He makes it beautiful

Drew and I have been listening to a new group lately called All Sons and Daughters . Their music is so amazing. It's sort of folky and relaxing. You should check them out by clicking the link on the name above.  Good stuff.  They have a song where they sing "You make it beautiful, You make it beautiful...". I love this song, cuz it's so true. God takes hopeless stories and not only redeems them, but makes them beautiful for the world to see. It's so humbling that God would even care. I mean, He cares about us enough to allow us in the Garden with Him, walking with Him daily.  Then we mess that up and He has to stay true to His word because He doesn't lie and so we were cast out. Departed from Him.  And He spends the rest of the story pursuing us trying to get us back to that intimate garden where we belong.  He sent his son for us, which is more than I could ask or deserve, but that wasn't the end either. I mean, if salvation was it, that would be enough. But He's a MORE THAN kind of God. He's a FLOWING OVER kind of God.  He doesn't just fix something with duck tape, He makes it beautiful. Priceless as He draws us to Himself. He continues to make my story beautiful and I'm so thankful to Him.  To have God in my life has been one of the most amazing things. When there are times that I have felt alone and forgotten, He has proven to me that I am not those things. That He is VERY real and VERY much a part of my every day life. He is so beautiful. And that's why He can't help but make what He touches beautiful too.

I've been asked a few times to share more details about the process of IVF. I've found a video that shows it pretty well.  If you're not interested in seeing the details of how eggs are removed and then transfered back into a uterus, don't watch it.  Just know it happens and it's amazing. If you do have an interest in that sort of thing, please enjoy.

This Video Explains the Retrieval Process

In the above video it explains the natural process of IVF. Our egg retrieval was much like that video, but we actually had a process called ICSI which is explained below. It ensures the sperm entering the egg.

Click Here to Watch Awesome Video with Bad Soundtrack

So that's basically it. I remember watching the second video before I went in for retrieval. It was amazing to see how they can actually wash the sperm and find the best ones and then cut off the tail (which naturally falls off if they push their way in) and insert it into the egg.  AMAZING!

So, there's another IVF lesson for you during our 2 week wait. Not a whole lot to do but try to distract ourselves. I went to find some jeans today (SCORE!), picked up my meds, had a nap and then had an amazing dinner at the Brazles. Always fun to spend time with family.  But I sadly left my leftovers by the door as we were leaving.  I really hope they find them. haha.

Church tomorrow - YAY! I'm so excited to just be in worship for a bit. There's something about our church that draws me into God's presence and I'm so thankful God has put us in the perfect place.

One more day down...our Christmas tree is tied to the wall but still standing, our truck is getting us where we need to go, Ajax is happy and it is warm and cozy inside. All is well in the land of Smiths.

Daycember 28 - what to do?

Random thoughts of the 2 week wait...

We are finally home after a week of fun and relaxation on Drew's side of the state.  It was great to get away and I have to admit I was spoiled to the max. I was blessed not only with gifts but Drew's mom was so sweet to me. She wouldn't let me lift a finger and I'm so thankful.  It gave me plenty of time to just rest, pray and enjoy our time. It was great to see family that we don't get to see very often. All the kids grow up way to fast.

We got home today and Drew unloaded the entire car. Then he helped put everything away and cleaned up the living room.  I could get used to this type of behavior! He's usually helpful, but I can tell he's trying to let me rest. I would be lying if I didn't say we were still a little scared. But this is the longest I've ever gone without starting. It's a good sign!

Tonight I'm hanging with this guy as Drew is out with a friend. Ajax has been very attentive. He follows me around the house buzzing around me. Yes, rabbits buzz. It's their love language. In this picture he is loving me because I'm feeding him Jelly Belly's.  Yes, he loves jellybeans. He's pretty cute! (I hate that our lights turn everything yellow=LAME)

These are the random thoughts of the 2 week wait.

I keep thinking tomorrow is Sunday, but it's not. Tomorrow I have to go to the dr. office to get a few more vitamins then I have to run a few errands and we will end the day with dinner at P&J's. No, we are not eating PBJ's, but just eating at their house. It's Drew's cousins, should be fun! Tomorrow is day 29.

Day 29.

Most girls who go through this would've taken a pregnancy test by now. But I just figure I'm either pregnant or I'm not pregnant. I've been warned that we could get a false positive too and I'm a little fearful of that. So it's best I just leave it. What would you do? Chance a false positive and take a test? Or even chance a false negative.... The real question is how many mind games do you want to play? I don't envy anyone who has to go through this wait.

 I've only taken one pregnancy test in my 12 years of praying. That was the  first time I thought I was pregnant because I was late. It was in March 2003.  I wasn't pregnant. I don't really like pregnancy tests. They always say no. At least to me they do.  Ovulation tests are worse. An ovulation test typically works like a pregnancy test. You pee on a stick and if you see 2 lines then you're ovulating. I think that's a dumb thing. The million dollar industry of fertility should come up with a new way to detect ovulation instead of making women who can't get to the pregnancy 2 line positive result part pee on a stick as if they were at the pregnancy part. Another reason why infertility is awful.

The books tell me I have enough HCG in my system now to detect pregnancy. The meds I'm taking are still giving me twinges on my ovaries that feel like little cramps and the other meds make it even harder to stay calm.  But I feel calm.  I feel God's Peace again, and that's all that matters to me.

A word

So my 2 week wait is still in full force. 1/2 way done and for sure this is the worst part of any fertility treatments.  Today was pretty good. I spent the morning crafting and the afternoon shopping. We had plans cancel at night so we spent it watching movies which was perfect for me.  Thank you winter storm.

A week ago three little embies were placed inside of me.  Let's look again, shall we?

Sometimes I just need a constant reminder that God is here. He was there a week ago. He's been here this whole month and He hasn't gone anywhere. No matter what the outcome, this is the season of "God is with us".  

I got 2 encouraging words today.  One from my cousin whom I love dearly. She has also felt the pain and worry of what I'm encountering and gave me great reminders of how faithful God is. Thank you.

The second encouraging word came from a friend who's going through a few struggles herself these days. She reads encouraging words from people on a website that she frequents. It's very encouraging to her and from time to time she will share something that someone has said. December first (the first day of treatment for us) a gentlemen had a word that he posted to encourage people.  This is a generic website and has nothing to do with trying to conceive. This post was just...random.  Here's a little taste. (His name is Kim so don't let that confuse you)

Kim Clement:

"You Have Entered into a Season of Fruitfulness"

December 1, 2012 - From The Den:

"From the beginning, before time began, I knew this hour; I knew this day. Was it hidden from Me? Am I afraid?" says the Lord of Hosts. "Even if Israel stood alone, watch. Read the history. Before time began, I knew of this moment and I knew that from the miry clay would emerge an upright reed. From the mire, I will bring something upright and something good.

"You have entered into a season of fruitfulness, and yet they cry, 'Barren is the land; barren are the people.'" But God says, "I have called that which is barren, fruitful, and I have called that which is weak, strong. And I have called that which is poor, rich. Therefore, say what I say for the redeemed of the Lord shall say So!' Watch and see as I demonstrate My glory and majesty," says the Lord.

What I've been dealing with and what I've been feeling from the Lord is that He wants to destroy unfruitfulness and barrenness and wants to make this a fruitful month and a fruitful 2013. Do you believe that this could be possible? Now if there's faith in your heart, please hear what I'm saying because I am literally giving you a prophetic proclamation that God wants fruitfulness and He wants it this month and He wants it in the year 2013 – and don't tell me it cannot be done.

