I wanted to write an update about our Christmas and how thankful we are by the birth of Jesus. I know that this blog is focused on us having a baby, but our lives would be nothing without the birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago.
Here's an update after our egg retrival....
Over the weekend we had lost a couple of the embryos, which is normal. She also had a grading system for them and they were looking good. On Monday, she called to say that the craziest thing had happened. One of the embryos was in the shape of a heart. She said she's only seen it a couple times and sent me a picture. It instantly brought tears to my eyes. It was like God has already filled these embryos with love.
The next day we were scheduled to go in at 9:15. This time I was allowed to eat, but I had to arrive with a full bladder. I had started taking progesterone 3 times a day over the weekend and on Monday night, I was feeling major dizziness from it. My body wasn't use to that dosage and I woke up Tuesday morning with a very swimmy head still. I hadn't been nervous until that morning and the feeling just freaked me out.
As we drove to Lexington, I would hear my phone go off with text messages from well wishers, but I didn't want to even bend over to check them. I kept counting down the minutes until we were back home and this process was over with. I hated the extreme nervousness I was experiencing the past couple weeks.
They get us into a room to get me prepped. We have to wait a few minutes and I'm just so nervous. I want to get this over with. Our doctor comes in the room to talk with us. He's so great explaining everything and being super professional.
We had been debating between 2 or 3 embryos to transfer. And up to that point, we really hadn't made a decision. With 2, our chances of twins was 15%. We honestly were ok with twins and were hoping to increase those chances. With 3, a chance of twins went up to about 40% with triplets being 10%. We wanted to defer to the doctor and as much as we were ok with twins, we were very against triplets. There are too many risks going in that direction.
The doctor told us that our embryos were even more advanced than where they should be. The embryologist had picked the best 2 embryos for us. They both recommended just those two. The doctor said that with the way these looked we were looking at about a 70% chance of success. I took a quick look at Mike and we were both thrilled with that number. He said because we were family he would even say it could even be a 90% chance...something he wouldn't say to another patient. This was great news! However, that 10% was huge. We are very use to bad news, so 10% meant a lot.
We went into the operating room and it took no more than 10 minutes to complete the process. I had my husband at my side holding my hand.
The drive home was very exciting. We felt good about everything and we were told we could find out the results in 8 days. Normally it would have been 9, but it fell on Thanksgiving and they were going to let us test a day early. We would get to stay in Louisville and just go to a local hospital to do a blood test. It seemed so quick. We were definitely use to the waiting, but it would give us time to pray and trust in God.
I'm trying hard to keep posts coming...too many distractions to sit down and type out everything. Here's the next installment...
I woke up I believe to the nurse saying something to me. I realize that Mike's in the room, but then I fall back asleep. I wake up and talk to him a bit, but then back to sleep, and then awake and asleep. He tells me this goes on for over an hour. My doctor comes in to give us an update and we find out that they were able to get 14 eggs!! The nurse gives us directions for drugs to take. I wasn't feeling great, but it was mainly just feeling completely out of it. I finally am feeling up to getting dressed and Mike helps me do that. I need a break between each step. After a few minutes, I'm able to get up and we leave and head home.
I actually don't feel bad at all. We get home and I plant myself on the couch for the rest of the day. I only took one small nap, but just felt super tired. I didn't even need to take any more of the pain killers. Mike definitely took great care of me by making me dinner and hanging out with me.
We are also so thankful for all the messages, the flowers, the dinners, and the prayers from our loved ones.
By the next day I was feeling completely normal, but a bit bloated still. We would be getting daily calls from our embryologist. Our call that morning, she told us of the 14 eggs, there were 3 that just weren't very good. And off the remaining 11, they were able to fertilize all of them! This was great news! We would know the next day when we would need to come in for the transfer.
The next day we got the call that all embryos were still doing good and that we would do the transfer the following Tuesday. We were excited to have the weekend to relax (plus we had scored suite tickets to the Cincinnati Bengals game the next day).
I was definitely getting tired of all the drugs. We started another one that day. Some were once a day, some were twice, and one was 3 times a day. Plus some couldn't be taken with food and some did. It was all so confusing, but I think I got it all right.
I didn't know what our future held, but I was so thankful that all of this was possible. I know some religions have objections to IVF, but I was so thankful that it was going so smoothly, that we found a way to finance it, and that the success rates were higher than anything we've done before.
I then had the dilemma of being hopeful. I wanted to think that this would all work and we'd have a baby in 9 months, but yet, we're so use to getting bad news. And I know several women that have failed with IVF, so why should it work this one time for us?
I just kept praying and thanking God. I knew He had something big planned for us.
