So, it's Day One of the rest of my injecting life. I knew that this month was an unlikely candidate for a hail mary pregnancy, due to the Node of Doom, which made any marital relations impossible at just the right time.
I'm oddly excited to see how I'm going to feel all hopped up on F0llistim.
I also had an idea: There are lots of resources out there for dealing with the IF emotional rollercoaster from a psychological point of view, but what about creating a list of books, movies, websites, activities, adventures for folks to keep them busy while they're riding the ups and downs or waiting in line to get on aforementioned rollercoaster. Everything should have limited reference to babies, pregnancy, etc, or include a warning, so that folks in tender places can avoid them. Mel is usually queen of this kind of stuff--she's so damn organized, that wonderwoman!--but I can't recall seeing anything quite like this on Stirrup Queens...
Any suggestions of good books, movies, tv shows, rituals that have gotten you though the nasty, anxiety-ridden day? Of course, tastes differ, but if we get a large enough pool of possibilities, everyone should be able to find something to keep them busy and keep them from, say, compulsively googling early pregnancy symptoms.
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I can't remember what I did to pass the 2ww between my IUI & beta. I do remember "Bridget Jones's Diary" was a great diversion in the days following my daughter's stillbirth -- I actually laughed out loud in certain spots. It was just the pick-me-up tonic I needed. The Shopaholic novels (minus, of course, "Shopaholic & Baby") would be a similar fun, mindless kind of read. Good luck, both on the cycle & on finding some good diversions!
I'm excited to see what kind of list someone could come up with. I, myself, have no idea, but more and more frequently, I'm finding myself in a place of needing that safe haven from the fertile world, and not being able to find it.
Good idea. I wish I could help you build it, but please let me know if you do!
go shinejil! I always liked to watch and read things as a distraction, so it had to engage or amuse me, and nothing heavy. mostly comedies and mysteries/suspense. sometimes reading was good, but sometimes watching was better.
That's about when I pick up a huge knitting project that is very complicated.
No ideas for decent distraction, but good luck with your first shot! I found that giving myself the shots got a lot easier after a couple of days. I had my partner prep them for the first day or two so I just had to breeze into the kitchen, grab the shot, and jab myself but by the end of the week I was fine giving myself shots alone.
You must stay away from trash magazines since they only seem to want to speculate how every star's monthly bout with bloat is a baby bump (barf now).
When I need to keep my mind from obsessing, I LOVE reading stuff like the Great Gatsby (warning there is a brief appearance of a 3-year-old), anything by Raymond Chandler (The Long Goodbye), Nick Hornby (High Fidelity), Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces... any book starring self-destructive hedonists (with a sense of humor)makes me feel so good about myself :)
And then the other spectrum with funny books: Bill Bryson, Voltaire's Candide...
Very good idea! Must get Mel on drawing up a list!
Good luck with the Follistim!
Wishing you all the very best on this cycle, and racking my brains to think of good ways of taking your mind off things. I've recently taken up knitting, which is proving to be an excellent displacement activity.
hmm acitivities to do while waiting to wait, ha ha. I keep myself busy with projects, whatever they are. But distractions that are good, movies (action types usually steer away from PG stuff), shoe shopping, although the malls are covered with PG women and strollers so I usually head towards the quieter consignment shops were no one is around to bother me! Ohh and celebrating things is good, like going out for a fancy meal during the tww or something, nice resturants don't usually have kids in them, so they should be safe!
The list sounds like a wonderful idea! I myself have had little luck finding ways to occupy myself, but am looking forward to ideas from others.
Hi there... good luck with the Follistim! I bet it will be easier than you anticipate.
As for distraction, my favorite is the movie "Love Actually". The only child is Liam Neeson's stepson, the rest is just about the different forms of love. It's a great distraction.
I do think that old, familiar movies in general are great- or, on the same note, re-reading old favorite novels (in case you get anxious or distracted, you don't miss too much). And some mindfulness walks in your garden might help, too.
Also, please don't be too hard on yourself if you start to Google pregnancy symptoms- it's completely unhelpful, but it's really hard not to "scratch that itch" sometimes.
All the best-- Dot
Hm. I hope your injecting life is short.
Do you have a dvd player? I recall you don' watch tv, but I didn't know if that means you are equipmentless. Because I have Ab Fab on DVD. And I will totally bring it down and watch it with you.
Welcome back onto the IF Train! We are now leaving the station, please keep your hands and feet inside the train at all times. Please note that hormones may vary wildly and mood shifts will be inevitable. Please advise all husbands or significant others of this fact before we leave the station!
Sorry, little infertility humor. I think it's a great idea to put together a list of this kind of stuff. You're right that most of it is focused on psychological stuff. I'll say for myself that the distraction was most needed during the 2ww. The actual process of stims and monitoring - I was fine because there was something to do.
The other problem, of course, is that your ovaries are going to be ginormous and you are somewhat restricted in your physical activity. My recommendations: sewing, dog training (just starting that one!) learning a new language, etc. As for books, I've found 19th century chick lit to be particularly helpful. Sure ladies have babies, but they are so not worried about it - they are all just concerned about finding a husband! Middlemarch is one of my favorites.
Movies: anything from the 40s or 50s. The baby lust we see today in the media just wasn't there (or at least talked about). Other, more modern movies: Revenge of the Nerds, Back to School, Back to the Future - what can I say, they've been on an 80s kick on HBO recently.
Hope some of these help. And, more importantly, cycle buddy, may we both have that one thing we desire above all others.
I'm a big fan of Entourage - lots of sex but no side effects of the sex! Plus Adrian Grenier is FINE.
We just finished watching the whole first season of Mad Men, and although it has kids in it occasionally, there is not a lot of "happy family" type stuff - the opposite really. There are the brief appearances of a pregnant friend who smokes and drinks, and the last epoisode deals with some baby stuff, but other then that it's pretty safe.
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