2007 - Finally - it happens!

So now its summer 2007 and we have been waiting to start the IVF process for nearly 9 months.   I am finally clear of fibroids, our tests are completed, so now we can start!  It takes a couple more months to do "prep cycles" to get your body on a schedule.  I take birth control pills to do this - funny isn't it??  The only time I take BC pills is when medicine is helping try to conceive.

Dan and I take an injections class with a nurse so that we can learn how to shoot up with the medications needed for ovarian stimulation.  The first kind of shot is where I inject into my abdomen - the only time I am grateful to have some inches to pinch!   The second kind is the tougher one - where inject progesterone into a muscle - either upper thigh or rear-end!  We choose the butt!

So we start those - the first time I have to do it myself I have a Silpada show - and I have to do it at her house becasuse of the time of day we chose.  I am in her bathroom counting down "1, 2, 3 - go".  I do this many times before  I have the guts to push the needle in.  I hear women whispering "where is she - is she ok?" in the background.

We get through the stimulation shots in about 10 days.  I get dizzy each day and my belly swelled up. I go in every other day for untrasounds to check the maturing egg follicles on my ovaries.   They are worried that I am over-stimulating - so they dial back on the meds.   I feel weird all day long.  Finally we have the egg retrieval sugery - although I am sick and throwing up on the way to the hospital - I have never puked on a freeway median before.

Coming out of surgery I hear congrats - they got 28 eggs - WAY above the average of 10.  We are thrilled!  I am in amazing pain though - so get some vicadin - which worked like a charm so I could go home to bed.   A few days later we are excited to learn that 22 of the eggs fertilized, and we have a total of 9 Grade "A" embros - amazing.  Dan and I are convinced we will have twins when they implant 2 of them in early October.  It is very cool to see them travel through the catheter and into the uterus - they do an ultrasound during the "embryo transfer" procedure so that you can see everything happening.  We even got to see close up pictures of the embryos - at this point 16-cell blastocysts - like a real life science class!   We take the picture of our possible children home and post them on the refrigerator as a visual reminder of our goal.

Now the wait begins.  2 Weeks til we take a PG test.  To make the wait longer - I am put on bed-rest due to the overstimulation.  We get through it though!