And now we wait.....

The good news is everything was smooooooth! 
We woke up after prepping for this day with a plan and jumped into action! Lucy went to hang with Gran and she was soooo excited! 

I have this same picture from Lucy's transfer. <3

   Matt and I calmly made our way to Fertility and Endocrine where they were ready and excited to see us! I forced Matt to take all the pictures we wanted and then my nurse Donna offered to be the photographer and forced him into a few more! 
The actual transfer process is so simple after all the preparing and planning. I relax, lay down and in the embryo goes! Matt hangs out with me the whole time and the doctors and I chat about how darling Lucy is! The embryo came through the little drive through window, just like Lucy did. Our embryologist was different this time but he was so great. He was very confident in the embryo I picked out and even gave us a photo while explaining why this little ice crystal was perfect! This embryo had no issues thawing and was already starting to hatch from its shell. It's funny how different this embryo looks from Lucy being an embryo and... how freaking cool is science that I can even compare them?!?!?! They have the same grade and also grew for the same about of days as a blastocysts.

     I rested in bed for 30 minutes after the transfer then it was up and out to lunch! We ate the Cheesecake Factory for the first time ever, kind of a celebration. I also ate CHOCOLATE CAKE....which I haven't had in so long and it was amazingly good. You are told to relax, rest and not lift over 10 lbs- no horseback riding or walking large dogs for at least three days. Sooooo,  I am resting and relaxing! I am eating left over chocolate cake and Matt is lifting Lucy.... which is kind of breaking my momma heart. After Saturday, restrictions are less harsh, but only "walking" for exercise. I have to stick with the vitamins, estrogen, and of course the progesterone injections. I get to act like any other pregnant person (who wouldn't even know they were pregnant if it was natural conception....).

    So the next step is waiting and being chill. I'm eating pineapple core, raspberries, goji berries and wearing cute socks to keep all the heat in my body and blood circulating! I did talk to Dr Krause about all the things I was doing, she smiled while reassuring me we have done everything possible to make this a success and then laughed a little with me at all the "tricks" that help with IVF.

     We will be taking a vacation soon and the date to find out the result falls during the trip. My doctor is awesome though and has already written out orders for blood tests at a lab while we are out of town....isn't she amazing? There is also the option of taking a home pregnancy test and finding out "maybe" results. I did not test until I went back to the doctors office with Lucy and that was great. We may be able to tell by home pregnancy test, but the blood test will be a definite answer, no question about it. I think I can handle waiting.... and I also need the definite answer, no maybes. Buuuut I could know sooner if I did the test on my own.... decisions, decisions. 
Here's what is happening while we wait....

One step closer!

     I did it!! My body did it! Way to go! 
I had three chances(once a week checks) to have a lining that was thick enough to transfer an embryo and it took until the third check to make it happen. We were shooting for 7mm and we got 7.34! Yea! Thick enough to take the next step in this process. 
     So it turns out, tricking your body into thinking it could be pregnant is, well...tricky. Last go round we used the medication to stimulate egg production first, so my body thought we were cycling almost naturally and I produced my own estrogen which led to a lining of over 10mm- good stuff and no worries. This time around, I had to take so much estrogen and then more and then more when my body decided-fine, just give it to me so I don't have to work correctly. Ha! Between estrogen gel on my arms twice a day and taking estrogen pills four times a day, we did it! I also followed the advice from some IVF buddies of mine and drank pomegranate juice every day and upped my intake of vitamin E. When working out hard every day proved to not make the miracle happen- I did the opposite. I only worked out once this week and did one yoga class. I have no idea if any of this actually did the job, or if my body just needed time.....but it was worth a shot! I was so excited and relieved- it was instant relaxation when my doctor showed me the results. She was excited too, she's been working hard! We have ideal conditions and ideal embryos so we are moving on! 
     In order to make the transfer smoother and get the embryo allllll the way to where its supposed to call home, my doc had to put a stitch on my apparently, very stubborn, cervix. I am only documenting this so I remember if we do it again. Turns out, this happened last time too, but I was asleep from the harvesting of eggs and it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't a big deal today either- just a very small part of the process.
     So onto preparing for the transfer. I have gathered a pineapple, raspberries, goji berries, and comfy socks- all tools to preparing my body to accept and grow this embryo we will be transferring next week. I've researched and looked over my notes. I've scoured Pinterest and talked to my IVF warriors. I have compared the fresh transfer procedures to the frozen. I am so ready!! We start the intermuscular injections tomorrow night and I am actually excited and that makes me sound a little sicko. Ha! I also add three other medications onto the load of 5 things I am already taking daily- this is why none of this process is cheap or easy!
     I will be relaxing to the max after the transfer next week, and eating loads of fertility rich foods and keeping my feet warm. Although we don't know the gender of the embryo, we do know it had the same "grade" After the transfer we will still have to wait two weeks to know if the embryo stuck and if I will be pregnant- still so much waiting. (And THINKING POSITIVE THOUGHTS FOR A POSITIVE PREGNANCY TEST!) 

