Tag Archives: Coachella Valley

AWOL.

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Ladies, my apologies.  I’ve been AWOL.  It is not because bad things have happened, it is not because I am now a “mommy” (gag), it is because we moved over the weekend.  I am now officially a resident of Palm Springs.  Fun. For real, fun.  Big Guy and I were both really excited about the move.  I get to see my partner every morning and night, instead of on Sundays and sometimes Saturdays.  The desert is amazing in its beauty.

It is also 105 degrees.  The desert is not messing around.

We signed a three month lease on a furnished rental.  We hired movers* to take the majority of our belongings to a storage unit, and we moved our clothes, pantry, and hobby items to the desert.  What we did not bring with us was our internet.  The rental has a router but we are unable to figure out how to use the thing.  It defies all logic.  It rejects two PCs and an iPhone. It is worthless. And this is the reason I have been AWOL.

Our landlord is out of town taking caring of an aging parent, so we won’t have resolution on the internet business for a while.  Until then, I won’t be as active.  I did get a brand new smartphone, but I do not have the constitution to  post blog updates on it.  I did find a fabulous coffee shop, but my bank account can’t afford the daily coffee/breakfast date, even though I wish it could.

As for this pregnancy business, well things are moving along.  My beta on Monday came back at 140.  That’s a doubling time of 66 hours.  Not great, not ideal, but still within the acceptable range.  I’m still optimistic because that is all I have.   My next beta is on Friday.  I’m hoping for a number between 325 and 560.  That would put us in the range of normal.  Of course, anything greater than that would be amazing.  Anything less would probably indicate a bad outcome, especially given my existing low numbers and the late implantation business.

Thank you all for your positive thoughts, prayers, support, kind and encouraging words, and, most of all, hope.  You all are amazing.  You are my village. All I can do now is pray. I’ve already offered to pay for the child’s college education.  What else could the babe possibly want?

*Let me tell you, hiring movers is amazing.  These guys moved our entire house into storage in three hours.  We didn’t have to lift a thing.  At one point Francisco hefted the top of our large wooden dining table onto his shoulder, and then onto the top of his head.  He then calmly walked it out to the truck. They protected our furniture and made great suggestions for fitting things into the unit.  They had a gigantic truck and did the entire thing in one trip.  After tip, it cost us $350.  It may be the best $350 we’ve ever spent.

Some Truths.

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Truth: Infertility is not an exact science. Unless I walk around trailing a vagcam and ultrasound machine, I cannot and will not know exactly what is happening.  Even though I want to.

Truth: Infertility is hard.  We all know this.  I totally freaked out last Friday when my body didn’t do what I thought it was going to do, what it had been doing consistently for a long time; that is, produce a nice thermal shift.  My temperature this morning was at 98.6.  That is a high temperature.  A thermal shift, per se.  I did not exercise patience or trust.

Truth: My internet support group is awesome. The comments, the suggestions, the combined wisdom and experience called me back from the edge.  Thanks ladies.  You all rock.

Truth: Infertility is expensive.  We have lived in Orange County for 18 months now, largely on one income.  It is not a six figure income.  Not even close, and, with this cycle, we have now ventured past diagnostics and into the world of infertility treatment.  It is entirely out of pocket. So far this cycle can be broken down as follows:

Metformin – $10

Ultrasound #1 – $110

Bloodwork (FSH & E2) – $140

Clomid – $38.50

Ultrasound #2 – $110

Ultrasound #3 – $110

Bloodwork (Progesterone) – $70

Total (thus far) – $585.50

Part of the aforementioned overreaction was based upon the costs we have incurred on this cycle.  This is not a sustainable plan.

Truth: Big Guy works in the desert and is living out of a hotel room. Big Guy’s client will pay for our rent if we move to the Coachella Valley.  We are moving to the Coachella Valley in order to save an unseemly amount of money each month on rent. This will allow us to save money for future infertility treatments.

Truth: The desert is really fucking hot in the summer.