The IUI went smoothly this afternoon. It was my fourth one, so I felt like a pro. I was kind of crampy all day, especially on my right side. It's still there. I wonder if it's ovulation pains, but that wouldn't last all day, would it?

I had to leave school about a half hour before dismissal. After I told my class I was leaving early, one student asked why. I said I was going to Grand Rapids. One kid said something about it being far away, but no one said anything else or asked any other questions. That was easier than I expected!

The traffic on the drive there was light. I got there 20 minutes early, so I used that time to use the restroom and grade papers. At 3:30 I was called to the back. The nurse almost left me without a sheet to cover me up after I "stripped from the waste down". That freaked me out a little! Once she was gone I sneaked a peek at the test tube to see the count. It was 4.4 million this time, the second best count we've had for an IUI. That helped me be a little more optimistic.

After the insemination, the nurse inserted a sponge because a little fluid was leaking out of my cervix. When I took out the sponge a couple hours later at home, there was a little spotting on the sponge. The nurse must have also nicked my cervix. That's what happened during my first IUI. It's a good thing she gave me that sponge.

The nurse asked me if I wanted to get an order for a blood test. I said no, I'd just wait and see about scheduling one. I always am spotting by the time I can take a blood test, so what's the point?

Christmas cards, pictures, and letters have been filling up my mailbox. I wish I had a cute photo of my baby to send this year or even the announcement of my pregnancy to share. Every year I postpone having a picture taken of just my husband and I, hoping that next year we'll have a baby photo or a photo of us and our new baby to send. We better get our photo taken next year if we don't have a baby. We'll be married for five years by then, about time to replace our last professional portrait, our wedding photo, don't you think?

Yesterday I got a letter from an old college roommate. The whole time I was reading her letter I was expecting, yet dreading, an announcement that she was going to have a second child. There was no such announcement, only a picture of her little girl, who is three now. I hate that I am that way. Every letter I get I hope there isn't another pregnancy announcement. So far there has only been one announcement, and I already knew she was pregnant, so there was no surprise.

I found out today that my sister-in-law's baby is breech right now. The midwife was telling her different things to try that might get the baby to turn around. She still has a month and a half, enough time for the problem to correct itself.