Fumbling Towards Eggstacy

22w6d

Ultrasound

Here are some images from yesterday's ultrasound.  Our little baby girl is doing great, everything is normal.  The tech estimated she's 1.3 pounds, and the doc said her heartbeat is 140 bpm.  She seems to be quite flexible too, almost touching her forehead with her toes.  Maybe we have a future Cirque du Soleil acrobat in there.  =)

 

Before the tech took this shot, on the screen, we could see her eyeball moving around.  Her belly looks so gigantic to me.

 

Birth Date

Doc said we can schedule the C-section for any day after April 9th, because at 39 weeks, babies are as healthy as they are at 40 weeks.  Our decision may be based on which day our favorite doc is working, and the schedule hasn't been set yet.  I am so so happy that they are willing to do an elective C-section.  I asked how they determine if it's medically necessary (that's what the insurance company requires to pay for one).  The doc said, if I want it, they'll do it.  He said it doesn't cost the insurance company any more money, and in fact, depending how long a natural childbirth would last with labor, it's usually less expensive.  The recovery doesn't scare me at all.  Maybe I'm naive.  But I'm seriously ecstatic that I don't have to push a human out of my hoo-ha.

Feeling Baby

I still haven't felt baby move in my belly.  The ultrasound tech assured me, and I could see, that baby is very active.  She reassured me that it's due to the placenta being in the front.  She said that some women don't feel their babies their entire pregnancies.  I'm hoping to feel her in there by Christmas.  She's still small but this is a time when growth picks up fast.

Before I saw her on the ultrasound on Monday, I have to admit I was worried.  Part of my worry came from a woman I work with who lost twins at 23 weeks after an amnio.  There was no cause discovered but she suspected it was the amnio.  Why people like to share their horror stories I don't know, but that one, plus the lack of movement in my belly, had me geeking a bit.  I had visions of having to sell the crib and having to deal with a loss.  Now I feel much better.  My very kind and understanding doctor said I can go into his office every week to listen to the heartbeat if it will make me feel better.  I think I'm fine now though. 

Nursery

I still need to take pics of what's in the room so far.  I'm working on ideas for the walls.  I got a library card last week and got a bunch of nursery decorating books for ideas.  I like the idea of a crib canopy, but the books say to remove it once baby can roll over, so it seems like a lot of work (to make) for four months.

I was going to make curtains, but even on a budget that's hard to justify since curtains are so inexpensive.  Plus I went to a fabric store and I am of course attracted to the fabric that's $30 a yard, not $6 a yard, which would make homemade curtains more expensive than purchased ones.

I may create artwork myself, or at least give it a try for fun.  I'm no artist, but I think I can handle painting butterflies or daisies on white canvas.  A lot of nursery artwork looks like a 7-year-old painted it anyway.  Plus then I can buy paint colors that match the bedding perfectly.

We bought a used Dutailier glider for me (and DH) to feed and rock baby in.  It's white wood with sage green cushions, and it is so comfortable I think I could sleep in it.  It feels good to have the furniture in place!  But even getting that crossed off the to-do list, there is so much more to buy and do in the next four months!

How I'm Feeling

I feel great.  Last week, I was in Tampa for work and everyone asks how I feel since I wasn't able to keep my morning sickness any kind of secret.  I'm fearful of being tagged as the sick pregnant girl at work, so it was nice to be able to report my super energy and health.  ;)  I have felt a few sharp pains in my tummy -- but I think that is probably just muscles stretching.  Saturday night I had a pain in a small spot on the top left of my tummy that lasted two hours while we were at a party, and today I had a pain on my whole left side that hurt so bad I had to lie down for an hour.  As long as they go away within a couple of hours, I'm not going to worry.  No other symptoms really -- I don't even feel pregnant.  In fact I feel better than I did when I wasn't pregnant.  Hopefully this lasts at least another month until the third trimester.

Waiting Patiently (Not Really)

Ten more days until our ultrasound to look for a fetal pole and yolk sac and heartbeat.  DH says "you know you got a kid in there."  Since he's already told a lot of people, he's sure it's gonna happen.  Which is a good thing, it's helping me avoid seriously crazy anxiety.  No avoiding mild anxiety though, that's part of everyday life and probably will be for months.

I am still nauseous, still sleepy (took a 4-hour nap today), and increasingly light-headed.  Every time I get up from sitting or lying down, I black out.  I'm trying to exercise 30 min. every day, but it's harder than ever to get motivated.

