We hope this post finds all of you enjoying the cold if you are here in Florida, or staying warm wherever you are. It has been bitterly cold here recently, like 40s and freezing at night! I know several of you reading may think that's nothing but for us thin-blooded Floridians-it's COLD!
Scotty and I just got back from our trip to California, we had an amazing vacation. It hadn't been since our 1st anniversary that we went on "vacation" just the two of us. We usually use our vacation time to visit family or go on family vacations but it was really nice to just be with each other!
Our application for adoption was approved! So if you are a scrapbooker I need your help! I'm starting to work on our portfolio and I am soooo indecisive. It took about an hour last night to choose the scrapbook paper for each of the pages! We start MAPP class in January and will start paper work to apply for our home study during that process.
We are also continuing on trying to get a diagnosis on our "issues". My biopsy came back and showed that, in short, my lining is not maturing fully. So my test done on day 28 on showed that the sample was matured through day 24. If you want to know more details on what that could mean get in touch with me, I have lots of theories.
Knowing this, we are starting Chlo-mid this month. It is a fertility drug, I will also be on progesterone which is a hormone that helps sustain pregnancies. My doctor said if they'd known about the immaturity in my uterine lining (I couldn't help but giggle that he called my uterus immature-how dare he!!) they would have tripled my progesterone during IVF. Why didn't we do these tests before IVF???? That is an excellent question!
It may sound crazy to pursue two very different routes, but Scotty and I know that God's plan is going to become clear very soon. Whether it is getting pregnant or adopting and getting pregnant-we just want His will for our life, and our baby's. And yes, if we were to get pregnant in the process of our adoption, we'd continue with our adoption if they'll let us. Babies are blessings, right? I hope some day I'll be looking back on these posts thinking, "would I have ever thought I'd be sitting here?" with all my kids sitting around me :)
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Papers, papers, and more papers.
Exciting things are happening! We finally, and when I say finally, I mean after getting on a waiting list in September, we finally have our application! I got an email Thursday night on the way to church from the agency we are adopting from. It included LOTS of information, and several documents. One of which was the schedule of fees and as it looks now, we may qualify for a state grant towards our adoption fee! The other document was the application!! This is SO encouraging!
Of course, because I am me, it was filled out within the hour. I had emails sent out to our accountant, pay stubs printed, forms notarized by the next afternoon. I may be a little anxious :)So here is the pictoral journey....
It is printed and in hand!!
Shortly after, Scotty fell asleep. It started out as 7/8 pages.....
And ended as a TON of pages!
So, because we (Scotty) are overachievers it will be dropped off on Monday to the agency. I don't know if my filling everything out SUPER quickly will come off as excited or annoying-but it will make me feel better!
On a related but separate note, we should be hearing from the doctor tomorrow hopefully on our test results from my biopsy on Monday. We aren't going to let that side postpone our adoption though. I know God is capable and will point us in the right direction-whatever it may be!
T & S
Of course, because I am me, it was filled out within the hour. I had emails sent out to our accountant, pay stubs printed, forms notarized by the next afternoon. I may be a little anxious :)So here is the pictoral journey....
It is printed and in hand!!
Shortly after, Scotty fell asleep. It started out as 7/8 pages.....
And ended as a TON of pages!
So, because we (Scotty) are overachievers it will be dropped off on Monday to the agency. I don't know if my filling everything out SUPER quickly will come off as excited or annoying-but it will make me feel better!
On a related but separate note, we should be hearing from the doctor tomorrow hopefully on our test results from my biopsy on Monday. We aren't going to let that side postpone our adoption though. I know God is capable and will point us in the right direction-whatever it may be!
T & S
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Playing catch up......
It's been quite a while since our last post, mostly because we needed time to recover from this summer. I still think (almost daily) did I really go through IVF? First, because it seems like so long ago, secondly, because I think back on exactly WHAT I did go through and it seems surreal.
In my last post I told you guys (if anyone ends up reading this, lol) that we were waiting to have some testing done to see if there were any issues on my end. We had one test done, a saline infused sonogram. If it sounds like fun, you're wrong. It is not. But thankfully, everything was normal. They were looking for blockages in the cervix and everything was as it should be. Our next test will be a biopsy this coming Monday. When we get the results I will keep you posted.
In the mean time, we are pursuing other options. One of which is adoption. We are currently on a waiting list to adopt through Florida Childrens Baptist Home. It looks like the actual application process will start in January. Here is where we can really use prayers: there is only one social worker over adoptions-thus the waiting list. She can only do so much, and instead of having an indefinite wait time after applying, we are on a list. Overall they say the typical process is about 9 months, similar to a pregnancy. The more flexible we are with our choices, (race, gender, age, etc) the better chance we have to fit into the window they suggest. We don't have a preference on gender, which means we will be able to be matched with a birth mother sooner since we won't have to wait to find out the sex. And our age preference is newborn, we would love to be able to experience some of the ultrasounds with the birth mother.
