The Details

Thanks for all the kind words!  We are very excited for the new addition to our family!

Baby #2 is due on 3/13/13.  I am just at 14 weeks now and feeling pretty good. Although I already have a big bump despite not having gained any weight yet!

So far everything is running smoothly and as expected.  Of course I am on blood thinner shots twice a day, but really that is a small price to pay.

So far we have already had 5 ultrasounds so yes, we are sure there is just one baby! LOL But that one baby is very active and moving around a lot which is great!  I will post some pictures soon.

As you probably saw, Anna is also very excited.  She calls the baby 'Baby Brother' but she will also refer to it as 'she' or 'her' so I'm not sure she really gets it yet :)

A message from Anna

Just click play....

More details soon!

Checking In

Just a quick post since it has been awhile, we are still waiting and don't have any definite news.  So far I have had 2 blood tests that the doctor was happy about the outcomes of, so at least we have made it further than last time if nothing else.



Something we found pretty interesting and dramatic.  Here is a picture of the embryos that were implanted this time:

The picture sits on our dresser now as a little inspiration for every morning when I need to get a needle jammed into my behind.  That is really getting old....anyway, on a whim I thought I would take a look at our picture from last time and see how they compared.  Here is what the embryos they implanted last time looked like:

Quite a difference! We were pretty amazed to see that and it helped give us a little more hope that things are just working out better this time around. 

Finally, here is a quote that I think I found on pinterest that has been helpful lately.  Waiting is the hardest part for sure....

We will be getting the news this week, so hopefully no news is good news as far as this blog is concerned.  I still would like to wait to make the big announcement (if indeed there is one to make) and I will hold out as long as I can or to 12 weeks, whatever comes first :) I have some other things to post about anyway so I will work on that and just have faith that it will all work out. 

Thanks again for all the supportive emails and FB messages - they mean a lot to me!!

The Transfer

I can't believe it has only been a week since our embryo transfer! It turned out to be quite a strange experience and I'm not even going to get into everything but our appointment was for 8:15 and before the transfer you have to drink 32 oz of water so that your full bladder will push your uterus to the best place for the doctor to see it.

When we got there we could hear one other couple in the room next to us in for their transfer and it sounded like another couple in for their retrieval.  After waiting 15 minutes the nurse told us that the embryologist was last and they were waiting for him to arrive.  We heard several different excuses as to why he was late, from car trouble to alarm trouble.  Either way, he finally got there probably around 8:30 and they took the couple next to us in.  Then we heard the doctor saying something about doing the schedule out of order and then he took the other girl next instead of us.

Finally around 9:15 (with a very full bladder) he came in to talk to us and showed us the picture of 2 embryos that were recommended to be implanted.  They really looked great, especially compared to the last time. 

And there is more to the story after that, but basically he did the implantation and after resting for 30 minutes we headed home and I was on bed rest for 2 days.  We already had one blood test and the numbers looked good, we have another on Monday.  Honestly, I don't have a good feeling about it right now but we will see!

Now we are at the lovely time where Jeremy has to give me a very painful shot in the bum every morning and then I get to give myself a blood thinner shot after that, just hoping it is all worth it.

Thanks again for all the support!!

Saturday!

So we found out on Tuesday that 16 of the 32 eggs were mature and 10 of those successfully fertilized.  I am sure by now that number has decreased, maybe not.  Either way the doctor is confident that we will make it to the 5 day transfer and our appointment is 8:15 am on Saturday morning!  So keep us in your thoughts then (if you're up LOL)

Of course this is a busy Saturday and now we have to miss graduation parties and another friends get together we were looking forward too but there never is a good time and obviously this is much more important.Being on bedrest for 2 days is going to be tough but luckily it is on the weekend so Jeremy can take care of Anna and I'm sure my mom will be by to help as well. 

I was feeling great and yesterday was Jeremy's birthday and we took Anna to swim class and then hung out in the pool for awhile before going out to dinner.  Today has been much different, I have been extraordinarily tired and Jeremy is not home today at all to help.  I have taken 3 naps (before Anna got up, while she was taking a nap and while she was watching Bubble Guppies - don't judge).  I also have a new pain and have been very uncomfortable  I looked through the materials and it turns out I should not have gone in the hot tub, in fact I probably shouldn't even have gone in the pool because I'm still recovering from surgery but it didn't even cross my mind.

I called the nurse and she said it really isn't that big of a deal, just to watch for signs of infection (fever and extreme pain) so I am all freaked out about that.  Always something! So far no fever and I have been on antibiotics since the retrieval so hopefully things will be fine. The other change is that my abdomen has actually swelled even more. I haven't gained weight so I am not worried about OHSS (Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome) but I look about 6 months pregnant at this point and I just don't feel comfortable.  I will be glad when this is over because I am still confident we will get the outcome we want so much.  

32!

Well the retrieval was this morning and I did end up getting really nervous and anxious on the way to the surgery center.

The nurses were really great and before I knew it I was waking up in recovery!

Here is a really unflattering picture Jer took of me after it was over :) All bloated and pumped full of fluids, lovely.

It took me a little while to wake up then I had juice and crackers.  A little while later the nurse came in and said they got 32 eggs!! That is a huge number!  We got 14 last time!

So they said because they had gotten so many, there was still a good chance that my ovaries would be hyper(over)stimulated.  I had hyper-stimulation last time but it affected me before the procedure and this time I had mostly been feeling fine, just a little bit full.

I felt really great leaving the surgery center.  Jeremy and I were both in a great mood and very relieved that this part was over.  We went to get breakfast and headed back home.  Then the 6 am wake up hit me combined with having been under anesthesia (and stress) and I fell asleep for a few hours.

Since then I have really been feeling the ovaries continue to swell.  I have quite a bit of pain and a lot of fullness.  Hopefully it will start turning around tomorrow and we won't have an unexpected crisis to deal with which could put the embryo transfer in jeopardy.  Also my abdomen is so swollen right now, I am just waiting for someone to ask me when I am due, ugh.  That should go back down shortly as well.

Anyway, overall great news today!  Now we wait to hear tomorrow how many of the eggs were mature and how many of those fertilized.  We will hope there are enough that we will be able to wait out the 5-days and do the transfer on Saturday.  I think the odds are finally in our favor!

Thanks to everyone for all the care, concern, thoughts & prayers - it means a lot!!

Pulling the trigger

Well I had a good ultrasound on Saturday and the doctor said it is time! I took my trigger shot last night. That tells my body to start producing eggs in all the follicles I have been developing over the last week and a half. Bright and early tomorrow morning we will head to the surgery center for the egg retrieval and they will proceed to manually fertilize the strongest eggs with the strongest sperm and we will see what develops. The process is called ICSI and since we ended up having to try that last minute last time around we will just start with that from the get go this time. The odds are much better when it is done right away. Or so they say anyway. I am not too anxious about this procedure. I am sure that we will be able get some Good eggs. I am a little distressed just about going under anesthesia in general but it is a quick procedure and then we will just relax at home for the rest of the day and wait for the call on Tuesday with the results of how many eggs fertilized successfully! So keep us in your prayers tomorrow and I'll try to update. Ideally after fertilization we would let the embryos develop for 5 days and they would be put back inside of me on Saturday. Big week!