Unanswered Questions

Today, marks day 3 that I’ve been waiting for a returned call from my nurse. She was out of the office on Monday, so I knew I probably wouldn’t hear anything that day. However, I was really hoping to hear something yesterday.

I’m currently on the suppression phase of IVF. You take 30 days of active birth control pills in order to give your ovaries a rest before they are stimulated (from what I understand). Anyway, after about 20 days of the pill, my body decided to have its monthly cycle. I was supposed to skip that for another 10 days, but I didn’t. It could mean nothing, or it could mean that all of my dates will be pushed back. Regardless, I just want to know what it means. If it means I’m going to be pushed back, I will be really sad…really sad. I’ve been a mess all morning, but I just read this verse that brings me some peace.

"Don't worry about anything instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

 
UPDATE: Everything is just fine. Dr. Bundren and Kelly, my Lupron nurse, have been out of the office this week, so Mary Kathryn has been running the place by herself mostly. She just hasn't had time to call me back. I think I'll just start sending Todd up there every morning with a list of my questions. J I’m so relieved!! We are still on-track to do my suppression check next Wednesday, May 1.

 

 

Blessings All Around

It’s official.  Rachel and Samantha had their little girls!

Rachel gave birth to Emma and Avery on April 13.  She had a rough labor (that I won’t tell the details of here because of her privacy…see, I do have some sense of my friend’s privacy J).  However, she’s doing much better now.  The girls are in the NICU, but they are progressing just fine.  We got to see them on Monday night, and I couldn’t have been more excited!  They are beautiful!!  Someday soon, they will go home, and I’m going to go over and hold them and love on them.

Samantha gave birth to Kennedi on April 17.  She seemed to do pretty well.  I haven’t had a chance to hear the details, but they are both home and loving it.  Both Samantha and Michael sent pictures on the day she was born telling us how in love they were.  Todd and I can’t wait to meet Miss Kennedi.  She’s a doll, and we love getting new pictures of her!

Anyway, I just wanted to document this, so I could remember everything that was happening during each phase of our process.  I love these two sweet friends of mine and all three of their precious, little girls!  Congratulations, Mommas!!

Frankie Say Relax

Sam & Rachel, that means you! J 

Several months ago, I blogged about two of my friends that were newly pregnant.  Well, now, they are both about to be newly mommas…as soon as bed rest is over!  J  I just want to mention them in a quick blog, so you can say prayers for them.

Samantha, she’s pregnant with one little girl, Kennedi Celeste, has probably had one of the hardest pregnancies I’ve ever heard of!  She had to have gallbladder surgery a few months ago.  (It was done laparoscopically like my procedure in August.  I was a huge mess from pain after it was over, and I wasn’t even pregnant!!)  Since then, she’s just been sick.  She didn’t get to have any of her showers or take maternity pictures.  However, she seems to be doing a little better this week.  Kennedi has been doing fine through the entire process.  She has an arrhythmia, but the doctor doesn’t seem to be too concerned with it.  Anyway, Samantha has been put on bed rest at home until Kennedi is born on April 17.

Then, there’s Rachel.  Rachel is pregnant with two little girls, Emma and Avery.  Despite having gestational diabetes (this Cookie Monster can’t imagine dealing with that), Rachel has had a pretty uneventful pregnancy, as far as I know.  However, last night, she was admitted to the hospital.  Her blood pressure won’t lower.  The girls seem to be doing fine, but they want her to stay there until she delivers.  She is almost 34 weeks along.

Both of these ladies have done a great job keeping their spirits high.  I hope I’m half as positive as they are when I’m going through my pregnancy.  They both mean a lot to me because they have been my sounding board for lots of questions through this process.  I will never be able to tell them how much I appreciate them!  That being said, please, remember to keep these two soon-to-be-mommas and all three of their little girls in your prayers today…oh, and the daddies that I hope are waiting on them hand and food.  J  I can’t wait to meet Kennedi, Emma, and Avery!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

I’m a terrible blogger. J I really need to try to get better at more timely posts.

First of all, I don’t think I ever mentioned that my friend, Lizzy, is pregnant. She’s due in August, so this is not new news. She’s my friend that went through IUI five times!! They have been trying for years, so this is really great news. Plus, she’s a super cute pregnant girl! She’s the one that got me involved in my bootcamp gym; however, she doesn’t go anymore since she’s not really concerned about keeping her weight in check. J We take dance together every Wednesday, and she’s a regular sub for our Bunco. I love seeing her pregnant! It just makes me so happy for her.

Now, onto the update from my appointment last week. First of all, my cervix looks longer, so Dr. Bundren said he's fine with implanting two embryos, if we get two healthy ones. That's awesome news because I'm really hoping for twins! I should probably stop wishing for that, or God's going to use his wicked sense of humor to give me quadruplets. Yikes! J

Overall, the appointment went great! I’m just supposed to keep taking my birth control this month. Then, we will go in on May 1 to make sure my ovaries look ready to start the process. If all goes well, we should be pregnant around May 20. J Here is a tentative timeline:

· May 1 – Suppression Check – This is where they will decide if we’re ready for IVF that month.

