IUI Day

After a harrowing start to the morning. my IUI yesterday went off swimmingly.

I left over 20 minutes before when I normally would, so as to give myself some extra time.  As I began driving, the radio DJ said that there had been a fire in our rapid transit system and there was no service across the Bay to day.  That we were experiencing the worst traffic possible.  Great.  Sure enough, it took me two hours to make a 45 minute trip!  

I was worried about missing my appointment but eventually had the added stress of having to "pee like a racehorce," as they say.  As we crept like snails through the toll booth, I actually considered jumping out and peeing behind a barrier.  Luckily for me and everyone in the surrounding area, I made it to a gas station off the first exit after the bridge. 

Once I arrived, I was imagining being whisked in to a room to immediately get things underway, considering the few hour window.  Instead, I waited almost 45 minutes.  At one point, I snuck threw the doors and talked to a less-than-friendly nurse who informed me that they were preparing and that they usually call people back a half hour or more after they check-in.  I tried to share my opinion that they should inform people of this timeline, but I think it fell on deaf ears.

Once I was finally called back, however, the IUI process unfolded like a charm.  The nurse was warm and reassuring, wanting to make sure I was comfortable.  The nurse practitioner seemed in a great mood and let me know that the sample was great.  She said they like to see a count of five to six million and mine had 16 million.  Also, the motility or speed was ranked threes and fours, and they consider ones and twos "okay."  So, this measure was exceeded, as well.  I mentioned that I'd felt some pangs around the ovaries the day prior and was worried I might be ovulating early, but she said no, that the hormones changing can cause feelings like that.  She's confident everything is on target, and that helped me relax more about it.  

I don't know if I would go so far as to say the actual IUI was a pleasure but it was as close to that as an IUI can get!  I don't know if the medication or the trigger shot makes this predictably happen, but she said my cervix was open, so I didn't even feel the catheter.  The whole thing took maybe a couple of minutes.  

Thinking back to previous IUIs with an OBGYN I had in San Luis Obis.po, I think he must have had less expertise.  Several times, he had to use a tenaculum, which she said she's used maybe once in all the IUIs she's ever done.  In any case, I was very happy.  

Afterwards, I lay there for 20 or 25 minutes and chilled out.  At the end, it occurred to me to sing a few songs to my potential child, which was fun.  Then, I bought myself a cinnamon roll reward and headed home, where I proceeded to lay around for a few more hours.  I felt some bloating and cramping but not too bad.  

I ventured out for dinner with a friend from my Nonviol.ent Communication group later on.  At the end of dinner, I felt kind of full and slightly crampy again and it was nice to get home and go to bed fairly early.  

Thus commences the two-week wait!