Implantation Day.

here's our 2 wittle implanted embryos!!!  yaay!  i did not get a cell count, but i do know they are grade B.  the embryologist also said there were 2 more embryos that had matured enough to freeze.  we'll keep waiting on the others!  i'll keep checking my daily messages my lab leaves me about my left over embryos.

the actual procedure was pretty easy.  they wheeled me in the OR, rolled in the incubator that housed my dish of embryos (clint actually got to see them under the microscope), the dr inserted the catheter inside my uterus, and he inserted the embryo's inside the unterin lining.  the worst part was literally having the full bladder for so long, i didn't think i was going to make it!  now, by Dr's orders, i'm confined to bedrest for 2 days...which should be really nice!!! 

the black blob at the top of the ultrasound picture is my bladder.  the thick white lining underneath is actually where he implanted the embryo's--near the top of my uterus.  i will have blood work done on friday to check my progesterone levels.  then the next friday, i will have blood work to check to see if these little babies are sticking in there for a while!!!
thank you so much for everyone who txt, called, and messaged today--it really means soo much!!!

i will still continue to take the progesterone shots (which are becoming harder because we're giving shots in bruises at this point i think!), and other than that, i'm just waiting....like the rest of you...waiting for the pregnancy test on december 3rd!!!

~~LLC

aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i can NOT believe tomorrow is finally here!  i couldn't hardly concentrate on work today, and i'm sure i won't be able to sleep tonight (and not like the kids on the disney world commercial either!).  i am most definately on the home stretch now.  i have to be there at 10, talk to the embryologist about our decision on how many embryos to implant, lay there on the table with a full/semi full bladder, take a valium (10mg, which will knock me out), and the procedure starts at 11:00.  i hope it will go as smoothly as i've been told it should!

i will still be continuing my shots until i find out if i'm pregnant or not.  if so, i will continue to take the progesterone...and if not, i can discontinue then.  i'm sooo tired of these hormones...have i said that?  ohmygosh.  it's wearing me out, i can only imagine how the people around me must feel!  some days have been good, some days have been bad.  i hope soon enough i can forget this whole process after seeing my baby for the first time.  all this will sooo be worth it. 

i have to be on bed rest for the next 2 days, dr's orders.  i'm kind of looking forward to that!  i will post an update tomorrow as soon as i can...when i get home, or when i'm up from my valium hangover--whichever comes first. 

seems kind of surreal that by this time tomorrow  night, i will actually have a fertilized embryo in my belly  :)

~~LLC

is it day 55 yet?

sore, nauseated, exhausted, grumpy, among other things i won't go into.

***SIGH***

i'm not sure that if this does not work this time that i will want to do this again.

update from dr today:  my eggs look good, and are dividing like they should.  we will continue with a 5 day transfer--on tuesday.  then nothing but bedrest for 2 whole days...i'm actually really looking forward to that.

~~LLC

day 42.

called my voice mail today at my dr's office, to check on the progress after yesterdays egg retrieval, and out of the 23 eggs retrieved, 20 of them were good, and 15 of them are now fertilized!!!  yaaay!!!!  i get to call and check on my wittle baby embryo's every day to check the status of them growning and splitting!!!  i'm so excited beyond words to try to explain what i'm feeling right now!  other than being exhausted from working today (after my ovaries being poked around on yesterday with a suction needle and my progesterone shot), overall i feel really good. 

the IM progesterone shots have actually (so far) gone better than expected.  i just get so worked up over needles.  seriously, you think the fear would start to fade by now, but it hasn't.  maybe it's due to the fact that i was sooo over giving myself shots for the past 2 weeks, or the fact that a sweet dear friend offered to do them for me.  i think it's easier when someone else does the sticking.  (plus i think clint was relieved because he said i would be so much nicer to her than i would be to him, if in fact they hurt as bad as everyone has told me they would!)  WHAT WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!?!? 

so far, so good, but i've only had 2, and i don't have bruises YET.  although i do have to continue these until my pregnancy test date (dec 3rd).  and next week, i may be saying something totally different!  my butt muscle does feel like the day after basketball/baseball conditioning.  not so much like a torn muscle, just really strained.  or sort of like when u go to the gym and you decide to increase your weight, but it ends up being too much, and you don't realize it until the next day.   the actual stick itself feels like an enormous life size bee stinging you in the butt.  :) 

only 2 more weeks!!!  i hope it goes by as fast as the last 3 weeks have!

