No Frozen Eggs

Our doctor's office called yesterday and said that we didn't have any eggs make it far enough to freeze. I wasn't surprised because the criteria is so hard. Only about 15-20% of people can freeze, so I wasn't expecting much. Oh well, we have the best two eggs in me and that is all that counts. I'm feeling pretty good, just anticipating our first blood test. My kids and the holidays are definitely keeping me busy. The progesterone shots are going well, in fact I have been giving them to myself. The doctor told me to use the muscle in my hip area, so I can reach this just fine. Sometimes the nurse at school helps out if I'm not in the shot giving mood. I haven't had any side effects from the shot, no stomach aches or bruising and knots. I'm pretty happy about that :)

Thought this was sweet..........

I just had time to put this picture on. On Tuesday after my retrieval, i went to my parents to rest and they were making us dinner. My parents surprised us with a cake to wish all of the 17 eggs good luck. We both thought it was so cute and thoughtful. Hopefully all of that luck will go to my two eggs that are now in me. By the way, the cake was really good. My dad said that the lady who put the writing on was kind of looking at him like what are writing on this cake. He told what it was for and she said "Oh, I understand."

Transfer Today

Sorry that I am just now posting...everything went really fast today. The lab called this morning at 8:00 and said that the transfer would be today, day 3. I was at work and so was Jared, so I called him and he quickly left to come and get me. We had our appointment at 10:35 this morning. The doctor came in first and gave us a picture of both of the eggs that w ere going back today. They had 9 and 8 cells. He seemed pretty happy with this and he said that they looked real good. After we talked they took us back to the procedure room. Even Jared had to wear a gown, hat and booties. The procedure went pretty well. He had a little trouble getting the catheter in, but finally he got through and he transferred the two eggs in. We watched on a ultrasound monitor and they went right where they were suppose to. To me it looked like two little lights snuggled into the top of my uterus. Hey who can say that they actually got to see their babies being conceived. I had to lay for about 30 minutes afterwards and I couldn't wait to go to the bathroom (you have to go with a full belly). I feel pretty good right now. I want to keep still so I don't disturb them and their process. ha ha. They told me to take it easy for today and tomorrow and then slowly bring activity into my day. Unfortunately the hard part is now.....we wait two weeks for our first blood test followed by another blood test the following week. It will be the longest time of our lives. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we will let you know something as soon as we do............................

Update on Eggs

I just got off of the phone with the nurse about all of our little eggs. She said that they wanted about 50% to make it. Well.............We had 8 make it! In my eyes that is close enough to 50%. They fertilized 9 of the eggs conventionally (just putting the sperm around the egg) and they fertilized 8 using ICSI (they inject the sperm into the egg). 2 of the 9 conventionally fertilized and 6 of the 8 fertilized with ICSI. She was pretty happy with the results and she said that they would call tomorrow with another update and a tentative time for a day 3 transfer (Friday). We are saying lots of prayers that they eggs keep growing. Please say some extra ones for us while we wait.......

17 Eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a short post.....I got home today about 3:00 and I have been sleeping since. The meds are wearing of and I was sleepy and a little sore. I feel pretty good overall. They took out 17 eggs, which they were extremely happy about. They said that I might be a little more sore because of how many eggs I had. So pretty much it is just water and tylenol and lots of rest. They said that they would call me around 12:00 tomorrow to update us on our eggies.....I'll post more tomorrow when I feel up to it.

Retrieval is Tuesday !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We went back to the doctor this morning and the ultrasound technician said that we were really close. Most or eggs were at the point of retrieval. Jared came back with me and he got to see all of the eggs on the ultrasound screen. She told us to wait until this afternoon to see what the doctor wanted to do. So we waited and they called and said it was a go for Tuesday. We are so excited that it is finally here. They are thinking that they will be able to retrieve about 10-12 eggs on the left and 6-7 on the right. YEAH!!!!! Tonight is my last set of shots. Tomorrow we take our Ovidrel shot (which get us ready for the procedure) at 10:30 p.m. It has to be given 36 hours before the retrieval. No shots on Monday. And then on Tuesday we have to be there at 9:45 a.m. I can't believe that it is already here. Our transfer will either be on Friday (day 3) or Sunday (day 5). We also start our progesterone shots on Tuesday. These help the embryos stick. These are the most critical shots. I will make sure to post sometime on Tuesday to let you know how many eggs we retrieved. Please say lot of prayers for us and keep us in your thoughts......More to come on Tuesday :)

Getting Bigger......

