Lining Check

We went back to Nashville Fertility Center early this morning for a lining check appointment.  A major praise was smooth traffic, despite traveling during rush hour!  We were early for the first time ever.  Yay us!

I made a pit stop at the lab to have a quick blood draw to check my hormone levels.  Next, I went for an ultrasound.  The sonographer explained ideally they will find a tri-layer uterine lining with a measurement of 8mm +.  Thankfully in my scan I have a tri-layer lining measuring 12.5mm.  Such great news!  To compare, my lining at this point with Gavin was 9.5mm.

So, here's the plan moving forward:

- Continue daily Lupron injections (5 units) until Monday, July 6 --- only one week left!!

- Continue 0.2ml estradiol valerate injections on Tues/Sat.  The dose decreases to 0.1ml starting July 4th.  I'll stay on this through the pregnancy test and if positive, I'll continue until 10 weeks.

- Add progesterone in oil injections every evening starting Thursday, July 2.  1ml the first day and 2ml from then on.  Shots every day until the pregnancy test.  If positive, I'll continue until 10-12 weeks.

- Reconfirmed the embryo transfer for next Tuesday, July 7th at 11:30am with our favorite Dr.  I'll have an acupuncture session earlier that morning.

- Blood pregnancy test is scheduled for the morning of Friday, July 17

This cycle has flown by.  I owe that to G-man for keeping me busy.  It's been much easier than I imagined.  The biggest prayer at this point is for our embryo to survive the thawing process and remain great quality.  We are planning another single embryo transfer, like we did with Gavin.  If all goes well, this will leave us with 2 frozen embryos for future cycles.

Feels like Christmas morning is right around the corner.  All I can do now is relax until the transfer and pray that 10 days later we'll get news that a sweet little embryo is nestling in for the next 9 months.

We Have a Date

.....a transfer date, that is.

I went to Nashville this morning for my suppression check appointment.  I had the full workup - ultrasound, bloodwork, consultation & physical.  The purpose of this visit is to make sure I'm fully suppressed a.k.a. my hormones are shut down.  Thankfully, they found no cysts, a very thin uterine lining & an estrogen level of 23.

Starting tomorrow, I'll decrease my Lupron injections to 5 units every morning and add in 0.1 estradiol valerate via intramuscular injection in the hip (2x week).  The needles are 1.5" and 22 gauge.  Fun times.

I'm officially on the schedule for a July 7th 11:30am transfer with my favorite Dr!  We are planning to do another single embryo transfer, like we did with Gavin.  In the meantime, I have one more appointment coming up on June 29th to be sure my lining is building as it should.  As long as all goes well, the transfer will go as scheduled.

I can't say enough great things about the NFC staff.  My nurse chatted with me for over a half hour answering my random questions.  This is on top of the fact that she came in on her day off when she saw my name on the schedule.  She talked through my 2011 miscarriage and shared her own story of loss.  In a world where infertility is so taboo, it was very refreshing that she was so open & honest about her own struggles.  It was a great reminder to never be ashamed of your story because it can inspire others in ways you never dreamed.

Will certainly keep you all updated on our progress.  Thanks a million for all the prayers!

Life on Lupron

We are currently in the suppression phase of our FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) cycle.  My ovaries and the hormones they make are being suppressed so the Dr can take the reins.  I'm on day #2 of Lupron injections (10 units every morning).  This drug basically puts my ovaries to sleep.  It turns off my hormones and puts my body into an artificial state of menopause.

It comes with some pretty nasty side effects:  headache, acne, mood swings, hot flashes, itching, weight gain, etc.  I spent most of yesterday with an ice pack on my head and I've had a pretty rough headache this afternoon.  But, it's nothing I can't easily shake.  The silver lining is the shots themselves are easy for me to administer myself, since they are subcutaneous in the lower abdomen.

I like to combat the side effects by staying busy, so I don't think about it as much.  We had a really fun weekend with family in town for the Superhero Strides for CF 5K, a race that my husband started to raise funds and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.  Lots of $ raised to get us closer to a cure.

I also started back on weekly acupuncture sessions, which I LOVE.  I'll continue these until the morning of the transfer. It keeps me relaxed and in optimal health during the cycle.

My embryo transfer is just one month away.  Gavin has become really interested in babies lately.  Last week, he pulled his old bouncy chair into his room and filled it with toys for "his baby".  As each day passes, our excitement builds in the hope of baby #2 (& #3 for those praying we'll have twins). 

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34