The Baby Ruth Blog

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Totcicles in the Freezer

Just got a call and two of the other embryos made it to blastocyst and are now in the freezer. I am extremely grateful right now--wanting to jump up and down, but I'm still on bedrest,so better contain myself!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Transfer Day

Currently I'm laying on the couch enjoying a day of rest. Today was really amazing. I found out this morning that all five embryos are still growing. They took the best two and transferred them in. Bryan was unable to go, but my sister in law Amy was kind enough to take care of me. I'll post pics when I'm off bedrest!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The Day After the Retrieval

This morning I got a call and 5 of the 10 eggs are now fertilized. They plan to do the transfer on Saturday. We won't know how many make it to the 5 day blastocyst stage until then. Just keep praying! Thanks everyone! JR

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!

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!