tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718658397832898172024-03-13T08:36:54.737-05:00A Life For Rent . . .Random ramblings of a twenty-something mother, wife, miniaturist, accountant, bibliophile, and part time muggle. Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00265917863966103819noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371865839783289817.post-49106011834125476432018-05-31T13:19:00.002-05:002018-05-31T13:19:51.689-05:00Surprise, I'm Pregnant!!!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been awhile since my last post. After exactly three years of trying and multiple fertility drugs I can finally say that I am expecting, without any help from said drugs. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My last Femara cycle in August failed and my husband and I decided to hold off on further fertility treatments. Without the fertility drugs to regulate my cycle it went back to being all wacky. my cycle from August when I had done my last round of Femara was 81 days long and after that it was 60 days long. In January on cycle day 22 I started noticing some signs of ovulation so I decided to take a OPK and got a very strong positive. I started calculating DPO from there and had a very strong feeling that I was pregnant. On January 19th, 2018 at 9 DPO I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive!!! </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am 22 weeks along with a baby girl. This pregnancy has been drastically different than my first, there are new aches and pains that weren't there before and I have spent the first half of my pregnancy scared something was going to go wrong, luckily that has started to taper off as I get further along. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My due date is October 2nd, 2018 but I will have a c-section the week before, my doctors office doesn't do VBAC. I'm hoping this pregnancy stays uneventful unlike my first. </span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00265917863966103819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371865839783289817.post-69071562698974354472017-08-23T15:32:00.000-05:002017-08-23T15:32:01.766-05:00Femara Round 2 - Update<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I took the Femara on days 5-9 of my cycle like my doctor instructed, I had the same horrible side effects that I had in round 1, but still I just felt . . . different. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">With round 1 I was super hyped and on edge counting every day until the next step, but this round I was really chill, I think I just didn't have high hopes of actually conceiving after I ovulated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to my follicle scan on day 14 (August 14th) expecting a mature follicle like last month. The tech found both ovaries fairly easy but neither had a good sized follicle. My uterine lining was also too thin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">My doctor said its always disappointing when a patient has a perfect response on the first round then nothing on the second. She also said that it is fairly common and normally if you don't respond on the second round you won't on the third or fourth without adding FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) shots. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I had convinced myself that this round would be the same as the last and all I would have to worry about was doing the baby dance in a timely manner so I was pretty crushed when I found out it didn't work at all. My doctor suggested using OPK's till the end of this week just to be sure I don't ovulate late (she said she really didn't think I would at all based on my scan). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The plan right now is to take a few months and then do another round of Femara with the FSH shots. </span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00265917863966103819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371865839783289817.post-27126359555520224922017-08-07T15:12:00.001-05:002017-08-07T15:12:41.154-05:00Femara Round 2<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well as I'm sure you've gathered from this blog title round 1 was a bust. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I ovulated so there's that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My doctor's office was having technical issues on day 3 of my cycle so they were unable to write prescriptions or treatment plans. So instead of taking the Femara on days 3-7 like last month I will be taking them on days 5-9, I'm half freaking out that the two day difference will mean it won't work as well but I'm hoping that's just me being crazy. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm waiting for scheduling to call for my day 14 follicle scan and my day 21 blood work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm on day three of the Femara and already feeling the side effects again so at least it's doing something, hopefully more than just making me sick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 days until I see if my ovaries have a follicle maturing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9+ days until I could possibly get a positive OPK</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">15+ days until I get the bloodwork results to confirm rather or not I ovulate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">22+ days until I could get a positive HPT</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hate waiting. . .</span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00265917863966103819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371865839783289817.post-69530926148143913602017-08-02T16:58:00.000-05:002017-08-02T16:58:29.700-05:00Vintage Cottage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is my most recently completed 1:12 scale mini. I had originally named it The Rose Cottage but since then I have acquired an actual <i>Franklin Mint Rose Cottage Dollhouse</i> that I am currently working on so I had to rename this one. This kit was miniatures.com's 2016 creating contest model, I also have their 2015 model that I turned into a bookstore which I will post about later. