Sharing the News with H and B

Thanks to some Dunkin iced coffee, I am not napping today. It's a miracle!! I decided I had better get some ish done, like catching up on the blog posts I've had on the agenda for the last week weeks. First up, how we told the big siblings to be the exciting news.

When I was going through IVF we told Harrison and Brooke that I was going to be having tummy surgery. Not too far off, and since telling them "Mommy is going to have a giant needle stuck through her lady bits, and then they're going to put a couple babies in there," isn't really something they would understand, it worked. They we're very good about understanding my limitations. They were careful of my stomach and understood that I could run and play like usual or pick them up.

Once we got to our fist ultrasound and saw everything was ok, I started picking them up again and was willing to rough house a little bit more. Once that happened, they lost sight of being careful around my stomach and I wound up getting kicked, hit, and climbed on way too much. My belly was already super sensitive, and no matter how many time I reminded them, they just forgot.

We were planning to wait as long as possible to tell them, but around 11 weeks I decided it was time to share the news. Robbie was not ready, but I was and we'd already had three good ultrasounds. I was hoping that if they had a reason to be careful around my stomach, that I'd get less feet the the baby belly. I ordered a few big brother/big sister books from Amazon, put them in a gift bag, and we shared the news. I don't know that they really got it at first, but they are definitely starting too.

They ask all the time if the babies are here yet, and we have to remind them the babies won't be here until Christmas. Then they ask if it's Christmas yet. They are both interested in the babies and often ask what they're doing. Harrison especially is all about knowing what the babies are doing, or if they like something. "Do the babies like fireworks? Do they like this song?" I think it will be really fun for them once they can feel the babies, and the babies can hear sound. I look forward to the kids waking me up every morning because they crawl into bed and snuggle with the babies and I. They ask if the babies are still sleeping and if they're hungry. Seriously so sweet, and for the record they always sleep and are always hungry.

If you ask Brooke if she wants brothers sisters or both, she always says sisters. Harrison initially responded with babies, and that was his response for a couple weeks. Now his answer changes from brothers to a brother and a sister. Only 4 more weeks until we find out!

They have both gotten much better about not climbing on my belly, and being careful when they're sitting next to me. I still have to remind them to keep their elbows from stabbing me, but it's so much better than it was before we told them. They also understand that the babies can make me not feel well. Brooke was lucky enough to walk in on me bent over the toilet. She asked if the babies were making me sick, and then came and rubbed my back while I threw up. The sweetest!

I've included my terrible shot iPhone video of us telling the kids. I was concentrating on them, and not to my phone, so you get half of Harrison's face, and no Brooke. Oh well, you can still hear their reactions, and tell that they mostly just cared about what was in their bags. Typical kids.

Books: I'm a Big Brother/Sister, Babies Don't Eat Pizza, The New Baby 

10 Weeks

How Far Along - 10 weeks
Total Weight Gain - Still at 2 pounds
Maternity Clothes - I did wear a couple of my maternity tanks this week. They are extra long, and really good at covering the hair tie trick on my jeans. I have a feeling they'll be getting worn pretty frequently from here on out.
Sleep - Better than last week, but still not as soundly as I'd like. Today was the first day I didn't pass out immediately at nap time, so I think maybe the every day nap will soon become a thing of the past. I'm not giving up on naps quite yet though. I love a good nap.
Cravings - I had a totally random craving for tater tots today. We planned our dinner around it, and then I barely ate any. My intake is still mostly carbs, fruits, and veggies. And a nightly bowl of ice cream, or slice of pie as is the case tonight.
Symptoms - Lots of tummy issues still. I unfortunately experienced my first upchuck session of this pregnancy yesterday. I'm hoping it was a one time occurrence.
Purchases - I've been keeping shopping to a minimum. Nothing new this week.
Miss Anything - The ability to eat a meal and not sound like a frat boy belching up a storm. I'm so ladylike lately.
Looking Forward To - My first OB appointment is on Tuesday, and it starts with an ultrasound. Unless there's a cause for concern, I'm pretty sure this will be the last time we see the babies for another 8 weeks. :( After so many ultrasounds in the span of a few short weeks, that seems like forever.

