Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2008! We hope Santa brought great gifts for all. We have certainly been blessed this year! In addition to our little olive (red & green - a perfect Christmas gift!), we are very lucky to have such great family and friends!

Last night we went out to dinner at Golden Wok... a little disappointing, but I've been spoiled the last several years. I don't think chinese food has a chance in San Antonio. Notice that I look a little more "chunky" (Corey's term), but that's not the weight from the baby in my face - no, that's the weight from the hormones and drugs I've been taking along with bed rest, no exercise, and weird eating. I am hoping to start walking next week with my heart rate monitor to make sure I stay cardiovascularly fit. After dinner, we went to Mass at St. Francis (where we got married & Corey got baptized). We walked into a pew and who was already sitting there? Dr. Mealey. So I sat between Dr. Mealey and Corey at Christmas Mass. How can he stay frustrated after holding my hand during the "Our Father"? He and his wife are actually really great people, so it was nice to sit next to them.

Santa came last night and brought us some great gifts. We now have matching ipod shuffles :) I tried to take a photo of almost everything, but some things are stacked. We got a nice addition from Kevin to our Willow Tree nativity that we are slowly collecting - we now have the shepherd and stable animals! We also got a very generous gift card to Costco from Corey's parents, Ed & Lorna. We love Costco, and we are very excited! Santa (I) brought Corey a new razor, a new diploma frame from U of U (not pictured), some Polo shirts, and some books. My parents got Corey a power tool set (not pictured), a flashlight, and some books and they sent me some maternity things, some scrapbooking stuff, a cute travel jewelry case, cookie cutters, and some other little stocking stuffers. Santa (Corey) brought me a Swarovski oranment, a new red leather purse, a Lucky jeans maternity hoodie, a Cuisinart food processor, a Virginia Tech platter, some books, and a gift card for dinner at the new Olive Garden just down the street. My favorite thing is probably the children's Bible Corey got for our new baby. I am excited to read it to her/him. We also got lots of goodies from both our families - truffles, chocolate covered fruit - as well as from Santa!

We got up and had our holiday Monkey bread and the boys put on their little costumes. They just loved them. You can see it in their faces. We also had some Bisquick sausage balls (2 c. Bisquick, 1 lb sausage, 10 ounces shredded cheddar - form balls and bake at 350 for 20 min).

We are now exhausted and planning to watch TV and read all day!

Normally I don't like olives...

but I love this olive :) Week 9: Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like... well... a baby! Your fetus is nearly an inch long and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny TEETH. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks.

Our next appointment is January 14th. I am supposed to have another ultrasound, and is possible that we will get a hint of the sex of the baby. Let me put it this way... by week 12, sex can usually be identified, but knowing the military, they won't tell us even if they have a guess. I think the official scan to determine the sex is around week 20 (in March). We are planning to find out the sex of the baby and get everything we think we'll need before the move, especially if I end up moving earlier than Corey

One more semester left. It is hard to believe. My last residency exam will be April 28th, and I think Corey's will be the following week. I BARELY squeaked by on my oral exam last week. Dr. Mealey told me he thought my brain was on delay and I looked like I was about to puke. The sad thing is that I actually studied for weeks before this exam. His conclusion: "Don't be discouraged. I think you are one of those people who's not good at oral exams. But I still think you'll be fine for the boards" It's unfortunate that the board certification is an oral exam :(

We are looking forward to our little Texas christmas. Of course, we wish we could be with our families, but I am glad that we planned to stay here, because we just couldn't know if IVF would work the first time. We miss everyone!

Baby - raspberry is growing!

Here are some blurbs on 8 weeks of development: Your baby is growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. Though you can't feel it yet, baby is moving those little arms, legs and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy. New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways.

