A year since we started IVF
It is so hard to believe that 1 year ago we were prepping for our egg retrieval. My last cycle was Jan 25th and then the shots began! We did our egg retrieval on Feb 15th, 22 eggs were retrieved and 5 days later we transferred 1 beautiful, perfect embryo. 10 of our eggs fertilized and 7 made it to a day 5 blastocyst stage. We almost transferred 2 embryos and more than likely if we would have, we would have twins right now. Then, we found out we were pregnant! It has been the hardest, most amazing journey that we have ever experienced and we are so much more grateful for our baby girl and eachother because of it. The progesterone shots were so extremely painful and the emotional journey was exhausting, but Thank you God, we now have the most adorable, sweet baby girl!
I know we will have to experience a large part of this journey again for #2 and we are excited about that, because we know together we can get through anything. We pray that our FET journey (when we decide to begin) will be just as successful!
2012 is almost here!
It is almost time to ring in the new year and while I am a little sad to see 2011 go, I am looking forward to what 2012 has in store for us. 2011 has not been all roses and rainbows, it started out rocky with our dog needing some very expensive surgeries, then the pain and cost of the IVF, but it was all worth it in the end. I spent most of the year pregnant and on October 28th we welcomed our beautiful little princess into this world. We are so very blessed and this will definitely be a year we will never forget. Now- cheers to the year that is almost behind us and to the one we are about to begin! Let’s make the best of 2012. God Bless!
28 wks- Growth ultrasound and 1 hr glucose test today!
Today is our 28 week appt. and it is not only our growth ultrasound to check on Gianna’s weight and size, but also my 1 hour glucose test.
Just ate- 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 1 pc of wheat toast ….booo, no bagel and iced mocha this morning 
Appt time= 1:30 and after that dinner- CARBS!!! Ahhh!
Dear my little Orange,
You are getting so big, and so am I, LOL!! This weekend your daddy and I went for our 1st 3d ultrasound and it was amazing. You were moving around and kicking me like crazy- although, I can’t feel it yet. Everytime we get the opportunity to see you I feel so thankful. We found out what you are and I am super excited. We are revealing to the whole family and our best friends on Saturday at dinner, it should be lots of fun! Continue reading
We are having a baby!!!
2/23/11
OMG, we are pregnant! 4 weeks!! Wow, this has been such a whirlwind. I cheated and took some tests on my own during my 2 week wait. The first was negative, but it was too soon and I knew that. The next 3 were positive!! Although it was not 100%, I was so overwhelmed with excitement. Went to the doctor and took my blood test on Tuesday morning & waited all day for them to call. Then, I missed their call b/c I was in a meeting and when I got out, they were closed. BUMMER!! I listened to Dr.’s message like 5 times to see if his voice sounded happy or sad, haha. This morning I called at 8 am sharp and they said it was definitely a positive!! OMG, HOORAY! I still can’t quite believe it. I am so excited, but so worried. I don’t want anything to go wrong over the next few weeks. Tomorrow I go in again to make sure my HCG is doubling. If it is, that is a good sign, if not, that is bad. Then, next week I will go 1 more time for the usual blood work, then a week from that….heartbeat time! Oh my geez, I can hardly wait. Although our baby is currently only the size of a grain of sand, I love him or her soooo much!
Oh, and predictions on the sex are already coming in. Mom, Allan and Dubi all say boy. We shall see.