Our last ultrasound/blood draw appointment was on Monday, November 11. The doctor liked the look of everything. He said everything looked good, but maybe too good. I was in risk of hyperstimulation, which could make me really sick. So he added a new drug for me to take for that. He knew we were close to being ready for the retrieval, but would see how the blood work results were.
Our call that afternoon said we would be ready for Thursday the 14th. We would need to be there at 10:15 and they gave me the long list of instructions. I couldn't eat anything after midnight the night prior, no lotions or perfumes, and what to bring with me. We were also told to do our trigger shot Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at 12:15am. And we could quit our other injectibles on Monday night.
We were both excited. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but then nerves were setting in. We were getting close.
We knew we wouldn't be able to stay awake past midnight so I set an alarm on my phone. We both feel asleep on the couch and got up to take care of business. We really struggled with the shot. You have to mix two vials and then get the exact amount. It was taking us time and we were worried because this is a timed drug and there was a reason we had a specific time to take it. Luckily we got about 3/4 of the dosage we were to take and went to bed concerned. I was trying not to cry. I just don't want anything to go wrong that we can help.
I called the nurse the next morning and she said we were all good. What a relief! But that day before the surgery, I was so nervous. It's all I could think about. I kept thinking about all the papers we had to sign about how this could fail and even result in death. I wasn't worried about dying, but I just wanted everything to be ok. This was definitely a BIG deal and it was hard not to worry.
We had let our friends and family know what was going on and when and we knew we had lots of prayers. It really meant a lot to us and helped to calm us down.
I was able to get a good night's sleep, but still woke up earlier than I needed to. I watched some Seinfeld on the DVR to occupy my mind. It really was a mental game of trying to get myself to relax. I didn't want to be stressed to complicate anything.
Once we made the drive to Lexington, it didn't take too long to get things started. Supportive text messages started popping up from the amazing people in our lives. We went into the post-op room and I got into a hospital gown and the nurse had me take pain killers that should kick in by the time the surgery was over and then she started the IV. The doctor and anesthesiologist both came in to discuss what was going on.
A moment when we were alone, Mike asked if I wanted him to pray. I quickly said no. I just didn't want to start crying or get even more nervous. We've both been praying like crazy the past couple weeks, so I know God was with us.
The nurse came to get us. I went in to the surgery room and she directed Mike into the 'collection' room to do his part. As I got up on the table, there were tons of people in the room, but they were all friendly faces that I had meet before. The anesthesiologist quickly went to work and I would guess he had me out in about 60 seconds.
I know we're way behind on updating our IVF journey...it may take a few posts to fill everyone in....
I have to first say that I'm in awe of any couple that go through the IVF process. Wow! What is does to your body and emotions!
The first week of the injections weren't so bad. I pretty much continued with my same routine and even kept up with workouts, but just proceeding with caution. I was told that by day 5 of the injections that I shouldn't do any type of workout (or even movements) involving bouncing. The goal of the drugs are to stimulate the ovaries to produce lots of eggs, so I could feel some bloating and discomfort going on. By the first weekend, I walked slowly up and down the starts to avoid overstimulation which could even rupture the ovaries and cause me to lose one. I'm sure this is rare, but I didn't want to take any chances.
For the most part, I just was super tired and having a lot of abdominal pain. A couple major hot flashes popped up too. I was also trying to eat better and just do what I could to remain normal and not think about what was coming up.
For the first week, we had an ultra sound and blood work on Monday and then again on Friday. Everything was proceeding as expected and we were to go back the following Monday for the same drill. After each appointment, we'd get to call to let us know how the blood work came back and how or if we need to adjust our dosage of the shots.
I was so impressed with my husband, who took charge of all the drugs. He measured the dosages and had a system going with our mini-pharmacy. Our nightly routine just wasn't fun. We'd hang out and then he'd get the shots ready for me and then I'd have to make sure I was taking the right pills on top of it.
I know I just wasn't feeling myself and we were both stressed thinking about the upcoming egg retrieval.
Several months ago we had started talks of how our church needed a couples support group for infertility. We're both comfortable as leaders and sharing our story, so we met with a member of our church staff to talk about it. We both procrastinated on getting it started and finally in the fall, we realized that we needed to get going.
The first meeting was to be in November. We designated the 2nd Monday of the month. The first meeting fell during our IVF process. There were only two couples besides us that showed up, but it went really well. We all had different and interesting stories. Every infertile person I have met has the same goal in mind, growing their family, but the adventure it takes them to get to that point is always so different.
I know God called us to go through this journey for a reason. I'll never fully understand why, but I appreciate that He knew I could handle it enough to never lose faith in Him and never give up on my dreams.
