Last Appointment with Dr. Ke!

Monday I had my last appointment with Dr. Ke and I was 9 weeks 4 days.

Baby A was measuring 9 weeks 3 days and the heartrate was 180.
Baby B was measuring 9 weeks 2 days and the heartrate was 178.

I have gained 3 pounds total. Feel great! Just a little nauseous every now and then, but its mainly in the late afternoon or evening. And just tired :) But that is to be expected!

I am done with my progesterone shots and I have to use the suppositories until I am 11 weeks. 8 more days! Thank you for all of the prayers! We are so thankful and feel so blessed to have twins on the way and that they look so healthy!

First Appointment with Dr. Cole

 

I love my OB! Dr. Cole is fabulous and I was so excited about going to my appointment with her this morning. Going to McDonald Murrmann just makes the whole pregnancy seem more real! I am 8w4d today. Baby A measured 8w4d and Baby B measured 8w3d. Baby A heartrate was 181 and Baby B heartrate was 180. They look great! I go back in 4 weeks. Dr. Cole said I would deliver no later than 38 weeks. Obviously if I go into labor early or if I have preeclampsia again, I will have to deliver earlier. But they will be here on or before July 15, 2015! So thankful to be able to experience pregnancy again. God has truly blessed us!

Ultrasound #2

 Baby A

 Baby B

Last Wednesday I had my second ultrasound and visit with Dr. Ke. I was 7 weeks 6 days. Baby A was measuring 7w3d and HR was 173. Baby B was measuring 7w3d and HR was 162. They are looking great!

 

I got to start decreasing my progesterone shots to every other night until I run out of my vial of medication. And I started progesterone suppositories every night and I will do those until 11 weeks pregnant (21 days total).

 

We told the boys last night they were going to be big brothers to TWO babies! Here were some responses from the boys...

 

Ryder: "I think its either 2 girls or 1 girl and 1 boy. We don't need any more boys in this family. If we had 2 more boys we would have FIVE boys and only one girl!" He asked if we knew what they were and he was confused why we didn't know because Cole's mommy knows she is having a girl. "We get to take the baby on stage at Highland!" aka... baby blessing :) "You mean they will be born on the same day and have the same birthday?!" Ryder to Robbie: "It looks like you have a baby in your belly too!" Ryder to me: "Since you are getting fat, I am going to just call you Mrs. Claus!"

 

Mercer: "Wait... I wanna see the babies!" He lifted up my shirt and said, "Where are they?! I don't see them!" He is excited about being a big brother for the first time and not being the smallest anymore :)

1st Ultrasound!

Well.... Monday I was 6 weeks 4 days and we got to see our BABIES for the first time on ultrasound! Yes, I said babies! Twins!

Baby A was measuring 6w2d and the heartrate was 121. Baby B was measuring 6w2d and the heartrate was 128! They both looked great and really healthy! I can't wait to go back Wednesday to see them again!

Beta #2

My beta today was 864! It more than doubled and looks great! My progesterone was 48.5 which looks good too! They are going to call me Monday and set up my ultrasound. Praising God for a great pregnancy so far!

Beta #1

I went yesterday morning for my first beta blood draw. Dawn, Dr. Ke's nurse, called me around 12:30 to let me know it was POSITIVE! And the actual number is 304! I go back tomorrow to get my second beta blood draw to make sure the numbers are doubling like they should! Thank you for all your prayers! We feel incredibly blessed that this round of IVF was successful!

Transfer

The transfer went well on Tuesday! I haven't blogged because I have been on bedrest. Here is how the transfer went... We got to East Memphis Surgery Center at 9am Tuesday morning. They finally called me back about 9:45. They took my vitals, had me and Rob change into our gowns, and I took my Valium! Dr. Kutteh came and talked to us before the transfer. He was very nice and knowledgeable. We transferred two embryos grade A- ! We were thrilled! The procedure went smooth! No pain! Just uncomfortable because I had to pee really bad! (They want you to have a full bladder for the transfer because they can see the uterine cavity better.) The transfer took about 10-15 minutes and then I laid flat on my back in recovery for 30 minutes before we headed home! I am missing Ry and Mercer like crazy! I know they are having a great time at their grandparents though! They will be back in the morning :) I got a call yesterday morning from the embryologist and they were able to freeze 3! We have been shocked at the outcome of this cycle! Praise be to God for blessing us greatly! They froze one B+ by itself and the other two are Bs and they froze them together. I go back on Thursday, November 20th for a blood pregnancy test! Only 7 more days! I am so excited about Lord Willing adding a member (or two!) to our family! We are praying for positive results next week! We are praising God for blessing us and keeping us safe and just being with us through this entire journey. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

Transfer is Tomorrow!