The best thing that happened this week: I finally got in to the Reproductive Endocrinology clinic on the base! Too bad we already paid $12,000! They saw me for this sonogram, and now we are in the system as "infertile." Hopefully, if we need to use IVF again in the future, we can get in to a military clinic and save some serious money. If you peak at the notes on the sonogram, it says my due date is August 2nd, but that was a "smaller" view so they could focus on the heartbeat (which was 164 bpm!). The largest it measured was at 14.4 mm, and my due date is still on track.

This has been a LONG week. I will be on vacation for the next 2 weeks - YAY!! Yesterday was my oral exam, and I decided I'd better post before I go for my "Resident Feedback" with Dr. Mealey :) Hopefully I am able to sneak along. Corey is also done with his big tasks, but he is working Mon-Wed next week so he doesn't have to take any leave. We should have the entire week following Christmas off together.

We are still moving to Okinawa. The USN and USAF just can't find any other location that works. The dilemma is now my training. I am supposed to report for 6 weeks of training in Rhode Island. My detailer told me this week that I could wait until I deliver and then leave the baby for 6 weeks. Um.........no way. I told him I would just have to go pregnant, even if I deliver while driving home (I'd be within 2 weeks of my due date.) I am not leaving this baby. He mentioned the (very, very small) possibility that I might be exempt from the training (they really don't make exceptions any more), and asked if I would move to Japan before Corey. I said yes, so we will have to see what the final verdict is. He is supposed to get back to me in January. Here is the schedule they are working around:

May 22nd - UT graduation for Jen & Corey

June 25th - Corey finishes at Lackland AFB

July 28th - baby is due!

In other news, I got my 'weaning' schedule for my shots. I was so excited because I thought I would get to go to every other day or maybe once a week. Nope. I keep up with my current nightly shot until January 10th. The 'weaning' part is that I get to go to half the dose on Dec. 27th. Same with the patches... I go from 3 to 1 on Dec. 27th, and wear them until January 10th.

Fruit of the Womb

Today is 7 weeks! "Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place." "Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

I am starting to experience morning sickness... later in the day. We got up at 2:30 AM and I was at school studying by close to 5AM. I did a surgery and I was exhausted by lunch. I think Dr. Mealey could tell, so he picked on me all afternoon. When he called on me, I was trying not to burp while I talked! I thought I was being paranoid until one of the other residents said,"Man, he was really calling you out!" Yep. I am sure there are no exceptions for pregnancy. I am predicting today that I will have Dr. Mealey and Dr. Mills for my oral exam next week. They've only teamed up one time in 3 years, but it was to send a message to a resident. I am pretty sure after last semester and all I've got going on this semester, they are going to send a message!

One bun in the oven!

Today we saw our baby's heart beating. It's hard to believe! It measured at 6weeks, 1 day. I am actually 6 weeks and 3 days, but the measurements aren't too exact this early. The radiologist said that the heartbeat looks great. They don't allow any pictures or video in the ultrasound rooms, so we couldn't record it. They looked around for Baby B, but it was no where to be found :( We are a little sad because we fell in love with both little 8-cell embryos, but I should have a very healthy pregnancy with this very healthy baby.

I had my beta levels measured again today... here's how it has multiplied:
11/21 = 436 mUI/ml
11/25 = 1480 mUI/ml
12/05 = 28,000 + mUI/ml

In other news, I have learned that I can't stand being a patient in a military facility because everyone is inefficient and unmotivated. Then I realized that when I am a health care provider in a military facility, I'll probably be encouraged to be inefficient and slow. Perfect. I need a break after the past 10 straight years of higher education. Here is an example of how they treat pregnant women (my 'orientation' yesterday)-My appt was at 1:45, but I was supposed to get there 15 min early for paperwork. So when I was still waiting at 2:30, I went back to the desk.

Lady: "Ma'am, the first 30 min of your appointment are for paperwork, and then you talk with a nurse for the other 30."
Me: "Why did I have to come 15 minutes early, then?"
Lady: "I'm not sure why someone told you that."
Me: "So my real appt is at 2:15, which was 15 minutes ago"
Lady: "They are running behind, but you are next."

