Keep the Good News Coming!

This morning's bloodwork and ultrasound went really well. My estradiol level is up to 888 (great!), my uterine lining measured 7.7 mm (also great!), and I had 12-16 follicles that are nicely sized (again great!). These follicles will continue to grow until ER (egg retrieval). Grow eggs grow!! My nurse said she was 99% sure my eggs will be ready for retrieval a day early, so on Feb 4th! Yeah! I continue my Gonal F, Lupron & low dose HCG tonight, tomorrow & Sunday. Then, I go for more labs and another ultrasound on Monday morning. I should trigger on Monday night (a one time injection that helps complete egg maturation and triggers ovulation). Tuesday should be a free day (no shots!). Then the big ER Wednesday morning!!!! That's less than 5 days from now!!

I've been feeling okay. Pretty bloated and uncomfortable but it'll all be worth it in the end, right!? It kind of feels like a tumor is growing in my abdomen. My ovaries are pressing on everything:) Your body usually only makes & releases one egg per month. I'm making at least 12 now so you can imagine!

I had a nice visit today with my good friend, Alicia & her baby girl, Emma! Emma is almost 5 weeks old...so cute! Hopefully Emma will have a playmate in 9 months!

Thanks again everyone for your continued support! Everyone is so excited for us, it's easy to stay positive! Keep the thoughts & prayers coming :)

So Far, So Good!

Lab results are in..."they are great!" We were so relieved to hear that. Are cycle has gone perfectly so far. I will continue the same meds, my Gonal F dose has been decreased a little based on my lab results. My estradiol (estrogen) level was less than 20 at the suppression appt and was 216 today. We are expecting this number to reach around 3000 by egg retrieval. Yikes!

So, I don't know if I'm imagining it or not, but I have a dull back ache, especially on my left side. These drugs must work FAST! Or, maybe I'm just crazy!! I asked our nurse & she said that some patients swear they start feeling pressure at this point. I guess we'll just have to wait to see on Friday. Friday I go for more bloodwork & an ultrasound to count follicles (eggs). I can't wait to see the progress I'm making!

I spoke to my manager Monday morning & I will be able to take a medical leave of absence until February 20th. Thank you Children's Mercy! It's nice to have the support of your employer. Anything to decrease the stress!

My mom just told me about the woman who had OCTUPLETS...can you even imagine!! I'd love to have twins, but I don't know about more! They are going to need some serious help. Still, we'd much rather be worrying about taking care of babies than worrying about making babies :)

I just looked at a calendar and realized...I'll have a baby/babies in my belly in just 2 weeks! That seems so surreal! They will implant, they will implant, they will implant!!

Countdown

9 days until egg retrieval

14 days until embryo transfer

22 days until beta (pregnancy test)

Here We Go...

Well, the first dose of fertility drugs is racing through my body as I'm typing this post, hopefully working wonders on my ovaries!! It's so exciting :) It seems like we've been waiting for this day forever. I had to give myself two injections, one in my thigh and one in my abdomen. They weren't too bad, but I'll be glad to have Kyle do them tomorrow night. I've been reading that it takes about 5 days to start feeling the effects of enlarged ovaries. Bring on the back pain, bloat, and tight pants! With orders of no strenuous activity, my gracious mom has offered to take Vegas for walks as needed. She said she found some of my old snow bibs so that she can bear the cold weather! She will go to the ends of the earth for these embryos! She and my dad even brought me lunch yesterday along with healthy snacks and some V-8 splash because Kyle was working. They have no faith in my ability to feed myself :) I'm enjoying the attention for now.

Suppression Appointment

We had our suppression appointment on Wednesday. I had labs (normal results), an ultrasound (ovaries are suppressed!), and a mock embryo transfer to make sure all goes smoothly in about 2 weeks. We want those embryos to be safe and sound in the back of my uterus. We met with our nurse, Brandi, and discussed my new schedule of meds. She wanted to "remind me" that I am to stop all activity/exercise starting Sunday. I was sure I could walk Vegas as usual, but this is not the case. She explained that my ovaries will be getting very large & heavy. With any jostling they could flip. There is a chance I could lose an ovary! WHAT!!??

Now I am having lots of fears about continuing to work after starting my fertility drugs on Sunday. I also have to take a couple days off after egg retrieval to recover from surgery. After the embryo transfer it is REALLY important to be on bed rest in order to aid successful implantation. I think I'll be spending a week in bed with my legs above my head!! So, basically I need to be off work for the next 3 weeks. I don't know how I'm going to manage that...I'll keep you posted. I'm trying not to get overly stressed. Hopefully I can get everything straightened out on Monday.

Despite being stressed about the possibility of losing my ovaries, I am excited to start the stimulation phase. Fertility drugs here we come!! :) I go in for more blood work on Tuesday to make sure the drugs are working. If my levels are too low, they will cancel the cycle. So everyone be thinking "grow eggs grow"!! I will continue the injections for about 10 days, having ultrasounds every few days to check my progress. Brandi said that by Friday we will have a pretty good idea when my eggs will be ready to be retrieved! Exciting stuff :)

I have been trying to stay very positive this week and have managed to have several wonderful dreams of holding our baby in my arms. I had a very vivid dream that we had a beautiful baby girl and named her Addison Claire. Hmmm...pretty cute name, I think. I've never had any thoughts of that name before my dream. Kind of strange. I've been reading more statistics on IVF success rates & the incidence of twins and have been feeling more optimistic. If we make it to embryo transfer (meaning we have healthy embryos 5 days after egg retrieval), there is about a 60% we will get pregnant and have a baby. Also, if we have 2 healthy embryos to transfer, there is about a 35% chance we will have twins!! What a blessing that would be! I can't stop smiling just thinking about it. This has got to work!

So, the countdown has begun!

• Sunday (today): Start Gonal F & low dose HCG (these meds make a bunch of eggs), continue Lupron & Dexamethasone, and of course continue taking prenatal vitamins, extra folic acid & baby aspirin.
• Tuesday: Labs (cross your fingers for high numbers)
• Friday: More labs and an ultrasound to count eggs (grow eggs grow)

Happy 1st Birthday Braden!

Braden's 1st birthday was Friday. We celebrated with the family today. He's getting to be such a big boy! Walking everywhere & kissing everyone in his path :) He's a very sweet boy. Instead of opening his presents with his mom, he walked around & visited with everyone. Here is one of his many smiles.

Time for cake! Mmmm Good! He had no problem finishing his plate. And of course, managed to get chocolate cake in his eyes & ears before too long. Our little nephew is growing up!

Update

The Holidays were so nice this year! We especially enjoyed spending time with our families. Everyone in our life is so loving and supportive, we feel very fortunate. We love you all!

So, for the IVF update...I started new medications yesterday. We are getting closer! I have started dexamethasone. It is a steroid (very low dose) to help suppress my adrenal hormones (testosterone-type hormones), so I will have higher estrogen levels. I also started an injectable medication called Lupron. Lupron acts by suppressing the pituitary gland (which is normally responsible for triggering ovulation). Basically, the medication prevents premature ovulation. We want to delay ovulation this month until we have stimulated my ovaries using fertility drugs. Hopefully that makes sense :) I take the Lupron for 14 days and then have labs and an ultrasound to make sure the medication worked. And for all of you who know how much I hate the Lovenox injections...the Lupron injections are MUCH less painful. Yeah!