Big catch up time

First of all thanks to everyone for Charlie's birthday wishes and mine for my hospital appointment. Charlie in particular really appreciated his birthday wishes, as none of his school friends sent him a card, despite all the birthdays being on our contact list, so the poor mite had a fairly minimal card haul, although his useless so called father remembered a card that actually managed to arrive on his birthday and not a week after. Does he think that buying the largest card in the shop makes up for having walked out of his sons life forever 2 years ago?

Saturday

Anyway, he had a lovely birthday. He opened his presents from me and was absolutely thrilled with his Draw Write Now set - he thinks its the best present in the world despite his expression in the second photo!





We whizzed off to Waitrose to buy some bits and pieces and were there for opening at 8.30am (groan), then went on to the party shop in Cirencester to purchase the table confetti. He has loved this ever since I bought some for his birthday last year. We got gold and silver stars and "happy birthday" logos. I also treated him to a happy birthday helium balloon and two more Horrible History novels as well. Incas and Tudors I think were the ones he chose.

We finished tidying the house and Charlie began to get really impatient waiting for my parents to arrive. Arrive they did at 1.00 and after opening their presents - some lovely clothes and a glass painting set - we had lunch, just the usual sandwiches, pringles, yellow and red peppers, carrot and cucumber sticks and tzatziki and another dip too. Then it was cake time!



After lunch Charlie wanted to do one of the Sand Art pictures I bought for his birthday. It was good fun and we did it together which was nice and Charlie was really pleased with the end result.



Then he dragged my dad into the playroom to play on the playstation - what a palaver! They couldn't quite work out the eye toy between them, my mum and I just sniggered.

At 5.30 my dad took Charlie here to watch the floodlit feeding. Charlie apparently loved it, and was really well behaved. My mum and I stayed here as she had no interest in going, and we watched ET and chatted and I cooked dinner.

My parents left after Casualty ended and a very happy Charlie collapsed into bed earlyish for a change.

Sunday

We had a very artistic day today which was a big change. First of all Charlie wanted to do something from Draw Write Now so he chose the robin and was thrilled with the results.



Even I tried it and was impressed and I hate drawing with a passion best reserved for other things!

Then after lunch he got his new clay out (another birthday present) and decided to make a roman pot and a snowman he has christened Frosty - so original.







He *really* enjoyed this and took great care over every aspect of it - it was definitely a hit.

We snuggled up on the sofa after dinner and watched some of the programs on Animal Planet, he really loves that channel and it makes me so happy we have Sky now.

Monday

It was a mad rush to get to the bank before catching the train, but we made it with about 5 minutes to spare. In fact rushing around was a bit of a theme today! Train journey to London was uneventful as ever, Charlie read and did another Draw Write Now picture, and we arrived into Paddington on time at quarter to one. We had a quick look in WH Smiths for the Horrible Science magazine but they appeared to be in the middle of a refurb and didn't have it or much else for that matter. We caught the tube to Sloane Square and then the bus down to the hospital - that was quite exciting as it is only the second time Charlie has been on a bus - we normally get cabs around London.The hospital has a bus stop right outside which was handy.

Everything at the clinic went very well. I have nicely down regged and Charlie loved seeing the scan. The lady was great pointing out the womb and ovaries to him, and he was visibly moved and said to me "wow Mummy - that's where I grew" bless. The nurse then sent me down to the Pharmacy to pick up my drugs and then more sitting around before going in to see her. She showed me my injection and new revised sniffing schedules and then made up one injection and made me do it.

Then the embryologist came in to discuss the donor sperm. Unbelievably there is only one available with blonde hair at the moment, so it was him I chose as both Charlie and I are blonde. He's some kind of super brainy student doing a PhD in astro physics or something like that, he's also very sporty, which considering I'm not, was quite amusing.

Then it was time to pay the bill and book my next scan. That will be next Monday to check that my ovaries are growing lots of eggs. Charlie keeps stroking my tummy and saying to it "grow eggies grow" rofl, he's so funny.

By this time we had been at the clinic nearly 2 hours and I was getting worried as if we didn't make the 4.16pm train home we would have to wait until 7.30pm. So we ran up Chelsea Bridge Road, threw ourselves into Sloane Square tube station and then ran all the way up from Paddington tube to the train, making it with 30 seconds to spare! Pretty impressive for an unfit 29 year old and a just 7 year old I thought.

Another uneventful train journey home, stopping off to pick up my work from my parents and then home for dinner.

Tuesday

Today Charlie has been quite busy. He's done two pages of maths, quickly and all correctly, which is great because it was subtraction and he usually struggles with this. He coloured in his DWN picture from yesterday and wrote the sentences too.

He has been most helpful and helped to tidy the sitting room too, and made our sandwiches at lunch time.

Straight after lunch I did my injection, and it is really quite a faff to set it all and takes a while. Charlie was sweet when he could see I was hesitating whilst pointing the needle at my stomach, gave me some reassuring words and stroked my back. He is very interested in the big supplies bag they gave me, with all the syringes, needles, ampuole covers etc in, and he particularly likes the sharps bin!

I would just like to blog here that it hurts a bit when the needle goes in, and the menopur does sting as it goes in, but it isn't as bad as HcG injection I had to have over the years for the IUI's - now that really stung.

Charlie outright refused to go to swimming lessons today, as he said he didn't want to get in trouble. Hmmm, anyway we have negotiated that he will go next week.

I have booked him into 3 activity sessions at the leisure centre for half term week that he decided he would like to do. He chose football, trampolining and short tennis.

We're going to our first home ed group meeting tomorrow at K's house, we are both looking forward to this. Although I've yet to work out how to fit my injection in whilst there as it's due in the middle of our time there!