The next 19 days...

Not that I'm counting, but my next AF is due in about 19 days' time. I'm so grateful I have short, regular cycles.

So now I'm making plans for the next 19 days, to take my mind off the waiting and get myself as ready as possible for what comes next. Here's my list of things to do:

1. Keep going to acupuncture - ask him if there's any area he can work on that will help to reduce the cyst and ensure I don't get any new ones to replace it.

2. Take the three days' holiday that I'd booked for the putative time of EC/ET at the end of next week, and use it to (a) relax, (b) book someone to sort out the damp in the front room, (c) relax, (d) arrange for the flat roof in the kitchen to be replaced, (e) relax, (f) arrange for the windows upstairs to be replaced with double glazing, and (g) relax. If this turns out to be too much to do in three days, items (b), (d) and (f) can be put off for another time or delegated to DH. Items (a), (c), (e) and (g), on the other hand, are non-negotiable and must not be omitted.

3. Start listening to the hypnotherapy relaxation CD that arrived yesterday and work on relaxation techniques.

4. Go for a taster session on reflexology and arrange more sessions if I find it helps me relax.

5. Take the opportunity that has now presented itself to go and give blood one last time before I start pumping my body full of hormones.

6. Rearrange some of my teaching commitments and let go of some of the other stress-causing issues at work.

7. Eat healthily, go to the gym regularly and lose a bit of weight.

8. Get together with some other people I've 'met' online who are being treated at the same clinic and see if we can get a little real life support group going.

9. Pray. Actually, that should probably be higher up the list, but it's kind of an ongoing thing rather than a new one. After all, I haven't added 'breathe' to my list, and one is as natural as the other.

10. Look after DH, feed him a sperm-enriching diet and make him feel loved and cared for. Again, this should probably be higher up the list, but it's also hopefully nothing new.

Having pretty much cleared my diary for the next couple of weeks, I have a perfect opportunity to get myself calm and relaxed and to ensure that I'm as ready as possible to go through whatever I need to next month.