I have to be at East Memphis Surgery Center at 9am tomorrow morning for the transfer at 10am! I need to eat and drink lots of water before I go to have a full bladder and bring my Valium with me! I really wish I could take one tonight because I have a feeling I will not be able to sleep.

I am very nervous... Dr. Kutteh is doing the transfer and I have never met him before because he is not my doctor. And the embryologist didn't look at my embryos today, so I won't know til tomorrow how they look and how many I will have to transfer! I am really hoping and praying that we have two precious babies to transfer!

I am very anxious, but I feel really excited and great about this venture tomorrow! I can't believe the day is finally here to transfer the babies so I can grow them! I pray that they attach and they grow into healthy little babies!

Please continue to lift us up in prayer. We have seen some amazing events happen already through this cycle and we feel very blessed!

I will update tomorrow at some point with the news, Lord willing!

Now... to go get my pineapple cut up for the next 5 days, my socks all ready to keep my feet and uterus warm and cozy, and those walnuts and almonds to eat this week!

Embryo Update

The embryologist called this morning around 9am to let us know all about our 8 babies! Here is the update:

4 are good B+
3 are low grade but still developing 1 C+ and 2 B
The last one quit developing

We are getting to do a 5 day transfer! A definite answered prayer! We really hope and pray that we are able to transfer 2 blastocytes!

The transfer will be Tuesday morning and they will call me Monday with all the information! Now to enjoy a relaxing weekend with my family and church family!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We are still feeling the great power of prayer and we know God is raining down more and more blessings on us through those prayers.

On a different note, Robbie gave me my first progesterone shot last night! It went really well! I am a tiny bit sore today, but no biggie :) Praying I get to do 8 more weeks of those shots to help our babies grow!

Egg Update

The embryologist called to tell me about my precious eggs! Out of the 14 that were retrieved 11 were actually mature. The egg has to be mature in order to fertilize. Out of the 11 that were mature, 8 fertilized! She said she would call me tomorrow to update me on the eggs to tell me which ones made it to the pre-embryo stage (meaning starting to divide in cell number). I am praying I have 2 that make it to the blastocyte stage (8 cells) and I can do a 5-day transfer. I am so glad God is in control of this entire situation and not me! They did to ICSI to fertilize my eggs. ICSI is where they actually inject my egg with the sperm instead of just allowing them to fertilize on its own. Please continue to pray!!!

Egg Retrieval

I went in this morning at 8:30 to East Memphis Surgery Center for my egg retrieval. When I arrived I signed a lot of paper work and paid our last payment. Robbie was called back first to go upstairs and do his thing. Then they called me back and asked me a lot of preliminary questions, had me change into the hospital gown, and got my started on my IV. Robbie came back to the room and we talked, prayed, and took a picture pre-retrieval! Dr. Ke came and talked to me about the procedure (I was so glad my doctor was the one to retrieve the eggs!), the anesthesiologist came and talked to me (the nurse anesthetist even prayed with us!) and then I was transferred to the IVF procedure room. They had me lay down on the table which my thighs in stirrups loosely strapped down so my legs wouldn't fall off the stirrups. I was very comfortable. It was cold, but they gave me the awesome warm blankets! After that I don't remember once they started my "knock out" medicine through my IV! The procedure started around 9:40 and I woke up in recovery around 10:35. I stayed there for 30 minutes never really fully waking up! I got really nauseated and was in pain, so the nurse gave me some pain and nausea medicine through my IV. Plus ginger ale and crackers! They had me go to the bathroom, get dressed, the nurse took my IV out, and wheeled me out to the car. My mom, Robbie, Mercer, and I went to eat at Wendy's. Rob went to work and I rode with my mom to get Ryder from school. I came home and took a 2 hour nap! My mom watched the boys at her house til Robbie got off work. Rob stopped and got pizza and Muddys cupcakes for us to eat for dinner! I am still in a little pain, but I am laying down with the heating pad. It is just uncomfortable to cough or go to the bathroom. 

I definitely appreciate all the prayers and they have been answered so far! 14 eggs were retrieved (6 from my left ovary and 8 from my right) and I will hear tomorrow how many were mature and fertilized! In the meantime, they are in an incubator with their first babysitters at a Fertility Associates of Memphis lab! 

I am taking prednisone and doxycycline for the next 4 days and start progesterone injections tomorrow evening. 

