Christmas Follies

Finn and I were on our own for Christmas this year. My sister was out of town with her husband's family, and my parents stayed in Florida so my grandmother wouldn't be alone on Christmas Day, so it was just the two of us.

We invited ourselves over to my friend Lisa's house on Christmas Eve - only they had plans with her extended family in the evening, so we ended up just going over there for a few hours in the afternoon.  Finn had been out of sorts most of the day, and when we got to Lisa's he started to feel warm.  Even though he knows her family he clung to me for the first little bit.  And then finally Lisa convinced him to come to her - and he fell asleep within 5 minutes of being in her arms.  He definitely had a fever when we got home, so he had a dose of ibuprofen and was off to bed.

Sound asleep on Aunt Lisa

By the time he went to bed, the headache I'd been nursing all day turned into a full blown migraine. The kind that lasts for days, keeps me from sleeping and makes me feel awful.  So I pulled out the last ox.ycodone I had left from after my c-section and used it.  OMG.  That stuff is amazing. I have never had anything break a headache like that did.  I was able to sleep, and woke up Christmas morning with a sore neck, but no headache at all. That never happens. Must get a primary care doctor so I can myself some of those!  LOL  Finn got another dose of ibuprofen in the middle of the night when he was burning up again, but woke up fairly happy on Christmas morning.  I'd planned on us cuddling in bed for a bit, but I had a feeling his good mood wasn't going to last, so we went downstairs for presents.

I'm not sure he really got the concept, and without other kids to fuel the excitement, it was a pretty low key Christmas morning.  He loved his shirts from Santa and his Mickey Mouse pjs from Aunt Heidi, and while he wasn't too into them then, has played with his new car ramp and fire truck a lot today.  I had a few presents to open, too. After Finn didn't buy me anything for Christmas last year, I wised up and gave money to Nanny M for Finn to pick out a gift for me.  She said that she took him around Target, and when he saw my gift he pointed to it and said, "Mama!" I haven't taken a picture of them yet, but he got me a very pretty pair of earrings.  And some chocolate.  I also got some yummy lotion from Heidi and very cool statue that a friend of mine from med school made for me.  He's so talented!

Opening his first present

Mickey PJs

His stocking is as big as he is

Mommy and son statue

Finn was feverish and fussy most of the rest of the day, but my friend LB still insisted that we come over.  Unfortunately, I hadn't talked with her about what her plans for us were on Christmas day, and so I was surprised when we talked that morning to learn that she was planning on having us eat Christmas dinner at 2pm. Smack in the middle of Finn's naptime.  With him being sick, there was no way I was going to wake him up, so I ended up eating my Christmas dinner at her kitchen counter at 4:30 that afternoon while she prepared for a Christmas open house with her family about an hour later.  I hadn't planned on staying, but Finn seemed ok, and I felt rude leaving right when everyone got there, so I stayed for a couple of hours and then headed home.

It wasn't a bad Christmas - how could it be with Finn?  But it wasn't a great one.  It felt awfully lonely at times.  I'm so glad my parents are here now, and we have plans for a big family Christmas gathering with my sister and her family this weekend.  Let's hope everyone is healthy!

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I had my (totally unnecessary) CD8 ultrasound and labs today.  I always have a cyst on my right ovary. It always measures about 18mm at the baseline scan, and then goes up to 23mm by CD10.  This cycle I also still have a smaller cyst left over from my IUI cycle in September to go along with it.  So today when we saw a 23mm and a 17mm "follicle" on the right, and two others around 12-14mm, I was quick to say those were my two old friends, the cysts.  The ultrasound tech agreed with me, but the nurse did not. She insisted the 23mm was a follicle and I should be prepared for an IUI on Friday.  I insisted she was wrong, so we agreed to wait for my labs.

I left feeling pretty bummed.  Not only was I worried I was going to have an IUI too soon, but my left ovary was completely quiet.  NOTHING going on.  My left ovary was the one that gave me Finn, and the first two cycles that didn't work when trying for him, my left ovary was quiet then, too.  Of course, my left ovary has been going to town with follicles the past two IUI cycles and no pregnancy, but I have it in my head that I'll only get pregnant with an egg from the right, so I'm a little discouraged.

But anyway.  Around 12:30, as I'm standing in line to get my lowish carb burrito bowl, I get the call from the nurse.  "Your estradiol is rising, but still not high enough, so you'll take 2 more doses of Gonal-F and come back for more labs and a scan on Friday." CD10.  The day I should have gone in for my ultrasound in the first place.  I was so busy not saying "I told you so" that I forgot to ask what my estradiol level actually was.  They're still concerned about this right cyst and so asked me to do an OPK tomorrow morning and call them if it's positive.  But I'm not wasting my money.  I've got no cervical mucous changes, it's only CD9 tomorrow, I've never gotten a positive OPK reading in the past, and I'm just positive that I'm not ovulating.  This cycle is already my most expensive IUI cycle on record, I really don't want to throw more money away.

So I'm guessing I'll be told to trigger on Friday night for an IUI on Sunday.  I'm not sure if I'm feeling all that optimistic, but I think maybe there's a chance this will work.  Oh, I hope it does.

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Finally, Finn's next MRI is tomorrow.  He had a fever again this afternoon, so I'm hoping that's all gone now.  I hate MRI days.