Thursday, November 4, 2010

I'm Going to be a Mommy on Monday!!

I knew this day would come, but I'm still so shocked that in a few days, I'm going to be a mommy!

I went in for my 40 week appointment today. I started out with my NST and Baby Blob wasn't as active as last time, but she still passed the test. Then, I had the internal. I was really hoping to have made some progress from last week (where I found out that NOTHING was going on). Anyway, pretty much status quo at 40 weeks too. The baby's head was down lower, which was definitely a good sign, but I was still less than a fingertip dilated. I knew that the doctor was going to schedule an induction, but I thought it would be later next week....well, I go in Sunday night for the insertion of the balloon, and I should have the baby on Monday.

I can't even believe that I will actually have an outside baby. After so many years of trying, to finally come to this point, it's just so surreal!!

I guess the next post will be the announcement of Baby Blob's arrival. Wish me luck for a quick and easy delivery!!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

35 Weeks Down, 35 Days Left to Go!!!






Here's a picture of me around 34.5 weeks.

So, I have 35 days until my due date. How crazy is that? I remember taking my first HPT on that snowy morning. My, how time flies. Mark and I have basically completed the nursery...all that's left is hanging up some pictures and finishing emptying the closet. Once I hang things up on the walls, I'll post some pictures.

As of 34 weeks, my OB told me that from here on out, if I go into labor, they won't do anything to stop me. That makes everything so real!! Little baby m will be here at any time now! Wow!! At this point, my OB appointments are every week, but we are still just doing the doppler. I have a growth ultrasound at about 37.5 weeks. Mark and I can't wait to see our little girl again...we haven't seen her since she was 21.5 weeks! In fact, here is her most recent picture : - )


So, for the time being, I just deal with my swollen feet and cankles, my sciatic nerve pain, Braxton Hicks contractions, and frequent insomnia...very small prices to pay for our little girl : - )

Monday, July 5, 2010

First Nursery Purchase

Mark and I decided on the Bananafish Bubble Gum bedding. I went ahead and ordered it today! I'm so excited to get started on the nursery. We will be ordering our nursery furniture when my parents are in town visiting (it's their gift to us). I can't wait to start putting this vision all together. Hope you enjoy!

Here is the Bananafish:
For the crib, we will either do the Munire Chloe or the Munire Morgan.
Here is the Morgan:

Here is the Chloe (can't find a picture of it in white):
And, we will do a dresser and chest from Stanley Young America,All Seasons Collection, in white:




Saturday, July 3, 2010

Anatomy Scan was Monday, and it's a......

GIRL!!!!

I totally thought that we were having a boy! Too funny. I should have known that it was a girl ; - ) Mark and I are very excited to finally be able to refer to the baby as a she, instead of it. And, I'm excited to finally be able to start buying stuff for our little baby girl. We did decide that we were going to keep her name to ourselves until she is born...so stay tuned for November. I promise that I will edit this post this weekend and add a picture of little girl m&m.

I'm still in shock and beyond excited : - )

Friday, June 25, 2010

21 Weeks!! More than Halfway There!!

Ok, I admit it, I've been a slacker. I guess I feel like I should only post if something interesting is going on in the pregnancy. Well, I reached the halfway point last week 20, and here is what I look like now (21 weeks):








Yes, I definitely look pregnant at this point! I must say that the pregnancy has been pretty uneventful, which is awesome. I did my NT scan and sequential screening about 7 weeks ago, and everything came back great. I had been bothering Mark in the ER to do some bootleg ultrasounds, which were totally fun. We finally decided that since the ER seems to be getting more and more crowded, that we should get an at home doppler. Really, when we went for the under the table ultrasounds ; - ), it was just to make sure that Baby Blob's heart was still pumping away. Needless to say, I listen to my belly every day!

I've been keeping busy reading Baby Bargains, and making my list of what we need to get. I've made some good progress. And, as soon as we find out what we are having, I can start looking at gender specific nursery décor. I will have to do another entry with pictures of some of the things we want to get : - )

As for symptoms in the last month or so, I have been suffering from shortness of breath, neck pain, bloating, heartburn, and the latest affliction, charlie horses...but all in all, it hasn't been too bad (I swear)!

Oh, and the anatomy scan is on Monday. I can't wait!!! We are dying to find out just exactly what Baby Blob is!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!!

I just wanted to wish all of my readers a very Happy Mother's Day! For those of you still battling infertility, I want to tell you to never give up. You are all so much stronger than you think you are. I know that somehow, someway, you will all be mothers.

