So on Thanksgiving our egg donor had the egg retrieval and my hubby went in for his collection. The egg donor gave us 32 eggs!! Seems like a lot, and it is, but out of all of those only 10 were mature. Day 3 we got a report that all 10 had made it to that stage, which was positive news. Today was Day 5, the day that they freeze any that are now blastocysts and have made it to the stage where they should be transferred into the uterus to implant. Because my body is not ready quite yet we have to freeze what we can and wait for me to get ready either by next week if my lining looks good this Thursday or we scrap this cycle and start all over after a period and hope for an early January transfer. So we got good news today that we have 3 frozen embryos for sure and 3 more embryos are sitting in culture tonight and we find out tomorrow if they will make it to freeze. We have 3-6 good blastocysts to transfer—we can now call these our frosties. I’m really hoping that at least one more makes it tomorrow so we can have 2 to transfer on our first try and if we still want more kids we could have two more to transfer the next time.

Since I found out that my uterus is not cooperating I did a bunch of research on what makes the uterine lining grow. I’ve started taking chaste tree berry, chinese herbs (prescribed by my acupunturist), red raspberry leaf and baby aspirin. My acupuncturist also stepped up her game yesterday with castor oil on my stomach and a heat lamp and some stims put on my stomach and under my ankles. I hope all of these things help and by Thursday morning when I go in for the next ultrasound we find that my lining has thickened up and we can transfer next week!

H

My doctor also told me that she is very excited about the egg donor we picked. She said she is the sweetest person in the world and she has been good at getting other couples preggo. I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed that that is the case for us too. She starts her meds next Friday and only about three more weeks til my DH goes in to give his “collection”. It really is going to come up quick!

We are heading to Portland OR this weekend for a little fun (although my DH may have to work some). I have to bring my lupron and patches and syringes with me so need to figure out a way to keep the lupron cold for the trip. I called the hotel and we do have a fridge in the room so that’s good. I hope it is a relaxing trip.

Happy Weekend,
H

Everything doesn’t seem so bad so far. We will see how it goes. I’ve got my 5th acupuncture appointment tomorrow and lunch with a friend who has gone through a lot of this already and is now pregnant. I’m excited to hear how her pregnancy is going and see if she has any tips for me.

-H

Right now it still doesn’t seem real but I start my shots in just 15 days from today. I have a calendar our nurse sent us which tells me what type of medication to do each day. I start on October 25th with a shot of Lupron in my stomach, which I will have to go into the doctor’s office to learn how to give myself. I also continue my birth control pills at this time for 5 days. I continue the Lupron shots and then on November 3rd I have to go in for an ultrasound and blood work. I guess if everything looks good at that time I start to halve the amount of Lupron each day and then start Progesterone Patches that are replaced every other day, and sometimes you add one…so I start out with two but by the time I’m finished with them I do 4 patches every other day. I head back to the doctor Nov. 17th for another ultrasound and blood work. Then I continue with Lupron and the 4 progesterone patches every other day until the donor is ready for retrieval. And then comes the nasty progesterone shots I’ve heard about which my hubby will have to give to me. 5 days after the egg donor goes in for retrieval and my husband give his sample we get one or two embryos transferred. It’s very exciting and I so hope it works.

I’ve also started acupuncture over the past few weeks for fertility. So many of my friends have done this in the past and who knows if it really helps in the long run but I have to believe it can’t hurt so I’m doing it. I’ve been going in once a week and tomorrow is my 3rd appointment. I also decided not to do the mayan abdominal massage for now. It is expensive and I talked to my acupuncturist and she didn’t really see any reason for me to do it since I haven’t had adhesions or endometriosis.

Sometimes I still can’t believe this is all happening and we have to endure so much to have a family but I’m sure it will all be worth it one day.  I’ve asked my parents to get tested for the chromosomal translocation that I have. They’ve both agreed to do it but just may take some time. My mom doesn’t have a doctor she goes to regularly so she just needs to find a place she likes and get an appointment. My dad is doing some blood work for his diabetes this month anyways so hopefully he can get tested at the same time. There’s no real medical reason for them to get tested other than it might complete part of my puzzle — I think it would answer if I became this way because one of them carried these genetics or it just happened (which they call de novo). I would just like to know either way.

-H

While we wait for November to roll around we have a couple of things to figure out…well, really one big thing to figure out. Do we transfer 1 or 2 embryos? My doctor seems to think that we should only do 1 because I am on the petite side and not sure how I would handle having two kiddos in my belly. My understanding is if we transfer two that there is a 70% chance of having twins. Our Egg Donor Coordinator actually said we might as well name them! But, I am kind of in the mindset that if we transfer two and get twins than maybe we’ll be done creating our family. I do know it would be a hard couple of years with a lot of diapers, crying, feeding and no sleep, but it could be worth it since I’m not getting any younger.

Other things I’m starting to think about is starting acupuncture for fertility and possibly doing Mayan Abdominal Massage. I have a friend who went to Ruby Moon Wellness for the Ab Massage and then got pregnant so maybe it works? I’m going to talk to the masseuse about it tomorrow. I do start acupuncture with Susan Darling in Seattle next Thursday. I also found this article on Livestrong.com which tells me basically to watch my weight, eat right, don’t drink caffeine or alcohol, and stay hydrated; basically things you should do anyways. I’ve also heard before embryo transfer that I should start exercising less vigorously but for now it’s okay to exercise normally.

