Boy, is my booty sore! These progesterone shots sure are taking a toll on me. Last night, Joe must have hit a bad spot because, although he had barely stuck the needle in, I was in so much pain I was crying. And, I didn’t stop crying until he had found another spot and given me the shot. I feel like a wimp, but really, I’ve done pretty darn well with the progesterone shots so far. They’re progesterone in oil, so the medicine is a lot thicker that normal, and it’s not a whole lot of fun. But, it’s been pretty bearable. Hopefully, last night was a fluke.

Joe’s done really well with giving me the shots. This is the first time he’s ever had to give me shots, and considering he has to give them in a certain spot on the hip, I don’t envy him. I always wonder how he knows where to do them.

Seriously, people, look how big this needle is!

We’ve got our routine down. Every night at 9:30, I lay down with the heating pad on, and at 9:45, Joe gets the shot ready to inject at 10. Then, I lay there for a little while longer with the heating pad on. Using the heating pad before the shots usually seems to help with the pain of the injection, and so far I have managed to avoid any lumps under the skin, which I was warned about before we started this cycle.

I may not enjoy the progesterone shots, but they really seem to be working. My level yesterday was greater than 20, which my IVF coordinator says is where they want it. Progesterone makes the uterine lining more receptive for implantation, so I’m hoping my little babies are burrowing away in there.

We have five more shots to go at a minimum. If the pregnancy test is negative, we’ll stop them immediately. If it’s positive, I will take them for the next six weeks. As much as I don’t like them, I hope to be on them a long time. I’ll do anything to have a baby, and this isn’t anything I can’t handle.