3 Shots!

So tonight I had to give myself 3 shots! I knew it was pretty close to me running out of medicine in my first pen.. But I really was thinking it would hold off until tomorrow. So! I am on my 2nd pen out of 3 which means egg retrieval is getting closer! So I did 150 units in the first pen tonight and it ran out so I did 75 units of the second pen, plus my Lupron. For a grand total of 3 shots in one day so far! At least I got it over with. It was not bad at all tonight! I am getting more used to the sting and finding out the best place to insert the needle! Please continue to lift us up in prayer! God is GOOD ALL the time!

Gonal-F and First Bloodwork

I have currently taken 3 Gonal-F shots! The first one went okay, the second one was TERRIBLE! It stung SO bad... the needle... the medicine... everything about the second shot was terrible! I was tearing up and that is so not me at all! Every shot that I have given myself over the past year has been a piece of cake! So I was beginning to worry. But yesterday night the shot went great as always! The first two nights my dose was 225 and last night it was 150. With me being PCOS they have to be cautious about me hyperstimulating which would cancel the cycle. So that is why they lowered it the second day.

Well, this morning I went in for my bloodwork at 8am to test my E2 (estradiol) level. It was 70.... Pretty low considering I have done 3 days of stim drugs so far! So the next two nights they are increasing my dose back up to 225 and I go in Wednesday morning for more bloodwork and an ultrasound. I tend to progress slowly on meds... I did this last summer on the Follistim. The nurse did not seem worried or concerned at all. So hopefully we will get better news on Wednesday! Until then, God bless you all and have a great Labor Day holiday!!!

Tomorrow!

I start my Gonal-F tomorrow! It was bittersweet tonight.. the last night of just Lupron. Tomorrow I will decrease my Lupron dose to 5 units and take it with Gonal-F. So 2 shots a night from here on out until... EGG RETRIEVAL! I am absolutely amazed at how fast this has flown by! Lord Willing in 4 weeks we will know the outcome of this IVF journey! I am praying for God's will! I definitely want a precious blessing to come from this adventure, but God's plan is certainly the BEST and He know what is great for our family. If that means this IVF cycle is unsuccessful, then I will be completely fine with that. Ryder has been such a blessing and pure JOY to our family! I have been extremely blessed to have welcomed one precious child into our home! Please continue to lift us up in your prayers! We for sure need wisdom, patience, and preserverance! God is GREAT. We serve a mighty God who knows ALL and loves us very much! We know His hand is upon our doctors and He will guide them in the direction that is the best care or us. I am so excited this is getting so near the end... well, the end of the beginning! There is so much more ahead for our family that I cannot even fathom right now, but I do know for certain that God is magnificant and has been so gracious and blessed our family in numerous ways!

Baseline Ultrasound and Bloodwork

I went in this morning at 7:30am for a baseline ultrasound and bloodwork. My ultrasound went perfectly! My lining was thin which they want it thin right now and I am showing around 20 follicles on each ovary so a lot of possibilities for eggs and precious embryos! My estrogen level was at 27! Which means the down-regulation IVF cycle has gone great! They wanted my estrogen level to be below 60.

Friday, September 3, Robbie and I both start Doxycycline 2x a day for 7 days. This is for the ICSI IVF procedure. Also on Friday I start my Gonal-F! Yay for stimulating my ovaries! On Friday and Saturday I do 225 units and Sunday I do 150 units. On Friday I also decrease my Lupron to 5 units. Monday (Labor Day!) I go in for bloodwork only at 8am with instructions to follow for the next few days after that! I am sooooooo excited and feel incredibly blessed! Robbie and I are thrilled to be starting the retrieval cycle of IVF Friday!!!!

Hormones...

So starting yesterday I think these hormone shots have definitely kicked in! Poor Robbie, and Ryder too... I really try hard to not take my emotions out on Ryder, but poor Rob! I feel like he has gotten his head bitten off several times! It is crazy because I know I am acting mean sometimes, but it seriously is either uncontrollable or I simply just don't seem to care?! Not sure.. maybe a combination of both?!
Tonight was day 7 of Lupron shots.. and I am noticing some bruising now. Doesn't bother me at all though! I will be more than happy to have a bruised stomach for a precious miracle baby!
So, some people think I am crazy, but I absolutely LOVE being pregnant. I had a relatively easy pregnancy. I was not sick or anything like that. Blood pressure problems were definitely not what I would call "fun" but it was tolerable and I never complained!
Having gone through the hormones with pregnancy and starting IVF, I have to say.. IVF is making me much more hormonal! I don't mind it at all though. I think it is harder on my body because it is not a natural thing. Pregnancy, to me, is completely natural and your body just adjusts with the hormones naturally. These injections are "fake" hormones in a sense causing my body to do things in an "unnatural" way. To me, making this process harder on my body and my emotions can pregnancy ever was. I LOVE every minute of it though and feel so blessed! No complaining coming from me! =)

Trial Transfer, Lupron, Birth Control...

There is alot I want to discuss in this post! Mainly for me to look back and read. I want to remember everything I possibly can about this unique and incredible experience!


I went in yesterday morning at 11am for my Trial Transfer! It went really well. Dr. Ke said I seemed very nervous... And I am! Especially since just minutes before we had paid a whole lot of money! I am also extremely excited! This is the most amazing thing to get to experience! While infertility is definitely not something I would ever want anyone to have to face, I am so blessed to be able to go through with this IVF procedure. I cannot wait to see God's plan for our life unfold! Tonight is my last night of birth control pills. It has been 3 weeks since we started our down regulation cycle and in just 3 more weeks we will be doing the egg retrieval and embryo transfer! It is really going by fast and I cannot believe it! Well, for those of you who do not know about a trial transfer.. let me explain! The trial transfer is a "practice run" for the embryo transfer. An empty transfer catheter is passed into the uterus just as it is when my embryos are ready to be returned to me. It allows the doctor to prepare for my transfer in order to increase chances of a successful outcome. In my case, everything went smoothly and there was not any unique instructions. Everything has just fallen into place! I can truely see God's hand in this and it makes me feel very much at peace!

The Lupron injections are going very well! So far no major side effects. Just a few headaches, but I am thinking that is mainly from the birth control pills. I have felt completely great! For those of you who do not really know what Lupron is or what it does to my body... It down-regulates ("shuts down" or "suppresses") the hypothalamic-pituitary control centers of the brain to prevent premature ovulation (release of oocytes). I give myself these injections in my stomach every night until the egg retrival. Right now they are taken alone, but around September 2nd, I will be adding another shot in my stomach along with Lupron. This shot will be my stimulation drug called Gonal-F. Next Tuesday morning (August 31) I go in at 7:30am for an ultrasound and blood work. This will be my initial blood work and ultrasound since I started the cycle 3 weeks ago.

Please continue to lift Robbie, Ryder, and myself up in prayer. We greatly appreciate all the prayers! God is SO great! Robbie and I had been richly blessed so far throughout this experience! Lord Willing in about 6 weeks we will know if we have a precious miracle on the way!

Lupron!

Well, I started my Lupron shot tonight! It was not bad at all. I am doing 10units right now every night! I am sure eventually my stomach will be sore, but the shot is very similar to the Follistim shots I took last year! I am so glad to finally have one shot down! This is flying by!