Not that my REs will ever read this blog, but I wanted to give a special shout out to Dr. Peters and Dr. Corley from the Sher Institute of Reproductive Medicine (in Bedminster). Without their help, I sincerely doubt I would be sitting here 14 weeks pregnant, actually looking forward to Mother's Day. I will forever be grateful for the wonderful gift that is growing inside of me.

As a side note, Mark was able to do an ultrasound last night, and we saw Baby Skeletor. Yes, that is the baby's nickname for this week. We saw the skull and the spinal cord...it was a little Halloween baby inside of me. I think it had the hiccups, as it kept jerking it's body and then punching itself in the face. It was pretty funny.

Anyway, have a wonderful day!!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Baby Blob Looks Like a Baby!

I had another ultrasound last Monday, and Mark and I got to see an actual baby in there. It was wild. We have the picture up on the fridge, and every time I'm in the kitchen, I take a peek. I can't believe I have a baby in here!

I swear, one of these days, I'm actually going to scan in the pictures...we have the progression of baby blob from the day of transfer up until 12.5 weeks. I can't believe that I have to wait another 6.5 weeks to see the baby again : (

Monday, April 26, 2010

Um, Are You Sitting Down??

Yes, I know it's been a long time since I've updated my blog...but, I think it's for a good reason. I will just get right to it, and then update on what's been going on since our 7th IVF cycle began back in mid January. First things first.....I'M PREGNANT!!!! I am still in a state of shock. After 3 long years, Mark and I are finally expecting our first little m&m. I'm due November 5th.

Now, here comes the interesting story of how all this came to be, and why I didn't update my blog right away....

So, way back at the end of February, we had a big snow storm. I was supposed to go up to SIRM on a Friday for my beta. I didn't want to drive up in the snow, so I decided to POAS on Thursday morning. I got up a little after 5am, and used a dollar tree test. After 60 seconds, there was no second line. I sat on the bathroom floor and started to cry. Then, I got up to get a tissue, and noticed a very very faint second line. I woke up Mark, and made him look. He saw it too. I then ran out to CVS and bought 4 more tests. The second line came up right away, and the digital said pregnant. This was actually happening!

I drove over to Quest labs on Thursday morning, and had my hcg/beta levels drawn. I was on cloud nine all weekend long. I drove up to SIRM on the following Monday morning for my second beta and while I was there, I found out my first beta was 89. I got a call from Dr. Peters on Monday afternoon, telling me that my second beta was 32. I was told that the pregnancy wasn't viable (it was a chemical pregnancy), but that I should have a third beta done to make sure my levels were dropping. And, I was told to continue my medications until further notice. Mark and I were devastated. We didn't know what our next move would be, should we bother continuing with treatments, or start looking into adoption. It was probably one of the worst moments I had in a long long time.

Well, imagine my surprise when I went back to Quest for my 3rd beta, and got a call from SIRM the next day asking me to come in for a 4th beta. Apparently, my 3rd beta had jumped up to 1681. SIRM was convinced that Quest made a mistake, and wanted me to come to their office immediately for a 4th beta. I called Mark immediately. We were trying not to be optimistic, convincing ourselves that Quest really screwed up. I left work and drove up for my blood test. Well, Dr. Peters called that afternoon to tell me that my beta was now at 2228. He told me that I was pregnant, didn't need any more betas, and we scheduled my first ultrasound. Holy Hell. He also told us that my second beta was a mistake on their part...the tech had put my progesterone level where my beta level should have been. So, I could finally believe it...I was pregnant!

I have since had 2 ultrasounds, and we have one beautiful little baby growing. We couldn't be happier. We feel truly blessed that this is finally happening for us. Thanks to everyone's good thoughts and support through our entire infertility journey. It means more to us than you will ever know.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

No Frosties

Oh well. Got the news from my nurse coordinator, and the 2 morulas did not make it to freeze. I'm trying not to read too much into it. Hopefully, the 3 embies that we transferred yesterday will do the trick.

If not, another fresh cycle awaits me in the spring.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Back From Transfer!

Just got back from our transfer. It went very well. I only drank 10 ounces of water this time, and it appeared to be enough. Finally met Dr. Peters in person, after talking to him many many times on the phone.

So, here's the dirt. We wound up transferring 3 blasts. They grade on a 1-4 basis, with 1 being the best. We transferred a Grade 1, 2 and 3 blast. We decided to go with the graded 3 blast as they weren't going to be able to freeze it, so why not add it to the mix. We also have 2 compacted morulas. Assuming they keep dividing, they will be frozen tomorrow. And, we had 2 just crap out. Dr. Peters told us that if I get pregnant, we have a 30-35% chance of twins, and a 10% chance of triplets. Whoah!

