No puppy

Yeah we decided not to get the puppy. Regardless how cute he was & how much I wanted to go get him we are going to wait. We really want a fenced backyard which we plan to have at our next house & I am not sure if we are quite ready for 5 animals. I love animals, but the 4 we have now keep us pretty busy. I know Spencer would love to have a little one to play with but he already visits my in-laws house & plays with their young dog, Izzy, which he loves. That will just have to do for now.

A New Dilema

Last Saturday & yesterday we went looking for puppies. Chris thought it would be very funny to tell me that he was getting me a puppy for Valentine's Day. Of course now he is totally regreting that he said that because now he has put the puppy fever into me. So yesterday we went to one of the local PetsMart locations (which is where we got Spencer) but they didn't really have anything. Then we went to this petstore in Concord that has breeders that come in every Saturday to sell their small animals & he had one of the "cutest puppies ever." I know normally we save that phrase just for Spencer but he was just as cute, if not cuter. He is a 6.5 week Morkie (Maltese/Yorkie mix). I can't tell you how hard it was to leave that puppy there. We did get the guy number & we may be calling him back. Chris & I decided we would wait until we get my test results on Monday to decide for sure. So if they are negative we just might get this little guy. Man 5 pets, how crazy will that be.

Not so good news

We got a letter from REACH in the mail yesterday, which we have been expecting, that give us a brief summary of this ivf cycle & its results (some of them). The not so good part is that they were not able to freeze any of the embryos for future transfers. So it looks like the transfer I had on Feb. 13th may be our one/only shot at me getting pregnant. The financial costs of starting all over again increase every time you retrieve from a donor + I would have to undergo treatments for at least 2 months before that (if we choose that route) & we are not sure if our insurance will cover all of that. Now we haven't totally ruled out trying again, but right now we are leaning more towards not. So if you could please, keep us in your thoughts & prayers as we try patiently to await the results on Monday.

Music & Memories

So I am in my car this morning (45 minute commute), rainy, cold but its FRIDAY & I am trying to find some pick me up music. What do I grab but my "Q" cd. I know many of may not know who this is, but they were a contemporary christian accapella group from Montgomery, AL made up of some friends of mine. Oh the memories that come back to me every time I listen to this cd. It is hard to believe that I left Alabama & Faulkner University 14 years ago. Can I really be that old? I certainly don't feel like it.

Anyway, have a great Friday!

Back to work

It is back to work as usual, or as close as possible. Yes, I am still pretty sore but other than taking Tylenol all day there is really nothing else I can do. I noticed in my literature from REACH that my meds can cause some of this discomfort too, so that may be part of it as well. I can make it through this, I just need to continue to take it easy & not over do it.

In bed again...

Today I am at home resting in the bed & still really sore. My biggest complaint is I can't sit for any length of time with becoming really uncomfortable. After my weekend with naps included, which I never take unless I am sick or something I was still sore, so I decided to grin & bear it.

Yesterday was a busy day with church, lunch with my family & then shopping with my Mom & sister (I took them to Birkdale for the sales I shopped at on Sat), church again in the evening & then a quick dinner. I hope I didn't do too much yesterday, but I was trying to take care of myself. I took a nap yesterday afternoon & sat down a lot while we were shopping (I didn't buy anything). All I can say is maybe my body is more sensitive & everyone heals differently, I just wish I could heal faster. I want to return to a normal life, hopefully I can return to work tomorrow. The idea of sitting behind a desk all day is kind of scary but I need to be out of this bed.

Off bed rest

I must say I am very glad to be off bed restriction, but I still get tired really easy & I am still sore. We went out last night for a belated Valentine's dinner with hopes of going to Carraba's, but we think everyone did the same thing we did & waited until Friday night. Needless to say, we didn't stay but we went to our favorite chinese restaurant & still had a great dinner. As soon as we came home I went straight to bed.

