Embryo Transfer

Today was the big implant day!!  Our appointment was at 8:30 this morning.  We met with the nurse and Joy (the embryologist) when we arrived.  Then, it was time to move to the ultrasound room.  Chad got to stay with me the whole time today which is awesome!!  The ultrasound room was dimly lit and they had soft music playing in the background.  If it weren't for my required incredibly full bladder (for a better ultrasound), it would have been very relaxing.  lol  The whole procedure took less than fifteen minutes.  I had to lay flat on my back for one hour.  Chad and I had an hour to talk about, think about, and dream.  We had a few more forms to complete.  Then, we were on our way.  I have strict instructions to lounge today and be a "lady of leisure" and to take it easy for at least the next 48 hours.

It was kind of sad to hug our main nurse, Diane, goodbye.  Everyone at the hospital has been incredibly nice.  They really went above and beyond to put us at ease and to discuss any issues that we had or topics that we didn't quite understand.  We were so blessed to be matched with this clinic.  We couldn't have asked for a better group of people to go through this journey.

We are anxious to head home.  We miss our family, puppies, friends...and the warmer weather.  Hopefully, we will be home by the weekend.  Hopefully, Chad and I won't kill each other being cooped up in this hotel another couple of days.  lol  We haven't ventured out much since we've been here.  The weather is so harsh and there's not much in this town to tour.  And just so you know.... you can't get biscuits and gravy or sweet tea here!!!!  But, the people are super nice.

I suppose our next entry will be in a couple of weeks when we have our blood pregnancy test (Beta HCG).  We are so blessed to have this opportunity and can't thank all our friends and family enough for their support and prayers through this whole process.   We love you all.

Embryo Count

Boy!  We didn't sleep much last night.  We knew the embryologist was to call today with the embryo count and the plan for the day of the embryo transfer.  She finally called around 10am (CST) with the news.  Out of the nine eggs retrieved yesterday, six were mature enough for fertilization and five were successfully fertilized.  Since there are 6 or fewer, their protocol is to transfer on day three (which is Wednesday).  The embryologist said the nurse would call to set up time and give us all the important information.  We will not now how many embryos will be transfered until Wednesday.  Joy, the embryologist, will give us her recommendations and will discuss with us all the options.

So, until Wednesday, we will be hanging out.  I began getting progesterone injections last night.  Its a daily muscle injection.  Chad does great at giving me these shots.  I will be getting these injections to either a negative pregnancy test or through the first trimester.  

Our plans are to travel back to Tennessee Saturday morning.  We can't thank everyone enough who helped us here get here.  There are so many people and we are soooooo thankful.  We love you all!

Egg Retrieval

We woke this morning to a blaring alarm one and a quarter hours before our appointment at 8:30am.  We did our morning routine without much discussion.  Both of us had full minds and worries.  We arrived at the hospital and our nurse met us at the door.  We had more consent forms to sign and more information to go over.  The nurse (Ruth) placed an IV catheter and started fluids.  Poor Chad was so nervous.  Its normally him that is under medical care and not me.  Then, it was time.  Chad gave me a kiss and we were on our way to ultrasound/procedure room.  Chad wasn't allowed to stay during the retrieval.

Ruth was so nice.  She attached all the monitoring equipment.  There was all kinds of medical stuff and junk all around the room.  For those of you that know me....I was a little overwhelmed.   Everyone and their sister came in the room and everyone got to work.  As I watched all the ladies do all the prep duties that seemed like a ballet.  Then, all the sudden the world seemed soft.  I looked at Ruth, giggled and said, "You gave me something, didn't you?"  Haha!  The procedure went very quickly and was practically painless.  I had a few tears...more fear and anxiety than pain.   We walked back to the exam room where Chad was waiting.  He seemed very relieved.  The nurses monitored my blood pressure and stats for a hour or so.  Joy, the embryologist, came in and let us know that they retrieved 9 eggs!  The 9th egg is a surprise.  We were only expecting eight.  Joy said that she would fertilize the eggs this evening and would call us tomorrow with an update.  She should be able to tell us tomorrow if they are doing the embryo transfer Wednesday or Friday.

We are back at the hotel resting.  I don't even know the time.  But, I believe I've been sleeping most of the afternoon.

Our Visit with Cindy and T-bone

Saturday we traveled to Mequon (close to Milwaukee) to visit our friends.  For those of you who don't know, Cindy "adopted" Chad while he was is Iraq.  She was a constant friend to both Chad and me.  We have stayed in contact and finally got to meet in person last summer when we came to Wisconsin for our consultation appointment.

