Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Faith in Infertility + A Giveaway

Tomorrow is the anniversary of our second egg retrieval, and Sunday is the anniversary of our second embryo transfer.  For some reason, I like to keep these reminders on my calendar, but I don’t really need the reminders.  The dates are all embedded in my head.

Tomorrow and Sunday, I won’t be thinking about the failure we had a year ago, though.  Instead, I’ll be thinking about the same thing that’s on my mind today…God.

A year ago, I didn’t have God in our second IVF cycle.  Nope, I was relying on Dr. Bundren and his team, Todd, and myself.  Together, I thought we could get us pregnant.  I was wrong.

This time, I left everything up to God.  I told Him that what I really wanted was for this cycle to result in a healthy baby.  However, if it was not in His will for this to be our cycle, then I would be okay with that.  I even asked that He align my will to His will.  That is what I continue to pray today…and will pray tomorrow and Sunday.

What God gave us in return was a cycle that was against the odds and a feeling of peace and optimism that I haven’t felt in over a year and a half.  That’s a great God.

Obviously, we still don’t know if this is “our cycle,” but at least for a few days, I get to enjoy being pregnant and continue not worry about what the future holds.  God has that taken care of!
*****As a reminder, in the last blog entry, I wrote:  Just to recap, so far this cycle has been against statistics. We retrieved more eggs than statistics said we should have for the number of follicles we had. More eggs fertilized than statistics said should have. More embryos lasted until the 5-day transfer than statistics said should have. All this means is that God is good, and prayer works. Nothing less.*****

Verse of the Day on the YouVersion app for Friday, November 14th, the day before our transfer:  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  ~Jeremiah 29:11
That’s a God-incidence.  J
 
 
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Also, as promised on Monday, I have my first giveaway!!  I am so excited that I have been invited by my sweet friend, Kacy, and Fertile Gems to participate in the Blog Hop Thanksgiveaway!

I have chosen this gorgeous bracelet from Fertile Gems as my giveaway prize.  I chose it because it represents faith in fertility.  Since I have found that keeping my faith through my fertility challenges is the only option, I thought this was the perfect giveaway.
To qualify for the giveaway, all you have to do is post a comment below by the end of the day on Thursday, November 27th.  (I will choose my winner randomly, using random.org, and announce it on Friday, November 28th.)

Even better news, I am actually doing this Blog Hop Thanksgiveaway with four other bloggers!  Visit each blog listed below to see which Fertile Gem piece they have chosen for you to try to win:
First Comes Love
Dreaming of Dimples (also on Facebook)
Miss.Conception Coach (also on Facebook)
Infertile Myrtle (also on Facebook)

ONE winner will be selected from each blog to receive a Fertile Gem piece.  Each blog will announce its own winner on Friday, November 28th, so be sure to check back there to see if you’ve won!

After you’ve visited each of the blogs, head over to Fertile Gems Facebook Page for a fantastic prize!

Don’t forget to check out her great Etsy shop, too.

As always, thank you for being a loyal follower of my blog.  I appreciate each of you so very much!
 
Check below to see what songs I have been singing to entertain Todd during the Progesterone shots.  He's such a lucky man!


