Celeste Roble 2012: lovely young wine from Ribera del Duero

Celeste Roble 2012  – Bodegas Torres

Celeste, "as unique as the night sky in the Ribera del Duero".

Just because it is Wednesday it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a great wine. I went to the butchers to buy some Iberian hams and chorizo and couldn’t resist buying this young wine to go along my tapas night. If I have to choose a D.O. (Denominación de Origen) from Spain, it would definitely be Ribera del Duero, there’s something about these wines that just stands out from the rest.

Wine information

Type of wine: Young red  wine

D.O. RIBERA DEL DUERO

Winery: Bodegas Miguel Torres  (http://www.torres.es/)

Year: 2012

Grape: Tempranillo, Tinta fina

Alcohol percentage: 14.5% Vol.

Temperature recommended for consumption: 14 - 16ºC

Size: 75cl

Price Range: 6€- 6.50€ aprox.

Maridaje: Goes very well with all sorts of  red meat,  Iberian and cured cheese.

Tasting note: Celeste Roble 2012  – Bodegas Torres

Intense aroma. One can perceive the scent of chocolate and espresso as well as red fruits and pepper in this medium bodied dark cherry coloured wine. Lovely to the taste, pleasant and unctuous, with smooth tannins it invites to keep drinking it.  This wine needs some oxygenation to appreciate the spicy notes and complex structure.  The wine has a pleasant and long aftertaste.

Ref:  Bodegas Torres – Celeste Roble - Vinissimus

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Orange cake with Cointreau sauce

We are still in “Oranges season” here and our Valle del Guadalhorce is pretty much famous for its orange trees. My brother and a friend brought home several bags of oranges freshly collected from the countryside, so I try to find creative and delicious ways to use them.

Searching the web I found a “Moroccan Orange Cake” recipe that looked simple and delicious, so changing  it up a little and adding a Cointreau sauce  we came up with this truly fantastic cake to go with a cup of coffee or tea.

To my delight it was so delicious that my DH asked me to bake some cupcakes  with this recipe for his workmates.

We still have oranges at home!

So, if you want to give it a try, here you have the recipe:

Orange cake with Cointreau sauce

Cake Ingredients

• 4 eggs (at room temperature)
• 1 ½ cups of margarine, melted
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 sachet of baking powder (15g)
• A pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ a cup of fresh orange juice
• Zests of two oranges

Preparation

• Get your orange zest and juice ready. 
• Preheat your oven to 350° F (180° C). Grease and flour a tube pan or your cupcake tray. 
• With an electric mixer  beat together the eggs and sugar until thick. Gradually beat in the melted margarine. Make sure the margarine has cooled down before adding it to the mix. 
• Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt, and then the orange juice. Continue with the electric mixer until smooth, and then mix in the zest and vanilla. 
• Pour the batter into your prepared pan or into the cupcake try, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake tests done. 
• Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling. 
• Soak the cake with the Cointreau and Orange syrup  while it is still warm. With the cupcakes, follow the same procedure and for even better results, grab a bakery syringe and inject the syrup into the cupcakes. Once the syrup is cold it will get a thicker consistency.

Ingredients for the Cointreau and orange syrup

• ½ cup of white sugar
• ¾ cup of fresh orange juice
• 1 shot (about 3-4 tbs) of Cointreau

Preparation

In a pan, mix together the sugar and fresh orange juice and take it to boil. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, lower the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and add the Cointreau (Dark rum also goes really well with this cake). Let it cool down for about 100 minutes and then while it is still warm, pour it over the cake.

If you try the recipe, please let me know how it goes.

Leti.-

 

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London project has officially started

It's been a week since I last posted in the blog but so many things have happened lately I didn't have the chance to do it. I've promised myself to do my best to post at least three times a week here. 

London project has officially started. For the past year we’ve been waiting to know if my DH would be finally going to London for work. After some negotiation he finally came on board into the new project the company he works for is starting in London soooooo… we will be moving there sometime soon.

Bye, bye to Spanish sunshine and countryside and hello to one of the most talked about and exciting cities in the world. This new adventure will be a challenge in so many ways; I can’t really grasp all its magnitude yet.

Sun and beach in September....

It is a bit ironic that when we were finally getting to finish the reforms on the house we bought in Spain, we are living. Options of renting our house in Spain has crossed our minds but for the time being we are not going to be doing that. We'll keep the house here so we can always a place to scape to on a weekend .

