Lag

Dr. M. called today with the results of my last two estradiol blood draws (Friday and this morning): my hormones are "lagging." So, starting tonight, we double up on my p.m. Menopur dosage; I'll be on 2 ampules a.m. and p.m. I have another blood draw tomorrow, and then the second follie scan and another blood draw on Tuesday at 1:00. Chances are my follicles (praying for more than 1!) won't be ready Tuesday, but perhaps they will be later in the week.

I have felt twinges of pain in each ovary since Friday afternoon, so while my values are lagging, I know something is happening...otherwise, I wouldn't be feeling anything. (The pains are from follicles growing and changing.) Those pains make me smile, even though once I ovulate post-trigger shot they'll really, really hurt (they always do).

In other news, we're trying to get in the Christmas spirit over here. Yesterday we headed down to Portland for a nice (and early-with-the-blue-hairs) steak dinner at Sayler's Old Country Kitchen, then over to Voodoo Donuts for a take-home snack, and then braved the (horrid!) traffic on Highway 26 plus about 25 minutes of trying to find a parking spot to attend Zoolights at the Oregon Zoo. (For the record, their version of Zoolights is mediocre. We rode the train (not the steam train, but the diesel-powered one, judging from the fumes we choked on going through the tunnel) and walked every part that was open, but saw only a few animals (including some sleeping primates). Really, Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium's Zoolights is much better and more interesting, plus you get to see more animals, but we wanted to try something different and aren't sorry we did. The one bonus of standing in line for over an hour to ride the train was realizing we don't ever want to be those parents who are so clueless and self- (or child-)absorbed that they will blindingly hold up an entire line of hundreds of people while they futz for the 50,000th time with their child's shoes/blanket/mittens/stroller. Oh.My.God.People. (Oh, and I will do my best not to run it up the legs of the poor person in front of them, too.)

The one thought that kept running through my head, standing amongst countless babies and toddlers and little kids and strollers was, "I just can't imagine what it would feel like to be here with Aliya and Bennett in a stroller." Granted, we couldn't have been there with them even if they had lived...because if they were here now, they'd still be in the NICU for 2-3 more weeks, and then we'd be forbidden to take them out among strangers for 2-3 more months after that for their own immune systems' safety. Still, I'm finding myself more wistful around infants (not newborns so much - yet) and also kids up to about age 3. That magic "due date" of January 18th, that 38-weeks'-gestation goal I'd set for myself, will be here in no time. Ouch.