Tomorrow I leave for Tampa for a week for work.  I'm anxious about being in an office for four days straight, with no spare bedroom nearby where I can take a little nap (a big plus of working from home -- I can nap and then just extend my day whenever needed).  My strategy for my business trip is to avoid restaurants and only order room service so I can maximize my available sleeping time.  I'm desperately hoping none of my co-workers find me crashed out over my keyboard.  I'm even hoping for a hurricane day, since a Cat 1 is headed for FL.

I want to thank Megfor hosting a brunch for the CO Bloggers.  It is so awesome that this group of ladies gets together to support each other.  I feel a strong sisterhood to them and want loads of happiness and success for everyone in the group.

Which brings me to this wonderful phenomena that I am experiencing lately -- I am very happy and positive (and yes it's possible to be happy and anxious at the same time).  I am in love with my husband more than ever and basically happy with the whole world.  Maybe it's the estrogen, or being on a promising track to mom-hood, or the big raise I got (yay!). 

DH made me stuffed peppers for dinner and is feeding me the left-over one right now as I sit on the couch and write.  Soooo good.

He cracks me up lately, he likes to exclaim several times a day, "You WANT to have my baby!" with that "nan-nanny-boo-boo" sing-songy effect.

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Phoebe tagged me to write 6 random things about myself.  Since I've been thinking lately of who I am, who I used to be, and who I'm going to be, I'll let you know a bit about where I've been.

1.  I used to moonlight as an adjunct professor at Eckerd College, a private college in St. Pete, teaching programing.  It was a ton of work and a great experience and made me highly value teachers and all the work they put into planning class.

2.  I was in the Junior Woman's Club for six years.  One year as pres. of my club.  One year I won "Junior of the Year" for the state of FL, thanks to a well-written nomination by a friend.  I got big into volunteerism after my first marriage ended, and it was a great way to stay busy and feel good about life.

3.  I haven't changed a diaper for over 20 years, but I used to babysit A LOT when I was 13, 14, & 15.  I'm thinking it all comes back. like riding a bike.  Right?!

4.  I didn't have much desire to have a baby with my first husband, partially because he was 6'7" and the thought of having a giant child really freaked me out. 

5.  I was a "Big Sister" in Big Brothers Big Sisters for many years.  Both in Wisconsin and in Florida.  It is a great experience if you've never done it.  I'm going to do it here in Colorado too, and have training planned for next month.

6.  I never had a dog until age 28, and now I'm a total dog person.  I grew up with cats and fish and turtles.  Now I never want to be without a dog (or two) again.

I still have to tag folks to play this game -- I promise to do this next post.

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Quote of the Day:

The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
- Allan K. Chalmers
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Google Searches:

When I get a chance, I want to write a nice long post on estrogen priming, since many people who find my blog via a Google search are searching for info on that topic.  For now, let me say that it the protocol was effective for me -- it avoided a situation of leading follicles.

Two of the more amusing search terms that have found me lately are:  "going to an amusement park before IUI" and "in 2WW can't stop eating."

4dp3dt

First off, thanks sooo much to everyone who has stopped by my blog and offered me support this cycle, whether it be via comment or just positive vibes.  It is uplifting to get your kind and motivating comments, every single one has brightened my day.  And yes that sounds totally cheesy but it's true.

It's too early in the game to have any juicy news to pass along.  So here's the non-juicy news.  Since Transfer Day, I've been sleeping 12-15 hours a day.  Once I realized the progesterone is making me very sleeepy (it took until yesterday to make the connection, you'd think by now I'd have this stuff figured out), I decided to move the shots to right before bedtime so as to maximize my waking time and not feel like a complete lazy-ass.  As for any bodily feelings, I felt minor cramping up until yesterday.  I kind of wish the cramping would return, it makes me think something's going on in there.  As for weight, I lost 3.5 pounds since Saturday.  I'm sure it's water, but that's a testament to how much water was stored in my belly during stimms I suppose.  My belly has been non-stop nauseous.  We got a big dry-ice-filled box of Ben and Jerry's from my sister-in-law today to thank us for playing camp counselors for a week and I can't even get motivated to dip a spoon in.  (Get this flavor - "Imagine Whirled Peace" -- a tribute to John Lenin made up of carmel ice cream and fudge peace signs and toffee).

