Let The Baby Making Commence :)

Today I went in hoping for a much better experience than Tuesday had brought.  After 3 Ganirelix injections and receiving another period( from stopping the birth control) I felt as though something must be going on in my body, and I was right!


Giving myself my unplanned injections....

Todays Update:

My uterine lining went from 10 to 3 (which is great news).

Today she could locate and measure both ovaries...woohoo!!  I Have about 6-10 in each ovary at this point.  Once I start stimms I will probably show even more!

Greatest news came about 30 minutes ago.  I checked into my patient portal and saw that my lab results had come back in. 

My estradiol(Estrogen) had dropped....



Some of my meds that arrived yesterday!

I get to start stimms tomorrow and start making our babies!

 

"Weeping may stay for the night,
    but joy comes in the morning."

Psalm 30:5

 

 

Thank you God for good news!

Before Starting Injections...

On Tuesday( yesterday) I headed into the Fertility center with Roger at 6AM.  We got the early appointment so that Roger could get out to work close to on time!

Ultrasound:

The nurse said my uterus was way to thick.  She kept commenting on how thick it was.  (Note:  this has been told to me countless times before, I think I just have a naturally thicker lining than most :).  I tried to not get to disheartened and waited for her follicle count. 

Funny thing is...SHE  COULD NOT FIND MY OVARIES...seriously?  She was moving the wand all over and kept saying " can't find em"  I seriously almost karate chopped her from the stirrups.

They told me my estradiol level( or E2) was likely going to be high( too high) because of my thick lining but that I would find out that afternoon if I could proceed this cycle and start everything as planned.

Naturally we drove home in silence, as we have several times before, in shock that this to may not work.  I didn't even make it up the stairs before sitting down halfway and sobbing while Roger  told me" everything will be okay".  This time however I wasn't buying it, I felt so angry and frustrated.  I told him I wanted to give up, I was done.

After hiding under my comforter for a while and Roger leaving for his long drive to the office I came to and realized I was not ready to give up and look into adoption.  I was not ready to throw in the towel or surrender.  I still have some fight in me, even if it is just a little.

Later that afternoon I received a call saying my estradiol came back at 118.  It needs to be below 50 to start injections Saturday.  They think that the birth control wasn't doing its job ( to suppress my ovaries) and that I needed to start injections of Ganirelix that night.  I drove to the office and picked up the shots came home and stuck myself.

Now its a waiting game until Friday.  Friday I will go in and do another blood draw and have another ultrasound to see how everything is going.  If my level comes back as below 50 I can start injections on Saturday.  If not, this cycle is over and I have to wait another month and start all over. 

Hoping for the best.

Baseline Ultrasound and Cycle Day 3 Hormone Check-- IVF # 2 Here We Come!!!

YES!  Today I went in for my baseline ultrasound to look at my uterus and to do our AFC(counting how many follicles I had).

Firstly, I love this fertility center.  It is so quiet, peaceful and comforting.  It is completely designed for couples just like us.  Children are not allowed in the building which for those of you who struggle with infertility you know how hard it is to sit in a waiting room staring at other babies and kids while you struggle and wait for your own.  The atmosphere is more like being in a spa than in a doctors office!

I got my blood drawn.  They did LH, FSH , and Estradiol.  Plus they did a whole CBC panel.

Follicle Count Time:

The nurse said my uterus looked great and there were no cysts etc! 

*My right ovary had between 6-10 follicles.

*My left ovary showed 15+( she stopped counting after 15).  My left ovary is apparently much bigger than my right :)

Just a few minutes ago I received a message to check my patient portal online. ( I love this because it lists all my appointments, messages, lab results and consents.  I really appreciate organization and finding out results quickly!)  My lab results were posted and all my levels came back good! 

I had a message saying to start my birth control pills today!!!!

I go for a mini lesson on injections tomorrow and find out my dosages etc. I will take.

I start injections February 1st!

My hope has been renewed.  Believing this will work!

 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him" 1 Samuel 1:27–28

Consultation for IVF # 2

I feel like I need to back a few steps up and explain how our consultation went and what we decided for our second cycle.

On January 14th Roger and I went in and met Dr. Morris for the first time.  I have read great things about him and seen his very high success rates so I was feeling OK about giving this all a go again because we had a new doctor.

Dr. Morris got right down to it and started to tell me what he would do differently, how my protocol would be almost polar opposite to my first IVF and how he was confident we would get more than 1 normal embryo after the PGD testing.

As we listened to him and he showed us visuals as well as studies with cases very similar to ours we both began to feel more at ease.  When I had the chance and he asked what questions I had I spilled out all the questions I have had since last July when our IVF failed.

Dr. Morris see's others with balanced translocation 1-2 a month over other specialists who see it once or twice a year...this is a HUGE difference and very important to me. Dr. Morris tests day 5 embyros then freezes them immediately after if they are normal and tested as balanced.This means, after my retrieval I will know withen a week how many came back normal and how many are freezing for our next month cycle.

