{9 weeks}

We had our 9 week appointment a few days early on Monday (at 8 weeks 5 days). This was our last appointment with the specialist. We had our 2nd ultrasound and our little peanut actually looks more like a baby now!!! It was so wonderful to see the little one again and see the heart beating (at a steady rate of 166 bpm). The Dr. said the growth rate is right on track and we even got to see a little bit of movement!! He also helped ease some of our anxieties by explaining 'how' we got pregnant (via IVF) will not create any complications or risks throughout the pregnancy and he expects everything to be perfectly normal. He officially released us from his care and I will see my OB for the first time on Wednesday at 10 weeks :)

{6 week update}

How far along: 6 weeks 2 days
Total Weight Gain: 1-2 lbs (or none, depending on the day/time)
How much does baby weigh: ?? He/she is the size of a 'pea' according to my last email
Maternity Clothes: Not yet..but having trouble finding comfy pants with all this bloat :(
Stretch Marks: nope..
Sleep: tired ALL THE TIME and I've been having crazy, vivid dreams every night..so I never feel rested when I wake up
Best moment this week: spent the day with my dad yesterday going out to lunch, then picking blueberries!!
Food Cravings: CARBS!!! That's about the only thing that always sounds good :)
Belly button in or out: in :)
What I miss: Chai/Coffee, my pants actually fitting!!
What I'm looking forward to: First U/S and Heartbeat check on Tuesday!!
Milestone: STILL pregnant!! I'm still in shock :)
Thoughts: Things are slowly starting to sink in. I'm still finding it hard to believe that after all this time I am actually pregnant!! I am so excited and can't wait for my belly bump to appear!!

{Pregnancy Progress}

I found this on another blog and thought it was a cute idea :) Enjoy!


How far along: 5 weeks 0 days
Total weight gain:hopefully none yet (except the 10 lbs or so gained during IVF..ugh!)
How much does baby weigh: Not sure, but according to my book, baby is about 1/8 inch long!
Maternity clothes: Not yet ...but things are already uncomfortable :-/
Stretch marks: Not yet..I will be buying cocoa butter soon to try to keep them away!!
Sleep: Not as good as pre-pregnancy, and I wake up early to pee every day..
Best moment this week: Looking at baby stuff at Target with DH :)
Movement: Nada..
Food cravings: Cream Soda ....random since I hadn't had it in YEARS!!
Belly button in or out: Obviously still an innie
What I miss: Caffeine/Tea (although I haven't had caffeine since Jan)
What I'm looking forward to: Our first appointment in 2 weeks!!!
Milestone: Everyday is a milestone! I'm still pregnant!
Thoughts: I'm still in complete and utter shock...after almost 2 years we're finally expecting our little miracle!! It doesn't even seem real!! Maybe after our first ultrasound and heartbeat appt in a couple weeks it will!! :)

{B/W Results are in...}

Well..it looks like both my HPT's were correct. I had my b/w done yesterday at the RE's office and got the results back...POSITIVE!! By HCG levels were at 238 which she said is great for the first blood draw. I go back on Saturday morning to make sure the #'s double. I'm still in shock that this finally worked for us...after so much heartache!! I'm still nervous, but keeping my fingers crossed and praying that this little one sticks.

{The verdict is in...}

Well, the beta (blood pregnancy test) isn't scheduled at my dr's office until tomorrow, but I got anxious and couldn't wait any longer so I tested yesterday...and the verdict......

POSITIVE!!!! I couldn't believe it :) I was still very skeptical so I bought a digital to test with today which also instantly came up with a Positive, I am soooo excited, yet still very cautious, with all we've been through we are sure hoping this little one is our miracle :) I will update again tomorrow after my trip to the RE for the blood test.

So far I'm already feeling hungry ALL THE TIME...it's actually pretty frustrating, even after eating a meal I don't feel satisfied (which is pretty much how I've been the past week or so once my OHSS symptoms went away on Friday). But I'd rather be hungry then have nausea and morning sickness, so I'm hoping this trend continues and I have an easy pregnancy! :) Please continue to keep us and our little bean in your prayers and thanks for all the support so far.

