Waiting

IUI went well. We were allowed to "collect" at home, even though we live an hour away from the clinic. RE assured me that an hour would be just fine as long as we kept the cup at body temperature. So, neither one of us really slept well on Monday night. This morning, we sat, staring at the clock and waiting until 7:30 (appt. with RE was at 8:30), so we could collect the troops and head up to the clinic. DH and I were both nervous as could be. The collection cup made the trip nestled uncomfortably in my bra (I'm sure it was quite a site), while DH drove above the speed limit and commented on all the "slow" drivers on the road. Before we were even out of town, he was clearly too edgy, so I started singing, "Get me to the church on time" to lighten the mood. Without hesitation, he said, "I'm not worried about getting you to the church, I'm trying to get to the artificial sex place." Well said, my dear. I assured him that we had plenty of time, but that if we got pulled over, I was sure I could flash our cargo at the officer and ask for a reprieve so we could get to the clinic. Fortunately, we avoided getting pulled over, so I didn't have to try it.

We pulled into the parking lot of the clinic with 5 minutes to spare before our appointed time and deposited the cup in the lab, so RE could work her magic with getting it ready. 30 minutes later, she called us back to the lab to discuss his count and motility, which she said was all good. She had a sample on her microscope, which was hooked up to a tv monitor, so we got to see the little troops swimming around and even got a close-up view of some of them. "They're so cute!" I said in awe of the whole experience. Now, I have seen sperm on a microscope many times, but never DH's sperm and knowing that a whole bunch of these little guys were about to be comfortably placed inside my uterus was indescribable. Most people who have been TTC don't get the joy of seeing this, so it was such a blessing to get to see the little guys (and girls) swimming happily around on the microscope slide.

RE then sent us down the hall to "the room." I got all settled in the stirrups, naked from the waste down, aside from the "paper blanket" (as DH calls it) and waited patiently for RE to join us with a syringe full of the troops. When RE appeared, she explained everything as she was doing it, which I really appreciated because I knew what to expect, but DH didn't really know. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes, and we were again left alone for 15 minutes so I could chill out FOB style before I jumped up, got dressed, and went about my day.

That 15 minutes of waiting after the procedure was crazy long and tons of thoughts ran through my head. This is the closest we have ever gotten to having a chance of getting pregnant. PREGNANT!!! I just hope it works. I took the whole day off just to relax and because I wasn't sure I'd be able to concentrate on work. Plus, DH was so excited/nervous all day that the best way to describe him was like a kid at Christmas. I have dealt with the 2ww before in previous cycles, but since this was our first completed IUI cycle, DH now is cognizant of the 2ww as well and CANNOT wait to find out. It is going to be a long 2 weeks if he doesn't settle down. It is cute though. He worries about me more already and even called me when I was 5 minutes late getting home from an errand, just to make sure I was okay. His concern for my well-being makes me smile and he has been patting me every day, saying, "I hope there is a baby growing in there." Me too.

I have to go back to see RE in a week for a blood test to check my hormone levels. Until that time, we can BD on our own, which will hopefully help DH be more patient about waiting to find out if all this worked. We test on October 18th and I'm praying that for the first time ever, we finally see a BFP. If not, the most difficult thing will be to give DH the news. We are staying positive and we have several people praying for a miracle for us.