Alaska Bound!

In just a few short hours we'll be on a plane (well, one of three planes) on our way to Anchorage for four days. Quick trip I know, but we'll be indulged on the way out as we fly first and business class. We booked our tickets with the sky miles I have been accumulating. There were no coach seats available for our departure so I decided for Dana's birthday trip we'd splurge and use some of those extra miles that have been sitting in my sky miles account for years and upgrade to first class. The travel time, including layovers, will be fourteen hours total so the upgrade seemed completely worth the extra miles that we never use.

Dana has our days planned and I am not quite sure how we are going to fit everything in. We'll visit her old favorite stomping grounds and eateries. She claims Anchorage has the best Mexican and Thai restaurants but I am skeptical. Mexican in Alaska? Thai? I will report back to you all. We also plan to cross country ski and snowshoe, go to the Bear Tooth Theater Pub for dinner and a movie, go to Talkeetna for the day, explore Anchorage, and even make a stop at the local gay bar, Mad Myrna's, for drinks one evening. We are sure to come back exhausted but I have no doubt the trip will be well worth it.

We return on January 1st and then the countdown to the first IUI begins. Ironically CD1 was Christmas Day and ordinarily I would have been disgruntled about its coming but this time I was actually excited for its arrival. This should put our first IUI around January 7th, 8th, or 9th. Hooray!

And finally, congrats to Family Style Love! Check out the newest member of our extended blog family, Harris David. Isn't he beautiful?

I Think I Can, I Think I Can....

I think I can make it until and through tomorrow...until our vacation officially begins. On Saturday we will leave Charlotte to go to my mother's house in the western mountains of North Carolina. We'll spend four days hiking, eating, drinking, knitting, reading and just being. I cannot wait! On the 26th we will return to Charlotte and on the 27th Dana and I fly out to Anchorage, Alaska. Dana previously lived in Anchorage and has not returned since leaving. Her birthday falls on the weekend after Christmas, so I wanted to take her back for a birthday present. I also hope that soon it will be much more difficult to travel so far away because of the future bebe. So, winter in Alaska it is! And, if all goes well, our first IUI will occur the week following our return. Hooray!

Conley Cabin

We had a fabulous time on our weekend trip in Virginia. Temporarily residing in the cabin was like stepping back into the 19th century. Being there really put life in perspective. I am constantly reminded I can live so much more simply each time we go backpacking but actually living in someone's old cabin on their homestead was different. There was something idyllic and romantic about the cabin and accompanying way of life. All of our needs were met - the wood stove kept us comfortably warm, the cooking wood stove worked wonderfully (the menu included eggs, hash browns, pancakes, veggie sausage, pasta with fresh veggies, nachos, and oodles of snacks and wine), bringing in our water from the nearby spring was not a hassle, lantern and candles provided more than enough light, and we were dry when it rained. It was quite possibly one of the best trips I've taken in a long, long time. If only we could have stayed a little longer....

Trial Run and Other Musings

Work for me has been terribly slow this week and I hesitate to say I just do not have much to do. While this may seem to be a good thing, especially around the holidays, my longevity here depends on my productivity and the bottom line is I must bring in money to the firm by way of billing clients for work. No work means no clients to bill, which means I feel vulnerable. My worst fear is that we will be six months pregnant and the firm will decide it is not in their best interests to keep me around. With my six-figure plus student loans we could not live on one salary alone. Did I mention that I am a classic over-thinker? Someone once recommended I read the book Women Who Think Too Much. Alas, it is still sitting on my bookshelf.

In baby news, this should have been ovulation testing week. My cycles are usually 30 to 32 days and last cycle it appears I ovulated on day 19, after a + OPK on day 17. This, coupled with the manufacturer's directions about when to begin testing, led me to do the first test last Sunday, Day 13 of my cycle. I tested and then put the stick on the bathroom counter, knowing it would not be positive. I glanced at it just before walking out the door to work and the test line was clearly darker than the reference line. In complete disbelief, I tested again a few hours later. Same result.

Our RE suggested we do a trial run before January. When we had a positive test, I was to call the clinic and then go in the next morning for a P4 (progesterone) blood test to confirm I was actually ovulating. I then called Sunday and on Monday morning we went in for the quick blood draw. That afternoon the nurse called and said my progesterone levels did in fact indicate ovulation was imminent. If we're lucky, all will go this smoothly in January.

In non-baby news, we are off to Virginia this weekend. Our great friends and backpacking partners are members of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. This organization is responsible for maintaining 1000 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the Mid-Atlantic region. The PATC also maintains some primitive cabins that members may reserve and use. Our friends graciously invited us and one other couple to spend the weekend at Conley Cabin, just outside the Shenandoah National Park. The cabin has a wood stove and wood-fired cooking stove, bunks and no electricity or running water. The hike in is only a half mile and we can all bring our dogs.

If the weather cooperates, we may even see some snow there this weekend! I know those of you in other regions of the country may not find this appealing, but this possibility could not make Dana and me more excited because 1) it is 80 @#!&* degrees here in North Carolina on December 13th and 2) in our pre-"Dana and Lee Knight" lives I lived in Vermont and Dana in Alaska. We embrace the cold and snow and even aspire to move to New England, Washington State or maybe even back to Alaska. Someday....