9 Weeks

Today was our final appointment with our RE's office. We got to see two healthy babes with great heartbeats. One of them even gave us a little wave and some kicks. Since everything looks good, we got the release from our RE. It's very bittersweet. We love our RE, but are excited that things are progressing well enough that we get the release. On a super exciting note, I get to stop my suppositories. Hell to the yea!!

How Far Along - 9 weeks 2 days
Total Weight Gain - Up 2 pounds
Maternity Clothes - Not yet, but I have a feeling we're not too far off. Most pants require the hair tie trick. Lots of maxi dresses and loose fitting tanks are getting extra wear.
Sleep - Not as well as I'd like. I've been getting in a nap everyday, and sleep great at nap time. Bed time is a different story though. I can't get comfy, and the dogs make me extremely hot. They may be getting the boot from bed sooner rather than later.
Cravings - Nothing really. I've still been relying pretty heavily on carbs, and mixing in lots of fresh fruit and veggies.
Symptoms - Headaches have thankfully gone away. I'm still tired all the time. It's 10:30 now and I'm already looking forward to naps. my stomach is still all kinds of messed up. Brooke and Harrison are constantly saying "excuse you," because I'm burping all the time.
Purchases - I picked up a Snoogle yesterday, but I'm still not sure if I'm going to use it. I've heard lots of mixed reviews when it comes to supporting a twin belly later on in pregnancy.
Miss Anything - Energy. I'm ready to be able to make it through the day without feeling exhausted.
Looking Forward To - Telling H and B about the babies. They still don't know yet, and Rob and I haven't agreed on when is the right time to tell them. Today he suggested we wait until 7 months.

Double Trouble

Remember my post yesterday about how I thought I was carrying just one baby? Yeah, mama's intuition isn't always right. We will have two additions to our family at the end of the year. Twins again!!

Our ultrasound started out with just Dr. Bopp, the ultrasound tech, Robbie and I. We talked for a minute or two and then it was down to business. 15 seconds into the ultrasound, before we'd even seen a full view of my uterus, Dr. Bopp asked, "How do you feel about twins?" My reaction? I cried. I was so expecting to see one baby, two was a shock. It shouldn't have been, but it was.

Once we saw two healthy babies, all of the nurses came in to join us, and we had 7 adults squeezed into the ultrasound room. I absolutely love everyone at our RE's office, and it's awesome that they were all so excited for us. We had healthy heartbeats of 154 and 151. Baby A is measuring 7w3d and Baby B is measuring 7w5d. Right on target, and absolutely perfect. We go back in for a second ultrasound in two weeks, and it will probably take me that long to wrap my head around the fact that come Christmastime, we'll be a family of 6.

Once Robbie and I were in the room alone and I had gotten all my tears out, seriously I was such a mess, Robbie told me we were going to need a bigger house. I told him I needed start eating more. It looks like we have some work to do.

Thoughts on Twins x 2

When we went through our first round of IVF, I knew twins were a possibility, but never really considered that we would have twins. When we found out we were expecting twins, I joined a well known pregnancy message board, and started asking all kinds of questions. All of the women were kind and welcoming to other moms of multiples.

Every once in a while a newly expectant mom or a hopefully soon to be mom would come into the group and express their desire to have twins. Then the long time members of the group would rip the soon to be mom apart for the mere mention of her desire for twins. I get it, I do. Carrying multiples automatically makes you high risk, and having multiple babies is a lot of work. 

When we were going through the planning stage of our current IVF cycle, of course the possibility of twins came up. Our first cycle worked so well, and there was no reason to think this one wouldn't as well. I absolutely love having twins, so without much hesitation we jumped at the possibility to have another set. It made me think of all those moms to be who said they wanted twins. I get it. It's amazing. Having two babies is a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun, and twice the blessings. Even on days when Harrison is acting like the Incredible Hulk and Brooke is tormenting him on purpose, I still love it and would do it all over again. 