When we arrived, Cindy had made some fabulous chili and super yummy banana bread.  Terry was out with a snow blowing contraption and was clearing the driveway.  Chad and I were thankful that we do not need that in Tennessee.  Cindy and Terry took us for a drive down by Lake Michigan and then to downtown.  We visited Usinger's, Wisconsin Cheese Mart and a bakery to get Kringles.  We bought a huge assortment of Cheese (including some fresh curds), sausages, and Kringles.  What is so cool is that we don't have to put them in the fridge.  They stay cold enough in the car!  That wouldn't happen in Tennessee either.  lol

We went to dinner at a historic home that is a restaurant.  It was so wonderful!  We got to visit with friends and eat some yummy food.  It doesn't get much better than that!!  Thank you Cindy and Terry for a wonderful day and dinner.  Also, it was great to meet Lambeau.   He is such a smart little yorkie puppy.

We traveled back to our hotel and arrived just before midnight.

Last Belly Shot

This evening at 11pm (exactly) we gave my last belly shot.  It was the HCG injection that triggers ovulation.  Apparently, timing is everything with this injection.  I suppose we will know Sunday morning when we go for the egg retrieval appointment.

We watched the snow for a while and decided that we NEEDED to get out of this hotel room a while.  We thought, "Hey, we should just hop on the interstate and visit our friends Cindy and T-bone".  Unfortunately, the lack of control at an intersection made the decision for us to head back towards the hotel.  Its funny (not haha funny) how the car doesn't like to stop when on snow/ice.  Anyway, the man's look that we just about hit said it all.  "Well, they are going to hit me."  It was like slow motion.   Thank God that we stopped just inches from his driver's side door.  So, we went through a drive through and stopped by the grocery store (woodman's) and headed back to the hotel.   We did venture out for dinner at Outback.      It was yummy!

Now, for a restless night.  Excited that we might get to visit our friends tomorrow and anxious for the upcoming egg retrieval.  We are trying to be calm and hopeful.  Its difficult with all the "what ifs".  

2nd Monitoring Ultrasound

This morning was our 2nd scheduled ultrasound and estradiol level.  Our appointment was at 8:45 for bloodwork and 9am ultrasound.  Let me begin in saying that it is COLD here!!  I giggled at Chad for putting his long underware on under his clothes.  But, I wish I had worn mine!!  The car read -4 on the temperature.  That doesn't include wind chill factor! Brrrrrrr!  Luckily, our dear friend, Cindy lent me a coat.  It definitely helped keep the cold out.  


At our ultrasound, they measured 8 follicles.  Our doctor scheduled the egg retrieval for Sunday.  Which is wonderful!  Chad will be able to stay until the egg transfer which will be either Wednesday or Friday.  Another bonus is that I only have 3 more SQ (belly) injections.  


We also met with the embryologist today, Joy.  She is the one who will be caring for our little eggos from the retrieval to transfer.  Our nurse even told us that we would get a photo of all eggos that they are going to transfer.  WOW!  They must have some super microscope camera.  This technology amazes us.  We are trying to stay calm and do some relaxing until Sunday.  I don't know about Chad but I am super anxious.  All the what ifs and it depends... 

Whoa!! Its Cold!! "Where are you from?"

Today, We sat in the warmth of our room most of the day and watched it snow.  We also watched the back of our eyelids a bunch!  The snow coming down was beautiful.  Its funny how life goes on here.  The roads are clear and salted.  In Tennessee every thing would have been shut down.  


We finally got our butts in gear around 5 tonight and went to dinner at Olive Garden.  Our waiter asked us, "Where are you from?".  Seriously? He was from New York and in the Army.  He said he was stationed in North Carolina and that people there talked just like us.  This isn't the first time we've been asked that question.  Actually, at every place we've been someone has asked the accent question.  I suppose it would be funny to bring out the Geico pothole commercial accent...."Oh shoot!  Let me get my cellular!"  Its too funny.  


This evening Chad declared that he wasn't going out any more because its just too cold.  lol  I don't think that will last long.    Anyway, we got back to the hotel just in time for my 2 nightly injections.  I'm on 3 a day injections until our appointment on Thursday.  My tummy is beginning to look a pin cushion.   The injections aren't bad.  Definitely worth the end result.  

First Monitoring Ultrasound

Our first full day in Wisconsin has been exciting...Well, maybe I shouldn't jump right to exciting.  Eventful would be a better word.

Chad barely made it into the room last night because of gout pain in his right ankle.  We didn't know that it was gout until this morning.  We thought maybe some kind of trauma.  He couldn't walk.  Poor thing.  We couldn't find crutches this morning.  So, transportation of Chad was...hmmmmm....interesting.  Haha!   To top it off, I fell on the ice.  Not bad but fairly humorous (I'm pretty sure I was flailing my arms and legs  lol).  It is now anyway.