  We would still appreciate your prayers because the next few days and weeks we are still continuing our journey. I ask you to pray for our sweet babies and Lord Willing we will be able to make it to a 5 day transfer with one or two embryos! I will keep you all updated. I will leave you all with a verse from Psalms, "The Lord has done great things for us and our hearts are filled with JOY!" This has been one of my favorite verses throughout this entire experience! I can't wait to Lord Willing share some really great news with you all over the next few days and weeks! Thank you so much again for your thoughts and prayers!

Ultrasound #4 and Bloodwork

Today went so well! I am so excited and I definitely am seeing answered prayers!

Retrieval is THURSDAY! I am officially done with all my stim meds! Tonight I take my HCG trigger shot (5000 units) at 9:30pm. I am supposed to take a home pregnancy test in the morning and if it is positive then the trigger shot worked! If not, I am supposed to call them to let them know. I take a valium at bedtime tomorrow night and I have to be at East Memphis Surgery Center Thursday morning at 8:30 for retrieval at 9:30!

Bloodwork results:
E2 2472 (This amazes me that I am not having to do estrogen patches this time!)
Lining 11.2

Ultrasound results:
I have 9 really great big follicles on my LEFT! I know... I can't believe it either!
And I have around 13 on my right that are between 14-16mm so hopefully they will grow bigger before retrieval. I also have several small ones on both ovaries.

Please continue to pray for us and our precious embryos-to-be! And for a smooth retrieval and that ICSI will go well on Thursday!

Ultrasound #3 and Bloodwork

My appointment yesterday went good! I definitely know that prayers are being answered!

Bloodwork results:
E2 1093

Ultrasound results:
Lining 11.2
I had 3 follicles on my left side measuring 16, 18, and 19mm. And I had several on my right side. At least 5 measuring between 12 and 14mm. My right side definitely produces a lot more than my left. It was such a great feeling seeing all those follicles on my right side and how much they had grown! They are growing slowly but they are growing! I had a friend who is going through a FET right now and she encouraged me with these words, "Slow and steady wins the race!" Dr. Ke wants the right ones to get bigger, so he is having me stim a few more days. I am guessing I probably will not get any retrieved from the left side because those are large now that they will probably pass. I only got 1 from my left side last time as well!

I continue the same dose of 225u Follistim or Gonal-f at night and 75u Menopur and Ganirelix in the morning.

I go back Tuesday morning for another ultrasound and bloodwork!

Ultrasound #2 and Bloodwork

I am feeling much more positive today after a meltdown last night! My Gonal-f is a multi-dose vial so I have to mix it myself. Last night was the first night I have used that medication and after spraying a little bit of the sterile water and trying to stick myself 4 times before I realized the needle had to be dull... I lost my whole 225u dose of medicine. SO! Needless to say, I had to order more today to be overnighted because I won't have enough to finish the cycle.

My dad is going to come over in the morning to wait for my meds to be delivered since I have to sign off for them and they have to be refridgerated. We have family pictures that I have had booked for several months now!

My appointment today went pretty well. I took my mom with me so she could learn how to do my progesterone shot for when Robbie is out of town traveling for work.

Bloodwork results:
Progesterone 1.9
E2 753

Ultrasound results:
Lining 13.2
I have 10 follicles measuring between 10 and 16 mm. I am praying and hoping that they continue to grow so we will have a good number of eggs to retrieve. It only takes one, right?! I am going to be stimming for 10 - 12 days and the retrieval will be the middle to end of next week.

I continue the same dose of 225u Follistim or Gonal-f at night and 75u Menopur and Ganirelix in the morning.

I go back Sunday morning at 8am for another ultrasound and bloodwork!

Ultrasound #1 and Bloodwork

So today seems like a big disappointment... Not to mention my 6 year old woke up with the stomach bug and threw up all over his brother, my ultrasound and bloodwork appointment this morning didn't really go that great.

Bloodwork results:
Progesterone 1.6
E2 338

Ultrasound results:
Lining 7.2
2 follicles measuring 13mm
5 follicles measuring 10mm
and 10 follicles measuring <10mm p="">
I continue the same dose of 225u Follistim and 75u Menopur. And I add in Ganirelix Friday morning.

I go back Friday morning for another ultrasound and bloodwork. And depending on what this ultrasound says will depend on if I will be able to even go through with the retrieval. Basically they will only do the egg retrieval if I have at least 4 follicles that are maturing. So the 5 that are around 10mm need to start growing! Say some prayers for us over the next few days especially! We greatly appreciate it!

My husband is doing a much better job staying positive. I am really down about the results. He keeps reminding me that it only takes one egg to make a precious baby!

 

The Difference...

