DIVISION (Day 2)

Tod, the embryologist, called again this morning with an update on our embryos. I actually had my cell phone in my pocket, but missed the call...go figure! He did leave, however, a long detailed message. He said that 7 of the 8 divided. Guess we keep losing one each day! But today the embryos were to divide between 2 and 4 cells. 3 of them were 4 cells, and 4 of them were 2 cells. He said that was good and exactly where they're suppose to be. My transfer WILL FOR SURE be Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. He will call us one more time, tomorrow, but no call on Friday (day 4). Dr. Schnell will sit down with us Saturday morning to discuss the two embryos that she puts back in. I'm sooo excited. Please pray that those little babies attach to my uterus wall and implant. Twins would be fine with me!!! Here are some pictures of what they look like today.


This is a 2-cell embryo (I have 4 embryos like this today) GROW BABY GROW!!!


This is a 4-cell embryo (I have 3 embryos like this today)

As I'm sitting here blogging I just received a phone call from a good friend with some bad news. Apparently Ray Garza, a friend of ours, was hit on his motorcycle off of 1462. He was life flighted to Herman Hospital and it doesn't look good. Please pray for him and his family. He has 2 boys that go to Passmore Elem, where I work.

I will update you again tomorrow.
Kelly and Robby

DAY 1 Fertilization

This morning I had to go into the Dr. office again to be randomized for the study medication. I was given the Crinone, progesterone gel. If you remember when I first started blogging I mentioned that the IVF "study" was to see if the progesterone ring worked. You were either randomized to the ring (which is not FDA approved) or you would get the gel (which is FDA approved). I was given the Crinone gel. I am to insert this gel every morning at the same time for up to 10 weeks (if I have a positive pregnancy test).

Tod, who is the embryologists (I guess that's his title), and watches our embryos everyday called this morning to update us on how they were doing. He said that 8 of the 9 eggs fertilized. I was a little confused because I thought that he said yesterday that 9 had fertilized. But I was wrong. Yesterday, the day of retrieval, 10 eggs were taken, but 9 of those were mature (not fertilized). Of those 9 mature eggs, 8 fertilized. Which is very good, because the nurse told me this morning that usually about half fertilize. YEAH, and what a relief! Tod said that he would call me again in the morning to tell me how they have divided and when the transfer would be. He thinks that 90% the transfer will be on Saturday. That is the day of my sister-n-laws HUGE wedding shower, which I will hate to miss - but will have to.

Well, please say more prayers for our little embryos - that they will continue to divide well and that we won't lose any of them.

Will post again tomorrow.
Kelly and Robby

EGG RETRIEVAL

Yesterday, Sunday, was a beautiful day outside and for my body as well (except for the enema). I didn't have to take any shots or have any office visits. Robby and I cleaned inside and out all day. We cleaned out the whelping box where Holly will have her pups and tried to get her used to it. We also spent some of the day out front just enjoying the weather. Here are some pics.


Brady, Holly, and Me

Here is big mama and me!

Had to take a picture of our cat, Emma. She loves the flowers.

Love birds!

Love birds again! Didn't Rob do a good job on the yard! Oh, that's MY flower bed!

Here's Holly in her whelping box. We want her to get used to it.
Brady's jealous of Holly and wants out!


Last night I could hardly sleep. I tried to get to sleep at 9:00, but with Robby up watching Kempner football games and "grading" the games (whatever...he's weird). And then Holly couldn't stop licking her private because she is having lots of leakage (guess it's a pregnancy thing). I just couldn't sleep. Finally I fell asleep about midnight. The alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. I jumped out of bed wide awake and didn't even think about hitting snooze. Got Rob up and we got ready to go.
We walked out the door at 4:35 (a little early, but I didn't want to be late). Robby wanted to stop by starbucks for coffee but I freaked out and said I didn't want his little swimmers "on" coffee. Not to mention last night he drank a beer and I really FLIPPED. I know it probably doesn't matter, but I don't want "them" to be drunk either! So, we skipped the starbucks and went straight to the Dr. office. On the way there I had to take a Valium. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure what it was going to do to me...but I LOVED it. I wish I had some more on hand!!! It kicked in about 30 minutes later and I was falling asleep in the waiting room and could barely walk. Robby was laughing at me the whole time and took a picture.