I wore my lucky underwear and my new lucky socks. Hopefully, both did the trick. I go back in a couple of weeks for my beta.

Keep crossing those fingers, toes, and sending us all those sticky vibes!!

Transfer Set for 1:30!

Just got the call. We will leave here around 11:30 and head up for our transfer. I'll find out how many blasts we have, how many we are transferring, and what their gradings are when I get up there.

Here we go! I'll check in later this afternoon with an update.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Wow, Just Wow!

I got the call from Dr. Peters pretty late this morning. I had a dream the night before that we only had 3 embryos as of today...so I opted to stay home until I got the news from the office. Well, they didn't call until almost noon, but Dr. P told me that we had 7 embies growing. I was floored. We only had 6 as of Saturday. I swear, this cycle is all sorts of good. I don't think we have ever had so many embryos on day 3.

Dr. P. also told me their current grading, but I was so shocked about the 7 embryos, that I didn't really pay attention. Anyway, looks like we are doing a 5dt on Wednesday. I'll get the call Wednesday morning, and then Mark and I will drive up together for the transfer. So relieved!!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Fertilization Report

Dr. Peters called today to give us our fertilization report. Out of 9 eggs retrieved, we now have 6 embryos growing. I'm happy with this number as the last few ivfs we have had, we only had 5 or less to work with.

I won't hear again until Monday. If we have at least 4 embryos still going strong, we will do a 5 day transfer on Wednesday. I really really really want to make it to a 5 day transfer!

Please send lots of embie growth dust my way!!

Friday, February 12, 2010

9 EGGS!!!

I just got back from my retrieval, and they got 9 eggs! This is the third best retrieval I have had, and the first one where I didn't cry when I got the results.

I did wake up during the procedure, which I wasn't thrilled with, but I didn't feel anything. The anesthesiologist asked if I wanted to stay awake, or have a little more drug to go back to sleep, and I opted for the more drugs. No surprise there.

Anyway, I'm a little crampy, but otherwise, I feel ok. We will get a call from the Dr. tomorrow to find out how many eggs were mature and how many fertilized. Then, I'll get a call on Monday morning to find out if we are doing a 3 day or 5 day transfer. It seems like SIRM really likes to do 5 days, so as long as I have a few good looking embies on Monday, we should be set for a Wednesday transfer. They only require bedrest for one day, but I think I'll still stay home on Thursday for good measure.

Please send good embryo fertilization and growing vibes my way. I really hope that this is finally it for Mark and I!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Oh What a Night!

So, last night felt like a comedy of errors. First of all, I realized at 9:30 that I had forgotten to take my anti-biotic to prepare for my egg retrieval. I was supposed to take it with dinner. OOPS, oh well, better late than never. Next, our power went out at 9:45pm. I lit some candles and joked around about how much fun it would be to do my trigger shot in the dark. I also was relieved that Mark would actually be home to give me the shot. It's hard enough to give yourself an IM shot in your butt, but even worse if you have to do it in the dark.

So, Mark and I set our cell phone alarms for 12:20am to get the shot ready. I was in charge of reconstituting it. That seemed to take forever. Then, Mark was in charge of loading up the syringe. Well, I freaked out because there was still some liquid in the vial. So, we had a huge fight about my meds. I was convinced that if he didn't get every last drop, the hcg wouldn't work, and my follicles would not be ready to aspirated on Friday. Yes, drama queen much?? Anyway, Mark went to do my shot and the needle kind of bent when it went into my tush. Buns of steel, perhaps? Hee hee. He had to straighten it out and it hurt like a mother! But, at least it was done.

Then, we head upstairs. The nurse said that we should have sex last night and then Mark would have to abstain until the morning of retrieval. At this point, it was already 1am, we were tired, annoyed with each other, and not all that excited about spending quality time. While we were upstairs getting ready for bed in the dark, the dog decides that he is going to stand on the bed, pee into his bed and onto the comforter! I guess the snow had gotten to him. So, in the dark, again, we had to strip the bed, find a new comforter in the house and drag all the gross peed on stuff down into the laundry room. The good news is that then the power went back on. Mark and I laughed, had quality time and went to bed.

Last night was literally a pain in my ASS!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Triggering Tomorrow!