This is my second IVF fresh cycle to go through and while there are many similarities, there is definitely a difference! The difference is that I am definitely more fearful. I hate to write that word. Because I have faith that God will allow the best thing to come from this cycle. Whether it is another baby, babies, or no baby. I have full trust in God and His plan is so much better than ours. We would love to have another child {and make our boys big brothers!} and we know that children are blessings from the Lord. But we also know that God could have another plan in mind and want to bless us in another way that does not involve more children. God has richly blessed us with two precious, healthy boys that we are incredibly thankful for!

Fear does set in way more this time and I think it is because the devastation of having lost our third child is a pain that will never fully escape my mind. The reality of getting pregnant in a few weeks is hard to imagine after having gone through a pregnancy loss. I pray in a few weeks God will bless us with a rainbow baby and that we will be able to experience the joy of raising a healthy baby again to bring God all the glory and to be a son or daughter of Him one day. It is my goal as a parent to raise my children to be warriors in the army of Christ and I would love to make lots of children in His army to fight for Christianity and to live eternal life with Him one day!

Again, we appreciate all of your prayers! Thank you for your continued prayers so far through this journey.

Bloodwork!

Yesterday morning at 7:30 I went in for blood work. My E2 level (estrogen) was 110! They like it to be over 100. At this point in the IVF cycle where we conceived Mercer, my estrogen was 70.

My instructions are: 225units of Follistim Monday and Tuesday evening. 75units of Menopur Tuesday and Wednesday morning. They upped my Follistim dose a little. I go back in Wednesday morning for more blood work and my first ultrasound to measure the follicles!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We have prayed and prayed about the decision to try for another children and we feel incredibly blessed to be able to have this opportunity again! We really hope this works and that we will be blessed with our rainbow baby! Suffering a miscarriage a few years ago was very difficult and this pregnancy and baby would bring so much joy to our hearts! Babies are such great gifts from God!

Baseline Ultrasound, Bloodwork, and Medicine Schedule!

I went in this morning at 7:30 for my baseline ultrasound and blood work. My lining was thin, so the birth control did its job! Michelle, Dr. Ke's assistant nurse, called me this afternoon to give me my schedule! Monday morning I start Menopur 75 units. I do this every morning through Monday morning. Starting Friday night I do 200 units of Follistim.

I go back in Monday morning at 7:30 for bloodwork only. Robbie and I are so excited to be starting this journey! It is really going by fast already! I feel very blessed to be able to have the opportunity to do IVF again. And I am at peace with whatever the outcome. Please keep us in your prayers! God has richly blessed our family and we give Him all the glory in making this happen!

My Meds Arrived!

Here are most of my meds for our IVF cycle! They were shipped from California FedEx-overnight and arrived this morning at 9am! I have a few more to pick up from Dr. Ke's office, but this batch cost a whopping $1567.76!

Schedule and RX Info!

We are really starting IVF! Such an exciting time for our family and we are so excited about adding to our family! I started Provera on Saturday, September 13 and I started my cycle on Wednesday, September 24. Robbie's semen analysis was the best one he has ever had! And his blood work came out fine. Here is the schedule we have so far:
Saturday, September 27 through Friday, October 17 I will be taking Birth Control. This is to down-regulate my cycle.
On Monday, October 13 at 11am we go in for the trial transfer and injection teaching. We also have to turn in consent and freezing forms and our payment is due.
On Wednesday, October 22 I go in for my first ultrasound at 7:30am.
The week of November 3rd is the egg retrieval and transfer!

Here's my RX that I have received:
I am going to be on an antagonist protocol.
5 Ganarelix
10 Menopur
2 - 600 units of Follistim
2 doses of Gonal-f
1 HCG trigger shot
1 Lupron trigger injection
and Progesterone injection vials!
Along with Doxycycline, Prednisone, and Valium!

We are so thankful for Dr. Ke being so gracious in giving us samples for some of the medications and we also received two medicines from friends! For the rest of it, we applied for the First Steps program and are able to get 25% off!

We have already seen God's hand work and we are incredibly blessed with being given an opportunity to go through IVF again. We are very hopeful and praying that God blesses us with another miracle baby!

Third Child...

Robbie and I have been discussing over the past few months whether or not we will do IVF one more time to have a third baby. At first we were discussing a start date of mid to late September, but we might be pushing that back just a bit.

In the meantime, we are getting all of our preliminary testing done. I started my cycle via Provera on July 27. On July 29 I went in for a routine ultrasound of my uterus and ovaries. I have 20+ follicles on each ovary. And I also had blood taken. I went in on August 4 to have the SHG and everything looked perfect!

Robbie is going in in 2 days to get his semen analysis done. And then all we will have left is getting his blood drawn!
Please keep us in your prayers as this is a tough decision to make!