Me On Valium


Ok, here I am waiting for the procedure
Still on Valium


Can't believe I'm posting this picture
This is me with NO eggs :( or :)

So, after it was over I asked lots of questions and cried a bit. I sometimes get emotional after little procedures like these (yes, I've had a hand full of them). I didn't really have any abdomen cramping but my hands hurt sooo bad. The nurse who tried to put the IV in had to try 3 different spots until she got a vein. First both hands (and blew both veins) and then my left wrist. I already have pretty big bruises and have been icing them all morning. The nurse said that they took 10 eggs out. I couldn't believe it after Saturday mornings ultrasound showing that we would probably just get about 7. So I am very optimistic right now and just pray that those 10 are good.

I've taken several naps today and it feels good since I didn't sleep much last night. Robby has been doing a good job taking care of me. He made me chicken noodle soup and homemade hot sauce (which I'm not suppose to have anything spicy) but it was good! He is such a good Mr. Mom.

The lab called already today to update us on the our "babies" and 9 of the 10 fertilized!!! YEAH. I am so excited. They will call us each day to tell us how they are doing and on Wednesday I will find out if my transfer is Thursday or Saturday. I will have to take 2 days bed rest after that procedure (which is much easier than the retrieval). Except they do have to do another IV - and I'm not looking forward to that. Tomorrow morning I go in again to see if I will be picked for the gel or the ring for the progesterone study. I'll let you know what I get and how my embryos are doing tomorrow.

Keep us in your prayers, especially our little embryos!
Kelly and Robby

Ok, Ok... I'm updating my blog!

Well, Robby and I went to our friend Emily's baby shower today. It was a beautiful day and we stayed outside in their awesome, tropical, shaded backyard! I love it! She got lots of cute outfits for her baby, Isabella. And she reminded me that I needed to update my blog...so here I am.

I believe I last blogged on Tuesday night. Ok, I went for bloodwork only at 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday morning to check levels of estradiol. Got the phone call around 3:00 that afternoon with GOOD levels and Dr. wanting me to stay on the 150 iu of Follistim and 75 iu of Menopur. Did that Wednesday night, however when Thursday night came along I realized at 8:30 that night I didn't have enough Follistim to do the 150 dose. I started freaking out a little and thought about calling the emergency line (but didn't want to get charged) so I just dialed the Follistim to 100 (which is all I could get) and injected that. The next morning, yesterday (Monday) I went in for bloodwork, ultrasound, and a visit with the nurse. I confessed to the nurse what happened with me running out of Follistim. She said it was ok and gave me another vial to last me through the weekend. But back to the ultrasound...as the tech was scanning me I was looking at the screen and she was explaining what she saw and how my follicles were measuring. She said there were about 8 follicles measuring and that I would probably be ready for retrieval soon. I sort of paniced, thinking "doesn't there need to be like 20 or 30 follicles and she's only finding 8?" So I got dressed and went to see the nurse. The nurse, as well, said that I was going to be ready for retrieval probably on Monday. I, of course, questioned her with questions like, "are you sure?" "don't I need more eggs?" "can't I have more Follistim to grow me some more eggs?" I was just shocked!!! I couldn't believe the nurse was telling me that 8 is all my body was going to make. And that they needed to take them before it's too late and before the big follicles get too big. She said that she wanted me to come in again Saturday morning for more bloodwork and another scan to see how the follicles were doing. Needless to say, I called Robby as soon as I left and cried the whole way home. Then I called my mom and sobbed to her as well. Then I emailed my friend, Hayley, and cried over email...and made her cry. So the emotional roller coaster begins! She called me later that day and said my Estradiol looked good and to come in at 7:00 on Saturday morning...YIKES that is early...and Rob's coming with!!!

