10 Days of Encouragement: Day 10

 

Day 10

"May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

 

 

Today marks the last day in my 10 Days of Encouragement series. Today's verse is my favorite. Today I'm feeling very blessed and can feel His graciousness pouring down. Sunday, only a week post transfer, I got my positive! While I'm still very cautiously excited, this was a full week earlier from when I got my positive last time. The only symptom I've had is a horrible headache (I didn't have any symptoms last time). This is not like any other headache I've had and I find myself at times struggling to function, but I'll take it. I actually start to worry when the headache eases or goes away. I'll happily accept this headache and any other not so fun side effects that come with pregnancy.....I've been waiting for this for 2 years and I can't imagine any number of headaches, backaches, nausea or sickness could compare to the emotional pain of the last two years. It is still way early and I know anything could happen and take a turn for the worse at any time. I've tried to prepare myself for that, again. I do feel at peace and I know the Lord will take care of me and see me through. It is out of my hands at this point so I'm going to try to enjoy the happiness I feel in heart at this moment. My first beta (hcg blood test) is Friday. Hoping and praying for a strong, strong number!

 

Here are my test since my first positive. It has gradually gotten darker, which means my HCG levels are increasing.

10 Days Of Encouragement: Day 9

Day 9

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10

10 Days of Encouragement: Day 8

Day 8

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."

1 Peter 5:7

10 Days of Encouragement: Day 7

Day 7

"For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."

Psalm 100:5

10 Days of Encouragement: Day 6

Day 6

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Hebrews 11:1

10 Days of Encouragement: Day 5

Day 5

"Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."

Romans 5:5

Dr. Google

I have a bad habit of asking Dr. Google anything and everything. Sometimes I like the answers I find and sometimes not so much. The past few days, I've been looking for the earliest someone has gotten a positive hpt after a 3 day transfer. I would say 90% was around 10-11 days past transfer. I did find a slim few thay got theirs way early, like 5 days past transfer. Okay, 5 days past a 3 day transfer would be the same as 8 days past ovulation and some of the hpts advertise they can give you accurate results up to 6 days before your missed period. This would be around 8 days past ovulation or 5 days past a 3 day transfer.

With all of that being said, I have tested the past THREE days. Yes, I started testing early. I got one positive in there and the others were negative. This means the trigger shot is long gone and if and when I get another positive test it means IVF #2 was a success. I've tried to prepare myself for the worst.....well not really the worst. I think I'm more prepared for an unsuccessful cycle opposed to the outcome we had last time.

I also googled what could be happening day to day with my embryos in there. I wanted to know in case I 'felt' something. Crazy, I know. But last time I had a couple of cramps that caused me to stop in my tracks and bend over and clutch my tummy in pain. I'm still convinced implantation was occurring when I felt that. I haven't felt any of that so far this time. My only 'symptom' is a ongoing headache. I had this headaches will I was doing the lupron injections but they went away as soon as the injections stopped. It could very well be just a common headache and for now, I'm going to pass it off as such. As far as what's happening day by day, Dr. Google supplied me with the following. Today, I am 4dp3dt (4 days past 3 day transfer), so I'm hoping I 'feel' something today. :)

1dpt ..embryo is growing and developing
2dpt... Embryo is now a blastocyst
3dpt....Blastocyst hatches out of shell on this day
4dpt.. Blastocyst attaches to a site on the uterine lining
5dpt.. Implantation begins,as the blastocyst begins to bury in the lining
6dpt.. Implantation process continues and morula buries deeper in the lining
7dpt.. Morula is completely inmplanted in the lining and has placenta cells &
fetal cells
8dpt...Placenta cells begin to secret HCG in the blood
9dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops
10dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops
11dpt...HCG levels are now high enough to be immediately detected on
HPT

10 Days of Encouragement: Day 4

Day 4

"You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit."

Job 10:12

10 Days of Encouragement: Day 3

Day 3

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

10 Days of Encouragement: Day 2

 

 

Day 2

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because He trusts in You.