Also, Lucy is just as sweet and rotten as ever! Here's a reminder of how precious she is! 

Big goals!

     I've been very quiet on the blog since February...not because we haven't been up to anything but rather the opposite. We stay busy, you know this. :) 

     I have been obsessing-OB.SESS.ING. with my fitness, diet, nutrition, weight loss, muscle gain- all of it. I got a fitbit and I pay way too much attention to it. I have been working my ass off- literally and figuratively. I have been running after school three days a week, doing two workout videos everyday and meeting with a fitness group twice a week. I have been downing a drink mix in the morning and focusing on adding protein to my meals every time I eat. It has not killed me but I do not recommend it to anyone who is trying to have fun. And yet, its not enough or I haven't been doing it long enough to reach my goal weight. I am sooooo close though and I really think I can do it before my goal date. 

     So here's the deal! My goal date is in the beginning-ish of June. The beginning of June is my lining check to see if I have a hospitable place for a pregnancy to take place. My doctor and I have been working on it. I've started the medicines, vitamins and supplements to get it cozy, comfy. We have not started the progesterone injections though. We hope to start those after my visit and we are looking at the middle of June as a possible transfer estimate! That's right, no egg collection this time! With the embryos in the freezer, we should be able to thaw an egg, transfer and get that little beauty cookin'.  Even though we've done this IVF procedure before, it seems completely new and different because we are using a different method. Different medications and new schedules. Fresh transfer vs frozen transfer- whole different routine. 

     So the run down of the price I shared before (around $4,000) wasn't completely detailed enough to mention the $500 more for an ultrasound that is required before we get started. We knew the medication was a separate charge, so $500 for that too. Let's just go ahead and say, we've got a yard sale in our very near future with high hopes.....

     Even though we are thawing and transferring a frozen embryo- the chances of success are the same as a fresh transfer. Can you believe there's only a 50% chance that IVF will even work? That statistic is shocking to me every time I am reminded of it. So we will ask once more that our family and friends WILLLLLL this kiddo into existence with the positive thinking that got Lucy here and healthy!! We will be working this summer when school lets out to be stress free and gentle on my body and then resume the workout vibe as soon as we get that little positive sign on our pregnancy test. We love you all and we are sending BIG THANKS your way!

See those syringes, I 'm not even nervous.....

Of course, it's cuter in baskets and buckets! 

PERFECT! :) 

Lucy's love language (donuts)

Seventeen months!! This toddler thinks she's three.... She amazes me when it comes to following one step directions, like- how do you just do what I say? She's so big. The way she remembers things from October-- how is that possible?? She's awesome. The way she crumbles to the floor when I don't  let her in the bathroom with me....um.... reminder that she's one. :) 
The highlight of her little world right now is "Minnie, no-nos, peeeezz, muuuud, Dal!, Nee." Followed by giggles. Translation- Dallas took me out through the mud to feed Minnie (neighbors dog) donuts and pizza at Gran's house. Obviously she thinks its hilarious and will tell you all about it. 

She speaks so clearly that when we hear words that trip us up, it's a reminder of how little she is and how much she is taking in every day! No-nos are donuts and Nee is Gran and elmo is open (even though she can say o and pen)...so far, those are the tricky ones. She is a hoot. 
We are still singing Happy Birthday to everyone we know, just about every night. So if you feel some 'well wishes' coming your way, it's Lucy. 
She's also figured out how to challenge those directions she can follow...but she's so chill about it. 

For me and my goals- I'm halfway there! My goal was to be down 30 pounds before we planned our next IVF schedule and I've lost 15. So yay, I'm getting there. I've added work outs to my plan to get there faster! I'm starting to embrace the idea that we can almost plan the next baby's birthday...that's kind of neat, right? #ThinkPositive 


An added memory for this scrapbooking blog:

<3