Wanted: EPS

So HJ and I are now 8 days past IUI. I keep expecting that the 2ww will get easier but no such luck! HJ and I have spent the better part of 2 days trying to determine if her bb's really are extra sore or if this is just the normal AF symptoms that we typically ignore. She does not seem extra tired or excessively moody. In fact, HJ is pretty normal. I have been the one feeling nauseated and tired. I'm the one who cried during a recent episode of Sex and the City (you know the one where Charlotte finds out that none of her eggs were viable for a 2nd IVF). And I am the one who dreamed that HJ is pregnant.... such a lovely dream. The strange part is that we knew she was only 1 month pregnant in the dream but I could already see the baby's face. She was so precious with just a little dark fuzz for hair...and the baby smell in my dream was sooo real. Again, I am doubting my prophetic abilities but my subconscious was quite clear about what it wants!

I refuse to ask HJ to test early so the days between now and the 27th may drag by but I must admit that I have real hope for this month. If this month happens not to work, it is because the IUI was done too late (at least in my mind). Dr Pal quoted some research that found IUIs completed at 40-42 hours past trigger are most effective. However, in my research (yes in actual medical journals and not simply via goo.gle) I have read the IUIs completed at both 12 and 36 hours past trigger are most effective. So we have a new game plan for next month if this month does not get us the pregnancy we seek.

It looks as though my Christmas funk has passed and I am back in the optimistic place. Who knows, maybe I will even bake some cookies?!

As for my own uterus, I have to postpone IVF #3 until a mid-January start, assuming AF cooperates and comes sometime after the 16th. I have a business trip to DC in the middle of January; in fact, I will be at the big grantee meeting right around the time I would need daily ultrasounds. So I am thinking that egg retrieval and embryo transfer will happen in mid-February: of course, this is only if I have estimated all the dates correctly. I cannot seem to wrap my brain around what the timing will be like doing an IVF cycle without using BCPs. Anyone know?