I am a BAD bed rest babe - on the good side, I didn't do anything stressful.  But against doctor's orders, I decided it was within the realm of bodily care to walk, so I've been walking an hour a day.  Walking has actually made me feel human again after all the nap-induced fuzz-brain.  But other than walking my dogs, and, oh yeah, a quick trip to the store to buy pineapple, my ass has been pretty much glued to a sofa.  Luckily I work from home, so I can keep working from the sofa.  If you happen to be a long-time-reader (which in the case of this blog is Feb), you may know that part of the reason I even took a job working from home (within my employer of 8 years, that is) is for all of this IF stuff.  It's a hell of a lot easier to do IVF when not doing the daily commute and sneaking into bathrooms and sneaking out for frequent doctor appointments.  And I know, I did the sneaking the first time 'round.

So anyway, back to this cycle.  My brain is fucking with me, of course.  It goes back and forth between two main themes:

#1 -- There's only a 10% chance this worked, so don't expect it to work.  If it does, that's great, but if it doesn't, don't freak.  You're older and your eggs are older, it's not a criticism, it's just a fact.

#2 - If you think positive and imagine the little embies becoming blasts and hatching and implanting, and send them love and pray to God (I'm a bad Catholic, not being a frequent pray-er, but the prayers have picked up significantly lately), then all the positive thinking and prayer are sure to have some impact.

Then there's the paranoia:

#1.1 -- It will be a bummer to have to tell people yet again that it didn't work.  People don't want to hear about failures.  It will be something you take to your death bed, that this didn't work, that you never got to leave a legacy in the form of a genetically related human.  People don't just get over this.

#2.1 -- What if you're wasting positive thinking energy by talking to and praying about embies that arrested development days ago?  That's borderline kooky.  Talking to nothing.  But then again, if time doesn't exist in heaven, then maybe a prayer today can help embies from 3 days ago. 

And then there's the emotionally-intelligent me:

#1.2 -- if it doesn't work, at least I will have given it the ol' college try.  Three tries is respectable.  And walking away from the table before you're down too far is a smart thing to do.  Plus, it will be a massive relief actually to have my life back.  No more shots or doctor visits.  Freedom from TTC.

#2.2 -- [well success doesn't require too much emotional intelligence, right?  It seems to be needed where success is lacking.]

OK I'm a big geek because I just put my thoughts in outline numbers. 

Doc has me on luteal HCG -- where I shoot it up every 3 days, last day being Friday -- so it doesn't make sense to do a HPT until probably Sunday (8dp3dt) at the earliest.  Probably for the best - I'm not a good bargain shopper, so at $10 a pop, that should save me $50.

Speaking of drugs, I convinced DH to take the remaining growth hormone, seeing as I had $200 worth of it left over.  His first reaction was "I hate needles."  I screamed, "you wimp!  I've had about a thousand shots in the last year, and you don't even want ONE!?!"  Eventually he gave in and let me give him a belly shot.  It was weird doing it to someone else.  He had the same effect from the drug that I had -- kind of wired, and insomnia.  Oh the ways we have fun in our household these days.  =)

Wait

Sarah McLachlan's Wait.  Couldn't find a good video, but the music is still great to read by!

Upfront warning, this is a long one!  I haven't blogged for over a week (other than show-and-tell) so gotta catch up! 

This upcoming Sunday, the CO Bloggers are getting together to see Sex and the City.  I'm bummed that I can't hang out with all these amazing women, as I will be at a friend's wedding  If you happen to be in Denver that day and want to join them, send an e-mail to Lori.  I didn't wait long after the movie's release and went yesterday to a matinee.  It was fantabulous!  

 
The only thing I regret is that I didn't go when I was in Manhattan on Thursday night -- I had a girl's night out that night with work friends, but since one of the women had never been to NYC before, we opted to sightsee, plus we had an early meeting Friday, so a midnight showing would have been hard to manage, BUT it would have been a once-in-a-lifetime blast too.  All over Manhattan, there were groups of women looking more stylish than I ever have in my life.  I noticed lots of women were wearing bright pink stilettos (is that a thing?  Maybe I missed that episode...but I figured, what else could it be for!).  

 

I'm now on Facebook.  I was partially inspired by Mel's post Facebookiquette, and partially inspired by all the younger people at my company who are into social networking.  Send me an e-mail if you want to find me there.

 

I am so not wanting to blog about infertility because it reminds me that my story is not leading to a happy ending as quickly as I wished.  But here goes. 