I was like, "uh...ok".  And even if you don't believe everything that some people say, I will take these words and thank God for allowing this man to give them back on the first day of our treatments. And I will praise God for allowing me to receive it on day 26 of my treatment.  God is so faithful. He has things up His sleeve at all times. You never know when He might have someone call you out of the blue, or give you money at the right time when you need it, or send you a message, or even give you a heart. Have you ever seen the Christmas Story? Do you remember the part when the turkey get's eaten by the dogs and they have to go eat Christmas duck at the Chinese Restaurant? Well there's a 10 second (which is pretty long) clip where they show the outside of the restaurant and if you look at that clip there's a large, clear heart on the roof on the left side of the screen.  God has always been trying to show Himself to us. I think that's why the clip is 10 seconds. You wanna go watch the movie now don't you? :)

We prayed for fruitfulness tonight. Not just for us, but for you too. We pray you are blessed not just for a full cup, but one that overflows so you can share with others. We pray you are healed and that your hearts desires become reality soon. That God would come closer, whisper ... closer. We need Him. I need Him.  Tonight I'm praying for the broken hearted who have lost hope. I'm praying for the girl I saw crying as she was leaving during one of fertility appts. I'm praying for the mother who had to work today and spent Christmas alone. I'm praying for a sick uncle. I'm praying for more Peace. I'm praying for restoration. I'm praying for the employee's who got let go last friday...28 of them..right before Christmas.  I'm praying for another employee who lost insurance because of a health condition. I'm praying for mental wholeness for someone that's close to me. And for friends whose car broke down and a trip to Michigan ended up costing way more than they bargained for. And for appointments that are temporarily on hold. I'm praying for miracles. We all need them in one way or another. My spark of Hope still glimmers for one more day, but we all need miracles. Sleep in peace tonight knowing that we know the Miracle Maker and He knows this story very well. 

Paranoia and jingle bells

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is a strange and wonderful time of year. It's the time when children are giddy and adults want to sleep. The last few Christmases have been a bit emotional for me. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's because even though this season is about Jesus and giving to others, Christmas is also about the wonder of kids. Watching the kids as they see the Christmas lights and as they're forced to sit on creepy Santa's lap. Watching them buy gifts from the school store for their family (and maybe one for themselves-this happened to my friend! haha). Watching their excitement on Christmas eve, putting out cookies and milk and of course watching them get up early and unwrap gifts. We grew up being those kids; we watched movies that display this "normalcy."  The childlike wonder on Christmas morning is amazing.  I've realized I'm brutally tied to Christmas memories of the past and as I get older the realization of my Christmas present gets more painful.  I wake up, not early. I hear no noise. I see no footie pajamas. The early morning Christmas hours seem to cry of emptiness to me.

I do however feel love. I feel a warm shower and amazing food. I feel overwhelmed by love and kindness from a group of people that are my family. Too many gifts to count. So blessed. I even got a gift that says, "We are Blessed." And we are.

But as I woke this morning, I just felt sad. I was reminded of 2 Christmases ago when we went through fertility treatments and I started my period a few days before Christmas. So the Christmas we were going to "announce we are pregnant" became the Christmas of emotions and disappointments. But I was again surrounded by love and family and again I was thankful.

Midday today I became overwhelmed with fear and paranoia.  It's the fear and paranoia that most women feel during this entire process. I haven't had that. I've been so amazingly covered by friends and family in prayer that God's Peace has been covering me. For real. I don't know how else to describe it.  But today a little fear seeped in. And that led to me feeling paranoid and sick to my stomach.  A found myself going to the bathroom over and over to see if I've started yet. I REFUSE to live like this. This type of behavior is NOT of God and I WILL NOT live the next week or so like this.  Please keep praying for us.

I'm taking medicine that mimics period cramping. My nurse told me I have lots of hormones in me right now so I'm to take care of myself and know that I might be emotional etc. The doctor told me that even if I start spotting or bleeding that doesn't meant that I'm not pregnant. That we had 3 embryos put in us and we wont know for sure until the pregnancy test.

We got back to the house and Drew and I spent some time in prayer. We cast out fear and replaced it with God's truth.  The truth that we are loved and not forgotten. I cried out my emotion and my heart for loneliness, not just for me, but for others that have lived without.  God has an amazing plan for our lives and we are right in the middle of it. He has amazing things to do in our lives. He LOVES to bring WONDER to our lives. The wonder that shows up in the middle of an ultrasound and says, "see those 3 embryos? Now do you see my presence with them?" I know God is with them. I trust Him. If failure knocks on my door and makes its home in my garden, I will not feed it, but keep building my garden around it. And on it. And in it. Until one day it starts to resemble joy.

But until next week when we know for sure, I will cling to Hope.

Hiding in His Wings for another day.

2WW

Well folk..now begins the 2 week wait.  But if you go to any IVF blog it will be called the 2WW.  Yes, there is another language that resides in the world of infertility. Here are a few clues:

• TTC: trying to conceive is among the most common abbreviations found on forums for women trying to become pregnant.
• 2WW is the two-week waiting period between ovulation and monthly period.
• AF stands for "Aunt Flo", a euphemism for your period.
• AI is for artificial insemination.
• ART is assisted reproductive technology.
• BBT is the morning basal body temperature used to detect ovulation.
• BD is the "baby dance", euphemism for intercourse. Some also use BMS for baby making sex.
• BFN is a big fat negative pregnancy test result.
• BFP is a big fat positive pregnancy test result.
• CD is the cycle day.
• Dpo stands for days post ovulation, which also may be referred to as LP (luteal phase).
• Endo is endometriosis, a condition in which tissues from the uterus are located in other areas of the body.
• HCG Human chorionic gonadotropin is the hormone used to detect pregnancy in tests.
• FSH stands for the follicle-stimulating hormone that is developed in the pituitary gland and is used to help eggs reach maturation.
• FMU is the first morning urine typically used for the most accurate pregnancy test results.
• HPT stands for home pregnancy test.
• HSG is for Hysterosalpingogram, an x-ray of the fallopian tubes and the uterus.
• ICSI stands for intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection, an infertility treatment.
• IF is infertility.
• IVF is in-vitro fertilization in which a fertilized egg is put into the uterus.IUI is intrauterine insemination, commonly known as artificial insemination.
• LAP stands for laparoscopic surgery, a possible treatment for endometriosis (endo).
• LMP is the last menstrual period.
• LPD stands for a luteal phase defect that can interfere with conception.
• LH is the luteinizing hormone that may determine a cause for infertility.
• M/C is for miscarriage.
• O is used for ovulation.
• OPK is an ovulation predictor kit.
• POAS pee on a stick and PIAC pee in a cup are common approaches for home pregnancy tests (HPT).PCT is a post coital test that evaluates mucus to see if there was good environment for conception.
• SA is a semen analysis used to determine if the man is infertile.RE is a reproductive endocrinologist, an infertility specialist.
• SHOW stands for soft, high, open, wet, a description of the cervix when it is at its peak of fertility.
• TCOYF stands for Taking Charge Of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. Women trying to conceive also call the publication "the book".

Then there is the HTH (hope this helps), DH (dear husband) DD (dear daughter) DS (dear son) you get the idea.  Oh and the MIL (mother-in-law), I can't forget that one cuz it's actually a super important part of my story. I have the best MIL I could have ever asked for.  I thank my sister for that. She said she prayed and prayed that I would be blessed with a good MIL and boy, I sure have been.  She checks in on me often and makes sure I'm doing ok.  This was BEFORE the TTC and ART so yeah, that means she's genuine. :)  So, thanks Sweet Mama Lou and thanks for the prayers Kari. They work!

