Day 3 Embryology Report-Baby's First Report Card

We have a reason to celebrate.  

One of the nurses called today to report that our embryo is right on track.  We have an amazing little 8 cell, zero fragmentation fighter!!  It is perfect! Right on track and doing well.  I’m so freaking happy.  I will take in all the small achievements I can during this painful process.

Now we wait, impatiently for the next few days.   Saturday we will learn if we have a blastocyst and make it to freeze.

I'm feeling very optimistic about things.  This is the first time, in a long time that I have felt this way. I was pleased to hear the embryology report today and hope for an equally positive report Saturday. 

Fertilization report…

1 egg retrieved, 1 egg mature and ICSI’d, 1 egg fertilized!!! 

We have an embryo!!  And now I pray that this embryo thrives, thrives and grows to blastocyst, that this embryo is of excellent quality, and frozen to wait for transfer time, to snuggle into my ute. 

I feel very calm at this point.  I have hope that we will find success.  

"The Fire"

A lot has gone on since last Wednesday.  No I'm not pregnant.  My follicle continued to progress, I triggered with HCG just after Midnight on Sunday Morning and I went in for retrieval today.  My clinic has you pee on a stick (POAS) to test out the trigger before going in for retrieval.  Since it's rare for me to see two lines I had to take a picture of it, because who knows when I will see two lines again.    

On the way to my retrieval DH and I were listening to the radio and a song came on by my most loved Hip Hop band, The Roots!!  The song was perfect!  “The Fire.”  I have listened to this song a million times in my life, but today it was different.  DH pointed out that the song describes me, “You don't say good luck, you say don't give up, It's the fire, inside you.” It definitely set a good mood for the day.

I went in for the retrieval of my lone follie. I ordered our sperm, and it arrived Saturday.  Everything was falling into place.  The retrieval went well! They talked me into doing it without anesthesia, it wasn't bad at all.  I was still kind of out of it from the two pain pills they gave me and the Valium.  I found it no more painful than a pap smear. I received a call from my RE late this afternoon.  The egg was mature, they preformed ICSI on my egg (Injected the sperm into my egg).  They will call tomorrow with a fertilization report! We are doing embryo banking, so I have two more cycles before transfer. I have an appointment scheduled on Monday to discuss my next steps.  I feel very calm about everything that has happened over the last several days.  

I have had my ups and downs, but today I feel good.  I think DH feels good.  He has been in a very good mood today.  I know that we both still want this to work so badly, and we finally feel that we are a step closer to our goal today than we have been in a long time!! 

Cautiously Optimistic

I surprisingly would like to report we have growth!!     

My little follicle on the right ovary grew more than I expected.  It was 13 mm today.  That being said, I had to purchase more medications.  Not what I planned, but I purchased 4 more days!!  My next monitoring appointment is this Friday, Halloween 10/31/14.  

The Infertility roller-coaster is not a fun ride.  I found myself underwhelmed with excitement today.  I convinced myself that I didn't want to use my eggs anymore.  DNA is not important to me.  I want to be a Mother.  I want to make my husband a Father.  And I want to experience what it is like to be pregnant!!  I know our best chance for success is DE and DS.  I recently learned my clinic does shared DE cycles.  

Shared DE cycles offers great financial benefits.  Yes we would only get half the eggs from the donor, but no one really needs to have 20-30 embryos.  The thought of doing a shared cycle really appeals to me.  Half the cost, and since we are going to use DS there is not a lot of concern of having few viable embryos.

When discussing this with DH the other day, he was not exactly happy I was planning for this cycle to fail.  He has a point, why do I not believe that it will work?  Poor response does not equal poor egg quality.  

So as I continue with this journey, I will keep my heart protected, I will stay cautiously optimistic.  If for some reason I do not make it to retrieval I have a back-up plan.  A SOLID back-up plan.  I'm really to get off this roller-coaster.  I'm ready to move on with my life, I'm ready to make DH and I parents!

I'm Fine!

I wish I knew how to pretend to be fine.  I can't!  I know it's a cliché, but I wear my emotions on my sleeve.  I am working on letting things go.  I have "Hope" that one day our dreams will come true. But pretending to be O.K. would be a lie to myself and everyone else.

Today, day 8 of stims, did not show much improvement from my last scan.  I cried.  I had such high hopes for this cycle, starting with a better AFC than my last cycle.  Maybe the U/S tech was wrong, maybe there were not antrial follicles on my Left Ovary. It really doesn't matter.  What matters is that I can get through the next few days without losing all hope.  That I do not let doubt overcome me.  I need to remember that being upset does not help the situation.  

One day this will all be a distant nightmare.  I will look back and I'll tell myself that every dollar, shot, bruise, heartache, and tears were all worth it!!  

Defeating Doubt

This is how I felt yesterday.  After 6 days on  Stims my ovaries have been less than cooperative.  The 3 antrial follicles that were on my left ovary do not appear that they want to grow. The weird thing is I have two follicles on the right, which are on the small side that have decided to make an appearance. 

Needless to say  was not very optimistic about this cycle.  Ready to give up.  What a difference a good nights sleep will do.  I woke up, determined to not let this get me down.  I will not let doubt get in the way of our dreams! This will work!!  I have to make it to retrieval!!

