Embryo Transfer for Baby #2!

Here we go!

July 22 was our first Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET).  We took our daughter to a friend's house, who was such a blessing to watch her for us.  Then we got to the Dr.'s at 10:30.  A little early.  The whole way there and before, I had to drink 32oz. of water.  That's a lot, in case you were wondering.  I didn't have to wonder, because I knew.  I knew when I felt the urge to do the "pee-pee" dance.  I can do a pretty mean "pee-pee" dance.  Well, the reason for the obscene amount of water is that it provides a straight path to where they need to go.  

About 30 minutes before the procedure, I took a Valium.  Doctor's orders.  Not gonna argue with that.  With all the poking and prodding that this whole process takes, I see it as a little bonus.  It made me very relaxed.  But the real reason for the Valium, aside from being a reward for being a human pincushion for a few months, is that when you have that much water, it makes the bladder contract, and the Valium prevents that. 

We watched some "House Hunters" in the waiting room, and I felt giddy.  I looked in my periphery at the other people in the room, and like I always do, I wondered about their stories.  Infertility is a tough journey, and has many origins and many different endings.  I hope their journeys through this fire-swamp end soon, and end happily.

Soon, they called us in to our room.  A room we were familiar with.  It is where I have had many ultrasounds, as well as my egg retrieval.  I like to think of it as the luxury room, as it is at least twice as big as the other rooms.  Boo-ya.  But I still had to sit on an uncomfortable table with a paper drape on my legs.  Not so Kardashian after all.

They brought in a picture of our baby.  I think this one looks a lot like me.  Ok, so it's only 5 days old--at the blastocyst stage.  But maybe this one will have some of my traits?

First picture.  Hopefully the first of many!  Technically, this is the 2nd picture of this baby.

We were stoked that the first embryo that they thawed survived, as sometimes this is not the case.  I think it is somewhere around 75%-90% survival rate.

They kept asking me if I had to pee a little bit.  They'll let you go a little bit, but I didn't really want to mess with it.  It was tolerable.  But they kept asking.  That made me think about peeing.  It was a little irritating!

After all of the talk of Niagara Falls, we had to verify our names and dates of birth and say how many embryos we were implanting and which one.  That way, we didn't end up with someone else's kid or 8 embryos or something like that.  I stand behind that protocol.

Embaby selfie!

So then they used an ultrasound and a catheter to transfer the embryo to my uterus.  The doc said it was "straight as an arrow", so good thing I held it.  When it was all done, he said it went as well as it could!  Now, that statement could be interpreted one of two ways:  If you are a "glass half-full" type of person, it means it was the best ever.  If you are a "glass half-empty" type of person, it means that's as good as it's going to get.  Haha I'm hoping for the glass half-full version!

The white dot in the middle is where the embryo is. 

I had to hang out on the table another 30 minutes or so after the procedure.  Then--and this is the best part--I was free to use the facilities.  It was glorious.

(Singing to the baby, working of the rest of the Valium, and trying to distract myself from nature's call.)

Doug and I grabbed a bite to eat afterward, and then picked up our little one.  We headed home where I had to be on bed rest (I know; poor me) for 2 days.  Nora was very cuddly and sweet during this time.  Maybe she knows something we don't?

Do I look pregnant yet? 

We have to wait a week or so for our first pregnancy test.  We will keep all 4 of you readers updated! ;)

1 week to go!

Tuesday was a busy day.  We traveled back from Alaska on the red-eye.  We arrived home around noon.  We went home to get some rest, and then had an ultrasound at 4:00.

The ultrasound went well.  My lining in my uterus is nice and thick, which is what they are looking for.  A nice thick lining makes a cozy bed for an embryo.  Then they checked to see that the ovaries are suppressed.  They had trouble finding the ovaries (again), which is a good thing, because they are smaller when they are suppressed.  They finally found them and verified that they were suppressed.  That is a good thing because if I were to release an egg, that would mess up the whole cycle.

During the ultrasound they also found a small endometrioma (sp?) on one of my ovaries.  That is a cyst caused by endometriosis, and I have had many of those in the past.  They said because it is so small, it should not be a problem.  But it does piss me off because I've been on all these hormones to keep my endo from flaring up, and here it goes anyway.

After the ultrasound, I had some blood work done.  Then I went for acupuncture.  I've been doing acupuncture treatments just about every day.  Last time I did IVF, the acupuncture appointments were more spaced out, but due to our spontaneous vacation, we've had to squeeze the appointments in to fit the entire protocol.  I enjoy the treatments, but the office is on the other side of town and I get tired of driving over there.  Just wish I would have started sooner so that I could space the appointments out more!