Who said being infertile wouldn't make you smart? HA! TCOYF! Yes, without this little spy code decipher kit I woud have no idea what those ladies are talking about.  I've read a few of those blogs but I've decided to stay away.  They kinda scare me. So many different opinions on what the 'right' things is to do. For 3 days I've been laying here trying to figure out what's going on...you know..down there.  Every little twinge of anything and I think it's me feeling implanting. Some women have actually felt the embryo implant. I learned that on a blog. TMI?

I did find this page that I thought explained what's going on now pretty well. I keep praying health, wholeness and God's breath to take over. He's the only one that can make this stuff up anyway! Here's the article:

Click Here! It's a good read and it will make you smarter!

So, my 2WW (2 week wait) which is the time that goes by until you actually take a pregnancy test, I am already almost 1/4 of the way done! WHOO HOO! yikers. In case you're wondering, 2WW is a long time.  But in case you were wondering again, not as long as 626WW which is what our count actually is.  (for those who have fried holiday brains, that would be 12 years). So the way I look at it now, what's a few more days? Besides, it will go by quick. Even though doing IVF this time of the year is challenging because of the rush for Christmas etc. I'm glad we did it this way. We will be on vacation, busy enough to occupy our minds and we can start the new year on a new page.  :)  See? Isn't that smart of us? Smiths=Smart.

I supposed after 16 years that's what happens.  Yes, today is our anniversary. And for my husband, I will take a shower because I haven't in 3 days.  (can you tell I've been on this couch too long?) Lucky him. Let me tell you, staying together for this many years is awesome. If you think we haven't had bad times or been close to calling it over, ask our friends and they will tell you the truth. But I've realized every relationship is hard. I have to work on my relationships with my friends, family and my spouse.  It makes me a better person. God's grace, truth and love is the answer to so many of our problems. Drew makes me a better person and I wouldn't want to live my life with anyone else. Ever.  You guys know drew, he's farty, harsh at times, loves gummy foods and tinsel trees, can sing like an angel and hike like a beast not to mention his love of cartoons (have you seen him shimmy?). He loves to learn new things..like EVERY day. And that's why I stay close to him, he's smart. (NEVER play him in trivia..I'm serious) And he makes me laugh - a lot. Even after all these years and all that we've been through he's my number one pick.  (he just blew his nose over my shoulder, for real. HAHA) I wouldn't change it for the world.

so many days

Day 6 of embryos, Day 19 of cycle, Day 1.5 of bedrest, Day 0 of thinking there are too many days to keep track of.

Everything in IVF is measured so precisely, it's amazing. The most amazing part is that it science can only do so much. It's amazing that God made man so intelligent to do IVF, but ultimately it is still God that creates. It is still God that holds the story to your life. It really is amazing. I just keep praying that my story is epic. A story like no other. One that leads people to say, "WOW! Look at the Glory of God! Only God could do that!"  I want nothing more than that.

Today's list:

woke up.
breakfast.
bathroom.
nap.
bathroom.
wrote 5 Christmas cards.
bathroom.
watched Craigslist Joe (pretty good).
bathroom.
journaled.
talked to Kari. (lovely sister)
watched a documentary on the oldest cave drawings.
nap. (obviously)
drew's home!
drew left.
watching drew on live stream & blogging.
(future)
french fries.
movie w/ drew.
meds.
sleep...again.

Wow, that list actually makes it look like I did something today! Truth be known I text drew at 9:30am telling him this day was the longest day ever. It's not easy being on bedrest. I feel for pregnant women who have to do this for weeks or months! But I feel pretty normal so that makes me want to do stuff. If I had a growing baby in me, I think I might want to lay down a bit as well.

Drew is home tomorrow which is great! I hope to get a few visitors as well, which will be great for me, not so great for them since I haven't showered in 2 days by then. But I love this season. I don't know, I just feel so happy.  There are times in your life even when things are chaotic around you that God shows up and brings Joy and Peace. I feel that so strongly. His presence is so strong. I'm praying that all of you feel it and that those who have lost hope feel it was well.

I think it was my awesome pastor that said there's a difference between Hoping and wishing. When you wish there's not really a possibility of it happening. It's like a dream.  But when you Hope, that means there is still a glimmer of possibility available for that desire. Hope kinda defines me. Desires not yet fulfilled but believing in a God who does impossible things.

My first visitors!

Ryan & Laura put there kids in bed tonight and told them they would get a bedtime story: The Polar Express. When they opened the book 4 tickets fell out.  4 tickets to the minivan Polar Express! They all got back up, ran outside with their jammies on and the "Engineer" punched their tickets and gave them hot chocolate. They went on a Christmas light tour and stopped by my place to say hello. They are driving through downtown Rochester which is covered in lights. I love that tradition. It look like they do too. It was so good to squeeze them.

THEY ARE IN!

This day is another day that will go in my life story book.

I drove drew to work this morning and had a few hours to kill before our appointment. I decided I wanted to walk around since I wouldn't be doing much of that for the next 3 days, so I went to the mall. It was actually so fun and relaxing. When I got there Starbucks was open (which I got for free) and the mall walkers were in full force. There was this older man probably in his late 80's bookin it around the mall and 2 other older men were almost running to catch up with him. I sat in front of this HUGE Christmas Castle where Santa lived. Even at 8am children were there lining up.

A woman dressed in 18th Century garb would come out and announce, "ATTENTION LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! WE ARE NOW INTRODUCING PRINCESS SARA TO SANTA!" and then everyone would clap.  The children's eyes would light up as they entered his chambers.  After meeting Santa and getting a picture with him they were escorted out for the parents to then take out a second mortgage to pay for the pics. In front of the Santa Castle House they had a HUGE circular rug with a maze on it.  The children would run in circles trying to follow the lines of the maze.  They were so cute. It was the pure child-like carefree love and life. I sat peacefully watching them, just thanking God that this child-like carefree love and life still exists. 

Mary said, "but it's too wonderful"  "Is anything too wonderful for God"? So Mary closed her eyes and trusted God. 

We left for our appointment and Drew decided we should have Krispy Kreme, so we made a quick stop through the drive thru and still made it to the clinic early enough to pray. 

We were quickly escorted to a little room for me to change and get ready for the transfer. Now we just needed the Dr., he was running a bit late. Did I mention you needed a full bladder for this procedure? After 10 minutes the nurse came in and checked my bladder.  She was SHOCKED at how full it was.  She told me I could have a 10-15 second pee.  I was happy, but hoped I could stop at just 15 seconds! But I knew I could pee a lot in that small amount of time, so I was thankful for every second. 

"that which was conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit"

Finally Dr. B showed up and came in to talk to us about our embryo's.  In the last 2 days out of 8, 1 stopped growing :( , 4 were in a C range,  2 B- and 1 B.  What this means is, the lower ranges were slowing their growth. :( They will continue to grow and be watched for possible freezing this week. BUT--there were still a few good ones to transfer and he said normally he would put 2 in and freeze one, but he was more comfortable with putting in 3 if we were ok with that. PRAISE GOD!!!! That was the number I had been praying for.  God is SO good. 

