Almost 10 weeks! I am a slacker-blogger

Saturday will be 10 weeks! I am so thankful every day for this amazing blessing.

I did have a scary spell the past couple days. On Tuesday at work, I started having heart palpitations, so I left early and came home to rest. They continued through the night and even woke me up 5-6 times. I called the doctor first thing Wednesday morning and they had me come in at 10:15. I got there and they checked my pulse - 137! - and you could hear it almost 'skip' a beat sometimes. When that would happen, I would get this uncomfortable flip-flop feeling in my chest. Not pleasant, let me tell you. They sent me downstairs for an EKG & bloodwork. I went right back up to the doc and he said, "This EKG is very, very, very good news." PHEW. Nothing wrong with my heart...apparently this just happens sometimes when women are pregnant. I haven't heard back on the bloodwork yet, but seeing as how it is feeling better today (and didn't wake me up last night) I am thinking I'm okay. The doc told me, "You're going to be okay. You're NOT going to have a heart attack. Your baby is NOT going to have a heart attack." Well actually he said "he" and pointed to my belly...so hmmm...doc know something I don't?? lol

In other news, my first appointment with my midwife is July 15 @ 1:45 and I hope they're planning an ultrasound! I know I will at least get to hear the heartbeat then. I will be 11w4d on that day. :D My hubby says he can't wait to see the next ultrasound. I feel as though everything is still going well in there, seeing as how I'm puking every morning and I LOVE it. I'm so happy when I puke because it reminds me that I'm pregnant...lol

Headed up to Kennebunkport, ME for a day trip tomorrow, can't wait!

~M

Overdue post

I had my embryo transfer on May 13, 2009. We transferred 2 8-cell non-fragmented embryos.

I had my first beta on May 24, 2009 = 127 - PREGNANT!

I had my 2nd beta on May 27, 2009 = 426 (yay!)

We will have the first ultrasound on Thursday, June 11, 2009 (a week from tomorrow!)

All I want is to see 1 or 2 little flicker hearts beating in there! I have been tired and haven't had much of an appetite for a few days now. I get really hungry but then nothing appeals to me. Still on the progesterone suppositories 3x a day...yahoo. Nothing like wearing a pad 24-7, I tell ya. :P

:) :) :) :)

We have 4 embryos growing. I am praying with all my heart and soul that they all grow big and strong! We will have our transfer on Wednesday, 5/13 @ 2:30pm Eastern. Ideally, I would like 4 perfect embryos, 2 to transfer and 2 to freeze, but I will accept whatever God has for us. He knows what is best.

I am imagining our embryos surrounded by angels God has sent to watch over them. If the folks in the lab could only see...

:)

Not my will but thine.

I had my egg retrieval this morning at 730. I had been petrified about it because anaesthesia makes me nervous. It went really smoothly and the iv needle barely hurt going in. Once I was on the operating table, I just closed my eyes and waited...next thing I knew I was waking up.

Now...I thought I was going to be getting somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 eggs. I got 8.

My husband and I put it in God's hands last night and we trust that this is exactly what we needed. I can't wait to hear the fertilzation results tomorrow! We'll be doing a 3-day transfer on Wednesday.

Well now! What am I gonna do with all these?

I had my 2nd monitoring appointment this morning. I have taken 7 days of Gonal-f and apparently, it's working. I have a dozen on the right and a baker's dozen on the left all measuring 16-17mm...wow. The tech put the ultrasound wand in and said, "You are doing IVF, right?" I said yes and she said that was very good. She started on the left and told me it might take a while because she thought there were about 6 and she needed to measure all of them. Mind you, the left side was the one I was told was smaller on Monday.

::waiting::

::waiting::

I say, "Are you still on the same side?" She laughed and said she was. A little while longer and she said, "Well, you're going to have more than 6 because I already measured 12 on that side." I told her that I have been starting to feel funny when I sit down and she raised her eyebrows and said, "Mmm, I'll bet.", while looking at the screen.

Then she said, "Okay, let's take a look at the right....oh wow, this will take a while too." I lay there, she's scanning and clicking and printing... Finally, she turns the screen to show me and I said, "Wow, there is no ovary left, it's all follicles!" She said everything looked really good. Once everything was done I asked her how many total and she told me 12 on the left, 13 on the right all around 16-17mm. My uterine lining has gone from 8mm on Monday to 11.5mm today.

I'm so excited! I think I'm responding a bit fast to the stimulating...since today will only be stim day 8...but everyone is different. Waiting to hear about the bloodwork results this afternoon. That should be interesting.

I am an egg making machine.

So I had my first monitoring appointment today since starting the stims. I will find out the results of the bloodwork later today, but the ultrasound went great. I've only been on stims 4 days, I have only one follicle measuring over 12mm but I have a bunch (20+) measuring 10-11mm today and other smaller ones after that. I did ask about OHSS, but she said that is not a concern right now, everything looks great! I am not sure if I go back tomorrow or if they'll wait 'til Wednesday to see me again, but I'm excited to go back and see how much they've grown!

