Familiar Territory

It's like déjà vu but new at the same time.  Cycling for our upcoming transfer at the end of the April has begun.  I started my meds today - VERY EXCITING for all of us!  The sub-q Lupron injection is as I remember - simple, painless, easy peasy.  I know I've mentioned it before but I actually like doing these shots.  We'll see if I'm singing the same tune when I start the intramuscular PIO injections just before transfer (something entirely new for me this time around).

So for the next few days I continue to inject 20u of Lupron daily, a drug that will suppress my natural hormones so that the RE is able to manipulate and time everything.  In a little over a week I'll have my first appointments to evaluate if my body is responding properly. If all is on track then they will begin the introduction of estrogen into my system which will help build up the endometrium (uterine lining).  I'll continue to update on how my monitoring visits go - keeping fingers crossed for an easy cycle and looking forward to transfer in a few short weeks!!

(Subcutaneous Tummy Injection)

Finalized !!!

Contracts are complete!  We got it knocked out in a little over two weeks with only a few hiccups.  I think we are all glad to have that part done and over with.  It can be complicated and having to communicate through two attorneys and not just sitting down face to face and and discussing everything makes it hard to effectively express your feelings and wishes without coming off as demanding.  Although I had a wonderful journey with A&T there were a few things going into this experience that I knew I wanted to change - so I had a few very specific requests - but overall I think we were all very reasonable with our expectations which has resulted in a strong well thought out contract.  It didn't come without a little compromise but I know for me personally I feel good about it.  We were able to finalize everything yesterday so now the signature pages will circulate and it will be official.

So excited to be moving forward with the fun stuff!

Tiffany

We Have A Date!!!

I HAVE A CALENDAR (almost)!!! Since RE/IPs decided against a fresh cycle and the plan is to now do a frozen embryo transfer (FET) with the two beautiful blasts that were vitrified we can move things along a bit faster. According to the nurse coordinator - my soon-to-be written calendar - will have meds starting approximately March 26th with a FET scheduled Monday, April 25th (the day after Baby G's first birthday). K&S won't be there unfortunately, they'll be in Hawaii. At first we hesitated thinking we might reconsider and push everything back to May but, I told IM it isn't so much them being there for the procedure that is important but more so sharing in the excitement, anxiety and all the other emotions that go with transfer. Since they were ok with it and I'm ok with it we decided to stick with April but plan to get together - face to face - in the days before they leave to share in all those pre-transfer emotions. I'm lucky that Daisy, my best friend and fellow surro, will get to be my companion and I can rub her twin belly for good luck. It will certainly be a nice distraction for IM to be sunning herself on a warm beach while we make our way through the TWW. I'm so hoping that the highlight of their vacation will be the news of a BFP.

Only catch is we have to get through contracts, which haven't officially even been started yet, and submit them to the clinic by March 23rd for meds to start on schedule. Praying we can pull it off!!

Testing Testing - 1, 2 .... maybe 3!

Cycling has already begun - for K (IM) that is. This wasn't new territory for her, she'd been through it three times before, each time with "ok" results. IM doesn't respond the best to the meds taken to stimulate her ovaries so each of the prior retrievals resulted in only a couple embryos of transfer quality. Due to this the previous three IVF attempts - in which embryos were transferred to her - they transferred on Day 3. In an ideal situation embryos are allowed to "grow" to the Day 5 blastocysts stage and usually the two of the best quality are transferred. However, when dealing with a limited number of embryos the RE isn't able to pick & choose so the general rule is to put them back in their natural environment as soon as possible (Day 3) versus waiting to see what survives and which are strongest.

K&S and the RE decided to try a "test cycle". The game plan was to change up her med protocol a bit hoping for a better response - a greater number of oocytes - and to allow the resulting embies a chance to become blasts. This is to test the quality of the resulting embryos and see if we have a good chance in May at doing a fresh Day 5 transfer when IM and I cycle together. Any survivors from this "test cycle" were to be frozen and used for backup in the future if needed ... lil totsicles if you will.

