Secondary Infertility: HSG x-ray

Two days after my pelvic ultrasound appointment I had the dreaded HSG x-ray. I googled the heck out of it so I knew what to expect and all I heard were horror stories. I even talked to a friend who had this procedure done and it got me even more anxious. Going into the appointment I took two advil pills because I heard it's good to take something 30 min-1 hour beforehand to possibly eliminate any discomfort. I got checked in and used the bathroom (the last thing I wanted was to pee all over the table while this procedure was happening). I quickly got called back and the x-ray tech was so sweet. We had some small talk and she even put on some music to help distract me. 

The Radiologist finally arrived and he talked through every step with me. First, he cleaned everything down there and made sure I didn't touch the towels they had on me since they were considered "sterile". He placed the clamp on (similar to what they use for a pap smear) and slowly inserted a thin tube all the way to the opening of my cervix. The radiologist constantly checked in on me and talked me through everything. At one point he asked if I felt pressure and I responded with a "not really". This somewhat concerned him because usually you feel something so he knows he's far up enough. He then squeezed a balloon type thing filled with dye into the tube. We watched as the dye spread through my fallopian tubes and how it spilled out on both sides. This was a good thing because it meant that there were no blockages in my tubes. 

All in all the procedure lasted about 6-7 minutes (if that). There was minor pressure but nothing really to write about (everyone has different experiences). I got changed and headed home expecting to feel cramping but there wasn't any. I guess after experiencing contractions and actually delivering a baby there's nothing that really compares to the pain I've felt before. They advise you not to submerge in water or have sex for a whole day to eliminate infection but nothing I couldn't live without. Next, we do the deed and try to get pregnant. 

Something cool I learned was that fallopian tubes don't really look like bull horns. They're actually small squiggly lines and not so much big round things we normally see in textbooks. Here is a photo of my x-ray with the tube inserted and the ink spilling out. 

Secondary Infertility: The first pelvic ultrasound

About an hour and a half before your appointment they make you empty your bladder. After doing so, you have to drink 30 oz. of water in 30 minutes. To some that may be easy but for me it was torture. I already don't get enough water in my system so I felt like I was going to drown. I timed it right where I would eat my lunch during those 30 minutes so it was easier for me to drink water. Then, you wait. You can't use the bathroom prior to your appointment and again it wasn't so bad at first. As I pulled into the parking lot the urge came. I rushed to diagnostic imaging and of course there were 3 people in front of me. At this point, I was doing the pee dance and even had to sit on a chair to hold it in. I seriously thought I was going to pee in front of everyone! I threw my medical card onto the counter and told the receptionist, I have to do that ultrasound thing and I drank a bunch of water but I really have to pee! She called the x-ray tech and notified her about my situation and gave me the ok to release a little. I guess she could tell from the look in my eyes and me hunched over with my legs crossed that I wasn't going to be able to hold it across the building to the nearest restroom so, she let me use on their bathrooms. I kid you not, it flowed like the Jordan river. A few minutes later I was called back for my appointment. 

I've had ultrasounds before (ummm... hello, I've had a baby before) but I was still anxious. I knew what an abdominal ultrasound was like but I've never had a transvaginal one done. The abdominal one is like what you see in the movies. A warm gel is placed on your belly and they have a tool (scanner looking thing the size of a hand scanner you see while checking out at the grocery store) that can see your insides. Nothing major.

Then the ultrasound tech handed me this huge wand looking thing. Seriously, it looked 2 feet long. She said "ok I'm going to hand this to you under the blanket and you're going to stick it in" I responded "like a tampon?" She chuckled and said yes. It wasn't as bad as I thought nor did it hurt like I thought but she was in there for a little. A little cramping and a little pressure and discomfort but nothing major. I did take an Aleve before my appointment so that may have something to do with it. She probed and moved the wand left and right. Within 20 minutes the appointment was over. Thank goodness because sure enough I had to pee again!

                         

Secondary infertility is STILL infertility

 I've been a bit anxious opening up about this but I told myself I wanted to start writing more in 2021 so here it goes...

In 2016 we were blessed with a healthy baby boy. Well, now that baby is four going on fourteen and we've been longing to grow our family. I always wanted my kids close in age 2, maybe 3 year apart, but unfortunately that wasn't in the cards for us. I had a bad pregnancy the first time around and I remember telling myself "I don't know why anyone would want to put themselves through this again knowing what it was like the first time". From nausea to actually loosing weight from throwing up so much, to 3.5 hours of pushing and breast engorgement from clogged ducts you name it, I had it. I often blame myself for the reason why we haven't been able to get pregnant again. Thoughts like "if I hadn't complained so much" or "why does my body hate me so much" are often played in my head but I have to keep telling myself to Trust in HIS plan and not mine.

