Change is Good

So C and I went to her appointment this morning. The follicles grew a little bit but they want her on two more days of stim in order to get the best response. Which means the earliest that egg retrieval will be is this Friday. Bittersweet because as antsy as we are this actually is much better for my work schedule! She has another appointment tomorrow morning as well, so we shall see.

I feel like I am living in 24-36hr increments lately... waiting for this retrieval to see how we do and how many embryos develop etc!

Olympic Relay vs E2; Who is responsible?

C writing...

Hey guys,

I have not had a chance to write yet and update you all on my perspective of the events.  I know B has been keeping you all up to date as much as possible.

I'm not quite sure if my mood lately is due to the medication and hormone levels or merely the excitement I'm feeling regarding this journey.  For my part, I envision B and I in a two person olympic relay in which I have the first leg and am about to hand the baton over to her to finish.

While I've been going to our RE office every 3 days, it has increased to every other day over the past week as my stim progresses.  This usually involved about 20-25min for blood draw and transvaginal US.

The first US I had was about 6 weeks ago and I remember feeling slightly uncomfortable (as most women do with a new physician for this type of exam).  As the weeks have gone by, and US done so regularly, I'm at the point where I am making jokes and having conversations with the docs & NP's about what the rest of the day entails for each of us.  It's totally coffee talk at this point.

In addition, 3 days ago I was told my E2 level was in the 800's.  I had it drawn yesterday but forgot to ask for the number.  I'll have it checked again tomorrow-- just for shits and giggles, I'm gonna ask what it is.  I had a friend ask me (who is very well aware of the differences between B and my personality) if I noticed that I was emotional or if I've noticed any other mood swings as my E2 level has risen.  After giving it some thought I realized that I am no more emotional now than I usually am (which for you that do not really know me--i'm not that emotional).  What I do happen to notice as a change--is that I am laughing at my own jokes quite a bit more.  In fact, I find myself downright hysterical lately!

I mean, just because B doesn't laugh nearly as much as she should at my jokes---doesn't mean there not hilarious!  Deep down inside, she knows I'm the funny one ;)

Anyway, enough about our personality differences.  What I'm getting at is that I'm not really sure if me finding myself much more hysterical than usual is related to my hormone changes or if it merely me getting excited at our baton hand off.  Regardless of the reason, I know this easter bunny is coming with all the eggs!!  So B is getting ready for my baton handoff and I'm sure she will fill you in on her perspective after our next appointment tomorrow.

"Sexy Uterus"

Here are some photos of C's "sexy uterus," as she likes to call it, as well as her ovaries:

 UTERUS

RIGHT OVARY

LEFT OVARY

As you can see, she is doing well on the stimulation medications. At her appointment yesterday they saw about 18-20 maturing follicles (not all are visible on the US). They kept her on the 2 vials of Menopur and 150 units of Gonal-F for last night. This morning she had another set of blood work/US. All of the follicles this morning measured 12-13mm which is great. Tonight she will take 3 vials of Menopur, 150 units of Gonal-F, and 1 shot of Cetrotide. She will go back in on Monday for blood work and US. The doctor predicted that she will take three more nights' worth of stimulation medication and on day 4 take the HSG shot. They determine this based on the size of her follicles, they retrieve when they're 18-20mm in size. So, as of right now retrieval will be on Thursday March 14, 2013. We are very very excited!

My uterus is still nice and thick and ready to accept embryos :)! I am still taking the daily 10 units of Lupron and changing four patches of estrogen every other day. Sorry no photos of my uterus just yet.... I figure we will be getting plenty in the future :)!

Update/Boudoir Photos

All is going well here... I am up to four patches of estrogen and still taking the daily 10 units of lupron. My doctors appointment went very well yesterday. The doctor repeatedly complemented my uterus lol. He said that it looked perfect for making the babies stick, and that's what I wanted to hear! So basically I am all set and now in whats called a "holding pattern" until C is closer to retrieval.

C had her bloodwork and US this morning. They counted about 18 premature follicles from both ovaries which is very good :). Tonight she had her fourth set of injections. They have her staying with the two vials of Menopur and 150 units of Gonal-F. Her next appointment is Friday.

Lately, all I have on my mind is "baby makin." Literally, I say the strangest things.... meaning to say something else. For instance last night C brought some Oreos to bed for a snack and I said, "Damn, do you have enough Ovaries?" WHAT!? Lol C just busted out laughing and so did I... what was I thinking? Then I had a dream we were at our first ultrasound and saw two sacs... then they moved over and saw three more! I went from super happy to dreadfully scared, in my dream that is. I think I am a wee bit nervous of anymore than two... would you think?

C and I are still super excited and very giddy lately. We were slightly inappropriate today in the doctor's office lol. Her and I joke about who will win at the "egg producing game." Since I got 24 eggs when I donated... I made a bet that she won't beat me. We are super competitive. The prize...... whoever wins gets a good night in bed how ever they want it lol. AGAIN inappropriate but funny. You need humor in this process or you'll lose your mind! Plus we both know it doesn't matter how many she gets, that is not going to change our plans (assuming she gets at least two good blasts).

ALSO, I am happy to report that C caved in and we bought a KING bed!!!! It arrives on Friday, perfect timing.... before my pregnancy :)!!!!



Here are some of the more appropriate images from my Boudoir session:

Sperm is in the building....

Ladies and Gentlemen our sperm has arrived safe and sound.... to our RE office! Woo hoo! I called to confirm that the little guys (or girls lol) got there okay.... they had a long trip from California Cryobank to King of Prussia PA! This made my day, what a relief. I was so nervous that the tank would go bad and we would lose our only vial of sperm!

Anyway... I am still taking the daily 10 units of Lupron and I am up to four patches of estrogen tomorrow! C started stim last night! She was hilarious, she waited for me to get home from work around 9:15pm. And I drew up and gave her the two vials of Menopur and 150 units of Gonal-F. Feels like deja vu for me, except this time I know it's for our baby making journey :)!

C -  "WAIT! Make sure you put time between the actual stick and medication administration, so I know which hurts worse!"

B (Me) - "Haha, okay babe, are you ready?"

C - "Yes. No. WAIT. Okay I am ready, go ahead."

All that nervousness and then she says, "Oh that wasn't bad at all!"

On a side note my poor wife was so sick the past few days. First a sinus infection and then a GI bug eek! I felt so bad for her... but at the same time I was trying to keep my distance because after that infection I had the last thing I wanted was another bug! Lol I was following her around with bleach wipes! That sounds so terrible, but she understood. And now that she is pretty much better she is getting all the cuddles again :).

Approximately 10 more days until C's eggs meet the sperm and hang out in a dish for five days! Lol I am trying to stay exited and optimistic here :)!

How we got here...

OKAY.... So I could not password protect just a post... so I password protected the "Dirty Details" tab and put the "How we got here" post there since it's more of a detailed about us. Just shoot me an email for the password if you would like it :). My email is bnc0725@gmail.com.

Help a sister out!?

Can someone please help me learn how to make a "protected post" on here? I would like to share C's proposal to me and some other more private things about C and I :)!