Source: dinscreations.co.uk

DH flew to London today. He needs to be completely focus on the new job that’s why we think it's going to be better for me to delay a bit my relocation to London. In the meanwhile we will be seen each other every other week, sometimes me going to see him, sometimes him coming to see me here. 

People say that long distance relationships don’t work but we already prove that theory wrong once and surely we can do it again. (Read: Long-distance relationships really can work and Long distance relationships benefits )

What do you think is the best and worst part of a long distance relationship?

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Rivendel Crianza 2009, an OK red wine from Ribera del Duero

Rivendel Crianza 2009  -   Vinoteca El Descorche (Alhaurín El Grande)

The night after San Valentine’s Day my DH and me decided we were not in the mood to cook so we went to our town’s wine bar  “Vinoteca El Descorche” for some good tapas and wine.

It was my turn to choose the wine so browsing in the shelves I saw a wine I couldn't pass by. Its name is “Rivendel” as in “Lord of the Rings” Rivendel, and me being such a J.R.R. Tolkien fan I HAD to try this wine.

Rivendel Crianza 2009 is a D.O. Ribera del Duero red wine, made with 100% tempranillo grapes.  It has a deep cherry hue and strong  tanning with complex and lasting aftertaste.

This wine is recommended to be pair with game and red meat, roasts and stews. That night we pair it with some wild board pate (delicious), fried quails and a mix of cheeses. After these, I would definitely recommend going for the meat instead of the cheese, as it pairs better with this wine.

Rivendel is a good D.O. Ribera del Duero, but me being such a Tolkien fan, I would say it doesn't live up to its name.

Wine information

Type of wine: Red wine - Crianza

D.O. RIBERA DEL DUERO

Winery: Bodega San Mamés, S.C. (http://www.bodegasanmames.com/)

Year: 2009

Grape: Tempranillo

Alcohol percentage: 13.5% Vol.

Temperature recommended for drinking: 17ºC

Aging: 12 months in American oak barrels y Central toasted half.

Size: 75cl

Maridaje:  Accompanies the exquisite dishes of the area as roasts, game and red meat, it is also an ideal companion for Iberian, stews and dishes from modern cuisine.

Tasting note: Rivendel Crianza 2009

Intense red with cherry hues with bright robe. Complex aromas with ripe fruit, jams and minerals. After oxygenation also appreciate spicy and balsamic nuances. The palate is elegant, with pronounced tannins and complex structure. Final tasty, velvety and long aftertaste.

Ref: 

http://www.mediterraneumfood.com/wordpress/tienda/rivendel/rivendel-crianza-2009

http://www.aporvino.com/comprar_vino/product_info_bak.php?products_id=5044&language=en

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14 things I love about my husband

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so I have decided to do a list of the 14 things I love about my dearie husband, to try to express how thankful I am for having this wonderful man in my life.

Here are 14 reasons, in no particular order, for why I love him:

1.  He loves me for who I am and he tells me so often even though most of the        
     time I don't believe him.
2.  He knows how to say “sorry” and is trying hard to teach me to say it too.
3.  He never forgets to kiss me goodbye or goodnight.
4.  He’s loyal and trustworthy.
5.  He supports my dreams and tries to help me achieve them.
6.  He is my other half. I fit so perfectly in his arms whether we’re hugging, or spooning in bed, we fit like we’re custom-made for one another.
7.  He is intelligent, smart, competitive and ambitious which makes our lives    
     very interesting.
8.  He dreams big, and he isn't afraid to reach for things that many people wouldn’t.
9.  He is proud of us.
10. He is not afraid of experimenting things together.
11. He never yells or raise his voice in anger.
12. He has the best taste in music, just like I do.
13. He is a great cook and makes the best mushroom and goat cheese risotto there is.
14. He’s my best friend.

We've been together for eight years and he is still the one I long to see each day and the one that makes my day complete. 

Sometimes I think that we take for granted the good things and the people that we love, I know that I do, because is easy to get entangled in life and harp on any little thing that bother us instead of seeing the goodness around. 

It is one of my New Year’s resolutions to get better at not taking people for granted that and be thankful, not only in my head and in my heart but to actually say it to the face, to the people I love.

So what better than to start with the person I share my life with and let him know how much I truly appreciate him.

I love you dearie!

