Much like the progesterone shot and HCG shot from the in-vitro cycle, the estrogen shot has to be delivered via intramuscular shot. As you can see in the photo, the needle for intramuscular shots (the bottom needle) is quite a bit longer. The Lupron needle (the top needle) just looks so tiny compared to it. I think my husband and I had both forgotten how much larger those needles were. I took care of my own Lupron shot this morning - but definitely left the estrogen shot to my husband. The intramuscular shots can go in your hip (lower back/upper butt area) or your outer area of your mid-thigh. I can't imagine having a needle that long going into my leg - so we go with the hip option. Even though my husband said he was a little nervous doing a shot with the bigger needles again - he did a great job. I felt the poke and some pressure as he was injecting the estrogen, but it wasn't that bad at all. I'm supposed to take the estrogen shot twice a week in the mornings on Monday & Thursday. I'll have a blood test on Friday to see how my estrogen levels are doing with the estrogen shots.
We enjoyed the rest of our Easter weekend with our family. We went to visit my husband's aunt & uncle's house on Saturday - they just did tile in their sunroom and it looks great! Then we stopped by Granny's house to visit her. She's the one that's going to be 95 on May 23rd. Even though she's been feeling a little weak lately - she still lives on her own and mentally is still very sharp. We grabbed an early dinner with my husband's brother, our sister-in-law and their 3 kids at a Japanese steakhouse - lots of delicious food and great company, of course. Our nephew (who will be 7 tomorrow) was carrying around his chopsticks from dinner the rest of the weekend! The rain stopped for a little bit and I was able to hit the volleyball around with my niece and nephew in the driveway. We were trying to see how many hits we could get in a row - I think our highest may have been 7! ;) That night I went to Wal-Mart with my sister-in-law to help her finish out her kids' Easter baskets and then watched "The Ten Commandments" starring Charlton Heston with my in-laws that night.
On Sunday we went to church for a nice Easter service. There were quite a few expecting mothers in the congregation and I was hoping & prayng that next Easter we may have a little one of our own. After church we came back home for some "egg in a dish" - yummy! My husband's aunt & uncle came over with Granny and we had a nice Easter dinner with them and his parents. My mother-in-law is a great cook! After our meal we started playing euchre - Granny loves to play (and gets frustrated if people don't play correctly). While the sportsnuts of the family were playing euchre, I was able to switch the channel and found "The Sound of Music" on TV. :) His aunt had heard bits/pieces about our infertility struggles from others so I filled her in our journey thus far. She said it took them 5 years to get pregnant with their first - though they didn't have to use any medical procedures like us. My hubby's brother's family came back over that evening to visit. I played some more volleyball (worked up quite a sweat) and then played a couple rounds of Telestrations with the kids. We didn't get home until 10pm - but it was worth it to spend some extra time with everybody!
FET Regimen:
- Lupron - 10 units via subcutaneous shot at 7AM daily
- Prenatal vitamin - one a day
- Estradiol valerate (estrogen) - 0.3 cc via intramuscular shot at 7AM on Mon & Thurs