Our Monday IUI almost didn't happen.  For those of you lucky enough to be uninitiated into the IUI routine, husband arrives at set time to give donation, (or he does it at home and then has to keep it warm on the drive there by placing it in the armpit, an imaginably awkward driving position).  Then wife arrives 90 minutes later for the insemination. 

So, GS was in the RE's office, sample in armpit, and they had him in the waiting room, but apparently the embryologist didn't know he was waiting, so she called me.

Embryologist:  Your husband isn't here, if he's not here soon we'll have to cancel. 

Me:  He should be there by now, he left 40 minutes ago and it's a 10-minute drive.  Maybe something happened on his way there (I'm thinking he got pulled over!).  Isn't there anything you can do to help us out? 

Embryologist transferred me to a nurse. 

Me: Is there anything you can do to help us out?  What if you thaw our frozen sample? 

Nurse:  We have to thaw and process and that takes 90 minutes.  The earlies we would have you in is 1pm. 

Me:  I have to jump on a plane that leaves at 3pm.  Is there any way you can accommodate us any earlier??!  

Nurse:  No.  We have to cancel you. 

Me:  Oh.  (shocked and speechless)

When they finally realized he was there, they sent him home and told him that I said it was OK.  I didn't so much say that. 

GS was pissed and swore we would never ever go back to The Palace for anything, no matter what, after that situation.  After $4K of injectibles and $600 of acupuncture, mind you.  I agreed, but I wasn't in the mood to be upset.  We regrouped.  GS suggested putting the "sample" in a turkey baster and squeezing it in.  Seriously.  I'm like, you're kidding, right?  He said, no.  We settled on trying to do it natural (i.e. no turkey baster), and just then the phone rang.  Another nurse called, apologized profusely, and asked if I could come in at 11.  I said yes. 

When I arrived, the nurse was super nice, super apologetic, and said that the first nurse I'd spoken to didn't realize the situation.  I'm so used to the "wham-bam-thank-you-mam" 3-minute ultrasounds, that I was surprised she was super chatty and took her time to make conversation, reiterate their dedication to helping us get pregnant, and apologize about 20 more times. 

So that was that. 

On the upside, NYC was great.  I went out on the town three nights in a row and <holding head down in shame> gave into peer pressure and had a few drinks.  I justified it by telling myself that the eggs were already created, and until the embies implant, they don't get any nutrients from my blood.  To my credit, I nursed the hell out of my cocktails.  It's all for the best, since I can't hold my liquor anyway.  I made the mistake of saying the word "titty bar" when describing why I liked Denver better than Tampa (as in, I had to pass five titty bars on my way to work every day in Tampa), and the look on my co-workers' faces made me thankful I wasn't drinking more and saying worse.

In NYC, I called Cornell to see if they couldn't squeeze me in that week for a consult.  Since I was there and all.  They could not. 

Tomorrow is my appointment with Dr. Swanson from Conceptions.  It took me four hours on Sunday to gather up all my IF-related medical records and fill out their 20-page new patient forms.

As you can see, I am not considering myself to be in a true 2-week-wait .  If only 1 in 10 of my eggs are good, then with only two mature eggs, my chances are 20% at best.  So I'm better off emotionally just focusing on the next steps.

Ice

First I'd like to present the very talented Sarah McLachlan performing her song, Ice.  It's one of my favorites of hers, and this is a beautiful video, definitely worth a few minutes of your time.

Hours pass days pass time stands still
Light gets dark and darkness fills
My secret heart forbidden...

Did I ever write that I used to want to name my maybe-someday-daughter Sarah?  I made that decision 20 years ago, WAY before I met my husband.  Would that be a totally creepy fan thing to do now, now that I've married someone with her same last name?  (not that a baby girl is a certain option in my future, but...a girl can dream, can't she?)

So, my latest development....our embies are going on ICE, ICE, BABY  (sorry couldn't help myself).

I got invited to the meeting in NYC, and not only can I not NOT go, I REALLY WANT to go.  I'll be able to meet people from all over the world that I've been working with for a year now -- people from Austrailia and Canada and China and Mexico and the UK and....you get the idea.  I am super-psyched to put a face to the name of all these amazing co-workers of mine, most of whom I've worked with very closely, yet very remotely.  You know....kind of like meeting bloggers in person!! 

