Finally - Fert Report In!

We FINALLY got great news from our fert report!! Out of 12 eggs retrieved, 11 were mature, and 10 fertilized normally through ICSI. This is 2 more than we had with our first fresh IVF cycle so we are excited. The babysitter seemed very pleased with how they were looking so far. We really won't have a good indication of quality until they undergo their first replication tonight. Hopefully we will get a good update on the little ones tomorrow. Our ET will be on Friday and they are planning to transfer 4 (assuming we have that many make it). The likelihood of all 4 implanting is pretty slim, but who knows. It is all up to the man upstairs at this point. Thanks for all of your support in getting us to this point!

This waiting thing really SUCKS!

Our ER went really well yesterday. They got 12 eggs which is pretty much what we were expecting. It is now 11:30 and I am STILL waiting to hear the fertilization report. Waiting is the hardest part...UGH! I keep reminding myself that we were 4th in line yesterday and that they had some more ERs this morning so they are probably just busy. The waiting part just sucks, because if you are like me, you can come up with all sorts of stories ( + and -) about why they haven't called yet. I am feeling pretty good today (other than obsessing of course), not too sore. No paid meds yet today, although the Tylenol#3 was a life-saver yesterday!! Hopefully I will have an update pretty soon...

A "Needle-less" Day!

Woo-hoo! No shots today!! That is the nice thing about the day before ER, no shots, all I have to do is start taking my Z-Pack. Yippee for small victories! Of course the big needle comes out tomorrow. Hunter gets WAY too excited about shooting me in the rear!

Look out Stork, here we come!

After 9 days on stims and my ovaries feeling like they are about to burst, I will be triggering tonight at 11:00. I went in Saturday for another u/s and b/w and then today just for b/w. My mom went with me to my Saturday morning appointment and she said my follicles looked like Hershey's Kisses on the screen. I don't think I will ever look at a Hershey's Kiss the same again. They were also training a new nurse on Saturday so there were 4 people besides me in the room. I guess it really is a team sport at this point isn't it?? So...we trigger tonight and then ER is on Tuesday morning at 11:00. They are expecting to get 12 mature follicles so I am keeping my fingers crossed that they all behave between now and then! Our ET will most likely be on Friday. Dr. M thought that a 3dt would be better sine he has some concerns about our embryo quality. Wish us luck!

Simmering Along...

We had our 2nd u/w & b/w today and things are moving along. It is looking like we have about 12 follies and they are all measuring between 12 & 13. The RE did make the comment that I probably have a bit more ovarian dysfunction than they originally thought because of the way that I am responding. I guess based on my combination of meds they thought I would have had more follies to begin with. They are increasing my Gonal-F to 225 ius at least for the next couple of days. We will go back for another monitoring appointment on Saturday. I am kind of thinking that we may trigger on Monday for a Wednesday ER but we will see. I am really starting to feel the effects of all the drugs now, I think I could sleep for 12 or 15 hours straight and the bloating is starting to get worse. The sucky part is that I am going to have to order some more drug...another $500 bucks out the door!

Just gettin' cookin'!

Well I started off my birthday with my feet in stirrups this morning! Luckily the news was good and for my birthday I got about 10-12 follies that are cooking right along as they should be. They are all pretty much growing at the same rate and my E2 was 232.17 which they seemed to be really happy with. I always get confused what the numbers should be at each stage. They are going to turn up the juice a bit and I will be on 150 Gonal-F and continue on the 75 of Menopur and then add the Antagon tomorrow. Thursday I will go back for another u/s and b/w to see how things are moving. As of right now all systems are go and we are moving right along. Two of my cycle buddies at my REs office got canceled today (one for overstimming - her E2 was over 1300 on Day 4 and one for not producing enough) so I am thankful that we are on track.

The Ironies of Infertility

A fellow "IF"er posted this and I thought it was worth sharing...sometimes you just have to laugh!

1. Birth Control Pills. These little pills stopped us from getting pregnant when we were younger, who would have guessed that many of us may never have needed to take them in the first place! Also, I find it completely ironic that I begin each IVF cycle having to take them!
2. Looking forward to getting our period so that we can actually begin our stimming!
3. Needles. The thing I was scared of most as a child, is what is going to be vital in giving me a child of my own!
4. that peeing on a stick could be a husband/wife event (pg or ovulation)
5. that your period is a social event to be discussed.
6. Picking up a prescription for the birth control pill at the pharmacy (for your IVF cycle) while picking up pre-natal vitamens at the same time...and the pharmacist looks at you like you have 2 heads!
7. Getting the call that you have a BFN as you're watching the Maury Povich show about a drug-addicted prostitute who wants a paternity test.
8. I use to tell my friends who were having trouble conceiving not to worry that if they cant get pg, they can always adopt. NOW they are the one's with the baby's and I may be on my way to adoption.
9. Deathly afraid of blood work, yet I went to RE for 19 days for us and blood work just to have a baby.
10. Hating to get an annual pap and now every possible intsrument has been shoved up me in the past year!
11. In the first 3 yrs of my marriage when i was still studying, i freaked out if AF was late even by 3 days and the moment it came it was a moment of joy and the first thing i did was call DH. Now all prayers are to ensure that AF doesnt come and I get PG instead.
12. We used to be very careful about who we spread our legs for and now it seems like every Tom, Dick and Harry has seen us in a comprising position..with stirrups nonetheless!
13. The big "O" no longer refers to orgasm, but rather ovulation...
14. Before starting this process, I had wicked PMS symptoms and was trying to work with my doctor to alleviate some of my anxiety, cravings, bitchiness, and depression during the 2 weeks after ovulation. Now I purposely induce all of these symptoms, so I can have them for 4 weeks instead of 2. Go figure!!!The things we do
15. I think I could drop my pants for practically anyone now... modesty is out the window...
16. and I love explaining to a regular physician that I am doing IVF and that I am on Birth Control Pills....