Then they called 7 other people. I am pretty sure I was the oldest person in the room, too, which is just sad. So I go back to the desk. At that point, some junior tech takes me in a room, goes over all these labs which I have to explain are already in her computer, and then she gives me a book to read. On the form, I checked that I was having abdominal pain.

Tech: "How bad is your pain on a scale of 1-10?"
Me: "About 8 and getting worse the longer I sit here"
Tech: "You should call the same-day appt line for pregnant women... they are still open for 20 min. I'll copy papers while you call"
Me (calling) - lady on the phone: "There are no more appts today. You can go to the ER or call back at 7:30 AM. What would you like to do?"
Me: "You don't want to know WHAT I'd like to do right now."

So yes, I went back today after my sonogram. What a waste of my time. I am growing a human and I am too tired for this nonsense.

Baby Sweet Pea

Yesterday I reached 6 weeks: "Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks and chin. Those little hands and feet- still webbed like paddles- might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate."

My hormones are going crazy. One of our other residents told us his wife is 12 weeks pregnant. That makes 5 of 12 of us who are pregnat or their wife is pregnant. Then came all of the comments about how "our department is so fertile" or "we know what you guys are doing at night." I went a little crazy and attacked poor Dr. Mealey in an email saying that sometimes those comments are offensive because 2/5 of us "pregnant couples" have been to an infertility specialist. It is not that easy for us. What Corey and I are doing at night is not nearly that much fun. Every night Corey jabs a 1.5 inch needle in my bum and injects a big blob of hormone mixed in oil. I have huge knots on both sides because we've already been doing this a month and there are only so many places to put it. Dr. Mealey wrote me back and said he didn't understand because he thought I would want to be treated like any other pregnant woman ... This would be true, except that I am not! We have been through so much and I am still wondering if I am really pregnant... is there really a baby growing? We have so much invested, and this pregnancy will not cure our infertility. It will be there waiting for us when we decided to add to our family again.

Tomorrow I am supposed to have my first appointment at the base, but they told me I won't be getting a sonogram. So I made an appointment for next week at the reproductive endocrinologist... only $280 for something we should be getting done at the base. They shouldn't mess with pregnant ladies and our hormones!

Remember "Johnny Appleseed?"

Our baby is the size of an appleseed (or 2). Do you remember the scouting song for Grace before a meal? "Oh, the Lord's been good to me. And so I thank the Lord For giving me the things I need: The sun, the rain and the appleseed; Oh, the Lord's been good to me..." I am very thankful for this little appleseed (or maybe 2?). The only other thing Corey and I would like right now is a break! He has been swamped with exams, and I only have one this semester, but it is a big one. I know there are great expectations from The Boss (Dr. Mealey) after I focused on my thesis instead of literature last spring. Now it's hard not to think about the appleseed(s) and the beating heart(s).

Today I had another beta (blood test). It was 1480 mIU/ml, which is a good number. It is supposed to double every 48-72 hours, so I think I am on track (up from 436 mIU/ml on Friday). We are still doing the nightly bum-shot of progesterone, and I am still wearing 3 estrogen patches! I thought I had a hot flash with one... you should see me the morning I change all 3 of them!

We love you all and thank you for your support and prayers!

Holy Positives, Batman!

I had my official blood test this morning, and I am "very pregnant" according to the nurse that just called!!!! She said my estrogen and progesterone levels are "amazing" but to keep the same amount of drugs. That means 3 estrogen patches every three days and the bum-shot of progesterone every night. I might have to do all of my surgeries standing up pretty soon. For those of you who what this means, my beta-HCG was 436 mIU/ml. This is a good 1st number. Hopefully it will be much higher after my next blood test on Tuesday.