So to make it happen, we have to put the embies on ICE.  Given that, I'll probably do the PGS afterall.  I know, I know, I wasn't going to cave into the pressure of The Palace.  But, this is the only way to get the best freezing technology.  I could do a regular freeze cycle, but it's less likely that all embies will make the freeze.  Plus, it will be intriguing to find out maximum info about our little cell blobs.  My meeting with the genetics counselor is tomorrow.  I'll let you know how it goes.

In other news, nurse Rachel said that Menopur is no longer available.  Wonder why...economy downturn perhaps?  Hopefully there's not new evidence that it causes alzheimers in monkeys or something.  So instead, I'll be doing Repronex.  Actually 1/2 and 1/2, because I still have 2 boxes of Menopur left over from last time.  Ellie said it's fine to use both, as they're essentially the same thing.  I've read that Menopur is more pure, and Repronex causes more skin discomfort, plus it's intra-muscular (oh goody, more giant needles).   

Work Worries

This whole work reorg thing is getting in the way of my baby-making efforts.  Now I might have to go to NJ for a big regroup meeting the last week of the month, but my boss can't confirm yet.  My whole cycle is in jeopardy.  My retrieval was supposed to be Mon 5/26 and xfer, 5/29 or 31.

I didn't tell my boss I'm doing IVF.  I don't want to tell her.  GS thinks I should just lay it all out.  But I'm super-private at work, plus I'm in a work atmosphere where baby-making isn't highly valued.  Moms tend to be either demoted or never again promoted.  I think if they knew I was wanting to have kids, it could change the course of my career, maybe even put me in the pile of people who will be let go with the reorg.  So I'm not ready to let them in on my little secret yet.

So now I'm thinking....Maybe I could do the transfer Mon morning, fly to NJ right after, hope and pray and beg Dr. S for a 5-day transfer, but otherwise fly back Wed night for a 3-day transfer.  At least I'd be there for 2 of the 5 days, and the company could care less if I book last-minute flights.  Hoo boy.

Probably I'd be better off to just cancel the cycle.  But I wouldn't do that until getting confirmation that I truly have to go to the meeting.

My normal motto is, if I don't know what to do, then do nothing.  So, I'm holding tight.  But my mind is racing.

i.need.to.breathe.

BCP Bonehead

Yesterday was a crazy day -- I found out I'll have to move back to Tampa for my job because of a reorganization.  This caused much stress and I'm not good with surprises.  So GS and I were in discussions of priorities (city vs. job) and options.  GS is in-between jobs and we love it here in Denver, but I've had my job for 8 years and have more earning power, yada yada. 

Since I was distracted by a zillion thoughts racing through my head, I spaced out taking my BCP (I've been taking them at 6pm) and realized it at 7am today, so took it then.  Started bleeding at 10am.  Called the nurse and still waiting for a callback.

Does anyone know the repurcussions?  Now I'm worried I've screwed up the entire IVF cycle....Argh!

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Update 5/8 -- Nurse Rachel called last night and said I did the right thing by doubling up the next day, and the missed pill shouldn't cause any problems.

Restless & Random Thoughts

I'm expirimenting with my blog by changing its name. I want to see what repurcussions that has, and if they are too much of a hassle, I'll change the name back.  But now three people think I'm a wombat freak so it seems like a change may be in order.

I am unusually giddy today because my boss is letting me go to Stanford in June for a project management program and I officially got accepted.  I'm sure they accept anyone whose company is willing to pony up their fees, but in my pretend world, I just got accepted to Stanford (or maybe playing pretend officially stops at age 10, after which it's called delusional).  They have an application with essay questions, one of which was 200 words on what you hope to get out of the program.  Puh-leese.  I just want to go to a super snobby school on someone else's dime.  It's only a 3-day corporate-type class and then I can do the rest of the program online.  I just wanted to indulge in the whole on-campus experience, if only for a few days.

On a somewhat related topic, I've been super restless lately.  Working at home is starting to make me wiggy.  Since GS isn't working (he's taking 6 months off now to study for a big certification exam...and climb mountains), and since I can work from anywhere in the world (as long as it has a fast internet connection), we tossed around the idea of moving to New Zealand.  The conversation was really just for fun, I can't imagine actually doing it.  But then again, I had a hard time imagining actually moving to Florida or to Denver, and I did those.  Also, yesterday I looked at jobs on my company's internal job board and considered applying for a 1-year tour of duty in NYC, or a job in San Jose that would be a promotion, or a temporary, international assignment in Germany or South Africa.  Without GS's career being in the way right now, really we could do anything, if only on a temporary basis.  And he's all for doing anything, which is super cool of him.

