Baby kitten joins the family!

We brought her home on Thursday evening. Coco Armatey's foster mother is a friend of D's; she currently has 18 cats living in her apartment in Queens. It was quite a scene. She cried the whole first night because she missed her brothers. I got up several times to comfort her, thinking: this is what it would be like to have a child. Well, maybe even more rewarding. And exhausting. Kittens don't need much. Isn't she cute?

Armatey: she's a one-eyed cat. Arrrrgh, Matey! Get it?

"No Sex Allowed"

I had an appointment with my OB/GYN today who did an ultrasound to check my innards and see if there was anything to be concerned about. He also wrote out a "prescription" for my husband to get his semen analyzed, and a referral to a radiology diagnostic center for me to get that HSG test next Wednesday.

Things I Didn't Know Before Today
1. That I wouldn't be able to have sex between now and when they shoot the dye up into my body
2. That there would be some "dye leakage" and bleeding after the HSG
3. That they would recommend a mild pain reliever before the procedure
4. That I have a small, tiny 2 cm cyst on my left ovary (doctor says not to be concerned about it at all)

Things I Still Don't Know
1. How they're going to go about getting semen from my husband (will a nurse named Vanka or some such be "assisting"? Will pornography be involved?)
2. How badly will the HSG hurt during and aftewards?
3. What color is the dye they'll use? Will I be leaking neon green all day?

Kitten update: Two nights ago at a dinner with friends, my husband said for the first time affirmatively that we are getting a kitten! We've made plans to go and pick her up next Tuesday. Yay!

UPDATE:
1. My husband was able to "produce" at home and bring the sample in.
2. The HSG didn't hurt even a speck. I felt like I had metal in my mouth all day, though.
3. The dye was clear; lots of leakage, but it was all invisible.

Hysterosalping-o-what??

Hysteria After a tumultuous weekend, I feel like a stereotypical woman who, at the turn of the century, was diagnosed with hysteria. I got my period early Sunday morning and completely freaked out. My reaction to finding out our July attempt was not successful was very different from last month--I was totally sad, blamed my partner for not trying hard enough and being not as concerned as me, and I was angry about everything: I was angry that he was on the conputer playing video games, angry that he wasn't helping me around the house, and angry at everything he did. I should have been put down with a horse anesthetic.

Dictionary.com defines hysterical this way:

hys·ter·i·cal

   /hɪˈstɛrɪkəl/ Show Spelled[hi-ster-i-kuhl] Show IPA

–adjective

1. of, pertaining to, or characterized by hysteria.

2. uncontrollably emotional.

3. irrational from fear, emotion, or an emotional shock.

4. causing hysteria.

5. suffering from or subject to hysteria.

6. causing unrestrained laughter; very funny: Oh, that joke is hysterical!

---

Origin:
1605–15; < L hysteric ( us ) hysteric + -al¹

1610s, from L. hystericus "of the womb," from Gk. hysterikos "of the womb, suffering in the womb," from hystera "womb" (see uterus). Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the uterus.

He didn't deserve my ire; and I shouldn't have let myself go off the deep end either.

Take steps; take charge. That's what I did on Monday morning.

I made my annual OB/GYN appointment and asked about a procedure called a hysterosalpingogram that a friend recently told me about. Dye is inserted into the uterus and fallopian tubes to determine if the passages are clear; and apparently, there is a slight increase in fertility after the procedure. I want it. My doctor called me back and told me that since we'd only been trying really on the right schedule for two months that he wouldn't immediately advise me to do it. He suggested waiting for two more months, sending D off for sperm analysis, and being persistent. And patience. He didn't recommend patience, but I think patience is in order. Even though I feel the clock is ticking.....

On the kitten front: D's friend brought over our one-eyed kitten to see if she got along with our existing cat. Things seemed to go well. Kitty Coco (the one-eyed one) will have her sutures taken out next week, and then, if I can get D to agree, we will bring her home.

Every little sign . . .

So after the LH surge test finally showed the surge last week, I think we took the right steps towards conception, at just the right times. : ) The online fertility advice peddlers estimate that "implantation" is to occur at a certain time after the egg is fertilized, and tomorrow was the pegged day for said implantation. Well, yesterday I was walking down the concourse at the legislative building in Albany and I got this weird gripping stomach ache. Never felt anything like it. I kept walking, wondering how much worse it was going to get, but it never did. It just kind of waved, and then subsided.

I was okay that rest of the night, a little tired and listless for no discernible reason, but that could just be because I was in Albany. : )

Anyway, I get home tonite, and what do you know? A little bit of blood appeared when I went to the bathroom. Could be anything really, I suppose. But every little sign is interesting and worth recording. Apparently, at the point of implantation, there is a little bit of blood when the egg kind of smashes itself into and grabs onto the side of the uterus. I think. It's amazing how little I understand about this process.

I told D that if I didn't get a positive pregnancy test by July, I want a kitten. And I want this one. One of D's friends is a cat-rescuer, and little Cyclops as we've affectionately named her is one of her rescued kittens. A little trouble with the eyes, and too young to adopt, but by the time I'll need her (hopefully not/hopefully!) she should be okay. But with only one eye. We'll see.