So last Thursday (sorry for the late post) we had our second hormone level and then I went ahead and did a third one yesterday. The hormone levels should double every 48 hours so...
Tuesday 16th- 93
Thursday 18th - 180 (48 hours last)
Monday 22nd - 780 (96 hours after last)
So, good news....not huge numbers which likely means that there is one or two not five or six!
Ultrasound will be October 8th - seems like a long time.
No nausea
Some minimal food aversion - some things make me feel nauseated.
I am feeling a little bit more of a yay but still cautious until the ultrasound!
This is a little surreal - which is normal so that is all good!
More to come soon - I hope
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Positive Testing
Thanks to all of you for your positive thoughts and wishes. I had my pregnancy test today and it was also positive! This of course means retesting again in two days to make sure that hormones are going up at the right rate. It also means very little until we see something on the Ultrasound in another two weeks or so. But, it is a start. A quiet "yay" for now with a bigger YAY to come if all looks good on the ultrasound. My "scruffy" little embryos are trying! Now if everyone can focus their energy on thinking about there being just one or at most two babies, please! I will have another update on Thursday!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Knitting Project fininshed while on bed rest
Just thought I would post my completed project for the week. It was a fun knitting project and I hope to use it someday. I got the pattern book for this project on Bainbridge Island at a cute little Yarn Shop call Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. The yarn was on sale and I thought I would just have enough to do the cardigan but apparently, I also had enough to make a hat (barely) and I hybridized the pattern to make the hat in the book (which was just a generic hat) match the cardigan pattern. It kept me busy until late last night and I finished it this AM.
Oh and for those of you not on Facebook where this pic is posted, I have also attached a copy of my new digital piano which will get much use in the coming months I hope!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Guarded Optimism
Okay ladies and gents get out your rosaries, prayer shawls and lucky pennies.
We got the call this AM that the embryos (numbering 8) were looking pretty bad. Last time wasn't a fluke, just how our embryos act when they are in a petrie dish. There were a few that may work. They thought that getting them "in vivo" (in the uterus) may help and they have "seen successful pregnancies from this quality of embryos in the past."
On a grading scale of 1 to 4, 1 is good and 4 is useless, our embryos were 2.5 at best and 4 at the worst. They like to only implant 1's or 2's.
The goal is for there to be 8 cells and only 3 embryos had at least 8 cells.
I wanted to talk to the doctor before I got naked and wasted my time on 2 days of bed rest. He said that the first test tube baby was an embryo that they almost threw away because the quality was so poor. He figured we might as well be aggressive and see what happens.
So, we went and had the embryos put where they belong.
Now I am on bed rest for 48 hours. The transfer of the embryos was MUCH easier than the extraction!
So I am catching up on Battlestar Galatica with my buddy Jason and tomorrow my friend Cathy will stop by to knit for a while. Yay for friends!
Tom is getting mad if I am up for more than 2 minutes. I am only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom, otherwise sitting (but not quite straight up) and lying only. I will be unshowered and sleeping on the couch until Sunday.
We won't know if this worked until the 16th or 17th of September when we have our pregnancy test.
If it doesn't work, the fertility challenge is off and adoption shall begin.
There is still always a chance we can get pregnant on our own. I still have one good tube. Tom's sperms are the best swimmers up that the doctor has seen. We are just caught in a catch 22. The chances of having another tubal pregnancy is pretty high and the method to avoid that complication is not working so well.
So start the good vibes and we will hope that something works out one way or the other....
We got the call this AM that the embryos (numbering 8) were looking pretty bad. Last time wasn't a fluke, just how our embryos act when they are in a petrie dish. There were a few that may work. They thought that getting them "in vivo" (in the uterus) may help and they have "seen successful pregnancies from this quality of embryos in the past."
On a grading scale of 1 to 4, 1 is good and 4 is useless, our embryos were 2.5 at best and 4 at the worst. They like to only implant 1's or 2's.
The goal is for there to be 8 cells and only 3 embryos had at least 8 cells.
I wanted to talk to the doctor before I got naked and wasted my time on 2 days of bed rest. He said that the first test tube baby was an embryo that they almost threw away because the quality was so poor. He figured we might as well be aggressive and see what happens.
So, we went and had the embryos put where they belong.
Now I am on bed rest for 48 hours. The transfer of the embryos was MUCH easier than the extraction!
So I am catching up on Battlestar Galatica with my buddy Jason and tomorrow my friend Cathy will stop by to knit for a while. Yay for friends!
Tom is getting mad if I am up for more than 2 minutes. I am only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom, otherwise sitting (but not quite straight up) and lying only. I will be unshowered and sleeping on the couch until Sunday.
We won't know if this worked until the 16th or 17th of September when we have our pregnancy test.
If it doesn't work, the fertility challenge is off and adoption shall begin.
