Bubbleman

And now for a little daily cuteness...

Sign of the Times

Every morning, Max and I watch Sesame Street while we eat breakfast. A couple of days ago, the segment called "Elmo's World" was all about the telephone. At one point in the show, Elmo wanted to know more, so he decided that the best way to learn would be to actually talk to a telephone. His interviewee was indeed a telephone--a telephone puppet--complete with eyes and nose and a mouth so he could answer Elmo's questions.

The problem, however, is that this show was a rerun and this puppet was probably created ten or more years ago; he had a handset atop his "head" and large numbered push-buttons on his "face."

Max had been following the gist of this particular program pretty easily, as he uses the phone on regular basis. However, with the appearance of the telephone puppet, he looked at the television with confusion, looked at me, and then asked, "What is THAT, Mommy?"

"Well, that's a telephone, Max."

"No. It's NOT."

"Yes, it is. Today, Elmo is talking about using the telephone. And that is a phone."

He looked at me as if I were slow. "You are WRONG, Mommy," he said with certainty. And then he got up and turned off the TV. The end.

That little exchange just got me thinking about all the everyday things I grew up with that Max, in his lifetime, will never even see. Records, 8-tracks and cassette tapes, Instamatic cameras (which I just heard, BTW, are being discontinued forever this year), tape recorders, typewriters, VHS tapes, VCR's...the list goes on and on and on.

Instead, I have a kid who wakes up every morning and, immediately after peeing, heads straight for my computer, saying, "I need to check my email," or (even better), "I need to read the paper." Real newspapers, too, printed on PAPER, are another thing he doesn't recognize. For him, the morning news is delivered online.

Now, I'm sure every parent has this same revelation at some point--that they, as adults, are going to eventually have to ask their children for help understanding the machines and gadgets that run our lives. Technology continually marches on, leaving those who don't conform as casualties in its wake. And I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with is how old it makes me feel. I guess I better get used to it, though, just as I will eventually have to get used to that sweet baby telling me, "You're WRONG, Mommy!"

What are some other things you took for granted as a kid that your own children and grandchildren will never know existed?

IVF #2 Back on Track

Well, for those of you who have been wondering, we got the go-ahead this past week to begin a new IVF cycle. Dr. Dunn has ordered a new protocol this time around, different from anything we have tried before. It's called a "flare protocol," and it is much more aggressive as far as the number of eggs it will (hopefully) yield. For you techies who actually care about this stuff, here is how it works, according to http://www.ivf.ca/flare.htm:

In this type of stimulation, the Lupron (or other GnRH agonist) is started on cycle day 2 in the same menstrual cycle that eggs will be retrieved - instead of starting it a week prior to the start of menses. This protocol takes advantage of an initial "flare-up" response of FSH and LH release from the woman's own pituitary gland that usually occurs in the first 3 days of Lupron administration. Continuing Lupron for more than 3 days temporarily suppresses the pituitary gland so that it has very low output of FSH and LH.The FSH product (e.g. Follistim, Gonal-F, Repronex) is then started on the following day (day 3). Lupron will stimulate release of a large amount of FSH (and LH) that will jump-start (flare-up) the follicles to promote a better ovarian stimulation, with more mature follicles and more eggs to utilize with IVF.Birth control pills are usually given for the month before the flare so that there will not be a leftover cyst (corpus luteum) that could become reactivated by the high LH levels at the onset of the flare stimulation.There are variations to the protocol. This is one example:

1. Birth control pills for 1 month (I will be taking them for three weeks, starting 2/22.)
2. Stop birth control pills - no meds for 2 days
3. Start Lupron on the third pill free day. We use a 50ug dose of Lupron twice daily -AM and PM- for these flare cycles. 50ug is a very small dose as compared to the usual Long Lupron protocol dose of 0.5mg (500ug). The Lupron needs to be diluted by the pharmacy or the doctor's office in order to be able to inject such a low dose.
4. Start injections of the FSH product (once or twice daily) on the day after starting Lupron
5. The Lupron is usually continued at the same dose until the HCG trigger shot is given.

Our egg retrieval is tentatively scheduled for March 30; and if all goes according to plan, our embryo transfer will happen 5 days later. I should be able to get an accurate HPT result by my birthday on April 14. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (I hope)!!!

Happy Valentine's Day from Max!

http://www.snapfishecard.com/Projects/view/80338/80343

Jane Fonda Says the C-word

In reference to that certain part of the female anatomy, Jane Fonda said the C-word on the Today Show this morning. The look on Meredith Vieira's face is priceless--PRICELESS! Take a peek:

http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=45607794-9819-40e8-908e-a72101d8c22a

Wiener Poopie

This is why I love the internet! Words cannot adequately describe it; you simply have to watch it for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUJ4es4cYIU

Curses! Foiled again!

For those of you who have been following our continuing saga of infertility...our most recent cycle was cancelled on Monday. This is our second cancellation since October (the FOURTH time over the past few years of dealing with this), so I'm getting used to it. The lagging follicles did grow quite a bit, but so did the three big ones--so much so that Dr. Dunn advised not trying to do a retrieval of so few mature eggs. Back in October/November, we got cancelled because my body would not respond to the suppression drugs, no matter what they tried; this time, they obviously suppressed me TOO much. The bottom line is, it's a no go this month. Dr. Dunn wants to try again next month using a completely different protocol.

HOWEVER, there is GOOD NEWS: Dr. Dunn and his staff are phenomenal, and he has declared our situation to be a personal challenge for him. He feels like because he helped us before to conceive Max that he can definitely do it again. I told him that was great, but we are tapped out financially; $3000 to $4000 more for new drugs is simply out of the question (we have no insurance for infertility treatments). He told me not to worry--he will get his nurses working on it, and they will make sure we get enough donated meds to try at least one more time. He told me he already has enough Lupron and at least two 900 iu cartridges of Follistim for me (almost $1500 worth of free meds right there!!!), and by the time I'm ready to start again, they can probably have it all covered for us. God bless 'em!

The Adventures of Batman and Abbey

Here, the amazing Batman shows off his serious punching power...and then gets some support from his trusty sidekick.

Now, we're off to Wal-Mart--wearing the entire Batman getup, of course. Holy rollback prices, Batman!

POSTSCRIPT: Crimefighters never rest. At Wal-Mart, I parked Batman/Max in my cart at the end of a crowded aisle so he couldn't see me picking out his Valentine's Day presents. While I was browsing, I heard Max scream, "OWWWWWWWWWW!" I looked over and saw that a very young and very frightened-looking stockboy had accidentally bumped my cart with his own overloaded wheeled pallet of merchandise. He looked at me apologetically as Max began to announce loudly to everyone within 100 feet: "That man crashed my cart! He hit me! He hit me!" I tried to comfort the young man as he began to blush and stutter, but it was to no avail. All of the customers were now looking at him--this offensive brute who had so callously crashed into the innocent toddler--and he simply turned tail and ran. I hope he doesn't lose too much sleep tonight wondering if he inadvertently incurred a lawsuit.

I thought I'd finally join the 21st Century

and start my own blog. So welcome to it; you probably won't be interested in anything I post here unless you are a close friend or member of my family, but that's okay. Other than myself, that's who I created it for.

Anyway, stay tuned as I get it up and running. I'll be filling it with amusing (again, probably only to my friends and family) anecdotes about life in the 'burbs with Billy, Max, and three (oftentimes four) dogs. To start us off on the right foot, I've included a picture of Max in full Spidey regalia: his new motto is, "Don't leave home without it!"