Scotty and I have been praying fervently that we would be following God's plan. I still plan to get pregnant in the future, God willing naturally, but feel that adoption is another desperate need that had we become pregnant may not have pursued otherwise. I heard recently, God does not make mistakes. Is that so satisfying? Knowing that every second of your life has been planned to be the best for you? God was there through our years of not conceiving, and we've grown even closer with Him through it. He was there through our trials with IVF, and I haven't felt so intimate with him ever before. Now, we are on a new journey. Waiting patiently, if you know me this is not easy. But I have found solitude and peace knowing that where we are right now, what we have hurt for and grieved over, we are exactly made in God's perfect plan.
In the last couple months, we have migrated back to the Lakeshore campus at Van Dyke Church, which we now call home. We were attending North Campus, which sadly closed to to financial burden. We have also been attending Emerge on Thursdays at Van Dyke, and it's proven to be a much needed breather to our crazy, hectic weeks.
In other news, Scotty and I will be leaving for California in just a little over two weeks and we....are.....STOKED! We are going on a vacation, just the two of us! We haven't done that (being going away to vacation, not visit friends or family) since our first anniversary, with the exception of weekend trips. We plan to spend several days in San Francisco, take a drive over to Napa Valley, visit Alcatraz and the Redwood Forest. It will be a much needed rest, we are both impatiently waiting :)
So to close, instead of asking you to pray for us, I will be praying for you- our prayer warriors and readers! If you have a specific prayer, get at me-I certainly owe you a prayer or two ;)
In my last post I told you guys (if anyone ends up reading this, lol) that we were waiting to have some testing done to see if there were any issues on my end. We had one test done, a saline infused sonogram. If it sounds like fun, you're wrong. It is not. But thankfully, everything was normal. They were looking for blockages in the cervix and everything was as it should be. Our next test will be a biopsy this coming Monday. When we get the results I will keep you posted.
In the mean time, we are pursuing other options. One of which is adoption. We are currently on a waiting list to adopt through Florida Childrens Baptist Home. It looks like the actual application process will start in January. Here is where we can really use prayers: there is only one social worker over adoptions-thus the waiting list. She can only do so much, and instead of having an indefinite wait time after applying, we are on a list. Overall they say the typical process is about 9 months, similar to a pregnancy. The more flexible we are with our choices, (race, gender, age, etc) the better chance we have to fit into the window they suggest. We don't have a preference on gender, which means we will be able to be matched with a birth mother sooner since we won't have to wait to find out the sex. And our age preference is newborn, we would love to be able to experience some of the ultrasounds with the birth mother.
Scotty and I have been praying fervently that we would be following God's plan. I still plan to get pregnant in the future, God willing naturally, but feel that adoption is another desperate need that had we become pregnant may not have pursued otherwise. I heard recently, God does not make mistakes. Is that so satisfying? Knowing that every second of your life has been planned to be the best for you? God was there through our years of not conceiving, and we've grown even closer with Him through it. He was there through our trials with IVF, and I haven't felt so intimate with him ever before. Now, we are on a new journey. Waiting patiently, if you know me this is not easy. But I have found solitude and peace knowing that where we are right now, what we have hurt for and grieved over, we are exactly made in God's perfect plan.
In the last couple months, we have migrated back to the Lakeshore campus at Van Dyke Church, which we now call home. We were attending North Campus, which sadly closed to to financial burden. We have also been attending Emerge on Thursdays at Van Dyke, and it's proven to be a much needed breather to our crazy, hectic weeks.
In other news, Scotty and I will be leaving for California in just a little over two weeks and we....are.....STOKED! We are going on a vacation, just the two of us! We haven't done that (being going away to vacation, not visit friends or family) since our first anniversary, with the exception of weekend trips. We plan to spend several days in San Francisco, take a drive over to Napa Valley, visit Alcatraz and the Redwood Forest. It will be a much needed rest, we are both impatiently waiting :)
So to close, instead of asking you to pray for us, I will be praying for you- our prayer warriors and readers! If you have a specific prayer, get at me-I certainly owe you a prayer or two ;)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Back to school...
It's been a while since our last post, and we have lots of updates...
I'm back to school now and trying to adjust to not getting to use the restroom when I want to, getting up early etc. Scotty is in Haiti right now on a mission trip with a group of guys including his dad, brother, and best friend. They are building houses and staying at an orphanage. When he gets back I'm sure he'll send an update telling all about his trip.
We found out on the tenth that our cycle of IVF didn't work. It was very difficult news to hear since it was such a long road. Now, we wait a couple months for my body to readjust and get back to normal then have some testing done to see what went wrong. Our doctor is shocked that we didn't have a successful cycle and thinks that there must be something going on with me. He has a few ideas in mind, so we'll do a sonogram, bloodtest, and biopsy. The best case scenario is that we find what the issue is, and maybe has been all along. Then we'll have a better idea of where to go next.
