Transfer Day

Today was the big day.  Time to transfer our babies into my uterus.  I woke up really nervous and it continued all morning.  We prayed, I prayed, and finally after speaking my CBS memory verses to myself I calmed down a little.  That was until we went into the room to talk to the doctor and embryologist.  The embryologist came in and gave us a picture of three of our embryos.  He told us that they looked the best out of all of them.  They grade the embryos and grade 1 is textbook perfect.  We had one that was 6 cells and grade 2 and two that were 8 cells and grade 3.  The others were 4 cell, 7 cell, and 6 cell, but all grade 3.  He told us that it isn't likely we'll be able to freeze the remaining 3.  We questioned him and asked for clarification.  I strongly voiced my concern for them "throwing" my babies out just because they didn't look right.  I was assured that they won't, but I still don't trust them.  This is when it all comes down to my complete and ultimate faith in the Lord that He will be the one to either continue their life or take it and let them join Him in heaven!

Our three healthy embryos...amazing!

 After breaking down and crying (a lot) and having the doctor reassure me that I need to focus on our healthy three embryos and not worry about the others that they will either make it or not and it will be ok.  I loved  having Dr. Fogle as my doctor!  She was such an encouragement and even though she never mentioned the Lord I felt as though that's what she was talking about.

We then began the procedure and I cried some more, prayed, and once again recited Joshua 1:9...Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged.  For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  I know the Lord was with me through the whole procedure.  Dr. Fogle began everything and was very gentle and I actually didn't use the bathroom on her since my bladder was so full!  After our embryos were in place I had to lay there for about 5 minutes...my bladder felt like it was going to explode!  Dr. Fogle did tell me to not do much of anything for two days and that I was on "house arrest."  I am so glad they care enough about us to encourage us to take it easy.

The ultrasound of the embryos in place.  The large black spot is my bladder which is bigger than when she first checked to make sure it was full...can we say pressure?!?!  The red arrow is pointing to where the embryos were placed. 

On top of the emotional day I have the greatest friends ever!  Jill helped out and looked after Raleigh this morning at CBS, Haley is bringing us dinner, and Stacey had the most encouraging words.  I loved how Stacey told me that the Lord is in control of our babies and that He's made my womb a hospital for the embryos we had transferred.  All I can say is THANKFUL AND BLESSED!!!  Glad we were able to pick up Raleigh at church and run into all of them for their encouraging words.

The News

Well, we got a call this morning about our embryos.  Out of the 18 eggs, 15 of them were mature, but only 6 fertilized.  The doctor said this is a little less than what they usually see, but it's still good.  I was hoping for more, but I know deep down that the Lord is in control and has plans for all 6 of these embryos.  ACRM also said they only have about 30% of embryos frozen for future cycles.  I was a little bummed at these percentages because I definitely want frozen embryos since I don't know if we could financially do this again.  I immediately began to pray that the Lord will grow all of our embryos into strong and healthy babies.  Not long after I got the call from the doctor I received an email from Stacia with several verses to remind me that God is in control and has the best in store for us.  Can we say God's perfect timing?!?!

I'm also filled up with medicine today!  Estrace twice a day, Medrol (for 4 remaining days), baby aspirin, and the lovely progesterone shot.  I'll continue it and then hopefully go back for the transfer on Wednesday.

Surgery #2...Me

Today was the day.  The Lord answered my prayers and I really wasn't nervous at all!  We arrived around 8:00 and started getting ready.  I was the only surgery scheduled for the morning so it was nice and quiet.  I had a wonderful nurse, great anesthesiologist, super nice embryologist, and a fabulous doctor!  I went back for surgery around 9:10 or so and when I woke up in recovery it was around 9:35.  Very quick!  The good news is that they retrieved 18 eggs.  We'll find out tomorrow how many of them are mature and how many fertilized.  The other great news was that they have enough of Jason's sperm for this round of IVF and were able to freeze some!  Hallelujah!  I could not have been happier with all the staff that I encountered today.  Once again, the Lord answered my prayers for a successful day!

