Stay Tuned

For those of you who are following this...stay tuned. Next week I will have a good story for you. :)

Our Progression

Just wanted to recap:
- 3 miscarriages 2005 - 2007
- 1 failed IVF w/ICSI Nov 2007
- 1 failed frozen embryo transfer March 2008
- 1 failed varicosele corrective surgery May 2008

Successful IVF w/ICSI Sept 2009!!! Whew Hew!!

Can I Get a Hell Yeah!!!???

So the day of the implantation we found out that we had one embryo of excellent quality and 2 of good quality. The others were doing ok. We put those three in because the embryologist suggested we should. It was aggressive, but having all three would increase our chances as they could benefit from being with each other (they apparently work cohesively to survive). So we took her advice and did it.

The implantation went well. This time Kelly insisted that Dr. Barnett use a sonogram to assist in the implantation. It was a good thing she did because he had a hard time getting the catheter in. It turns out that her c-section scar was creating a barrier to the uterus. It took some proding, but he got right in the middle of the uterus an pushed the embryos through. It was a really cool thing to watch on the sonogram monitor. Very impressive.

Kelly was laid up for two days after that. It was hard but she pulled through like a champ. The next 8 days were the longest 8 days of our lives. I made Kelly promise that she would not take a prego test here at home. We decided that we would wait for the blood test. She kept her promise which made me very happy.

During this whole process Kelly has been going to an acupuncturist. Weekly visits, bad tasting teas and a lot money. We cannot say that it helped for sure....but we cannot say it didn't. Dr. Liu treated Kelly for "egg quality" and "help with implantation." When all was said and done, we had great egg quality and the implantation went very well. I like to think that it helped.

During this last week Kelly was having all the symptoms of being pregnant. Sore breasts, fatigue and having the feeling that she was about to start her period. She didn't want to get her hopes up because she knew all of these symptoms could have been caused by the progesterone shots. In fact, she was starting to psych herself out because of all the stories of false symptoms she was reading on the web. We kept our spirits up though....because this was our time.

So here we are Monday Sept 28th and at 8 am Kelly went in to give blood for the pregnancy test. Before she left the doctor's office she asked that they call after 2pm with the results so I could be home. She ended up taking the whole day off of work because my step-son was sick...plus she would have been worthless at work anyway.

We got a call at 2:35pm and heard "Congratulations!" Kelly bursted into tears as I danced, flailing around, stomping my feet like some weirdo. We did it! We are pregnant. We are very happy and still cautious because we are not out of the woods yet by any means. There is still a long way to go but man this feels good!

As of yesterday her hCG level was 275 which is very high and suggests more than one!! Oh my!! She goes back in for more blood work tomorrow.

Will keep you in the loop.

Thank you God....for family...for this opportunity...and for science.

Retrieval and Implantation

We had the retrieval last Sunday and it went well. Kelly has been a bit sore but doing well. They retrieved 19 eggs and only 10 fertilized. As of today there are only 7 embryos - 4 of excellent quality and 3 good. This is great news because we can freeze some if this round doesnt take.

The implantation will be this Friday. Kelly will be on bed rest for 48 hours after. That will be rough for her I'm sure but a small price to pay. We will find out on Monday the 28th whether or not this took.

We are very excited and extremely hopeful!

Wish us luck and say a prayer.

Jake

Step 2: Follistem

Kelly starts her follistem shots on Wed. These are the shots that allow her to produce multiple follicles or as I like to call them, eggs. She will do this for about 10 days (give or take a day). Looks like we will have the retrieval around the 14th then the implantation about 5 days after that.

Last time the doctor gave her too high of a dosage so she was "over stimulated" which caused some major discomfort. Dr. Barnett has since modified the prescription so it looks like she wont have that problem this time.

Despite the hormones, Kelly has been doing pretty well. No major mood swings and I still have my head. Good job.

Shots Have Begun

Just wanted to bring you up to speed on where we are at now. We have been a bit frustrated because we have been pushed back a couple of times because the Dr's new lab had not been completed yet. We are now good to go and are very excited..but not overly.

Dr. Barnett put Kelly on the pill and she's been on it for about 2 weeks now. This is helping regulate this cycle. Yesterday she started the Lupron shots which keeps her from ovulating. She will continue this during the whole process...until the Dr. says stop. In about 9 days or so she will start the follistem shots which help her stimulate the follicles (eggs) in her ovaries. After about 1.5 weeks of that she will take Ovidril which will make her ovulate those eggs for extraction.

If my memory serves me right it will be the week of Sept 7th when Dr. Barnett extacts the eggs and fertilizes them. It will be about 2 weeks from retrieval date when we find out if it took.

Please keep us in your thoughts.

Laminaria Placement

Have officially started down the path of our second IVF cycle. This is actually our third attempt at an implantation as we had a frozen embryo transfer that failed as well. Needless to say, we are very excited and hopeful....even confident I would say.....that the third time's a charm.

Our first true appointment was last Thursday. Kelly went in for a Laminaria placement. A Laminaria is "medical seaweed" that is about as thin as a match stick and is placed in the cervix to dilate it. Kelly's is a bit constricted and has an odd angle to it that can cause difficulty during implantation. Therefore, Dr. Barnett thought the Laminaria would help with that because it acts like a sponge in there, absorbing moisture, enlarging, resulting in an expanded cervix. It only stays in there for 24 hours and is then removed. The expansion is supposed to be good for a couple of months.

Kelly has had a little cramping and discomfort since but everything should be ok.

It was our intention to have the implantation done late July - early August but because of logistical issues (doctor moving offices and scheduling of the embryologist) it looks like it's going to be late August.

Again, we are very excited and I will try and keep this updated with our progress.

Send us good mojo please.