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Saturday night: Gato Negro – Cabernet Sauvignon

DH and I went shopping to Miramar Shopping Center in Fuengirola this afternoon. A friend gave us  a Gift card to spend in Zara Homes so off we went. It was a rainy afternoon, actually the first day of proper rain in this Winter season so far so it wasn't so bad to be in a Shopping Mall.

After an hour rummaging in Zara Home and expending all the credit in the Gift card in only 2 items, we enjoyed a beautiful lunch and before going back home we stopped at the supermarket to buy dog and cat food but we got lost at this big supermarket and ended up at the wine and beer isles… some new bottles of cabernet sauvignon  and Duff beer we didn't plan to get and we were heading back to our lair.

When we got back home the storm was getting worse so the night called for candles, wine and something good to watch on TV.

We opened a bottle of Gato Negro – Cabernet Sauvignon, a fantastic red wine from Chile.

This wine was born in 1960 in Viñas San Pedro and has won several prices and awards in later years. Today, Viña San Pedro is the leading and largest winery in the VSP Wine Group.

Gato Negro is fairly cheap, at  5.45€ the bottle it's way better than you would expect from the price. 

According to the Viña San Pedro website, Gato Negro has “over delivered at its price point for decades”, and I cannot but totally agree with that statement. 

This is an intense flavour Cabernet full of red fruits, plum and vanilla aromas. Lovely and rich  on the mouth it is a perfect pair to a cozy night with your beloved or a nice gathering of friends.  People say that normally Cabernet should be paired with red meats, but in this occasion and this particular wine went down well with just some bread (I love having bread and wine together).

Gato Negro - Cabernet Sauvignon went down so well actually,  that in no time we saw the bottom of the bottle while chatting on a rainy night.

My opinion: Fantastic for its price. Will definitely buy some more.

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Doctor appointment and green light to start again

This last Wednesday I had a doctor appointment with my Fertility OB, Dr. Hijano. We were nervous as to what would happen… Would everything be OK? Would he send us for a whole new round of tests? Would he want to pause treatment? Would our new circumstances affect the process?

My DH got offered a new position (same company) in London, so we are moving to London at the end of February which is exciting and also scary do to all the implications this new situation has and will have. More on this soon…

Doctor reviewed all paperwork I had from my hospital discharge, D&C, blood tests and biopsy and said there was nothing that we could have done to prevent it. He explained all about miscarriage in first trimester and this being my first miscarriage there was no reason to do an in-depth study of the case as it was not considered a medical issue yet. He said that if it was to happen again or I was having repeated miscarriages (at least two) then they would start more in-depth studies as to find the cause.

Doctor did an ultrasound to check everything was back to normal and everything was just fine. He told me that I ovulated and I should be having my period in the following week.

We asked the doctor how long should we wait to start trying again, he said we shouldn’t wait, we could start straight away. DH told him the hospital doctor said we should wait at least 3 month but  he completely dismissed this statement. Dr. Hijano said that was the previous consensus regarding D&C but nowadays fertility doctors  say it is not necessary to wait. He said we could start with the hormones for a next round of IUI with my first period. That was good news…

We also told the doctor we are in the mist of moving to London but that we would like to keep following the treatment with his team. After talking about procedure and logistics we decided to wait until we find a house in London and things settle a bit before going to another IUI round. That would be at least a 2 month pause.

When I mention my doctor that I would be writing this blog about my experience with the treatment and life in general he offered to help me out with it! So nice of him…  

We left the doctor’s office with a new perspective and with a whole load off our shoulders. It was a nice day.

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Family under construction: part 4 - miscarriage

On January 3^rd we went for the blood work and tests. All seemed good.

On January 7^th I started feeling weird… I was irritable, couldn't really eat anything but fruit and sleep was horrible. On January 9^th I woke up of a horrible nightmare. I dreamt that I had a stillbirth and that when my DH saw the dead baby he threw it out and stole a baby from someone who didn’t wanted her baby but he was caught and had to return the baby. I woke up sweating and with my heart beating so fast I was physically ill. My DH woke up early to take his mother to the hospital, I told him about the dream and that I wasn't feeling well.. I started to feel some pins and needles on my belly button and pubic area… he said that it probably was nothing and to lie down and rest.

I couldn't help but worry all day long, I called my mom telling her I wasn't feeling OK and that I was upset because my DH seemed to think I was overreacting. My mum said to go to the doctor to calm me down so at the end, at around 6pm I convinced DH to go to ER. 