"suddenly an angel of the Lord was there and the glory of the Lord shone around them" 

They say when the embryo's are transfered in you it looks like a flash of lightning. I wasn't sure what we would see. The "flash" is really the fluid around the embryo and the embryo is inside of that. With all of this on my mind, we entered the surgical room and they actually let me empty MORE out of my bladder. So thankful. Then the procedure started. (OH--they let me take valium, my new favorite drug. I actually didn't feel anything until I stood up. That stuff is GREAT!) The Dr. put in a catheter and then the embryologist brought in the 3 embryos.  The ultrasound tech was showing me on the screen where the catheter was and then where the embryo's landed.  It all took about 3 minutes, but during it I noticed something....

God kissed our transfer. :)

My ovary showed up as a heart. If you haven't heard my heart story, I will be posting a link to it soon. Then you will understand why this heart is so amazing and unbelievable.  That even in a moment when future babies are transfered in me...God's Glory was present. He is SO good. We were speechless.  Drew couldn't believe it and then started crying. Even one of the techs in the room said, "It looks like a heart". It's sitting right next to those embies. 

"this is real love..not that we love God, but that He loved us"

Here is a close up of the embryos: 

In case you were wondering, those are MY embryos not like fake ones on TV. Well, ok, they are Team Smith Embabies. Aren't they cool looking? God made those! I find it so amazing that God can create such intricate things and those cells that we can't even see without a microscope multiply, find a cozy home, bust out of that shell and form a real human being made in the likeness of God. We all started that way. We were all one of those cells. We looked like that, maybe even like the one in the upper right corner looking like another heart-ish figure. (I think that's the girl) The most advanced one we had was in the upper left corner. Isn't it pretty? I think they are super cool, and now they are swimming - well, more like floating. Dr. B said it's like dust particles in the air, they won't fall out because they don't respond to gravity like that. They just float around waiting to find the wall to cling to. But once they find it...good stuff happens.  

ok, ok..maybe not that one...that might be too many.  Maybe it's more like this one..

I love those videos. So now, we have the 2 week wait. We go in again on Christmas eve morning for a blood test just make sure my meds are at good levels. After that we are driving to Mama Lou's for Christmas!!! I'm excited to get away for a bit. It will be good to see family and rest some more. We will be there for the week and then our next appointment is......well, we are keeping that one a secret. ;) But it will be a few weeks. 

I'm sure I will be blogging more since I'm stuck on the couch for a few days. I know I keep saying it but I really mean it, you all mean so much to Drew and I. Thank you for being a part of our story. Just like my birthday this year, I feel overwhelmed by love. I'm speechless at God's presence in my little life, and the love and support we get from all of you. If there's one thing I could say about all of this I take the words of Elizabeth:

"God has blessed (me) above all women, and (my) child is blessed."  I am blessed, but not just because of possible babies, but because of your love.  Thanks. 

Here we go!

I waited all day but finally got a call from our nurse who said our transfer is at 11:45 tomorrow!!!! I'm so excited. It's hard to believe that in almost 12 hours I will actually see the embryo's.  I didn't get an update today sadly. The nurse said they don't update on day 4, they put them in a special area to keep growing until the transfer. I don't know what to expect really.  I'm supposed to come early with a full bladder and bring my valium.  I hope that doesn't mean it's going to be painful.  I've done this procedure before when we did the IUI's a few years ago, but obviously this is way different. I hope drew can be in there with me. It's at a different clinic so I'm not sure what to expect. It's at the same place where we had the retrieval.  I'm thinking it will be ok.  It's been hard for me today. I can't stop thinking about it and wondering how they are doing. I guess we will find out tomorrow. :)

All of a sudden this became very exciting.

I've been baking tonight trying to get things a bit more ready. I'm tired and ready for bed.  Drew and I decided I would go with him in the morning and drop him at work since our time is later morning. That way he won't have to drive to work and come all the way back to get me.  The clinic is closer to work. But that means I get to play for a few hours. I wonder what I will do!

I will for sure post again tomorrow probably soon after I get home.  I'm hoping to have pictures but I don't know if they do that.  We will see!

Thank you so much for sticking with us on this journey.  We are now in the pray pray pray zone.  These next several days will be important as it's time for the embryo's to settle into the uterus and STICK for a long winters nap. haha.

I keep reminding myself....He makes all things work together for our good.

Day 3--still waiting!

Waiting is getting harder! I'm trying so hard to not get excited. I hate getting excited. I'm so thankful for all of friends and family who are excited for me, but excitement often leads to disappointment in my life.  It's not that I'm trying to be a downer, but it's how I feel.  I know God can do amazing things. I believe He has an amazing plan for my life.

OK--now for the exciting update:

Dr B called today and he sounded a bit tired. He asked me if someone had called me and then gave me my update from yesterday. He caught himself and then gave me my update for today which was....

4 embryo's are now at 8 cells
1 embryo is at 7 cells (catching up!)
2 embryo's are at 6 cells
1 embryo is at 4 cells (poor little guy)


Dr. B was happy about these numbers and said he thought for sure we would have 6 good embryo's!  That's more than I had hoped for. :)  So for sure we will be implanting on Wednesday.  Dr. said it will either be very early in the morning or later in the day.  I'm hoping for early, but I have a feeling it will be late afternoon.  Then I will be on bed rest for 3 days! I'm not used to just sitting around so I'm taking ideas for what to do.  Drew tells me to just relax. I'm not sure what he means, but I know he's right. It will be good to do that. Until then I'm cleaning, cooking and trying to finish some Christmas stuff. Only a few days left and then we are heading to Mama Lou's for Christmas! I'm excited to go and get away for awhile. I'm so blessed to work at a place where I get the week off.  It's a huge blessing in this season of fertility. God is so good.

I pray God blesses the families in Connecticut.  It's hard to be in a season when my life is filled with such hope and excitement while others are filled with sorrow and despair. May God bless them tonight and the days to come. May their lives see hope once again.

Day 2 from egg retrieval

Friday I had my retrieval which you can read about in my last update and yesterday I heard from Dr. M who told me that out of 10 eggs, EIGHT FERTILIZED!!!! This is a GREAT thing! Dr. B was hoping that 6 would fertilize and so we have beat the odds by fertilizing 8! He said they would call me the next day with a further update but this was a great start.

I hung up and was very excited.  And then I was surprised by my excitement. It sort of came out of nowhere.  I mean, I've felt pretty calm and even keeled about this whole process.  When I got the phone call all of a sudden I felt attached to these cells that have turned into embryos...embies. Not just any embryo's, MY embryos.

This process is so amazing.

I found this site that helps understand the stages of embryo growth. It's pretty good.

Click here to learn!

Here's a pic to explain: 

Today the dr. didn't call me until 4-ish and I was a bit nervous.  He told me he doesn't ever know the time the other dr's will call him with the update so I should just know they will call when they can. :)  He told me as of today 4 of the 8 embryo's have 4 cells, 2 have 3 cells and 2 have 2 cells.  He said he thought this was a good growing number and we would still probably be looking at a day 5 transfer which would be Wednesday.  It'a all a bit confusing still, but I'm believing God to protect our embryo's and grow them at a perfect rate.  It is when the embryo starts to move out of the cell that it will be time to implant.  It's a scary time as they grow and so I'm praying for safety for the embryo's and wisdom for the doctors.  I know these embryo's aren't babies, but I can definitely feel the attachment to them. Although they said it will probably be wednesday there is a chance that I could be implanted tomorrow.  If that's the case we would know by noon and it wouldn't happen until after 4pm.  But I really think it will be wednesday.  I'm kinda excited! Still just praying everything continues to go well.  