· May 5 – Begin shots

· May 9 – Begin every other day ultrasounds and blood tests. I even have to go in on the weekend, which really surprises me that they don’t mind working the weekend. J

· May 13 – Trigger shot

· May 15 – Retrieval and the making of the embryos – This is the most impressive day to me. I don’t know how they do this. It’s so cool.

· May 15 – Also, begin daily progesterone shots – These are the ones that hurt really bad, apparently. The needle is big, and the shot is oil-based. I have been told I will be black and blue through this shot.

· May 20 – Embryo transfer – I’m getting pregnant!!

· ~June 3 – Pregnancy test

That will be an agonizing two weeks, I bet. I'll be trying to keep myself very busy!

So, as I said, this timeline is tentative. All of the dates are dependent on how my body reacts to everything. However, as long as May 1 goes well, this schedule should only change by a couple of days at the most. Fingers crossed. I’m ready for this!

Also, I have to stop bootcamp on May 1. Bummer! I won’t be able to go back until after my first trimester. Plus, she said I would have to drink a lot of V8 and Gatorade. I think I need to start learning to drink V8, now. I’m not big on tomato juice.

Therefore, we have another month of uneventful stuff with our IVF journey. I'm going to get in as much bootcamp as I can and really try to concentrate on eating healthier. Plus, I need to take more Yoga. We've slacked off the last month or two, and I wanted to be taking it 2-3 times a week by now. Also, I fully plan to learn to meditate this month and get regular massages. If you can't tell, I'm a little anxious that my anxiety may harm my ability to be successful at IVF. Ha! I'll have my anxiety in check by May 1.

That being said, May should be a hoot with all of the hormone changes. I’m trying to convince Todd to get all of his work traveling in this month, so he can be home for the entire IVF process. Fingers are crossed on that, too!

Update:  One thing I had planned to do with this blog was be very specific as to what happened at all of my appointments, to an extent.  That way, if anyone is about to start IVF, they will know what to expect.  That being said, this appointment started with a typical blood draw.  If you are afraid of needles or having your blood drawn, rethink IVF or find some type of hypnosis to help you cope with your fear.  J  Then, they did the mapping.  This was quite uncomfortable.  Basically, they were measuring to see how my uterus was shaped and sized to figure out how they will implant the embryos.  For me, it was almost as uncomfortable as the HSG imaging test done back at the beginning of March.  Breathing and relaxing helps…and having my honey there.  If I haven’t said it before, I’ve got a great husband!

Keep Calm & Cruise On

So, for those that do follow my blog, again thank you…and I’m sorry.  I didn’t blog over the last week because we took the kids on a Spring Break cruise.  (I would have posted that we were going, but I get the heebie-jeebies about putting that information on the Internet before we leave town.)  I’ll post more on the cruise later with some pictures.  It was fabulous, and we successfully impressed two teenagers and one tween.  Go us!  Not posting tonight, though.  I have some sort of a sinus infection, so Todd and I are resting, relaxing, and cuddling.  We were in the car for 12 ½ hours yesterday.  Can you imagine having to drive that much in one day?!  Me, either!!  (Todd did all the driving, duh!)  J  I love my hubby!!

Anyway, I have great IVF news!  Mary Kathryn called and said that my HSG test on March 4 showed a normal uterus and good uterine cavity.  This Thursday, March 28, we will have our “mapping” appointment.  This is where they will take measurements of my uterus and cervix, do a dress rehearsal for embryo transfer, run some labs, and give us a checklist & bunch of consent forms.  I’m so excited that I have a feeling the next few days will drag on.  I think that at this point, we’ll really have an idea of when we’ll be getting pregnant and what I can and can’t do for the next several months.  We’ve been putting some plans on hold until we have this appointment, so I hope this will give us some much anticipated information.  Fingers crossed that the cervix looks long enough for two embryos!  At this point, that is my biggest concern.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

Still waiting for the call from Dr. Bundren’s office to schedule my next appointment.  I’m starting to get a little anxious.  I really want to have that appointment, so I can get a schedule of how this IVF process is going to go.  How often is “too often” to call and check-in with the receptionist?  Every hour, on the hour?!  Only kidding.  I haven’t even called since my appointment last Monday.  I’m calling, now.  J

Everything Looks Good

I went in for my imaging test today.  First of all, it’s very uncomfortable.  However, they were able to tell that the septum in my uterus is gone and at the very least, my left fallopian tube and ovary are wide open.  This is great news!  This means the surgery in August worked, and we are ready to move forward with the IVF process.  Now, I just have to wait for Dr. Bundren’s office to call me with my next appointment.  At that point, we should really get some details the process.  I’m so excited!  I wish the appointment was tomorrow!!

Also, for those of you that have left comments to which I have not responded, I truly appreciate them.  I hope to get to them soon.