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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

1 day past retrieval....

1 day past retrieval....
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
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Went to work.
Felt pretty good minus a few twinges here and there and some light cramping.

Got my fert report.

Out of 11 eggs, 4 were mature and all 4 fertilized with ICSI.

3 day transfer is scheduled for Thursday 7.9.15

A little sad. I was hope a few more would fertilize.

Definitely overdid it at work. Came home uncomfortable and exhausted. I went to sleep at 6:45 p.m.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Egg Retrieval

Egg Retrieval
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
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Monday July 6, 2015
Reported to the RE's office OR @ 8:00 a.m. to check in.
Once they went over all the details and instructions for the next few days, they sent DH on his way to their 3rd floor which is where the "man rooms" are. 
They took me to the waiting/recovery rooms and put me in bed #2.
They took my vitals. BP and temp were good. Pulse was 100+. Nervous, much? YES.
They had me change in to a gown (thankfully they had the ones NOT for skinny people)
and then they did THIS to me...
Just as they finished that, DH came back with his tiny brown paper bag of man stuff.
The anesthesiologist came to meet me and ask a bunch of questions. He asked if I wanted an "appetizer" to calm my nerves while I waited. I said YES. DH did as well but his request was denied.
Nurse told me to go to the bathroom, when I came out my bed was gone. 
Another nurse told me to head to the back, apparently we were starting early. 
They took me in to what I had once heard being called the most intimidating room ever. Truth.
Laid me down. Put my legs up in these leg holder things and covered every inch of my bottom half with sterile blue OR paper stuff with the exception of my lady bits.
Met the Dr. who I had only previously met while also in this compromising position while he was doing my SIS. I mentioned this. We laughed. Good times. 
I remember the anesthesiologist giving me the part of my meds he called "the stuff that's gonna make you not care about anything" and I immediately got sleepy and a little loopy.
I remember the embryo lab guy coming in and asking me if I was me.
I remember them calling out the details of the procedure...name, date, time and what they were doing
I remember looking over to the anesthesiologist, wondering if the anesthesia that was going to put me to sleep looked like the while milky stuff I've always seen on tv. I was pleasantly surprise to see that it did.
Last thing I remember was his asking me if it burned, I said No and that was it.....

Next thing I knew it was about 30 minutes later and I was back in my little "room" someone had taken my hair net off and fixed my hair and  DH had a big smile and was waiting for me. 
The doctor has already come in and told him they retrieved 11 eggs.
I was a little disappointed but it was about what I expected base on my E2.

Anesthesiologist came back and asked how my pain was, I said about a 4. He gave me a tiny dose of meds and that helped.

We stayed there for about 30-45 minutes and we were sent on our way.
I spent the rest of the day in bed crampy and in a little pain but overall okay.


Sunday, July 5, 2015

ER in less than 12 hours....

ER in less than 12 hours....
Sunday, July 5, 2015
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Well tomorrow is the day.

Tomorrow we find out how well the meds really worked

Tomorrow at 8am I report to the OR and ER is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.

This morning I had a post trigger E2 check and they also checked to make sure the HCG took.

My E2 yesterday was over 1300 and today it was 2,270.
They didn't give me the hcg but I didn't expect them to.

Since I can't lotion or perfume before going I showered and motioned tonight.
I also blow dried my hair since that always helps me feel "normal" and "together"

I wish I could take a sleeping pill.
I have no idea how I'm ever getting to sleep tonight .

I'll updated again tomorrow night.
Saturday, July 4, 2015

Tonight we trigger.....

Tonight we trigger.....
Saturday, July 4, 2015
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So many emotions right now that I'm not entirely sure how to sift thru them all.

I'm nervous:
I've ever been under anesthesia before. I'm only slightly freaking out about this.
We've been doing shots all week but this HCG shot is a big deal. It has to be done perfectly.

I'm pleasantly surprised:
That it only took 10 days of meds. That my body responded well and that I have 17 total measurable follies. I was not sure what to expect but this definitely surpassed any expectations I might have had.

For a recap, today's u/s showed

8 Follies on the Right:
19.1, 18.2, 17.8 16.7, 15.3 14.6, 13.4, 12.2

9 Follies on the Left:
20.6, 19.4, 19.2, 17.3, 16.6, 14.3, 14.3, 14.1, 13.8

Lining was 10.5 and my Estradiol was over 1300. 