I put up a picture of some of the positive pregnancy tests we had this week before my blood test. I knew St. Gerard would come through for me, so Sunday after I finished the novena, I did a test and we got a faint line. I am just not a patient person:) Corey is sure that this experience is part of God's plan for helping me to learn patience. After the first positive, I exhausted all Dollar Tree stores, got another generic 2-pack identical to the faint-positives and even grabbed a few tests from work that we use for patients :) I guess now we can stop our little routine of doing pregnancy tests in the morning.

We are (cautiously) very excited! Prayer is very powerful, and we will keep praying for a healthy baby (or babies?). My orientation to Ob/Gyn at Wilford Hall (USAF) is on December 4th :) We will keep everyone updated. Please keep us in your prayers!

$11,000 estrogen patch?

I am pretty sure I am not pregnant. I used a pregnancy test this morning and it was negative. This is coupled with the fact that I went for labs yesterday and my estradiol was low. So low that they have TRIPLED my dose. FedEx is bringing more today, but I am very discouraged. When I was leaving the lab, the nurse said, "If we don't call, everything is fine." Then she called 2 hours later. My friend who used the same doctor told me, "as long as they don't up your dose, you will be fine. Every cycle we had to increase the dose, my wife didn't get pregnant." (They are now expecting triplets, so at least there is hope for success.)

I know this is early, but I am 11 days past the retrieval. It is very, very frustrating. And I am wearing 3 estrogen patches and still getting my nightly bum-shot of progesterone. I wish we could have the blood test sooner because these hormones are making this more emotional than it is already.

The weekend before the egg retrieval, my estradiol was also low. The doctor had me wait another day before the retrieval so my levels would increase. This makes me wonder why my levels haven't been monitored more often. The last time I had my estradiol measured was November 3rd. It would be so frustrating if I lost these babies because I needed a few extra estrogen patches last week.

In other news, we learned that only 3 of the 12 additional embryos made it to the blastocyst stage to be frozen. We also feel discouraged about this. Only 25%? We need to have a review with our doctor to talk about all of this information.

Please check out the "Learn" section for Family and Friends at http://www.resolve.org/ Thanks

Let me clarify a few things

(1) I am not officially pregnant. We will know in a little over a week, and the waiting is very difficult. I am still struggling with patience.

(2) Over the past 10 months that we've been trying to conceive, I've heard several well-intentioned but frustrating comments. www.resolve.org has a great section on Infertility Etiquette if you are interested. Here are a few things you should not say to couples dealing with infertility:

What NOT To Say:

"Just relax." - relaxation has nothing to do with it. Infertility is a medical problem.

"At least you'll have fun trying." - It is NOT fun being poked and proded and losing all dignitiy (especially in a military facility when it seems that at least 10 people must be present for every exam). It is very stressful on your relationship and very discouraging.

“You can always adopt. As soon as you adopt, you'll get pregnant right away.” - We know this is not true.

"You really want kids that badly [to be willing to go through IVF and over a month of injections]?" - Yes. We wouldn't be doing it if we weren't ready to be parents. It should be obvious at this point that we are serious about becoming parents - to humans (see below about getting a dog to cure the pain of infertility). From resolve: Don't Offer Unsolicited Opinions If They Are Trying IVF - A couple who chooses the IVF route has a hard, expensive road ahead, and they need your support more than ever. The hormones are no cakewalk, and the financial cost is enormous. Your friend would not be going this route if there were an easier way, and the fact that she is willing to endure so much is further proof of how much she truly wants to parent a child. The hormones will make her more emotional, so offer her your support and keep your questions to yourself.

“I’ve had it with my kids! You can have one of mine.”
“You’ll be a parent by this time next year. I just know it!”
“I had a friend, sister, etc. who had the same thing (or worse) happen.”
“You shouldn’t be so unhappy. You have a lot to be thankful for.”
“I wish I had your freedom—the freedom you have without children in your life.”
“Go on vacation and you’ll get pregnant.”

Teasing by saying “You just don’t seem to know how to do it right.” - Yep, we've gotten this one. From some very suprising, inappropriate sources.