We will be going in for our ultrasound tomorrow morning, and will know if we are expecting one or two babies. I fully believe I am carrying one baby. I've had a few dreams about singleton babies this go round, and my symptoms have been milder so far. Maybe that means absolutely nothing, but that's where my head is at. I think I've come to terms with a singleton this go round, so I will be pretty shocked if we see more than one tomorrow.

Robbie on the other hand is dead set it's twins again, and wants to hear nothing of the possibility it's not. He loves parenting twins as much as I do, and he's ready to do it all over again. 

A few weeks ago, before anyone other than us knew we were pregnant, I was at lunch with on of my best girlfriends. Harrison and Brooke were playing with Hot Wheels cars and coloring on their menus. They were behaving, and we were enjoying conversation without the constant interruption of a fussy child who needed something. I had my first "oh shit" moment of this pregnancy. Realizing how settled we are in our life and routines. How easy it is to decide to grab lunch last minute, and take an hour out of our day. A baby is going to change that, which is amazing and scary at the same time. Two more babies will really change it. I literally thought, "What did we do," and then I realized we sat in that exact restaurant when H and B were 4 months old. I nursed them, they dozed in their car seats, and a beer, pizza, and conversation were enjoyed then too. 

I know this is kind of a bunch of rambling, but I have a lot on my mind tonight.  Tomorrow is a big day, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on potential outcomes. Either way, I know we've got this. 

I hope all of you have a lovely Memorial Day weekend. We didn't do much, in fact the kids ran around in their underwear all day today. :) 

Thank you to all of the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this great country. We remember and celebrate your lives today.

7 Weeks

How Far Along - 7 weeks
Total Weight Gain - No weight gain since our positive beta. I did gain 3 pounds during our IVF cycle, but I'm going to pretend that doesn't count.
Maternity Clothes - Not yet, although I did order a few new maternity tanks and tees when Gap had them on sale for $8.00. I can still still fit in most of my clothes without a problem. My favorite mid rise Express jeans have been on the hair tie program since about 5 weeks,
Sleep - A mix of insomnia and super sound sleep. I've had a couple nights with random 3 am wake ups that keep me up until 5am. otherwise it's in bed by 10pm and awake whenever the kids get up, around 7am.
Cravings - Carbs. carbs. amd more carbs. If it were up to this belly, all I would eat would be everything bagels smothered with cream cheese. I've been trying to not eat all the carbs, so things like breakfast burritos or bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches have been stepping in. Can you tell I'm all about breakfast food?
Symptoms - Tired all the time. By 9 am I'm already ready for a nap. Thank goodness H and B give me some downtime each day. All day nausea. I thankfully haven't been sick yet, but I feel queasy all day. If I'm not eating, I feel sick, and it doesn't matter how much, how little, or what I eat. I just always feel sick. My boobs were the first indicator I was pregnant, but that's all I'm going to say about that. :) Headaches have reared their ugly head the last couple days too.
Purchases - Aside from the amazing deal from Gap, nope. No purchases until after our ultrasound, and really, we already have everything. I anticipate very few purchases this go round.
Miss Anything - Feeling normal, and Grapefruit Shandy.
Looking Forward To - Our ultrasound on Tuesday! I can't wait to see if there is one or two beans growing in there. I'm also hoping we get the green light to stop estrogen and progesterone on Tuesday.

The Results Are In

We're pregnant! No ish about it. After too many at home tests, and two blood draws with our baby doctor, we're officially pregnant.

Shirts

I wasn't sure if I was going to test at home or not. I really thought I wanted to wait until our beta, but one trip to Target changed my mind. I started testing at 2dp5dt, 2 days past 5 day transfer, which equates to 7DPO, 7 days past ovulation. I thought I would still have some HCG from our trigger injection in my system, and sure enough I did. I got a faint positive followed by a full negative on 3dp5dt. After a full negative I knew any lines on a test would mean we were pregnant. Low and behold, faint line on 4dp5dt. We were pretty excited, but still cautious. 5dp5dt brought an even darker line. YAY!

