Transfer Day!!!

Today was the big day! The morning started with a call from Dr H explaining that we would transfer all 3 eggs. One of the embryos was below average and would not have survived the freezing practice. The overall score for our embryos was 2.2 which is average. 1.0 is best. So we came in knowing that we could have triplets or more (6% chance of an egg split). Dr H wanted to make sure we understood what that meant and that we were OK with that possibility. We, of course, are.

Jen had to start drinking 40 oz of water at 7:30 AM to fill up her bladder. She had 1 hour to finish it by check in. The transfer was scheduled for 9:30. She only made it to about 9:05 and we had to tell the staff that it was go time. They got us in just minutes later and started prepping us. Dr H had us sign an agreement saying we were transferring all 3 embryos and showed us a picture of them.



The procedure is done with a catheter guided by an ultrasound. The ultrasound was through the stomach which meant they had to push on Jen's full bladder. She was extremely uncomfortable, but she made it through. They got all 3 embryos in successfully!!! If you look at the next image, you will see a long white line across the middle starting on the left side. That is the catheter. The white blob next it is where the embryos came out....



So now its up to them and God to find a comfortable place to grow. The waiting begins for the pregnancy test. Until then, Jen is on bed rest for 4 days and then we have a blood test on Monday to check her progesterone levels. Hopefully, all attach and we have triplets! Please keep praying for them and us!

Thanks,

D

New Shots...

So I had to give Jen new shots tonight. She got the progesterone and estrogen shots into her back/hip muscles. It was with a much larger needle 1 and 1/2 in. We were both really nervous but it went well. Jen said they didn't hurt! Only 2 more weeks of those left...

Hello teeny embryos!

So it's official! Dr. H just called and we have 3 babies growing away in an incubator! The fourth one fertilized abnormally so it didn't make it. Although we're sad about the fourth one, we are very excited about the other 3. I know I'm not pregnant yet but we already consider these little embryos our children and pray, pray, pray, that they continue to grow. And what's really cute is that my beautiful 2 year old niece Delilah has been saying for almost a year now, that Auntie Jen is going to have 3 babies growing. Not 1, not 2, but she has always said with confidence... 3! Maybe God was trying to tell us something a long time ago. :)
Tonight we will start the other 4 medications. I will be taking tetracycline, methlyprednisolone (which are both pills 4 times a day), and then estradiol valerate and progesterone (which are both shots given by huge needles that go into my lower back muscles). Eeeeeek! I'm a little nervous for those ones but I know Darryl will do a good job. Dr. H also said that if all 3 embryos are growing really good, then they will only put 2 back in me and we will freeze the other one. If the third embryo isn't growing as well, she will put all 3 back. This will most likely take place on Wednesday.
I'm feeling good today but am still supposed to take it easy. I've been reading, watching all my favorite reality shows, and trying to eat pretty good. We've also been praying A LOT! The number of embryos is lower than what our doctor would have liked but we try to see it as God is definitely taking care of our worry about what to do with extra embryos.
Thank you for all of you who kept us in your prayers yesterday and who continue to do so. This experience has definitely been a roller coaster of emotions but it helps so much to know that we have so many people praying for us. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! :)

Prayer Requests: Please pray...
1. that all 3 embryos continue to grow beautifully
2. that God will allow the right amount to be put back in me whether it's two or three (we are leaving this up to him!)
3. that my shots will not be too painful and that Darryl will feel confident in giving them to me
4.that my uterus will develop into the perfect home for the embryos and that they will stick
5. that we will be able to add a baby (babies) to our family within the year :)
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Retrieval Day!

Hey Everyone. It's Darryl. Jen is resting and relaxing from an eventful day for us.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reading and praying for us. It has been pretty overwhelming for both of us to see how supportive you are.

Today's procedure was successful relative to whom you spoke to first. Dr H. harvested 4 perfectly healthy and mature eggs today. That is 4 of 12 that Jen had produced. Jennifer was disappointed at the outcome and was crying when I came in to see her.

Prior to going to the recovery room, Dr H. explained to me that the other eggs were not as developed and were not good candidates for re-implantation later. She thinks that this is from Jennifer's endometriosis. A woman of her age would normally produce many more eggs than she did at the maximum dosage she was at. We also discussed the re-implantation. This will be done on Wednesday morning if the eggs fertilized today. She will be place 2 (possibly 3) embryos back. Dr H. is reluctant to do 3 and be so aggressive on the first round. She does not want a high risk pregnancy for us. Her goal all along is for us to have 1 child, not a litter. The biggest concern would be for the eggs to split (6% chance) or for us to have them at 20 weeks and be disabled. I know we have been joking about having a basketball team (I was saying we should go all out and get 11 so we can field all major sports...). I am really only ordering 2 or maybe 3 max!

