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! 

See these 3 shots?! Yep, it’s the last day I need to take them!! Yay!!! 

  
My 11 follies are growing at a great rate which means…we are almost there! We’re actually ahead of schedule so the eggs are coming out on Tuesday– holy cow that’s so soon! Am I ready for that? Let’s hope so because here it comes no matter if we’re ready or not 😉

Another day of blood work and another ultrasound.  (And Laryen always seems to take pictures of me when I’m talking in the middle of sentences for some reason) 

Anyway…. Ultrasound went great! Dr. Huang checked all the sizes of the follicles and determined that they’re ALMOST at the perfect size for retrieval. So tonight was the last time I needed to take my three shots! Wooohoo! And that means I can cross off these days on my calendar! No more shots!!!! Well, until the progesterone but we’ll ignore that for right now. 

  
I’m feeling a little better but still really tired. Hopefully now that these shots are done I’ll start feeling a little more normal. 

Tomorrow I take the trigger shot and then no shots for a couple more days! And lemme tell ya…I’m so upset about that! 😉😉

Nearly one week in and I’m feeling it. These shots are getting to me.

I started the middle shot last night (Cetrotide) and I don’t think my body likes it too much. I’ve been really nauseous today. I could also be feeling that way because I’ve been pumping tons of extra hormones into my body day after day, or maybe it’s just a combination of all the meds — who knows. But I DO know one thing… I’m not feeling too hot today. Luckily, tomorrow is the weekend so I’ll be sleeping a lot! Woohoo!!

I’m also starting to bruise around the injection sites a little bit. All expected when you give yourself so many shots. 

Laryen did make me laugh this morning. He said “honey, you’re growing enough eggs inside you right now for one whole year!” I totally didn’t even think of it like that until he said that– and he’s right! That’s my excuse for sleeping the whole weekend away! 😉

Cheaper by the dozen….(minus 1). Well, I guess the shots are working because my ovaries are out of control! Yep, I am the proud owner of 11 follicles which means there’s 11 eggs cooking right now (no wonder I’m so tired and so bloated! My body is working overtime!).

Of course the eggs are suuuuuuuper teeny and not ready to come out YET, but we got to see all the follicles at my appointment today. And one of those follicles is going to have the egg that gets to become a mini Lauren or Laryen! YAY!

First, more blood work…..

and then this thing:

That’s the ultrasound machine but instead of a normal ultrasound that goes on your belly, this one goes inside to see all the internal stuff like my follicles.

And here they all are!!

All the black dots are follicles! I have 8 in my left ovary and 3 in my right ovary. They vary in size but Dr. Huang says most of them are great size and pretty consistent in size which is a good thing. A few are a little smaller than others but that’s normal! Dr. Huang said not all of the eggs will be mature, but with this amount he guesses 2-3 will develop far enough along to become a healthy embryo that will be implanted and transferred back into me or frozen for next time.

I was super excited about the numbers! It was a nice pick me up after my tougher day yesterday. I’m a visual person so actually seeing that everything is working made me a lot more positive about everything, which I really needed. This process is tough people!!

Tonight, I also added another shot into the mix. Cetrotide will make sure that my follicles don’t release the eggs before the retrieval. And this one I had to mix up myself:

We mixed saline with the white powder you see in the vial and then put it back in the needle to inject into me. So yes, not 2 but 3 shots a night now. But it’s worth it for my 11 follies 🙂

Is there such a thing as ‘IVF brain’ because if so I definitely have it. I would say I have ‘pregnancy brain’ but since I’m not prego yet I’ll just stick with it.

I am so tired and feel like my brain is processing super slow — which is not a good thing when you anchor the news. Earlier tonight on the 5pm news, my co-anchor Allison and I were talking about a study on caffeine and I said “so that means we can drink more chocolate and eat more coffee.” No, no Lauren that’s not what it means. Lol

Sleepiness IS a side effect of the meds which makes me feel a little better about the whole thing. Annnnnnd since I’m pumping so many extra hormones into my body the emotions are also getting to me. I guess I didn’t really realize how hard this whole thing was going to be on my body. I have been trying to stay positive through this ENTIRE process but I just had a moment of weakness tonight. It sucks…it’s hard to stick yourself every day and I’m tired and I have a constant headache and I’m bloated..and did I mention that I’m TIRED. It’s hard to focus on the big picture when you’re just so blah. That probably sounds really bad because I’m so grateful for what this is going to do for us and I know God will give me strength to get through this, it’s just hard. And now that I realized that it’s hard and it’s going to continue to be hard on my body for the next few weeks hopefully that means my positivity will shine in front of my worries.

Any extra prayers are appreciated. I know we’re almost there…I just need to remind myself that it’ll all be worth it when our little bundle of love is here.

Today is the day. I can officially call myself a pin cushion. So far I’ve given myself 8 shots AND I got my blood drawn today (what’s one more needle, right?!) So I think 9 is the magic pin cushion number… what do you think?

So this morning, Laryen and ‘Miss Pin Cushion’ went to the doctor for the first time since I started the shots.
Got my blood drawn to check my hormone levels then we were off to outpatient surgery to make sure everything was ready for the egg retrieval next week.

Yep… that means more paperwork! I was REALLY missing signing my life away so I’m happy I got to do it again. 😉

And this afternoon …. another hurdle crossed! My Estradiol level is 412 which Dr. Huang says is a “great value.” I’m guessing that’s just the scientific name for estrogen and I’m happy to see that the medicine is doing what it’s supposed to do! AND…I get to drop my Gonal-F dose a little bit (which made me pretty excited!)

I’ll take 175 tonight and tomorrow and then back to the doctor for more blood work. I’m hoping the lower dose will help my sleepiness and my headaches I’ve had since starting the meds. BUT good news… I haven’t gotten grouchy at Laryen, a huge plus in both our books! 😉

I don’t think the dogs are very impressed with my pin-cushion awesomeness! Come on Indie and Tyson — get excited!

You would think after giving yourself two shots a night for the past three nights you’d be a pro. I don’t know if I’m pro status yet, BUT it isn’t scary anymore … #winner, winner chicken dinner!

Same two shots tonight and not really feeling any side effects — except one. I don’t know if I’m just tired because I’m old or what but about an hour after I take the shots I.am.exhausted!!! Like I want to put my head down and take a nap at the dinner table tired, lol. Which is not a good feeling when you anchor the EVENING news…so sleepy!

Thankfully it’s only a 30 minute show…but still, this ———————–> might be my signature commercial look for the next week or so. I just told my co-anchor Bryan to make sure I’m not drooling on the desk and when it’s my turn to read to nudge me awake. Plan is in place!

My injection sites are getting a little tender as well. No bruising yet, but they’re definitely more tender tonight. Hopefully if I move where I’m sticking myself it will help.

We go to the doctor in the morning to check my hormone levels and see if we need to up or lower my dose. Fingers crossed for good results.

Two shots, too easy! Tonight I wasn’t hesitant at all with my shots so hopefully that means the rest of the shot part of the process won’t be too bad. 

Took the same shots and doses as last night. I feel good, but have had a pretty bad headache all day. Hopefully it will go away soon! 

Oh, and go Broncos!!  Super Bowl here we come!!