Shot Clock:
1.       Tuesday morning, October 28 – 300 units of Follistim
2.       Tuesday evening, October 28 – 300 units of Follistim
3.       Wednesday morning, October 29 – 300 units of Follistim
4.       Wednesday evening, October 29 – 300 units of Follistim
5.       Thursday morning, October 30 – 300 units of Follistim
6.       Thursday evening, October 30 – 300 units of Follistim
7.       Friday morning, October 31 – 300 units of Follistim
8.       Friday evening, October 31 – 300 units of Follistim
9.       Saturday morning, November 1 – 300 units of Follistim
10.   Saturday evening, November 1 – 300 units of Follistim
11.   Sunday morning, November 2 – 300 units of Follistim
12.   Sunday evening, November 2 – 300 units of Follistim
13.   Monday morning, November 3 – 300 units of Follistim
14.   Monday evening, November 3 – 300 units of Follistim
15.   Tuesday morning, November 4 – 300 units of Follistim
16.   Tuesday evening, November 4 – 300 units of Follistim
17.   Wednesday morning, November 5 – 300 units of Follistim
18.   Wednesday morning, November 5 – 250 mcg of Ganirelix – NEW SHOT!!!
19.   Wednesday evening, November 5 – 300 units of Follistim
20.   Thursday morning, November 6 – 300 units of Follistim
21.   Thursday morning, November 6 – 250 mcg of Ganirelix
22.   Thursday evening, November 6 – 300 units of Follistim
23.   Friday morning, November 7 – 300 units of Follistim
24.   Friday morning, November 7 – 250 mcg of Ganirelix
25.   Friday evening, November 7 – 300 units of Follistim
26.   Saturday morning, November 8 – 300 units of Follistim
27.   Saturday morning, November 8 – 250 mcg of Ganirelix
28.   Saturday evening, November 8 – HCG Trigger Shot – Ovidrel
29.   Monday evening, November 10 – Progesterone ½ ml
30.   Tuesday evening, November 11 – Progesterone ½ ml
31.   Wednesday evening, November 12 – Progesterone 1 ml
32.   Thursday evening, November 13 – Progesterone 1 ml
33.   Friday evening, November 14 – Progesterone 1 ml
34.   Saturday evening, November 15 – Progesterone 1 ml
35.   Sunday evening, November 16 – Progesterone 1 ml – theme song from “The Big Bang Theory”
36.   Monday evening, November 17 – Progesterone 1 ml – Bon Bons commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD3d3YEpF54)
37.   Tuesday evening, November 18 – Progesterone 1 ml – “All I Want for Christmas,” by Mariah Carey...my favorite non-religious Christmas song

34 comments:

  1. I just wrote a post but I'm not sure it published.

    I wrote:

    Here's my entry!!
    As always, Proverbs 3:5-6 is how I have always let God lead me on my path. I'm with you all the way! Love you!!

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    1. I would say that's quite a perfect verse to live by! Love you, too!!

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  2. Great post full of hope! Praying that good news is right around the corner for you! Thanks for hosting such a thoughtful giveaway...

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the post, Holly. I appreciate your prayers very much! It is an honor to be involved in this giveaway.

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  3. Bless all you lovely ladies… I truly feel so uber blessed just to have found your blog & then this on top if it is amazing. I am so sorry for your struggles & will be praying for all of us. I have the cutest little 6 year old hunk & my hubs & I decided we just had to try for one more. We conceived so easily prior & thought it would happen asap… we are on month 6 now & I know that’s not quite time to get worries just yet, but I am freaking out a little/lot. I know what it is like to want that sweet baby so badly. I hate feeling every little ache or pain when it comes time to either celebrate or get that unwanted monthly friend each month. I have faith that is will happen & when it does this mama & daddy & little man will surely celebrate! This is such a special heartfelt gift all you gals are giving! Thank you so much for the sweet Chance!

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    1. Melanie, I am so glad that you found my blog, too! I will definitely keep you in my prayers and hope that you will continue to keep me updated on your progress. Do you have a blog that I can follow?

      Thank you so much for stopping by! It is an honor for me to be able to participate in this giveaway.

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  4. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. You're such a strong and positive person!

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  5. Hi, I came across your blog through dreaming of dimples and her giveaway post. I have been doing ivf now for 2 years and I have a low AMH, egg reserve. We have done 2 fresh cycles and I hope you don't mind me asking but I've never seen such high stim dose before. I'm from Australia so we use something similar to Follistim called Puregon but I've always been put on what they call the highest dose which is 450 per day. Sorry I'm rambling, I guess what I'm curious about is there a reason why you are on such a high dose as I would love to bring it up with my dr as we have tried two times at a third fresh cycle and it keeps getting cancelled due to poor response. Sorry if I'm bring too forward, I'm interesting in hearing others stories. Thank you also for the opportunity for this lovely piece. :)

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    1. Kellie, you are free to ask me any and all questions! I actually have low egg reserve, too. My doctor made it sound like the us allows up to 600IU of stims each day. I have always done 600IU, but usually it's a mixture of Follistim and Repronex/Menopur. This is the first cycle of only Follistim. Yes, it's definitely a lot, and I was worried that my ovaries would over-stimulate (different from OHSS) and not produce hardly anything. As usual, I was wrong. My ovaries did great and apparently, produced some very viable eggs. I would ask your doctor about increasing your Follistim and see what they say. It can't hurt to try at this point, right?!

      Please, feel free to come back and ask me any other questions. I'm an open book!

      If you prefer a more private forum for any of your questions, you can email me at lbprovence [at] gmail [dot] com.

      Thank you for stopping by! I'm glad you like the bracelet.

