And Now We Wait. (Updated)

I love our embryologist! A lot. He remembered that last time I asked him to take pictures of the eggs before they were fertilized. This time, he took it even farther and took a series of pictures for us to have that documented the later half of our cycle.

Allow me to share:

This is what eggs look like fresh from the ovary. They are encased in cumulus cells. Cool, huh?


Then we have the counted, mature eggs. One polar body and one pro nuclei.


He even took a picture of them after they were fertilized. Two polar bodies, two pro nuclei.


A sample of what they looked like on day-3 (Sorry, I'm not sure what these particular embryos were graded)


And then finally, our 2 beautiful blasts that we transferred today. L-"Squirt", graded 5AB, and R- "Sprout" graded 4BA (as pictured)


As you can see, Squirt had already begun hatching when this photo was taken. When Dr. R brought in these photos and was telling us the condition of all our other embryos as well, he gave us a 72% chance of success using these little guys.

Just before transfer, he put them on a large screen so that we could see them before they were loaded. We were all pleasantly surprised to see that "Sprout" had begun to hatch as well, earning himself an upgrade to a 5BA!

Everything went perfectly. As we left the clinic we got so many "congratulations" that you'd think the results were in already, and this was a for sure thing! It was so surreal! It was a complete 180* from our last cycle. I have to admit; it was SO much better leaving with a smile on my face rather than stifling sobs.

Later, my nurse called to tell me that my progesterone is a bit high. (I can't believe I just typed that... too HIGH! Who'd have thunk?) They like it to be between 30-135 at this point, and mine is sitting at 232. I don't think it's EVER been that high! For now we aren't changing my dose, but she gave me a list of things to watch for. We'll see if I can handle the super-sensitivity. (I'm so glad I'm not crazy! Smells have been making me gag for a couple of days. Now I have a legitimate reason!)

The freezing situation is still up in the air. We decided to do an extended culture to see how many we can get. As of this morning, we still had 12 embryos of varying quality, with at least one worth freezing. Dr. R thinks we will get a few more by tomorrow (probably around 4.)

So, there's my update. Things are blissful right now. I really hope it lasts!



**ETA: Embryology just called. We have 5, maybe 6, to freeze! The embryologist is going to wait until this afternoon to see if the the 6th develops a little further. There are 3-5BB's, 2-4BB's, and 1-3BC. I am soooo okay with that! =)

Day 3 Report Card

My Nurse called at 9:30 this morning to tell me about my "fabulous embryos."

Last time, at transfer, my RE told us that we should really ignore the grades because "we don't often get excellent embryos, so the grades can by misleading."

Well, take THIS Dr. H!!!

Currently we have:

4 Excellent (!!!!)
6 Good
2 Fair, and
1 Poor

Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah! (Yes, Dory is swimming in my head right now...)

We are still set for a day 5 transfer on Monday. Let's hope my luck holds out!

Happy Thanksgiving, Indeed!

13. That is how many embryos we have waiting for us.

THIRTEEN!!!!

We are scheduled for a 5-day transfer on Monday.

I can't believe this is happening.

This is the best Thanksgiving EVER!!!

Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. Please keep them coming.

And to you and yours... Happy Thanksgiving! I am so very thankful for all of you.

Stunner

It seems I'm having a bit of a lucky streak. That big 'old blizzard? It never showed. We got snow, don't get me wrong... but this is Utah. We always get snow. It was so over-hyped. The roads were kind of crappy on the way to the clinic, but were just wet by the time we left.

Retrieval went very well. We got 16 eggs! 16!!! And the kicker? They are ALL MATURE!!! My nurse called and told me because she was so excited. (Normally we get the maturation report along with the fert report the day after retrieval) And, AND! The fluid is gone. GONE!!

Ho-ly crap!!

My RE is predicting a day 5 transfer with some left over to freeze.

I think I'm dreaming. I don't have this kind of luck! But God, if you're listening... THANK YOU! Please let it last!

I'll update again when I get the fertilization report in the morning.

I might just have the best Thanksgiving EVER! =) =)

So Where's the Punchline?

I am scheduled for retrieval at 10:30 tomorrow morning. We have to be at the clinic by 9:30. Which would be totally fine... except that there is a blizzard heading our way.