I continued testing up until the day before our beta, and in all honesty that was a mistake. I started reading into the darkness of the lines too much. 7dp5dt was lighter than 6dp5dt, and all of the bad possibilites entered my mind. Then came Dr. Google which is always a bad idea. I bought more tests which did help to ease my mind. Seeing the word pregnant on a Clear Blue didgital test helps to put things into perspective. I am pregnant. Enjoy it. Stop worrying.

Monday morning I went in for our first beta. I got the call from my doctor at 4pm that afternoon that we were pregnant. Our first number came in at 230 which was a great starting point. My mind eased up a little after that call. I went in for a repeat yesterday, and our HCG was up to 423 and progesterone was over 40. Ok, now it's becoming real.

We have almost 3 weeks until we go in for our first ultrasound, which seems like forever but I know will be here in the blink of an eye. We are waiting to tell Brooke and Harrison about the baby until then. Tonight we get to do my last progesterone injection, which is cause enough to celebrate. YAY! The suppositories that replace the injection are not so great, but it's better than an inch and a half long needle in my butt cheek each night. So far I'm feeling good. A little extra tired, and a lot of extra thankful that H and B still take daily naps.

We went out for an early Mother's Day dinner with our parents and shared the news with them this evening. Now that they know, we are ready to share it with the world. Even though we're not even 5 weeks along yet, we're ready to enjoy this pregnancy. Welcome to the family baby, or babies!

Embryo Transfer

Wednesday afternoon I got the call from our fertility clinic's Indy office that our transfer would be bright and early on Friday morning. I was planning a pre-transfer acupuncture session which meant we had to be there even earlier. We dropped off the kids at my parents Thursday night and headed home for an early bedtime. 

Friday morning we were on the road by 5:15am. A coffee and gas stop later along with a two hour drive, and I was in the door for my acupuncture appointment at 7:15. I was a little nervous about the transfer to come, but after acupuncture, I was only excited. I don't know if it was because I really needed it, or if the acupuncturist was that great, but it was the best acupuncture session I've ever had. I was rested, recentered, and ready to go. 

I was done just in time for us to head back to the ART suite and get changed into hospital gear. I took my Valium, drank some water, and we waited our turn. I don't know if it was the Valium kicking in, or just boredom, but I had a little too much fun with my cap. Robbie and I kept each other laughing to pass the time, and before we knew it they told us it was time to go back. 

They had us walk back to the transfer room. In the room with Robbie and I were Dr. Bopp, a nurse, the ultrasound tech, and an embryologist. They did a mock transfer first so they could see how the catheter would insert and where to place the embryos. Then the embryologist handed Dr. Bopp the catheter with the embryos inside. The catheter was fed into my uterus and then the embryos were released. They watch everything on the ultrasound monitor to make sure the embryos were placed into the ideal location. The embryologist checked to make sure both embryos made it out of the catheter, and then it was back to our suite room. I got the royal treatment and was wheeled back in a wheel chair.

I was able to use the restroom and get dressed right away. After stealing our doctor for a few quick pictures, they released us to go. They won't let you walk out, so into the wheel chair I went, and Robbie and I were gone within 30 minutes after the transfer was done.

We loved The Cake Bake Shop so much that we deemed a return trip necessary. Robbie talked it up at work so much that he took back lots of cookies to hand out. I chose carrot cake, a few macaroons, and a magic bar. They're sadly all gone, and there are no trips to Indy in our near future. :(

I slept for about half of the ride home, and before I knew it were were getting off the interstate. The dogs were crazy when we got home. They acted like we'd been gone for days, not just a few hours. Robbie had to head into work, so the dogs and I set up camp on the couch and watched Mad Men all day, and all day Saturday. We picked up a lot of soup from The OG on Thursday night, so I ate soup for two days straight while lounging around. It was surprisingly quiet and boring around the house without Harrison and Brooke. I was glad when they got home Saturday night.

Yesterday we got out to run a few errands, and I made dinner, but overall I'm still taking it pretty easy. I have an acupuncture appointment this morning, but nothing else planned for the day. maybe a short walk with the kids this afternoon. They've been really good about respecting my limitations. They still ask to be picked up and for me to run around with them, but when I remind them I can't they seem to understand.