~~LLC

Day 41. EGG RETRIEVAL!!!

i'm finally home after a long exhausting day in nashville.  i did at least get to sleep in until 6 this morning!  my appointment was at 10, and i had to be there by 9.  they took us back to the surgery center, and started my iv (propofol, versed, & fentanyl).  (can i just say what an awesome staff they have at the nashville fertility clinic?  i've been beyond impressed--they really do cater to you there.)

the nurse came in and explained everything, then so did the dr.--a new one that i haven't met yet in the team of 4 at the clinic.  they came to get clint to take him to retrieve his sample.  then off i went into dream land!  i woke back up around 11/11:30ish. 

the embryologist came in to tell me they retrieved 23 eggs!  wow!  seems like a lot to me, but she said that they see anywhere from 0-60.  and somewhere in the teens and 20's are a perfect number.  they did the ICSI process today, where they insert the sperm inside the egg, and let them do "their thing" in a dish, where over the next few days they will grow, and split.  i also started my IM shots in my hips today...thank goodness someone offered to do these for me who is awesome at her job!   i'm also starting medrol 16mg, and tetracycline 250mg today.  i will return to the office on tuesday for the transfer.  in the mean time, my nurse will be leaving me messages daily about my little embryo  :)  and i will definately keep you updated, and i ask that you all continue to pray!!!  pray for these shots...i know they will get old fast.  pray for my little embryo.  pray for my mommy--i think this process hurts her more than it actually does me!  pray for clint as he has to put up with the raging hormones.  i know whatever the outcome in 2 weeks, i am still blessed beyond belief.

so...they keep you in recovery until you pee good.  lol...except i couldn't!  i did wake up with a LOT of pressure inside.  my pain scale (from 1-10), i was about a 4.5-5.  pressure is still there, but after the pain meds, i'm feeling much better now.  after laying there TRYING TO SLEEP, they kept waking me up to pee, and after i finally went, they let me go!

i had a long bumpy ride home.  but i made it.  i'm home, ready to eat, and go to bed!   thanks to all who txt me, sent me messages, (and my 1 and only phone call--my daddy--to get me all choked up, early this morning to say he was praying for me).  i love you all  :) 

~~LLC

day 40.

alarm 5:00 am.
drive to nashville AGAIN.
bloodwork 8:30 am. 
went over post-op instructions for tomorrow.
drive home.
work.

 DID I MENTION NO SHOTS TODAY???  it's almost like a mini vacay!  ALMOST.  today i'm being debbie downer though. exhausted.  beyond bloated.  annoyed.  nauseated.  feel like a fat hen ready to hatch things--soon.  i'm sooo uncomfortable i can't sit, stand, sleep, or eat like i want to because there's zero room inside of me right now.  i know, i know it's only gonna get worse, but at least then, the it-will-be-worth-it-results will be in effect.  right now...i'm just crabby.

i have to be in the surgery center tomorrow at 9.  valium iv.  count backwards. (la,la,la-la-la la, la,la-la-la la!) egg retrieval at 10.  recovery room around 11. back home.  start another antibiotic, another steriod (as if i don't feel bloated enough), and IM shots of progesterone.  whew.  wears me thinking about it...

...think i need a nap.

~~LLC
|

Day 39.

reporting todays appointment...went back in AGAIN today for more bloodwork and another ultrasound.  kind of sad when i left today knowing i won't see my sweet ultrasound tech until i get preg...NOT REALLY!  today was my last ultrasound!!!  i do have to go back in tomorrow for blood work though, and talk to my ivf nurse about my post-op procedure on thursday. 

tonight, i have to do a trigger shot (ovidrel--used to stimulate ovulation).  two actually.  one subq injection on each side of my belly at exactly 11pm tonight.  then i have to get up at 5 and head on down to nashville.  running on such little sleep lately (after halloween at that!) is hopefully preparing me for staying up at night in about 9 months!

oh, and NO SHOTS TOMORROW!!!  did i mention how excited i am about having a day off from sticking myself?  WOO-HOO!!!!  AAAANNDDD thank you for those of you who prayed over my hot flashes today...it must have worked, b/c i didn't wake up drenched in sweat, nor did i have to turn on my fan at work today!  today WAS a good day!

~~LLC