So K underwent the egg retrieval procedure on Monday with the best results of any of her cycles to date - 10 oocytes retrieved. Out of the 10, 5 were mature and 4 fertilized. On Day 3, all four were growing stronger; there was one 4-cell, a 7-cell & two 8-cell - all with normal fragmentation. On Day 5 (today) they have two nice blasts - a 4AB and 3AB which will be vitrified. Another is at the morula stage and although they aren't expecting it to become anything, they aren't discounting it yet either. The fourth is only at 7-cells and is being discarded.

IM is sooooo excited!! She was keeping expectations low but was praying for one - at least one - that could be frozen and is super stoked that they have two and possibly even a third. So with this news the plan has changed a bit. Originally we were to cycle together in May but now we'll transfer the frozen embryos instead. K has been through 3 IVF cycles and now an additional ER all since April '10 so she's looking forward to taking a break from cycling for a bit. If the FET doesn't work we'll start over with fresh - but for now it's time for her body to rest.

So from here I'm not sure what our time line will be. Originally meds were to start late April and transfer end of May all because IM didn't want to jump into another ER so quickly. Now that cycling together is no longer the plan things may be changed - and even moved up - depending on when contracts are finished.

I'm excited that this could all get underway soon!!

Tiffany

A Speical Afternoon

I'd been anxiously looking forward to yesterday afternoon. I couldn't wait to get together with a special circle of women which included myself, my FIM A, my IM K, my bestie Daisy and her IM A - both whom I must congratulate on the recent news of twins!! It was great all coming together to discuss our journeys - the highs, the lows and everything in between. I also think this was the first opportunity for the IMs to meet other women going through the same process. I know Daisy and I have a great support group of other surros so it was nice that the three ladies had a chance to connect with one another. I really hope there are more of these visits in the future.

Following lunch, which was at a restaurant just blocks from my FIPs home, I stopped in to visit FIF & Baby G. He is just as cute and sweet as ever. Giovanni has been on the move for awhile now so IPs decided it was time to install the baby gates which actually runs the entire length of their family room to keep him corralled and away from both the stairs & the fireplace - IF has named this area the "veal pen". LOL I got in lots of snuggles, even when I put him down to see if he'd show off his "walking" skills he was quickly crawling back into my arms. It's always a treat to spend time with them all and look forward to next time which will likely be his First Birthday! OH MY!!


Just a little side note - I've added a Photo Album in the right margin here on the blog. If you are interested in seeing pictures please contact me for the password.

Tiffany

Off to a Great Start

My journey with K&S is beginning to move along.

So what's the latest you ask. Late last month Jason and I met with the psychologist for our assessment - ya know just in case I went crazy at some point in the last couple years. The evaluation went just fine. We actually saw the same doctor that was used for my last journey and she remembered us once we introduced ourselves. She was very interested to find out how things went with A&T and excited to hear of Baby G's arrival and that we had such a great experience. I dodged having to retake the MMPI, she didn't find it necessary but I must admit I was a tad disappointed - the 500+ question personality test was a source of entertainment last time. Before leaving she said everything sounded great and my clearance letter was forwarded on to the RE.

I promptly scheduled my first appointment to meet with Dr. Kaplan/FCI for my med clearance. I was looking forward to it and was disappointed when we had to rescheduled last minute thanks to the blizzard, going into downtown Chicago the day after that mess - not a good idea. Thankfully we found a time that worked without much delay and Jason and I visited the River North FCI clinic this week. We had bloodwork drawn for the FDA workup and I was also taken back for a saline ultrasound. No problems there, in Dr. Kaplan's words everything looked "beautiful". We then met with the third party reproductive coordinator to sign consents, review the protocol and go over a calendar - VERY EXCITING.

The highlight of the trip to the city was meeting K(IM) for lunch. Since we've been emailing each other over the last two months getting together again was very relaxed and comfortable. I just have to say how much I am enjoying getting to know her - she has such a fun outgoing personality. Unfortunately IF wasn't able to get away this time, but hopefully we'll all be able to get together again soon.

The next step is to begin work on contracts but as of now the time line is an April/May cycle with a tentative transfer the end of May. Come on Spring!