{OHSS}

OHSS: Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome...I was officially diagnosed with a moderate case of this today. Ever since the ER I have been bloated and slightly nauseous off and on. I attributed this to possibly a mild case of OHSS and side effects of the Progesterone injection. I weighed myself this morning and I was up 5 lbs from the Egg Retrieval a week ago. This concerned me slightly because I knew that this was another sign of OHSS. So I called the on duty nurse and spoke with her, after discussing my symptoms (bloated abdomen (I look about 5 months pregnant..), nausea, lower abdominal pain, slight shortness of breath) she talked to the Dr. and they decided they would like me to come in today for an ultrasound and blood work. Unfortunately this was right in the middle of the day and I had to drive up to the Seattle office, so my plans for scrapbooking with friends were thrown out the door :(

I went up to the doctor's office and all my vitals were taken, my bp, pulse and temperature were all normal. Then I was taken into the exam room for an ultrasound. They started with a vaginally ultrasound and found that each ovary was about 12cm's I believe..which is a lot bigger than normal!! So that explains why my lower abdomen is sore and distended. They then used an abdominal u/s to scan the rest of my stomach and check for fluid build up. They did find some fluid retained in my abdomen, so they are going to continue to monitor me closely over the next week and make sure it doesn't get too much worse or uncomfortable for me.

The good news is, this won't affect the embryo at all. The dr. said if anything this probably means that I am pregnant :) So....going through this discomfort will definitely be well worth it!!!

{Embryo Transfer/Day 5}

Our Embryo and future child!!!!!

Well, I finally received the long awaited phone call Saturday afternoon and they gave me the rundown on what would happen on the day of my 5 day transfer (today!). I woke up this morning and took a shower and got ready as normal, then I took my progesterone shot as I have been each morning since the ER as well. Unfortunately this morning I had HORRIBLE nausea :( I think it's just one of the side effects of the hcg shot (it mimics pregnancy symptoms). At 8:30 a.m. I had to insert a prometrium capsule intravaginally. So I did that then tried to hang out and relax a bit since I was still feeling nauseous. I headed up to Seattle and drank my 20 oz of water on the way so I would have a full bladder as instructed. By this time my nausea had finally subsided for the most part. I met my husband up in Seattle at the clinic and we went in for the appointment.

When we were first admitted to our room, the embryologist came in and talked to us about the quality of our embryos and the # they suggested transferring. She immediately told us that the embryo they had chosen to transfer today was of the best quality there is for a 5 day. When we told her we had hoped to transfer 2 she said they didn't think it would raise our odds for sticking much more but we could discuss it amongst ourselves and our Dr. So Dr. Dudley came in and talked with us. He told us the chances that ONLY one of the 2 would stick if we transferred two was only about 5-10% higher than if we only transferred one embryo and our chance of twins would go from about 2% to 60%. And he thinks we have a VERY good chance that this one will stick due to my age and overall health. So...we decided to take the advice of the Dr. and only transfer one embryo. As much fun as twins 'sounds'...I can't imagine how much work it would be!!

As for the other embryos that fertilized we found out today that 3 were being frozen today and 6 more would be looked at again tomorrow to see if they were of high enough quality to freeze, and the Dr. also thought there was a pretty high likelihood this would happen. So if this little embryo doesn't stick (which we're trying not to think about) we will have options for a Frozen Embryo Transfer in the future. This would also be a lot less expensive than another IVF cycle. So...now the dreaded 2ww (two week wait) begins...although I only have 10 days until my first pregnancy test which is scheduled for July 23rd!!! :) Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and let this baby STICK!!! :)

{Day 3 and frustrated...}

Today is 'Day 3' since the ER and I received the call yesterday that all 20 fertilized embryos were still doing great so we'd be doing a Day 5 transfer and they'd call us today with further results on how they were dividing as well as instructions and a time for the Embryo Transfer on Monday. Well..I expected an early morning call because the last 2 have been at 8:30 a.m...well it's 2:25 pm and I STILL haven't heard from them. It's making me really frustrated and nervous. I'm such a huge planner and I hate not knowing what is going on 2 days from now....sigh....I called the answering service *twice* and they were supposed to forward a message to the embryologists that I'm STILL waiting for a call and I haven't heard anything...GRRRRRR!!!! Ok..vent over.. I just had to get that out ..updates will follow as soon as I figure them out myself..