So to keep me company while Scotty is gone, my best friend Whitney came down! We went to paint pottery at practically pikasso with my sister and friend Jess.
Whit and I were able to fit in a quick trip to Magic kingdom and MGM....
She's back home now, too short of a trip. But I am lucky to have such a good friend!
I'm back to school now and trying to adjust to not getting to use the restroom when I want to, getting up early etc. Scotty is in Haiti right now on a mission trip with a group of guys including his dad, brother, and best friend. They are building houses and staying at an orphanage. When he gets back I'm sure he'll send an update telling all about his trip.
We found out on the tenth that our cycle of IVF didn't work. It was very difficult news to hear since it was such a long road. Now, we wait a couple months for my body to readjust and get back to normal then have some testing done to see what went wrong. Our doctor is shocked that we didn't have a successful cycle and thinks that there must be something going on with me. He has a few ideas in mind, so we'll do a sonogram, bloodtest, and biopsy. The best case scenario is that we find what the issue is, and maybe has been all along. Then we'll have a better idea of where to go next.
So to keep me company while Scotty is gone, my best friend Whitney came down! We went to paint pottery at practically pikasso with my sister and friend Jess.
Whit and I were able to fit in a quick trip to Magic kingdom and MGM....
She's back home now, too short of a trip. But I am lucky to have such a good friend!
Friday, August 6, 2010
5 Funfilled Years!
On Thursday, August 5th Scotty and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. What an amazing journey it's been so far. I feel very lucky and blessed to have found such an awesome guy at such a young age. Anyways, we're 5 years in and loving it!! Here is a pic from our dinner at the melting pot, there are two reasons why you don't go there often. Obvious is the price, but the second is how much freaking food you eat!!! Ohhhhhh it was SOOOOOOO good!
On our way...
Dessert....yummmm
Love you all!
Tera
On our way...
Dessert....yummmm
Love you all!
Tera
Sunday, August 1, 2010
What a week!
So it seems like just the other day Scotty and I were standing speechless in front of the large box of medicine that had arrived. Also on the counter was a calendar for July that had everyday full of things to do, remember, and inject. Now, it is the week after the transfer. We waited for this day for months, years if you count from when we decided to start a family. We are both in disbelief.
The transfer went perfectly. They were nice enough to give me a valium to relax (although I was much calmer having done a practice run-mock transfer-and knowing what to expect). Too bad we waited for about an hour before going back and the valium was gone by then! I didn't think I would be emotional-ha, that's funny- but it was a very surreal moment. I've been told that you can see your embryo being placed, which is an incredible experience. Scotty did see this, I was having a hard time picturing it, I was looking for perfect round little things on the sonogram. What we saw was...."See that little dash? Those are your babies". What really hit me was while I was being prepped they brought in what looked like an incubator, glowing green and humming loudly. That was where our embryos had been stored for the last week. I guess I didn't realize that they would be in the same room with me, duh.
So now, we wait. I have a couple appointments over the next couple weeks, and a pregnancy test at some point! When we know we will send out a blog/email to let you all know.
Other than that, we are just wrapping up our summer. Scotty's been working of course, enjoying having a clean house because I have time to clean! I just met with Matt, the History teacher from my team at school who is also a dog trainer. He is helping Scotty and I gain back control of our house from Sera and Midas. The verdict is, Sera is going to be easy to train, Midas will be the challenge. Not surprised!!
We'd love to hear from all of you guys, let us know what's happening in your lives. Thank you for continuing to pray for us, we still have a lot that needs to happen before we find out. Most of which is out of our control now and we're relying fully on God!
Love to all of you!
The transfer went perfectly. They were nice enough to give me a valium to relax (although I was much calmer having done a practice run-mock transfer-and knowing what to expect). Too bad we waited for about an hour before going back and the valium was gone by then! I didn't think I would be emotional-ha, that's funny- but it was a very surreal moment. I've been told that you can see your embryo being placed, which is an incredible experience. Scotty did see this, I was having a hard time picturing it, I was looking for perfect round little things on the sonogram. What we saw was...."See that little dash? Those are your babies". What really hit me was while I was being prepped they brought in what looked like an incubator, glowing green and humming loudly. That was where our embryos had been stored for the last week. I guess I didn't realize that they would be in the same room with me, duh.
So now, we wait. I have a couple appointments over the next couple weeks, and a pregnancy test at some point! When we know we will send out a blog/email to let you all know.
Other than that, we are just wrapping up our summer. Scotty's been working of course, enjoying having a clean house because I have time to clean! I just met with Matt, the History teacher from my team at school who is also a dog trainer. He is helping Scotty and I gain back control of our house from Sera and Midas. The verdict is, Sera is going to be easy to train, Midas will be the challenge. Not surprised!!
We'd love to hear from all of you guys, let us know what's happening in your lives. Thank you for continuing to pray for us, we still have a lot that needs to happen before we find out. Most of which is out of our control now and we're relying fully on God!
Love to all of you!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Here we go!