Today we went shopping & to lunch which was great too. I bought 2 dresses at Jones New York at Birkdale & only spent $21.43, I love a good sale. One of the girls from works said they were having a really big sale, how fun. I can't wait to wear them, but they are sleeveless so I will have to wait a couple months.

We also went to PetsMart to look at puppies. Chris had told me last weekend that he wanted to get me a puppy for Valentine's & of course I didn't believe him, but I still wanted to go look. Now since that's where we got Spencer I was really hoping they would have another cute puppy, but no such luck. We went to 2 PetCo's & 2 PetsMart's & very few puppies were there. It was mostly really big dogs, which I really don't want. Now I am not saying we would have purchased one, but I wanted to look just for fun.

Valentine's Day dinner

Since I have been restricted to bed we have put off Valentine's dinner until tonight & I am really looking forward to getting out of the house. We did exchange gifts yesterday & my lovely husband got me flowers (lilies, my favorite) & a GC to Ann Taylor Loft (one of my favorite stores). If money was no object I would shop there all the time, I love everything in there. Currently I shop off the sales racks in the back of the store, which is just fine with me.

We went shopping last weekend for Chris' gift so he already had his. He really needed a new pair of dress shoes for work & we also go him a black wool coat from Kohls. He is really happy with his gifts as well, especially since he got to enjoy them ahead of time.

Hope you all had a great V-Day!

New design

I have been working on a new design for my blog but I can't seem to figure out how to get it to load correctly. I guess I am going to have to do some research to try & figure it out. If anyone has any insight please let me know. I do work on our website at work but I don't have to know html to work on it & I don't think this is going to be as easy. Stay tuned, hopefully I will figure it out over the weekend.

The rest of the story...

Now that we have moved into the second 24 hours it is much easier to post on my blog. Last night & this morning were a little rough, but I like I will be okay now. While Chris was at church last night I started having really bad cramps & an upset stomach. Now for someone who doesn't really have menstral cramps (yes you read that correctly, I don't really have mentral cramps) I guess that is what you could compare them to, really strong ones. Luckily by the time Chris came home they were gone but I was still really uncomfortable & that lasted all night & into this morning.

I got really upset this morning because the cramps came back really strong along with the upset stomach but Chris was afraid to let me take any meds. So Chris being the wonderful husband that he is called my ivf nurse. Then much to our surprise & Shane's my nurse, I was suppose to get some Vikaden pain pills to help with all the pain & discomfort I was having. So he said the take some Tylenol, Mylanta & let him know if I don't feel any better soon. Now, I felt much better knowing all this is normal & usually ivf patients go home with pain meds but maybe Dr. Crain doesn't use them, you just never know. Each one of the doctors at REACH have their own way/plan for their patients & I trust his judgement completely.

I don't remember if I shared this yesterday or not but Dr. Crain gave us pictures on the embryos he placed yesterday & Chris really wants me to scan them in so we can share them so I may do that over the weekend. It is really neat to have them & know that those are possibly growing inside of me right now.

Now we wait

The transfer went fairly well this morning & now I am really tired, sore & laying in bed. Have you ever tried typing while laying down, I must say its not very easy.

Anyway, Dr. Crain did transfer 2 embryos and it took a little longer than we all expected. I had to drink 4.5 bottles of water to fill my bladder and then we began. It was a little more stressful & painful than I expected but the staff was great & kept me calm. Dr. Crain even gave us pictures of the embryos to take home which was really cool. Now I must lay flat for the first 24 hours & the 2nd 24 hours I can sit on the couch with my feet up. So I will not be heading back to work until Monday.

Chris has been wonderful, which doesn't surprise me at all. He will be home with me tomorrow too, Friday I will be on my own.

New schedule

My ivf nurse called & left me a message while I was at lunch & tomorrow at 11:30 is the new time. I will still be taking my valium 1 hour before & start filling up my bladder at 10:30 as well. Wish us luck.

New orders..

