FET DAY!

Ok so I am 1 day post my FET and feel good overall physically... All went better than expected...this time my husband was able to come with me and experience the procedure. The days leading up to the transfer day I managed to keep my cool and feel relaxed and not be nervous..day of the transfer, however, I started feeling a knot in my stomach as we headed out towards the clinic...I just couldn't control my nerves any longer..lol..I started thinking the worst and was no longer able to suppress the crazy worry wart tendencies in me...my first and foremost worry was that the embryos were not going to survive the thawing..that we were going to get there and they were going to say "sorry your embryos didn't survive the thawing and you have no more embryos" ahhh but alas! They did and they survived and did better than expected during the thaw process with all their original cells in tact...Dr. said that it was as if they had never been frozen and we were doing  a fresh cycle transfer..crazy!...at this point I was able to finally exhale..soo relieved ...the Dr. was pretty anxious about giving us the good news that a few minutes after we arrived he came around and told us ahead of the embryologist (which she was scheduled to come by before starting the procedure lol)...he said that it is unusual that the embryos thawed out without losing any of its cells...he was very pleased about the outcome... An embryo is said to have survived the thaw process if at least half of its cells are alive. Our little embies were frozen as 8 and 6 cell embryos and came through without loosing any of their cells! Ahh what little troopers they are! Way to go little guys! I'd like to think that its a sign that they are pretty strong embryos and that the probability of them becoming babies is high ..but yeah I don't want to go there I don't want to kid myself.. I really hope these two decide to stick around this time around ;)..I really wish we were allowed to take a picture of them in the petrie dish but couldn't ... we were able to take a peek in the microscope and see them ... I would of liked to have shared how amazing they looked  :D...is it weird that I could of stared at them for hours?

 Ok here I am waiting for my procedure to begin..I managed a smile even though my bladder was almost full enough to be painful..yes they require you to have a full bladder for the procedure..and yes they do an abdominal ultrasound where they press fairly hard and you feel every minute of it :/...phew!....lol...picture is not very flattering .. wish I could of have fixed myself up a bit...unfortunately I was allowed to only take a shower with soap and water..no make up, lotions, powders, hair products..etc.. (notice i cut my hair first pic of it since I cut it a few weeks ago.. lol) You cant really appreciate it here cause its not fixed..:(..

My Hubby here..ready to go in his suit..i think he was embarrassed to have that thing on...lol

I'm pretty anxious now for "pregnancy test day" of course... March 8th I go in to check my Beta HCG levels..ahh hoping for high levels. I will not try to cheat and test at home...ahh it will be hard but I know I can do it.. ..These couple weeks will be long. One day post transfer and my mind is already racing with all sorts of crazy thoughts. I've been on bed rest for the past two days and all day Monday I have been searching and looking at videos on the implantation process..trying to figure out how long it takes an embryo to implant once they have been transferred...I like those that are in 3D animation very cool...thank you iPad for making online browsing and video watching possible in bed :D...till next time..I will be anxiously awaiting my pregnancy test. ahhhh! :)

WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY!

Ok lots has happened since my last post..we are soo close to my transfer now..im getting anxious! I finally got my period about 4 days late on Feb 8th. I started testing for my LH surge(ovulation) on the 18th I was worried about missing it but alas I did not! yay.. I tested positive on Tuesday 21st in the evening..it really helped to have used more than one test at a time cause I tell you sometimes I just wasnt sure whether it was telling me that it was positive or negative.. I used the Answer & Clearblue easy brand ovulation kits..Monday the 20th , prior to testing positive, I had an Ultrasound to determine approximately when I was going to ovulate...My right ovary showed one follicle(egg) was already at 17mm big! and that my uterine lining was starting to thicken. They were right on when they told me that I probably will ovulate on the 21st or 22nd..crazy how accurate the drs are ;) You know with this process it is amazing to be able to get to see, from an internal point of view, my body preparing itself for pregnancy..rather than just guessing ....and how it does it soo well and naturally without the help of meds ;)..first round it was all forced with the meds so that didnt really count lol...I think its kinda neat to me to see  ;)...

So after I tested positive for my LH surge I alerted the Clinic and was scheduled for another Ultrasound on Thursday 23rd to confirm whether I had indeed ovulated. The ultrasound showed that I had indeed ovulated and that my uterine lining was pretty thick..they like to see it about at least 7mm thick and mine was 12mm soo we are more than good ;) Dr. was very pleased with what she saw. She determined that she would schedule me for the transfer on Sunday the 26th. They started me on the Methylpred 4 pills a day for 4 days (it makes me feel a little bit yucky, which could be worse so im ok with feeling a little bit yucky..lol) and had me come in on Friday for a Progesterone level blood test..it needs to be greater than 3 and mine was at 10.4..really good. They, however, still want me to take more progesterone twice a day until intructed to stop...as a safety net..hopefully I wont have to take that for too long...they are taken as a suppository so they can be messy...and can make you feel icky too.

Soo now we just wait..for my transfer on Sunday, I check in at 9:55am and the procedure is scheduled to start at 10:40am...I pray that we are succesfull this time around. Although a bit anxious, I do feel this time around I am more relaxed less hormonal and wound up..that is good....definitely significantly less stressful this time around ;) Aracely

ONE LAST TRY...

Ahhh after a nice month off from thinking about anything pertaining to getting pregnant I am rearing to go and ready to subject myself to one last try. I am ready for my FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer). I went in to my initial consultation with my fertility Dr. Jan 9th and we just talked a little bit about the process. She said it will be a much kinder process than IVF for sure. I have two preliminary blood tests only, for Toxoplasmosis(i requested this one) and an Antibody Screen (this one is to make sure i have not developed a resistance to the embryos where my immune system would attack them)thats if I understood the dr correctly lol. Medication I will have only two meds I will have to take...Progesterone & Methylprednisolone.


The FET can be done with medication or with my natural cycle..thankfully my cycles are normal and I ovulate just fine so we are going to do it with my natural cycle. It can get a little tricky because this time around my cycle is not going to be controlled by medication so I will have to check everyday for when my LH Surge(ovulation)will happen. I have to get one of those ovulation test kits and test twice a day starting around 12-14 days after my period starts. The problem with this is that sometimes the tests can come back with false results and we can risk missing when I ovulate. Well I just will have to be on top of that.. Dr said that I just have to try to test on the second pee break of the day soo it's not soo concentrated...which can give false results. Hopefully if my period comes on time next month then I will start testing on the 14th. We may have to do whats called Assisted Hatching (Definition: Assisted hatching occurs in the lab prior to the embryo transfer. Before the embryo can implant in the uterine wall, it must break out of its membrane. In some women, particularly older women, this membrane is hardened, making it difficult for the embryo to hatch and implant. The technician will use a laser or a mild acid to thin the shell, enabling hatching.) this is done when embryos have been previously frozen too because freezing can harden the embryo shell.

My Tentative schedule is as follows:

2/4/12: expect menstrual cycle
2/14/12: start LH testing twice daily on cycle day 11 (between 10-2pm and 5-8pm)
2/16/12: ultrasound , pre-op
2/18/12: call office with LH Surge result
2/20/12: ultrasound 2 days after the LH Surge is detected
2/21/12: progesterone blood test 3 days after LH Surge is detected
2/22/12: take antibiotic pill
2/23/12: Embryo Transfer day!
3/5/12: pregnancy test.. Ahhh!


Well now I'm just waitin on my pesky period hopefully it will come as scheduled ;) ciao ciao for now! Aracely