It's finally here. Tomorrow morning we go in to do our aspiration. For those who missed it, that's when the docs spend 10 minutes time and get PAID bookoo bucks for it! We start by going in to the doctors office at 6:45 in the AM and I get left in the waiting room all by my lonesome for a couple hours. Tera will go back when we get there and start pre-op. Being that she hasn't eaten that morning, they will give her an IV with fluids (mmm sounds like a good substitute to me). After that is gone, they will sedate her and go in.
...skip a few details you probably don't want to know about...
After they take the eggs out, she'll move to recovery. Once I hear she's OK, I can go back and stay with her through the rest of the recovery process. This is a huge milestone, mostly for Tera because she is off of the stimulation meds, which were in great numbers and pretty painful.
If you've noticed on Facebook, we haven't announced what we are doing. But those who do know can figure out what some of the posts mean....the numbers have been the number of shots she has done so far...we are currently at 62!!
After tomorrow's surgery, we will head home and they've said that Tera will sleep most of the rest of the day. During the next few days our embryos will be in the lab maturing, we will find out Monday afternoon how many were retrieved. They retrieve follicles, which are covered in cells so at first glance it may look like 10, but there may actually be 8 or 13... We are using another procedure called ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) where they will inject one sperm into one embryo, and wait for it to fertilize. On Wednesday, they'll give us a call and let us know if ours are ready. If they are mature and we have a good grade 1 embryo that is ready we'll do the transfer on Thursday, if they need more time it will be on Saturday.
We decided to only insert 1 embryo. With our age and health our success percentage is high (88%) and neither Tera or I feel like we would want to start with two. There are some other reasons why we chose to go with one, but we won't bore you with those. RMG (Reproductive Medicine Group) STRONGLY suggests one, because pregnancy is the goal, not multiples. They brought up a good point, which was another reason we chose one, twins are a high risk pregnancy. Although, we have a good friend (who has been an amazing support to Tera) that did IVF and has beautiful twin boys!!
We won't know the date of the pregnancy test, and when we do know I don't think we'll tell anyone....that way the news can be just between us for a little while-and we can share with our friends and family when we're ready :)
We were fortunate enough to be invited to spend the weekend on Clearwater beach at the Sheraton Sand Key this weekend with Cox Fire. It was a sales retreat and I'm a salesman so there you go! It was a really awesome weekend, and perfect timing given the stress we have both been under. Thanks to my folks for having us!!
As we are approaching the home stretch in this process, we really cherish your prayers. We both have felt God immensely throughout this whole process, and there is no way we would be here if it wasn't for Him. He deserves all the glory! Please pray for this week, that the doctors would be successful, Tera would be calm, and that we would be on our way to parenthood!
Love and blessings to you all!
P.S. Tera asked me to include this excerpt from a song and a scripture that has really helped her through this.
"I know you’re broken, you’re busted wide open
You’ve fallen to pieces and you feel there’s nothing left you can hope in
But I’ll hold you together, we’ll stand the weather
Cause I paid the price for you and I won’t let you go, no never
- From Finding Favour’s Song – “I am”
Psalm 29:4
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
...skip a few details you probably don't want to know about...
After they take the eggs out, she'll move to recovery. Once I hear she's OK, I can go back and stay with her through the rest of the recovery process. This is a huge milestone, mostly for Tera because she is off of the stimulation meds, which were in great numbers and pretty painful.
If you've noticed on Facebook, we haven't announced what we are doing. But those who do know can figure out what some of the posts mean....the numbers have been the number of shots she has done so far...we are currently at 62!!
After tomorrow's surgery, we will head home and they've said that Tera will sleep most of the rest of the day. During the next few days our embryos will be in the lab maturing, we will find out Monday afternoon how many were retrieved. They retrieve follicles, which are covered in cells so at first glance it may look like 10, but there may actually be 8 or 13... We are using another procedure called ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) where they will inject one sperm into one embryo, and wait for it to fertilize. On Wednesday, they'll give us a call and let us know if ours are ready. If they are mature and we have a good grade 1 embryo that is ready we'll do the transfer on Thursday, if they need more time it will be on Saturday.
We decided to only insert 1 embryo. With our age and health our success percentage is high (88%) and neither Tera or I feel like we would want to start with two. There are some other reasons why we chose to go with one, but we won't bore you with those. RMG (Reproductive Medicine Group) STRONGLY suggests one, because pregnancy is the goal, not multiples. They brought up a good point, which was another reason we chose one, twins are a high risk pregnancy. Although, we have a good friend (who has been an amazing support to Tera) that did IVF and has beautiful twin boys!!
We won't know the date of the pregnancy test, and when we do know I don't think we'll tell anyone....that way the news can be just between us for a little while-and we can share with our friends and family when we're ready :)
We were fortunate enough to be invited to spend the weekend on Clearwater beach at the Sheraton Sand Key this weekend with Cox Fire. It was a sales retreat and I'm a salesman so there you go! It was a really awesome weekend, and perfect timing given the stress we have both been under. Thanks to my folks for having us!!