{Fertilization Report #1/Day 2}

Results are in...I got a phone call this morning and out of the 30 eggs that were retrieved, 20 fertilized!!! So we have VERY good numbers to work with :) It sounds like we will most likely be doing a 5 day transfer (which is what I was hoping for, it seems like it has better odds..) but I will find out more tomorrow when I get a call to see how the embryos are dividing and surviving. I'm getting so nervous/excited and can't believe this is all really happening!

I also had to start my progesterone shots this morning. That is definitely not going to be a fun one ... the shot is IM (Intramuscular) just as the HCG was which means I have to do it in the upper buttocks/lower back area and the needle is much longer than the SQ needles were. And not only that it's Progesterone in oil and it takes SOOOOO long to inject..I felt like I was holding the needle in me forever :( So it's gonna be a fun one to take every day ....ugh...I just hope this is all worth it because I am sooo incredibly bloated and crampy on top of everything else..

{Egg Retrieval}

Well today was the "Big Day" (well one of them..). We headed up to Seattle this morning for our 10 a.m. retrieval appointment. They took my husband and I back and I got undressed and put on a gown and hair cap (I looked stunning let me tell you!), we had to wait for another patient's retrieval first, then I was taken back and the hubby left to do his part (which was much easier let me tell you ...). I was put under anesthesia and was completely out of it for about a half hour while they did the retrieval. I woke up slowly and my husband was brought back to my recovery area. Once he got back there they had the final count on how many eggs were retrieved and we were sooo thrilled and relieved to hear the number....30!!! So we have a very good chance that several will fertilize, then we just have to pray that the ones we transfer back will stick! :) We will get a call tomorrow letting us know how many fertilized and whether or not we will have a 3 or 5 day transfer. So we are counting our blessings that things are going great so far!

{Triggered!!}

Today was "Day 11" of my "cycle" I went in to the RE this morning for another u/s and bloodwork. The U/S looked great compared to Friday, I had several 'mature' follicles and several more that will be mature by the time of egg retrieval, so that's a good sign. I got the call back from the nurse at the RE this afternoon and just as the u/s tech thought, we scheduled me to take the hcg 'trigger' shot tonight, which makes the egg retrieval (ER) 36 hours from that. So...since Andy isn't able to deal with needles and this shot had to be done Intramuscularly where I couldn't really see to do it myself, we went over to my friend's house and she did the injection for me. She did an awesome job and it went very smooth!! :) So now I just have to take a pregnancy test in the morning to confirm the HCG got absorbed (it should be positive..weird I know..) then Wednesday morning we go in and my eggs are retrieved! So..we're keeping our fingers crossed that the smaller follies develop and we have PLENTY of good eggs from the retrieval.

That's all for now .. I will update more on Wednesday (or Thurs if I'm too loopy Weds) after the ER!!!

{Day 8 U/S and B/W}

Today was my Day 8 ultrasound. Everything seems to be progressing well and as planned as far as I have been told. Today I had a much larger number of follicles growing then I did at my Day 5 appointment which is good. As long as I don't have TOO many and over stimulate it will be great to have a lot of follicles that could potential mature when we fertilize them. I will find out this afternoon whether or not my dosage of meds will change, but as it stands now I will be on the same dose and go in again Sunday morning for an ultrasound and blood draw. I will be a pro at all this by the time this cycle is done!! (But I'm crossing my fingers I never have to do it again :)) ...

