The Baby Ruth Blog

Monday, April 4, 2011

Egg Retrieval Day

Here I am before the retrieval. I felt excited and ready. In this room, I got my IV and then was taken into the operating room, where the last thing I remember was putting my feet into some stirrups. I was out like a light!Dr. Barbieri did my procedure today since Dr. Bankowski is in Spain for a conference. The nurses, doctor and anesthesiologist were all fantastic. SO nice.

Wow--awful--here I am afterward. Bryan said I asked how many eggs they got 3 times. The number was 10! Out of the 10, there were 5 big ones. Tomorrow we'll find out how many were mature and how many fertilized. It only takes one to make a baby! I also asked him to take this picture twice. I guess I wanted to make sure I was "keepin' it real" on my blog. Don't want anyone to get the idea this is a glamorous process. Now I'm on the couch and feeling a little tender down south, but other than that just fine.

I'll be updating soon! Thanks for all the prayers.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Almost There!

Hello my dear friends and family~ Here's a brief run-down of my last few days moving toward IVF! I am so grateful for you walking with me during this journey. Thank you so much!!

Friday: Ultrasound--Dr. B recorded 8 large follicles, estrodial was 1342, progesterone was .9 and lining was an 11with a triple pattern. They told me I'm almost there, but should come in Saturday for one more ultrasound and blood draw.

Saturday AM: Ultrasound--Dr. Hesla found the same follicles, plus recorded a couple small ones, estrodial was 1680. He said I'm definitely ready for a trigger shot and retrieval would be Monday morning at 9:00 AM. I looked back at records from my first IVF and my estrodial was only 1453 right before they did the retrieval and my lining was 10. Maybe that's not a big difference, but I'm just glad this protocol seems to be a better fit for me.

Saturday PM: Trigger Shot at 10:15 PM on the dot. I did it subcutaneously (belly) rather than intramuscular (backside) for some reason. Not sure why--didn't ask!

Sunday: No more shots! Tonight we're having 3 of our nieces over for a movie night and I'm going to enjoy the evening without any Follistim. I have all the meds packed away so they don't have to wonder what in the world is going on with all those needles. (:

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Grow eggies grow!!

This is gonna be quick--gotta get to work! Dr. B was back and saw 9 big eggs via ultrasound. He kind of ignored the rest since he said they aren't growing. I like to think there were some hiding since the nurse practitioner spotted so many the other day. I asked him if HE thought I was doing well and it took him a little longer than I expected to answer. Finally, he said "I think you're doing GREAT for YOU". He said this protocol seems to be right for me. They were thinking I might cut back on medicine, but when I got a call later in the day (after the blood results) they said to keep using all of it. I will go in again Friday and possibly do the trigger shot over the weekend. My retrieval will likely be Monday or Tuesday. I'm praying for Monday since it's my day off! That would just make life so much easier. I am grateful that Bryan will be off work for Spring Break, which wasn't even planned! God has this thing under control. Thanks for all your support and prayers! My Mom and Dad are heading for Istanbul and then the Holy Land today, so please pray for their safe journey as well. Thanks! JR

Monday, March 28, 2011

Progress

This morning I had another positive appointment. I had the nurse practitioner again and she counted 7 large follicles and 7 smaller ones. My estrogen is rising nicely too. I'll be continuing on the same protocol and praying that my body keeps responding well. My next visit is coming up Wednesday,so I will be updating again then!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

3rd Time's A Charm

Well, today I went in for my 3rd suppression check, and the 3rd time was truly a charm.

First off, I ran into one of my very dear friends, Raquel, who was in there for an appointment. Just seeing her made me feel so blessed.

Dr.B was out of the office, so I had a nurse practitioner who was also extremely nice. She did an ultrasound and I had NO cyst this time!! Also, I had 5 small resting follicles on the right and 6 on the left, which were very good numbers for me. I also had blood work and everything came back normal.

Starting tomorrow, I'll begin my shots again: Follistim, Menopur, and Omnitrope growth hormone this time. They know I'm a poor responder, so they have me on the strongest protocol possible. I'll go back in on Monday for an appointment and see how it's going. Please pray for my body to do better this time!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Kiddo Rooms

Hey everyone, I have no updates yet. I'll probably have something in the next day or two. In the meantime, I thought I'd share some design concepts I put together for some very cute little girls recently.

