Blast-ocyst Off !!

Hello All,

Our final IVF procedure took place today, and it was a great experience. It started with a visit from the embryologist who gave us pictures of all 30 of our embryos and Colleen thinks they are so cute (she's already acting like a mama bear). By today the embryos should have developed into the blastocyst stage. There were two very large, well developed (hopefully male) embryos that were chosen to be transferred. The embryologist said we have at least five that have developed far enough to be frozen. We will find out the actual number tomorrow.

Next up, Colleen had a half hour acupuncture session complete with oriental sounding music. I tried so hard to fall asleep, but Colleen kept talking to me. She was too excited to relax - which is a good thing (except I didn't get to sleep).

In preparation for the procedure a monitor in the room projected a live video feed from the microscope in the embryology lab. We got to see our two All-Star embryos up close, and watched as they were loaded into the catheter. Finally the catheter was delivered to the doctor in our room for transfer.

During the procedure the doctor used ultrasound so we could all see Colleen's uterus and the catheter as it was placed into the uterus and the fluid containing the embryos being deposited. It was great being able to see the whole process in live action.

The final step was another half hour acupuncture session. This time I fell asleep (woo hoo); Colleen was obviously relaxed, and I would assume relieved. Now we just have to survive the TWW (two week wait) to find out if the babies stuck!

Colleen is currently on bed rest, as long as I can convince her to be. I'm sure she'll get stir crazy pretty soon though, but don't worry I'll tie her to the bed if I have to.

Thanks again everyone for your love, support and continued prayer.

Hopeful Micah



Our All-Star embryos

Colleen trying to relax


The arrow shows where the embryos were placed in the uterus

T minus 16 hours and 15 minutes

Our Embryoligist called today during lunch. The informanion she gave me is not as straight forward as it has been over last couple days. So we still have all 30 of our embryos as of this afternoon.  Today our embryos should have 8 or more cells or be in whats called the Morulae stage. We have 17 in Morulae stage, 6 compacting (the stage right before Morulae), 3 eight cell, 1 six cell, 1 five cell and 2 four cell embryos.  Sadly our 2 four cell embryos have stopped growing. We are so amazed at the amount of babies we have.
So tomorrow is the biggest of our big days so farrer. Our embryo transfer is scheduled for 11:30am. I will also be having an acupuncture procedure before and after to help prepare my uterus and to help me relax. For all of you who are wondering how many of our embryos we will be placing into me we're not sure.  We will be making that decision with our doctors tomorrow but we are thinking it will be 2 unless something changes. Please pray for our anxiety levels and patience, and wisdom for our Doctors.

Trusting in the Lord
Colleen

We have 30 babies

Over the last two days we have been updated by our embryologist on the development of our embryos. All 30 are still holding on and going strong. Our transfer day has been scheduled for Monday 7/18. We don't have an exact time yet but will find that out tomorrow. Also we have chosen to have acupuncture before and after embryo transfer to help with blood flow to the uterus and to help me relax. We are so excited. The lab calls us daily to tell us how many cells are in each embryo and gives them a rating of good, fair or poor. By today the embryos should be between 4 and 8 cells.
Here is a quick break down of our embryos today:

# of embryos   # of cells   rating 
17                     8                good
4                       8                fair
1                       7                fair
3                       6                good
1                       6                fair
1                       5                good
2                       4                good
1                       4                fair

Thank you for your continual prayers.

Amazed Colleen

We have embryos

Yesterday was an exciting and overwhelming day. We are so excited that the Dr's retrieved 36 eggs. Yes I said 36. They called this morning and said they miss counted and they actually retrieved 36 eggs, not 35 (holy moly).  One thing that Micah did not include in his blog is that they put me on a new oral medication (Cabergoline) and another injectable (Ganirelix) because they are concerned with me getting Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). The injectable meds used to stimulate my ovaries may cause hyper stimulation of the ovaries. An increased number of follicles and or the presence of high levels of estrogen in my blood increase my risk of developing OHSS. They said they were concerned about this because of the large number of eggs they retrieved. But not to worry, there is a 90% chance that these new medications will help.

Today the embryologists called to give us an update on our babies. Out of the 36 eggs that were retrieved 33 matured and a WHOPPING 30 fertilized. We are so excited! Micah said maybe I should consider being an egg donor (hehe). We will get updates on our embryos every day until transfer day. Not all of them will continue to grow and we will not be transfering all of them back into me. California law states that the max number of embyos that can be transfered is 4. We will most likely be transferring 2 or 3. We will be making that decision later in the week and it will be based on the quality of our embyos. It looks like the transfer of our babies will be Saturday or Monday. I cannot believe how quickly things are moving.

Thanks again for all your loving prayers, support and love.

Excited Colleen

The Beginning is Here

Hi Everyone,

Well, Colleen survived the dreaded Egg Retrieval process and will live to tell the story.

Currently she is resting comfortably, telling me to get this, and do that. I'm glad I didn't give her a bell... You all know how demanding she can be :). Of course none of this is true - beside the resting part.

Today has already been a crazy day. We were at the doctor's office at 10a for Colleen to prep for her 11:15a procedure, but the wait seemed like forever. Luckily she had a posh massage chair to sit in and relax. She looked so cute in her hospital gown (see pics below). The time finally came and I had to go sit out in the waiting room and... wait.