We went to ER, I was supposed to be 12 weeks by now so they tried to do the ultrasound on my belly but the doctor couldn't see anything. At that point my DH just crumbled down… doctor did a vaginal ultrasound and there was no heartbeat… baby measured 8 weeks 4 days. I just had a silent miscarriage.

It seemed as if baby stopped development somewhere between 9 – 10 weeks.

My DH went pale; he took it so bad… I didn't know what to think… I was blank…no brain waves. Doctor explained this was fairly normal. That about 40% of pregnancies ends in first trimester. That she recommended a D&C as soon as possible because the placenta kept growing and my body was carrying on with the pregnancy. I actually still felt pregnant… nausea, breast tenderness, all the signs were still there. She gave us the paperwork to proceed with the D&C and told us to come back next day early in the morning for the procedure.

We went back home and I was still not reacting to it... I felt just as if it was happening to someone else. I thought about it, I tried to rationalize it, I tried to find reasons, but the only think I could think of is that I have been so stressed out because of family during the time the pregnancy stopped that I could only focus my anger on that situation and on a particular person.

We went to the hospital the next morning and got ready for the D&C. I was admitted to the hospital and a nurse gave me some tablets to insert vaginally that will start contractions. I inserted them and in 2 hours it all begun. At the beginning it wasn't painful but in the next two hours pain became quite strong. At this time they took me to the operating room and applied to me general anesthesia.  When I woke up I was in the recovery room, the nurse told me everything went just fine, later on the doctor came and said procedure went well and that she managed to remove the sack completely and that I should be up and running soon.

Back in the room I was in some pain so they gave me painkillers but I was bleeding a lot. They were supposed to release me that afternoon but because of the bleeding they kept me in for another full day. I was released on Sunday evening and doctor gave me a control appointment for January 23rd. They said bleeding would continue for a couple of days but if bleeding was intense, I should go back to hospital for check-up.

My DH and my brother stayed with me all the time at the hospital and at home. My DH had to go back to work on Monday but my brother requested some days off and stayed home with me for three days because doctor said I should rest and not over exert myself during the first 3 days, and obviously they didn't trusted me to rest.

Family and friends send us messages and wanted to come and see me… 

I am the kind of person that doesn’t like to have people around when I'm nervous or in pain so I asked them not to come for a week… I asked several times. 

All of my friends respected my wishes and my family as well… my mum was in Paraguay visiting her brothers and she wanted to come straight away but I told her not to move her flight forward and she also agreed, only one person didn't and I wasn't pleased at all… 

I felt that it was my time to get adjusted and I didn't want to have to accommodate other people or to be smiling to other people or to be pitied… I hate being pitied and I hate to be asked over and over again if I’m fine or not… Of course I wasn't fine! Stop asking! So this person got the worst side of my mood … but I'm not sorry. I warned them. I won't apologize. Filters off from now on.

Five days passed (by the time I'm writing this) since the D&C and I only have cried once, and I cried because I was upset not because I was sad. I cried yesterday because a friend came over and my DH and my friend were talking in front of me of the miscarriage and that it was lucky it was sooner than later, and that it wasn't really a baby yet but just a squid or a blob and that it will be over soon… and I just couldn't cope with that. I got so angry because even though I understand that it was better for it to be at 12 weeks than at 20 weeks or more, it wasn't just a blob… I really wanted that baby, and it has been difficult to get to the pregnancy part and it wasn't just “that simple” so I asked my friend to leave the house and I told at my DH that it wasn't just a blob and that his words hurt, and I cried out of frustration. But I only cried once. That was two days ago.

I’m feeling better now. I'm still bleeding but not so much and pain is not so bad now, I’m still cramping but an ibuprofen is enough to calm it down. I still have trouble sleeping but the doctor prescribed some sleeping pills and they helped a lot.

I’m not sad. I’m upset. I’ve been raised to win. I have always been the first or the best in what I was set upon to do. And this to me felt like failure. And I’m not used to failure. I'm a bad loser.

I would have been entering my second trimester on January 23rd.  On that day, we planned to put Bilbo (my wonderful dog) in a shirt that read "Big Brother" to announce our pregnancy. Unfortunately, that will not happen because I had a miscarriage.  

The only reason I'm even posting about it here is because there are women who go through this and don't talk about it and because I'm one of them. I don’t talk about it so I decided to write about it.  

