Well, hello, blogland! I've been trapped in a swirling vortex of travel, vacation, and drugs, but I return to you now on my first day alone since February 5th. OH LORD DO I NEED SOME ALONE TIME.
I had a fantastic time in New York City with my mom and sister. I was already completely exhausted before arrival, and as always, the city managed to wear me down to a tiny nub of myself before I made my escape back to the suburbs of the South. I'll do a more detailed NYC post later, with a focus on the incredible theater experience I had.
I was thrilled to have my mom return home to Charleston and stay with me for a few days, then Colby's grandma arrived, followed by his parents. So, for a few lovely days, we had a completely full house and finally managed to have all of our bedrooms filled at once. We squeezed in some time for touristy things, but a big focus for the week was getting all of the big projects done so that the house will be ready for MLS photos and hitting the market this weekend. Colby and his dad made some fantastic improvements, and all we have left is swiping some stain on the front steps, planting some flowers to up the curb appeal, and of course, my favorite part--cleaning the entire house. Ugh.
And perhaps most excitingly, I started my Lupron injections on the 7th and after a stellar baseline ultrasound and estrogen check on the 20th, added two other drugs (low dose HCG and Follistim to stimulate the follicles to produce awesome eggs) to my rotation. I inject the Lupron and HCG in the same syringe, so that's part of my morning routine, right between brushing my teeth and drinking my tea. The Follistim is in this crazy pen contraption, and I inject that every afternoon as a prelude to happy hour.
The Lupron injections weren't bad, but now that I'm adding in more stabs per day and injecting a larger amount of liquid, everything is starting to get a little more painful and a little bruisier. I've been doing the injections on my thighs thinking that the skin is a little tougher and maybe less sensitive, but I'm starting to run out of spots without little pinhole bruises, so I may have to transfer to my abdomen or upper arms at some point. Fortunately, my mom and Colby have made wonderful nurses, and so far no tears on my part, so things are okay.
FINALLY, drumroll please! The winner of the Alice Bliss giveaway is Molly from A Foreign Land!!!!! I'm so excited for you, Molly, and thanks for being patient with me. I had big plans for getting back to blogging after my NYC trip and that obviously didn't really work out. I'll email you about the shipping details. And thank you so much to everyone else that entered! I learned from this giveaway that jewelry is a much hotter commodity than books, but I hope you'll check out this book even if you didn't win. It really is a great story!
Please take pictures of your injections so you can use them to make your future child feel guilty for being an ungrateful teenager. Hehe.
Seriously, though, you are a trooper! Good luck with the house business. That stuff is overwhelming! You are dealing with several stressful situations, so I'm glad you've had the support of family right now. (And alone time. Good lord, do I need that!)
Also, I am pretty jealous of your NYC trip. Such a tasty city. (I like to eat.)
Posted by: Ashley // Our Little Apartment | February 22, 2012 at 04:16 PM
Welcome back! I don't know which I love more, your subject line or the last sentence of your first paragraph (I always feel guilty as anything about needing the occasional 'alone' day). Can't wait to hear about tour NYC trip - especially the theater parts.
Posted by: Janine | February 22, 2012 at 05:01 PM
It amazes me you can inject yourself. Before my kidney transplant, I had to do weekly shots of a drug to help my anemia. They were subcutaneous, so the shot went just under the skin in my abdomen. But, man did it freak me out! I made my mom drive up to where I was at school (1.5 hours away from home) to give them to me because I was such a wimp!
Posted by: A Super Girl | February 22, 2012 at 07:05 PM
It is so great you had fun with all your family the last few weeks :)I would be crazy for alone time after all that so I'm glad that you're gonna get some soon. I can't believe you can inject yourself-I have such a fear of needles-but if the outcome is baby then it's definitely worth the pain!I hope all goes well with finishing up the house!!!
Posted by: Solange | February 22, 2012 at 10:03 PM
I can offer a few tips regarding your injections. As a type I diabetic, I started giving myself daily shots at the age of 6, so while I have no official medical title, I kinda consider myself a pro. I always gave myself my shots on the back side of my upper arm. I'd prop my arm up on my knee or on the back of the chair. That way you're giving yourself an injection into an area without a ton of nerves and it's prepped for you! Also, if your skin is warm, it's less painful. Most of the time, I barely felt it. :) I wear an insulin pump now and am thankful I'm off injections (I did about 6 a day before I got on the pump!), so I feel you. Use your end goal as motivation... Knowing I was giving myself shots to prevent going blind/losing a leg and all that stuff was a really effective motivator. Haha! Good luck!
Posted by: Annie | February 22, 2012 at 11:38 PM
I can't wait to hear about your theater experience!
I've wondered how you're doing w/ the injections! Glad you got two good nurses!!
Posted by: Melissa | February 23, 2012 at 03:12 AM
Welcome back--and best wishes for awesome MLS photos of the house!
Posted by: Kate P | February 23, 2012 at 04:37 AM
Can't wait to read about NYC!
Whoa...you're injecting yourself? You're stronger than I am.
Posted by: thoughtsappear | February 23, 2012 at 03:55 PM
Woo Hoo! {Imagine me spiking an imaginary football and doing some sort of crazy end zone dance} Thank you for hosting the giveaway, lady.
Sounds like you've had a crazy month and I had no idea how many injections you would have and that you'd have to SELF INJECT! You are incredibly brave and strong and I'm amazed by you. Glad you're surrounded by good nurses who love you.
Posted by: Molly | February 23, 2012 at 07:20 PM
Glad everything is going well! Still have my fingers crossed for you!
Posted by: CL | February 24, 2012 at 12:36 AM
dude. I had to do those kind of injections a long time ago when I was going through the process to donate my eggs. it wasn't the most fun. so I feel your pain. it's a means to an end though. keep up the good work! SOunds like a bunch of good family time for you...I'm glad you got to enjoy it! but I totally get needing the downtime to recuperate afterwards.
Posted by: julie | February 27, 2012 at 04:39 PM