Yesterday, I got the results of my blood work back.  My estrogen levels were a little low, so in addition to the 4 patches of Estradiol each day, I have to take 1 Estrace pill per day.  Yesterday was also my last day of Lupron--yay!  Today is my first day of Progesterone--meh.

So, hopefully everything will look good by Tuesday, July 22.  That is my transfer day!  We are still set to transfer just 1 embryo.  Please pray for us.  :)

Transfer Day!

Well, the big day finally arrived!  Today was the day we went in for embryo transfer.  Our appointment was at 2:15, so we spent the day getting groceries, changing the oil in my car, going to the bank, etc. so that we wouldn't have to worry about those things while I'm on bedrest.  We also hit up a thrift store and Lowe's, where we purchased a couple of clearance items on the cheap. :)

We have both been beyond excited today.  Heck, we've been excited since we started the IVF process June 6th!  I made my hair all pretty, like it was a date or the first day of school or something.  Then as we were getting ready to go, we reviewed the instructions, and it said NO hairspray, scented lotion, or deodorant.  Oops.  So after we went shopping we both had to take showers.  No cute hair for me :(  Haha.

We had a nice lunch, and then I had to drink 32 oz. of water in 45 minutes, 45 minutes prior to the procedure.  Here is what that looks like:

This plus a third of this.  I was dancin'.

If you know me at all, you know that "holding it" is not my strongpoint.  I don't prefer feeling like I have to "go".  But, alas, I had to hold it from 1:00 until the procedure was over at 3:15. 

So when we got to the doctor, I took a Valium (doctor's orders; not for recreation, lol!), which helped a bit with the dancing.  At 2:15, they called us back and did a quick ultrasound to make sure everything was as it should be.

Then we discussed how many embryos we wanted to place.  For my age group, the recommendation is 1 or 2, depending on quality of the embryos and the health of the uterus.  We've been reading some new studies that have come out that say that putting one in instead of two is healthier if it's feasible, because having twins can increase the risk for ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, premature birth, etc.  And the doctor said that usually his patients that end up with twins hate him for a couple of years, haha.

They grade the embryos on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being the best and 5 being the worst (however, an embryo with a rating of 5 can become a perfectly healthy baby; there is just a stronger chance for success with a 1)  We had one embryo that was a 1 on the scale.  Therefore, he made a strong case for going with one, and we agreed, so that's what we did.

Here is a picture of two of our babies.  The one on the left is the one we transferred today.  The one on the right will be a younger sibling someday. :)

  The procedure was really no big deal.  We had to verify and verify and verify our names and dates of birth to make sure we were the right people, and sign some paperwork.  I was awake for the whole thing and Doug was in the room.  It was pretty emotional, in a good way.  It only took about 15 minutes for the actual transfer, and then I had to lay there and wait.  That was the hardest part, with 10 gallons of water in my belly.  Doug and I cried and prayed afterward, thanking God for all He's done and who He is, and asking Him to continue to grow our baby healthy.  

I have to be on bed rest for the next couple of days, which I have been practicing for my whole life ;)  Doug made a delicious eggplant parmesan for dinner tonight.  My friend made a keen observation that we ate eggplant on the day of our EGG PLANT procedure.  Har har!

All in all, we are SO stoked about all of this.  For all intents and purposes, I am now technically pregnant, something I have never been able to say before in my life.  I will have to take a pregnancy test in the next couple of weeks, so I'm praying that baby holds on and makes itself cozy!

Ok, really hard to tell here, but this is the transfer.  The little whale-shaped white spot is the uterus, and the tiny black dots inside of that are little air bubbles that are on either side of the embryo.  You can't see the actual embryo though.  Hopefully soon!

This process has been hard, and it's still not over, but it's been so cool to see God's grace in all of this.  Even with all the disease that is in my body, my uterus has remained untouched and healthy, praise God!  With only one functioning ovary, I had 8 eggs, a pretty good number, considering!  And even the doctor was surprised about how many of those eggs actually fertilized.  Again, all God!  And to have what he called a PERFECT embryo is so awesome!  God has been orchestrating everything to go so smoothly, and I pray that continues!  But we know that whatever happens, it is part of His perfect plan. 

Smile

"Smile, because you have someone who loves you and wants to start a family with you.  And that is something some people will never have."

That is how a fertility doctor concluded a recent informational meeting that we attended.  What he said is so true.  Given our circumstances, it's easy to focus on the negative.  But the fact is, given the choice between having a baby or spending the rest of my life with my husband, I would choose my husband.  Because we are best friends.  Because he has been there for me through thick and thin.  Because even when our kids grow up and move away, it will be just the two of us again.  I need to choose EVERY DAY to be THANKFUL for what I have.  And to trust in God's plan for our life.  And to choose hope.

Happy anniversary, Doug.  It's been an amazing 8 years!