So I'm trying to figure out what I can do when I'm laying on the couch for 3 days.  It's coming soon! Maybe I will fill out my Christmas cards, or watch a million movies or read books. I'm trying to cook some casseroles and get things ready, but I'm not sure if I will ever be ready. The possibility of having children - it just doesn't seem real. 

Egg Hunt

That's what Drew TWEETED today.  "Looks like a great day for an egg hunt!". He's crazy.

I tried to sleep in today since my appointment was at noon.  I didn't want to wake too early as I had visions of drinking a pot of coffee accidently or eating an omelet or just sitting around and being hungry. SO, I woke at 9, took a shower, took all my jewelry off and put on some comfy clothes.  As I was taking off my jewelry I took of my star earring. I know it sounds weird, but I've never taken that earring off since I put it on a few weeks after mom died.  We went together to get our ears double pierced.  She got one pierced on the right side, I got one pierced on the left. When she died I put her's in my ear and haven't taken it out since. I know that seems probably strange and maybe icky, but it was a memory, and I sort of hold onto those.  haha.

The place for the retrieval was different than our dr.'s office so I was a bit scared about not getting there on time. But we arrived on time (THANK GOD) with no problems even though our car still has a multiple personality issue and the console was blinking 1/2 the time. We pulled in and saw this beauty:

I think these signs should be everywhere.

We went in and were promptly escorted to the back where I put on a gown and some booties. The nurse came in to take my vitals and give me an IV. They were all a bit surprised that I've never had an IV before. I'm not allergic to anything and I'm basically pretty healthy. Throughout this whole process everything has been as smooth as it could be. I'm so thankful.  I know much of that is from all of you praying, so thank you so much.

The nurse told drew to step back because sometimes when putting the IV in blood splatters. um...ok.   Then she tried to find my vein which she didn't have luck with.  So she tried to put the IV in - twice - with no luck, first on the left arm, then on the right arm.  She said she only tries twice and then gets someone else, so off she went to find someone to help.  She was a nice lady, but wowsers. A man came in wearing a gold chain hidden in his chest hair.  I thought, so...I can't wear jewelry, but you can...interesting.  He was the anesthesiologist and was a very nice man, despite his chest hair.  AND he put the IV in my vein in about 10 seconds.  He became my hero. I now know why IV's are not fun. And that man can wear gold anytime he wants.

Dr. B came in and was in a jolly mood. He asked me how I was feeling etc. and then asked how many eggs he promised me.  I told him he said maybe 8 or 9.  He smiled and said he would do his best. Which I knew he would.  It's strange how you can meet someone a few times and feel so comfortable with them. Dr. B has that affect on people. He said he would talk to Drew after it was over.

All of a sudden there were a lot of people coming in and one nurse told me she was going to escort me to the bathroom and I was to kiss my husband for "good luck".  After "using it" I was escorted into the surgical room.  I guess it looked like a normal surgical room, I really only have movies to compare it too. It wasn't sterile white, but it was cold, I know that. There was an extremely scary looking bed in the middle of room and they told me to sit down as they got me ready. Enter..Dr. B!!!  My Dr. is awesome.  He came in smiling and told me this bed was better than the CedarPoint chair they have in their office.  (I got stuck in that chair and they literally used WD40 to get me out. HA!) The anesthesiologist put a VERY nice warm blanket on me and I said, "Oh, thank you, that's ni...." aaaand out. I was afraid of not falling asleep during the procedure, not to worry. Whatever Mr. gold chain is getting paid, he deserves more.

I woke up sitting next to drew.  He told me later that I was in there for 35 minutes.  Within that time he was escorted to a special room where he did his part. Then he talked with Dr. B who told him I did great and that he was proud of me.  He then told Drew he retrieved

10 EGGS!

And everything went well. He was pleased with that. They brought Drew back to sit with me until I woke up. Meanwhile, I think he got bored and he took some pictures.

So thankful for Drew. ;) What makes boys want to torture their wives when they have no control? Ryan does this with Laura too. I'm pretty much making him make up for it by getting me drinks, food and basically anything I want.

So, with 10 eggs cooking and trying to make friends with 10 lucky sperm, I'm home resting and hanging.  They said I might have some cramping and light bleeding but so far so good. I had a small amount of cramping but nothing that bad. Again, God is being so faithful to me.

Tonight we watch White Christmas, look at our crooked tree and be thankful.  Tomorrow we go Christmas shopping (thought I should start that at some point), have our first night of Christmas musical at Church and find out how our embies are doing. (I just learned that's what they are called.) It's going to be a very exciting day!

Day 13!

FINALLY a FREE DAY!!!!

What that means is NO shots or meds today! WHOO HOO!!!!! I have finished the race and although my belly is sore, we have completed the shots!

We had to stay up until 1am to give me the trigger HCG shot last night. Needless to say we were exhausted. I'm still so very tired. I iced the spot for 10 minutes and didn't feel a thing.  Lots of people talk about how bad this shot is etc. but seriously, I asked drew if he had given me the shot yet and he told me he was 1/2 way done. I didn't even feel it.

Today has been good. No shots, just a normal day. Everyone seems really excited about tomorrow.  I'm excited about being able to eat after the procedure.  I can't eat or drink anything until after the procedure at noon.  I get an IV. They knock me out and then retrieve my eggs. I feel a little nervous because I feel so normal today.  Yesterday I felt like there were huge follicles in me, today I feel a bit empty. It's strange.

So I'm going to try to sleep in tomorrow to use up some of that time that I will want to be eating or drinking. But I'm excited that Dr. B will be there. That makes me feel good. And I know that God is amazing and has a plan. If this works or if it doesn't, life goes on. I've decided to join God in my story instead of trying to make mine happen the way I want it too.  I've realized it's much easier and actually more enjoyable when I do that. God loves me so much, I know His plan is the one I want to be right in the middle of.

So...please pray for me to have peace about the procedure tomorrow.  Pray that the Dr. is able to get a perfect amount of HEALTHY eggs so we will have a good chance at some good healthy embryo's. I plan on coming right home and resting for the rest of the day.  At some point I'm gonna have to get ready for Christmas. haha. I guess I still have a week, right?

Thanks for your prayers. We feel them big time.

Day 12.12.12

WOW! Now this was an amazing day. I woke not expecting much, but we went to our appointment at 8:15.  It was crazy busy there.  We arrived and there were 3 couples ahead of us already having their appointments and one other person in the waiting room.  We were told at the beginning of the cycle that we are one of 8 other couples.  We are all on the same cycle so I guess that's probably why it was so busy. We got our blood drawn first (usually we have our ultrasound first) by the same technician as yesterday. I was a bit scared because yesterday when she took my blood my arm hurt for over an hour. But today she did better. :)

We finally had our ultrasound and my follicles were ripe! That sounds yucky, but I guess that just means they are ready to go.  I had 8 on my right side that were pretty good sized and only 1 on my left.  It's so weird how the left side of my body has always been a bit off balance.  My hair is thicker on the left side. My foot is bigger on the left side. When I smile my left eye squints.  It's like all my life my left side is trying to rebel against me.  But....the doctor was still pleased with the amount on the right side, so that is good.  He told me he thought I was ready for the

HCG TRIGGER SHOT!!!!!!

For those who aren't sure what that is...it's basically the shot that tells my body to ovulate. And it has to be at a very specific time. An exact time. Nurse Patti said she would call me later with the details and she explained how we were supposed to give the shot and she mixed it for us and gently placed it in a cooler for us to take home. Oh, she also drew a very exact circle on my hip so Drew couldn't miss the spot.  Drew was very careful with the box. heehee. 