Well I have definitely started to feel the effects of the eggs that are growing inside. Let me tell you, I feel like my stomach is going to explode. It is not the most comfortable feeling. I went back to the doctor this morning for blood work and an ultrasound and they recommended me to go on bed rest this weekend because things were progressing so fast. Since I am a teacher and my kids are 4 and 5, they wanted me to take it easy through the weekend to see if we could get things to calm down. Everything is still looking great. There are 9-10 eggs on the left side that are almost ready and 4-5 on the right. The doctor is still surprised at how well I responded to the meds. I still have a ton of eggs that are growing so we will see if they make it. The doctors want the size of the eggs to be between 17 and 18 and right now I am averaging around 14-15. So we are almost there. They are very pleased with the results so far and we are going back tomorrow for another ultrasound and blood work. I think that we should just move to St. Louis for the next week! They will evaluate everything tomorrow and then decide if we are ready for retrieval or we will back Monday morning for more ultrasounds and blood work. I'm definitely keeping off my feet all weekend and having Jared wait on me HA HA! I think that excitement is setting in for both of us and we can't wait to see how things develop.
More to come tomorrow.........

We are almost there !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went this morning for blood work and another ultrasound. I really do feel like a pin cushion now. Ha Ha. The ultrasound tech was amazed at all of the follicles that I had growing. She found 12 on left side and 11 or 12 on the right. She kept asking me how I felt because I had so many follicles in there. I told her I was just fine. Afterwards they said to wait and the Dr. would call to let me know what to do next. Well she called at 11:30 and she was also amazed at how well things were going. She decreased my stimulating shots because I was doing so well and she said to come back on Friday for another ultrasound. She too kept asking me how I was feeling and I said I felt ok just a few twinges. She told me to really take it easy the next few days and that I was really responding well to the meds. YEAH!!!!!!!! That was the best thing she could have told us. So I go back on Friday morning at 8:00 and we will go from there.....Keep you fingers crossed!!!!!!!!

On To Stimulating Shots

I went this morning for my blood work and ultrasound. The nurse called on my lunch break and said everything looked great. I start my Gonal-F (stimulating shots) tonight and I will still have to take my lupron but my dose will be cut in half. The nurse said that I should start feeling better because the lupron will be cut in half. I sure hope she is right. I will do the two shots through Tuesday night and then my next blood work will be on Wednesday morning. After that I don't know what will happen. It all depends on how the stimulating shots are working. I'm so glad that everything went well today and I can't wait till Wednesday to find out more. I can't believe how fast everything is going :)

Getting the hang of it.....

Well it has now been a week and two days for my first set of shots. I have to say that it is going by pretty fast. Unfortunately I have been feeling the side effects of the meds. It has not been very fun. I definitely am having the nausea, headaches, and hot flashes. Again it is not enough to keep me in bed, but enough to be very annoying. I just keep thinking of the end result and hope that this is all worth it. Our first appointment is Friday and I am really excited. I'm anxious to see if the meds are working and I'm ready to start the stimulating shots. I am not looking forward to doing two shots a night, but you have to do it. I did find that they sent me two different kinds of syringes for the lupron. Although they are the same size, one is definitely more comfortable to use than the other. I called our pharmacy today to send some more good needles tomorrow because I ran out. Anything to make this process easier. So, I will post on Friday as soon as I know anything. My appointment is at 7;40 a.m. (perfect for a teacher) and then they will call me in the afternoon. Wish me good luck :)

Third Times a Charm

While this may hold some truth in some things, it didn't hold truth in my shot giving abilities. The first and second shots went great. No hesitation, no worries, very few tears. I was really proud of myself. However shot number three did not go as expected. Why? Because I froze. I literally couldn't bring myself to do the shot. My mind wouldn't let my hand do the work. I felt like such a failure because I had already given myself two shots and why would this be any different. I was at my parents house and Jared was at his school, so I think that the different environment and people really didn't help. After about 40 minutes of trying I had to have someone give me the shot. But I feel ok about it and I'm just going to try again tonight. I didn't realize the emotional impact a shot would have on me. I have been feeling pretty good so far. Little bit of pain and tension in my ovaries and a few hot flashes, but nothing to really stop me in my tracks. My kids at school are keeping me very busy and I am so thankful for that. I'm glad that I am feeling ok and I can't wait for the Dr.'s appt. next Friday. Thank you for all of your kind words and I just keep thinking about the end result of all of this hard work.

Our First Shot

Well the day is finally here! I was so excited all day just knowing that today was our first shot and the beginning of our journey to baby hansley. I was also extremely nervous and it was probably the only thing that I have thought of today. We were in Ohio at a wedding all weekend with Jared's family, and we had such a great time. Maybe a little too much fun and it didn't involve any alcohol for me. It was so nice to be away for the weekend so I didn't have to think about the shots. Today I had a test for one of my college classes at 5:00 and then it was off to get my shot at 6:45. Some very good friends of my family went through this so we went to their house for some moral support. I did pretty good preparing the shot, and then I pricked my stomach three times and made it bleed before I actually gave it to myself. It didn't hurt of course, but I kept chickening out. I'm so glad that first one is done. I called my mom as soon as I was done and I think that she was relieved that everything was ok. Jared and my mom have been my rock through this and I am so happy to have them in my lives. So I am feeling ok from the shot so far, just some itchy skin around the site. I feel a sigh of relief because we are on our journey. Our first doctors appointment is the 12th of October to see if everything is ready for the stimulating shots. Until then we are to take 20 units of the Lupron each night at 6:45. Now that we have finally started I hope that I can post more often.