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The kit itself was wonderful, right out of the box it was all smooth edges (I hate sanding) and everything fit together perfectly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The was one of the quickest builds I have done and I really like how it turned out. I started this build by painting the exterior and all of the windows, trim and front door. I also used a matte grey spray paint to paint the shingles for the roof. Then I added the wallpaper to the interior walls. I prefer to use high quality scrapbook paper instead of the dollhouse wallpaper rolls because of the wide selection of prints and the low cost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After everything had dried I glued the main structure in place (I had previously done a dry fit when unboxing). After dry-fitting, painting and gluing the porch and roof (and gluing ALL the shingles on) I was ready to start the flooring and then move on to adding accessories (my favorite part).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here is the structure in the final building stages:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I added a porch swing that I had picked up awhile ago from an estate sale.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since the structure had a lot of natural light sources I chose not to run electric which allowed me a little freedom in my "light fixture" choices. I made a chandelier out of jewelry beading. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had a great bed frame but it was naked and none of the bedding I had went with my theme so I cracked out my fabric scraps and sewed up a bed set real quick (honestly nothing quick about it, lol) </div>
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I wish I had gotten progress pictures of the flooring. I have an obsession with mini "hardwood" and I found a great way to do it, its a huge pain in the ass but the end result it amazing so three of my completed projects have their floors done in this manner. Pay close attention to the floor in the finished pictures at the end. </div>
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I toted my mini creation out to the front driveway for a mini photo shoot with good lighting, much to the amusement of all of my neighbors who got to watch me pretend to be a contortionist to get all the shots. </div>
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I entered it into the creating contest but unfortunately I didn't place, the winners last year had some serious talent and honestly their work just had a lot more time and effort invested then my little cottage. </div>
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I'll leave you with some pictures of the finished product and some notes on the items inside. </div>
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The table, chairs, vines and topiary are from a <i>American Girl AG Minis Patio</i> collection from the 90's. </div>
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Side note: I've never had a cat and my husband isn't a fan. My son and I want one so we settle for mini cats in all my projects, this little guy likes to sunbath on the swing.</div>
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The porch light is actually a battery operated LED light that really works. </div>
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Here you can see my hodge podge of furniture picked up over time. I used things I already had on hand to furnish the cottage. </div>
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This picture I made using a scrapbook frame and a photo of a painting I cut out of a store ad. I stole it out of my Orchid House.</div>
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Here's a close up of the bedding I made, I'm annoyed that I didn't go out and get maroon thread to match the pillows but it's growing on me. </div>
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Flower vase was made using a wooden bead thingy and scrapbook flowers.</div>
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The wall hangings on the right and all the table items are jewelry section items from Hobby Lobby.</div>
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The plates on the left were made by a lady that came to our last miniatures workshop, I wish I knew her name but I can't for the life of me remember it. I'm working on learning to make some myself, if I manage that I'll try to do a tutorial on them.</div>
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The table runner and curtains were both made with lace ribbon and the floor runner is actually a bookmark. </div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00265917863966103819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371865839783289817.post-73411067895427321812017-07-25T15:44:00.002-05:002017-07-25T15:45:09.337-05:00Femara Round 1 - Update<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The follicle scan went well. I went in on the 14th and had a good sized follicle on my right ovary (24.2 mm at its widest). My doctor seemed happy with that and was confidant that I would ovulate in a day or two. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's my follicle in case you guys like that sort of thing (weirdos).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh, side note: She couldn't find my left ovary at all and didn't seem anywhere near as concerned as I was that it had packed up and ran off. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I got what I thought was a positive OPK on the 15th and 16th but I wasn't 100% sure it was positive, it was super dark but I couldn't say for sure it was as dark as the control line. So I spent the next week worrying that I didn't ovulate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I went in for my blood work on day 20, shout out to the phlebotomist at my doctors office, she always gets me on the first stick and doesn't leave a bruise! