Training Honor

Honor on a Break
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

Bob had his first training session with Honor today. He called me at work and he was so excited. He sounded like a little kid.

He said it was hard getting her attention at first because she is used to paying attention to another trainer. But, once they gave Bob treats and taught him how to get her attention she caught on quickly that Bob was the man. Bob said she is smart and playful and such a good girl. He said they are certainly bonding and she likes to give him doggie kisses.

I wish I could be there to see them work and interact. Look at her in that photo above. It's not the best, but she certainly is a leggy girl, isn't she? I can't wait to meet her. Bob is going back to train with her tomorrow and Friday.

Bob has an appointment to see the reproductive specialist at the U of M on Monday. My appointment is on the 16th. Bob told me he doesn't think he can...um...get a sample under pressure. We won't know if he doesn't try. If nothing else, maybe we can obtain it at home and bring it to the lab ourselves. The referal nurse at my doctor's office called me yesterday to ask me if I had already made an appointment with the RE. I said I had. She said my doctor meant to refer to me a completely different doctor and not the one I have an appointment with. I said I'd already received the paperwork, filled it out, and sent it back and wanted to stick with this RE. Both are covered by my insurance and are in my network, so I'm not sure what the difference is or why one is to be prefered over the other. She said she would tell my doctor what had happened and if she felt strongly that I should change REs, she will call me. So far, no call, so I think I'm good. Plus, the RE I'm seeing is closer and works from a hospital I prefer.

My grandma is all moved in. My parents drove up to her old place on Saturday and helped pack her up. Sunday, they came up to visit me and Bob. We went to lunch and we had a very nice visit. They left and went back to my grandmother's. Monday, the moving van came, loaded her up, dropped her off, unloaded, and left her in her new home.

I dropped by grandma's new place after work on Monday before heading to school. She is now in a security building, so I had to ring her to let me in. This is her first time in a security building and she had a hard time understanding that she had to press a number on her phone key pad to buzz me in. The lady at the front desk finally let me in and told me to tell my grandma to press a number on her keypad to buzz people in.

Once I got up to her apartment it was chaos central. Boxes everywhere. My grandma saves everything. She didn't want people unpacking for her because she wouldn't be able to find anything. She didn't want anyone to throw anything away either. While we were unpacking I found an anniversary card she gave my grandpa in 1982 (she wrote the date on the back). It didn't have any sentiment written on it, just her signature. Why would she save that? I could understand if he'd given it to her, but she had given it to him. Weird. I also teased her about her freezer. There are 2 people in my apartment and our freezer is never as full as her freezer was. She said she was used to cooking for 8. I said she hasn't cooked for 8 for around 40 years so she needs to retrain herself soon. I need to call her and see if she needs any help settling in.

When I left her place, my mom hugged me and cried. I felt bad leaving then. Moving is stressful, family is stressful, and mom was over tired. Mom said that soon after I left they went out to eat and things were a little better then. I miss her though.

I was thinking yesterday and today how much I like it here. I've lived here for almost 8 years now and it's finally feeling like home. I like where we live, I like our neighborhood. I like that we are so close to my work, our bank, our church, and pretty much everything we could ever need. It's home. But I still miss my mom and dad and my brother and his family. They live too far away to visit too often, though they live closer than they did when I moved to Sioux Falls or Maryland. So I should count my blessings.

I had a comment from an anonymous poster that I felt I had to address. I will paste her questions and my answers and hope this helps her.

Q - "I need information on fertility help. What is the cost factor of this endeavor?"
A - I don't know. We are just starting on this journey ourselves. My husband is meeting his reproductive specialist on Monday and I am meeting my RE on the 16th.

Q-"Does insurance pay all of it or will there be "out of pocket" for us?"
A-Again, I don't know the answer to this yet. I do know that my insurance company will cover the diagnosis of infertility under their normal coverages but they will not cover the treatment. We have decided to not pursue IVF or IUI if it is determined that is our only hope.

Q-"What are the percentages of multiple births?"
A-My doctor told me that if I am put on Clomid in order to release more than one egg at ovulation, the chances of conceiving multiples is 8%. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I am sure I will find out.

Q- "Do you know if there is a higher probability of the baby (or babies) having problems?"
A- I don't know the answer to this.

Q-"What about the mom having complications of pregnancy?"
A-I know that the older you are, the more likely there is to be complications. I am 38 and therefore over the magic age of 35 when all fertility supposedly runs downhill.

Q-"Do you know how long it could take to get pregnant?"
A-Nope

Q-"Wondering too if your husband has lower sperm."
A-Don't know. Will hopefully find out Monday.

Q-"Do you know any people who are in similar circumstances as you...and if so...are they of a help with information for you?"
A-Unfortunately I don't know anyone personally who is going through this, but I do read a lot of blogs written by women who are going through this or have gone through this and so much more. If you would like a list of the blogs I read, email me. I haven't added them to this site yet because the list is vast and, frankly, it overwhelms to think of having to do it. In fact, these women have been my lifeline and link to sanity. I had many of the same questions you have voiced and have emailed them or asked in their comments section. All of them have been answered with prompt, kind, selfless, and smart answers.

I know I haven't been much help, but you can only express that which you've experienced and I am so new to all of this. I hope I can be more help as we move through this experience.