So while we aren't technically pregnant, we're pregnant until proven otherwise. I'll live in my happy little pregnancy bubble for the time being, and hopefully it won't burst. A successful transfer isn't a 100% guarantee, but we have about a 70% chance of this cycle working, so the odds are in our favor. I go in sometime over the next couple weeks to get a pregnancy test drawn at my RE's office. We won't be sharing any news, good or bad, until we get a confirmation from the doctor and we share with our families first. As always, I am open to answering and questions, and you can follow along with daily updates on Instagram (@jennpargeon)

Thank you SO MUCH to all of you for your kind words, well wishes, positive vibes, thoughts, and prayers. They really do mean the world to us. We love and appreciate ever single one.

Egg Retrieval

Friday morning I had a bright and early 8am monitoring session. We were up to 10 follicles over 18mm, so I was pretty sure we were going to trigger that night. So were all of the nurses. Sure enough, I got that call that afternoon that my estrogen levels were over 4,000 and that I was to do my trigger shot that night. The trigger shot finalizes the maturation process so the eggs are ready for retrieval. It has to be timed exactly 36 hours before egg retrieval. We did a 5,000 iu shot of Pregnyl for our trigger. I mixed it up, iced my bum, then made Robbie watch me do the injection. He looked like he was about 2 seconds from passing out.

Saturday was business as usual. No injections, YAY!! Our retrieval time was 8:45am Sunday morning and we needed to arrive an hour early. Our alarms went off at 5am and we were out the door by 5:45.We both managed to stay awake through the entire drive. We arrived at the Carmel office at 7:40. We signed in and were immediately taken back to the ART suite.

I got dressed in my sexy gown, socks, and cap. There was a warm blanket too, so it wasn't all bad. The nurse took my blood pressure, placed and IV, and then we got to sit and wait. We talked to the anesthesiologist, and embryologist, and then our RE, Dr. Bopp, came in. We were the second retrieval of the morning, I feel bad for whoever had to be there before 7, so we sat in our room and bided our time until it was time to go back.

When I walked back to the operating room, Robbie went off with his sterile cup to make his contribution. This is how babies are made people. ;) After I was on the operating table, the nasal cannula was placed and the good drugs started flowing through my IV. Dr. Bopp came in and asked if I wanted him to sing me some Neil Diamond. I remember saying yes, and then it was lights out. 

The procedure itself only takes about 15 minutes. I don't know how long it was until I woke up, but Robbie was back in the room when I did. The nurse was in almost immediately. She brought me pain meds, Teddy Grahams, and apple juice. I felt like I won the after surgery snack lotto. Once my snacks were done, the nurse made sure I could sit up on the edge of the bed for a few minutes. They let us know 14 eggs were retrieved, and that they would call us tomorrow with the fertilization report. Then I got dressed, and we took off.

We made a quick stop at The Cake Bake Shop in Broadripple before we headed north. I had been dying to go here since one of my IG friends posted a picture a couple months ago. The decor, the pastries, and even their packaging is all amazing. If you have the chance, GO! I don't know that we'll have time, but I'm hoping maybe we can stop in again before or after transfer.

As soon as we hit the interstate, I started feeling nauseous. I was hoping for a little iced decaf caramel machiatto action, but I opted for just a buttered croissant that I scarfed down in a gas station parking lot while Robbie got me Gatorade. I cuddled up with my pillow and fell asleep as soon as we started moving again. We made it home just in time to pick the kids up before their nap.

Brooke and Harrison both brought me a few daffodils from Grandma's garden. They were so excited to give them to me. It was adorable, and definitely my favorite part of the day. I was pretty sore for the rest of the day, so movement was limited. I was still sore enough on Monday that I took some Vicodin when I woke up. Today I am not as sore, but I am still very bloated and uncomfortable. I have been chugging Gatorade in hopes of keeping fluid out of my ovaries and abdomen. 