Click on links below the collages if you'd like to see where all the goodies came from.

Emily by Jennymruth on Polyvore.com

Evelyn by Jennymruth on Polyvore.com

Monday, February 28, 2011

The Waiting Game

Phewww! Just catching my breath today. I've been working at a home show booth the last few days and it really wears me out. It's been good to be busy though and not think about infertility too much. I haven't updated in a while because frankly, I've been dreading this blog entry. It's just so blah!! I went to the doctor for my second suppression check Friday, February 18th. I was all excited to move forward with the process since I had to wait a couple of weeks and see if my body was doing better. They did an ultrasound and everything looked great on the right, then they moved to the left and there was a cyst. It was about
1 1/2" in diameter (big for being so new). The doctor said that moving forward would not be a good thing at this time. It's not an optimal environment because the cyst could be giving off hormones. He said we should wait a month and see if it goes away on its own. 2 out of 3 women get them and they just go away. I had blood work done and my hormones looked normal, so hopefully that's a good sign. My next appointment will be around March 18th, so I'll find out if it's gone and I'm ready to move forward. I've heard from several people who are reading this and praying for us. I so appreciate your love and support. I realize there's a lot more pain and heartache in the world that is more important. Thanks for following along on this little journey!

Our Infertility Journey

Like many young couples, we thought that we would decide it was time to have a baby and it would just magically happen. We were the "perfect" ages..in our mid twenties, and we had been married for 3 years. It's embarrasing to admit, but I was so excited, I even bought some miniature Baby Ruth candy bars to hand out for when we would make our big announcement to friends and family! (Cute, huh?)

Well, after a year or so we began to worry. We were both tested and the doctors could find nothing wrong with either of us. I had a history of bad mentrual cramps, so I requested a laparoscopy to search for endometriosis, and nothing was found. We went through a couple years of the unsettling diagnosis of unexplained infertility, were treated with Clomid and underwent five unsuccessful IUI’s.

In the Fall of ‘07, we began to see a reproductive endocrinologist. After making sure that Bryan was tested more thoroughly and finding that he was very healthy indeed, our doctor performed another laparoscopy on me, and he found stage-two endometriosis. Because the clinic was outside of our medical insurance network, we had to pay for the procedure out of pocket. The specialist felt that after the laser procedure, we should have a good chance of conceiving naturally, so we knew that we were making an important investment. Unfortunately, many months of trying to conceive passed and nothing happened.

In May of ’08 I followed my dream of starting a support group for women who were going through a similar journey. It had been a long, hard, lonely five years as a barren woman! Through the support of our church, I was able to find eight other women who desperately needed someone to talk to. It has been a miraculous, life changing experience to have this group to laugh and cry with. We have come a long ways emotionally and spiritually together and have become great friends.

With the encouragement of the support group, we started to consider IVF. Our specialist felt that this was a very logical next step as well. After months of praying and discussing the financial side, we scheduled our IVF for October 2008. We decided that we would take out a loan from our home equity to cover some of the expenses. The doctor was able to harvest ten eggs, five of which fertilized. In the end, he transferred two six-day blastocyst embryos, and we all felt very confident! Despite so many things going for us, the babies did not implant and our dreams of becoming parents were crushed once again.

Just recently, in the Spring of 2010, we began seeing a new specialist and had some more tests done. Thankfully, an ultrasound helped the doctor discover a tiny polyp on my uterus that needed to be removed. After surgery, the biopsy revealed endometrial hyperplasia, a condition when left untreated can result in cancer of the uterus. We are so thankful that it was caught before it could cause trouble. To treat this condition, I was prescribed with a three-months of progesterone. With one month down and two to go, we are certainly looking forward to the next step in our journey.

I hope that by sharing this, we can connect with our friends and family on a deeper level. I know that many have been concerned, but not known how to show their love and support for us. It's a difficult subject, but if there's anything I've learned, it is to be open and honest, not ashamed. When we share our hearts, we can reach out and encourage others. If you have read this and struggle with infertility, or another battle, don't be afraid to talk to someone about it. Life is a roller coaster ride, but we're all on it together, so buckle up and let's go!