A Very Special Week

Life is emotional right now, and not just because I started back to work last week. This week last year we embarked on our second major baby attempt - and Talia entered our lives.....

10/19/08: I have rested for the past 36 hours in hopes that the one embryo that was transferred Friday has found a nice new home. Only one of the five frozen embryos survived (or was of good quality). Apparently, one other one survived but it split. The doctor said that the one he transferred was "perfect" and should get me pregnant.... I do think there are several benefits of this time over last in terms of success: 1) My body is not recovering from a retrieval. 28 follicles were removed last time and the transfer was just 5 days later. There's a good chance that my recovery (loss of blood, swelling, etc) made it less likely for success. 2) The embryo this time has been frozen, thawed, and still grew to be of "perfect" quality. In my mind, survival of the fittest applies here! 3) My blood results indicate that hormone levels are perfect! I've been on estrogen pills and patches for two weeks to build my uterine lining. Then, last Sunday, we started nightly progesterone injections to prepare the lining to be receptive. Blood results the day of transfer were perfect. Last time, my body was still on a bit of a roller coaster ride from developing all of those eggs. After transfer, my estrogen level dipped way down and did not fully recover. This time, there should be no issue with maintaining levels with similar does of medication..... So, the logical engineer in me has thought out why I should be optimistic. Please don't prove me wrong little one!

Alysia

A Special Anniversary

This week last year was a very important one for our family. It was the week Talia was conceived, but also the week our first major attempt at a family failed. It's been on my mind as the days pass so I reviewed excerpts from the journal I'd been keeping during that trying period and am reflecting on the journey we undertook.

7/15/08: We are headed to Rochester Hills tomorrow morning! My estrogen yesterday was up to 2700 ... and the follicles are ready. There are many, and they really grew over the weekend. We have to be there at 9:30AM, so we'll hit the road quite early. I have to fast tonight after midnight. Normally not a big deal, but it will be quite late tomorrow by the time the surgery is over. We are excited, but I think the stress and the reality is starting to show. We are just so busy right now, so perhaps a bit short. I think we'll both feel a lot better in a few days. Please God watch over me tomorrow and in the coming days.

7/16/08: It's 8PM, and I just slept for the past 4 hours on the couch downstairs. My tummy is quite tender, but overall the procedure went very well. We arrived in Rochester Hills early -- we weren't entirely sure how the drive would be. They took me back to a prep room almost immediately with Mike. There I laid with an IV while they discussed the details of the operation and had me sign some forms. I was taken back to the O.R. at about 10:15AM, and don't remember much of anything until I awoke in the prep room around 11:30 or so. They told us that they had removed 26 follicles (well, eggs)! Also, the doctor did not notice any signs of worry concerning hyperstimulation, but of course we'll watch ... 26 is a lot. Tomorrow we will receive a call to let us know how many eggs fertilized and hopefully we'll get an indication of when the transfer will take place. I'll be taking it easy for awhile. My movement is quite slow right now and probably will be tomorrow as well. I was given instructions not to do anything strenuous for the next 2.5 weeks.

7/20/08: Well, it's been 4 days since the surgery. I wish I could say that I feel great, but not yet. But, I'm beginning to think my body is quite the trooper. They actually removed 28 eggs on Wednesday -- 22 of which were fully mature. By the next day, 15 had fertilized! I'm not sure what we'll ever do with that many, but perhaps this is a good sign that I won't have to go through this again. Since the retrieval, I have been quite uncomfortable. The first 24-36 hours were pretty painful, but now I'm just very bloated. Sweatpants feel VERY good. Haha. I worked from home on Thursday and went in to work for half of Friday. Since then, I've really been taking it easy. Mike has been so kind, making dinners and cleaning, getting me a snack or a drink when I'm nauseous, etc. I think I finally realized it's the high hormone levels combined with an empty stomach that cause the nausea. This determination was made AFTER I spent one evening lying on the bathroom floor and another curled up on a couch. Since Wednesday, I've been wearing an Estrogen patch and receiving progesterone injections nightly. These are supposed to thicken the uterine lining in advance and after implant. We're both really looking forward to tomorrow -- it's the big day. Our implant is scheduled for 11:45AM. I have to eat breakfast and have a full bladder for the procedure. It's supposed to be quite painless, but I'll be on muscle relaxers afterwards, so I'll likely sleep the afternoon away. The next 2 weeks will be interesting. I'm sure we'll be anxious to know the results, but I'm also a bit scared. It would be a big letdown if it didn't work. I know we can do it again, and I'm just trying not to get too excited just in case ... but it's hard.

7-21-08: I'm lying on a couch with my feet up! The transfer was this morning -- not too bad. The full bladder thing was a pain, but this was the worst part. They transferred 3 ...... apparently one was of excellent quality and the other 2 were so-so. Kind of depressing that only 1 was top quality for implantation. But, we feel good about this and so excited. Mike got to watch the procedure and we got pictures of the ultrasound AND the 3 embryos. So cute!!

We now know that this transfer failed........ and I'm saddened when I consider our adorable angels who never met this world. But through this rough week last year, Talia's life began -- and for that, we are forever grateful.

Alysia