I got the call yesterday morning that of the 14 eggs, 11 were mature, and 8 fertilized with ICSI. Unless our embryos all take a steep decline, we are scheduled for a Friday blastocyst transfer. The Carmel office will be calling tomorrow with our transfer time for Friday. I got all set up with Indiana Reproductive Acupuncture, so I will be having acupuncture done before our transfer.

We started a new set of meds yesterday, but only one injection. Unfortunately it's a 1.5" needle intramuscular injection. Robbie was a little nervous, but he did a great job last night giving me the injection. He hadn't had to do any injections through either of our IVF cycles up until last night. 

Our next few days around here will be pretty quiet as I try to rest, and we get things ready before I am on bed rest for a couple days, and the kids have their longest stay away from home. Two full days at Grandma's, and maybe an extra night depending on our transfer time. As always, news makes it to Instagram well before it makes it to the blog, so feel free to follow along @jennpargeon.

IVF #2 Update

We are just over a week into stimulating for IVF, and things are going well so far. We got off to a little bit of a rocky start, but we're smooth sailing now. When I went in for my monitoring appointment last Thursday, there were only 11 follicles that were growing, and my estrogen levels were at 82. That's really low, and not what they like to see. So they upped my meds and told me to come back in two days.

My appointment on Saturday was met with better results. Estrogen levels were approaching 300, and a couple follicles had reached the 10mm mark. We're aiming for 18-22mm, so still a ways to go. At yesterday's appointment, there were 26 follicles at 6mm or higher, and 2 of those were at 15mm, and my estrogen was at 753. Things are looking good. 

When they upped my meds, I went to 187.5iu of Menopur and 200iu of Follistim per day. We were tentatively scheduled for retrieval on Friday, but I have a feeling they're going to push us a day. The slow start put us behind enough that I thing we're looking at Saturday. I go back in tomorrow for another ultrasound and more blood work, and we'll know tomorrow afternoon if we will be triggering that night, or if we'll continue with stims. 

By Sunday morning, I was really starting to feel the bloat come on. Something as simple as chasing the kids around the playground, or giving them underdog pushes on the swings has become difficult. Monday morning I decided it was time to give up on real pants for the rest of this cycle. My jeans still button without a fight, but man do yoga pants feel so much better. 

We've been telling Brooke and Harrison that mommy is going to have tummy surgery and that's why I can't pick them up or run around with them. They seem to respond to that logic, but it's hard to not be able to pick them up. We've been trying to get out of the habit for a couple months now, but it's tough. I've still been picking them up if they get hurt, but I won't carry them anymore if they ask for it, and after retrieval it will be no lifting at all. 5 lbs will be my limit.

I've been trying to be conscious of what I'm eating, but it's hard with 6724 pounds of Easter candy in the house. In the grand scheme of things, I know a couple pieces of candy per day won't make or break a cycle. I have been eating a lot of protein and healthy fats, along with fruits and vegetables. Hard boiled eggs, yay Easter, avocado, grilled meats, pistachios, Penne Pomo, because olive oil, and Virgin Marys with lots of olives are a few things I've been consuming in mass quantities over the last week. I've been drinking as much water as possible and have also been upping my milk intake. I know I need to kick my decaf coffee to the curb, but I swear my days go better with a cup of decaf. I know I didn't worry too much about any of this last time around, but this cycle feels so different. So final.

Other than being sore and bloated, I am feeling really good. No crazy hormonal side effects and no headaches. I'll hopefully go in tomorrow and see lots of follicles approaching the 18mm mark. I'm ready for my last day or two of stims, and then the dreaded PIO starts. Bring it on!

Let The Stims Begin

There is a lot of waiting involved with IVF, and infertility treatment in general. Waiting in the lobby, waiting for test results, waiting to save money, waiting until you can take a pregnancy test. As much as I hate the dreaded two week wait leading up to a pregnancy test, I hate waiting for cycle day one even more. It so tedious to wait for a new cycle to start. Knowing any moment it could happen, but it hasn't yet.

We made it through our suppression phase and are now onto the good stuff. Monday morning I went in for a baseline ultrasound and to get my estrogen levels check. The Lupron has been doing it's job, and my estrogen levels were at 35.8, they like to see less than 50. My lining is at 6mm, nice and thin, and we were able to see lots of visible follicles. 17 on the left and 18 on the right.