As we are approaching the home stretch in this process, we really cherish your prayers. We both have felt God immensely throughout this whole process, and there is no way we would be here if it wasn't for Him. He deserves all the glory! Please pray for this week, that the doctors would be successful, Tera would be calm, and that we would be on our way to parenthood!
Love and blessings to you all!
P.S. Tera asked me to include this excerpt from a song and a scripture that has really helped her through this.
"I know you’re broken, you’re busted wide open
You’ve fallen to pieces and you feel there’s nothing left you can hope in
But I’ll hold you together, we’ll stand the weather
Cause I paid the price for you and I won’t let you go, no never
- From Finding Favour’s Song – “I am”
Psalm 29:4
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Holy Needles!
Today marks day 8 of injections, which means I have done 15 so far....16 by the end of today. We are finding our niche, and by that I mean I am "manning up" and Scotty is becoming quite the nurse. They have been really inconsistent...some hurt, some don't. Some bruise, some don't....same with bleeding. It is getting better though, really because I think now I know what to expect, which is half the nervousness for me.
We received all of our medications in the mail while I was in NY...and there was A TON! Since our last post we also went to our injection class, it was a little frightening because we (really I since I didn't look at them in the package that came to our house) saw the needles for the first time. The class did help a lot, and I left feeling much more confident about the upcoming shots.
In short, I will do this injection (Lupron-just a hormone...Yay for Scotty!) twice a day for two weeks. Then Lupron will only be in the evenings, and we will add two new shots. This will start next Friday with my first appointment for bloodwork and ultrasound. This is when I will start my stimulation days...which means no physical activity since my ovaries will be getting ready...TMI? LOL. Email me if you want more details :)
I was lucky enough to do my first shot while on vacation in Maggie Valley, NC with the Cox Family! I have had several friends tell me they aren't nearly as bad as they seem, and for me so far they aren't. BUT.....these are the baby needles....there are bigger ones to come! We'll cross that bridge when we get there :)
Here are a couple pics from vacation....it was a beautiful cabin with an amazing view. We also did lots of fun things too :) This picture is of Scotty and I at the Biltmore in Asheville. What a breathtaking "house". It was incredible! And we ended the fun day with Chris and Jan by going to dinner and seeing Eclipse.
This is Scotty, Ron, Austin, and Grady at the bottom of a waterfall. I believe this was the day we went to Cherokee and went horseback riding.
One of the first things we did was go to a town where there were lots of really old buildings, school house, church, even a wealthy families house. The boys enjoyed the creek in front of the house, and we also had a picnic on the front porch.
I'll try to be better about blogging. It seems to take forever because our wifi isn't working....so I am "borrowing" from the neighbors. My computer is very fussy and often freezes during picture downloads, and they save in a file that blogger doesn't accept so I have to convert all pics I include....oh well. Not much else to do now!
Again, we so appreciate your prayers. We both know God has a perfect plan for us, we'd like to follow it exactly! Special prayer would be appreciated for me and my emotions....Scotty has been wonderful with his new multi-personalities wife :)
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Wedding, Wedding, Wedding!!
I am heading home today from visiting my New York family and being in my cousin Melissa's wedding. All of our posts are In Vitro related because I don't ever think our work/home work/home schedules are exciting enough to blog about...but thought this time you guys might want to hear about us, not just our IVF experience.
Both my mom and dad grew up in upstate New York, just a short drive from Canada. It is beautiful here, I would move here if it weren't for the 6 month blistering winters!! Here are a couple pictures that I have taken so far.
It was a crazy week with the wedding on Saturday, but everything turned out beautifully! The pic above is of me and the bride at her bachelorette party, we had a great time! I have a couple wedding pics that are stolen because I didn't take any of the ceremony. I was escorted by Melissa and Jim's son Brody, also, here is a pic of him in his element....
Long flight home today, but I am very ready to see Scotty and puppies! I am sure Scotty is ready to see me too, and to take over dog duty (no pun intended!! )
We are headed to North Carolina for vacation with Scotty's family, we can't wait!! Will post blog/pics soon!
xoxo....Tera
Both my mom and dad grew up in upstate New York, just a short drive from Canada. It is beautiful here, I would move here if it weren't for the 6 month blistering winters!! Here are a couple pictures that I have taken so far.
It was a crazy week with the wedding on Saturday, but everything turned out beautifully! The pic above is of me and the bride at her bachelorette party, we had a great time! I have a couple wedding pics that are stolen because I didn't take any of the ceremony. I was escorted by Melissa and Jim's son Brody, also, here is a pic of him in his element....
Long flight home today, but I am very ready to see Scotty and puppies! I am sure Scotty is ready to see me too, and to take over dog duty (no pun intended!! )
We are headed to North Carolina for vacation with Scotty's family, we can't wait!! Will post blog/pics soon!
xoxo....Tera
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Next Step
Sorry it's been so long since our last update, things have been slooowwwww going. I am in New York right now for my cousins wedding, and Scotty is at home manning the fort (and all the dogs)!