We made to our appointments on time.  I had blood drawn.  My nurse was great and got my blood on the first stick!!  Wahoo!  Then, we went up to the top floor of the hospital to the women's center.  Our wait was very short.  I have to tell you that this hospital system is top notch.  They were great!  '

After being called back to the exam room, we went through the normal weight/height check (nope I didn't even peek at how much I weigh), blood pressure, temperature, etc.  Then, we went to ultrasound and the ultrasound tech measured 6 of the follicles (eggs) and the lining of the uterus.  Everything is going as planned.  The doctor also did a measurement for the embryo transfer.  THAT WAS NOT FUN!  It was a quick procedure and was bearable.

We got an edited schedule of drugs.  Our next appointment is Thursday morning for another ultrasound and bloodwork.  We had to order 2 more doses of Menopur to get us through until Thursday.  They will deliver it to our hotel.

After the fertility visits, we headed downstairs to the urgent care doctor.  Chad got a prescription and crutches.  Now, we are back at the hotel relaxing.  All we have to do now is chill until Thursday.  Its so weird not having some where to go or something to do.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers.  Love you all!  Today is my mothers birthday!  Happy Birthday mom!! Love you more!

From Here to There

We began our day comfortable at home with my morning injection and steroid tablet at 6:15am.  We packed and loaded the car FULL of stuff and junk...just short of the kitchen sink.  We were on the road by 8am (EST).  Our trip was uneventful.  I drove the first portion and Chad drove the rest of the way.  He drove much more than I did.  I am very thankful that I didn't have to drive through Chicago.   I hate driving through all that traffic and toll booths.  Illinois collected $7.90 for a tour of their wonderful state.  I kind of feel like we got ripped off.  Lol!  Anyway, we made it through and arrived at our hotel about 9pm (CST).  


Tomorrow is our first monitoring ultrasound.  Hopefully, it will give us a more detailed time frame of how long we'll be here.  Thanks for all the support today.  Both of us appreciate you all very much.

Packing and Planning

Today is packing and cleaning day at our house.  My dear friend Traci is meeting me today and letting me borrow her laptop for our trip.  She said that I didn't want to use the hotel computer because someone is always waiting to use it.  :-)  Besties are amazing and I love mine. 

I am trying to figure how to pack all my "stuff" (including the kitchen sink) into my suitcase.  I have a tendency to over pack.  I guess going to Wisconsin it would be better to over pack rather than under pack.

My mother and father have agreed to take care of our four legged kids.  Mom came to my work and picked them up last night.  Maybe its the hormones, but I was a little weepy.  I know that our puppies love to visit their mimi and papaw...they are super spoiled while they are visiting.  I can't thank my parents enough for taking care of our babies. 

Also, a BIG  thank you to all our friends and family who helped us to have this opportunity.    You all are the best and we love you all.

Adding Another Injection

We added another injection Wednesday night.  It went great.  Let the follicle stimulating begin.  Haha!  We add one more injection to the routine on Saturday night.  Then, the ultrasounds begin on Monday!  Say a prayer for us! 

Baseline Ultrasound and bloodwork

Today, was the baseline ultrasound and estrogen level.  We had that done at our reproductive endocrinologist here in town.  As instructed by our fertility calendar, we decreased the lupron to only 5 units and I began taking Dexamethasone.   My appointment was at 9 this morning.

When I arrived at the RE's office, there's a man in there waiting with his young boy...who is running around the office wild.  The man doesn't say a word to the boy!!  Seriously?  For those of you that don't know, Its not cool to bring your children to the RE's office.  The people who are in the office are having fertility issues.   Its sort of like rubbing their noses in the fact that they don't have children.  Especially, those women who are hormone treatments who are having trouble controlling their emotions anyway.   Okay...vented....sorry all!  lol

When they called me back to have my blood drawn, a shaky nurse introduces herself as the new nurse and says she'll be taking my blood today!  Ahhhh!  Keeping a calm face and trying to not make her more nervous, I sit down in the blood letting chair.  The nurse gets her gear ready and pokes my arm....and misses.   Luckily, she got it without having to dig too much. 

Then, back to the exam room we go for the uber pleasant ultrasound.  The doctor counted no cysts and 8 tiny baby eggs.  Excellent report and I'll know the bloodwork in a few days. 

Let the injections begin....

The week after Christmas, we received two HUGE boxes of medications....injectable medications!  If you want to talk about overwhelming, I can explain it all to you!  For you all that know me well....I am so totally freaked out with human medicine.   Freaked=Faint!  Chad is so good (aka calm) about giving shots to me or himself.  My brain was going overtime about what if, what if, what if and OH MY OH MY....can you see a pattern?  LoL..but really! 