Once I was done getting poked and prodded, I got my calendar, was handed a stack of consent forms to go over, and handed over a big fat check. I was super excited when I left the office. Excited for 9pm to roll around so I could give myself a myriad of injections. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true. Right now I'm not anxious, I'm just excited. We've been through this before. For the most part I know what to expect, and at least for a few days, I'm in control. 

My nightly protocol now includes 5 units of Lupron, down from 10. 125 units of Follistim and 150 units of Menopur. Follistim is by far my favorite injection. Yes, I just said favorite injection. There's no mixing or measuring. You just click the pen to the right amount, screw on a needle, and shoot up. Menopur I could do without. It burns like a son of a you know what. Last night was my first time taking it, and I'm already over it.

I'll continue on with this regimen at least until Thursday. I go in Thursday morning for another ultrasound and blood draw. I'm then back on Saturday and again on Monday. We will hopefully see quite a few follicles growing. If they're growing too fast, too slow, or if my Estrogen levels are off, they will tweak the med dosages.

Right now we are tentatively looking at retrieval on Friday the 17th and transfer on Wednesday the 22nd. That can definitely change depending on how I respond to the meds, but I think last cycle we were pretty spot on with the calendar. We had 20 eggs retrieved, 19 that fertilized, and 5 that made it to blastocyst transfer or freeze. Similar results this time around would be fantastic!

I have been continuing with weekly acupuncture appointments and will continue with those at least through transfer. If you did acupuncture to accompany IVF, how often did you do it while you were stimming, and did you keep going after transfer? I need to ask about it on Thursday, but I'm curious as to how often others did it.

I probably won't do another IVF blog post until we for sure know when retrieval will be. I will however be overgramming, as per usual. You can follow me on Instagram (@jennpargeon) for the daily play by play.

Medication Start Date

We officially have a start date for injections. March 25th is when I'll be taking my first dose of Lupron. Come 9:00 that evening you'll find me with an ice pack, a syringe, and a vial full of drugs. I'm excited to start, but most of all I'm anxious. I don't remember feeling like this last go round. My heart was racing on the drive to an appointment at my RE's office. I thought it was because I was rushing to make it there on time, but I had a hard time settling down even after I was seated in the waiting room. It wasn't until I was sitting across the table from my favorite nurse that my heart rate started to slow.

Even typing about it now has me a little worked up. I don't know if it's because we're paying out of pocket, if it's because I know it's our last fresh cycle, or if it's because there are so many other things going on in our lives right now. I do know that I've never been more thankful for an acupuncture appointment. During Thursday's acupuncture session, I could feel my entire body relax. I didn't even care about the fact that I drank to much water before my appointment and it felt like my bladder was about to explode. I was beyond relaxed.

140. That's how many needles I received in my oversized box of medication. I will thankfully not be using all of them, but yikes! 

I received my huge box of medications on Wednesday. There was something oddly comforting about unpacking all of the vials and syringes. A sense of having done this before and being back on familiar territory. Since there are a couple new drugs in my protocol this time, I met with Brook at Dr. Bopp's office on Thursday to go over mixing and injecting the new drugs. Everything seems straight forward enough, but it was nice to have a little crash course. Menoupr is the biggest new one this go round. I have to mix liquid with powder, and then once it becomes a liquid, it then gets mixed with even more powder. It's not hard to do, but definitely a process I was happy to have laid out visually in front of me.

So now we're just biding our time over the next week and a half. I wonder if the kids have any sense of big things to come?  We aren't going to be telling them anything about what's going on until after a couple positive ultrasounds, but I do think they've noticed that mommy has been spending a lot of time visiting the doctor. Once we start monitoring, I'm sure they'll be coming to appointments with me, so I'm sure there will be some questions then. Although, maybe I'm over thinking it and it will be no big deal to them.

I am gladly taking suggestions on your best relaxation techniques. If you've done a fresh cycle with kids before, I'd also love any advice you have on answering questions regarding the process. Hit me with some answers, please!