7 week update

    So I've been feeling a lot better lately. My abdomen is finally almost back to normal size and the fluid is about gone. Most of what I'm feeling now (tiredness and some nausea) I think are just normal pregnancy symptoms and not part of the OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome).  So it's really nice to be feeling better and to be moving on with life. We had another dr. appointment yesterday and everything looked good. My ovaries are still a little large, but baby looks healthy. We'll have another appointment in a couple weeks to check on it's progress.
   In the meantime, we've gotten the bill back from my ER visit I had....Yikes! So I started a new job this week. It is only 29 hrs. a week, but has the same type of hours as Jeremiah's school so I don't have to worry about how we are getting him to and from work! So it works out nice and will be able to help us hopefully, very slowly, start paying off all these medical expenses.
    So all in all we have been truly blessed. Thank you all again for your continued love and support, we really appreciate it!
    These are some silly pictures of some of the embryos that fertilized after the egg retrieval. They are now safely in a cryopreservation facility :)

OHSS and other news

 So last Sunday I went to the ER. I had really bad, sudden, on set  nausea. I was sweating everywhere and was all clammy and super weak. They gave me IV fluids and did an ultra sound. The ER doctor conferred with my fertility doctor and diagnosed me with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. So basically the fertility meds I was taking over stimulated my ovaries which caused them to swell, have more cysts and cause leaky blood vessels.
      The leaking blood vessels leak fluid into my abdomen making it swell, tighten and causes extreme nausea and vomiting. I went into the fertility clinic on Monday where they hooked me up to an IV for more fluids (being extremely dehydrated), and sucked the free flowing fluids out. This was repeated on Wednesday and Friday and most likely again tomorrow. There is no cure for OHSS, you just have to wait it out......which is extremely frustrating. The doctor said it could take days or weeks for it to go away. In the meantime, I can't do much of anything but lay with my feet up and try to drink electrolytes and protein. Luckily (I suppose) Brandon has had time off work, since we were supposed to be on our Oregon trip, and has been able to take care of me and Jeremiah.
      The OHSS lasts longer if you happen to get pregnant during the cycle because the hcg your body produces makes it worse. So guess what? We're officially pregnant! Which is totally awesome! But also means I will likely have to deal with this for a few more weeks :(

      Eventually the time between visits to tap the fluid will get farther apart, but for now it's still every other day. I do feel better after the procedure, I'm just afraid to find out how much it is costing each time. And my poor arms are covered in bruises from IVs and blood work.
      So any continued prayers for good health and healing would be greatly appreciated, especially since Brandon will have to go back to work later this week.

Embryo Transfer day

      So on Monday we went to the clinic to have an embryo transferred. This was a much easier and less painful procedure. The worst part was having to wait with an extremely full bladder. They tell you to come with a semi-full bladder so that things are easier to see on the ultrasound when they do the procedure. But how do you know when it's "semi-full"?! And then our dr. happened to be behind schedule so things got painful and I had to take a little off the top....twice. And then of course during the procedure they are pushing down on your bladder with the ultra-sound thing, so that was awesome. But in the end it all went well. Brandon got to be in the room for this procedure and we both got to watch as they put in a little embryo (well, technically blastocyst). When the procedure was over they had me lay flat for 15 minutes while we listed to the silly bird chirping nature sound timer.

Waiting in the waiting room

Waiting in the procedure room

ultra sound of embryo in my uterus

Laying flat for 15 min. after procedure

        I have since been resting the last two days (what they refer to as your "princess days"). I was told I could make a sandwich and shower but nothing else. So I've watched a lot of Netflix and napped :) I had a couple awesome sisters from my ward bring me dinner both nights (Thanks Amy and Amanda!). I am looking forward to being able to get up and move around more tomorrow. I'm still supposed to take it easy, but can resume regular daily activities.
        I'm starting to feel nervous now. I'm at the point where there is nothing more I can really do and just have to wait and hope for the best. Brandon's and my 7th anniversary is next week and we are taking a family trip, so preparing for that should help take my mind off things for a little bit, but I'm anxious to know if everything we've been doing for the last few months will be a success or not. So keep those prayers coming! Love to all!

