The hubby and I left on Sunday, May 16th to drive to Knoxville for our consultation appointment with the NEDC. We took our time getting down there, stopping for lunch and dinner, along with a slight detour to visit a friend. It rained for a good portion of the day, but we arrived at our hotel, safe and sound. We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Lenoir City, TN, which is about 10-15 minutes from the NEDC's office. We often choose Hampton Inns and could tell right as we walked in the door that this was one of the "good" ones. We ended up on the ground floor, which was very nice, though a parking lot light was shining in our room the entire night, even with the curtains closed. Normally not a big deal, but I was already a restless mess of nerves, so between that and some noises coming from the floor above (ice machine?), it was a long night for me. I awoke at 5:45am to a dog barking in a nearby room. Just as I was about to find the phone to complain, the a/c turned on in our room, drowning out the sound. Unfortunately, I was already awake though. I wrote the following about what happened next on my personal blog:
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"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." - Psalm 94:19 (NKJV)
I woke yesterday morning to a dog barking at 5:45am after a full night of tossing and turning. The a/c kicked on in our room to drown out the sound, but I never went back to sleep after that. It was early. Way too early to be moving around the hotel room and waking my hubby on his birthday. We weren't leaving until 8:30am and here I am, awake. I find my flip flops, throw my hair in a (messy?) pony tail, and stumbled down the hall to get some coffee. (I never really even looked in the mirror; I'm sure I was quite the sight to see!) Coffee mission accomplished, making no eye contact with anyone, I drag myself back to our room. As I was packing the night before, I thought to bring my Bible with me. I don't normally bring it on short trips, but I've really been keeping up with the 2 year plan, so I figured "why not".
The above scripture came to mind as I was thinking about the morning so I scrounged around for the book light and sat down in the dark with my coffee. Remember, I do not choose what I read in a day; it's already laid out for me. I ran across a scripture that, in the course of my life's journey, has been read many times -- Psalm 113:9. "He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother." I'm not sure I've ever read this in the NLT before, so "a family" really hit me. Yes, I do have a family now, but the word "family" makes me think of MORE...more than one child. This whole time I've wanted obvious confirmation. Did I really just get slapped upside the head with it and still walked away in doubt?
I go on to finish my reading and start listening to "None but Jesus" (with earbuds in, of course, remember the birthday boy is still sleeping!):
...In the chaos, in confusion
I know You're Sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will...
And there it was; the peace came. In the multitude of my anxieties within me (there were many!), His comforts delight my soul. How could I ever do this without Him? I'd rather not find out.
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We left the hotel for our 9am appointment a little after 8:30am and headed to the NEDC's office. We signed in and waited a bit until they called us back. They had recommended I drink 48-64 ounces of water that morning before the appointment for the ultrasound so I drank 60 ounces. My bladder was about to burst, so when the nurse called us in, she found me standing in the waiting room because sitting made it too painful! We sat and talked with Dr. K for what felt like an eternity (simply because I had to pee!) and then they brought us to an exam room. I undressed and waited for the doctor to come in to do the ultrasound and mock transfer. After it was done, they let me go to the bathroom (RELIEF!!!) and I came back into the exam room for two more ultrasounds/exams. Everything looked great, with the exception of what he thinks is a polyp that shouldn't be there so he wants me to go get a D&C a couple weeks before the transfer to have it removed. It's not a big deal, just something that shouldn't be there, especially during a pregnancy.
After my exams with Dr. K, we met with the NEDC patient coordinator and the embryologist. Next came the office manager to discuss finances, a nurse to draw some blood so they could test my thyroid, and our last visit with our nurse to go over the remaining details.
We left the office around 1pm, I think, and headed to get some lunch before we hit the road. The drive home seemed to go a lot faster, partially because we gained an hour, but also because it was sunny most of the way home. We opted to eat dinner in the car to get us back to our boy that much faster -- we were both missing him pretty badly by this point and wanted to try to catch him before bedtime.
Later that week, I called a local fertility doctor that Dr. K had recommended and set up a new patient consultation with him so their office could handle the necessary ultrasounds and bloodwork I'll need before and after the transfer. I also scheduled the D&C with my regular OB/GYN for what should be the correct dates before our transfer.
Right now, they told us we'll probably be scheduled for the September transfer cycle because July is pretty full. When I asked if I should just take the July dates (and babysitter) off my calendar, they said "not yet" because there could be cancellations. (Praying!!!) This basically means I have to plan for a July transfer when coordinating appointments and medications...but only with the knowledge that I may have to reschedule for September. Frustrating, but if there's a chance we can get in for July, then I'll do whatever it takes!
They started me on Prometrium the following day for 5 days to make me start my period. Right on track with the medications, it worked. Now it's a matter of waiting for a phone call to see if we got in for July or if we have to wait. Have I mentioned that waiting isn't an area of strength for me? *sigh*