Well, I went back this morning for another monitoring appointment. I had a total of 13 measurable follicles, but 5 were in the 18-22 range. And, my lining was a 10! The doctor decided to let me stim for another night in the hopes that some of the smaller follicles will get a chance to catch up. At this point, I'd be thrilled with anything over 7 retrieved. I think this is because all of my full stim cycles at Cooper resulted in 7 eggs, and I didn't get pregnant.

Anyway, I trigger tomorrow night (Thursday) morning, at 12:30am. Mark will be in the ER that night, and it's supposed to snow all day tomorrow...which means that I'll trigger myself. That just sounds weird. We have to be at SIRM at 9:45 on Friday morning, and retrieval will be at 10:30. If all goes well, my transfer will be on Wednesday of next week.

Oh, here I go again...

Monday, February 8, 2010

Day 7 of Stims, First Follie Check

Well, I left the house super early as I wasn't sure what the roads would be like after our 30 inches of snow this weekend! My appointment was for 10am, and I walked into the office at 9am. Thankfully, they saw me right away.

Well, my lining is 8mm....which means that my POM juice concoction and pomegranate extract pills are doing the trick. I have 6 follicles measuring between 13-15, 4 measuring around 10mm, and a few smaller than 10mm. I'm trying not to be disappointed...after all, my last few IVFs at Cooper all produced around 7 follicles. Guess I was just wishing for a completely different experience.

Mark tells me that it's still early, but it's been 7 full days of stims. I'm going to guestimate that they will retrieve 7 eggs, 6 will be mature, and 5 will fertilize with icsi. Seems like I've been here a million times before : ( For now, I continue with my 225 of follistim, and go back tomorrow for another check.

I was relieved when they told me to come back tomorrow, as the area is supposed to get hit with another foot of snow on Wednesday. I was freaking all weekend about how I was going to drive 1.5 hours up to North Jersey in the snow!

Anyway, I'm home now and waiting for my home healthcare nurse to come over this afternoon to administer my intralipid infusion. I'm a little nervous as she thinks it will take about 4 hours!!! The last time I had it done, it took 1 hour. Ugh, today is going to be a long day. Am I going to have to entertain the stranger in my house for 4 hours?? Ugh, I hope not.

Ok, I'll check in again tomorrow with an update...but I'm guessing that I will trigger Thursday night and have a Saturday retrieval. Wish me luck!

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Lucky Number 7??

So, it's official. I start my follistim and baby aspirin tomorrow. That means, I'm officially starting my 7th IVF rollercoaster. I am strangely excited, but as always, a little nervous. SIRM doesn't monitor as often as Cooper did. In fact, I go in on day 3 of stims for just blood work. Nobody will be checking out my ovaries until cycle day 8. How insane is that?? But, then again, maybe it's better if I'm in the dark with what my body is doing...then I can't obsess over number of follicles, etc.

So, this is it...away we go! I'll probably check in next Monday, after my first stim follie ultrasound. Fingers and toes crossed!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Do I Detect Some Optimism??

It's the strangest feeling after our 6th ivf cycle. I really felt like I wouldn't be able to get excited about fertility treatments again...yet, I started my lupron this morning for ivf #7, and I'm actually optimistic.

We are finally at an office that takes our not getting pregnant pretty seriously. We have 3 ivfs here with unlimited FETs, and I LOVE the staff. I'm not saying that I think I'm going to get pregnant with our first cycle here, but I definitely have hope again.

Since today was my first day of my lupron injections, I'm dubbing this the official start of ivf 7. Good thoughts are always appreciated : - )

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Back On, Baby!

Well, will wonders never cease! When we got back from Jamaica (which was relaxing but cloudy and cold), I had an email waiting for me from SIRM's office manager. Low and behold, when she finally talked to the management company of SIRM, they said that she could go ahead and offer us the 3 ivf package deal, without the cashback option. So, on Thursday morning, I made all of our phone calls and by some miracle, we were still able to get into the February cycle. Could this be a sign that our luck is finally changing??

Anyway, I took off work on Friday and Mark and I drove up to Bedminster for some additional testing. I had my 3rd sonohysterogram and a mock transfer. Not surprisingly, my uterus looks fine (no fibroids, polyps, or scars). Mark had another semen analysis, but we aren't expecting any drastic changes since the last one. We had our meeting with the ivf nurse coordinator to go over my beautiful color coded medication calendar. Such fun! And, I officially start Lupron on Wednesday. I have to say, things seem to be looking up. It will be interesting to see how my cycle progresses with the new doctors.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to working out some more (I gained more weight on vacation) and watching the Golden Globes tonight : )

HAPPY 2010!