Well...that's about all there is to update for now. I will post any changes in the next few days and if all goes as planned the Egg Retrieval and then transfer will happen next week!! :)

{Stimulation Meds}

Last night was my first night starting my stimulation meds. I now have to give myself 3 separate injections each night. 1 injection of Lupron, 1 75 IU injection of Menopur and 1 150 IU injection of Follistim. Overall it went well, I mixed the dosages and got the Follistim Pen all set up and ready to inject. After getting it all ready it didn't take long at all to give myself the injections. These ones take longer to inject, thus there is more discomfort, but I just keep reminding myself that this IS our cycle and it will all be worth it in the end!!! I noticed some slight bruising and tenderness on my abdomen this morning, so I can just imagine how much worse this will get with my next week of stims daily...eek!! Anyways, just a brief update, we go in for our first follie check tomorrow morning at 8 to see how the progress is going and whether or not I will stay on the same dose for the next few days :) It's going to be a busy few weeks full of needles, dr appointments and ultrasounds!

Suppression Check U/S

I started my first injections last Monday with the Luteal Lupron. I take 10 units of this nightly. The shot hasn't been too bad at all. It isn't very painful and has only caused minimal bruising. So that's a relief..and it makes me realize I can do this!!! I CAN deal with these shots and it will all be worth it in the end when I'm pregnant and we're bringing home our new baby :)

And after my appt today, it's official, I get to start my stimulation meds on Friday night! I went into the Dr. this morning and had an ultrasound to confirm I had no cysts and that my ovaries were 'ready to be stimulated' I guess. Unfortunately my normal dr. wasn't available so I had a different nurse do my u/s. She was really nice, but had a little trouble finding both my ovaries (they were hiding behind my uterus..) so she had to move the wand around and then press on my abdomen which was a little uncomfortable, but overall it went well. She ended up finding both ovaries and from what she could see both looked good, 20 follicles in one and 15 in the other. After the u/s I met with my nurse and we confirmed my schedule and the meds dosages I will be starting on Friday. She said it sounds like the u/s was fine and will call back with any changes. So..next on the checklist: stimulation meds! :)

Injectibles...

Well, the reality of starting our first IVF cycle is beginning to set in. Wednesday was another day in Seattle. I picked up my husband from work and we went together to the 'Injectible Instruction' appointment. This appointment was an hour long and the nurse went over all the meds I will be on, how to measure each one (they are all different...) and how to inject them. I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of meds I will be on, I'm just hoping and praying that all this hard workand stress will pay off in the end with our little miracle :) The hour long instruction was pretty straight forward and I don't think I will have any problems with the SQ (Sub-cutaneous) injections, the only ones I'm worried about is the IM (Intra muscular), but I won't start those until AFTER the ET (Embryo Transfer). So at least I have a couple weeks to get used to the idea!

After the Injections training my husband and I went to a nice lunch on the marina and had the rest of the afternoon off together which was very nice since it doesn't happen very often! :)

Thursday I received my medications in the mail. It came in a HUGE box and I was amazed at the amount of medications I received (I don't even want to know how much they would all cost if it was OOP (out of pocket). Praise God for our insurance coverage.

Next on our IVF 'checklist' is to start Luteal Lupron tomorrow! Wish me luck with my first type of injections (it's only gonna get worse from here though ..moving up to more than 1 injection per day..)

Here's my meds for IVF #1...and we may possibly need more depending on how my body responds to the dosage....crazy!!

Consents and Bloodwork

Appt #2 for our IVF cycle was this morning. We met our Dr. in the Seattle office and he went over the consent forms that we had to initial and sign. These are basically precautions for the office/dr. and explain some of the complications and risks associated with ART (Assisted Reproductive Techniques) that may arise during our cycle. After going over these and talking about what the doctor thinks our success rates and complications may be, my husband waited for the nurse to get his blood drawn and I went in to have a quick pap smear. When I came out from my pap smear, my husband was just going back to get his blood drawn. When he came back out from the blood draw area his face was GREEN ...the same color as his shirt. The poor guy nearly passed out! Luckily this should be the only blood test he has to take throughout our infertility journey. If he was the one in my position having to do daily shots, I don't think we'd ever have our own children together!! After we were finished we signed the consents and turned those into the front desk and confirmed our next appointment for tomorrow: Injections Training. Things are moving right along, and we're getting anxious to get through this cycle!