This cycle will be different in that I will NOT have a 5 day transfer.  I will have my retrieval , recover from my huge ovaries then get my period again.  Once my period comes I will start Lupron for a few weeks then we will transfer our healthy embyros!!!!  I will have a less "hostile" environment as Dr. Morris put it because I wont be coming down from all of the injections and hormones.

This was all very good news.  We left feeling confident and hopeful to soon have a positive pregnancy test, hearing the heartbeat for the first time and watching my bump grow bigger every week :)

The IVF Wait Continues

Hello All,

It has been a few weeks due to the holidays and because honestly I have not had much to report or talk about. 

Our insurance took affect on December 1st so naturally I had an appointment for December 2nd and 4th to get things moving.  We have BCBS HMO which requires a referral for infertility care.  This is literally still what is holding us up from starting our cycle.  Finally today I printed records myself and drove them to the doctor to personally hand off and get them moving.  Can you say frustrating?

I am not the most patient person especially when it comes to waiting on doctors.  We have not had the most positive experiences anywhere we have gone through this whole 4 year journey.  I am hoping that we really like Dr. Morris once we finally get to see him!

Our schedule now is as follows:

Get referral acceptance
Have consult with Dr. Morris( hopefully next week)
Start cycle mid-late January
Get pregnant

Sounds easy when I write out, hopefully this is the case.

More when I have some exciting updates :)

Healthy Snacks and Treats To Curb Your Sweet Tooth

Good Morning!!  I thought I would share some snacks and ideas that I make and eat to curb my sweet tooth.  It is important for everyone to eat healthy, limit sugar, limit processed foods and keep salt on the minimum. When trying to conceive or going through IVF our stress goes up and our emotions run high. Try to continue healthy eating and wise decisions at the grocery store.  Below I am sharing some healthy snacks and treats, I will post more in the future as I invent and perfect recipes!

Banana Ice Cream :

Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients
*1 large Banana
* Tablespoon of Milk ( Almond Milk would work as well)
* Tablespoon of Peanut Butter

1.) Slice banana into several pieces and put into plastic ziplock
2.) Place in freezer for 2-3 hours
3.) Put frozen banana slices into blender, add milk and blend on low or medium until smooth
4.) Scoop into bowl and top with a Tbsp of Peanut Butter
5.) Enjoy :)

Medjool Dates with Coconut shavings

* These I purchase from Whole Foods in the bulk section.  They are cheap and are sweet but natural.  No added sugar but they satisfy your craving for a candy bar.  You could easily make them at home by mashing up the dates and rolling them in coconut shavings, I just save the time and buy.

If your like me especially during stressful time you want to grab a candy bar or shove a handful of M&M's into your mouth when no one is looking ( both things I have done several times).  Making healthy choices a habit instead of a trend is the way to go. 

Fruits and Veggies

Below is a picture of my Whole Foods produce picks.  I use them to make fruit plates, smoothies, snacks and as part of my breakfast.  My picks today were green apples, carrots, pears, yams( for sweet potato fries), kiwi, lemons and spinach!

When trying to get pregnant or prepare for IVF it is so important to eat a lot of fresh, healthy, non processed foods filled with vitamins and nutritious ingredients.  I have found that if I make my fruit plates pretty it is more enjoyable and feels like a treat not something I have to force down my throat to be healthy!

***If you have not tried my green smoothie from my previous post , you should!  Let me know how you like it and how great you feel after drinking it!!!

More snacks to share later!

Have a great day and stay positive and hopeful.  Everyday is a new day full of possibilities :)

Preparing For IVF-Physically, Mentally and Emotionally

Like many women  I have been researching what types of vitamins, supplements, foods and beverages are healthy and crucial before diving into pregnancy or in our case IVF.  I get asked what types of things I have taken and what I recommend...so here goes!

I highly recommend a prenatal vitamin every day with food.  Along with my prenatal vitamin I take a 400mg pill of Folic Acid.  Last time I had my levels checked they said I had a superb amount to conceive and carry a baby, so that is why I am so keen on Folic Acid.  Folic Acid is also extremely important for the babies growth and development and something so simple can prevent issues such as Spinabifida.

Royal Jelly is my new friend in a jar.  Pictured below Royal Jelly is basically what the queen bee eats and uses to create thousands of healthy eggs every day.  It is a superfood complex and in my research seems to be beneficial in the pre stages of IVF and or conception.  I take one teaspoon every day followed by a big glass of water( it tastes awful to me).
                                                                                   

Drinking plenty of water is critical for anyone on any given day.  Drinking water is a natural cleanser and  also very important during the stimming stage and beyond with IVF.  You should drink at least half your body weight in ounces every day.  While I was going through our first IVF I would by the gallons of water so that I could monitor how much I was drinking.  Sometimes it seems excessive, but it is very important :)

I drink a green smoothie almost every day.  I make them simple and tasty.  Here is my recipe:

1 Cup Fresh Spinach
1 Whole sliced Green Apple
1 Whole Pear
1 handful green grapes
about half a cup of water

*Adding ice could be good, but I like them cool not icy. 

I blend and drink right away :)

Sleeping is always a great healthy way to rejuvenate and regroup mentally, physically and emotionally.  I am still working on getting enough sleep every night!

Have a great day :)