The timing of the shot has to be exact depending on what time the retrieval is.  The retrieval happens 36 hours after the shot.  So, later this afternoon I got a call from Patti telling me my estrogen number is over 2300 which is great! And retrieval will be at 12pm on Friday. So that means my shot has to be given at....(can you do the backwards math?)...1AM TONIGHT!  yikes. So it's 11:30, I'm tired, and we are waiting. We thought about going to bed, but frankly we are so tired we might not wake up. So we are waiting.  And watching cartoons of course. (drew's favorite) But the BEST news is Dr. B will be doing our retrieval!  He's going away for the weekend so we thought we might not get him, but because our retrieval is Friday he will still be there. I'm SO THANKFUL!!!!!!  I like the other Dr. too, but he's just not my dr. , ya know?  Dr. B is the best. So thats my biggest blessing for the day! PRAISE GOD! It calms my fears just a bit. :)

Did I mention the trigger shot is the last shot? So the final total is..21 shots. wowsers. But I'm thankful because I know women used to have to do more. I took my last dose shot a few minutes ago. Now waiting for the other. 

Tomorrow I have ZERO shots! YAY!!! I can't have any food or drink 8 hours before retrieval so (counting backwards again?) well, that basically means I will be starving by the time it's all over.  And we will be going to sonic for a Cranberry lime-aid, loaded tots and possibly a strawberry shake.  In my mind that's where I see us going, but reality might look more like me sleeping and going home.  Either way, it will be SO good to have that over. 

I'm nervous about the retrieval.  I've never had an IV. I've never had a procedure where I'm knocked out except when I got my wisdom teeth out. I don't know why I'm so scared about that, probably just fear of the unknown.  I guess I've never had 9 full grown follicles in me either.  You know the feeling when you have to pee SO bad, but you're driving so you have to hold it and you start to cramp a little? That's what having 9 ripe follicles feels like. At least it does to me. I've been taking it easy and baby-ing myself a little bit.  Why not? 

Once the retrieval is done, we will know that day how many eggs they got.  They will fertilize all of them and see how many survive.  They usually don't all survive. There are a lot of factors at play here. We will get daily updates after that regarding how they are growing and what they look like.  Depending on how they look and are growing they will either be put in me on day 3 or day 5.  So we are looking to either Monday or Wednesday. And they will either implant 2-3 but not more than that. We agreed that was a good plan. I'm praying for 3 good embryo's. That doesn't mean they will all survive, but it just gives us a better chance for ONE surviving.  

Once the embryo's are inserted I will be on bed rest for 3 days. Then that leads me to CHRISTMAS!!!!  whew...I've got a lot to do.  So this weekend I will be trying to catch up on everything I thought I wanted to do for Christmas so I can get ready for next week.  A big week indeed.  Our next appointment with the dr's will be 14 days later. So, we won't know if this procedure worked until probably the new year. It is an amazing process. Only God knows our future and time will tell what's next for us.  But first, in 1 hour, the trigger shot. Things are much easier when handled in little bits. 

One more hour...stay awake kat..stay awake...

Day 11 - tired & sore

What a day.

I haven't been able to get much sleep lately and so my emotions are up. Our appointment this morning was at 7am and we went right to work after. We just got home from musical rehearsal and will repeat that schedule tomorrow. Luckily our appointment tomorrow is at 8:30 though. PRAISE GOD as I could use the extra sleep.

Our appointment today was good and meh.  Good because I'm almost done with my meds!!! Meh, because I'm still on my meds.  Just took shot #18.  It hurt this time.  I'm not sure why they are starting to hurt. The didn't hurt for most of this week and I'm thankful for that!  Dr. B said today that things are looking good.  He measured 7 good sized follicles in my right ovary and 2 in my left. My left has always been a bit behind. haha.  But he thought those were pretty good numbers.  He said he could tell me to take the HCG shot tonight but he really wanted to give a bit more time for the smaller follicles to catch up. So...we take shot #18.  At our appointment tomorrow he will determine if we take the HCG tomorrow night OR if we wait until Thursday.  Dr. B thought it would be Thursday, but if I grow enough tonight it could be tomorrow. I think I secretly hope it's tomorrow.  Saturday we have our first night of the musical and I'm not sure how I'm going to feel after this procedure but I would love to be there.  BUT--more that that I want God's timing. :)

So.. more info in the morning.

I'm a bit nervous about the procedure.  I think I have an IV and I've never had that before.  I'm pretty healthy (thank God) and I've never had surgery and only one broken bone when I was 2. My cousin was carrying me down the stairs, tripped and fell on me.  Yes, it was broken.  No I haven't let her forget it. But I do love her. Even if she broke my leg. It's just strange to know they will be taking out my eggs.  I just don't really know what to expect.

We paid our bill today.  It's official. We are doing this.

I got the results of my blood test this afternoon and my estrogen is over 1000.  I guess that's normal. Nurse Patti said they like to see close to 2000.  So I have just a bit more to go.  She said I'm doing great, and Dr. B told me he was proud of me.  They were VERY nice and encouraging to me today.  I'm thinking girls get nervous and anxious around this time. Therefore, we need the extra nice words. I have to admit, it worked for me.

I also found out that Dr. B wont be here this weekend to do the retrieval.  It's going to be Dr. M. He's a great guy too and very good at what he does, but I was hoping it was Dr. B.  :(  Again, I know, God's plan is perfect.  I have a lot of peace and rest in knowing that God has my best interest in His heart. He knows this story already. Nothing is a surprise to Him. I find comfort in that. He's working all things out for my good.

So for tonight, I let my belly thaw from the freezing (to help with the pain of the shot) and then I'm off to bed.  Praying for healthy eggs and peaceful sleep.

I can't thank you enough for praying us through this time.  You each mean so much to me. Peace to you tonight too.

Day 10

Happy Birthday Eden! Today Laura's daughter Eden turns 9.

It's strange how fast she's grown. I remember when Laura announced she was pregnant. We were both trying to have children at the same time. I was SO excited for her, and then so confused when I never became pregnant. I became jealous and angry at my circumstance. Laura was amazing as she tried to understood my pain and I tried to understand her joy. We walked together. Joy & Sorrow. We were traveling full time on the road with onetimeblind and I spent every day with this amazing little girl Eden. We've developed a very special relationship & I love her so much.  I can't help but imagine that I might have had a child this age as well. Or even older. But that's not my story.

Tonight I am tired and doing laundry. I really want to go to bed early tonight. We have an early appointment tomorrow and I need my rest! I'm out of medicine starting in the morning. I called and talked to my nurse who told me that she has some for me if I need it for tomorrow night. That will give me a day to order more if needed. Otherwise we will be assigned to do the big shot! YIKES! I know it's coming soon...I'm just trying to think happy thoughts. If I look like I'm ready to go to retrieval tomorrow morning then the nurse will mix our meds for us and draw a bullseye on my butt so drew knows exactly where to give it to me that night. The meds will trigger me to ovulate and then 36 hours later I can have the procedure for retrieval. All of this is happening soon! If it doesn't look like I'm ready, then I will order more meds and go back the following morning until I am ready. But again, retrieval is soon! I'm a little scared about the big shot, but I know it's a temporary pain so I just assume I can take it for a short amount of time. And I'm a little scared about the procedure, but again, I know these doctors have done this a million times. It's all nerve racking as well as exciting. :) I know God has a plan, so I rest in that.  There are a million things that could go wrong. And also a million things that could go right. It's just life, ya know? Things happen, but as drew once said, 

We can always hope because there's always a tomorrow

and I agree. 

