Staying Busy

Even though I do communications for a living, I’m a math nerd at heart.  I love counting things, working out odds and percentages and lots of weird little numbers.  I think I do that because I’m impatient. I like seeing progress, and get antsy waiting for things to happen.  When you have boxes to check off, percentages to run through, every step is a step closer to the finish.

I breathed a sigh of relief when February started. I needed the break that January provided, and it went faster than expected, but I’ll probably always think of it as my month of waiting.  December 31, I learned that I wasn’t pregnant; February 1, my period showed undeniable signs that it was about to start.  The entire month of January was just thumb twiddling in between, and I don’t do well with that.

But since the start of my February meant the start of my period, it also meant the start of birth control pills, which I’ve been taking for a couple of nights now.  I feel so much better now, because from here on out, the waiting between now and my cycle is a predictable series of steps.  My birth control pills in their little plastic blisters might as well be an Advent calendar; every time I push one through the foil, I’m checking off another day.

In addition to the oh-so-satisfying counting down of the birth control pills (2 down, 19 to go - I'm almost 10 percent done!), I’ve set up all kinds of checkpoint activities for myself throughout the month of February. I’m really hoping to bounce from one activity to the next until I come out on the other side of this month, where my retrieval and maybe-transfer are.

February 4: Started birth control pills

February 8-10: Ski trip (one half of the reason I put this cycle off a month)

February 11: Counselor appointment

February 15: Appointment with my regular GYN

February 15-18: NYC for a wedding (the other half of the reason I put this cycle off a month)

February 21: FINALLY using the Groupon I bought for a massage ages ago to get a little pre-cycle stress relief

February 24: Couples massage class with Henry (yes, another Groupon… I get impulsive with deals when under stress)
February 24: Last birth control pill

February 25: Baseline ultrasound, a.k.a. getting reacquainted with my boyfriend the ultrasound wand

February 28: First shots

What can I say?  I’m happier when I’m busy.