So, here it is ... Saturday night at 11:15 p.m. and it has been a LLLLLOOOOONNNNNGGGGG day! I woke up at 6:00 to take a quick shower...because I didn't want to be smelly, woke Rob up (oh yeah and took my LAST Lupron shot) and we headed to the Dr's office at 6:30. I was called in pretty quickly for blood work, but then sent back into the waiting room to wait in line for the ultrasound. There were soooo many couples there - probably about 10 or so couples. So we had a long wait. I wish I had taken my book but thought surely a Saturday morning would go fast...boy was I wrong! Robby kept himself busy sipping (he hates that word) on Starbucks and reading football articles. And of course I looked at Interior Design mags. Finally about 8:30 they called us to come back for the ultrasound. The nurse that scanned me said that I would be ready for retrieval very soon. There were still 8 follicles, but one of the fellas measured a 11.4 (which probably wouldn't make it by Monday) so that leaves us with 7...oh my goodness!!! I'm thinking in my head (and out loud too) "statistics say that about half of those won't make it (meaning they won't be good eggs or won't fertilize) - that's why they want like 20 or 30 eggs, so that leaves us with about 3 or 4...crap!" When we meet with the nurse she said that she wanted Dr. Schnell to look at the results of the scan before she made the decision about when to retrieve. Minutes later Dr. Schnells come in the room and said that she wanted to scan me again...so I undressed again and same response from her too, "you're ready". So as of this morning I have 8 follicles, 7 of which measure between 14.6 and 20.4. Those will all be mature for the retrieval on Monday. I was to take my trigger shot, Novarel, that night but they would call to tell me what time.

I received a phone call about 1:00 p.m. today from the nurse. She said to take another dose of the Menopur and Follistim as soon as we got off the phone and to take the trigger shot (which by-the-way releases your eggs)at 7:00 p.m. on the dot!!! The timing is very important because at exactly 35 hours later they retrieve...which would be 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. I was a little nervous all day about the trigger shot because the needle is 1 1/2 inches long and is intramuscualar (IM). Went to Emily's shower and sort of forgot about it...went to church and prayed about it...then I looked up and it was 6:45. So I went over to my neighbors house (who is a nurse) and told her I was ready. She did an awesome job! It felt like I was getting bloodwork, just that little pinch and that was it. I freaked out about nothing. Which I don't want to admit to Robby. I did HAVE to take a picture of the needle and post it because it is pretty big and I'm so proud of myself. [Holly must be having a dream right now because her whole body is twitching] Anyways, tomorrow (Sunday) is an off day. I am so excited because I don't have any injections, no office visits, and no intercourse (I'm sure you wanted to know that). However, I do have to take a fleet enema tomorrow night...that is so GROSS. I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight.


Here's that big needle I was scared of

I will blog on Monday night, if I am feeling up to it (we'll have to see how long it takes the anesthetic to wear off). I do get to take a Valium at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning to help relax me for the retreival. We have to be there at 5:15...another long day ahead of us.

I'll talk to you then...and have more pictures.


It's hard to tell...but Holly is getting bigger. She'll be such a good mama!

April 4th Ultrasound Visit

Well, it has been over 2 weeks since I've updated you on our IVF journey. I have been taking a morning shot of .1 cc Lupron for 14 days. On April 4th (last Friday) my Lupron dose decreased to .05 cc. I also had an ultrasound that morning to see how the Lupron was treating me. And, as expected, my folicles were looking good. My body usually does cooperate with these fertility meds. I met with the nurse and she game me a HUGE box with all kinds of meds and supplies. I received Follistim that day along with Menopur. Follistim is the drug that induces the development of multiple eggs, the important drug! So I was instructed to draw up 75 iu (units) of follistim and mix it with the Menopur solution (which is a powder). I feel like I could be a nurse after mixing all these meds! Then I draw up into another syringe the mixture. That goes right there in my belly...every night. The Lupron is a morning shot. So to total number all the needles that I have injected into my belly in the past 2 weeks = 24 total shots. Not to mention all the blood work I've had! I continued this procedure for 3 days (April 4, 5, and 6th). On Monday morning at 7:00 I was scheduled to go in for blood work to check my hormone levels, estradiol. I got a phone call that after noon saying that my levels were not as high as Dr. Schnell wanted them, so to up my dose of follistim to 150 iu, instead of 75 iu. WOW, I double it! Of course Robby was excited because he thought the more meds...the more eggs! I'm not sure that it works that way, but whatever. I did the 150 dose Monday and Tuesday night (tonight). I go again in the morning (April 9th) for blood work to check estradiol again. We'll see if it looks any better or if I'll have to change the dose again.