I think the needle won...

Well, as you can see, the first shot didn't go too well. I think I need to see if I can find some smaller needles!

Game On!

We had our baseline u/s and b/w this morning and all is quiet on the ovarian front so we are good to go to start our stims tonight! We will be doing 75ius of Menopur and 75ius of Gonal-F. Our next monitoring visit will be on Tuesday to see how things are cooking. Assuming I have "taken off" they will add Antagon on Wednesday to keep me from having a premature LH surge. The nurse told me this morning that they have also decided to add Prednisone to the protocol to be taken after retrieval...supposedly there is some new study that shows that it helps with implantation. Hey - whatever it takes to get those little buggers to stick!!

How much of an idiot can one person be? (Warning - Vent ahead)

So I have this employee who isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, probably pretty darn near to the dullest tool in the shed in all actuality. She is 26 years old, still goes out almost every night, has a different flavor of the week every week (and is proud of it), can't manage her money, and the list goes on...I think you can get the picture. Right before Christmas she almost passed out at work, of course I was concerned so I sent her home and told her to go to the doctor and get checked out. Well of course the story that I got was that they couldn't find anything wrong with her...blah, blah, blah. The rumor mill runs rampant around these parts so another employee, who knows everything I have been through trying to have a baby, thought she ought to fill me in on the real story before I got caught off-guard. Turns out the little hoochie was pregnant and had an abortion. She wasn't even using birth control, hello??? Assuming you aren't baby making challenged like I am, what the hell do you think is going to happen?? Not to mention what else she probably has to go along with it! The really sad part is, what she was most upset about was not being able to have sex for 3 weeks. Give me a break, I have no sympathy, compassion, or patience for someone who thinks an abortion is just a convenient means of birth control. Grow up, be responsible and think of the millions of people out there who would give their right arm to have what you just destroyed.

It's just like Christmas...

only with a lot of drugs and needles! My drug dealer (aka the Fed Ex woman) arrived on Saturday with my box of goodies. It looks like I could open up my own pharmacy. For the stimulation phase I got 5 boxes of Menopur, 5 boxes of Antagon, and 1 box of Gonal-F. Of course all 2 of these are injections which you can't mix together. So I will be taking 3 injections daily during the stimulation phase. Can you say pin cushion? For my trigger shot I got 1 box of Ovidrel which I will take exactly 36 hours (and they mean EXACTLY) before my retrieval. Before retrieval I also be on a Z-Pack to fight off infection, after all I guess it is technically surgery. At retrieval I will begin Estrace, Baby Aspirin, PIO (Hunter gets WAY too excited about this one), and Tylenol 3 w/codeine (for all the pain they inflict on my poor little-well big by that time-ovaries). And all of this came for the low, low price of $1,700, which is actually pretty cheap given that some have to spend $3,000 on meds for each cycle. Let the games begin!

On Island Time...

And they wonder why they didn't catch any fish?! The poor things were probably scared to death when they saw this motley crew, but hey...they were having a good time and that is what New Year's and Birthdays are all about right? This past weekend we headed to Ocracoke Island, NC (our idea of Heaven on Earth) to celebrate New Year's and my dear hubby's 30th birthday with 2 other couples. Yes, I snagged me a younger man...of course he likes to think of me as the "older woman", hmmm). A grand time was had by all, we had the full bellies and hangovers (some more than others, but I'm not mentioning any names!) to prove it! If only Island Time could last forever...

Foreshadowing...or just plain Rude?

New Year's Eve I had several interesting run ins in the women's bathroom. We decided to ring in the New Year at the Ocracoke Community Center...it was $20 per person for food, open bar, and the Ocracoke Rockers. You can't beat that! So, given that it was open bar and I could have all the Cape Cods I wanted nature called quite often. My first trip to the bathroom was pretty uneventful, but then the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th trips for full of adventure. My 2nd trip there was a lady sitting on the throne with the door wide open. Keep in mind that there were doors with locks on the stalls! She looks up and says "Hi" like it is the most normal thing in the world. My 3rd trip there is this lady in one of the stalls (with the door closed, thankfully) singing Joan Jett at the top of her lungs. My 4th and final trip is where the foreshadowing or just plain rude comes in. I am standing at the sink washing my hands when this chick comes up beside me and pats my stomach and says "What a sweet little baby in there". Okay, you see the picture...do I look pregnant?! Also, I do not think I would be throwing back Cape Cods if I were. If only she knew how much I wish she were right and that that really was a little baby pooch. It was an innocent enough comment, but to someone in my shoes it was just a reminder that what comes so easily to many others, isn't so easy for us. Of course my dear hubby, trying to make me feel better of course, says she must be some kind of witch who can predict the future - ha! I guess my New Year's resolution should have been to lose some weight!