“Why don’t you just get a pet?” - I've actually heard this one several times. We have pets. We love them, but we want children without fur!

Okay - remember this is probably just the hormones talking. These will be the longest 2 weeks of my life. I am so tempted to do a home test next week, but I don't think I can handle it if I get a negative.

2 tiny buns in the oven!

Yesterday we picked up the kids. We still have 14 embryos! The best two, 8A and 8B were transferred to my uterus. I now call them Baby A and Baby B. Overall, it was a very touching experience. Especially when they emptied my bladder with a catheter while I was wide awake so that I could lay flat for 30 minutes.

Anderson Baby A

Anderson Baby B

Here are the two buns in the oven (see video below)

They prescribed Valium but I never felt it. I guess maybe it's a good thing if it didn't work, considering the warning label on the side of the bottle... I thought the whole idea was to use this during the embryo transfer so I could relax and get pregnant!

Bed rest is definitely hard work. The worst part is my upper back probably due to poor posture over the last few years. We've tried to keep the cats from walking on Baby A and Baby B, so I guess Jack has decided that he's on bed rest, too. Corey found him also flat on his back. At this point, Jack actually looks like he's the pregnant one.

This is the actual transfer of the embryos through a small plastic tube. It's only a few seconds, but you'll see Babies A & B appear as little white dots.

I've been trying so hard to stay reclined. That's why this blog is late. I'd like to thank my husband for his help but hopefully I'll be back to myself soon.

Stay Puft Marshmallow Jen

Today I felt pressure - pressure from all of the fluid I am retaining as well as pressure to go to work. I was uncomfortable all day, but I am glad that I went and made some money so that I (hopefully) won't get such a hard time when I am pregnant! I am huge. Seriously - even the sparkly fat pants are tight. I hope the swelling goes down soon! I didn't want to scare anyone with a picture, so I just posted the next best thing. I started the estrogen patch this morning and I think I had a hot-flash while working on my first patient. I had to turn the fan on 'medium' and then her little green napkin was flapping in her face! Tonight we start the progesterone injections, which I am actually excited about because this drug will promote the pregnancy.

Of the 22 eggs retrieved, only 14 were mature enough to be injected with sperm. Guess how many fertilized overnight?!?! ALL 14!!! We have 14 potential embryos waiting for us. Not all of them are expected to keep dividing, but I hope that God is planning to give us several good embryos by Friday, and maybe we'll have a few left to freeze for later. Corey says he already feels like a dad :)

22 eggs retrieved today!

Who took my eggs?

Today was the result of 35 days of hard work - with the last 21 days involving at least one injection! The reproductive endocrinologist harvested 22 eggs! My estradiol level wasn't high enough for all of those to be mature, but that certainly gives us good odds of having some fertilize. They will call me tomorrow and let me know how many fertilized.

Technically, I didn't have any IVF drugs injected today, but I did have an I.V. for the sedation, and I really don't remember anything. I remember them asking Corey to leave and then I woke up and we were all done. I am very sleepy and a little uncomfortable, but Tylenol is doing the trick. I was hoping that Wednesday might be injection free, but tomorrow I will start the estrogen patch and the bum-shot of progesterone-in-oil. Right now, my pregnancy test is scheduled for Friday, November 21st. First we have to grow some embryos for transfer this Friday! Think baby thoughts!!!

No one warned me about this!

