Chalkboard Background

Chalkboard Background

Monday, April 14, 2014

Round 2

On March 20, 2014 Lori and I went in for our first beta test to determine whether or not she was going to be expecting a baby in December. We found out that afternoon that we were not expecting. What followed for me over the next few days was a crazy amount of grieving. I cried a lot. Mostly in the privacy of my bathroom where my two children and husband couldn't see. My husband was amazing and allowed me to go through the grief cycle in private but made sure to frequently touch base over those couple of days with lots of hugs and rest. Lori and I really didn't feel like talking with each other or really anybody that weekend. We sent a few texts back and forth just trying to coordinate a time for a good conversation but that conversation didn't happen until Sunday. Both of us were just so emotionally exhausted that Sunday was really the first day either of us could process what to do next.

Saturday night, March 22, Lori had sent me a text but I didn't receive it until the following morning after church due to my chronically dead phone. Here's how the conversation for round #2 started....



Immediately my phone rang :) (Quick note, my husband really is that awesome!!!!) Lori and I talked about if we were really sure we didn't want compensation for the pregnancy and I said absolutely yes. If that's all it took for them to try again then the money wasn't worth it. IVF is soooo expensive. Most people who choose to go this route to build a family have the money to pay for it. We're talking $20,000+ to do IVF and that doesn't include if you need to use a surrogate or if you attempt a transfer more then once. And for all of us this decision was made fairly quickly so there were not years, or even months to save up for it. The way things have played out with the egg donor and my personal calendar has caused things to move extremely fast. So every little bit we can all save to make this cheaper is huge. This is definitely a team effort :)

She said she would need to verify with Josh but that if we were really sure we wanted to offer this for free then they could come up with the money it would take to pay all of the travel expenses and fees associated with thawing and transferring the embryo. All of this was decided and confirmed by Sunday evening. The doctor was emailed that next morning and within just a couple of hours I started to bleed. 

Even though I was so extremely excited to try this again the bleeding got two me. This was my body's final rejection of the two precious babies we had transferred just a couple of weeks earlier. It's such a strange thing going through all of this. I have pictures of the two babies that we transferred and although they didn't have little faces yet or anything to resemble an infant I still see them in my mind and tear up when I think of them. 

As soon as I started bleeding we knew we needed to act fast to get me the medication needed for round two. By Tuesday afternoon I had the meds in hand. This time we have decided to go the delestrogen injection route. My body did not respond as well as we wanted to the Estradiol tablets so now I'm taking Estradiol Valerate Injection through my lower hip every three nights. I've heard horror stories from other women who have gone through the shots. They can be painful and cause knots under your skin because the medication is injected with oil. So far I've had zero side effects aside from a little soreness just after receiving a shot. The injections are intramuscular so they feel like a flu shot. Same kind of muscle ache too afterward. Paul bought me a heating pad though and I really believe that's what has helped me not have any pain afterward. The heat from the heating pad helps the oil melt into my muscle and not stay in one place. I've been so blessed that I have not needed to give myself an injection. I have a friend who is a pharmacist so she has given me several, a cousin who is a paramedic so she has done one, my hubby Paul has done one, and Lori has rescued me a couple of times and given me two. Also, shout out to all of the women who have been so encouraging through this process. Each of them have also gone through the shots and have been my emotional sisters through all of this. You know who you are :)
The pink needle on the right is for drawing up the medication. The grey needle on the left is for the actual injection.

The needle we stick in my tushy is almost the length of my pinky finger. The needle is 1 1/2" long but is only inserted 1". (Pharmacy accidentally sent me the wrong length)

 Paul's cousin Lindsay (the paramedic) giving an injection at her birthday party.

Lori came over late last night so poor Paul didn't have to do it. That look of excitement on her face was really more a look of "I'm so sorry so I'm going to smile through it to help ease the pain!"

My first appointment to check my lining is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 16 at 9:00 am. Prayers would be greatly appreciated! We are hoping for a nice thick squishy uterus. To best optimize the chances of implantation, studies have shown that the endometrial thickness should be 6 mm or more. Best implantation rates in in vitro fertilization have been shown to be with lining thickness of 10 mm or more but there are many studies to show that implantation can occur with endometrial thickness as low as 5mm - just not as easily. The week prior to our transfer my lining was at 8 mm. We are assuming it was 9 mm at transfer but do not know for sure. We would really like a 10 mm read this week!!! I've been taking all of the shots regularly and am drinking two cups of organic raspberry leaf tea which some of my surro friends swear by. 

No comments:

Post a Comment