Water, Water

I never do this (do I ever do this? no, I never do) but I have a product recommendation for you. Well, maybe not YOU, personally, because I am certain you do not entertain unwholesome fears of blanching your baby, but maybe for a friend.

As best as I can tell from the box we received, this was invented by or designed by or financed by (or something) an old friend of Steve's and it is rather cool. It Velcros onto your bathtub faucet and then it tells you what temperature the water is that is filling the tub. Patrick thinks it is FASCINATING and said a breezy goodbye to the duck spout cover that had been his constant companion since the Moving Day Head Injury. Remember that? The day we moved into this house Steve took Patrick upstairs for his bath and Patrick, just shy of a year, stood up in the tub and promptly pitched forward, slashing his forehead on the drain pull. They had to glue his head back together. I was... not amused. 

We have been using it for about a week now and, like I said, it's cool. So I thought I would share. Besides, as Steve reasonably pointed out, if *I* had invented something (as unlikely as that seems) and the friend had a mommy blog of sorts (ditto that) he would do it for me. Noblesse oblige.

Speaking of water, Steve and I have a battle raging over the quality of ours. We have a private well, a fact that made me extremely nervous when we bought this house (before people started gluing Patrick back together and I realized I had bigger issues). I kept picturing that shot from the bottom of the well where a lone stone drops remorselessly downward making no splash; and then Steve and I setting off like the Joads, dry and dusty husks of our former selves. The nice thing about city water is you can rely upon its quantity (although in Minneapolis, in the spring, when the river rises... there is a distinct SMELL. a wet/dead dog smell that is troubling until, say, late May).

As it turned out, knock wood, we have had no supply issues and, better, no cadaverous seasonal odors either. The only problem is that the water has a rather high mineral content so the original owners of the house installed a water softener. Steve loves this softener. He likes nothing better than to haul enormous bags of salt into the basement to fill 'er up. I loathe it. I loathe the softened water. It tastes like the stuff that comes out of the faucet in large hotels and it feels slippery. And it does TERRIBLE things to my hair. Many's the time I have stood there in the shower frantically trying to scrub the soap out while the soft as silk water whispers uselessly past. Drives me crazy.

Steve, however, feels that completely untreated water will, like, destroy the pipes or something. As if that justifies my walking around with hair like this. So we have in theory agreed to a compromise that allows him to soften the water just a wee little bit. Of course he always cheats and I always know instantly because my tea feels funny on my tongue and my hair frizzes like wool. 

It always comes down to water rights, you know.

What else? I am 4dp5dt (four days past a transfer of five day old blastocysts - oops. one blast, one morula) and feeling pleasant. Waiting for good news is annoying, but an argument can be made that waiting for bad news beats the alternative of getting it. The hcg trigger shot has lingered (I tested. I was curious) longer than the last two times, with a clear second line 2dp5dt and a fainter but still obvious one 3dp5dt. I don't know about today yet. I am feeling rather mulish. We are going to see my father (I have a father) on Thursday for the first time in years and it is occurring to me that I don't want to know about the cycle yet. I mean, I don't want to know that this cycle did not work and get on a plane. Cowardly, but there it is. So despite years of preaching otherwise, I might actually wait for the stupid beta on Monday. I know! It goes against everything I believe in! Knowledge is power! Face the facts and move forward!

Hmmm. We'll see. Yikes! It is Patrick's birthday at school today (lots of summer birthdays so they spread 'em out all month) and I cleverly/stupidly offered to get them ice cream cupcakes, not realizing that I would then have to drive to pick them up and deliver them during my precious Patrick-free time. I've got to go!

Hope you are well.

Feel free to post when you got your first positive pregnancy test after transfer. NOT that I care, I add hastily. Just making conversation.      

       

Comments

[Pam L]

I'm afraid I can't oblige you on the positive pregnancy testin gafter transfer issue, never been there, done that, but the water spout thingy is genius. It's brilliant, and I would definitely buy one if I had anyone under the age of 10 in one of my tubs again, but I don't know when that will be unless my 20 year old changes his mind on the "I'm never having kids" issue and I end up being the fun grandma who has the grandkiddies stay over and I let them stay up way past their bedtime eating my homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

[mellie]

Thanks for the enlightening information on the hair! I didn't realize that soft water did such horrible things. Now I am going to rush online and see if those filtered shower head gadgets filter out whatever it is is that they put in the tank to make it so slimy.