I only have about 5 more days of shots then it will be time for retrieval ALREADY. It has gone by sooooo fast. I am very excited for the retrieval and transfer. Robby and I have been waiting for this it seems like forever. I will have to be asleep for the retrieval, but not for the transfer. I will keep yall updated with the visits, I have 4 more visits in the next 6 days, so I will try to blog after each one of them.

As for Holly, my girl dog, she IS pregnant. Yeah...at least someone is! We took her to the vet to confirm the pregnancy last Monday. She is due around the 1st of May. We will be taking her back in about 2 weeks to have an x-ray to see how many pups are expected. I will post all the pictures of the pups as soon as she has them.

Ultrasound and Lupron Visit - March 19th

I recieved a phone call on Monday March 17th to move my 21st appointment to the 19th...which was fine with me...the sooner the better. I also had injection training that same day. So my ultrasound was at 10:30 am. Everything looked good. They just wanted to make sure there were no folicles that had grown. After the ultrasound I visited with the nurse to discuss the Lupron medication. This is where all the shots start...yea! The Lupron injections will suppress my ovaries from releasing eggs too soon. The nurse showed me the needles (and if any of you know me at all, you know how I used to faint at the sight of a needle...I have come a LONG way!) and the jar of Lupron. After that appointment I left and went shopping for a few hours because I had to be back at the Doc's office for injection training at 1:00. Ok...this training kinda freaked me out. Rob stayed home to work in the yard...which looks good by the way. We have been off for Spring Break this week and worked in the yard A LOT, there are pictures below. So, at the injection training they showed us how to fill your syringe with the medications and mix different meds, etc. Then they showed us the IM (intramuscular injection) YIKES...this shot someone else has to give me. I was wanting my mother-n-law to give me this shot because she is a nurse, but she is having eye surgery and won't be able to. I really don't want Robby to do it because he laughs and thinks it's funny...which freaks me out even more, but that might be my only option. Or I could have the nurse across the street do it. That shot won't be until mid April...so I just won't think about it for now!

Lupron Medication

Here are our 2 new Crepe Mertle trees

We had a glass door put in yesterday so the doggies can watch us working in the yard

We also bought some patio furniture for the back yard and you can kinda see the Queen Palm tree we planted in the background.

Here is Holly with her diaper on...she is still wearing it because she is having a little bit of discharge (I'm sure you wanted to know that) but hopefully she's pregnant and doesn't have fertility issues like me... he he he. Pups should be born around May 1st if anyone is interested. They are AKC but not OFA so we will probably sell them for $400.

Holly and Brady...Pround Parents to Be

Today is actually March 22nd, and I'm just trying to update this blog to let y'all know what's been going on. This morning was my second Lupron shot which is really no big deal. It doesn't hurt much now but if it's anything last a couple years ago with the gonal-f shots, my abdomen will start getting sore after a couple weeks of injections. My next appointment is not until April 4th for another ultrasound and to get my stimulation meds (probably gonal-f).

Dr. Visit March 4th - Hysterosonogram

On Thursday, February 28th I started my period...I've never been so excited to start! But I knew that meant we could get the ball rolling with the IVF cycle. So I called the "period hotline", I know that sounds silly, but there really is such a number. They called me back that day and wanted me to come in Friday morning for blood work. So I was there at 7:30 am Friday morning. I met with my nurse and she scheduled my appointment for Tuesday, March 4th, for a hysterosonogram. So Robby and I both took off work on the 4th for that appointment. Robby had to have some blood work also. The hysterosonogram was fine, I was getting a little nervous at first, but it was simple. The nurse took a catheter and inserted it into my uterus and then injected water to see pictures of the inside my uterus and to make sure I did not have any polyps. The exam was good! After the exam the nurse talked to Robby and I about our IVF calendar. This is a very detailed calendar that tells me what medications to take each day. I was told to start taking my birth control pills the next night, Wednesday March 5th. I will take these until March 24th. The reason for the birth control pills is to control the timing of my menstrual cycle. The nurse also scheduled a "test transfer" appointment. This was scheduled for Saturday morning March 8th. Dr. Schnell did this (10 second - no lie!) procedure. She just wanted to take notes and make sure everything was easy to get to for the day of the retrieval. And of course it was! So, from there I just continue to take the Portia (birth control) until my March 21st appointment for another ultrasound.

It's going to be a long journey...but hopefully worth it in the end.