I'm sad:
My doctor is not performing my ER. :( This actually makes me incredibly sad. I was really hoping that trigger would be tomorrow instead of tonight because I know on Tuesday's she's in the OR. But no such luck. I did email her (because I'm crazy) to ask if there was any possibility that she would be around this week for either the retrieval or the transfer. The last time a procedure worked she performed it and it's when I got pregnant with my son in 2009.
So sad.
I'm sad that my Mom isn't here. I know she's with me in spirit as is my Dad but I miss her. I wish I could call her and talk to her about all these feelings.

I'm excited:
If this works, I'll finally be pregnant again! Something that I've been wishing for and dreaming about since about a year after my boy was born. I've tried to not let me mind wander and get excited too much but sometimes I let it just to get out of the following feeling. Thinking about our new baby, if it's a boy or girl. What we would name him/her. What he/she would look like. How excited J would be to be a big brother.

I'm terrified:
What if this doesn't work? How will I recover? Will we end up with embies to freeze? So much unknown. SO much at stake. This is by far one of the scariest things I've ever done. This feeling by far overcomes them all. Sometimes it's not so bad. Sometimes it feels like a necessary feeling, but it's still so overwhelming.

All that being said, tonight is trigger.  Tomorrow morning we need to go to the office again for blood work. They'll be checking my estrogen again and making sure the HCG got in there properly.
We decided to rent a hotel room up near the office so we wouldn't have to come all the way home and then head back Monday morning for the ER.
So if you're reading this blog and you have any prayers or good vibes to spare, I would greatly appreciate them.



Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Here we are, 7 days of stims later.....

Here we are, 7 days of stims later.....
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
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This is going to be a quick update just to show where we are as of yesterday after 6 days of stims. 
The numbers in the parentheses are the sizes of my follies thus far. I have 7 on the right and 9 on the left.
My E2 came back at 280 which I'm disappointed about but I'm hoping that it will improve.
They increased my Follistim to 225iu for last night and tonight. My next check is tomorrow morning when they'll also do my pre-op appt.
Hoping for some better numbers. 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

On the second day of stims, my true love gave to me

On the second day of stims, my true love gave to me
Thursday, June 25, 2015
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a Menopur shot in my tushie!

Well today is Day 2 on stims.

Apparently, I was a little confused with the process when I had my consult because some things changed yesterday.

I went in as planned for my baseline at 7:45a.m. yesterday. It was one of those AWESOME days where I was the first one there so I went right in for bloodwork from there went directly to u/s. FTW!
After that we had to wait about 10 minutes for the nurse to review the u/s and meet with us. She told me that I would be starting stims that night (vs. Sunday like I originally thought). Also, the shots would be all at one in the evening vs. one in the A.M. and one in the P.M. Lastly, the Menopur would be done as an intramuscular shot vs. a sub-q. It was a lot to take in but after many questions. I finally got it all figured out. I still had to wait to hear that my E2 was low enough to start and finally found out around 4:00 p.m. that it was. It was 11.
So fast forward to the evening.....I mixed the Menopur which I was most nervous about and got it all ready for DH. The Follistim was easy since I've taken it so many times before. Overall, they weren't too bad. My butt was a tiny bit sore after that shot but it was better after a few minutes.
I have had a nasty headache since last night so that sucks but it could be a lot worse.
Tonight was Day 2 and it was a little easier. I'm ure by Day 4 I'll be a pro.
Speaking of Day 4, that's when I go in for my Follie check and bloodwork. Saturday morning. 
I'm hoping I've made some progress and that I'm actually responding to the meds. 

The nerves are starting to set in. I'm trying my hardest not to over think but there's always that small part of me that can't help but get excited at the idea of this FINALLY working. The part of me that hopes that all those people that keep saying they think this is what will finally do the trick are right. 

I'll be back on Sunday with an update!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

8 days til Baseline, 12 Days till stims.....

8 days til Baseline, 12 Days till stims.....
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
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Well, all the meds are here, I'm finishing up my last few days of BCPs and my Baseline appt. is scheduled for Wednesday the 24th at 7:45 am.

I still cannot believe i'm actually doing this.....that WE are actually doing this. Granted, I'm doing the majority of the work but considering my husband will be administering 90% of my medications and putting up with my crazy hormonal ass, I think he deserves to be included.

