesterone oil for a while.  We recently were allowed to stop due to her body taking over production.  Since we've been down this road a few times, I've got some experience... probably 100 or more shots.  We learned a few things during the process and experienced a couple of scenarios I'd like to share.  Hopefully, my house key will work when I get home.

The first shot took about four hours.  I don't blame her.  I, too would have been scared of me with a needle.  It was my first shot to give and she had been thinking about it for weeks.  I tried to stay patient, but eventually I left the room.  She used a phone-a-friend and we got back on track.  Since that day, it was relatively smooth sailing.

Every attempt included the same few questions from Becky, but let me set up the process first.  The progesterone is delivered in sesame oil... so, it's thick.  Thick shots suck, so we heat up a hot-water-bottle to help diffuse the oil once it gets injected.  That's step one.  Two: use a large gauge (read: pencil lead sized...it was big) needle to draw the oil into the syringe.  Three: swap needles on the syringe to a more reasonable size (see the previous post for a picture).  The questions:  Did you switch the needles (totally reasonable question)?  Is that a good placement for the shot?  It's not too high up is it?  Are you ready (her to me about six times)?  And it usually included a few "Ummms" to give her a chance to get her mind straight.  I eventually stopped asking when she was ready because no person in their right mind would ever say "now" knowing what would happen next.  I started saying, "OK, deep breath, going in three, two, one."  I would then tap her with my pinky finger to "fake" the shot, then give the shot.  She would tense up on the "fake" and then relax.  A little devious, but it was recommended by the nurse.

The next few steps are where we learned a few tricks.

The shot requires the muscle to be relaxed so she would lay on her stomach and draw up the leg on whichever side was to receive the shot (in the top of her butt).  To keep her from flinching or kicking that leg during the shot (and to make her feel more comfortable), I would straddle her legs.  The actual steps are simple...Four: alcohol pad to shot area, inject, Band-Aid, hot-water-bottle.  However, let's add a few obstacles: dogs.  Tyson is extremely sensitive to Becky's mood.  He can't stand for her to raise her voice or cry or anything like that.  The actual injection takes a good minute to a minute and a half.  I'm sure a nurse would knock it out in five seconds, but for us, slower was better to let the oil dissipate.  Well, if she whimpered or reacted, Tyson would come to her rescue and try to lick her face which would shake the bed and, in turn, shake the shot-giver.  Since the needle is about this long -----------------------> any shaking hurt (REALLY HURT), so we learned to remove the dogs or not react to any pain.  She eventually achieved a Zen-like state and the dogs thought we were just taking a nap...no flinching, no noise, she was a rock star.

Next lesson: LOCK THE DOOR.  On the rare occasions where we had guests during the time a shot was needed, we would find a bedroom and walk through the process.  Hopefully, by now, you have a picture of how this would go.  If not, let me illustrate:  picture me straddling my wife's legs w/ most of her rear hanging out.  Now, I have my left hand on her rear stretching the skin and giving myself a target to aim for.  In the right, I hold the syringe like a dart with my fingers over the serum to help warm it up.  So, naked butt, cowboy husband, exposed needle, unlocked door.  Do I need to finish the story?  Enter the "tween" daughter of a close friend.  She stood there in stunned silence, mouth agape, eyes like half-dollars.  I'm expecting a bill from her therapist in about 15 years.  We started locking the door.

Other lessons learned:  don't stab the needle through the fleshy part of your hand between your thumb and first finger.  I didn't do that, I'm just saying you shouldn't either.

Anyway, that's about all I can think of.  I'm not sure if this is more for you guys or for us later.  I'd hate to forget any of these events.  Some have been difficult but even those have brought us closer.  Honestly, even though I was inflicting pain on her EVERY NIGHT for months, she would always thank me.  Probably not an easy thing to do, but she never forgot.  In a strange way, it was an opportunity to have 10 minutes of quiet for the two of us with the sole purpose of continuing this pregnancy.  We had a daily routine that required both of us and it had a direct impact on these two babies.  What else during my life has been more important than that?

No more Progesterone Shots!