So here we are 2 years of trying and 1 year of really trying and still no sibling for Jet. We've had numerous conversations about how far we really wanted to go with treatments and finally made the appointment to meet with an infertility specialist. At the end of 2020, literally December 28, we met with the specialist and she asked us a bunch of questions regarding our medical history and family medical history. She developed a plan of action starting with taking vitamins (Irene: Omega - 3, CoQ10, D3, prenatal and Titan: Omega - 3, CoQ10, D3, Mens multi-vitamin). We started those and I developed a rash in my underarms and me and the ladies room got to know each other really well - I'll leave that part up to your imagination. I recently stopped the CoQ10 and my rash has disappeared and I no longer frequent the restroom. 

Next, she ordered a bunch of tests. First, Titan had to do a semen analysis. He complained about it but seriously, all he needed to do was provide a sample in a cup. His results came back normal and we learned that he has many healthy swimmers. Us ladies, we have it a bit harder. Some tests include an ultrasound (both abdominal and vaginal) to check your ovaries and uterus. 7-10 days after the start of your period you do a HSG test where they insert dye into your fallopian tubes to see if they're open or blocked. Both men and women have to do some blood tests. Once we get the results back of all the tests we'll develop another plan of action. This could include several rounds of IUI and eventually IVF. Since we already have one kid we (more-so me) decided we'll go as far as IUI but didn't want to do IVF. 

I'll document more of my journey here so feel free to check back for updates. Here's to hoping to introduce you to a new healthy sibling for Jet by the end of this year or early next year!

Traveling with a toddler tips and tricks

We recently took a 10 day vacation to "the Mainland" (what islanders call the Continental U.S.) and this way by far the longest trip we've taken as a family yet. I was a bit apprehensive being away for so long but my husband's work schedule is quite hectic so when he gave me the go ahead, I booked it! Here are some traveling tips I've learned and things I would definitely do again:

1. If your wallet allows for it, book extra comfort seats.
We exclusively fly with Hawaiian Airlines and booked row 11 on a previous trip and loved it. Row 11 on the Airbus A330 allows for extra leg room (so much so, with my back against the seat I could barely touch the wall with my feet). This allowed my 3 year old to play on the floor, walk around (or jump around), and even go spend time with dad who was seated in the seat across the aisle from us. As an added bonus, we were right behind first class so there were no seats in front of us, and right in front of the exit door so no seats behind us. This still allowed our seat backs to recline and we each had a personal tv monitor built into the arm rest.

2. Milk is provided on the plane
Like most planes, complimentary coffee is served. So, since my son had a ticket of his own and doesn't drink coffee (I don't know what kid does) I asked for milk. This was a lifesaver because there was nothing more my son wanted than some good ole milk and we all know the airport charges an arm and a leg for ANYTHING!

3. Car seats and strollers fly free
Car seats and strollers are a pain to lug around but this is a necessity. We always check-in our car seat free of charge. We use a car seat bag to protect the seat and found this car seat bag by JEEP to work perfectly for our Britax seat. This time around we decided to gate check our stroller. It's a big hit or miss when my son decides he wants to walk so we took the stroller as far as we could just in case. This worked for the busy airports or when we needed to walk at an adult speed to get to our gate.

4. Bring familiar toys and some new toys for the trip
I don't know what we would have done if we didn't have my son's beloved Mickey Mouse with us. He usually just sleeps with Mickey and doesn't come out of the house but we allowed him to tag along everywhere we went. Yes, he came everywhere with us! From the theme parks, to the grocery store, Mickey was our 2nd child. Having Mickey around offered a sense of security for my son in an unfamiliar environment so we were ok with the extra accommodations that needed to be made for our stuffed mouse.
About 2 hours into the plane ride I could tell my son was already getting bored of the toys he had. Luckily, we left the day after Christmas which allowed for some new toys. He loved being able to play with something he's never played with before and this allowed for some extra shut eyes for mommy and daddy.

5. Show your kid some videos of where you're going beforehand to spark their interest
My husband was great at looking up YouTube videos on the various cities and theme parks we were planning on attending. This allowed us to see if our son would be interested in going to these places and also got to start getting him excited for it. My son is a big Blippi fan and I don't know how many times he's seen the Kinderland and Children's Discovery Center visits in Las Vegas, NV. My son thought it was so fun to go where Blippi went and we even used it as an incentive for good behavior.

Dinner at Cafe Lani Hawaii

The other night my husband and I decided to try out the fairly new Cafe Lani at the Ala Moana shopping center. We've heard mixed reviews on it and it only received 3 stars on Yelp so we were a bit skeptical. To our surprise it was great and can't wait to go back again to try new dishes. For now, here's my thoughts on our experience:

Restaurant itself:
Came here on a Friday night around 7:00 and the wait was 30-40 min. Very limited seating in the waiting area hence that's why you see people standing outside the restaurant almost all the time. Inside the feel is very chic and a cute spot featuring patterned wallpaper and bright white leafless tree structures. Because the restaurant is also a bakery the smell is great! Super cute feel to it.