This process has been a bit emotional for me and I can only imagine that its going to get worse. I'm going to dump all of my depressing stories on here right now so if you don't want to listen to all my woe is me complaining, please do you self a favor and come back another time.

In 2012, I lost my Mom. My mom is actually my grandmother who raised me. Those who know me well know that I call my grandmother my Mom and that lady who gave birth to me my "Mother",
Anyway, I lost my Mom to cancer back in January 2012. When we were doing all the doctors appointments and such back in 2009 she was great to talk to about everything. We had a cancelled cycle and then another before we were finally able to start and she was always there to listen. She may not have always understood what I was explaining but that didn't matter.
A little back story, one of the main reasons I wanted to hurry up and have kids was because of her. I wanted to make sure that my babies got to meet her. Sadly it did not happen as quickly as I wanted and as cruel fate would have it, she got sick right around the time J was born and was diagnosed 2 months later. She passed away when he was 18 months old.

In July 2014, my mother passed away. She battled with drugs her whole life. She was in prison for a few years from the time I was a toddler till I was in Kindergarten, had a few good years, gave me 2 brothers and then began her downward spiral all over again. At the time of her passing I had not spoken to her in almost a year. Not because of me but because she basically disappeared. When J was born I made a promise to myself to allow her to be a part of his life if she wanted. So long as she never messed it up by showing up intoxicated somehow or by hurting him in any way. My brothers and I were never enough for her to fix herself and apparently neither was her grandson.
She ended up overdosing on heroin and died July 11th. This was hard for me in a lot of way I never imagined it would be. I mourned not so much her death but the relationship we never had. I wonder if I will ever stop being bitter about not having a mother.
I'm not hopeful.

A about a month before my Mom died in 2012, my Dad (actually my grandfather) found out his prostate cancer has returned. He fought for almost 3 years and I lost him on August 7th, 2014. This was a little less than a month after losing my mother (his daughter).
The passing of my Dad while still hard because he was such a light in not only my life but everyone else's, was a little easier to swallow than losing my Mom.
My Dad was tired. He found a long hard road and when I got to see him the last few days he was on this earth I saw him fade away. He was done and I was okay to let him go. He needed to be with my Mom. We would all be okay. It would all be okay.

This is what I told myself. I would be okay.

The reality, is almost true.

I'm a lucky girl. I have a wonderful husband. He drives me crazy a good portion of the time but I love him more than he knows and I am thankful and blessed for the life we have together and the beautiful boy we made.

I struggle with the happy adult side and my inner child who just wants her Mommy  & Daddy.

I knew that eventually, one day, I would lose my parents. I just didn't think it would be this soon. Especially when this part of my life, the part where I finally became a parent just got started.

I miss them. One of my biggest fears about this cycle and God willing having another baby, is not having them. Not having them to call whenever any of the kids* does something new or awesome. Not having my Dad call me and give me endless amount of child rearing information that he heard on TV or read in a magazine/newspaper which made me laugh hysterically every time because it was never anything truly useful. My Mom, who no matter how old I got still always made me feel like I was her baby, her voice was always the most soothing sound and 3 years later I still always want to call her to tell her things. There are moments that for a split second I forget that I can't.
Those moment while so very brief are so incredibly painful.

I try to imagine going thru all of this without her and it's hard.
Aside from my husband, I really don't have anyone else. My brothers are pretty much absent, they're in their early 20's so I guess I shouldn't expect much from them. My aunt is probably my closest "replacement" but she has a demanding job, a daughter of her own and my brother's live with her so she has her hands full. I only really talk to her about once a week IF that.
My best friend, if I can even really call her that any more filled up her house with babies and she's pretty much disappeared as well.
At the end of the day I'm really just grasping at straws because none of them are ever going to be a "replacement" for her.

So there it is.

It's a process, a struggle, in more ways than one but I'm going to make the best of it. I'm going to pray harder than ever and have faith that this will work.
I never imagined only having one child and I want my son to grow up with a sibling
I want him to have a best friend to grow up with & share secrets with.
So he is never left alone and will have someone that will be there for him when my husband and I are no longer on this earth.

Yes, he is healthy and happy and we are blessed to have him. But I'm not ready to give up on this dream yet. I'm not ready to let it go.
I will keep fighting until I have no fight left if it means making this possible.




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