The One with the Latest

So it's been a little while but I just wanted to update on what's been going on with Project Make a Baby #2.

I got my period very shortly after the last post and started Estrace that day.  It did cause some headaches, but not as bad as the tap dancing leprechauns.  I took it twice a day for 12 days.

While I was on that, my PIO meds and super stabby needles arrived.  There are two bags of needles here, one with the syringe and one with just needles.  I draw up the med from the vial using a thicker needle and inject with a thinner one (both 1 1/2 inches long though!).

Baby sharps container is back for round two!

Close up of the big ass mo-fo needles.

On the 18th, I increased the Estrace to three times a day.

On the morning of the 19th, I went in for my baseline ultrasound to check on my fabulous uterus and see how things were looking in there.  The nurse was kinda cranky that day but she did say that everything looked great and my stripe was perfect.  She told me I'd get a call from one of the nurses later that day with my instructions.

When the nurse called, she told me I was going to start PIO that night and continue taking the Estrace.  I had to call the lab on Wednesday and they would let me know how frobaby was doing and schedule my transfer for Thursday the 24th if all looked good.

I will do a separate post about the PIO, but it really hasn't been that bad.  Hubs has been amazing and even though he gets super nervous beforehand, he has been doing my shots each night like a champ.

When I called the lab on Wednesday afternoon, the embryologist told me everything looked good and that I was to come in on Thursday at 9:30 for my transfer.

So, yesterday morning, Hubs took Liam to swim class (so sad I missed seeing them in the pool together) and I sat in massive amounts of traffic to get to the center.  If you remember from Thing 1 and Thing 2's transfer, I need a full bladder for this procedure.  So that was awesome sitting in traffic having to pee.

Things went well during the actual transfer.  The embryologist showed me a picture of frobaby and said it looked great.  One of the other doctors in the practice that I hadn't met yet did the actual procedure and he was extremely calm and peaceful during the whole thing.  Frobaby got loaded up in the catheter and even though I wasn't able to see a great picture on the ultrasound screen this time (the machine was being wonky), the doctor said he put frobaby in a great spot up in there.

I came home and rested for a bit (really for about 3 minutes before L needed something) and now we just wait.  I have a beta blood test scheduled for a couple of weeks from now when I get back from vacation and hopefully it will be good news.  We know there is such a small chance of this leading to a viable pregnancy, but it is completely out of our hands now.

I leave you with one more picture that has my hospital bracelet and the top of frobaby's former home.  We saved everything from the procedures that got us L and will do the same with this little one.

Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers.  Keep 'em coming!

The One with Thing 1 and Thing 2

I am officially PUPO - Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise!

Hubs decided to take the day out of work and come for the transfer, so we headed out this morning.  I had to go in with a full bladder to allow them to get the best ultrasound picture of my uterus.  Man, was I uncomfortable!  We sat in the waiting room for a little while and I was having trouble sitting still because I had to pee so badly.  The nurse finally came out to get us and told me I could go and pee a little if it would make me feel better.  Uh, you don't have to tell me twice!

I got undressed from the waist down and got up on the comfy table.  Dr. Bow Tie was the one doing the retrievals and transfers today, so Hubs finally got to meet him.  Hubs had a bunch of questions for him, one of which being about mixing up embryos and making sure we were getting our babies and not someone else's!  Dr. Bow Tie talked to us about what would happen during the transfer and also talked about the decision to transfer one or two embryos.  He said one of the worst parts of his job is causing multiples because of the risks involved.  Twins are the "least" risky in the world of multiples, but still pose significantly more risks than a singleton birth.  That being said, he told us that we obviously have a greater chance of getting pregnant if we transfer two embryos.

Hubs and I had talked about whether to transfer one or two over the last couple of days.  He is worried about the risks, costs, and complications that can come with twins.  I have those same feelings, but was leaning toward transferring two embies because of the increased chance of pregnancy.  I think Dr. Bow Tie helped make the decision for us when he said that, of the embryos that we did not transfer, none of them may make it to freeze.  He wasn't speaking about our case specifically, but rather referring to the strict criteria for choosing which embryos to freeze.  They will only freeze embryos that are pretty close to perfect to increase the chance of them surviving the thaw later.  When Hubs and I heard this and thought about the reality of having to go through this whole process from the beginning again, we both knew we wanted to transfer two embies.

So, Thing 1 and Thing 2 (as they will be referred to from here on out) were officially transferred into my uterus this morning.

Here's to hoping our little ones don't end up with blue hair!

The embryologist picked the two best embies, each of which were 8-cells at this point (the perfect number according the Dr. Bow Tie).  Using the abdominal ultrasound picture as a guide (which jammed on my bladder perfectly!), Dr. Bow Tie inserted a small catheter that was loaded with Thing 1 and Thing 2 through my cervix and into my uterus.  He told us we may see a small "flash" on the screen when the embies were transferred.  I absolutely saw that flash and two little perfect dots on the screen.  It was one of the most amazing things to witness.

I had to rest for 15 minutes before they would let me go home (after having one of the most amazing peeing experiences of my life, of course!) and Hubs and I just sat in the room and marveled at the fact that I was now PUPO.  The embryologist gave us a little plastic disk that was the top of the dish our two embies were in before they were placed in the catheter.  Something else to add to our memory box!

There's me all freshly PUPO and holding the top of our embryos' former home.

I have to call the lab on Thursday to find out if any of our embryos made it to freeze.  Today, I am resting on the couch, enjoying spending some time with Hubs and hoping to make Thing 1 and Thing 2 comfortable enough that they will want to hang out for 9 months.

We greatly appreciate everyone's thoughts, prayers, cards, texts, emails, flowers, treats, meals, and good wishes.  We are so lucky to have amazing family and friends and could not be more grateful for the support during this time.

I will be posting during the 2ww (two week wait) about thoughts/feelings/random things.  I already have a date for my beta blood test that will determine if I am pregnant or not.  We will be keeping the news, good or bad, to ourselves for a while after we get it.  I'm sure we will need time to process everything.

For now, I leave you with yet another "Friends" clip.  My best friend offered to sing this to Thing 1 and Thing 2.  They are already quite loved.

The One with the Update

Just a quick update about how our embies are doing today.  I talked to the IVF lab a few minutes ago and all 9 embies are continuing to develop very nicely.  After fertilization, the cells start to divide.  On day 2 (today), they like to see the embies between 2 and 4 cells each.  She told me we have 4 embies that are 2-cells, 3 embies that are 3-cells, and 2 embies that are 4-cells.  All of the embryos are of very good quality.  That is great news for our little ones!

She let me know that we are going to do a transfer tomorrow (Monday) morning at 8:45 am.  This is a 3-day transfer.  Sometimes, they stretch this out to a 5-day transfer to watch for more dividing, but a 3-day transfer is more common.  Hubs is going to go back to work tomorrow, so my mom is going to come with me for the transfer.  So, I  return to the center tomorrow morning with a full bladder and have one or two little ones (we decide tomorrow) put back inside my ute where it (they) will hopefully take up residence for the next 9 months.

We could use all the sticky prayers and vibes you can offer!  I'll do another update tomorrow after I am officially transferred.

P.S. TMI alert: These vag pills are terrible.  I am buying stock in Always panty liners and I feel gross!  Just a little nugget of info for your Sunday morning.