Service:
Our server was friendly and was very helpful with her suggestions. However, during the meal it was difficult to find her and when we did, she wasn't very available to us.

Food:
My husband got the Fedelini Porcini Cream Sauce set which included: Porcini cream pasta, green salad, clam chowder (or french onion soup), and a small Lani pizza. The porcini cream pasta was by far my most favorite dish. It wasn't too much cream for those who are lactose intollerant and the flavors blended together nicely. The green salad was your typical salad with an Asian style vinaigrette dressing. We opted for clam chowder which was just average and the pizza was nothing out of the ordinary. For $25.00 I feel the price was well worth it.

I opted for the Porcini Gratin with Italian sausage and roasted potato set which included: Porcini mushroom, potato, Italian sausage, roasted tomato, mini salad, mini strawberry parfait (chocolate is also an option), and all you can eat bread. This is featured in their Fall Seasonal menu. The main dish had penne pasta and was baked. The cream sauce was on the thicker side so if you're lactose intollerant you may want to approach this dish with caution. The salad was the same as my husband's, and the mini strawberry parfait was a nice topper. Now remember how my set came with all you can eat bread? Well, before we got our meal our server initially came out in the beginning with three different types of bread (see picture), but as the meal went on no one offered us any more bread. The table next to us kept getting asked if they wanted bread but for some reason everyone kept skipping over us. I had to flag down the bread servers a few times to try the different types they were offering. However, the bread was nice and warm and they were all very tasty. For $22.50 I feel my set was worth the price.

Mama Bear Input:
Bright lighting so it may be a little difficult for your little one to get some zzz's. It's a little noisey but what restaurant isn't. Stoller parking is up front next to the hostess stand. Kids menu available!

Overall:
My overall impression of this place exceeded my expectation. Don't you just love when that happens? I would rate this place a 4 out of 5. The wait time wasn't too bad considering it was prime dinner time on a Friday night and the food was up to par. However, the service could have been a little better. For a complete list of their menu and oferrings, visit their website at http://www.cafelanihawaii.com/#

Cute wall decor

Fedelini Porcini Cream Set

Porcini Gratin main dish

First round of free bread with dipping sauces in the background

Mini strawberry parfait

Quiet time reflection

Before giving birth I thought I would be bored staying home with the baby while on maternity leave. I thought I would have a ton of time to do things and I would be asking to go back to work early. Boy was I wrong! Nowadays, my life consists of feedings, pumping, changing diapers, rocking a screaming baby, looking for his favorite pacifier, rinse and repeat. Daily checklists and errands have consumed me, and in all honesty I haven't been able to spend some quiet time with God. These past three months have flown by and although I love being Jet's mommy, sometimes I just wish I had more time.

This afternoon, I was able to sneak away to the other room while Jet had his afternoon nap and opened my bible for the first time in months. What started out as an "I'll just read one chapter since that's better than nothing" turned into "oh that was good I need to keep reading". I came across a verse that really made me feel less guilty about not having enough time and reminded me that God sees our needs (Nehemiah 1). This new season in my life will be such a learning experience and my hope is to share this journey with all of you. My prayer is that I am able to get more of these quiet times with God and through Him learn to be an exceptional wife and mom.

Four days that would change my life forever

July 28, 2016

I started feeling heavier and more frequent Braxton hicks contractions all week so I decided to stay home from work today. Since I had done all I could do to prepare my projects I would leave behind while on maternity leave I didn’t feel so bad taking a sick day. Nothing exciting happened today so it was more of a free day for me to get the last few things in order at the house before the baby came.

July 29, 2016

Again, felt Braxton hicks contractions so I called out of work and stayed home. My cousin came in from LA and I met up with him for lunch. He wasn’t feeling too good so we planned on meeting up for dinner when Titan got off of work to eat pho. My best friend, Sheena, told me to eat pho because in the Vietnamese culture that would induce labor. As I started to get ready for dinner I felt a little slow leak dripping down my legs. I heard that not everyone’s water breaks the same and sometimes it could be a slow leak like a faucet and not like what you’d imagine. Titan came home to find me hunched over the bathroom sick with a towel under me because the leak just wouldn’t stop. I was sure my water had broken because I had just gotten out of the shower and there was no way it was pee. So, quickly and calmly he began to pack his bag while I called labor and delivery to let them know I was on my way. On the way to the hospital I didn’t really feel any contractions and this was nothing like I thought it would be. They checked me in and luckily my normal mid-wife was on shift that night so it was re-assuring to see a familiar face. Since it didn’t appear like I was in any sort of pain nor was I having contractions it took a while for her to actually check me. After a few hours she came back with the results. Verdict was that my water had not broken and it was just some sort of discharge. She said it’s better to be safe than sorry and 9 out of 10 times people in my situation are back at the hospital within 24-48 hours.

