Still here....

My blood test has been moved up to Wednesday.  Stay tuned!

PUPO

There is a saying in the online infertility world:  Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise.  I guess that's how I feel today.  We transferred 2 beautiful, perfect blasts this morning at 9:30.  Now it's up to my uterus to grab and hold on to these babies!  We have 13 just as perfect blasts that will be frozen and 3 more that might develop enough overnight to be frozen as well.

Here are their pictures.  Aren't they cute?

Also, something that's not so cute?  Hyperstimulation!  It has happened again.  It doesn't seem to be quite as bad as last time but they are still keeping an eye on me.  The Dr. said he might need to drain some fluid next week but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.  It's frustrating that this has happened again.  Especially since my e2 numbers (like last time) didn't give us any indication I was at risk.  Just to give you an idea of the amount of fluid that is collecting in my abdomen, I took a picture this morning.  Although I don't have 6 pack abs, my stomach is usually flat.  You can imagine the looks and questions I'm getting from my neighbors.

Our blood test is scheduled for July 4th.  That seems like a really really long time away.  I'll be on bed rest most of the week so I'll try to keep up with the blogging to help pass the time.  That is if I can fit that in with all the tv I plan on watching.

Another Update

Got another call from Mike today.  All 24 are still growing and they are all still at a grade 1.  He sounded completely shocked.  This truly is amazing.  But yet, it still may not work.  That's such a hard thing to grasp when you want to be so hopeful.  But this process has certainly taught us that even if everything looks "perfect", it may not mean a thing.  He said he leaves the babies alone on day 4 so we will not be getting a phone call tomorrow.  The transfer is scheduled for 9am Sunday morning.

So tonight we are thankful.  We will choose to dwell on that.

Second fertilization report

Mike called again today and the report could not have been any better.  We had one more egg fertilize overnight so now we have 24 beautiful babies growing.  He said at this stage he likes to see each embryo have 2-4 cells and all of ours have 4 cells.  Also, he said he gives them "grades" on day 2.  1 is considered perfect, 2 is average and 3 is poor.  All 24 of our babies are 1s, or perfect.  I couldn't have said it better myself.  We will get another report tomorrow.

I'm sure you are all wondering how Brandon did last night and I am happy to report that he surpassed my expectations.  It took me a very long time to get up the nerve to let him do it but I hardly felt a thing.  I'm so thankful since we have many more of those shots ahead of us.

First fertilization report

Just got a phone call from Mike (the embryologist) and one of the nurses.  Of the 28 eggs that were retrieved yesterday, 25 were mature.  And 23 fertilized.  He said we are over-acheivers  - I guess the numbers don't usually look quite this good.  He said with that many to work with, we are almost definitely looking at a 5 day transfer which will be Sunday.

We have 23 babies growing right now.  That's just a little surreal.  Not all of them will make it.  Mike said he would call us tomorrow to let us know how many had passed on and how many were still growing.  But having so many to work with definitely increases our odds to have 2 excellent ones to transfer on Sunday.  Grow, babies, grow!!

Egg Retrieval

Today was the big day!

They called us back to sign some forms and then I was escorted to change while Brandon was taken to the "happy room".  We shared a quick kiss in the hall where he told me "good luck" and I said "go get 'em!".  I changed into the gown and hopped up on the bed.  My doctor was finishing up with the egg retrieval before me so I had several minutes to sit and try to relax.  I was thankful there were no instruments around to stare at.  The anesthesiologist came in to ask me some questions, start my iv and before I knew it we were walking into the procedure room.  The first thing I noticed was the music playing.  How can things not go well with a little Creedence Clearwater Revival in the background?  All the nurses I've encountered at this practice have been great but my favorite one was in there waiting for me.  I love that.  She hugged me and told me how excited she was for us.  A guy popped in from the room next door and said, "Hi!  I'm Mike, the embryologist.  I'll be taking care of your babies!"  I wanted to hug him, too.  He gets major points for calling them "babies" and not embryos - much more personal.  I got all situated and the anesthesiologist hooked up the blood pressure cuff and pulse monitor.  My pulse registered over 100 right away so he gave me a jump start on the good stuff because he thought I must be nervous.  That was nice of him.  Little does he know, a resting pulse of 100 is normal for me.  Once my doctor came in they told me to think of my favorite place and that's the last thing I remember.

I woke up to talk of 28 eggs.  I thought I must still be dreaming.  28 eggs??   I believe the average is 10-15.  Holy cow!  Once they realized I was waking up they came over to tell me the good news.  They also told me that I was quite a chatter box.  I thought they meant when I was coming out of the anesthesia, but no.  Apparently I woke up in the middle of the procedure and started talking.  There's no telling what I told them.  Thank goodness I don't remember any of that.

Besides some cramping I felt pretty good.  I drank some juice, ate some crackers and peed:  the three things they require you to do before they'll let you leave.  Once I was up and dressed they walked me into the conference room where Brandon joined me.  The nurse came in to give us the post-op instructions and to show him how to administer the PIO injection that he'll have to give me nightly.  For at least 3 weeks.  I hope he was paying close attention because I didn't even feel the 1.5 inch needle-in-my-behind when the nurse did it this afternoon.  I'm sore tonight but it's because the oil is so thick.  I'll be sure to give a report tomorrow night on Brandon's attempt.

We left the office and headed to Target to get my 2 prescriptions filled.  One was for my pain today and one was for valium which I'll get to take before the ET.  We got to the pharmacy about 1:30 and there was a big sign saying they were closed until 2.  By now I was feeling really crampy and needed those pills.  We walked around the store very slowly trying to kill some time.  I must have still been a little loopy from the anesthesia because I kept finding things I just had to have.  Along with my prescriptions we brought home 2 water guns, a sprinkler and a Wii game.  Just slightly random.

They said we would get a call tomorrow to let us know how many of our eggs were mature and how many fertilized.  As long as things progress well, our ET will be on Sunday.  I'm finally letting myself get a little excited about all of this.  Which scares me to death.  Even with as well as things are going, nothing is a guarantee.  I guess that's a good life lesson in general, huh?

Cycle Day 9

This is the last night I'll be on this "cocktail" of injections. The first night I had to mix and inject, it took me a good 30 minutes to make sure everything was right. Tonight it was mixed and injected in under 5. Tomorrow is one last ganirelix shot and then the HCG trigger at 11:30. I wish I could say that was the end of the shots. Unfortunately I graduate to bigger and better things after the ER on Tuesday. I refuse to dwell on that tonight; look for a lengthy post on PIO injections next week.