The only news that we have is that we now have a schedule in place. (Assuming my body cooperates). I started birth control to get me on a schedule that works for the doctor and blood labs. It also makes sure that we don't inadvertently get pregnant while on hormone injections, which would be really bad for the baby.
Next Wednesday we will go to the class that will teach Scotty how to give me the injections, which will be interesting to say the least. After that we will start Lupron injections on July 3rd which will last for about a week. I don't know the simple names of the other drugs, just the 27 letter names that came on our pharmacy bill, but those will last until the end of July.
Once we get on that schedule our aspiration (retrieving the embryos) will be somewhere around July 29 with the transfer five days after that (beginning of August). It will be exactly 2 weeks after the day of the transfer that we will be going to take a pregnancy test!! If I'm pregnant I will continue on the injections to help sustain the pregnancy :)
So, we will try to update more often than once a month!! We appreciate prayers. It's not over yet so keep them coming. Love you all!
The only news that we have is that we now have a schedule in place. (Assuming my body cooperates). I started birth control to get me on a schedule that works for the doctor and blood labs. It also makes sure that we don't inadvertently get pregnant while on hormone injections, which would be really bad for the baby.
Next Wednesday we will go to the class that will teach Scotty how to give me the injections, which will be interesting to say the least. After that we will start Lupron injections on July 3rd which will last for about a week. I don't know the simple names of the other drugs, just the 27 letter names that came on our pharmacy bill, but those will last until the end of July.
Once we get on that schedule our aspiration (retrieving the embryos) will be somewhere around July 29 with the transfer five days after that (beginning of August). It will be exactly 2 weeks after the day of the transfer that we will be going to take a pregnancy test!! If I'm pregnant I will continue on the injections to help sustain the pregnancy :)
So, we will try to update more often than once a month!! We appreciate prayers. It's not over yet so keep them coming. Love you all!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
And now, we wait.......
So I am thinking our posts will slow down for a little while. There are a couple reasons why:
First-We have all of our pre-testing done. Everything was normal and healthy, yahoo! Well, we haven't heard anything and they said, "no news is good news" so there you have it.
Second-Our next appointment is on May 10th to sign consent forms. This is where we will start paying for our procedures. When I set up this appointment we put down our deposit.....kind of exciting, we are locked in! This appointment will also be an ultrasound to measure my uterus :-D TMI? Don't read the next sentence then! It is basically measuring how deep they will need to go to place the embryos...when we get there. She (the coordinator who surely has had this done since she can say what it feels like, lol) said that this doesn't hurt, feels like an annual exam. I'll let you know if they are liars!
Third-We aren't really sure when the actual aspiration will happen, and the embryo transfer 3 or 5 days later because that depends on my cycle-which is irregular. Reproductive medicine group are very accommodating and have offered to start my injections throughout May and do my procedures in June because I am a teacher. This would be wonderful but......one of my longest and best friends (and cousin) is getting married in June in New York and I am the Maid of Honor. That being said, it could have happened in June if my cycle worked out perfectly, but they don't allow you to travel while you are doing your injections or a few weeks after your aspiration and transfer for obvious reasons. (Blood work, ultrasounds, lastly and my favorite....pregnancy tests!!!) Since their lab is closed for 3 weeks in July (who does that) it looks like I will be doing the injections in July and hopefully the procedures in August. My luck-the first week of school :)
Until May 10th.....
First-We have all of our pre-testing done. Everything was normal and healthy, yahoo! Well, we haven't heard anything and they said, "no news is good news" so there you have it.
Second-Our next appointment is on May 10th to sign consent forms. This is where we will start paying for our procedures. When I set up this appointment we put down our deposit.....kind of exciting, we are locked in! This appointment will also be an ultrasound to measure my uterus :-D TMI? Don't read the next sentence then! It is basically measuring how deep they will need to go to place the embryos...when we get there. She (the coordinator who surely has had this done since she can say what it feels like, lol) said that this doesn't hurt, feels like an annual exam. I'll let you know if they are liars!
Third-We aren't really sure when the actual aspiration will happen, and the embryo transfer 3 or 5 days later because that depends on my cycle-which is irregular. Reproductive medicine group are very accommodating and have offered to start my injections throughout May and do my procedures in June because I am a teacher. This would be wonderful but......one of my longest and best friends (and cousin) is getting married in June in New York and I am the Maid of Honor. That being said, it could have happened in June if my cycle worked out perfectly, but they don't allow you to travel while you are doing your injections or a few weeks after your aspiration and transfer for obvious reasons. (Blood work, ultrasounds, lastly and my favorite....pregnancy tests!!!) Since their lab is closed for 3 weeks in July (who does that) it looks like I will be doing the injections in July and hopefully the procedures in August. My luck-the first week of school :)
Until May 10th.....
Friday, April 16, 2010
Redemption!