July 30, 2016

I had planned to meet my friend Winnie for lunch and being how rollie pollie I felt I dragged her along to Costco to stock up my fridge. Later that afternoon I was online Googling “How to naturally induce labor”. I often saw dancing was a great way so on to YouTube I went to find some dancing music. Since I’m not a free style dancer, I learned the entire Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” thanks to some tutorials. After about an hour of that and some hula songs I was beat. Titan got home and we decided to give this pho theory a shot. We got home from dinner and still no sign of baby. Little did I know this would be the last night of sleep for a while.

July 31, 2016 (My due date)

Around 4:30 am I felt cramping in my stomach and I went to use the bathroom. The feeling never really went away so I woke Titan up and told him I think I was having real contractions this time. For some reason I didn’t know how I could tell this was the real deal but your instincts just tell you. I downloaded an app to help me track my contractions and for the next few hours I walked back and forth around my living room to try and move the contractions along. All the while, Titan was snoozing and he claims he was “resting up”. Soon enough the sun came up and my contractions were still about 10 minutes apart. At around 11:30/12:00ish I told Titan it was time to head to the hospital. So, off we went and since this was the second alarm I remembered to bring things I forgotten the first time like my pillow I can’t sleep without.  My contractions started getting closer together and more painful. I remember Titan dropping me off in the loading zone and a security officer coming by to ask me if I needed assistance. I guess the hunching over holding my stomach and grabbing the pillar in the lobby gave it away. Being the superwoman I am (lol) I said I was fine and up to labor and delivery we went.

After getting checked in the mid-wife on duty made the call to admit me. My contractions were still tolerable at this point so I got dressed in those lovely hospital gowns and the staff encouraged me to eat some lunch. After lunch I decided I wanted this baby out so we took a walk around the labor and delivery floor. It started out fine and then the contractions started getting more and more painful. We stopped about every two minutes because I just couldn’t handle the pain. What helped was facing Titan and leaning on him for support. He would squeeze my hips during the contraction and he said this happened about 10 times. According to Titan, it took an hour just to do one lap. As we approached our room I told Titan I needed the epidural. The pain was so intense that if I had to describe it, it was like lightning occurring in my abdomen. Since there was only one epidural guy on the floor and he was already helping someone else, my nurse gave me some type of medication because we didn’t know how long it would take for him to get to me. Luckily, it was only about a 10 minute wait and I found myself hunching over forming an “S” with my back. This was a lot harder than I thought and it took a while for him to insert the needle. Titan hates needles so he excused himself and got some lunch at the cafeteria. When he got back I was feeling g-o-o-d. The nurse encouraged me to get some rest because I’d need it when it came time to push. I was in and out of it and there was a pocket on my lower left side that didn’t get the epidural. It sucked! With every contraction I could feel the thunder and lightning in that one area and no matter what I did it wouldn’t go away.

At around 7:30 pm my nurse told me her shift was over and introduced me to the nurse that would take over for the rest of the night. Since getting the epidural it slowed my contractions down significantly I think they mentioned something about the baby’s heart rate dropping. It wasn’t something they were too concerned about but they needed to help me move things along. At around 9 pm they broke my water and gave me some Pitocin to help my contractions. This whole time I still felt that little pocket of pressure and by then I wasn’t able to get much rest.

At around 11 pm they said I could start pushing. God bless my nurse and husband because they stayed by my side the entire time. I pushed with every contraction (ok I cheated a little and rested through a few) and it felt like I wasn’t making any progress. A few hours in the doctor came and mentioned the option of having the baby vacuumed out or assisted out with tongs. I guess they were a little more worried about the baby at this point and Titan texted this information to my sister who works in labor and delivery on Maui. At about 2:00 am I looked at Titan in a way he would describe as desperation. I was exhausted and I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore. I felt like I wasn’t making any progress and I remember starring into his eyes and without saying a word I told him I was done. With some encouragement from the nurse and Titan, on to pushing I went with every contraction. At around 2:30 with my first contraction push, the doctor rubbed down there to what I think was help open thing up for him to come out. On the second push, Jet literally shot out and all I remember the doctor saying was “don’t push, don’t push”! I felt an enormous amount of pressure and it was hard not to push. Although Jet’s bed and monitoring device was already set up in the room, my bed wasn’t ready for all the other stuff that came out in addition to baby.

They laid Jet on my chest and I didn’t know what to feel or think. Was this real? Was this kid actually mine? After a few minutes of being in shock and listening to him cry, I began to cry. My baby boy was finally here and yes, he was all mine.

Jet Thomas Burns was born on August 1, 2016, at 2:39 am weighing 7 lbs 8.6 oz and 19 inches long.