I’m looking forward to the end of September/early October when we find out more information on our timing. The rest of this year is going to get a bit crazy, but in a good way (I hope!)

-H

When we left we decided to have lunch and pretty much went over the profiles on the spot. By the time I went home and he back to work we had one person we liked. Then we decided to go over them one more time last night and decided we really had 3 fresh egg and 1 frozen egg people we liked.

Funny how things work out…you would think we would have ended up going with the person who was first on our original list but unfortunately she is moving away sometime this fall and probably won’t be available. So we ended up with two others on our fresh list but one spoke to me more than the other so she is who we have chosen. I wrote back the coordinator—and the good news is our person is in! Timing will all depend on all the medications we take to sync up our cycles but it sounds like things will be rolling right along in October or November. I’m so excited for the next steps even though I know it will probably be painful and uncomfortable at times (I have lots of shots to take). It’s just so nice to know at this point that our dream of having children is back on the table.

-H

46, XX, der(1) t(1;21;3) (q12;q11.2;q12), der(3) rea(3) (?p26) t(1;21;3), der(21)t (1;21;3)

It really just looks like a bunch of gobbledygook to me so I spent last night on Unique’s website trying to figure this all out. At the bottom of this page is a list of information describing what some of this means. I tried to decipher it but it’s still another language to me and I really don’t get it all.

I also asked my parents over email last night if they would get tested because my paperwork recommended that I have my first tier family members get checked. We’ll see if they go for it and since my brother was adopted 5 years earlier than I was born they are the only people I can ask. It could be a lot of money for them to get tested and I’m not sure if their insurance would cover it, but it would be great to get more answers and see if they passed this on to me or if it just happened when I was created. I’m also interested to see if it could have been my dad because he had lymphoma 6 years ago and sometimes translocations can cause that.

When I got up this morning I had a new email from Beverly saying that she thinks my karyotype is “Unique”. She is going to do some research and get back to me soon. It’s pretty crazy to think of all the people in the world and I may be the only one with this particular genetic makeup.

-H

-H

Tomorrow we go in for our first meeting about egg donors and finding a match. I hope this part of the process goes smoothly… I can already perceive that my husband may be a lot more picky then me in finding someone. I hope the perfect person is just waiting for us with blondish brown hair, 5’2-5’7, caucasian with green/blue eyes and a college degree. I need to do some other research on what we should be looking for tonight.

As for the hysteroscopy, I’m doing pretty good. I have a HUGE bruise on my wrist where the IV went in but it’s starting to hurt less so hopefully it will go away soon. All other areas seem to be fine.

-H

Before

After

This morning I got up bright and early and had our 22 year old live-in (for a few more days) take me to the doctor for a hysteroscopy at PNW Fertility. (Normally this would of course be my husband’s duty but he is in CA for a job interview until tonight.) I had to have a driver because I was put under for the procedure.

We got there way too early but it made for a very relaxing morning at the doctor’s office. The nurse did all the usual stuff (blood pressure, weight, medical history, etc.) and then I talked to my doctor about the procedure and any questions I had. I was taken into a room where I was asked who I am, my birth date and was asked what I was there for. They put a paper bracelet on my right wrist that said my name and birthdate. I guess this is their way of making sure I’m there for the right reasons and to keep me straight from anyone else. Next I put on one of those lovely patient gowns with the butt-side open and was given a blanket to keep me warm. I put my feet in booties and my hair in a nice blue hairnet thing. I’m sure I looked fantastic.

After waiting for a bit the anethesiologist came in and asked me my name again, my birth date and made sure I was there for a hysteroscopy. Since they weren’t sure what was in my uterus that warranted this procedure (could be polyps, a septum, a piece of a past miscarriage or adhesions) they also told me about the possibility of having to have a catheter in the uterus for up to a week depending on what they needed to do. I was then taken into the room where I would be put to sleep and they would do what they needed to do. They poked my wrist (which is now bruised) to numb it and then hooked me up to the anethesia, put my legs in the stirrups and asked if I was comfortable, put two blankets on me to keep me warm, told me to think good thoughts and told me they would take good care of me. I remember closing my eyes and that was it. I was out.

Next thing I know I hear my name and I’m waking up in the room where I started in and remember thinking I was on the beach for a brief second. I was groggy but the nurse told me right away that it was a septum they removed, I was handed some pictures they had taken of it and what my “clean” uterus looks like and she explained a couple of things. I was also given apple juice and animal cookies— my first meal of the day. When I was done eating I was also told to sit on the side of the bed to get my bearings and then the nurse walked with me to the bathroom with a blanket around my waist as a skirt and she was holding my drip bag til I got inside where I was finally able to pee…no pain whatsoever which I was surprised about. After I was done my doctor came into my room and we talked a bit about the procedure and she said it was a great success and I was free to go home and relax.

Overall a really good experience for having a little surgery done bright and early in the morning and I have to say I love my doctor! Now I’m just sitting in my PJ’s, just watched a movie and going to read for a while. I’m supposed to take it easy and can’t really do any exercise for a few days or lift anything over 10 lbs, etc. It’s nice to be home and have this part of our journey over with. Now we can start focusing on getting an egg donor match in the next couple of months hopefully.

-H