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My bestie and I were on a girls trip on the 21st spending the weekend in "America's most haunted hotel" <i>The Crescent</i> in Eureka Springs, AR. I got a call from my doctors nurse to let me know that I did ovulate!!! I can't tell you how excited I was about this, there was much squealing happening from our hotel room, I'm sure people thought we had seen a ghost, haha, see what I did there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So now I'm in week two of my two week wait and If I haven't started by August 1st I'm supposed to test. Now let me be clear here, although typing this makes me look collected, I'm not, anyone who has gone through this knows, the waits are awful. You have to wait to start, wait to take the pills, wait to get scanned, wait for blood work, wait for results to see if the pills worked, wait to test to see if it "worked" worked. And on top of all the waits most of the time it's impossible to wait to test, I pee on a stick knowing its too early only to get disappointed when it turns up negative like I knew it would. Nothing will make you look crazier than fertility drugs and waiting to see if they worked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00265917863966103819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371865839783289817.post-66008615722728062302017-07-11T13:23:00.001-05:002017-07-11T13:23:09.922-05:00Femara Round 1<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the middle of June I went to see the doctor who specializes in reproductive endocrinology. She is in the same office of my regular gyno, who I have been seeing for years, and we hit it off right away. We went over my history and the Clomid results of last year. She decided the next step would be to try Femara. Femara is a drug used to treat breast cancer but has been shown to induce ovulation. It is commonly used in women who have had no response to Clomid with greater results and is supposed to have fewer side effects (more on that in a minute). </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She also made some adjustments to my current medications. She thought I should continue taking the Metformin but adjusted the dose to 1,000mg 1x a day. She also had me stay on the Medroxyprogestrone 10mg for ten days instead of five. My cycle started on July 1st which makes keeping track of my cycle days easy peasy this month. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now lets talk about those fewer side effects for a minute. With the Clomid I had an upset stomach (not terrible, just a pain in the...well stomach) and I had blurry vision (which was awful considering I already have the eyesight of a bat). But the Femara, with its supposed "fewer side effects", Christ on a cracker! I was sick, stomach pains and nausea, had really bad headaches, had a terrible time sleeping but was super tired ALL THE TIME, and I was a raging bitch. I seriously do not know how anyone could stand to be around me. I had a melt down worthy of a three year old one day because I wanted my husband to go with me to eat, even though he had just eaten, then I decided I didn't want him to go but wanted him to want to so I could say that I didn't want him to (confusing no?). I'm not proud of it, I knew it was crazy at the time but I seriously couldn't stop myself. And my poor best friend, she probably gets the raging bitch side of me more than anyone because I'm so comfortable with her. She came over and I was in a snit cleaning my house so she just went with it and started cleaning with me. She is my person, and if you've ever seen Grey's Anatomy you know what that means. If you haven't seen it don't worry, she doesn't watch it either, just know she's amazing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm fairly positive the Femara is mostly out of my system as I have returned to my normal bitchiness. So far I haven't gotten a positive OPK but it is only day 11 so fingers still crossed. I go this Friday for a follicle scan to see if I'm cooking any eggs so hopefully I'll have a good update after I get those results. </span></div>
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Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00265917863966103819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371865839783289817.post-18386295759747525402017-07-11T11:25:00.002-05:002017-07-11T11:35:10.706-05:00TTC History<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Infertility is a big struggle I deal with every day, it is also something that will be addressed on here so I thought I would give you my </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">TTC</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">trying to conceive</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">) history so that you have a little better idea of what is going on. This will just be history, I will do another post in regards to my current fertility treatment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) you can learn more about that <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pcos/basics/definition/con-20028841" target="_blank">here</a>. I do not ovulate regularly which means I rarely get a period. It took four different doctors to get the proper testing/scans and come to this conclusion which that in itself was a long frustrating journey. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It took over two years of actively trying to conceive my son. After the PCOS diagnosis and a year of trying I was put on Metformin (500mg 3x a day) to regulate my insulin. I finally started ovulating and three months later I found out I was pregnant. I never really considered myself to have infertility because I responded so well to the Metformin. This second go round has changed my mind about that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The pregnancy had its share of complications, I found out at the 20 week scan that the baby had a <a href="https://www.thebump.com/a/two-vessel-cord" target="_blank">two-vessel umbilical cord</a> which put me into a high risk category and required monthly scans to make sure the baby was growing like he should be. Towards the end of the 34th week the scans showed a significantly low amniotic fluid level which meant more frequent visits and scans. The next visit revealed elevated blood pressure which ended up being <a href="http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-complications/preeclampsia/" target="_blank">preeclampsia</a> this earned me a hospital stay in the antepartum high risk unit until delivery. The baby was breech and unable to be turned, the preeclampsia hadn't gotten any better and my fluid levels were still low so I delivered via c-section the day I hit 37 weeks. Everything was great with the baby and we decided to wait a couple years to try for another so I went on birth control and got an accounting degree in the meantime. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Which brings us to our current TTC for baby #2. in November of 2014 I had my appointment with my gyno, who we love, and we discussed trying for another baby. She had me start taking prenatal vitamins and we planned to stop birth control in January 2015. We briefly discussed the possibility of the PCOS giving us problems again and decided to give it a few months for my system to even out from the BC than if nothing was happening I would go back on the Metformin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I would like to take a brief interlude here to point out that I was on low hormone BC because everything else made me sick, it was $65 a month and I've spent roughly $2,900 on BC I apparently never needed. The accountant in me is outraged, the amount of money my uterus has been throwing around for the last few years in downright concerning. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back to the story, so it was three months into 2015 and I wasn't getting a period which meant I wasn't ovulating, it seemed my lady parts were back to their old shenanigans so back to the doctor I went. We did some more blood work and decided the best course was to go back on the Metformin (500mg 3x a day) and to take Medroxyprogestrone (10mg 1x a day for five days) to initiate a flow after 35 days in a cycle and a negative pregnancy test (PT), we would give that until the end of the year and then discuss other fertility options if my eggo wasn't prego. So I left the doctors office that day a little more disappointed but still hopeful that in a few months my cycle would regulate and then a few after that I'd be knocked up. Hell if it happened soon enough the little fella would even make that years tax returns (an accounting brain is always accounting). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well 2015 had come and eventually gone. The only thing I conceived was a 1:12 scale dollhouse and bookstore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">January of 2016 took me back to the doctor with more lab work and consults. We decided to do a Clomid Challenge (50mg 2x a day for 5 days) Day 21's blood work came back showing that I hadn't responded to the Clomid; a</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lthough I hadn't responded my levels showed promise that I could so</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> my doctor suggested another round of Clomid (upping the dose to 50mg 3x a day for 5 days). Once again day 21's blood work showed no response, five days later I noticed some CM changes and got a positive OPK (Ovulation Prediction Test). My doctor decided to do one more round of Clomid (50mg 3xday for 5 days) since I had responded late. Unfortunately I didn't respond at all with round 3. My doctor referred me to another physician in her clinic that specializes in reproductive endocrinology for </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">women with PCOS. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After much consideration my husband and I decided to wait until the following year to follow up with the new doctor since my insurance doesn't cover any infertility related visits, medicines, or procedures and we knew the next part of this adventure wasn't going to be cheap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will follow up this post with another that details our current course of fertility drugs with the reproductive endocrinologist and what's going on now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00265917863966103819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-371865839783289817.post-51494872000682472072017-07-10T16:33:00.000-05:002017-07-10T16:33:04.213-05:00Hello There!<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well hello there, nice of you to drop by. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm Heather, here are some things to help you get to know me, things that will most likely be discussed at one point or another here and there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a mother to a six year old little boy, my husband and I are currently TTC a second little muggle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe everyone has a soul mate, I found mine in my nerdy muscly husband and I found that </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sometimes people have more than one, </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my best friend takes that other spot, if I ever get accused of murder, you'll know who helped me hide the body.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a miniaturist, mainly 1/12" scale. I'm part of a local miniatures club that meets once a month and my minis will probably be a prominent part of this adventure we're gonna have here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My superhero disguise is an accountant. Not as boring as most people assume, numbers and I get along great and I can make a mean spreadsheet so it's kind of my thing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a bibliophile, I'm not sure there is one spot in my home or office where you can't physically see a pile of books.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm an Oklahoma transplant from Maryland, haven't really fallen in love with it despite living here for twelve years, I blame the weather. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is plenty more but I think that should be sufficient to get us started with plenty to talk about.</span><br />
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<br />Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00265917863966103819noreply@blogger.com0