As of yesterday, 2/20/09, we are finished with progesterone shots!  Scott has been giving me daily injections of progesterone oil since 12/30/08.  For about 2 weeks, we even had to increase to 2 shots a day!  Luckily, since 2/12/09, I've only had one shot every other day.  It looks much worse that it is, but I do feel "tough" when I see the needle.  Scott is a wonderful "shot-giver".  If you ever need help with a shot, you can call him - he's very patient.  This is a picture to document the needle used to give the progesterone shots (I dreaded these shots since our first IVF class):

Dr. Pietrantoni did add a shot to my daily routine yesterday.  It's Arixtra and is given through a small needle, so I can actually give myself the shot.  This medication should prevent blood clots.  I have to take this daily until 6 weeks after the babies are here.  As long as it helps get them here safely, I don't mind!

The Louisville Mothers of Twins Club had a consignment sale.  I went and found it completely overwhelming.  They have another sale in September, so maybe I'll make it to that one.  Today, I stuck with my usual purchase...books.  I did get a great deal on a barely used pack and play for the lake.  I hope our friends visit us a lot at the lake this summer so we can put it to good use!  We'll also have central air, remodeled bathrooms, a new kitchen and steps to the lake so there's no excuse. 

Let the worrying begin

I have to say, the Earth moved when those little heartbeats echoed over the speakers.  160+ and 180+ beats per minute sounds quite fast but I'm told that's normal.  What isn't normal is EVERYTHING ELSE!  This is the most surreal experience I've ever gone through.   All the warnings, suggestions, tips, advice, and instructions cannot prepare me for any of this, I'm sure.

Just a quick note, our current "twins" are taking this very well.  They have made a few requests about sleeping arrangements, etc.  We're in discussions.  More later.

Hooray!!

Welcome to our blog spot!  Scott and I wanted to create this blog to keep our friends and family informed as we progress through our first pregnancy.  After working with Dr. Glen Hofman for two and a half years...WE ARE PREGNANT WITH TWINS!!  Here's their first picture when they were just blastocysts:

Scott and I always knew having children might be difficult because I was diagnosis with PCOS when I was 15 years old, just a year before Scott and I began dating.  We've shared almost 19 years together and we couldn't be happier to be adding to our family.

Our road to "the kids" was long and included many trials of Clomed, injections, and 3 IVF attempts.  Last year was difficult as our first 2 IVF attempts resulted in miscarriages.  However, our second IVF attempt gave us 25 fertilized eggs! On Jan. 5, 2009, we had our 3rd. embryo transfer using 2 thawed embryos.  It was a long wait until Jan.13th, but well worth it because we found out that we were pregnant and my hcg level was 116 (almost double what it had been before).  Two days later, my hcg level was retested and they were looking for the number to at least double.  We held our breath because this is where we had experienced problems in the past.  To our pleasant surprise, it had increased to 323...we were pregnant and it was progressing well.  We were so excited but experience had taught us to proceed with caution.  This is our first ultrasound picture.  If you look closely, you'll see two dark circles on each side of the white arrow!

Scott and I cheered and laughed the first time morning sickness hit...a true reason to celebrate!  Around week 5, we had an ultrasound that revealed 2 babies and we both cried.  I wasn't even off of the table before the entire office knew our news and was celebrating with us!  After all this time, we were blessed with twins! At week 7, we saw their little hearts beating and this ranks as the most incredible moment in our lives.  Again, we cried tears of joy (I think this will be a pattern for us over the next 7 months and probably years after that!).  This is what we saw on the ultrasound at week 7!

This is when we graduated from Dr. Hofman's care.  Dr. Hofman, Dr. Warikoo, Wendy, Linda, Bonny, Cindy, Patty, Joy, Phyllis, Ann, Theresa, and all of the wonderful staff became part of our lives and although we were thrilled to not need their services anymore, it was sad to move on.  I cannot say enough about the quailty of care we received, both physically and emotionally.  They cried with us during difficult times and celebrated with us during good times - a true support system.  We consider them our family and our heroes!

Now, we are anxiously awaiting our first doctor visit on Feb. 20th with Dr. Marcello Pietrantoni, a local perinatologist.  We appreciate your support, love, and prayers.  We will keep you posted as things progress.  The infertility and pregnancy journies have reminded us that science can only do so much and that life truely is a miracle!