There is still always a chance we can get pregnant on our own. I still have one good tube. Tom's sperms are the best swimmers up that the doctor has seen. We are just caught in a catch 22. The chances of having another tubal pregnancy is pretty high and the method to avoid that complication is not working so well.
So start the good vibes and we will hope that something works out one way or the other....
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Yay fertilized eggs!
So just a quick update as I am running on reserve battery power and am too lazy to get up and plug in the computer right now.
The clinic called this AM.
We had 15 follices
13 of those were mature eggs
8 of those fertilized!!
This is one more than last time.
They will see how the embryos look on day 3 AM for the PM transfer. If they have awesome embryos, likely they will just transfer 2, but if they are a little "if"ey (or sensitive as I like to think), they will transfer 3. I am hoping the cells are nice and relaxed. I felt like telling them to take better care of my potential children this time, but refrained. I think asking them to read them bedtime stories and play them Mozart may be a little too much.
I spent the day updating my Ravelry site (knitting site meets way to catalog all of your yarn, patterns, books and fininshed projects) oh how the OCD me loves this site!!!
My keyboard gets here tomorrow. Guess I better vacuum that spot of cat fur that is right where I want to put it!
More on Friday AM/PM for transfer day.
The clinic called this AM.
We had 15 follices
13 of those were mature eggs
8 of those fertilized!!
This is one more than last time.
They will see how the embryos look on day 3 AM for the PM transfer. If they have awesome embryos, likely they will just transfer 2, but if they are a little "if"ey (or sensitive as I like to think), they will transfer 3. I am hoping the cells are nice and relaxed. I felt like telling them to take better care of my potential children this time, but refrained. I think asking them to read them bedtime stories and play them Mozart may be a little too much.
I spent the day updating my Ravelry site (knitting site meets way to catalog all of your yarn, patterns, books and fininshed projects) oh how the OCD me loves this site!!!
My keyboard gets here tomorrow. Guess I better vacuum that spot of cat fur that is right where I want to put it!
More on Friday AM/PM for transfer day.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Retrieval
So we had the egg extraction today. This whole cycle has been so much better than the last one. I think it is the knowledge of what is to come. This time I have had no scary or weird dreams. I slept well like my acupuncturist said I would.
We arrived a little late but the office was much busier than the last time (likely because the last time was Memorial Day). They took me back to the room - a different holding area than before - thankfully! The female anesthesiologist came in and reviewed my history. The very able nurse came in and painlessly placed my IV. They wheeled me back to the room before giving the Versed so I remember the room. I helped them get me up in the stirrups and then the oxygen cannula went on and that is all I remember.
I awakened and immediately asked Tom how many follicles they retrieved. He said 15 and that this was the third time I had asked :-) As I slowly awakened from the anesthesia, they came to check on me and give me instructions for the rest of today and Friday - the day of hopeful transfer.
I stopped slurring my words (per Tom all I did initially was talk all slurry) and drank some water and Sprite and they sent me on my way.
I think there is a lot less pain this time than last. I only briefly used the heating pad and I think I could have gone without. I did take some Tylenol but that was more for a headache than anything else.
I have worn my glasses all day which always makes me feel tired (I only ever wear them to walk to bed and my body is well trained to think sleepy thoughts when my glasses are on). I have rested all day. Tom made dinner, vacuumed, cleaned the garage, folded the laundry and will do the dishes tonight after he enforces some sort of bed time.
I plan to relax and not do much for the next couple of days as I have the days off.
More to come on Friday and I hope that things go better and that there are at least embryos to transfer. It will be another couple weeks after that before they let us take a pregnancy test.
We arrived a little late but the office was much busier than the last time (likely because the last time was Memorial Day). They took me back to the room - a different holding area than before - thankfully! The female anesthesiologist came in and reviewed my history. The very able nurse came in and painlessly placed my IV. They wheeled me back to the room before giving the Versed so I remember the room. I helped them get me up in the stirrups and then the oxygen cannula went on and that is all I remember.
I awakened and immediately asked Tom how many follicles they retrieved. He said 15 and that this was the third time I had asked :-) As I slowly awakened from the anesthesia, they came to check on me and give me instructions for the rest of today and Friday - the day of hopeful transfer.
I stopped slurring my words (per Tom all I did initially was talk all slurry) and drank some water and Sprite and they sent me on my way.
I think there is a lot less pain this time than last. I only briefly used the heating pad and I think I could have gone without. I did take some Tylenol but that was more for a headache than anything else.
I have worn my glasses all day which always makes me feel tired (I only ever wear them to walk to bed and my body is well trained to think sleepy thoughts when my glasses are on). I have rested all day. Tom made dinner, vacuumed, cleaned the garage, folded the laundry and will do the dishes tonight after he enforces some sort of bed time.
I plan to relax and not do much for the next couple of days as I have the days off.
More to come on Friday and I hope that things go better and that there are at least embryos to transfer. It will be another couple weeks after that before they let us take a pregnancy test.
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