I just got a call from my ivf nurse & they are moving the transfer to tomorrow. Now that is not bad news, it is actually kind of in our favor. Dr. Crain wants to give the embryos 1 more day to mature. We now only have 7 embryos growing which means that 4 have stopped growing & did not mature. Again this is okay too, we are only planning on transferring 2 anyway & if we have to we will only transfer one.

Now the worst part of it is I have to do the ucky inserts again tomorrow morning. My nurse asked me how that went this morning & I told him it was terrible & it took my 20 minutes to be able to do with many tears. He laughed but then apoligized & said most all the women hate that part, but it is just part of it.

So now I will post when we are scheduled for tomorrow later today.

The day has come..

and I must say I am a lot more nervous that ever expected. It really should be very painful, but the idea that I could finally be pregnant after all this time is just too much to comprehend. I really didn't sleep well last night & I probably should have taken some Simply Sleep before I went to bed but I was so tired I thought I would make it. I even took a hot bath to try & relax myself even more & it worked for a while but I woke up at 3am & couldn't go back to sleep.

Our dog Spencer came up to me & licked my faced & snuggled with me for a while & I finally fell back to sleep around 5am, knowing my alarm would be going off in just 30 minutes. Then I finally got up at 5:50 & took my shower. I only have to do a few things to prep for the transfer & the worse one of all was this morning. I will not go into any details other than I don't want to ever have to insert anything there again if I can help, gross.

I also need to empty my bladder at 11am & then take my valium. I have also been instructed to drink as much liquids as possible from 11am to 12:00 to help them see better in the ultra sound where to place the embryos.

Oh I forgot to tell you what my sweet husband did last night. He asked me if I wanted my final meal out or if I wanted to eat dinner at home. At first I told him I really wanted to go home but he talked into going out since I will have to be in the bed until Thursday & we had a good dinner at Parkway. It was fried squash day which I love. Thanks Chris.

It's offical...

We have a date for the ivf transfer. I received 2 calls from REACH today with all the details. The transfer will be Tuesday, 12th, at 12noon & I am so glad I know when it will be now. I really had a hard time focusing in church this morning, Lord please forgive me.

We went to REACH this morning for labs & I knew the nurse would be calling me back with my orders so I had to keep my phone on vibrate all through bible class & services - how distracting. The first call came during the sermon so I had to go outside to answer it & it the nurse letting me know we would not be doing the transfer today. She said she would have to call me back with more details about Tuesday. Then she called during lunch to let me know the exact time & the rest of my orders. I am to take my valium at 11am (to put me in a calm submission state) & arrive at REACH at 11:30am.

The nurse also informed me that Dr. Crain, my doctor would be preforming the procedure. She said most of the drs like to perform the ivf retrievals & transfers on their own patients. They kind of float around like OB/GYN drs offices do, you eventually end up seeing most of the doctors in the office during your cycle. Which is fine, they are all really good & nice, except one but I will not release their name.

So that's the facts. Please keep us, the doctors & staff in your prayers on Tuesday.

I'm growing a country...

That is what my husband said when her heard our latest news from my ivf nurse. We have 13 embryos growing & I said yeah you have your own posse, Chris.

To give you a little more details, they retrieved 24 eggs. 11 of them were fertilized using ICSI (with assistance) & 9 conventionally (naturally) & now there are 13 embryos growing. I go back on Sunday for labs & the transfer could be anytime from Sunday to Tuesday. We are so excited I can't even tell you.

Here are my orders if I choose to accept them...

My sister & I think that it is like Mission Impossible when you get a call from REACH with your orders. You know how on the movie they call & say, "here is your mission if you choose to accept it & this message will self destruct in exactly ___ seconds." That is how it feels. It seems so secretive & I guess it is.