Re transfer, we were three day-er's so I can't help. But I'm keeping everything crossed!

[Pam L]

P.S. And they sell them at Target!!! I'm there at least twice a week as it's on my regular errand route anyway. What great new baby/shower gifts these would be! Oh, and have a nice visit with your Dad.

[Rella]

I had a positive (the kind you have to squint to see) on 6dp5dt

[Jessica]

I can't help with the positive test either, but I did want to say that my daughter and I are heading north to see my father in a few weeks. Like you, I haven't seen him in years. He's never met my toddler and this trip was already a little nervewracking. Then he called to say that he was taking advantage of our visit to marry his 36 year old girlfriend. Good times. Good times...

[Amber]

6dp5dt, and it was in the evening.

Just pee already. I am bored.

[Toni]

Huh....I actually had to think about this one. We did the 5dt on a Tuesday...and I got a positive - FAINT - on Saturday - so 5dp??? Did I count right???

I agree with Amber...please pee. I mean, you know it's an addiction...you HAVE to feed it. :)

[-Blue]

Jeez, i hate hate HATE adulterated water. Gah! I've lived in the country for 20 years now and am used to - and like - well water. I can't abide city water. It smells like an open drain to me.

That being said, I do NOT like the taste of our current well water and so have been buying distilled.

Is there a cool thingy to distill one's own water?

[Cris]

Of COURSE I'm interested in the (hoped for, prayed for) pregnancy, but weren't we promised a school bully post? And you can't just drop your father visit in there casually, as if it isn't a big deal that total strangers would have a prurient interest in!

[Katherine]

v.v. late positives here.

11dp3dt (the day before beta)
and
10dp6dt!! (2 days before beta)

and, please - more on the father you purport to have at this late stage.

[luolin]

I am a freak, so I waited for the beta.

[Aurelia]

The water thing sounds odd, because properly treated water isn't supposed to be slimy. (Too soft means excess salt, not healthy, and too hard is bad for pipes, but also bad for your health.) Get it tested on the sly and when it shows up with a funny result, he'll fix the gauge so it is better.

I don't know how this translates to IVF transfers but my earliest was for Mac, my little boy, on a monitored cycle. At 9dpo my blood hcg was 9, literally, 4 days later it was 195.

And I want to hear about your dad too.

[Linda]

Obvious positive 11dp3dt. There could have been something before that, but I only tested so that when the office called with negative results, I would be prepared.

[Barbara]

I must warn you, if you sacrifice the water softener for the sake of your hair, your dishes will soon pay the price. We, too, have a well with high mineral content, and without the water softener, my glasses and silverware quickly acquire an unappetizing cloudy film. And then there's the gritty stuff that accumulates in the bottom of the glasses.

Get a reverse osmosis system for your drinking water. It completely knocks out that horrible softened-water taste. Or, hook up the softener only to the HOT water input (I haven't figured out how to do this yet, but that's what all the web sites say, and I'm nothing if not a slave to Google). As far as shower water, I'm not sure how to handle that one. Rinse with distilled water?

[Jenn]

I just kept testing to see when the HCG was gone (I was on boosters, so I had three shots of it during the 2WW). The line just never went away for me then got darker.

[Maggie]

I second Barbara...plus your toilet/shower/tub/coffee pot/iron/etc. all get gunked up a lot more without the softening. As for the slimy, according to the water softener people: "When you wash your skin with hard water, there is a layer of soap and minerals that is left on your skin. This is what causes the supposed 'squeaky clean' feeling. With soft water, the soap is completely rinsed away leaving just the natural oils your skin produces."

[magpie]

I can hardly believe it, but I never peed on a stick. Well, unless ovulation predictors count. I just waited for the betas. Good luck!

[JuliaKB]

I completely get why you don't want to know before going to see your dad. So even though it's going to be a very looooong weekend waiting for you to come back and post! results! already!, we will just have to make do. Still holding all the bits crossed.