When I got to the recovery room, Jen was crying and Dr H. was explaining to her what she had just told me. Jen had wanted as many eggs as possible and was disappointed with the outcome. We both told Jen that we only need 1. She started to feel a little at ease. We stayed for about an hour so that the drugs could wear off. Dr H. will be calling us tomorrow morning to let us know how many fertilized.

I am perfectly happy with where we are right now. It would be nice if everything would just go smoothly for us, but if I have learned anything throughout this process, its never up to us. Its God's decision, and if its our turn, then we have an addition to the family. I personally did not want to have to figure out what to do with any extra embryos. To me, they would be our kids, and I don't know if I could donate or discard any. I don't think Jen could either. So in my opinion we are exactly where we need to be.

On the fun side, Jen was pretty "high" coming out of the procedure. Apparently, she was telling the anesthesiologist to "Get Off!" We aren't sure what she was talking about, but I think she was dreaming about our German Shepherd puppy, Ari, jumping all over her. She also was acting like 10 Second Tom from 50 First Dates asking the same question every 2 minutes or so.

So the plan is now to hopefully get a good call tomorrow morning and have our kids put back into Jen on Wednesday. Jen will have 4 days of bed rest and we have a pregnancy test in a couple weeks. Please keep praying for us and hopefully we have good news soon.

Thanks,

D

Retrieval day is tomorrow!!!!

Sorry this is so late but all I have tonight are prayer requests. Please pray that the egg retrieval goes perfect tomorrow and that they are able to take out all 10-12 eggs (however many there are tomorrow). Pray that the sperm sample is a high number (Darryl normally has no problem in this area....but prayer always helps). Pray that when the sperm and eggs are put together that they grow the way they are supposed to. If they are growing at a good rate, I will only have to be on bed rest for 2 days. If they aren't growing at a good rate, I will have to be on bed rest for 4 days. And last but not least, pray that we continue to trust God and that we are able to add a baby (babies) to our family this year. :) We love you all and thank you so much for your support. xoxo

A quote from a book I'm reading, As Silver Refined, by Kay Arthur
Meekness says, "God if this is what You want, then since You promised me it will work together for good, since You promised that it will make me like Christ, since You promised that by enduring this I won't be ashamed when I see You at Your coming, and since You promised that this endurance gives me a crown to lay at Your feet-then God, if it pleases You, it pleases me.

Thanks Dianne for the book! It's helped a lot! :) xoxo

HCG shot!

Just got a call from our wonderful nurse Michelle and she said our surgery time will be 9:00am on Sunday for the egg retrieval. I need to be there at 8:00am and no eating or drinking anything after midnight the night before. We have to take a Ganirelix shot tonight along with our HCG shot at exactly 10:00pm. We still need to go in tomorrow for a blood test but so far we are on schedule. Today the RN said that my follicles were slow growing but it was worth the wait. I guess that means they look good. :)

Please continue to pray for...
1. Our follicles to grow in number and in size
2. We are able to continue with the retrieval and transfer
3. That this first round of IVF works and we are able to add a baby (babies) to our family within the year
4. And most importantly, that we can continue to trust God

Thank you!!!!!!

Getting close...

We had our daily appointment with Dr. H this morning and although I didn't keep track of how many follicles she measured, it seemed to be more than yesterday. She was talking to me throughout the appointment about different thing so I lost count. :) This might be helpful to me since I tend to obsess over how many I have. We also received our HCG shot today to take home with us. The HCG shot is the trigger shot that will allow my body to ovulate so that my doctor can retrieve the eggs 35 hours later (It's also a drug that some major sports stars have been tested positive for to "UP" their game. I find it pretty interesting that a drug I have to take to ovulate, is the same drug that big manly sports stars are taking too. Weird!) This shot is very important and Darryl has to give it to me at the exact time that the doctor tells us to. She's thinking that we will take the shot on Friday night and Sunday will be the retrieval.

Prayer Requests: Please pray...
1. that my follicles continue to grow in number and size
2. that we are able to continue with the retrieval and the transfer
3. that this first round of IVF works and we are able to add a baby (babies) to our family within the year

I can't express enough how much your prayers mean to us. Thank you thank you thank you!
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