Another day, another progesterone shot. We decided to alternate cheeks to help with the soreness. And I think my left side does NOT like it as much as the right. It’ll be interesting to anchor the news tonight with a sore upper butt! 😉 oh well…the show must go on!

Our 6 little embryos are doing great! 5 of them have developed into 4 cells and 1 is 2 cells. Dr. Aman, the embryologist, says on Day 2 they want the embryos to be between 2 and 4 cells so they are progressing beautifully! I was worried about the one that is 2 cells, but he said there’s nothing to worry about and hopefully it’ll catch up. Keep the prayers coming!!

P.S…I love only having to take 1 shot, even if it is the stupid progesterone one!

You’re going to put that where?!! Yes, it’s the start of the dreaded progesterone shots. And they go in the upper part of the butt….and the needle is huge….and the medicine is in oil which means it’s really thick…and the needle is huge…and Laryen has to give it to me…and did I mention that the needle is HUGE?! Like 1 1/2 inches…for a needle that’s big!

Here’s Laryen reading up on the right and wrong way to give the progesterone. There are 2 needles. One is bigger to get the medicine in the syringe ( that’s what he’s holding) and then the smaller one is used to actually administer the medicine. I need 1 ml of progesterone a night for the next 10 nights. Then if my levels are good I’ll switch to a pill. Progesterone is a hormone that makes your uterus lining good and thick to prevent miscarriages. It also helps make the uterus fluffy and comfy so the embryos will want to stay and rent the place out for the next 9 months or so! 😉 Hope they want to get a lease!

He looks a little too happy with that needle

The thicker needle used to get the meds out

Just sucks it right up!

I’m holding the injection needle. Smaller than the first one, but still not something I want to poke myself with. Laryen is a trooper to give them to me! We warmed up the needle and my injection site so it wouldn’t hurt AS much. I laid down on the bed and then he just went for it! Just like the other shots, the anticipation was way worse than the actual shot. To be honest it felt just like a little prick, you’d never think it was from a big needle. Not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be! One of my best friends is pregnant and has to get progesterone shots too and I asked her if they were bad and she said the same thing; she thought they were going to be way worse. So if you’re going through this, I promise — it’s not as bad as you’re thinking. Just close your eyes and breathe 🙂

Speaking of breathing, we can both breathe a little easier. Our embryologist called today and gave us our first update: WE HAVE 6 EMBRYOS!!!!!! (one exclamation point for each embryo) 😀 So that means 6 of our eggies are now one cell, fertilized embryos. The lab must have been party central last night! Woot Woot! So 86 percent of our eggs transformed into the next stage. The embryos will keep splitting into 2 cells, 4 cells, 8 cells, etc. Once they get to 150-200 cells, they’re called a blastocyst and that’s what will be put back into me on Sunday! And if there’s any left over, those will also be frozen for next time. We were so excited to hear the news. We are blessed that God has gotten us this far and can’t wait to see what happens overnight tonight.

Today, one of the nurses said we should probably buy a lotto ticket. Lucky #7. It’s becoming a theme through this IVF process. And we will take all the luck we can get!

Egg retrieval day is finally here!!! Time for these eggies to be babysat by the embryologist and party like a rock star with their spermie friends in the lab!

We had to be at the hospital at 6 am. The egg retrieval (and transfer) is done on the same floor as labor and delivery at UMC. And it’s pretty cool! The room is kind of like a dual room. It has a place where the procedure is done and the lab is right there! So they take the eggs out of me and then pass them over to the embryologist right in the lab! Easy peasy!

We are excited!

Isn’t my outfit beautiful?

Our wonderful fertility nurse Michelle!

They knock you out for the procedure with anesthesia, but it’s different than normal general surgery. You are out of it but it doesn’t take as long for you to ‘come to’ after the procedure which is nice.

Here’s kind of a breakdown of how they get the eggs. They use the same ultrasound they used to look at my follicles the past few days. But along with it is a HUGE needle (see, that’s why you’re knocked out!) Attached to the needle is something similar to a catheter. The needle punctures the ovary and goes into each follicle and vacuums the egg and all the fluid out into a test tube. That test tube is passed on to the embryologist who looks at all the fluid under a microscope and determines a) if there’s an egg in there and b) if it’s mature enough to fertilize. They do this to all the follicles no matter the size. Once they got all the eggs out of me then off to recovery I go and Laryen heads off to the lab. Then his sample is brought back up to embryo lab. His sperm are washed and concentrated and they look and determine which ones are the best ones. Then they take a teeny tiny needle and insert the sperm right into the egg! (a process called ICSI). The fertilization happens right then and there! We should know how many were fertilized by tomorrow! Want to know a fun fact? They didn’t learn about ICSI until the 1990’s. Before that they would just put the sperm in the petri dish with the egg and wait for nature to do its thang. But it didn’t always happen in the timely matter that they want…which means both egg and sperm would just die! So now, they put the sperm in the egg to prevent that from happening. See, science = amazing!

And the end result?

Lucky #7! We have 7 mature eggs which Dr. Huang said is great! We’re still a few days out BUT we should have enough embryos to put back into me and to freeze (which has been the hope and goal the whole time). And I think it’s hilarious they wrote it on me so when I was still groggy from the medicine I would remember how many they got 🙂 Throughout the day I’ve been a little crampy but other than that, I feel great! I think Laryen and I are relieved with the number and happy that everything went great!

7 eggs. I took the trigger shot at 7 pm. The procedure was at 7 am. And I was in recovery room 7. See, maybe Laryen and I should buy that lotto ticket!

Happy ‘Egg Retrieval’ Eve!! It’s almost time to get these eggies out of me and into the lab where they’ll FINALLY get to meet their one true love.

Lots of nerves tonight and I think Laryen and I are both anxious for tomorrow morning. Luckily I am busy at work reading scripts for the 10:00 news so my mind is focused on other things.

I feel good today, just really really full and my boobs are killing me! Stupid hormones! 😉 I had to take an antibiotic this morning and another at night and those are the only meds I needed today. Did I mention….. ABSOLUTELY NO SHOTS today?!!!!! It’s a miracle!

We’ll wake up super early tomorrow morning to get to the hospital by 6 am. The retrieval is scheduled for 7 and shouldn’t take too long. Then Laryen is off to the lab and we wait to see what God blesses us with.

Please say extra prayers for us tomorrow morning. We will take all of them and then some. The big week is here and I can’t say enough ‘thanks’ to all our family and friends who have helped us stay positive throughout this whole process. We love you all!

Trigger day is here!! And it’s egg retrieval eve eve! I think this bloat is a good sign that the eggs are ready to come out, don’t you agree?! 😉

I had to take my trigger shot at 7pm on the dot.  

 
 It has medicine inside it that ‘triggers’ my follicles to release the eggs in 36 hours. So at 7 Tuesday morning the doctor will be ready to take them outta me! Then off to live in the lab they go with the spermies they never knew they loved! (Hope they’re excited to meet!)

It kind of felt like I was forgetting to do something tonight because I didn’t have to take my normal shots. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss them at all! I just kind of feel worried that I forgot to do something which worries me since we’re so close to getting those puppies out! It’s the attack of the IVF brain again — remembering things is SO overrated!