[Jenn (dish)]

Didn't pee on the stick for my IVF- just waited for the beta. I know, lame.

As for soft water- I, too, hate it because it destroys my hair. Hubby wanted to get a water softener for the house, but I rebelled (we're on public water- not too soft, not too hard). But I have no direct experience with well water, so I'm not the best opinion to take to heart.

[Anna]

I had a positive on 5dp5dt both times. Yo, Shady Grove!

Fingers crossed.

[Chickenpig]

I never took a beta. I wanted to feel that I was pregnant as long as possible, even if I was deluding myself. Why be in a rush for bad news?

[mercybuttercup]

Can't help with the test, but I think I might be able to help with the hair. I had the opposite problem - extremely hard water - and somehow or another I found out about Robert Craig's line of shampoos for varying levels of water hardness/softness. It took about a week's worth of shampoos to undo the damage, but after that I totally had the hair of a normal person. As far as I know, you can only get it from robertcraig.com. I've never spent $18 on a bottle of shampoo in my life before this, but it is so, so worth it!

[Mary Ellen]

Yeah, can't help you with the positive pee stick thing. But can I just say that you are my blogging idol, and I am completely stoked that you commented on my blog. :-)

[Kristine]

10 days post 3 day transfer, in the evening

[Katie]

*What* are ice cream cupcakes?!?! I think I need them!

[giddy]

Yes to the reverse osmosis for your drinking water. It is FABULOUS. At our house we like the softened water for everything else--dishes, laundry, toilets are much better than before, and also? I no longer get psoriasis on my elbows and knees every winter, and my husband doesn't get eczema all over his arms anymore either. It has really eliminated all dry skin problems! But I agree, it does make the water taste terrible. Good luck figuring it out!!

[Christiana]

No info on the positive result. But I'm totally with you on the soft water thing. My grandma has soft water and it does very odd things to my hair when I'm visiting. And the reason she softens to begin with is this weird sulfur smell that her water has. And half the time you end up with both the nasty smell and the soft water, so GROSS!

Also waiting for the bully post here!

[cherylc]

My sister has well water, on the west coast mind you, and it has iron oxide in it that turns her hair orangey, and the kids hair, and the laundry. (They don't drink it.) So, would the hard water possibly be worse for your hair? Or maybe you've tried it...

Good luck on all the other things.

[KathyH]

blech! you *drink* the stuff? Yes yes, RO drinking water system.

6dp3dt. (so what would have been the equivalent of 9dpo) Faint positive in the evening. Honest.

[Donna]

4dp5dt - twins
6dp3dt- singleton

Madly refreshing because I'm a Julia and a IVF/poas addict.

Good luck.

[Erin]

My dh routed the softener around the drinking tap water, and installed a filter just on just that. Makes for much better tasting water. As for the shower, if it is set right (somewhere around 1, I think). I barely notice the softness. Sears will test your water hardness for free to help find the right level. Just a thought...

[meg]

my parents-in-law live in mn and they have sulfur smelling (and tasting) water from their well. the stuff is disgusting. combined with the water softener they use, it's like taking a shower of slimy, runny eggs. but my mil has developed a taste for it. 'delicious' she proclaims. 'can't wait to get home to my tasty water.' I wish there were a hint of sarcasm but the humor gene is recessive in her family.
Anyways, just wanted to report I had a faint positive 9 dpo and that was with twins.

[Kira]

Untreated, mineral-y water will do terrible things to your hair too. Terrible. Please, don't ask me to revist my high school years. (rocking, self-soothing, going away to my happy place now)

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[Lara]

Thank you for the link to the water temp thingamagig...can't wait to order one.

We are on well water too but sans softener. Let me tell you - my teeth have stains on them now from the minerals in the water. I'm not talking yuck-mouth kind of stains, but still.

6dp3dt - twins.

Hoping for a positive outcome for you. You certainly have been through enough.

[Elizabeth]

Incredibly cool device.

Crossing my fingers for the blast & the morula!

[claire]

After reading all these 6dpt positives, I have to put my oar in & say that at 10dpt I tested & got a whopping negative, it couldn't have been bigger & fatter if it tried... but now he's out in the loungeroom wearing a ladybird onesie, so don't let that get everyones hopes down. I'm always voting for a positive patrick v2.0, I'm really hoping this works for you!