It is worst for a woman to know she can get pregnant then have a loss, than a woman who can't get pregnant at all because one way or another they'll eventually write it off as something they can’t do. It’s an emotional roller coaster, your emotions are on high the moment you find out, and then you crash.  It’s hard. It’s hard on a marriage.  It’s hard on you emotionally.  After, you’re never really the same; you're always worried that something bad will happen.  

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Family under construction: part 3 - trying again

Our first IUI failed. We decided to try again immediately so the third day from the start of my period we begun with the hormone shots again… had the trigger shot on November 3^rd and the AI procedure on November 4^th.

The second 2WW were worst that the first one. Every time I went to the bathroom I was expecting to see signs of spotting, signs that something was wrong.  Then I decided to do some research online about what to do to help implantation… and I follow the advices that sounded best to me… I stopped exercising, rested as much as possible, I ate pineapple cores the first 5 days after IUI, took my prenatal pills and started to eat and drink as if I was already pregnant (no alcohol, no raw meat, etc…).

http://www.imagesbuddy.com/images/129/2014/01/waiting-for-you-boy-and-girl-hands-graphic.jpg

On November 18^th I took my first pregnancy test and it came with a faint positive…. But positive nonetheless for the first time ever... I could believe my eyes… I took the test at 4am because I wasn't able to hold my pee no longer and when I woke DH to check he said that it looked as if it was positive… so I called my doctor first thing and they said to wait two more days and test again…. TWO MORE DAYS!

I was going crazy… so on November 20^th I took the second test at 7am…. And it came back positive again and darker this time…. I couldn't believe it yet… so I went straight to the pharmacy with the pregnancy test and asked the girl at the counter what she thought about it…. Funny thing, the pharmacy was full of grandma’s (it was early in the day, like 8 am) and they all said it was a positive as big as a house and all the grandmas came and greet me on the news… I was SO HAPPY! I've got my BFP! I was going to be a mum!

I called my doctor and he said to go for the first ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy in two weeks (another two dreadful weeks…) On December 2^nd we went for the ultrasound and Dr. Hijano said he could see the sack but couldn't see the baby… he said that implantation might have been late and to come back in 10 days for another ultrasound…

I was so nervous and scare… those 10 days were hell… On December 13^th we were back to his office and this time the ultrasound showed the baby and we heard the heartbeats! We were so relieved and so happy! We called our mothers and let them know… my mum cried and cheered and all you would expect from a future grandma… my brother was so happy and already planning to which concerts he will take his future godson or goddaughter… I asked them not to tell yet because people said that the first 13 weeks are very delicate and I wanted to be past that period to be telling all the world… but my wishes weren’t granted… more on that later.

Dr. Hijano asked us if we wanted him to do the follow up of the pregnancy but we weren't sure because we wanted to have the follow up in the Hospital Quirón which was closer to our house... biggest blunder... we later realised.

I called the hospital and got an appointment with an OB (not my usual one because she was fully booked until the end of January) on December 23^rd. According to the IUI procedure the baby should has been 9 weeks by that time but when we had the appointment the Dr. said that the baby measured 8 weeks 2 days and we were able to hear the heartbeat again. That was so nice… 

But I wasn't sure about the doctor. She didn't say much, she didn't explained much, and she only said that I had a myoma of 2-3 cm but not to worry because that was “normal. She sends us for the test for the first trimester and gave us our next appointment for January 23^rd, one month after.

My DH said he liked the doctor that she seemed nice… I didn't quite like her because she wasn't informative enough and she seemed distracted all the time… she even wrote her name instead of mine in the test order!

So Christmas came and with it a lot of stress due to family “situations”. Family were scattered during the holidays. We are used to have big family parties for the holidays but this year we ended up being only 4 at Christmas and my mother-in-law didn't even wanted to spend New Year’s Eve with us… which added to the stress of the holidays.

On January 3^rd we went for the blood work and tests. All seemed good.

But...

Part 4

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Family under construction: part 2 - TTC

In December 2011 we began trying for a baby. Oh my, did we try! After trying not to get pregnant for so long, we thought that it would be easy, we did get a lot of practice in the making department after all… 6 month with no luck we went back to the doctor and she told us that it is normal after a surgery like mine not to get results immediately but she ordered some tests for the both of us to check that everything was fine, so up we went for blood work, hormonal charts, seminal tests and hysterosalpingography. 

Every single test came back normal. There was nothing wrong with any of us. 

