The Long and Winding Road

First Ultrasound

This afternoon we had our much-anticipated first ultrasound.  We got to see Muffin for the first time!  (Well, the first time as a fetus rather than an embryo.)   The ultrasound tech asked whether we had transferred one embryo or two, so she knew how many babies she was looking for.

7 Weeks

Today marks 7 weeks, and only 3 days until our first ultrasound at Mid Iowa.  We are so anxious to hear Muffin's heartbeat and see this baby on the monitor! This week Muffin is the size of a blueberry.  The baby is generating about 100 new brain cells each minute.

6 Weeks

We have made it to the 6 week mark!  This is the earliest that most doctors will schedule an ultrasound to date the pregnancy (not necessary with an IVF transfer), detect a heartbeat (most difficult to do at 6 weeks and easier each week after), and make sure things are

5 Weeks

At 5 weeks, Muffin is as big as an orange seed.  This seems tiny, but it's multiple times larger than the poppy seed it was last week!  The heart is beginning to form and beat.  The digestive system, spinal cord, and brain are also beginning to form. We haven't talked

HCG Re-check

I had another blood work appointment this morning -exactly 48 hours after my last blood test.  My HCG has increased from 649 to 1280, which is great news!  I'm definitely still pregnant.  I scheduled my first ultrasound for Monday, October 21 at 4:30 pm.  I will have another ultrasound

Test Day!

This morning I had a 7:45 am lab appointment for an HCG blood test.  The nurses would look at the results and call me to share the news: pregnant or not. I wasn't sure what time to expect the call, but of course I was hoping to hear sooner

The night before the HCG test

Our two week wait (technically 13 days) is almost over!  I go in for a blood draw appointment at 7:45 am tomorrow.  We should expect a phone call sometime during the day tomorrow with the results.  We decided not to take a pregnancy test at home, but to wait

FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer)

Our transfer day has finally arrived!  I took five oral medications this morning (prenatal vitamin, vitamin d, baby aspirin, augmentin, dexamethasone) and a vaginal progesterone pill.  Then I went to school for my regular morning routine.  I left at noon to come home and prepare for transfer.  At 1:30

Progesterone Shots

This week (September 12) we started nightly progesterone injections.  The medication is called progesterone in oil - it is pretty thick and is administered with a long needle (almost the length of my pinky finger).  The shot is to be given in the buttocks, but higher up than I had

Lining Check and Blood Draw

Yesterday I had a lining check and blood draw at Mid-Iowa.  This is the only appointment I've had since starting my embryo transfer med calendar and it's the only one I will have before the actual transfer date.  The nurse looked at the lining of my uterus to make sure

Tears

There have been a few times throughout this process that tears have been shed.  When the number of embryos we had dropped from six to three; when we weren't sure if we had more than one genetically viable embryo; when we found out that our transfer had to occur three

Spotting

Last week I had a little bit of light spotting.  I wasn't sure if that was normal, so I contacted my fertility nurse.  She talked with Dr. Young and said they'd like me to add additional estrogen to my medications.  The point of using estrogen patches is to thicken the

Preparing for Embryo Transfer

We are one month away from our target transfer date.  I emailed my fertility nurse on the first day of my cycle and she put together a med calendar for me to follow.  It begins slowly, with estrogen patches (3 at a time, worn for 3 days and then replaced

Getting the Timing Right

Now that we've been back from Jamaica for 7 weeks, it's time to start thinking about the timing of our transfer.  My med calendar will begin with the start of a new cycle, so I have been in contact with my nurse at Mid-Iowa Fertility to coordinate a new cycle

Check-Up and Consult with Dr. Gross

Today was my first appointment with Dr. Gross since Dr. Beckwith has retired from colorectal surgery.  We talked about my overall health and she seemed pleased with how I am doing.  Then I asked her many questions regarding my future pregnancy plans and her opinions on pregnancy and delivery.  She

Zika Risk

While we were in the office for my ultrasound on June 3, we discussed the timeline for our frozen embryo transfer.  Because the CDC currently classifies Jamaica as a "country with current or past Zika transmission but no current outbreaks" we have to wait 3 months from our return to

No period...

After egg retrieval, the nurses told me to expect to have a period within 1-2 weeks, and they were spot on.  I started my cycle on April 22, which was 12 days after egg retrieval.  I was hopeful that this cycle would be my typical 33-34 days long and it

The Waiting Game

Over the past 18 months, I have been keeping track of my menstrual cycles.  On average, my cycle is 34-36 days long (when not impacted by poor health, surgery recovery, or manipulation by birth control or other hormones). After egg retrieval, the nurses told me to expect to get a

Final Biopsy Results

It took almost two weeks to hear the news, but we found out that our 3rd embryo is also normal!  So we are elated to know that we have two viable embryos waiting for transfer. We have been trying hard to stay positive througout this whole process, but that has

PGS Results

The Mid-Iowa Fertility lab told us that we would hear results of PGS testing by the end of the week (April 26) and we got the phone call Wednesday morning (April 24), which was a little sooner than I was expecting.  Of the three embryos that were biopsied, one was

Day 5 Blastocyst Stage

Today we found out how many of our fertilized eggs have progressed to the blastocyst embryo stage.  We were able to get 10 good eggs from egg retrieval, 6 of those 10 eggs fertilized, and 3 of those 6 fertilized eggs have made it to the blastocyst stage.  The lab

Day 1 - Day 5 (Post-Retrieval)

Egg retrieval was on Wednesday (April 10), and we got a phone call Thursday (April 11) to let us know that 6 of our 10 eggs were fertilized successfully.  On average, 60%-70% fertilize, so we're hitting all of the averages so far.  Hopefully, those 6 eggs will continue to

Egg Retrieval

Today was egg retrieval day! We began injections on Monday, April 1st and continued them through Monday, April 8th.  During that time, I had 3 office visits (on the 4th, 6th, and 8th) to monitor my estrogen levels and measure developing egg follicles in the ovaries.  On April 8th, the

Injections

I have never been a big fan of needles, and I have a fairly weak stomach for blood and guts.  So for the first three days of injections, Eric drew up the medications and gave me the shots.  However, when I started thinking ahead to the next week's med calendar

Ordering Meds

To begin the IVF process, there are oral medications and then injectable medications.  For the first three weeks of the cycle, I am taking birth control, a prenatal vitamin, Vitamin D, and an antibiotic (for one week).  This is called the suppression phase.  Our out-of-pocket cost during this phase is