I (T) have been dreading this day all week. Really.....for months, since the last time my doctor told me to get an HSG. I have been told by friends who have experienced this that it's not bad at all. Well, God has a funny way of timing, and making things work out for His plan. After my blood work on Monday broke loose a chaotic start to a long, trying process....... I needed more blood taken today. So, I then started to worry less about the HSG and more about the blood work! Clever, right?!
I have been very healthy for all of my life, and really haven't experienced very much. The things I have had to endure have NOT gone well at all. I like to think that my body has been spoiled and is rebelling against all of these ridiculous torture methods! The only times I have had to give blood have ended in passing out, smelling salts, pretzels, & juice.
NOT TODAY! It couldn't have gone better (unless of course I could have avoided it all!). I start the morning with a miracle pill (not the one some of you are thinking of..) VALIUM! At first I thought, this crap is crap. (Verbatim) Well then about 8 minutes went by and I had to remember what I was doing and why I wasn't at work :)
Scotty came home to drive me there (good idea), in the process I sneezed ALL over myself, Scotty had to hold my head up, and other things I can't remember. We didn't wait long which was good because he had me drink at least 3 bottles of juice, probably paranoia from Monday. Scotty wasn't allowed to come back with me for the HSG because we don't want to x-ray his sperm (Dr.'s words-not mine). The whole thing lasted maybe 3 minutes and was painless!! No more discomfort than an annual visit-ladies you can relate.
I had decided last night that I was not going to have Scotty with me for my blood work this time, and I think he appreciated that. The way my body responds to passing out is not something anyone should have to see, I still feel guilty for how much I have put him through the last three times.
Well either the valium, the nurse who wouldn't shutup (with good reason), or my determination not to pass out worked. I almost cried walking out, this is the first time I have not made a scene for something that should be very simple. It's honestly embarrassing being labeled a "fainter" because I thought I couldn't control it. But now I know it can be done :) Also, my nurse drawing the blood shared her story with me. She now has three kids, and wasn't able to do IVF, had to go as far as surgery for each of her pregnancies. She said it's the most rewarding process anyone could experience, that made me smile.
The next step is our IVF informational meeting on Tuesday. I am not sure what to expect because it will be a separate class for Scotty and I to learn how to give myself the injections :-(
I already feel very blessed to have such a supportive group of family and friends around us. Not to mention a husband that has already been more caring and understanding than I could want.
Until next time..............scary thought: Scotty and I have several times said, "When our babies are here," or "what are we naming the babies"....I certainly hope that isn't foreshadowing anything...... ;-)
I have been very healthy for all of my life, and really haven't experienced very much. The things I have had to endure have NOT gone well at all. I like to think that my body has been spoiled and is rebelling against all of these ridiculous torture methods! The only times I have had to give blood have ended in passing out, smelling salts, pretzels, & juice.
NOT TODAY! It couldn't have gone better (unless of course I could have avoided it all!). I start the morning with a miracle pill (not the one some of you are thinking of..) VALIUM! At first I thought, this crap is crap. (Verbatim) Well then about 8 minutes went by and I had to remember what I was doing and why I wasn't at work :)
Scotty came home to drive me there (good idea), in the process I sneezed ALL over myself, Scotty had to hold my head up, and other things I can't remember. We didn't wait long which was good because he had me drink at least 3 bottles of juice, probably paranoia from Monday. Scotty wasn't allowed to come back with me for the HSG because we don't want to x-ray his sperm (Dr.'s words-not mine). The whole thing lasted maybe 3 minutes and was painless!! No more discomfort than an annual visit-ladies you can relate.
I had decided last night that I was not going to have Scotty with me for my blood work this time, and I think he appreciated that. The way my body responds to passing out is not something anyone should have to see, I still feel guilty for how much I have put him through the last three times.
Well either the valium, the nurse who wouldn't shutup (with good reason), or my determination not to pass out worked. I almost cried walking out, this is the first time I have not made a scene for something that should be very simple. It's honestly embarrassing being labeled a "fainter" because I thought I couldn't control it. But now I know it can be done :) Also, my nurse drawing the blood shared her story with me. She now has three kids, and wasn't able to do IVF, had to go as far as surgery for each of her pregnancies. She said it's the most rewarding process anyone could experience, that made me smile.
The next step is our IVF informational meeting on Tuesday. I am not sure what to expect because it will be a separate class for Scotty and I to learn how to give myself the injections :-(
I already feel very blessed to have such a supportive group of family and friends around us. Not to mention a husband that has already been more caring and understanding than I could want.
Until next time..............scary thought: Scotty and I have several times said, "When our babies are here," or "what are we naming the babies"....I certainly hope that isn't foreshadowing anything...... ;-)
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Blood Floweth
Well, we had an interesting doctors visit this morning. We went to do blood work on both T and myself to make sure we don't have any diseases we could potentially pass to offspring. I gave blood first and it all went well. My blood flowed like the sound of Capistrano. I couldn't have been more proud! Then she went...
