DAY 1... Check!

Dear Hope,

I know I said one day at a time and today was definitely a good day!  My nurse emailed me today with the results of my fertilization report.  Of the 12 eggs retrieved, 8 were mature (which they then did the ICSI process- scientific way of saying they made the magic happen) and ….  7 fertilized!!!!!  This is my best fertilization rate yet!!!

SO now I just have to HOPE that all 7 EMBRYOS are strong, healthy and keep on progressing!!!!!  Next milestone is for them to get to Day 3 which is Thursday.  The dr will call with the update and hopefully be able to give me the status of each embryo.

So far so good…  1 day down only 5 to go!

I have a feeling this will be the longest week ever!

Kate

 

12 Lucky Eggs!!!!!

Dear Hope,

I am home and resting but have good news to report. They were able to retrieve 12 eggs!!!  Very fitting because my dad and sister are in town visiting and the #12 has always been my dad’s (and kinda mine) lucky number!!!! It’s a great starting point but now is when the real work has to happen.  They are probably fertilizing the eggs right now and we will find out tomorrow how many were mature and how many fertilized.  I am so nervous but staying positive and that we have healthy embryos! This week is going to be long and stressful but everything is out of my hands at this point and I have to HOPE that our embryos are strong and make it to Day 5.  But, one day at a time and tomorrow is a big one!

Kate

Looking for the Golden Egg

Dear Hope,

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

Today’s monitoring went well… My Ultrasound looked good and blood work came back at appropriate levels (BLOOD LEVELS:  E2 Level: 1273 / HCG Level: 113 /P4 Level: 1.86) so we are definitely on for my Egg Retrieval tomorrow! I am also looking forward to the arrival of my sister and my dad.  They are on their way from Buffalo to come help us out for a few days! Well… almost on their way.  My dad will be arriving from his vacation in Arizona at 4:30pm and my sister will be picking him up from the airport and they will be on their way.  They should get into NJ around 1am… I am going to owe them big time!!!! I wish it was under different circumstances but just excited and so grateful that they will be here!  

 Hoping that they will retrieve some strong, healthy, mature eggs but All I really need is ONE “GOLDEN” EGG!!!!

Kate

Trigger Tonight!

Dear Hope,

So its official… tonight I “trigger”.  What that really means is that I tonight I will inject 2 prefilled syringes of Ovidril.  This is a medicine that will jump start ovulation, basically getting my follicles and eggs ready for retrieval.   When I was in for my ultrasound today I had a little disappointment… for some reason my left ovary hasn’t been responding to the meds.  Dr said that it was “slacking” this month and that I probably am only looking at around 8-10 eggs (most from right ovary) on Retrieval day.  I am hoping that it’s about quality not quantity.  Staying positive… we only need one good one!

Tomorrow morning I go one last time for monitoring of blood work and an ultrasound, just to make sure all is good. Then Monday will be the big day! Hoping this will be my last Retrieval! 

Please cross your fingers, cross your toes, say an extra prayer for us… we need this to work!

Kate

(4/9 ~ BLOOD LEVELS: E2 Level: 1060 / P4 Level: 0.596)

Slow and Steady....

Dear Hope,

I went for blood work and an ultrasound Tuesday and today… not too much to report.

4/5 : BLOOD LEVELS: E2 Level: 148 / P4 Level: 0.302

4/7: BLOOD LEVELS:  E2 Level: 490 / P4 Level: 0.359

Things are moving along a little slower than how I “normally” progress.  I asked the dr this morning if that was ok and he said, that it was fine and maybe this means we will have a better outcome.  I sure hope so…. Slow and steady hopefully wins the race.  But as you all know me I am definitely not the slow and steady type (tying to take tips from Brian on this one).  This whole process has thought me patience so I am trying to stay positive and calm.  I have another acupuncture appointment tomorrow so hopefully this will help calm my nerves.  I also have really been feeling the side effects of the injectable meds... nausea, headache, fuzziness, forgetfulness, cramping, bloating, weight gain, hot flashes and did I miss anything? of course the mood swings! You would think by #5 I would get used to this but, when you feel like you are not yourself it can be really hard. But, like I ALWAYS say…. It will all be worth it!!!!

Next step… Blood work and Ultrasound on Saturday morning to checkup on my “baby eggs”!  

Kate

My Support System

Dear Hope,

To: My support system…

The last 2 years of my life have been a roller coaster and I am very fortunate to have people in my life who have supported me every step of the way.  If I have shared this blog with you it means that I think you are an important part of my life and I consider you part of my support system.  It was a big decision I had to make when I decided to start this blog and share all of my inner most feelings and thoughts with our friends and family.  A decision that was not just mine, I had to make sure that Brian was ok with it too.  I have trusted you all with our story and our struggle and have appreciated all of the support that we have received from you.  It may be as simple as a much needed phone call from an old friend, a ride from the dr when Brian couldn’t be there or even the upcoming road trip from my dad and sister who are coming to help us on this next cycle.  Each of these things and many others are reasons why each of you are such an important part of my support system (My Village).   

Trust and Loyalty is something that I take very serious and hope… No I know, that if I have shared with you that you have respected that.  I just hope that one day I can be there for you the way you have all been there for me. 

Kate

Here We Go Again!!!!

Dear Hope,

So after a long week in Vegas for work and a nightmare trip getting home I eventually made it home safe but exhausted.  Our original flight was scheduled to leave Vegas at 2pm on Friday but after an hour delay we finally boarded. Unfortunately, there was a mechanical problem that they had anticipated fixing and just were not able to.  So, we had to de-plane and it was a mad dash to get on the 5pm flight.  Fortunately I was able to get a seat but with all the changes we didn’t even leave until around 630pm which got us into Newark around 2am.  Luckily Brian picked me up at the airport and I couldn’t have been happier to see him, but we didn’t get home and to bed until around 3:30am.  This wouldn’t have been so bad if didn’t have to get up at 6am for my monitoring (blood work/ultrasound) at RMA.  It was all worth it because my ultrasound went well and my body looks to be right on track.  My blood work also came back in normal ranges (E2 Level: 39.0 /P4 Level: 0.364) so I have the go ahead to start my stim injections (Lupron, Gonal F, Low dose HCG) tonight.

Next appt is Tuesday for blood work and ultrasound to see how I am responding.  I am so happy to be home and excited for our next step. 

Kate