Slow and Steady

Our first cycle of IVF is going well, but excruciatingly slow. After 3 days of medications, we went in for our first ultrasound and blood work appointment. I had many egg follicles present in each ovary, about 12 in each or so, but they were still on the small side. The results of the blood test indicated that my estrogen level was low as well. So for the 4th night of injections we upped our dose a little. Our next follow-up appointment was this morning and there was still not much of a difference. We are now upping the dose a little more and ordering more medication for the rest of the week. Slow and Steady wins the race, I guess.

On other news, some of you may have read this post about a job interview that I had about a month ago. The job was fantastic, but this was about the same time we found out we would be beginning IVF. The job just wouldn't have provided enough income so I withdrew my application. The good news, however, is that I have been in negotiations with my current position to begin working at home for the next 6 months or so. I would be missing a large amount of work due to the IVF and probably not feeling so well from some of the medications. So, I found out today that it looks like I will begin working from home as an independent contractor starting May 15th!

This is a great situation for us for many reasons. I will not get taxed on my pay check so I will be bringing home more income to help pay off some debt. The taxes we would owe at the end of the year should be balanced out by our medical deductions and the deductions I would be able to take because I work at home. I will also be able to start exercising a little more since I will have more time in my day. I just feel like this will give me the opportunity to start taking more control over what I do all day and, most importantly, give me more time to pay more attention to our eating habits and what we have for lunch and dinner. We are both gaining weight and have our periods where we don't eat so well. We will also be able to plan a few trips we have been wanting to take without worrying about vacation time, etc. I can imagine that vacations and trips will not be that frequent once we have children!

All in all, I am just happy that I won't be sitting and staring at at computer for 8 hours a day without any work to do. I will be able to get my work done and move on to something else that needs to be done. I feel completely drained after each day at work and I'm looking forward to making some positive changes in our lives.

We go back in tomorrow for another ultrasound/blood work appointment. Let's hope these eggs start growing!