Cautiously optimistic

Today's ultrasound showed six promising follicles and one probable dud.

My RE seemed pleased, and said this cycle looks much better than the last one: "You *can* be nudged."

If I understand him correctly, if the decreased ovarian reserve were severe, we would have seen about the same response as last time despite the higher dose of medicine. Last time, though, SF and I had thought we understood the response was pretty good, and we were completely blindsided by the news that it wasn't. I seem to have developed a wariness about our doctor's optimism -- maybe he's only optimistic because we haven't uncovered the next problem yet.

But if you don't have that kind of optimism, what do you have?

And will it be a little bit easier whatever happens this time, now that I have thought for days straight about worst case scenarios?

Just as an aside ... I think it was the student doctor's first ultrasound of this kind. (ouch!) My RE explained to her what the ovaries and the uterine lining looked like on the screen, and I had the astonishing realization that I knew what we were looking at before she did.