Provera

So tonight I took my 3rd pill of Provera. It is a 10 day medication, so Lord Willing next Wednesday I should take my last one, start my cycle a few days later (Probably Saturday the 31st) and get this show on the road! Please keep us in your prayers over the next 8 to 12 weeks. God has worked amazing wonders so far throughout this journey and everything just seems to be falling into place!

Tips

UPDATE: In 5 days I will start Provera! This medicine is used to induce my cycle. I should start my cycle around July 30/31st.. which will begin my downregulation IVF cycle!

I am the type of person who researches everything! I think I have probably read just about every forum for fertility or IVF that there is out there. Not to mention I come across various blogs regularly of couples who are in the same boat as me and Robbie. So, lately I have been reading suggestions or hints on different areas in the IVF cycle. The egg retrieval and embryo transfer mainly. These are some tips I have found from doctors and other women who have done IVF:

~Drink a glass of milk every day.
~Drink a glass of pineapple juice or eat a cup of fresh pineapple every day starting with egg retrieval. (I have read this several places and believe me... the week of my egg retrieval don't be coming to Oakland Walmart or Kroger to find pineapple! There won't be any due to it being at my house!LOL)
~Eat a handful of almonds everyday starting with egg retrieval day.
~No chocolate, soft drinks, junk food, caffeine.
~No swimming, baths, sexual intercourse, bouncing activities (aerobics), sunbathing, hot tubs, exercising, housework (especially vacuuming), and heaving lifting.

One thing I really hope to do is be able to be awake for the egg retrieval and watch it on the screen. I also want to keep the petri dish my babies grow in if Dr. Ke will let me have it!

We are just so ready to begin this process. I am looking forward to it and experiencing it. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

Sonohysterogram

I had my sonohysterogram this morning (basically an ultrasound of my uterus) and God has truly answered my prayers for this test! NO POLYPS! Yay! I had several last year that had to be removed and I was please to know that they did not come back. So there is nothing interfering with the embryos implanting in the uterine wall! Next step... July 19, I start Provera to get my cycle started for IVF! Man this is getting closer and closer and I am so excited! Robbie and I feel so much peace! Thanks everyone for thinking of us and please continue to pray.

Past Few Weeks

So, I went in for my preliminary blood work on May 24th and everything was fine. On May 26 I started Provera to start my cycle. I started my cycle this past Monday, so on Day 3 which was Wednesday June 9 I had to go in for an ultrasound of my ovaries to look at follicles (eggs). This is to determine how many eggs I am producing in my ovaries each month to determine the dose of stimulation drugs (shots) to allow the majority of the eggs to mature. I had 25 to 27 follicles in each ovary! I was very excited, so hopefully this is a good sign of how things will turn out in a few months. The follicles look like little peas all in my ovaries! So incredible. It has been a neat experience so far. I am trying to take everything in and enjoy it as much as I can. So far it has gone by pretty fast. My next cycle... the end of July... will be IVF cycle! Robbie and I are getting so excited and cannot wait!

IVF in Detail

This is the website that you can go to that has all the information on what entails an IVF cycle...

http://www.fertilitymemphis.com/documents/info-ivf.pdf

Too much to type! =)

I have the dates!

I have the dates for everything.. as long as everything goes well, this will be the tentative schedule.

May 24 - Go to Dr. Ke for preliminary blood work.
May 26 - Start Provera
On first day of cycle, I am supposed to call and schedule an SHG (sonohysterogram) of my uterus. Hopefully no polyps will be found. If so, I will have to do the surgery again and this will delay everything...

July 20ish (around there) - Start Provera

This will be the IVF cycle! YAY!

I am set to have my egg retrival the week of Sept. 13th, so Lord Willing by October we will find out if I have a June-bug on the way!

This will be a very busy summer with lots of shots and appointments, but Lord Willing it will be totally worth it in the end! Please be praying for us as we are beginning our journey in just a few short weeks!

My amh level is 7.6, so my ovarian reserve is good! I will post soon about the IVF process for those of you that do not really know the steps and schedule.

So soon!

I still do not have the exact dates for the IVF egg retrieval yet, but we are still, Lord Willing, planning to start this process toward the end of the summer. I feel so much peace about our decision. I feel God is allowing us to move forward with our dream of adding another child to our family and I am very thankful for that. Robbie, Ryder, and I are extremely blessed and I am so grateful for the amazing family I have. I will update whenever I have more news... Sorry for the delay!