Our egg retrieval is on Tuesday!!! That means that after our little embryos grow for a few days, we will get them on Friday! (The buns finally get put into the oven). Last night we did the HCG trigger shot. It came with 10 ccs, but we only had to mix 1 cc. You'll notice that this vial says "multiple dose vial" but don't be fooled. For IVF patients, you apparently use the enitre thing. All 10,000 units went into my bum about 8:30 pm on Sunday, so 36 hours later, my eggs will be harvested. Before the injection last night, I iced my hip for a few minutes, and it wasn't that bad; however, Corey didn't help me to relax by saying things like "whoa, this needle is big!" and running to check the diagram again after I was standing on one leg and holding my breath. He made me so nervous, but I did NOT want to pass out - once I've made it through the first one, it's easier because I know what to expect.
On Sunday, I woke up pretty uncomfortable since my ovaries are getting HUGE. Each side has several follicles that are about 1 inch in diameter. It feels like there are two baseballs shoved in my abdomen that are sore at the slightest movement. However, this pales in comparison to how I will feel tonight. One of my instructions before the egg retrieval on Tuesday is to use an enema Monday night. So don't call us too late on Monday! For those of you know are not sure where this goes, you can google it, and maybe you'll come across a stick-figure drawing like the one included in the packaging. To this point, this is the most daunting thing I've had to do!

On Saturday, Corey and I went for another sonogram and estradiol level. My ovaries looked perfect, but since my hormone levels have been low the last few times, they had us wait and come back after a quick breakfast. My hormone levels were a little lower than what the doc hoped, so he added another day of shots! He said that he wants to wait until Tuesday to harvest my eggs so that the eggs can mature a little more. I thought the hormones might be starting to work, however, when I watched a teenage movie on lifetime and started to cry. This was confirmed shortly thereafter when I laughed so hard I cried at a dog in a costume as I was scrolling through the channels. I got Corey to come and watch the clip since I thought it was so hilarious, and he just gave me a strange look.

This was taken on day 19 of the abdominal injections. This morning we did the last one - a total of 21 days! I am glad they are over, but I will probably wish we could go back to these soon since my bum is already sore!

Jack and Bailey wore their halloween costumes for the trick-or-treaters. Well, not really, but I know they both really love to wear it - for about 10 seconds. I wish Bailey photographed better - he is such a sweet, beautiful cat, and I wish I could get a picture where he is not glaring and his face doesn't look so evil. Jack's nose can get much more pink than in this picture, and most of the time (considering his weight), he reminds me of a little piggy.

"Sparkly Fat-Pants" and More!

We have been very busy lately. When my parents were here, my dad helped Corey put up a shelving system in our garage and organize things. My dad also trimmed our bushes and cut down a "tree." All this hard work apparently made them very tired! My mom and I were cooking fools. We calculated that we prepared 34 servings of food - mostly with organic ingredients - for after the embryo transfer. I am not supposed to lift over 10 pounds, so I don't want to be shopping or cooking. I am very serious about eating well since this will set the tone for the rest of our anticipated pregnancy. Corey just can't be trusted to go to the grocery store and come home with anything resembling a meal ... unless you count a can of chili and some fritos. To avoid this situation, my mom and I cooked for about 10 hours and produced: mini meatloafs, porcupine meat balls, italian wedding soup, meatballs in marinara sauce, chili, shepherd's pie, baked ziti, and cornbread muffins. We labeled the containers and freezer bags with directions and also made a master list for the front of the fridge - hopefully fool-proof :) I also got a great deal on organic tomato soup, organic pasta, and a huge bag of frozen organic green beans at Costco, so we are stocked and ready for the little Anderson bun(s). Thanks, mom and dad!

I have started to notice some bloating and discomfort, which I was expecting according to all of the warnings that come with my fertility drugs. In order to be comfortable after the egg retrieval and embryo transfer, I bought a pair of pajama pants one size larger than I normally wear. I considered this to be an all-time low for me, since I have worn the same size since middle school and have never purchased a medium. To add injury to insult, I bought them at Wal-Mart. I was showing them to Corey and explaining my despair. His reply? "At least they have a sparkly ribbon. Most people don't care what they look like when they get fat, but these are nice." After trying them for one night, I now own three pair of what have become known as "sparkly fat-pants."

