The Last Hurrah

When we went through the egg retrieval process in the spring of 2019, we were pleased to have two viable embryos at the conclusion.  On the day of egg retrieval, ten eggs were harvested.  Only six of those were fertilized successfully, and only three of the fertilized eggs developed into blastocysts after five days.  Those three blastocysts were frozen and biopsies were sent to a lab for genetic testing.  Two of those were determined to be "viable" or "genetically normal."  So we transferred one of the two viable embryos in September of 2019 and nine months later, welcomed Elsie.  The other viable embryo has been stored at Mid-Iowa Fertility in a cryogenic freezer for future use.  

Since we found out that we had two viable embryos, we have been committed to transferring both in the hopes that they would lead to successful pregnancies and beautiful babies.  The only topic of discussion has been the timing of that transfer.  We agree that we would prefer to have a small age gap between Elsie and our potential third child rather than the 4-year gap between Gavin and Elsie.  Based on my recovery from Elsie's pregnancy and delivery, I determined that I wanted to have a full year between pregnancies.  So throughout Elsie's first year of life we had debated our ideal timeline (considering the ages of our children, the timing of the first trimester and frequent first-trimester appointments, and the timing of a potential due date).  IVF doesn't have many perks, but choosing the timing of your transfer is one of them that we wanted to take advantage of.  

In April, we had a consultation appointment with Dr. Young.  We discussed our desire to transfer our final embryo and the steps involved.  Compared to the combination of egg retrieval and transfer, a frozen embryo transfer is incredibly simple.  After our consult, we knew that we could begin the process with the start of any future menstrual cycle.  One Day 1 of that cycle, I would begin taking a one-month pack of birth control pills.  Between Day 6-13 I would come into the office for a sonohysterogram (a practice transfer with water to measure the ideal spot to place the embryo).  And after those two things were completed, I would follow a med calendar for approximately 5 weeks, culminating in a frozen embryo transfer.  The only medications involved are oral meds (birth control, prenatal vitamin, Vitamin D, baby Aspirin), estrogen patches (Vivelle) and progesterone in oil (injections).  There are 2 more oral medications that I will take the day of the embryo transfer and the day before.  

When we went to our consultation on April 15, we had not decided when we wanted to do the transfer.  We just knew that the consult was the first step in the process and we wouldn't be able to proceed until we had met with the doctor.  After learning more about the steps and schedule of a frozen transfer (separate from egg retrieval), we decided to see when my next cycle began and then predict the next few cycles to help narrow down our ideal timeline.  

Unfortunately, I had some UC symptoms in the month of April and took some antibiotics to treat pouchitis.  I had a suspected allergic reaction to the medications and a recurrance of pouchitis symptoms, which led to a pouchoscopy the first week of May.  The scope showed patchy inflammation, but no chronic inflammation or anything to be concerned about (HOORAY!).  In addition to the symptoms, I did not have a period for quite some time.  My cycles have been fairly regular since Elsie's birth and my normal cycle length is 34-36 days.  The cycle following the bout of pouchitis was 47 days.  

Since my cycle was so long, our next opportunity to begin the transfer process was likely going to be sometime in late June, with a mid-July transfer date and an April due date.  This would have been a reasonable option, but would have allowed me to have just 7-8 weeks of maternity leave with just the baby before Gavin and Elsie would be on their summer schedules.  So we were debating this option and waiting to transfer in the fall to have a late summer baby (allowing me to have some weeks with just the baby after Gavin and Elsie's school year resumed).  

But, God works in mysterious ways and I had a random period after 15 days.  We thought we'd have more time to make our decision, but I needed to start the birth control pills on the first day of my cycle.  So we talked about it logically (and then emotionally) and decided to go for it!  So I began taking the birth control pills on May 16.  According to my med calendar, our transfer will take place on Friday, July 2.  A successful transfer would result in a mid-late March due date.

So here we go again!!