No kidding. A BLIZZARD!!! Did I mention that it takes me approx. 50 minutes to get there on a GOOD day?!?

It is expected to hit our city in about an hour and last at least until 11 am. The windchill factor alone is supposedly going to drop the temp to -12. We are being warned that it is likely that the power (and heat) will be out at some time tonight, and that we should get ready for it now.

Of course it had to hit now.

This is soooo not funny.

Here's Where I Freak Out

The fluid in my uterus is back. If it stays there, transfer will be cancelled.

So, here's the plan.

I have a few follicles that look like they could stand a bit more FSH (we have measured at least 14 of good size already, but want to squeak out a few more big ones), so I will do one last shot of 450 iu tonight with my trigger. Also, my RE gave me one dose of an antagonist to see if that will help with my risk of OHSS, and as a side effect help get rid of that fluid. He has never tried this before, but learned about a study done in Korea that showed very promising results. The antagonist was actually used to help prevent OHSS, but the side effects would also include lowering my E2, which will subsequently get rid of the fluid... at least that's his theory. Of course it's much more complicated than that, but I was kind of in la-la land during the discussion.

I had this same fluid issue last time, but luckily it cleared up on its own. But now, my E2 levels are much higher than last time (they rose by over 1000 overnight!), and we didn't do the FSH with the trigger during my last cycle.

UGH! My head is spinning. I need this to by my last cycle, ya know? I need to be done. I don't know if I can handle having to do an FET later. Not only that, but how in the hell would we come up with $4k more?

I know that it's not a done deal and that my body could get rid of this nuisance fluid before transfer, but right now... I have to let this out. I've been super positive all day, but I have to get the "what if's" out.

Thanks for reading my vent. I needed it.

Oh, and if you could stand to send up a prayer or two on our behalf, I'd be eternally grateful!

Oh, the Possibilities...

I helped throw a baby shower tonight. Voluntarily. Zero pressure.

And... I had a BLAST!

My cousin, E, is going to have her baby very soon and I honestly couldn't be more excited. She has spent her time (5 1/2 years) in the infertility and RPL trenches, and is about to emerge victorious. It gives me butterflies to think about it, and makes me grin from ear-to-ear.

I loved tonight. E was beautiful, happy, and so much fun to be with. She is seriously the cutest pregnant woman I have ever seen. And you know what? Even though I had to sneak out to give myself my injections, I didn't get sad! It was more me going through the motions, and not really thinking about the shots. I was mostly just anxious to get back to the party! I love spending time with my cousins, especially the ones that were there. I always have a good time when I'm around them, and never leave without shedding a few tears that come from laughter.

I came home with nothing but fond memories and hope tucked in my mind. Not an ounce of bitterness. E, has just taken a little bit of power away from the IF monster on my behalf, and she doesn't even know she did it. I can't even express how grateful I am. Her baby will always have a special place in my heart. This Little One is proof that it's possible to win.

E, is totally going to rock this "mom" thing. I can't wait. This baby can not get here soon enough!

I'm going to take this feeling as a sign. This cycle will be better. I'm not sure how... but it will be better.

Speaking of this cycle... my E2 is already at 526 after 5 days of stims (it was 180 on Monday). I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little nervous. At this point last time I was only at 368, and by the end my Dr. was getting pretty worried about OHSS. Apparently it doesn't take a lot to stimulate (or overstimulate) my ovaries... too bad they don't have more to give. I did have 5-8 follies measuring at 11 mm, and a few smaller ones as well. As usual, my left ovary was playing hide and seek, and it was hard to get a clear picture. Hopefully Saturday will be better.

So, to recap - Not all baby showers suck, E's pregnancy has given me a ton of hope, and things are moving right along with my cycle.

Oh, and my cousins are better than your cousins.

I'm just sayin'.

Guesses, Anyone?

I submitted my favorite post of 2010 for the Creme de la Creme list that Mel complies each year.

Any guesses which one I picked? (I won't tell, but I'm curious which one YOU think is my best.)

What's the Creme de la Creme, you ask? Well, here's the link.

So, what are you going to submit?