Starting IVF #1

Well, our first appt. with our RE to make our treatment plan for IVF #1 was Tuesday May 26th. Unfortunately my husband wasn't able to make it to this appointment with me as he had just taken a day off a couple weeks before to attend a '2nd opinion' appointment with another doctor, that ended up being a complete waste of both of our time.

The appointment with the RE went great!! I sat down in his office and we went over the timeline for an average IVF cycle and payment options. We have been very blessed with amazing insurance through my husband's employer, so for this IVF cycle we will mostly likely only end up paying about $1,000 out of pocket!! We have some money in savings and it's nice to know that for now we can keep it there instead of having to use it for IVF or other treatments. After talking with the Dr., the next step he needed to have accomplished was an ultrasound and saline check of my cervix (not sure of the actual name for that ...). Since we both had some time, he took me to the exam room and had this accomplished. He said my cervix, uterine lining and ovaries look great for IVF. This wasn't the most comfortable experience, but I'm hoping it's about the same procedure as the embryo transfer will be. He said this should be a very easy procedure for me, so that was a relief (as long as the rest of the cycle and procedures are the same)!! After this I had my final blood work completed to get the cycle started. And to end my 'marathon appointment,' I met with the financial advisor and spoke with her about our insurance benefits and what the best approach will be for us to pay for our IVF cycle.

It was such a relief to get so much done at the first appointment and feel like after 20 months of 'trying' we're FINALLY making some progress that will hopefully lead to our miracle child. Since this first appointment I have been in communication with my nurse and have set up several appointments.

Please keep us in your prayers as we have our next appointment Tuesday June 9th at 8 a.m. At this time we will go over all the consent forms with our doctor and sign these off. My husband will also have his blood work done (he's super nervous about this, as he HATES needles..), then I will have to get an up to date pap-smear done by my Doctor. So...it will be another marathon appointment for us, but so nice to get these things done in groups so that we don't have to make multiple trips to the clinic. We also have an appointment Wednesday afternoon for "Injection Instruction" where I will learn how to use and take all the medications I will be on this cycle (which is a HUGE list by the way ....I'll wait for another post about this!)

We have the IVF calendar pretty much planned out and as long as my body responds as planned we should be done with this cycle and know the outcome by the end of July.

My History...

I created this blog to anonymously blog about our IVF and ttc journey. I will start by adding a little bit of my history. I'm a mid 20s female married for just over two years and trying to conceive since going off bcp's in Oct 2007. Since that time I have not had menstrual cycle that wasn't medically induced-therefore making it very difficult to conceive our first child. After about 6 months of no cycle and no explanation from my OB/Gyn, she recommended we see an RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) when we were ready. Not wanting to waste any time and hoping for some sort of explanation, we started seeing our RE in May of 2008. After b/w and ultrasounds, my dr originally thought I had PCOs (due to the poly cystic appearance of my ovaries) but after the results of my blood work, he determined they did not match this diagnosis and diagnosed me with 'hypothalamic amennorhea.' He said this was due to my past history of caloric restriction and extreme exercising. Although I haven't done this in 2 years, he still thinks it may be part of the cause of my amennorea (lack of a period). Before starting with my RE I tried Clomid, Provera and acupuncture for amennorhea and no luck with any of these for getting my cycle started. After starting with an RE, he increased my clomid dosage (with no luck), then we tried injectible medications (Menopur), which finally got my follicles to stimulate, but unfortunately as we slowly increased the dosage, my ovaries stimulated TOO much and the cycle had to be cancelled with my dr recommending our best option in this situation to be IVF. We were hoping we wouldn't have to go this route yet (even though my husband's insurance pays $10,000 for 1 lifetime ivf cycle). So we took a few months off as I tried acupuncture and herbs with a specialized women's clinic as well as took on a 'fertility diet' with mostly organic meats/dairy and produce. Unfortunately after 3 months of this, we were still not making any progress towards starting a cycle, and all my acupuncture benefits were used up, so we've finally come to the conclusion that IVF will be our best option.