Anyway, Wednesday night will be my last Lupron shot, yeah, but I will continue to use the estrogen patches for a while (even if I become pregnant). Then I start an antibiotic on Thursday 2x/day, Pred (uck) & progesterone & oil mixture. Chris is to go in for his part on Thurs as well & so will the donor. Then on Friday they will call back with the results of the retrieval & prediction of embyro growth. Then I go back on Sunday am for monitoring. So the transfer will be next week. The only thing that could change it at this point is poor egg quality/quantity or sperm (very unlikely).

I am so excited I totally can not concentrate to finish working today. Unfortunately we have to send out our magazine tonight & I have to try as hard as possible to focus. Please keep us in your prayers as we move forward.

Tentative schedule

I just spoke to a nurse a few minutes ago & the retrieval is tentative scheduled for Thursday (7th). She said the donor is schedule to take her Ovidrel (this releases the folicles) tonight & she will come in tomorrow morning for monitoring to make sure she is still on schedule for Thursday. I will most likely get a call from the nurse tomorrow with more orders. If my calculations are correct the transfer would be 3-5 days after the retrieval which would be between Sunday & Tuesday. We are getting so close.

I told Chris last night that I am starting to look forward to the transfer & my 2 days of bed rest (originally I was dreading it). It will be good to rest for a while, I am so tired & I am afraid I might be getting sick again. I am getting really stuffy again & my ears are killing me. Now of course my lovely husband had to mention that he is one of the few that he knows that hasn't gotten sick. Most of my family has had it or still has it & most of his fellow co-workers have/had it as well. Please keep your fingers crossed that I don't get it again & that he stays well.

Still waiting

Yesterday came & went with no new orders from my IVF nurse. So I can only assume that the donor is still not quite ready for the retrieval yet. I do plan to call my nurse this morning to make sure he didn't forget about me. We did get a call from the finacial office yesterday asking us for money so Chris had to run down there on his lunch break to give them a big fat check (this covers the donor's fee) our insurance cover most of what is left. They did mention to Chris that this was their mistake since they never sent us a bill & I am glad they recoginize it. I would hate for them to think we are dragging our feet about paying. Little do they know we have had this money set aside for a while now & we are also building a baby fund.

Hopefully more news to come soon...

A little disappointed

Well I heard from my IVF nurse right before lunch & the news was not what I expected. He didn't have a scheduled date for the transfer yet but hopes to have more info on Monday. I am using an egg donor & we are waiting on her to be "ready." She is scheduled to come in next Monday morning for monitoring (labs & ultrasound) & he will know more then. So in the meantime we are on curse control (those were his exact words). I pretty much keep doing all the things I have been doing (wearing 4 estrogen patches & changing them out every other day & daily Lupron shots).

I still think it may be next week but it will most likely be towards end of the week. I must say I am a little glad that it will not interfere with us sending the magazine out next Tuesday & so are Anita & Vicki (my co-workers).

Oh I also asked my nurse today about the terrible headaches I have been having & he says they are very common with increased hormone levels - lucky me. I also found out that I wasn't suppose to be taking Aleve, oops. I guess the good part of it is that I will not be on these meds for very much longer & the headaches are not quite as bad since we have decreased the amount of Lupron I am taking + my nurse said my body will start to adjust to the meds & settle back down. I also noticed a rash on my chest & neck last night which he was a little puzzled by. He told me take some Benydril & if it has not improved my tomorrow morning to give him a call. It doesn't itch a whole lot it is just really ugly.

Excitement builds

Well I had an appointment at REACH at 7:30 morning (yes you read that right, 7:30) & after much waiting I got to see the doctor at 8:50. There was only 1 doctor out of 6 actually seeing patients today & Dr. Wieland is pretty slow & very talkative & I have learned to be patient with him. He is a great doctor but sometimes tells me too much info (long story).

Anyway, he said that my uterus was text book perfect & that it doesn't get much better than what he was seeing on the ultra sound. How cool is that??? I am suppose to hear from my IVF nurse this afternoon with my orders & with the schedule for the transfer. I am getting sooooo excited. I was so glad to hear some good news for a change. Our family has just been dealing with so much sadness, we need some good news for a change.