If the plan was for them to start taking blood, for T to pass out, and to scare her husband to the point where he needed to check his underwear afterward, it all went perfectly according to plan. Here's the thing. Remember my last post about how this would be worse for T than it was for me? Well if you missed it, it was way worse for her. They only took two vials of my blood. For T, they didn't have enough vials in the room so they had to go get more from the next room over. The nurse came back and laid 10 vials down on the table. She told the nurse about her history of passing out so she brought in reinforcements along with a box of smelling salts. She laid back and they prepped the arm. Needle went in, vial one success. Vial one came out, vial two success. Vial two came out, vial three success. Vial three came out... T very calmly announced, "HERE IT COMES"! It's a good thing there wasn't a fan in there cause the poo would have smashed it to pieces.
If you've never witnessed someone losing consciousness, it's not pleasant. If you've never witnessed your spouse going through it, it's scary and I don't recommend it. There is some remotely good news though. They took enough blood in the first three vials to be able to run all but two tests. Bad news is that she has to go give more blood to be able to complete the last two tests. Next time she does it they only need one more vial so hopefully the effects won't be long enough to get to her.
This coming Friday is the Hysterosalpingography (HSG). It's far too long to explain so READ HERE to see what it's all about. Basically, it's the test to make sure everything is as it should be downstairs. This is the first real procedure we've had to go through so please keep her in your prayers again for another week. Until next time...
~Scotty
If the plan was for them to start taking blood, for T to pass out, and to scare her husband to the point where he needed to check his underwear afterward, it all went perfectly according to plan. Here's the thing. Remember my last post about how this would be worse for T than it was for me? Well if you missed it, it was way worse for her. They only took two vials of my blood. For T, they didn't have enough vials in the room so they had to go get more from the next room over. The nurse came back and laid 10 vials down on the table. She told the nurse about her history of passing out so she brought in reinforcements along with a box of smelling salts. She laid back and they prepped the arm. Needle went in, vial one success. Vial one came out, vial two success. Vial two came out, vial three success. Vial three came out... T very calmly announced, "HERE IT COMES"! It's a good thing there wasn't a fan in there cause the poo would have smashed it to pieces.
If you've never witnessed someone losing consciousness, it's not pleasant. If you've never witnessed your spouse going through it, it's scary and I don't recommend it. There is some remotely good news though. They took enough blood in the first three vials to be able to run all but two tests. Bad news is that she has to go give more blood to be able to complete the last two tests. Next time she does it they only need one more vial so hopefully the effects won't be long enough to get to her.
This coming Friday is the Hysterosalpingography (HSG). It's far too long to explain so READ HERE to see what it's all about. Basically, it's the test to make sure everything is as it should be downstairs. This is the first real procedure we've had to go through so please keep her in your prayers again for another week. Until next time...
~Scotty
Friday, April 9, 2010
Here we go...
I never really thought I'd be the type to blog. I used to make fun of my brother for doing it but here I am...blogging. It's crazy how something in your life can cause such a stir. With one test result after another, your life changes more and more.
As some of you may or may not know, T and I have been working on popping out one of those 'bundles of joy' for quite some time now (quite some time = 22 months). Through numerous doctors visits we've discovered there are issues with both of us that are making it difficult to get el prego on our own. So, we decided to go with what the doctor recommends, In Vitro Fertilization.
We're already well underway with the process. We've already been injected, drawn from, groped (very awkward), and have had numerous test done on both of our health. We were supposed to have tests done this morning but due to the female anatomy, we had to reschedule to this Monday. The next step is to make sure neither of us have the HIV, Hepatitis, etc. I don't mind the blood drawing so much, I think it's interesting to watch. T HATES it. Last time she had blood drawn she passed out. Unfortunately for her, this whole procedure is much worse for her than it is for me.
I can already tell it's going to be a very long journey but the outcome will be more than worth it in the end. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next 4-6 months. We do tests almost every week from here on out so we'll update as we go. Until next time....
~ Scotty
As some of you may or may not know, T and I have been working on popping out one of those 'bundles of joy' for quite some time now (quite some time = 22 months). Through numerous doctors visits we've discovered there are issues with both of us that are making it difficult to get el prego on our own. So, we decided to go with what the doctor recommends, In Vitro Fertilization.
We're already well underway with the process. We've already been injected, drawn from, groped (very awkward), and have had numerous test done on both of our health. We were supposed to have tests done this morning but due to the female anatomy, we had to reschedule to this Monday. The next step is to make sure neither of us have the HIV, Hepatitis, etc. I don't mind the blood drawing so much, I think it's interesting to watch. T HATES it. Last time she had blood drawn she passed out. Unfortunately for her, this whole procedure is much worse for her than it is for me.
I can already tell it's going to be a very long journey but the outcome will be more than worth it in the end. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next 4-6 months. We do tests almost every week from here on out so we'll update as we go. Until next time....
~ Scotty
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