The thing is, though, I really like being at home with GS and my dogs.  Working from home is great because the lack of a commute allows me the time to exercise and read and have a normal dinner and sleep 8 hours.  And then there's the baby thing -- why spend time outside of a city where the "best doc" is?!   And practical matters.  Like how the hell would I do IVF if a 2-hour NYC commute was part of my daily routine?!   How could we afford to buy even teeny house in San Jose, even with a good raise?  And how would we get by in Germany when neither of us speaks German?

This restless phase will likely pass.  I know I'm lucky to have a job that I love and great coworkers and the freedom to work from home.  Sometimes though I get the urge for a more adventurous life.  It's such a selfish conflict.  But I think of all the women with children who don't necessarily have these options available.  I think of all the women who have lived before me who didn't have the opportunities we have today.  It makes me want to embrace all of the possibilities that this world and this time in history allows.

Now I'm going to curl up in bed with my dogs (GS is sleeping outside in his new tent/sleeping bag setup to test it out in the cold, crazy guy).  Tommorrow I'll participate in my morning conference calls in my jammies.  Maybe I'll just dream of New Zealand instead of actually moving there.  =)

CO Bloggers Meetup #2

Just an initial warning, I’m writing this a little drunk, but maybe that will only add to its charm. Skyy Vodka and Stewart's diet black cherry soda in case you were wondering.  Pretty yummy.

I met up with the Colorado Bloggers yesterday for breakfast:  Lori, Denise, K., Meg, Spicy Sister, Nancy, and Jen.  It is the first time I have ever been a part of any social group where everyone knows very personal things about each other but didn’t necessarily learn them in-person.

In my work, I am very accustomed to communicating in the online world.  Although I work from home, I work with people all over the world on a daily basis.  Since many people who are English-as-a-second-language feel more comfortable with written English than spoken English, much of that communication is e-mails and instant messaging.  Much of it is also conference calls, web meetings, and, more commonly now, Second Life meetings.  Of all of these communication methods, the most intimate by far is instant messaging.  People come out of their shell and trade their virtual business suits for virtual jeans and t-shirts.  They talk about their personal lives, spirituality, what they dislike about their jobs and the company, and what they really think about other people.

So it makes sense to me that the relationship among this group of women would be more intimate in the online world, as that has been my experience in work situations.  I don’t think we should judge ourselves for it in a negative way.  I think, to the contrary, we should celebrate the fact that we can connect so deeply, share so freely, and support so caringly.  I went through my first IVF totally alone, without connecting to anyone about it, in person or online, and while living far away from my husband (due to his work).  I felt alone and scared but trudged through it with determination and courage.  The second time I had the support of women I met on message boards and in support groups, and that made an immense difference in the experience – it became OK to admit that this was really hard and sometimes my determination and courage ran weak.  Now that I’m in-between IVFs and contemplating my 3^rd, I feel so much more comfortable with the whole infertility thing.  Not just because its rituals have become familiar, but because of this joining of hearts and souls and minds amongst other women walking the same path.  Going through this war develops a sisterhood among those who know the battles and wounds that go along it.

I love that we are all doing this blogging and getting together.  It’s not easy to share your innermost feelings with people that you don't know, nor with people who you are slowly getting to know in person.  But to me it feels really healthy and healing.  The online world is one kind of friendship, and it seems like it would be a major shortcut to in-person friendships, but they are friendships of different kinds, and I think it takes time to merge the online and in-person worlds. 

What to Tell Work

This posting is in response to Denise's post on Freezer Buns, where she asks, "if you work while cycling, how do you handle that balance and how much do you tell your employer?"  My first IVF, I worked from an office and I didn't say anything to anyone.  My RE was 5 min. from my office and I just disappeared whenever I had an appointment.  I was super worried people would notice, but nobody ever said anything.  It helps that I work on a global team -- my boss is in another state, and more than half of my teammates work from other states or countries. 

My second IVF, I had the same job but worked from home.  The decision to work from home at this job though after moving versus taking a different job in Denver was hard because I had to come to terms with the fact that working from home probably makes me less upwardly mobile.  And it was also hard in the sense that it isolates me in a new city, whereas an office job would allow me to meet more people.  But at my age (37), the time pressure played into the decision to put the ttc goal above work goals and social opportunities.  Work will always be there, and there are always other ways to meet people, but possible semi-fertility will last only 3 more years for me.