[jennifer]

try switching from salt to potassium pellets for the softener, and make sure it's not oversoftened. also, even with well water, i would want a filter on the taps you drink and cook from. at least in my area, the contamination from agricultural chemicals can be worse in private wells than in "city" water.

[LisaR]

4 or 5dp5dt. sheesh, can't even remember now. PGD/IVF cycle for bt that ended in m/c. Sounds familiar, huh?

[Janis]

Transfer on Friday. Tested the following Friday - in the early afternoon.

I would not have tested that early but I needed to know one way or another so I could plan on sedating myself into oblivion for my daughter's funeral that was scheduled for the next day.

It was positive. No sedation for me.

But I did get beautiful boy/girl twins 8 months later. A parting gift from my angel girl....

I wish you the best!

[kathleen999]

6days past 4 day transfer. With twins though, so of course it was early.

[Beth TigerMoon]

I don't use a water softener: I know it's supposed to be bad for the pipes, but ... can't make myself do it.

Are you going away to see the long-gone father? Take some test sticks with you, just in case you get twitchy.

Still awaiting the bully update post too .... And, oh, how I am hoping for good news for you!

[ProfessorDog]

"Waiting for good news is annoying, but an argument can be made that waiting for bad news beats the alternative of getting it."
This? Very true. It's very apropos to my own situation--I'm waiting to find out whether or not I have an awesome, well paying job next semester, or if I'll be kicked to the curb with no job at all...not the same thing, and I hope this isn't a trivializing comparison--but it's just maddening, not being able to predict what your life is going to be like in a few months. And I want--and I bet you want too--to be able to start making plans for the next thing, whichever way it goes. Of course, I can drink heavily, or throw myself down the stairs in frustration, if I like. So that's something.

[kr]

You need this shampoo.

http://usa.lush.com/cgi-bin/lushdb/2480?expand=Haircare

[anon]

Blastyocyst give lower HCG numbers -- predictive values for twins following blastocyst transfer, for example, hover around those for singletons following Day 3 transfers.
So you would also need to know, in your survey, whether testers had Day 3 or Day 5 transfers....

[anon]

Blastyocysts give lower HCG numbers -- predictive values for twins following blastocyst transfer, for example, hover around those for singletons following Day 3 transfers.
So you would also need to know, in your survey, whether testers had Day 3 or Day 5 transfers....

[Heidi]

Our well produces lovely, sweet drinking water. I love it. Yes, it's hard water and no, we don't soften it. I do a head-to-toe application of Lubriderm when I get out of the shower, but that's okay by me.

[Whitney]

Vinegar....for the hair. I promise, it works. Straight old white vinegar in a spray bottle as conditioner. It's a beautiful thing.

[Erica]

That is a cruel, cruel man who makes you try to rinse your hair with soft water. It is USELESS!
And good luck with the pee sticks. I always tell myself that I will NOT do it, and then I sneak away (from myself?) and do it, kind of shaking and waiting under the strong vanity light for any kind of result.

[hydrogeek]

Worries of blanching my child, infertility, random dad meetings AND water problems! It's what my blog would sound like if I could write. There have been several mentions of a reverse osmosis drinking water system, which is good for the drinking water, but doesn't help your hair. I think you can get an RO system for your whole house, which should solve all the problems, but is pretty expensive. I was raised on pretty hard well water and like it fine to drink and for everything else. I would get it tested at a reputable lab to make sure you don't have any contamination problems. Whitney may be on to something with the vinegar, it makes sense chemically, but I'm not sure how good it is for your hair. I'm more of a water typr of geek, not a hair product type of geek.

Probably not relavant to your situation, but my positive on the pee stick was 11 days past an IUI, at night. Good luck with the pee stick and the dad.

[Emma B]

Also probably not overly relevant, but I didn't get a positive until 15dpo after IUI. I had twins, and my first beta on 15dpo was 160, but the sticks were negative at 9dpo, 11dpo, and 13dpo. I only tested on beta day to see if I could just skip it, and you could have knocked me over with a feather when it came up positive after those three negatives.