Night 8? 9? I dunno - (guest post by Drew)

Drew here, as your guest blogger for the night -

So… here we are. Night number something or other, and my wife asks me to post a little ditty to give y'all a bit of my perspective on all this. It's been a while since I've written anything and i'm feeling pretty rusty. But i will attempt to share some thoughts, some feelings, and hopefully a little perspective from "the dude" point of view.

I gotta admit, when we first decided to start this process, I was incredibly apprehensive. I've heard the horror stories about a wife going mental while on these shots; about how it's a total shock to her system and 'chemical rage' becomes the norm; fears about babies being born with 2 heads because of all the hormones; all of this stuff was a huge concern for us. Was this the right choice?

It's been 11 years on this journey, with lots of pain and heartache, and a ton of months filled with hope that never materializes. For the most part, this has been a bitter journey. i think the bitterness has come from not having a reason why this wasn't working. Every time we've journeyed into the world of doctors and ultrasounds and probes and appointments, we've always heard the same thing; "Well, we just don't know." There's a deep pain that comes with such a hopeless answer. Aren't they the experts? Shouldn't they be able to come up with a reason why this wasn't happening?

When we went in for our first consultation with Dr. B, we finally got a reason.

We've known for a while that my count is lower than normal (but hey, it only takes one, right?). Also, Kat has some endometriosis flaring up. Couple that with some lazy swimmers (apparently they like to do the dog paddle) and you've got yourself a rough go of things. Why? Well, apparently Kat's body, while trying to fight off the endometriosis, decides that everything that's not hers is an enemy. Since my guys are kinda floating along in an inner tube on a lazy river, sipping beers without a care in the world, they seem to be getting gunned down before reaching their final destination.

This revelation finally answered the question of why. it was a huge relief actually. It was no longer a mystery. And I personally felt like I could move forward. We left that office ready to start this leg of our journey, and, for the first time in a long while, I even had a bit of hope.

I'm realizing as we're going deeper into this process that this really isn't something most guys freely talk about. This whole "trying-to-get-your-wife-pregnant" thing is not too socially acceptable amongst the male crowd. And that's a shame really. Maybe it's this macho ideal that's been perpetuated for centuries, or some archetypal drive to prove oneself, but the bottom line is when things aren't going to plan, you tend to feel like a bit of a failure. This may come as a shock, but guys aren't too keen on talking about their failures - especially in the bedroom. It's sad though, because when you're thick in the middle of it all and feeling the weight of the world, and your future family, weighing on you, the one thing you need is for someone to tell you it's going to be ok, that you're not a failure, and that it will all work out.

Some guys aren't comfortable with the tough questions like, "Am I man enough?" and so they clam up and shut down. Personally, I'm quite vocal about our struggles. Why not be? For real, i got no shame. Not anymore. All that went away years ago. Heck, because of these past 11 years, i've got some killer stories (yes, that's stories plural) about me, a sterile plastic cup and a female receptionist who always seems to give the evil eye, that would make you laugh and cringe and laugh some more. But to be honest, there just isn't a ton of moral support out there for "the dude."

I am a fan of Twitter. I tend to gravitate towards its brevity and creativity. It's storytelling in 140 characters or less. Most of the people you'll see show up in my timeline are there because i find them particularly funny. It's good to get a quick laugh in now and then throughout the day. One of the guys i follow is Andy Lassner (@andylassner), the producer of The Ellen Show. This guy is quick and funny, and knows how to laugh at the awkwardness of life. One day I'm scrolling thru my feed and a tweet of Andy's comes up that says something like "Happy birthday to my 2 boys - from Mommy, Daddy and your IVF Doctor" - First, it made me laugh. Second, it reminded me that other guys have gone thru this thing. A LOT of other guys. I wanted to let him know i appreciated his post, and that we were about to start IVF as well. My post to him became a conversation between us, with an open door to message him with any questions I might have.

I messaged him, telling him how nervous i was, how it was uncharted territory for us both, and that I was just plain scared. He wrote back 3 words that really changed me:

"You got this."

So simple and remedial, but really struck a deep chord in my heart. Here's some stranger, a producer on some show, who doesn't know me from a rock, and he merely says "You got this." And i knew right away he was right. I could do this. WE could do this. It's scary and uncertain, and expensive, but we could do it! He and I have talked a few more times since then (he, like several of you, is offering prayers up for us). And it's a comfort to know I'm not the only one.

I'm not the first husband to give shots to his wife. I'm not the first to have a low sperm count. I'm not the first to drive from appointment to appointment that end without any answers. I'm not the first to ache to provide the desires of my wife's heart, as well as for mine. I'm not the first to feel inadequate. And I'm definitely not the first to be scared as hell, but excited for things to come, either!

We've had a rough go over the last 11 years, but i wouldn't change any bit of it. I know that beauty DOES come from ashes, and joy DOES come in the morning. I know that anything good is worth fighting for. I'm honored to be able to mix my wife's nightly "cocktails" and experience this with her. I'm honored that we could save up thousands of dollars to be able to do this, and that God has been the provider of it all for us. I have really wrestled with the money aspect, by the way. It seems so selfish to use this money on ourselves when there are so many people out there who need money, who could benefit from it all. I know we could do so many things for the Kingdom with this cash. I struggled a lot with it, and kept asking God if this was okay for us to do. I would pray, "God, are you sure this is right? I mean, we could use this money to do so much good in the world, to bring honor to Your name, and really make a big investment in the Kingdom!" His reply to me was, "That's exactly what you're doing."

It's going to be good. It's going to be okay. And it's going to bring a lot of people a lot of joy. So, here's my lengthy post - all about fear and hope and semen analysis and Twitter. And an end to another day of shots and anticipation.

It's true what they say, ya know.

 

We got this. : )

Day 8--night

SO--our appointment today...we arrived and quickly got ushered in for our ultrasound. The Dr. came in and told me right away that it would be a quick check up to see how I'm "cooking".  So we did the ultrasound. My follicles are growing! :)  Dr. said everything looks good and on schedule.  The follicles on my right side are growing well, and the ones on my left are just a few but they are growing. I mentioned that it was strange because last week I had more follicles on my left side then my right. But this week it's opposite.  He looked at the nurse and started saying things I didn't understand. "Really?", he looked at the nurse.  She says, "yes, that's right".  Dr, "Did they pull a Bonnie?". Nurse, "It looks that way".

WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?

The only thing I could come up with was Bonnie & Clyde, but I really don't know.  Doctors and their code talk...  He then said everything's great and I was to get dressed and go get my blood drawn.  The nurse that drew my blood was awesome. She didn't even think twice before she had that needle in my arm.  I told her I was a fainter (I tell every nurse that draws my blood this. I feel it's only fair they should know what might be in their future.) and it didn't even phase her.  She looked at me and her eyes said, "We'll see about that".

The intention of this appointment was to see how my follicles are growing and adjust my medicine according to how they look.  I guess many times the meds are increased. They determine this by my hormone levels through my blood test. So I got the results a few hours later and the numbers are great. Dr. said I can keep taking the normal dose of meds that I'm on.  Which is a blessing financially. My next appointment is Tuesday morning.  So I get Monday morning off because normally at this point in the game I see the Dr. every day.  I'm thankful to not have to do that.  However, I DO have to order more meds. My meds run out tomorrow night and my nurse gave me some free to get me through Monday night. So Monday I have to order more, but it's hard because we don't really know how much to order. I don't want to order too much because it's expensive and obviously not returnable.  So I will call Monday and order 2 more boxes I guess.  That will get me through Thursday, which is the day Dr. said I might be ready.  He also said that by just quickly looking at my follicles he thought they could probably get about 10 eggs out of this round. WOW! 10!

