First Day of First Grade {...& other stuff.}

Today is the first day of first grade for Gage.
Before today, we read "The Night Before First Grade":

It's a pretty cute little story, and we actually picked it up earlier in the Summer at the grocery store, of all places. It was a great little find.

This morning, I woke Gage originally at 6:45. He didn't actually get out of bed until 7am. He put on the clothes that he picked out yesterday, and while the gold basketball shorts are not at ALL what I would have picked---it's all him. His style, his likes, etc. So be it. If it makes him happy, and keeps him from attending school naked, then we'll go with it!

Pictures from our house this morning....

In the top two pictures of Gage, you may notice that he is holding a glass apple. Just a little back-to-school something I picked up. I hope to make a tradition out of it. I'd like to get his photo with the apple on the first day of school from here on out. Then, maybe give it to him at some point in the future...or when his first child starts school. We'll see where this little apple takes us....

Another back to school tradition: for breakfast on the first day of school, you can have ANYTHING you'd like. My parents did this for me when I was younger, and I always chose porkchops. Always. My dad might be out at the grill at 6 in the morning making me porkchops, and that's just the way it was. It was a wonderfully fun tradition that I wanted to share with my son.

Last year, Kindergarten morning came and went without breakfast. His tummy was too nervous for breakfast. Poor buddy.

Last night I asked, "Gage what do you want for your first-day-of-school-breakfast?"
Gage said, "Kool-aid & cake."
My husband of course told me that I was INSANE for even considering this. {In my mind---hey, even if he's hopped up on sugar, I'll be taking him to school and dropping him off. He can bounce off those walls for a change!} But, as my instincts proved to be correct: Gage wanted NOTHING this morning. He asked for chocolate milk, took two sips, and was done with that.
This special breakfast routine has been consistently a bust in this household. Maybe it will change with time. Maybe it's just not the right tradition for our little guy. We'll see....

I had fun packing his lunch, though! 

He will quickly let you know that Mommy notes are important. Well, rather, the absence of a Mommy note on any day that he takes his lunch is NOT well received. Now that he's reading more, I think they are going to be even more important to him.
:)

Both Daddy & I took Gage to school this morning. I had to leave directly from there to the dr's office, and Hubby had to go to work, so we took separate cars. Gage wanted to ride with Daddy, and I got to take the haul of school supplies. It's nice that he got to ride with Daddy though, because Daddy rarely gets to take Gage to school with his work schedule.

Pictures from school....

The first picture above is Gage with his teacher, Mrs.H. {Yes, she looks so young! She's been teaching for 7 years. She has her Master's. She has been at our school for 3 years. She's married and a mom. She looks way to young to have all of that under her belt! She's been kind so far, so that's great. Fingers crossed for a fabulous year!}
In the 2nd picture, that's Gage at his locker. He was locker #8 last year, and surprisingly, locker #8 again this year. He was so excited to learn that this morning. Yaaaay for his favorite number!

I think he's really going to have a good day today, and I can't wait to hear all about it when I pick him up this afternoon.

What else did I do today? Dr's appointment and two errands.

So, here's the IVF update...

New med regimen. Why? Because my calendar only listed my meds up until today's date. Three shots per day is now four shots per day. The needles have gotten bigger. These "stimming" meds are for the birds!

Last night, I was almost in tears because I'm already so freaking sick of giving these shots in my stomach. My stomach, below the belly button, is bloated and polka-dotted with red needle dots and bruises. I'd show you a picture, but as my mother would say, "it might burn your brain." You're not supposed to repeat injection sites, but I'm seriously running out of space here! So, if you get within an inch or two of an old injection spot, it just makes the shot hurt worse. These meds stiiiiiing as they go in, and I'm just over it. Last night I truly thought, "is this really worth it?" Then I remind myself that yes, it will be worth it if it works. And if it doesn't, then maybe we'll have some "frosties" (embryos that have been cryo-preserved) for a frozen embryo transfer next cycle...

So, today---I got to the RE's office. My estrogen level from last visit was low, but they expected it to be low because I wasn't taking any estrogen. My hematocrit was normal.

My sono today: 4 follicles on the right, and 6 follicles on the left! They range from 5mm to 8mm. They need to be at least 16mm to be "ready." So---the sono totally answered my question. Is it all worth it? Yes, yes it is. Or rather, yes, it will be.

What else? Got my new medicine regimen....but then, I already mentioned that.

Last Friday, after the RE visit, I had to order some more meds.
O.M.G. Remember in the past how I was all excited about the pricing on the meds and how we FINALLY caught a break somewhere? Well, let me just back that train up. When I called for medication reorder on Friday, they were so glad that I called. Why? Well, they got the opportunity to let me know that an error was made when processing my order the last time, and that $57 copay was inaccurate {as in, too good to be true}. On Friday, they were hoping I'd pay them in excess of $900. Ouch. "I'm sorry, what?"

Ultimately---it all worked out. A manager got involved, and luckily, I won't be paying for someone else's mistake. They were very gracious to take care of that for me. The reorder copay is $479, but hey---at least they told me that up-front!
So, I got my THIRD box of IVF meds and a bazillion more needles on Saturday.
{Seriously---you get about 50 syringes & needles for every ounce of liquid medication. It's a crazy amount. May I never, never, never need this many injections.}

So---I go back on Wednesday for another estrogen level & sonogram.
"Am I on track for the 9/5 egg retrieval?"
Doc says it is just too soon to tell.
UGH!

And for the record---yes, I was secretly hoping to go in there and have him say, "Wow, your ovaries are rock stars and they look like the balloon bouquet from the movie Up. You're ready to go. We'll just give you that trigger shot right now so that you won't have to fuss with IM shots yourself! You can have the egg retrieval tomorrow, and I guarantee that it will work!"
....that didn't happen.

Keep you all posted.