Anyway, I had a good couple of weeks to get adjusted to the idea of injecting myself with a needle.  Still not happy about it, but it had to be done.  Our injection beginning date was January 2, 2012.  I would have to give myself 10u (yes, I know....insulin syringe....what can I say...I'm a wimp) of Lupron once a day in the morning.  This medication (to my understanding) is to make my body shut down to prevent early egg maturation and early ovulation.  The drug insert said to expect menopausal type side effects.  Wahoo! 

On New Years day, Chad and I planned and schemed about when to do the injections.  We decided on 6:15am every morning.  Poor Chad has had a cold the last week and that night was particularly rough for him.  I think he had just dosed off when my alarm went off.  I didn't wake him.  I read the instructions again and followed them to the "t".  I wiped the top of the bottle with alcohol, drew back the insulin syringe to 10 units, inserted the needle into the vial, pushed the air into the vial, and drew up the 10 units of Lupron.  Then, I set it on the bathroom counter and LOOKED at it for the next 10 minutes.  When 6:15 rolled around, I took the syringe and sat down on the bed (in case I passed out).  I stuck the needle slowly through my skin..but only half way.  I am supposed to go all the way in to the needle hub.  I injected the medication and it immediately looked like a bee sting.  Yup folks....the needle must go all the way into your skin.  Lesson learned.  

The rest of the week has been much better.  Chad has gotten up every morning and drawn up the shot for me.  He has been so supportive.  I am doing better with going all the way in with the needle.  But, I still go through the skin slowly.  Chad thinks I should just jab it in there...I just can't get myself to do that.  Oh well, its working for me.  

Later this week, we will add the stimulation medications (2 more injections) to the mix.  These has PMS side effects noted on its drug information forms.  Feeling bad for Chad.  Although, I have to say that I haven't had any real symptoms so far.  Maybe, a little more "huggy" with Chad.  Poor Chad!!  Hopefully, he will survive my neediness! 

The beginning

Hi all!  As most of you know, Chad and I were chosen as scholarship recipients from INCIID (The International Council on Infertility Informations Dissemination, Inc.) for a donated cycle of invitro fertilization.  For those of you who aren't aware, I will begin from the start.

Shortly after Chad returned home from an overseas deployment to Iraq in 2010, we found out that to have biological children that IVF (invitro fertilization) would be necessary.  This was heart breaking news because of the price tag associated with the process.  Its usually costs between $8,000 to $12,000 depending on what medications you are prescribed and which doctor you choose.  

A friend from high school who I reconnected with on facebook had posted some information about the scholarship that she had received from INCIID.  I emailed her and asked for more information.  She directed me to their website (www.inciid.com) and to the "from INCIID the Heart" Scholarship application.  We decided to apply for the scholarship with the July 31, 2010 deadline.  The paperwork was tedious and I had help from so many people.  One in particular is Mimi Wilson.  She was so helpful with our letter to INCIID.  Also, Liz & Lydia Zeller's mother notarized it at a moments notice so that we could get it in the mail before the deadline.  What a life saver!!!!

Months went by with no word from INCIID.  We had also decided to become foster parents in the hopes of adoption.  So, August through September we attended our parenting classes.  We completed our classes and were in the line up for a home study.  At the end of October, we received an email late Sunday night that we had received the scholarship!!  We were/are so excited to be blessed with this privilege.  We knew that, if selected, we had a fund raising commitment of $3500 to INCIID.  This money goes to the everyday operation of INCIID.  They have physicians who donate the cycles to couples like us and there is a drug company who donates some of the medication.

Anyway, we had some fund raising to do!!!  We wrote letters and sent them to everyone that we know.  My cousin Tracy Silver organized a very successful spaghetti dinner where we raffled off a quilt made by mother.  All of our family and friends were so generous!!   We can not thank you all enough for your support through all of this.  We received notification that our fund raising was officially completed February 1, 1011.  Now, we were in a holding pattern waiting to be matched with a donating clinic.  There are none in Tennessee.  So, we knew that this would be an adventure!!!  Oh, if we only knew!!  LOL

We were still trying to become foster parents while waiting.  Due to a paperwork technicality, we were in a stalemate with DCS.    In late July 2011, we were matched with a donating clinic in Wisconsin!  Yup, Wisconsin!  We were excited and nervous all at the same time!!  They scheduled us for our initial consultation visit in August.  Here we go!!!

We began our journey to Wisconsin in the evening after Chad had gotten off work.  We drove twelve or thirteen hours to a rest stop near our destination and slept for a couple of hours.  Then, we finished the drive to the hospital for our consultation.  We cleaned up the the hospital lobby bathroom.  I can only imagine what people thought of us coming out of the bathroom with all our bags.  What a sight!! We had our eight hour consultation appointment.  We went over questions and schedules.  It was a little overwhelming but exciting at the same time.  We scheduled our cycle for January 2012.  Now, I believe we are all up to date.  Haha!