IVF Post- 2/14/11
2/14/11
So this past weekend started with us watching this horrible dateline special about a woman who had IVF and was given the wrong embryo’s and got pregnant! This was the worst timing considering our transfer was Saturday morning. I had nightmares all night even though I knew this was not going to happen to us, it was just awful to think about it. Saturday morning we woke up early and started with breakfast and lots and lots of water as I was told to drink 50 oz. starting about an hour before my appointment. By this point Allan and I had pretty much decided we would transfer 2 embryos. We arrive at the doc and they call our name. We got back into the ultrasound room and see a picture on the screen of 1 of our embryos, how exciting!! After they scan my bladder to make sure it is full, we talk to the doctor and the embryologist and they convince us to do 1. So here we go, they begin and I feel extremely shaky. I am so emotional and nervous and excited that I take a couple deep breaths and pull myself together. Allan watches the whole thing on the ultrasound screen and then a couple minutes later it’s over and they begin the 5 minute timer. “ok, time’s up, you can go pee and get dressed now”…wow, all I could think is really, that’s it. Then, we get our discharge instructions, our 10 day blood work appt and we go home with our picture of our baby! Now, it’s the waiting game. All weekend I had to rest, now today I am back to work. I forgot my badge again this morning and just thinking oh great another week like this. I am just less and less myself each day. My mind and body have been taken over by this whole experience. Now, I just wait as I am very nervous, very excited and just plain scared.
Scared for many re Continue reading
Next series of IVF Posts…
1/25/11
So finally, 16 days into Lupron I started my cycle yesterday. This morning was my first ultrasound and blood test. They wanted to make sure I had no ovarian cyst before we started the stimulating shots. Everything seemed to look good and we are scheduled to start Thursday night. Now, it is going to be about 1 month until we find out if we are pregnant- very exciting and very scary!! I so hope it works. Continue reading
1/19/11 IVF Post
So this morning was our 12th day on the lupron injections. I must say I am doing pretty good with them, a lot better
than I expected. I still have a lot of anxiety and am extremely nervous, but excited too. I thought we would have started our Gonal F injections already, but still waiting to start my cycle. So far my side effects have been some bloating, cramps in my lower abdomen which are very sharp, headaches and feeling tired. I am planning to stop all caffeine once I start the Gonal F shots. I just don’t want to have any regrets. My husband has been great; he wakes up, gets everything ready, ices my tummy and gives me my shots every morning. My hormones are crazy, I cried during an episode of Hawaii 5-0 the other day…haha. I can’t wait to start my cycle so that we can have our schedule somewhat verified. Once I start, I schedule my daily blood tests and ultra sounds and have an idea of the retrieval, insertion and pregnancy test. I don’t want twins, but the part that makes me the most nervous is the doctor only inserting 1 embryo. I haven’t heard of anyone with only 1 that was successful, but I am hoping and praying for the best.
3rd Post from IVF Journal- 1/6/11
So, 3 days until we start the shots and we have yet to receive them. After about 15 phone calls to the mail order pharmacy’s and the nurse to get all the prescriptions straightened out, I think we are almost there and looks like we SHOULD be ok and receive everything sent over night on time. I have to sign for most of the medication, so having it sent to work, hope it is not obvious that a huge package of needles is coming to me, lol. I cannot believe that we are starting this process so soon. I am super excited, but still scared as hell. The financial, emotional and physical stress you go through for this process is something no one could ever understand until you do it. People think it is a couple thousand dollars, a couple shots and wham you are pregnant….WRONG! Continue reading
2nd post from IVF Journal- 1/3/2011
Wow! In less than a week, Saturday the 9th to be exact, we will be starting our IVF process officially- meaning I will be getting shots daily from my nurse, also known as my husband. Last week we took the hour long training and did the test run to make sure the doctor was able to easily insert the embryo. Everything went well, but to say my nerves are starting to get to me would be an understatement. I am trying to act brave and be strong, but I keep crying and just feel so emotional. I don’t know if it is going to get easier or harder once we actually get started on this very strict schedule, but I am ready to get that first shot over with. It has been a struggle, we have spent thousands on our dog, who we just found out needed a 3rd surgery. We had a bird fall out of the sky and hit our car on NYE and I am just trying my hardest to not get sick. They say not to stress during the process, so I am trying to tie up all these lose ends and relax, but I think it is impossible to really relax fully during this. My husband is the best, he is doing what he can to make me feel better and I know at times I am an emotional roller coaster, but I know he is there and he is going to be a great nurse. I am scared as hell, but trying to keep my eye on the prize.