Fantastic 3rd beta results!

I just got the results from this morning's bloodtest and they are great. My HCG level is 844, up from 228 on Monday which means it is more than doubling each time. I know it's still early, but am certainly breathing another sigh of relief! My first ultrasound is scheduled for November 12th so we now need to wait another two weeks for the next update. It will definitely be another long wait but will be worth it when we get to see a heartbeat!!

Steve is in Minneapolis but sent flowers yesterday so I'm pretty sure they had something to do with these great results :)

Keep those fingers and toes crossed!!

Great 2nd beta!

We had another exciting day today, full of appointments and good news! My blood test results came back this afternoon and they are perfect :) My HCG is 228 (the goal was for it to double the original 72) and my estrogen level is up to 140 which is just where it should be. Steve and I are thrilled that everything is progressing as it should and are able to breathe another sigh of relief with each positive step. I am continuing on the estrogen patches, and of course, the lovely progesterone shots, and I go back on Thursday for another blood test. All the prayers and positive thoughts are obviously working so keep it up!!

The results are in...

And they are POSITIVE!

(Or as they say in the fertility game, BFP - Big Fat Positive!)

Since Steve has to go out of town on Monday, he suggested I call the doctor to see if I could come in early for my blood test. As Friday was 10 days after the transfer, my wonderful nurse said I could come in that morning. I went in promptly at 7:30 and the nurse called to give me the good news a few hours later.

While I am officially pregnant (HCG was 72) my estrogen is pretty low, which causes some concern. The doctor prescribed estrogen patches and I am going back on Monday for another blood test. Steve and I are beyond thrilled but know this is just another of the many hurdles to overcome. Now that we know at least one of the babies is hanging in there, we are praying those patches do their job!

Cross your fingers for some more positive results on Monday!!!

Still cookin'

Well, I am finally off bedrest and have had a pretty uneventful few days. Mom drove down on Thursday to fill in for Steve while he was out of town and it's been great having her here! Now it's back to work for the week and patiently waiting for my results on the 26th.

THREE embryos transferred!

Quick update on a very exciting day. Right before the transfer, the doctor came in and said we had 3 viable embyros ...one was a little smaller so he said if we wanted to transfer two, he would choose the two larger ones. BUT, if we were willing to transfer 3, they were all good candidates. There is obviously a slight risk of triplets but it also increases our odds of a pregnancy. Given all we've been through, this was an easy decision and we told him to go ahead with all three.

After the transfer, we had to stay in the office while I 'cooked' and then it was straight home to begin bed rest. Steve is doing a great job taking care of me and Jack loves having someone to lay in bed with all day.

Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming :)

Check out the first official pictures!!

Transfer Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the big day! The nurse called yesterday to provide an update on our embryos. We had one 4-cell, two 8-cells, and one-9 cell. The ideal at day 3 is between 6 and 8 cells so with the exception of the 4 cell, we are looking good! (The 4-cell could also still catch up.) We are planning to transfer the two best embryos and freeze the other two. (We won't know if they can be frozen for a few days.) The transfer is scheduled for 11:30 tomorrow morning and should only take about an hour. After that, it's home for a few days of bed rest. Luckily, I am very good at resting and Steve is an expert on taking care of me!

First Progesterone Shot!

We had a great day today and successfully completed the first progesterone shot tonight! Steve was so proud of himself that he wanted me to post a picture of the scary syringe! Fortunately, I have a bit of padding so it wasn't nearly as traumatic as I was anticipating.

This morning's appointment confirmed that I have no extra fluid which means that we are on track for a fresh embryo transfer early next week. (Excess fluid could lead to ovarian hyperstimulation which would create the need to freeze the embryos until resolved.) Tomorrow we find out the status of the embryos and hopefully schedule the transfer.

4 eggs fertilized!!

The doctor's office called today and told us that of the 5 eggs, 4 of them have fertilized. So we officially have four little embryos growing!! I am still very sore so have been resting all day and will likely take it easy all weekend. The doctor had to drain some fluid yesterday so I am going back in tomorrow morning to have it checked out. We won't hear anything more about our eggs until Sunday so keep your fingers crossed that they're growing big and strong!

7 Eggs

It was another early morning for us and we were at the clinic by 8:15. The process was pretty easy and the only traumatic part for me was getting the IV. The procedure lasted about 30 minutes and the doctor was able to retrieve 7 eggs. Of those, 5 were mature so that's how many will be fertilized. As the doctor typically hopes to have at least 6 eggs, we contemplated freezing the 5 eggs and banking them for the next time, but decided to move forward with the ones we have. We get the fertilization report tommorow so need lots of good thoughts and prayers for those 5 eggs!! I'm still exhausted from the anesthesia and pain medicine so am heading to bed.

Retreival at 9:30am tomorrow!

Had a great day without shots and have been hydrating all day in preparation for tomorrow. We go in at 8:30 for a 9:30 retrieval so should have a report by tomorrow afternoon. While we won't know how many fertilized, we'll know how many eggs were retrieved!! Off to bed to rest up for the big day!!

Egg Retrieval Scheduled for Thursday!!

I had another exciting visit to the doctor today. One more follicle popped up since yesterday so I now have 7 on each side. They're all a good size (15-25 mm) and the doctor said I was more than ready. (No wonder I feel like I have a bowling ball in my stomach!) The nurse called today to confirm that my estrogen level (+2800) indicated that we were ready to trigger ovulation. We did the trigger shot tonight (Ovidrel) which needs to be exactly 36 hours before the retrieval. Steve was particularly impressed with the pre-filled syringes...he called them 'fancy!'

Tomorrow I go in again for yet another blood test (I really don't know if I have any blood left) and my pre-op instructions. The goal for tomorrow is to drink as much water as possible so I won't be dehydrated when when they're trying to put in the IV on Thursday morning! While I look like some kind of drug addict from all the shots and bloodwork, we're in the home stretch and excited for the big day.

Second Follicle Check

It's late so I'll make this short. I had a great appointment today and the ultrasound showed 6 follicles on the left and 7 on the right. They said I will probably continue stimulation for another two days but am looking good for a Thursday retrieval. Yay!!! Now we just need to mentally prepare for the big IM shot!!

First Follicle Check

We had a very busy weekend starting with our early morning visit to REACH yesterday. While we were there for 3 hours, we were at least able to get some good news. Caroline was in town so got accompany me for this visit!) I had approximately 8 follicles which is a little low, but within the normal range. Apparently, the optimim number is anything between 6 and 20 follicles, so it means that I am responding to the medicine. (In case you were wondering, follicles are the fluid-filled sacs in which your egg grows.) At this point, my egg retrieval will probably not be until Thursday or Friday of this week and I will continue with my 5 shots a day until further notice. I have another apointment tomorrow morning so am hoping for more good news!

Right on track

I went in for another test today and it looks like everything is coming along as it should. I get to add another shot tomorrow (Saizen) which is a growth hormone so will give my eggs yet another boost. On Saturday morning (7am!) I'll go in for an ultrasound to see how everything looks and they'll be able to give me a better idea of when to expect the egg retrieval. At this point, it will be anywhere between Tuesday and Sunday. So now we wait...