wishin' and hopin'

it's day 15 and i know there's a long wait ahead, but i'm definitely very focused on it this time. the good news is that i'm still feeling hopeful! though i don't know if feeling hopeful for two weeks will be a good thing if i end up disappointed again.

i went to acupuncture yesterday for the first time, and i'll be going back about every ten days or so. it was a really great session. he has a very holistic approach, so we talked a lot about me and my life and situation before we started, which i know helps the process for me. he is so nice (and... uh, smokin' hot) and given his track record with fertility clients i am excited to start this process. he was really pleased with the timing... for some reason i'd thought it would be better to see him before IUI (what do i know?), but he said this was great to help with implantation. he started out by looking at my tongue and feeling my pulse, and was able to say just from that assessment that he could tell i have an issue with thirst (so true -- i am thirsty ALL the time) and that he thinks my yin and ying are out of balance: i'm deficient in yin. which is what makes me thirsty and hot all the time. he gave me some suggestions of foods and drinks to try to balance things out (and things to avoid: caffeine, alcohol, sugar... sigh), and obviously targeted the acupuncture treatment toward that and some "stagnant blood" he could feel. i know some people are skeptical about eastern medicine but it makes so much sense to me and i really believe it, and i think that will make all the difference. he had me do a lot of visualizing and breathing and the actual acupuncture was quite lovely and relaxing. definitely a nice way to end the week.

my boobs have been sore and i have had cramps since just after the insemination this week. i'm pretty sure that also happened the first time (i don't remember it last time) but i don't remember how long it lasted. the internets say it's normal to feel that way post-ovulation and post-IUI, but i'm kind of hoping it doesn't stop because that might be a good sign.

i'm back on the progesterone suppositories (ugh) and my belly's a bit whacked out already, but otherwise all else is fine. school is super busy, as is life in general, so i'm guessing the next week and a half will go by pretty quickly. my birthday is fast-approaching, which isn't too much of a downer at the moment. probably because i'm so hopeful right now. my birthday falls on a monday, i'll find out if the IUI worked on wednesday, and then i leave for new orleans on thursday. the timing is nice. i can celebrate my birthday happily and optimistically, and if i get bad news on wednesday at least i will be in my second favorite city for the weekend and i can get drunk, drunk, drunk. and i go back to acupuncture the day before i go in for the blood test. i wonder if he'll have any inklings if i'm pregnant by that point! you'd think he might. but really... who knows. who knows???