Another follicle scan is tomorrow!!  FX the O's decide to wake the eff up!!

HOPE... There you are my long lost friend!

This is how one who is infertile conceives a child. These medications are worth their weight in gold.  :) 

There are several reasons why this cycle will end up in retrieval. 

1. Today is the day I started stims.  And today is my late brother, Jason’s birthday.  He and I were very close.  He would be turning 37 today.  However he will forever be 19 years old.  I miss him, my family misses him, but I know he’s watching over us, helping us through life.  At least I think he is. 
2. Today was my baseline.  I know that this number isn’t great, that being said it’s the best it’s been in at least 5 years.  Drum roll please….  My Left ovary has follicles, it gets better, I have THREE!!  My right ovary, however is being a dud this cycle.  It looked pretty quiet.  But I cannot be unhappy, an AFC of 3 is really a good number for me, as I have NEVER had more than 2eggs retrieved.  I’m not going to lie I cried.  It was not a sad cry, but a HAPPY cry.  The Cry of hope.  One that I had lost a long time ago. 
3. My retrieval will be taking place around Halloween.  Why does this equal equate to a successful cycle?  As some of you may remember, had I not had a Chemical Pregnancy my last cycle, I would be delivering a baby.   This may be a coincidence, but it makes me think that our baby is out there and wants to join our lives here on earth.  This baby wants to be here as much as we want it to be here! 

 

I’m am going to consciously making an effort to remain positive this cycle.  I will laugh, DH and I will spend more quality time with each other.  Who knows maybe I’ll cook him dinner.  He’ll think it’s a holiday!! LOL.  I just want to be happy, stay happy, and remain positive that THIS IS GOING TO WORK!! 

"I think I See You"

I have found comfort in music many times throughout my life.  There are many songs right now that give me comfort while ttc. The one that is providing me with the most comfort is

"Sky Full Of Stars" by Coldplay

Why is a song about love and love falling apart providing me comfort?

Infertility is love, love of a child that is not here on earth.  One that is not in our arms.  There are times I want to break up with Infertility.  I want to give up and hope that we can live a life, a happy life, without kids.  But, when I look into the stars I know that there is a baby that is waiting to become a part of our family.  For me  the lyrics hold true.

 "Cause in a sky, cause in a sky full of stars...  I think I see you" 

Making a Change

What does one do when she cannot control everything? 

…She finds things she can control. 

I haven't been feeling super good about myself and decided I needed to make a change.  Yep, I cut off my hair.  There is something beautiful about getting a new hairdo.  I needed something to help my attitude. 

A hair cut is only a temporary feel good.  So I have also been working on other things to improve my attitude.  I have been taking a mindful meditation class and I work out twice a week.  Well I have made a promise to myself.  I am going to start working out every morning for 30 minutes and I am going to start mediating at least 15 minutes at night.  In addition I will be meeting up with a friend at least once a week for tea.  I will be spending more time playing with my pets.  Lastly, I will unplug for a few hours each evening and spend quality time with my husband. 

I cannot control anything with my IF, but I can control other things in my life, and I’m going to start with making myself happy.    

"The Mindy Project"

As most of you know, we're very open about our infertility struggles.  Sometimes too much.  Yes, I know I over share.  I think know it's important for people to be aware that trying to conceive is not as easy as it may seem for a lot of couples.  My hope is that I can help others who are in the beginning stages of infertility, and help them not make the mistakes we made. I know that I have been able to direct a few of my friends in real life the steps to take and I hope to help more people. 

Our update:  Last week I received the first month of my calendar.  I've been on estrogen since last Thursday and Testosterone started Sunday. I emailed my nurse about an antibiotic clarification and she replied back "Dr. G’s notes were very clear that you would start the zpack now. I agree that it is unusual but she has set up a special Mindy special protocol." I feel pretty special that I have my own "special protocol” 

The other day I was "over sharing" to one of my co-workers about our next steps and telling her I felt honored that I have my own special protocol.  She wittingly called it "The Mindy Project."  I have never watched an episode of "The Mindy Project,” but I'm happy to steal borrow its name for for my new protocol.  

I hope that the "The Mindy Project" brings us the child we are in love with, but haven't met.  I know we have a chance of this happening if I make it to retrieval.  Now we just need divine intervention. I hope this protocol is our answer!!  

   

Rotten Egg

Update on my cycle- My cycle is officially cancelled, as my E2 level has dropped and my follicle stopped growing.  My RE has talked me into trying one last time using testosterone priming and staying on the list for embryo adoption since we are at the "top of the list."

I'm really not hopeful and I'm not sure if EA is the answer either.  I'm so over this.  I feel so alone, it is so, so hard face cancellation every.single.cycle. and every.single.appointment. It’s so hard feeling like I am one of the most infertiles of the really infertiles.  I have been passed up so many times over the years that even the other vets are lapping me. 

I'm so pissed we didn't use DS with our DE cycle. I'm pissed that we were not told that with BT the chances were not good!! FML!!  We have been out of the money to cycle for a long time now.  The cost of paying out of pocket for a total of 6 attempts at IVF/DE cycles has broken us mentally and financially!  I am officially crazy for trying TPP/EPP.  I hope I do not end up in a psych ward from a full mental break down.