Great. Now, why we couldn't get pregnant? My doctor, who was pregnant at this time, said to try monitoring ovulation for a couple of month, timing sex to most fertile days and if nothing happened she will set a clomiphene treatment for us.

About a month later my doctor had her baby and was off duty, by the time I went for my appointment a new doctor was replacing her. This new doctor was very condescending and it seemed she was in a hurry. She didn't want to prescribe the clomiphene and said that if I was worry for my fertility I should go to a fertility specialist. I asked her to contact my doctor that she was the one that suggested the clomiphene and she basically refused. After a lot of talking she said she would contact my doctor and that I should come back in two weeks to check. She also suggested I quit my work because I had a hectic schedule and was stressed out so that could be the reason of our failure to get pregnant and gave me a prescription for something called Ovusitol.  

I went back for my next appointment and of course she didn’t talked to my doctor and basically just wasted my time. Add to this the fact that she used that condescending tone that doctors that really don’t care use and again stressed out the thing about “relaxing” in order to get pregnant. Arrrrggggg!

I was so angry I didn’t know what to do, so I called the hospital´s fertility clinic and told them what this doctor said and all test that I have been through recently. They said that they only look at the test they ordered and not to tests ordered by other doctors, even though the tests were performed in the same hospital! Meaning we have to go through the entire set of tests again and pay for them. I refused point blank. This was October 2012.

In the mean the company I was working for got absorbed by a bigger company and we were working overdrive to complete the process and get everything ready. I got offered a new position at the new company which would involve more hours, more travelling and more stress so considering what the doctors have said, my DH and I decided I should just turn the offer down and so I became a housewife. This was December 2012.

 Back in Paraguay I used to work as a pharmaceutical representative and some of my best friends are doctors, so I contacted my previous Gynaecologist and really good friend, Dr. Carlos, and sent him all my results. He said that my doctor was right and clomiphene should be the first step so he prescribed me the treatment, explained everything and off I went with it. He also said that if after 6 month of treatment I didn’t get pregnant, then other tests should be performed.

I follow the clomiphene treatment for 6 month, from January to June 2013. During this treatment I developed ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) on month 6 of the treatment and also gain a lot of weight (8kg) during the process.


For those of you who are not familiar with clomiphene,  helps you produce more of the hormones that trigger ovulation (follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH)), prompting your ovaries to produce one or more mature eggs, depending on how often you normally ovulate.

During this time my DH was transferred to London for a business development project and we were travelling back and forth every week which added to the stress of the situation.

In August 2013 I decided it was time to go to a fertility specialist, so after consulting with our insurance company we were referred to the Centro Malagueño de Reproducción Asistida. Through my insurance company I got a discount on the price of the treatment and the first consultation free of charge, so we went.

We were greeted by Dr. Hijano, which was very accommodating, listened to all we had to say and answered our questions. He said that unexplained infertility is very common and that he wanted to make and additional test and blood work to start with.

"Infertility means not being able to get pregnant after one year of trying (or six months if a woman is 35 or older).  Women who can get pregnant but are unable to stay pregnant may also be infertile."

Infertility is different for everyone, and can be caused by a multitude of things from screwed up hormones, blocked Fallopian tubes, fibroids, tilted uterus, age, diet, weight, drug use, alcohol abuse etc.  And it isn't just a woman’s issue; 1/3 of infertility issues are due to issues with the male. 

The test he requested is called hysteroscopy and consisted in a small camera inserted in the utero to check its surface. The blood work and hysteroscopy came all fine so at the end of August we visited the doctor again and he recommended starting an AI treatment. When we asked for IVF he said that there was no reason for us to go through IVF because there was no apparent cause for infertility and my eggs and DH sperm were just fine. So we scheduled the first procedure for October 2013.

The most expensive part of the IUI procedure is the medication; we bought the hormone injections and begin the protocol.

10 days of injections and a trigger shot later we had the first IUI procedure on October 11^th. It was quicker and less painful than expected. All in all it lasted about  20 minutes. The doctor said to take it easy that day but to resume normal activities the day after and no special care but the prenatal pills and progesterone . He recommended Natalben Prenatal, which I must say is pretty good. So we began the 2WW (2 week wait, not the Second World War!) which were the most nerve racking 2 weeks a woman can experience.

I was supposed to take a pregnancy test on October 26^th but I started spotting on October 25^th… and the first IUI procedure failed.

Part 3

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