Embryo growth

     So today I got a call with the 3 day assessment. All 22 embryos are still growing. By this time they should be between 6-10 cells, which they all are! I have one with 9 cells, eleven with 8 cells, four with 7 cells and six with 6 cells. So the embryo transfer is scheduled for Monday evening :) After that I will have to rest for the next two days (what they call my "princess days") and 10 days later I'll have to have blood work done to see if I'm pregnant or not. So lots of prayers and good thoughts are appreciated as we get closer to this becoming a reality. Thank you for all your support!

Egg Retrieval Day!

So I took the trigger shot the other night. The injection sight turned red and was pretty soar for a couple days. But it seemed to work. They make you take a home pregnancy test the next morning to make sure it did. So that is what this photo is. Not pregnant yet, but HCG medication I took in the trigger shot worked.





 Yesterday I went in for my egg retrieval. I have to say that I was a little anxious and nervous. I dropped Jer off for a play date at a friends house (Thank you Jessica!) and Brandon and I headed up to the clinic. We checked in at 11, paid the anesthesiologist fee and waited for about 15 minutes. They called me back about 11:25ish where I got to put on a lovely hospital gown and they hooked me up to an IV.

What they collect the follicle fluid containing the eggs into

Procedure room

My Dr. came in and talked to us for a minute before the IV kicked in and I was out. The procedure took about 30 minutes and they were able to collect 28 eggs :) When I woke up I was still groggy and in a fair amount of pain. So of course that is when my loving husband decides to take a picture......


They gave me the lovely pregnancy Tylenol which surprising actually did help. Afterwards we went and picked up Jer and I came home and rested for the rest of the day. It took a little while to fall asleep last night (trying to find a comfortable position that didn't hurt), but eventually, with the help of a supportive pillow, I was able to sleep until early morning
.

Resting in bed

My resting buddy

All set up for some good rest

    I got a phone call this morning with the fertilization report telling me that of the 28 eggs they retrieved 22 of them fertilized normally. So that's awesome news. They will call again in a couple of days with another report of how they are doing. Some may fall off over the next few days but with the high number I have we should definitely have some good options for the transfer.
    I am feeling a little better today but am still moving pretty slowly and have no plans to go out. I think if I would have thought a little more about the procedure I would have known better how I would feel afterwards, but I didn't. So I've been in a lot more pain and it is taking longer that I thought it would. The good news is that the embryo transfer next week should be a much easier and less painful procedure. So the hard part is over.
     Until then this will be my new daily routine. I don't have any more injections but they added 3 new medications. One is an antibiotic and the other two are hormones to prepare my uterus for an embryo. The other 3 I've already been taking are the prenatal vitamin, baby Asprin and the Metformin (for my PCOS).

Ultra Sounds

  So I went in for an ultra sound yesterday and today to check the growth of follicles. Yesterday when I went they told me that it looked like I had several follicles maturing and were getting close to the size they should be. Today I went and did the ultra sound and again they looked like they were developing nicely and the lining of my uterus looked "textbook", which means awesome :) They also took some blood and were able to get it on the first poke this time! This evening the clinic called me with my "trigger" instructions (one day earlier than what my calendar says). So at exactly 11:30 PM I will give myself the HCG "trigger" shot which will help to release the eggs in preparation for retrieval exactly 36 hours from the trigger shot. Which means that I will be going in to the clinic on Wednesday for my egg retrieval!
     It's all becoming very real. It's gone by really fast so far (probably thanks to all the awesome family I had visiting for 3 weeks) and I haven't really felt hormonal-y crazy. But perhaps that is because my hormones were so out of whack for many years that now that they are regulated I don't feel as crazy. The meds I started a week or so ago do make me tired and I feel nauseated every day in the later afternoon early evening hours, but it passes. As the follicles have grown the last few days my lower abdomen has felt bloated, heavy, a little cramp-y here and there, so it will be nice to have those released in a couple days.
     So upcoming events will include the embryo transfer next week sometime and then 10 days later we will get to find out if it all worked. It's crazy to think that I could be pregnant so soon. We've been waiting for this for about 3 years now and it's finally happening. Thanks again for every one's love and support! Continued prayers and good thoughts are greatly appreciated and welcomed! :)

What my daily morning routine has looked like for the past week or so.... 3 different meds, some having to be mixed together first for 2 injections.