What a wonderful day to rejoice in all the Lord has done for us!  I'm so thankful that Jesus came to this earth to die for my sins and rose again three days later!  Happy Easter!

The Day Before

I'm nervous.  I know that God is in control of this and will provide for us so I'm trying to not be nervous.  It's hard though.  When in my pre-op this morning my nurse Sherri told me that ACRM does not have a high number of embryos frozen.  This was the beginning of the nervousness.  I think it all boils down to the fact that Raleigh was from a frozen cycle.  I'm praying that the Lord will bless us with enough embryos to have enough frozen for one or two more cycles. We'll see how everything looks tomorrow!  God is in control!

Surgery #1...Jason

Today was Jason's surgery day.  I had no worries about his surgery until he mentioned last night that he didn't feel good about it.  That started my mind racing.  Not a good thing and not what God would have wanted either one of us to do.  I started praying, Jason prayed and I for one felt a little calmer.  He was still a little nervous, but I think any time you're about to have a surgery you feel nervous.  We had to be at the surgery center at 6:00...way too early!  We made it and Jason was prepped and ready for surgery at 7:30.  It was probably about 8:20 when the nurse came out and told me that they were able to retrieve some sperm and were actually looking for more to freeze!  Talk about an answered prayer!  Of course we don't know exactly how many they were able to get or if any will be able to be frozen until they get them back to the lab to examine, but we serve an AMAZING God who once again did more that we could ask or imagine.  From Jason's previous appointment with this doctor he didn't think any would be able to be frozen or that it would be a good idea.  I love how God does things like this for his children.  And how great too that all of this took place on Good Friday...the day that Jesus paid our debt for us, was beaten and crucified just so we could have eternal life with him!

I also had to visit the doctor today for another ultrasound and blood work.  Everything looked great and egg retrieval is set for Sunday at 9:00.  I got my last shot (trigger shot) at 10:00pm and I'm thankful I won't be getting a shot tomorrow.  :)

Thank you Lord for answering our prayer and showing us just how much you love us.  Most importantly thank you for dying for my sins so that one day we will live with you in eternity!

Growing, Growing, Growing

I had my first round of blood work and ultrasound today after beginning stimulation medications.  Everything looked great.  My estrogen levels were at 520 and I had several follicles on each side measuring between 10 and 13.  Praise the Lord everything is going as it should!

Idols

I'm bad about focusing an extreme amount of my time thinking about having a baby, the whole IVF process, and wanting to have another baby.  During church a song was played talking about how anything place our minds on is an idol and anything our heart desires is an idol.  It really hit me at how I make having a baby an idol and that's not what I want to do.  I want my focus to be on God and allow him to work in my life.  This is something that's going to be a daily confession and turning over to the Lord.  I know He will help me to remain focused on Him!

Dear Lord,
Please forgive me for making having a baby an idol in my life and putting it before you.  I pray you will forgive me for this and help me to daily focus on you.

Let the Stimulation Begin!

Today will be the first day of stimulation medications.  A little nervous, but not at the same time.  These are different medicines than last time so hopefully my body will respond well to them.  Another thing is that it's a bigger needle...hope Jason is kind to me.  :)

Yesterday at CBS we reviewed our memory verses from first semester and this semester.  They are perfect for me to dwell on during this time!  Love how the Lord works that out.

Joshua 1:9 ~ Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Psalm 18:1-2 ~ I love you, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Everything Quiet and Normal

I went today for my baseline and ultrasound.  Everything was quiet and normal just like it should be!  Thankful for God allowing my body to respond as it should to the medications!

Time to begin!

Today's my first day of shots.  We went to visit our nurse Sherri today and go over how to mix and give all the shots.  Very overwhelming!  There's so much to remember and I have to make sure Jason gives them to me the right way.  We had friends over for a game night and had to take a little break to get the shot, but easy and painless.  I'm so glad I have a wonderful nurse to do this for me!  Now for the collection of needles to begin!

At least the pharmacy sent us a collection container this time!