Five

Our "big day" was a big mess.  Such a contrast to our last experience, which was at the same facility with the same doctor.  But this time was different.  No one seemed to be listening to me as I was passed from nurse to nurse. There was a rush to get me to the O.R. because they had a very busy schedule.  The "plan" was to make sure there was sperm before I underwent the egg aspiration.  And, as I was taken in and put on the table, I was told they wouldn't be doing this if they didn't have sperm.  I knew better...but I let it go.

When I woke up out of my anesthesia stupor, I was greeted by my doctor, who informed me there was no sperm found in Dave's sample and he asked me if I wanted to have my eggs frozen.  I asked him about the testicular aspiration, which we had planned on doing in the event that there was no sperm in the sample that morning.  He looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights and said, "I'm not very optimistic about doing that."  "Well, I think we should at least try," I said, emphatically.  And then, he reluctantly agreed, but pawned it off on another doctor - whom we didn't know anything about.

So, this other doctor performed Dave's procedure and no "motile" sperm were found.  Only a few that didn't move, that were assumed to be dead, and therefore, not worth using.  One of the nurses was relaying this information to me from the embryologist.  I told her I wanted him to try, even if it meant using the non-motile sperm.  We went back and forth for a while, no one seemed to want to inject my ten precious eggs with non-motile sperm.  My doctor was called (he'd left the building).  He said that if I wanted to inject all the eggs, to go ahead and do it.   And so, at my request, they did.   The nurse said that I would get a call the next day to let me know what the fertilization results were. 

We left for home, very, very sore and very discouraged.  Dave kept reminding me that if God wants this to happen, then it will, despite the odds.  I was too ticked off to be comforted, though.  I got home and reluctantly had Dave give me my progesterone shot, wondering to myself what the point of it was.

I woke up this morning an emotional wreck.  As the morning progressed, I kept imagining the phone call from the doctor's office.  I contemplated giving them a piece of my mind.  I thought about writing Dr. Shamma a letter.  I thought about all sorts of things.  And then, I got the call...five of the ten eggs fertilized!  I couldn't believe it, and I don't think the nurse on the other end of the line could either.  She had goosebumps, she told me.

And now we wait.  Five more days and we'll go back to Rochester and I'll have the embryo transfer performed.  And then two weeks after that, I'll get my pregnancy results. 

I'm praying for these five precious little lives, that they'll continue to grow and develop normally. (The last time we did this we had 8 eggs fertilize and only one became a viable embryo).  Praying, praying, praying...

The Big Day

I got the call from the doctor's office yesterday that our IVF procedure will be this Thursday.  It took a lot longer to get to this point this time around (3 years after our only other IVF attempt).  But, I'm finally ready (I think).  Tonight at 10 pm, Dave will give me the HCG trigger shot (an intramuscular shot in the hip).  This matures the eggs prior to the retrieval.  As I did three years ago, I woke up numerous times last night, fearing I'd missed my time, or screwed something up somehow.  At 4 am, I finally went downstairs and nervously fumbled through the notes I took yesterday after my conversation with the nurse.  When I was satisfied that I'd done everything right, I climbed the stairs again, and tried unsuccessfully for quite a while, to fall back to sleep.

I am most definitely nervous, maybe even more so this time around. It feels overwhelming when I think of just how many hoops we still have to jump through.  But whatever the outcome, I'm looking forward to this being over.  I feel like I'm six months pregnant already, and it looks that way too, especially when I try to get up off the couch.  And the headaches and mood swings are pretty bad - PMS on steroids. I'm ready to be done!

So, if you are so inclined, please pray that things will go smoothly Thursday morning at 9:30 AM.  Thanks!

An Afternoon with the Sisterhood

We had a great afternoon today.  My Aunt Barb is in town from Washington, and we had so much fun visiting with her and my Mom's two other sisters, my Aunts, Sue and Carol.  Grace served as our entertainment for the evening.  She didn't disappoint.  We had lots of good laughs.  I tried not to be too obnoxious with my camera, but I did capture a couple cute moments.  And, of course, I had to get a picture of the Sisterhood, together, in all their glory... 

Barb, Sue, Carol and my Mom

Grace really enjoyed painting with Aunt Barb

I was reminded once again today, of just how blessed I am to have such a great family.  So glad we got to share some time together.  Looking forward to taking Aunt Barb to the B.T. tomorrow...

Book of the Month - September 2010

When I was still pregnant with Grace, my parents went to Crater Lake National Park and happened upon a book called, Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?  It's a fun book to read, and I love the illustrations.  It's a great book for little girls; not your typical princess story, which is a good thing, in my opinion.  Princesses, afterall, play outside, too, and get dirty, and do their chores, and eat their veggies.  Of course they do!  Grace has been having a lot of fun reading it, and it's been her book of choice this month.