Today we started the "hormones." I posted a picture of each syringe so that you will see the needle - I think they are all 1/2 inch. Corey has to put them in until the hub touches my skin, and the worst part is just feeling the needle go in. Occasionally after he's done, Corey will say "oh, that was a good one" which leaves me wondering what happens during a "bad one." The shots really aren't that bad, but I am starting to notice that my stomach is sore. I tell myself that I only have a little more than one week left of these, but the reality is that once I have the egg retrieval, we start injecting progesterone in my hip everyday (with a 1.5 inch needle!) So I'd better enjoy these little needles!

Pre-heat oven to: "mega-hormones"

As we've talked with our friends and families about IVF, one of the most common things we hear is "wow, this is more involved than I thought!" We agree, but having a calendar and a plan really help - we are crossing off one day at a time! Here is the basic order that things will happen:

1. Started Lupron injections on Tuesday, October 14th
2. Saturday I will start the "hormones" (also known as Menopur and Gonal-f if you want to look them up.) This will bump me up to a minimum of 3 injections per day, but I will be getting sonograms and estradiol levels every other day, and this will influence the amounts of hormones.
3. Our big week will be the week of November 3rd. When my follicles have grown, we will inject HCG (tentatively November 1st) at home.
4. 36 hours after the HCG injection, I will have the egg retrieval, which is basically an outpatient procedure. I will be sedated, but Corey worked it out so that he can come with me and drive me! We will also find out how many eggs I grew and how many were fertilized within about 24 hours.
5. Three days after the egg retrieval, the embryo transfer is done based on the grading of our embryos. I will start the injections of progesterone that same week, and I will continue those until the pregnancy test and hopefully even later (when I'm pregnant!) At some point, I will also use an estrogen patch, which will be a welcome change :)

When I want to complain about the injections, I just picture our little bun(s) that should soon be growing in a nice, healthy, pre-heated oven!

Keeping busy while we wait

My parents are visiting us this weekend, and it is nice to worry about normal things for a change! On Friday, my parents and I went to Fredricksburg, TX and walked up and down Main Street. We found a cool store - Dooley's! My parents also finally let me ride the pony outside of the store. When we got back to town, Corey joined us and we went to Rudy's for a great dinner of barbeque. We shared: brisket, chicken, turkey, sausage, creamed corn, pinto beans, potato salad and peach cobbler :) It really is a unique experience to eat at Rudy's. We have a few projects today, so we should be very productive.

In other news, Corey and I are trying to figure out the best spots to stick me now that I am getting bruises. I apparently have some veins running superficially, so he is trying to avoid those while still poking me according to the diagram :) We feel like we are making progress, and we should have our little embryos in about 3 weeks. Corey likes to think of these shots as "preheating the oven"... then we'll just need a bun!

Today is the small needle...

A few weeks after we met, I was partners with Corey in our conscious sedation class. I think he has been waiting for revenge! I couldn't inject myself today. Hopefully I will get more comfortable, but watching the needle actually go into my own skin was something I couldn't do. I have no problem doing this on other people :) Corey kindly stabbed me in the stomach and injected the Lupron. I have a welt about 1 inch in diameter, which isn't too suprising given my reaction to mosquitos and TB tests alike! When I get more comfortable with the injections, I'll try to post a video of them so you can see what we're going through bright and early each morning.

Guys will be guys...

Don't let his kitten photo deceive you - Jack Bauer is almost 16 pounds now! Today I found Jack and Corey studying hard. Apparently someone needs to tell Jack that he is not a human. Time to go lint-roll my pillow!

Needles, Hormones, and More Needles!

Here are all the drugs (and needles) for our IVF. Some of these needles are 1 1/2 inches long! I've never been this excited about shots - in fact, I am the worst patient when it comes to injections! I am just grateful that we have this opportunity to do IVF, and after all of the testing that I've gone through to get to this point, I think I can handle anything (or I'll just pass out). The real test is going to come when Corey has to administer some of the big intramuscular (think 1 1/2 inch needle) injections :)