Big News

It has been way too long since I put anything on here. I just didn't feel like there was anything to talk about until now.
The first round of IVF didn't take. That was really hard on both of us. All the shots, pills and hopes seemed dashed. We talked about our options to Dr Mansfield and she agreed that we should wait and try again when we were ready.
The summer was great. We had a long vacation to Vegas and back. It was Doug, me and my mom on a driving trip for almost 2 weeks. We saw a lot of really great things that we wouldn't usually since we always fly.
When we got back from vacation we decided to try the IVF again. We went in for the implant on Nov 30. We went a different route though. More shots. This time progesterone. They have to be IM and so Doug has gotten quite handy with the needle in my bobo.
We went in for the first pregnancy test on December 9. So stressful waiting but then the phone call came and the test was positive. The number was 187. They wanted us to come back on Sun to take another to make sure that the numbers were increasing. They were into the 300.
We went in on Dec 27 for our first sonogram with Dr Mansfield. So scared. She said the baby was doing fine and the heartbeat was looking great. We go in on Jan 10 for our next.

Only 5 more weeks and we make it past the first trimester. Fingers crossed that all is well.

Follow up

It's been awhile since I have been on here. A lot has happened and not happened at the same time. We went in for the implant on March 16. Everything went well. That evening, at about 11:30 we ended up having to take Wally to the animal emergency clinic. He was really bad off and we had to put him down. It was so horrible. The only consolation is that he hadn't really been Wally for about a year. He was so weak. Next, we had the pregnancy test on March 25. It came back negative. We were crushed. All that work and nothing. We did go in and talk to our Dr a week later and we have other alternatives that we can pursue. Capstone is over. We gave our presentation on Saturday April 16 and we rocked it. So glad that was over. So much stress and headache for a company that we found would not be profitable with the resources we have. That's ok. Its over and I only have one more class then it's Graduation time. Still waiting on announcements and cap and gown to get here.

The big day

This was the day that we have been working on for a month. The shots, pills, blood draws and sonongrams all led up to this. We had our implantation. We went in last fri to retrieve the eggs and it has been very stressful waiting for today. Would the eggs make it, would they get to the cell amount that they needed to? All 4 of them reproduced and so we took the 3 best to put back in. Now it's just a waiting game to see how they handle being put back in. We do a pregnancy test next fri and at that point we know if we are moving ahead.
My mom and Doug both went and were very excited as well about the whole process. Mom from both the clinical and the fact that her daughter may finally get pregnant.
We met Stacey for lunch afterwards at Red Robin and then I came home and crawled back into bed until I couldn't stand it anymore.

One more shot

The time has finally arrived. We go in Fri for the retrieval. Yeah. We had our final sonogram this morning and some of the follicles have finally gotten to where they are supposed to be. Some of the others are showing potential growth as well, so we will have to wait and see what the dr finds.
My last shot is the HCG. I have to do that at 8:30 tonite and then start taking lots of pills for infection and swelling.

Numbers

Good news from the Dr. My E2 has gone up to where it is suppposed to be. It started at 83.5. should have been closer to 100, then to 138, then exploded to 331 and the call today told me it is 790. The number should have been 800 today for what they expect and it is almost there. I just start slow and then boom. Also at the sono today we saw 7 follicles. Good but could be better. I have to go into get another set of blood work and another sono tomorrow morning and we will see what day my retrieval will be. The nurse today said probably on fri but we will wait and see. Yeah. The shots aren't too bad but I am so bruised and sick of giving them everyday. My mom said to just remember this stuff and if we do get pregnant and are blessed with a child then we can hold this over their head forever.
Went to the graduation extravanza today on campus. They have all of the information correct so I am set for Fri. May 13 at 2 pm. That is if everything goes well in classes. Yeah. What a great year this has been so far.

Update

Well it's supposedly a week until retrieval. According to our initial calendar we are set for Thur March 10. I just hope that my body has done what it is supposed to do. I have gone for 2 sets of bloodwork and one sonogram. The first bloodwork came back 83.5, they like to see 100. This upset me a little. When I went in for the sonogram, I expected to see follicles popping up but there were only a few and they were faint. The blood work came back 138, so I am climbing, I just hope enough. We go in for another set of blood work and sono tomorrow. We will see what is happening then.
On another very exciting note, I got an email from Phi Kappa Phi. Because I have rocked in grad school and kept a 4.0 to this point I have been invited to join. Only the top 10% of grad school get in. How cool is that? First I was invited to join Golden Key because of grades and now this. I am going to get to wear cords to graduation. I am going to look good.
Graduation has been set. It will be Fri May 13 at 2pm. Yea. Not too far down the road. Next monday I have to go to the graduation extravaganza to check and make sure diploma details are right and to order my cap and gown. It's so close.

More shots

I had my second sonogram and bloodwork done on Fri. Everything is looking good at this time so now I am giving myself 3 shots each evening instead of just the one. They were too bad. The only difference is that they have a thicker constitency and there is more to give so they take a little more time. They have the same needle size so there is still little to no pain when I inject.
I have to go in on Tues, Thur, Sat, and then again next Mon to check the level and have more sonograms. If the results look good on all of those then we do the extraction on the 10th and then 5 days later we go back in for the insertion. Then we just wait for the pregnancy test. Fingers crossed.

First shot

Last night I did my first of many shots. The Lupron. This one is supposed to completely shut down any activity in my girly parts. Basically they told me it would put me into a menopause like state. The girls at work still can't wait for the hot flashes and other things that might come along with it. We will see.
Doug asked me if I wanted him to do it and I said no, I need to learn this. I went to insert the needle and felt nothing. Yeah. It was a little sore after but not during and that is the important thing. I don't dread this part now. There are some other needles in the box that look a little scarier and I already told my mom I am having her do those.

Phase 2 Meeting

We met with Dr Mansfield today to do the first of many sonograms. The worst part about this one was that I had to have a full bladder. A very full bladder. To the point of almost wetting myself. The point was to have the bladder full so it pushed down on the uterus. They had to do a mock transfer. This involved measuring where in the uterus they would place the eggs when it came time to do the actual transfer.

The sonogram also showed no cysts or other abnormalities that would be an issue. Yeah.

They gave me my medication calendar. I start the shots tomorrow. At first it is just one, but then it picks up to 3 different medications that I will be self administering. It also showed that the possible retrieval could be on March 10 and then 5 days later I would do the embryo transfer.

It begins

Well, we have the Phase 2 meeting with Dr. Mansfield next tues at 10:45. I ordered all of the meds today that have to come from the specialty pharmacy. We have to have all of these with us at the appointment to make sure that we have everything and that we understand how they will work. We will also get our calendar which will lay out the days that we start certain meds and the days we will do the retreival and implantation. As Doug says, this will make it concrete now that we know what we will do and when.
It is starting to get a little stressful for me. Will it work? Will I be able to do the shots? What will happen? I know this is done everyday by thousands of people but now it's me.