My uterine lining is three layers thick and measuring 8mm right now, which she said was also great! From what I hear, 8mm is minimum thickness they like before transfer, so it should be plenty thick by that time if it's already at 8mm. Nice cushy uterus for my babies to burrow into, lol!

I am feeling fabulous this morning, after feeling like crapola all weekend. I have been so tired and dizzy in the mornings and despite only sleeping 6-ish hours last night, I feel okay today. I even feel TOUGH about finishing my root canal this afternoon :) If I have to deal with those few jolts of pain when he goes deep, so be it. I will, however, be asking for novocaine beforehand. We'll see how it goes!

Insanity

Boy, this Lupron is making me frickin' crazy! I have to assume that's what it is, because I am never this mood-swingy normally. I have been having anxiety attacks, followed moments later by feelings of elation. I don't get it...the Lupron is the only thing that makes sense.

I am due to start my Gonal-f stimulating medication tomorrow (after my root canal ::groan::) and I can't wait! I'm hoping that maybe it will balance me out a little? If not, at least it means I'm one step closer to no more shots and a step closer to being pregnant!

My husband and I were talking about what we're going to do when we have kids...as far as jobs, bills, daycare (or not), where we'll live, etc. I've always known it was going to be a huge life change and a huge responsibility and we're totally ready. We'll both be 30 at the end of the year, so there's no more waiting! We'll make it work :) I know God's going to take care of us and lead the way...He's not let us down yet!

Stimming

Yay! I finally get to start stimming on Thursday! I had been waiting for AF to show up and she finally did, on CD40. I thought she'd never get here. So I go to 5u of Lupron today and tomorrow and then 225 Gonal-f + 5u Lupron until Monday when I have my first monitoring appt. They will draw blood and do an ultrasound at that point.

I can't believe that I could possibly have embryos formed of hubby and me inside me in a few short weeks! It's a weird feeling when you've waited so long for something and you're almost there.

My faith is strong right now. God knows of our desire to be parents. I know he hears our prayers and I do feel that he put that desire in our hearts for a reason. I'm praying his protection and blessing over this whole experience!

Tick Tock

And here I sit, still no AF. I want to tell myself that the way I am feeling today is a good indicator that she might come tomorrow, but I don't know...it could just be the effects of the Lupron. At this rate, I'm going to need to order a refill!

I have been having SUCH a hard time concentrating at work. The fact that my boss is out of the office until tomorrow has not helped matters. When she's not here, I am majorly guilty of slacking! Honestly, even when she is, I slack. I do my work though...and I meet my deadlines. I am way too preoccupied with IVF preparations and all the what-ifs that come along with it. I never thought I'd be able to spend hours going over all the different possibilities in my head and thinking of every possible way something could go wrong! But, that's what I do!

Trying to make it through the rest of the day...then I'm going home to soak in a HOT tub and read a book...and get lost in la-la land. :)

Lupron...

I know the last thing I should be doing right now is freaking out about anything. Yet, as is my nature, I am. I started the Lupron injections on 4/10 - that was based on the fact that I was 99% sure I detected a surge with an opk on 4/1 and the fact that my cycles are pretty long. I was told to call if AF didn't show up by 4/23. Of course, I am thinking worst case scenario and worrying that she might not show up by then and I don't know what happens at that point. The stupid thing about that is - when I worry or stress, it usually messes with my cycle.

Here's hoping AF shows before Thursday!

:-/

Intro

My husband and I have been married for 4.5 years now and we tried to have a baby for about 2.5 years before we sought medical help. We started with an RE who was recommended by a friend of mine. Our experience with him was okay...we had the usual consult and were scheduled for all the testing. I had a few tests come back with odd results, but after follow up appointments and further testing, everything was found to be normal. My hubby however, had a semen analysis with zero the first time. I'll never forget that phone call.

Hubby was referred to a Urologist for further testing. From what they could tell, it was not an obstructive problem, however all his hormone and genetic testing came back normal. He was then referred to another Urologist at Boston IVF who specializes in Male Infertility. This doctor has been amazing and SO nice to my hubby from day one. (Because of the way he looks, people are usually intimidated by or condescending to my hubby...the long hair, the leather bracelets, etc.) Hubby was overweight at the time and we were informed that he couldn't have sperm retrieval surgery until he was <300. He is 6'4'' and at the time was 360-ish. Doc put him on Clomid to increase the chances of us finding sperm and hubby hit the gym with a vengeance. He is now <300 an had a MESA surgery last month. And we found sperm!!!! Turns out it was an obstructive issue after all. Nothing that could be fixed, he was just born that way. So...they are on ice now.

I started my Lupron injections a little over a week ago and am just now waiting for AF to show up. I'm really excited but nervous at the same time. I've never had anesthesia, and I'm a little nervous about the egg retrieval because of that. I keep trying to focus on the main goal of this whole process instead of worrying about that stuff though.

I don't know anyone who has gone through this and that is why I decided to join Blogger. I found some blogs on here through a Google search for "IVF Blogs" and it has encouraged me to read the stories of other women's IVF journeys. :)