Crazy Eights?

So it begins again with IUI #8...

I started a new cycle last Friday, so I went in on Sunday for a baseline ultrasound and bloodwork.  Everything came back normal, so I started popping mystery pills on Sunday night.  I am scheduled to go in for another ultrasound on next Sunday morning which, I realized later, is the day of an afternoon wedding we have to attend in Newark, DE.  I guess I am going to be running around like a lunatic that day!

At this point, I think I have been through enough picture-perfect cycles to know that it is no promise of a BFP.  No matter what these follicles look like, I am not at all optimistic for the next two cycles in the study.  I feel at this point I am just fulfilling my obligation to the study and using all possible methods of inexpensive treatment before having to take the leap into IVF. 

It was somewhat of a relief to see that many clinics in the area were charging significantly less for cycles of IVF than the original ones that I had researched.  The problem, however, is logistical.  The less expensive clinics are in NJ and NY.  I am totally willing to travel the distance, and I even have some friends who would put me up for a day or two of bedrest if necessary.  It would even save money to get hotel rooms over paying the rates of some of the fertility clinics around here.  The main problem will be scheduling. 

I know this sounds ridiculous, but I am having an internal debate about when I would rather miss time - for the IVF treatments themselves or for maternity leave.   To say that this is putting the cart before the horse is the understatement of the century.  Believe me, I should have realized a long time ago that a planned pregnancy is never going to happen for us.  But when the time of conception is scheduled down to the minute on an IVF calendar, it gets you wondering...

Would I rather do IVF treatments rather leisurely over the summer, never having to worry about work schedules or finding coverage?  Or would I rather be due during the summer so that I can maximize my time at home with an infant, as well as my paychecks?  As ridiculous as this sounds, money is a serious concern in all of this and anything I can do to prevent disability payments and medical leave is a priority. 

More than likely, it seems the best plan would be to do IVF during July and August, possibly September.  That would give me more flexibility in terms of going long distances to RE appointments, but it would also make our due date in April, May or June.  That's assuming, of course, that IVF will be successful for us. 

Further compounding the problem, our HR office sent out an email (finally...) about FSA accounts.  I had thought that this would be a good strategy for us, not only to save on taxes, but also as a method of saving for IVF.  What I did not realize, however, was that the paperwork was due back to HR less than 24 hours later.  I missed the deadline without even knowing it. 

So back to square one.  Here we are: the third cycle out of four in the research study with no success and no answers.  I will be doing these last two cycles of IUI in the research study, but then I will really need to start thinking about what happens next.