Merrily We Bloat Along

Working on my Wish-Stitch Project
this lazy Saturday morning

There should be no surprise at how much bloating I'm experiencing based off my response to the clomid. Seven follies were present at my mid-cycle monitoring measuring at 21, 19, 18, 16, 16, 13 and 13mm. My estridol levels were over 900, so it is safe to say that five of those follies fired off when I triggered later that night. I was worried about being overstimulated. Five eggs could result in five babies! Ummmm... I don't think we could handle that! But as I was reassured at my RE's office, the likeliness of all five fertilizing and implanting (especially based off of my history from the past two cycles) are extremely minimal. If you're not a stranger to this blog, then you already know my thoughts on the matter.

Over the past few days, I have been experiencing some mild OHSS symptoms. I didn't help the matter by going on a(n awesome, kickass, super fun) run on Tuesday night. Amanda & I logged six miles on the trails as we went on a quest for ice cream at the local shop. The first 4-5 miles were fine. I felt great, and we stopped several times to take in the scenery (which included a few lakes, a bagpiper, and ice cream mixed in the trail run). But as the sun was setting and we decided to take it to the road, I started to feel like I should cut the run off. We were still about a mile from the house, and Amanda didn't complain at all when I asked to take a walk break as we went up Newmans Never-ending Hill.

It wasn't until later that night when I was in the shower and I looked at my belly. I was extremely bloated. I could tell by looking at the size of my abdomen and the feeling of fullness. I asked for some advice from my internet friends on how to deal with the bloating. Their answer was lots of Gatorade, water and protein... and no running.

I took their advice and have been downing lots of fluids, consuming high-protein meals, making sure not to overeat, and taking it easy with the running. I haven't run since last Tuesday's (awesome) adventure. If it weren't for this heat wave, I'd be downright depressed about this setback. Surprisingly, I am doing fine.

My weight has been fluctuating a lot throughout the day. In the morning, I am my normal weight. At the end of the night I'm up by 6-7 pounds. I've also measured my waistline and noted a peak of +10 inches from my usual number. Thank god for loose fitting clothing! At times, I feel a bit uncomfortable, but mostly I just feel full all the time.

We are moving right along over here in our corner of the world. John, Mocha, Coda & I all went to our first training class yesterday. We have a few skills to practice throughout the week. Mocha has already mastered Sit. Coda is still a beginner, but finally figured it out by the end of this morning's practice session. Mocha has mastered Watch Me but only when she's in training mode. I tried it on our walk this morning, and we only had about a second of eye contact. Coda is really struggling with Watch Me, but we will keep trying. Mocha is getting better at Loose Leash Walking (LLW). She likes to pull, so we are working on it. Coda is the opposite. He decides that he doesn't want to leave his comfort zone and then he lays down. I tried all of the tricks our trainer showed me and was able to get a 5-house-walk out of Coda this morning. That's one better than his usual 4-house-walk! Though I really had to push him to get to the extra house. Hopefully we will make it to the end of the block by the end of the summer!!!

I met some of my internet friends in person last night. It was awesome! I had a nice time. And later today we are heading down the shore to visit friends. John is very excited about seeing his friends. I am gearing up for 24 hours away from my house and in the presence of two small children under the age of two. I can do it. There will be plenty of booze, and we're bringing the dogs. If I'm feeling like I need a break, I will always have a non-judgmental walking buddy or two. Neither one of them will say a word, they'll just be by my side wagging their tails. Plus, this trip makes John so happy, so I'm doing it for him. I'm sure I'll have fun, and I certainly don't want to spoil it for him. Wish me luck!!