But it wasn't long until the nurse called me back to see Colleen. She was just beginning to recover from the anesthesia, but had the presence of mind to show me on her fingers how many eggs the doctor had retrieved. 3 ... 5, that makes eight right? No ... 35! (Yee-haw!)

We will find out tomorrow how many of the eggs fertilize and Colleen will let you all know the news. Thanks for all of the messages and prayers we have received they have definitely helped us out.

We love you all,

Relieved Micah

Before...

...After

...How many eggs?!?!

The Time is Near

So today I had another appointment with an ultrasound and more blood work. The physician's assistant counted 13 large follicles on one side and about 12 on the other side. She said there are probably more but the smaller ones are hiding behind the large ones. She thinks I have plenty of eggs for egg retrieval.

After the ultrasound the doctor decided my egg retrieval procedure will be this Wednesday 7/13 at 11:15am. So in the mean time I don't have to take those stupid injections (Yay!). They need me to take my last tummy injection (hcg/lupron (trigger)) exactly 36 hours before my procedure which means Micah will be giving me my trigger shot at 11:15pm tonight. You all know how much Micah likes his sleep so this could be a slight problem for him; hehe good thing he loves me ;).

On the day of our procedure they want us to arrive an hour early. Micah will hand in his "goods" :) and they will get me prepped. The procedure itself will only last about 45 minutes and then I will be in recovery for about an hour. Later that day we will find out how many eggs were extracted which is exciting. Every day after that, until our transfer day, they will call and update us on how our little embryos are doing, for example: how many matured, were fertilized and they will grade them (our poor kids are getting pressured to measure up long before they ever enter a classroom). I am feeling bloated and a little crabby, but overall Micah and I are feeling very excited and definitely loved.

So here is the run down on what will be happening over the next week or so...
7/10 - last Bravelle, Menopur and Ganirelix injection Yay!
7/11 - hcg/lupron injection (trigger injection) given at 11:15pm
7/12 - a day of rest with no injections
7/13 - egg retrieval day. Pray for lots of eggs :)
7/13 - start progesterone injections daily for several weeks. Painful but help reduce miscarriage rate.
7/15 - Micah and Colleen start antibiotics (Micah's only meds)
7/16 or 7/18 - embryo transfer- more details to come
7/16 or 7/18 - start Prednisone

Wow this processes is going by so fast. We would appreciate all the prayers we can get over the next few weeks.

We love you all,
More Bloated Colleen

looking at my follicles

bigger follicles close up

Follicle sizes

Yay, I got my info for egg retrieval

Ouch!

Today we had our first ultrasound and blood work since we started our main injectable medication (Bravelle). It went well. I have 13 follicles in my left ovary and 21 follicles in my right one. The nurse practitioner said that they are maturing at the right pace and that I have plenty of follicles so farrer (woo-hoo). The office called us this afternoon and because my "girls" are doing such a good job they are decreasing the amount of Bravelle I have to take. But, just as I let out a sigh of relief, they added 2 new injectable meds to the mix: Menopur and Gonirelix. Menopur is used to increase the number of growing follicles and stimulate their development and Gonirelix is to keep me from ovulating.

All three of these meds are given in my stomach, and Micah has been fantastic at playing doctor :). He has given me 7 injections and I don't have a single bruise. But I'm starting to feel the medications side-effects. Over the last few days I have begun to feel bloated, had a few headaches and been more emotional than normal. I even had a slight melt down on Micah last night (poor Mr. Farrer), but he has really been a blessing lately. He has helped me to relax, listened to me complain and cry and spoiled me with dinner out just because. I have the best Hubby!

Our next ultrasound appointment and blood workup is on Monday 7/11. The nurse practitioner said it could possibly be our last ultrasound before my egg retrieval procedure. She is estimating that it will be next Wednesday or Thursday. We are both so excited to know that all of this is coming together and that we may be making babies as early as next week. It does seem like we are flying through this process, though, and sometimes I get very nervous about the actual procedure. Please pray for peace over the next few days leading up to our egg retrieval. We know that God is in control of this whole process and I just need to remember to lean on him more with each day.

Bloated Colleen

Step 1

So we received our medications in the mail this week and holy moly there is a lot. I have 4 different injectable medications, and 10 different oral medications that I will be taking over the next several weeks to months. Micah has 1 medication to take. I don't think that is very fair but he doesn't think its so bad. :)

Tonight we start our main injectable, called Bravelle. It is given in my stomach to help stimulate my ovaries to help produce as many follicles (eggs) as possible. I say we because Micah will be administering these injections. He really gets a kick out of this whole process. I am feeling a little nervous but I think it's because I forgot what it feels like to get a shot. I'm sure I will be feeling less nervous and more hormonal as the week moves on. Poor Micah. I am also taking baby aspirin, prenatal vitamins, and folic acid daily. The rest of the medications I will start as directed by my doctor. Below are two pictures. The first one is the medications that I will be taking and the last one is the medications that Micah has to take (FYI, there are only three pills in the box).

Apprehensive Colleen