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    2. Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it!
      You are right it's worth trying anything at this point. I'm not sure when we will start again as when I went for my baseline last Thursday to start our third attempt at our third fresh cycle and we found out I was pregnant instead but I began bleeding a few days later but the levels rose but then two days later had dropped so unfortunately our miracle conception was short lived. I will need to take time to grieve before I start again I think. I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone.

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    3. Oh, Kellie. No, I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone, either. I am so sorry to hear this! It absolutely breaks my heart for you. I will definitely pray for you to find peace in this mess.

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  6. Laura, is it weird that every day the past few days I've woken up and felt happy thinking "Laura is pregnant today"? Well if it is then I'll happily be weird. I love that you're doing this giveaway. You're so much better at it than me, I wouldn't even know where to start with a Blog Hop giveaway. You're the queen of so many things. I'd love to win one of these beautiful fertile gems bracelets. Goodness knows I could use it.

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    1. I LOVE that you have woken up thinking that! It puts the biggest smile on my face!! I don't think you're weird at all; just super thoughtful. Maybe someday, we can think of a way to do a Blog Hop giveaway together. It would be fun! I agree that you deserve one of these bracelets. Any luck, superstition, happy thoughts we can get on this journey helps, right?! *Hugs* to you sweet friend!

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  7. Just wanted to say I love you little girl. Lovely bracelet that you are giving away. Hope you are staying "cool."

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    1. I love you, too, Momma!!...to the moon and back 77 times! Definitely staying "cool." And counting down the minutes until I can go home and cuddle all night.

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  8. I want to win! I want to win! At this point though, I feel like it would look really bad if one of us won each other's prizes. :-/

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  9. Thank you for sharing your story! And congrats! Happy thoughts and prayers!

    We've been TTC for 12 years, with no pregnancy. We are kind of in an "inactive" status right now as my hubby is a full time college student. When he graduates, we'll go full force back into TTC / IVF / Adoption, whatever the case may end up being.

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    1. I am so glad to be doing this blog hop with you! I hate to hear that you have been TTC for 12 years. That makes my stomach hurt. I look forward to following you and praying for you.

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    2. Makes my stomach hurt, too! lol I appreciate the prayers!! :)

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  10. Not sure if my post posted or not.

    I basically wrote the following. I would love to win!

    We've been TTC without success for 3 + years. I have endo, he has male infertility. We need IVF with ICSI and hoping to start next spring.

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    1. Annabelle, thank you for stopping by. I have endo, and my husband has male infertility, too. We have done 4 cycles of IVF ICSI. I definitely feel like we can relate to each other. I will pray for you.

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  11. Following you friend! Thinking about you and owe you an email! Can't wait to catch up!

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    1. So glad you're home!...although, I know you would still rather be on vacation. :)

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  12. I think my account must be defective! My posts aren't working!

    Anyways, I previously said:
    I have my fingers and toes crossed that you can add a very happy anniversary to your memory in the very near future!
    Add me to your giveaway! ;-) I have been meaning to check out her etsy page, I'll go do that now!

    Hope you are doing WONDERFUL!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Blogspot is not an easy place to comment. That's the one main complaint I have.

      Yes, go check out her etsy page. I love it!

      Thank you for your wonderful good wishes. I miss seeing your beautiful face!

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  13. Thanks so much for this giveaway! I love your blog post btw. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for 2 years now. We will start our IUI procedures next year. Keeping our fingers crossed that it will only take one. Hoping to win this so it can bring me hope and luck!

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    1. Isabella, thank you for visiting my blog! I wish you the best of luck on your IUI. I hope it only takes one, too! *Hugs*

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    2. Isabella, did you see that you won the giveaway? Instructions on how to claim your prize are on my newest blog entry. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks!

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  14. I love reading your blog. It is awesome how open and honest you are about what you are going through and your relationship with Christ! God has put you on my heart and I continually lift you and Todd up in prayer! Love you guys.

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    1. Julie, thank you so much! I always appreciate you and your kind words. We truly appreciate your prayers. We love you, too!

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  15. John 3:30: He must become greater; I must become less.

    Laura, as I watch your journey, you embody this verse. Unable to fully comprehend your ups and downs, I can relate to a woman's desire to have a child once she decides she is ready. I know it's been a long journey, but I see God's work in you through your service, actions and attitudes. God has a perfect plan through all of this. One day He will make that known, but for now He has began a good work through you. XOXO

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    1. Jenny, your words leave me speechless. I cannot tell you how you have touched my heart. I love you so very much! Thank you for being such a great sister to me.

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