The Dreaded HSG

It was not nearly as terrible or painful as I thought it was going to be. Really. I would even go so far as to say I experienced no pain, just minor discomfort, and even then the discomfort lasted less than a minute. My tubes are clear and our RE says we are ready and set to go in January with the first IUI.

We are incredibly excited for the next step of our journey and I have been doing my best to mentally prepare for what lies ahead. Of course we hope the road to conception will be a short one but I am not naive - I do keep up with as many of your blogs as I can (smile) - and I know difficult times may be ahead. Nonetheless, we are brimming with happiness and can hardly wait to jump in feet first. We will soak up any words of wisdom any of you have to offer!

After the HSG my plan was to work from home for the rest of the day. The best-laid plans often go awry. Well, it has not really gone awry, but I always feel terribly guilty working from home, as if the work is not quite as legitimate even though I could do my job from practically anywhere unless I am needed in court, mediation, etc. Perhaps it is also because I also find a plethora of other things that either need doing around the house (I just put a load of laundry in) or that I would rather be doing (like walking the dogs). I am a slave to the billable hour and must account for my life in six minute increments. Therefore, I do not bill as much from home because I suppose I am just not disciplined enough. So now my intention is to go back into the office in a couple of hours for the rest of the day. Sigh...

Lonely

It has been a long time since I have spent a weekend solo, let alone a whole week. Dana left Wednesday and will not return until next Wednesday. This is the longest we have ever been apart and I realize more and more with each passing day how much of a part of me she is. I crave her presence and a few daily phone conversations do not fill the void. I have a million things on my to-do list not to mention plenty of work to keep me busy. But I find myself just sitting, waiting, thinking, planning for her return. And the hardest day has yet to come. Our RE scheduled my HSG for next Tuesday. We are on this journey together and she cannot be there for what feels like the last hurdle we must cross before our first IUI in January. I miss her so much....

This Time Next Year

Dana and I woke up way too early today for a holiday morning. 6:15 AM. Days ago we registered for the 8K Turkey Trot road race but it did not start until 9 AM so we definitely had at least another hour and a half to sleep. However, our house is filled right now with six dogs (only two are ours), five people (only two of us live here), one bunny rabbit (lives in the garage all the time), five fish (they live here too) and of course the thousand composting worms (all live in the garage with the Bun). That many beings in 1500 square feet of space equals too much chaos to sleep soundly. This was only compounded by the five snoring but beloved dogs who slept in our room with us.

As quietly as we could we dressed and slipped out of the house to make our way to the race start. Somewhere in between here and there I had my second or third breakdown since our guests arrived last night and I cannot speak for Dana but she might have had one also. After arriving at the race start and picking up the coveted long-sleeve race T-shirt, we decided we did not feel much like running so we got back in the car and headed to our favorite state park for a five mile hike instead.

I thrive in the woods and mountains - that is where my soul feels most alive. This hike was just what I needed and I cherish the couple of quiet hours Dana and I were able to spend together. We talked about everything and nothing. We talked about Sweepy-D. And then it occurred to me. This time next year we could have a newborn or the bebe could be making his or her entrance into this world shortly. Wow. I can't even think about Thanksgiving next year, where we should go, what we should do because everything will be dependent on where we are in this whole baby process. It will all be so wonderfully new and different....

Preparations

We've been preparing. Over six weeks ago I started the prenatal vitamin regime and going to acupuncture once a week. I've been testing and charting like a mad woman. We've gone through the lengthy process of choosing and ordering the swimmers. We've asked a million and one questions of our dear friends who had twin boys in January after four rounds of IUI. And the scary part is no matter how much we prepare and even if all the stars are in perfect alignment, the conception rates are still no better than a roll of the dice. So, in all my hopes and excitement I find a hint of cynicism...and we have only just begun.

What is a Sweepy-D?

Feeling rather like those in line to jump on board Space Mountain at Disney World, we have been standing, waiting, watching, moving up in the queue ever so incrementally. Now past the gatekeeper, we have boarded the roller coaster with Dr. W. is our chosen conductor.

Dr. W. founded the Reproductive Endocrinology clinic in our hometown in 1988; he is often regarded as the best Reproductive Endocrinologist in the metro area. After a six week wait for an initial appointment, we me Dr. W. on October 29th, 2007. The bars came down, the cars began pulling away and we are now along for the ride.

The vaginal ultrasound revealed a normal uterus and ovaries with plenty of eggs. Two vials of blood later we were on our way. No Clomid necessary he says. Everything looks in order. All we need now is to purchase half of our child's genetics. It all seems so simple.

Dr. W. tasked me with buying an ovulation predictor kit and monitoring my cycle. When the OPK indicates ovulation is imminent, the lab will draw blood to confirm ovulation. This month and next will be our "dry runs" before the first planned IUI in January.

And now to answer the question I am sure may be lingering. What the heck is a Sweepy-D? Sweepy-D is the moniker for our future child, our appellations for each other transmogrified into one. Let the journey begin.