Now 10 doesn't mean 10 babies, or even 10 embryo's. It just means 10 eggs.  Sometimes after retrieval the eggs aren't mature enough to use. Or possible something else could be wrong. Then once they are injected with sperm, they could not mature from that and no embryo would be created.  So they have to survive that too.  Then IF they survive the retrieval and the ICSY they will be given 3-5 days to mature.  Sometimes they don't mature.  So all of that to say 10 doesn't mean 10. It means a good number to start with for which I'm thankful.  Very thankful.

I'm doing this right now:

Shot #14.  For some reason the medicine is starting to sting. My nurse told me it was supposed to sting, but for the most part it didn't.  Last night, and just now, it was stinging. grrr.  Still worth it though. ;) 

We got our Christmas tree today! YAY! We weren't sure we were going to get one this year, but we decided to get it today. We usually go to a tree farm and spend all day finding the perfect tree to cut down.  It's fun. But today was rainy, and I just didn't feel like getting wet while looking for a tree.  Cold and snowy is one thing, wet and cold is another. So we went to Wal-mart to get our tree (figured we might as well get the cheapest one). But alas, no trees at Wal-mart.  So we headed to Lowes, they had about 20 trees and 1/2 of them were SPRAY PAINTED!!!! NO--I'm not lying. For reals, they were like bright green and spray painted.  I told drew I would rather have NO Christmas than have a spray painted tree.  It was bad enough that we were buying one at a store instead of chopping it down, but spray paint?!?!? ugh.

So we left there, went to Meijer..no trees. Good grief! We decided to try Home Depot and FINALLY we found our "perfect" tree....which has fallen over twice already. haha.  Tis the season! And we got colored lights this year (we usually take turns, I like colored blinky, Drew likes all boring white so we trade every other year) so I could have my turn. But 1/2 of the ones we bought were burned out (thanks Wal-mart!) so we are waiting till tomorrow to decorate. But it was still great to get the tree in our place.

Drew got his birthday gift from my sister Kari today.  I think he liked it.  No, it's not supposed to be a hat. But it IS cool. And he loved is mini tinsel tree.

I got a gift as well.  Kari has a ring that she has worn for I don't know how long but it was a sign of things to come.  Peaceful days. Lovely days. Days filled with Laughter and Joy. Family, Love. She sent me that ring to wear in this season.  It means more to me than she will ever know.

Day 8

We leave for our appointment in 15 minutes. I'm nervous today. I don't know why though.  I'm hoping everything looks great down there and that the meds are working perfectly.  I have a feeling we might have to order more meds for next week. It's an additional cost I was hoping to avoid, but with this type of treatment you are either in, or out.  There is no..."well, I guess I changed my mind". I mean, you CAN do that, but please, I don't know who would.  It would be a waste of God's money. And I wouldn't want to stop.  I've actually been (ssshhhhh) enjoying the process.  I don't feel overwhelmed or stressed. I have peace about whatever happens. God is good and He read the book of my life before I was born. He knows the outcome even though I don't.  So if I trust Him there's no reason to get nervous. He's got me. And to me, that's all that matters. 

Last night's shot (#12) hurt. I decided to get it right below my belly button vs. to the right or left. Bad idea. Even though I iced, I could feel the meds going in and stinging me.  I had to keep reminding myself that tattoos hurt more.  And I've done that several times for more than 30 seconds (the time of a shot).  I have found most of this journey is a mind game. Where are your thoughts? What are you speaking? Faith raises something up in you that gives you strength beyond what you thought was possible.  Trusting God to know that all is well and His plan is best for me. No matter what that looks like.  Let's be honest, no one wants to be an old mom or dad.  But I bet at some point that didn't matter to Abraham and Sarah anymore.  I bet they were just thankful to be in God's mighty plan for saving the world. Most of us are too small to realize that we are in God's mighty plan for saving the world. How would we live or think differently if we actually believed that?

Yesterday was emotional. Extremely sad for losing my friend Jim and for his wife Amy who now starts a new journey.  Darry & Montina, Tony & Courtney, Allan D, Ryan & Laura and Drew and I got together for coffee which lead to hanging out more which lead to dinner. It was SO sweet to my soul.  I miss all of them more than I could express.  This morning after our appointment we are having breakfast with the Shavers. I know life takes us in different directions, but I'm so thankful to be loved by such amazing people.  

Here we go to our appointment.  Say a little prayer for us! (even though I know most of you are still sleeping. That's where I would like to be too..so maybe just sleep for us for a few more hours) :)

Day 6 - blessed & sad

Today was filled with unexpected blessings as well as a night filled with grief. I was blessed to receive this today from my friend Suzanne.

It makes me feel so special that she even knew what day it was for me. I am blessed. Day 6 is done.

I also realized when looking at my calendar today that this Saturday, the day of our appointment to find out how my follicles are growing, is this day on the calendar:

I thought that was funny. :)

Mid afternoon I started to not feel so good. I knew it was just a few hours until we had to go to the funeral home.  We left after work and went to go get Ryan and Laura and headed to downtown Rochester. Our car started acting funny again which only added to my anxiety for the night. We finally found a place to park and went in.  There was a line at least 30 people long. We saw several friends that we love and the reaction was the same...happy to see one another, hating that its like this. They were showing home movies of Jim playing the ukelele in the background. The room was overflowing with people who were talking, laughing and enjoying one another. I finally got up to the front of the line and introduced myself to Jim's sister-in-law. Not her fault, it's hard to meet and greet hundreds of people you don't know.  I introduced myself to Jim's dad. He has kindness in his eyes. And sadness. I saw his mother and she said, "I remember you..Kathy, right? You did drama with Jim. What was the name of that group?" .  She looked tired. I couldn't believe she remembered me. Honestly, I have no idea when I met her. I just have a hard timing remember those details of my life. But she was so kind to remember me out of all the people she was about to talk to.

Then there was Jim.

It's not right that someone so full of life, so loving, so funny, so caring and with such ambition could be gone so soon.  I hate that I didn't take more time to hang out with him.  But I know God plans my footsteps before I know them. If I was meant to spend more time I would have.  But it makes me wish for days like college where we all saw each other daily. We encouraged each other daily.  We were young, and growing.  We are still growing ...not as young though. haha.

I had to leave earlier than most tonight. I just couldn't be in there any longer. Its ok. Its good know your limits. I was ok leaving.  It makes me wonder how tomorrow is going to be. Not sure how long I can stay then either. There's a dinner after the funeral but I'm not sure I'll make it through.

I'm glad I have nothing planned for tomorrow.  Just the funeral.  I have the rest of the day to rest. And I have to call my nurse as well.  We will be out of one kind of medicine on Sunday night and we wont know if we need to order more until it's too late to order on the weekend. So I will call tomorrow morning and figure that out.  I guess we will also ONCE MORE have to take our car in for electrical issues this time.  idk. That car gives me anxiety. For real.

Overall, I am blessed. I am safe.  All is well.  God is good. He continues to provide for us and create good things in our lives. I'm so thankful. Finding joy, amidst this confusing time. This is for all my friends who are grieving.