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal."

Isaiah 26:3-4

10 Days of Encouragement

The next couple of weeks are going to be kind a quiet. I won't have much to report other than a little whining and complaining about how slowwwww time is passing (I needed to go ahead and get that whine out of the way!). Of course, if anything exciting happens between now and then, I'll be sure to post. Until then, I'm going to try to post words of encouragement everyday. I need these for me but I also hope it touches someone else for the next 10 days.

Day 1

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights."

2 Samuel 22:33-34

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

xo, Candace

 

 



Embryo Transfer Day!

Today was the big day....embryo transfer day! Of course we arrived way early and then the clinic was running behind so we had to wait even longer. Waiting extra time with a FULL bladder is no fun. The procedure to transfer the embryos must be done with a full bladder in order to get a better view of the uterus on the ultrasound. We were finally called back and Dr. Hayslip came in to give us an update on our embryos. Sadly, out of the 13 that fertilzed, 8 of those arrested or stopped growing. That left us with 5 to choose from for today. Luckily, 2 of those were almost perfect of rated 1.5 and 2.5 with a 1 being the highest possible. The 3 remaining embryos will be observed over the next few days to see if they meet requirements to be frozen but Dr. H said it didn't look promising. He also said that the 2 we were transferring today were rockstars and he was really hopeful for a successful cycle. The transfer went smoothly and I rested for about 45 minutes before I could leave. It was pouring outside and nice and dark in the recovery room......perfect for a short nap! I go in for my official pregnancy test and beta on Friday, August 31. Of course, I'm not going to be able to wait until then and already have my stash of HPTs on the way. Either way, the wait to find out is going to be torture so I've downloaded lots of recommendations from Amazon on my Kindle. Here's to hoping the next couple of weeks fly by!!

Troy in his sterile gear ready for the transfer!

 The picture on the left is of our embryos we transferred and miscarried in May. They were slightly less than 'perfect' with some irregular shaped cells and fragmentation. The picture on the right is of our embryos we transferred today. They are pretty much perfect according to the embryologist with perfectly shaped cells and no fragmentation.

The white blip the arrow is pointing to is both of our embryos and the transfer. Hope they snuggle in for a long while!



Egg Retrieval and Fert Report

Thursday was the big day! We went in for the egg retrieval. I wasn't as anxious this time around. We arrived a little earlier than our scheduled time. I like to leave the house earlier to allow time for the unexpected and so we don't have to rush and stress about being late. The retrieval is time sensitive and must take place exactly 36 after the ovidrel injection. Everything went smoothly and then I woke up crying and talking about saving Lassie. I'm not sure where that came from, maybe I had a bad dream. The good news is, we got 20 eggs. That is 4 more than last time! I was in recovery for a short time and got my first PIO injection, AKA the biiiig needle in my rear end. We left and grabbed something quick to eat and then stopped by Your Perfect Cake. They made our wedding cake almost 3 years ago (it's the second cake in the gallery with the initials cTt) and have a huge selection of cupcakes you can buy individually. They also have the option to create your own cake slice. You choose the cake flavor, filling, icing, and topping. I got a slice of almond cake with raspberry filling and cream cheese icing. It was so yummy. I've been snacking on it since I got and still have yet to finish it. Anyway, back to the retrieval. I came home and took a looooong nap. Then went to bed early. It's a good thing I got the long nap in because I woke up every single hour from midnight until 8am to go to the bathroom. All of the iv fluids apparently filled, or overfilled, my bladder. Everytime I woke up, I hope it was later and that I had slept longer and then I looked at the clock and was bummed. It was a miserable night to say the least.

Waking up today, I was still a little sore and groggy....most likely from the lack of sleep. I lounged around most of the morning and watched all of my favorite morning shows and anxiously awaited a phone call from Dr. Hayslip. He called midday, almost exactly 24 hours after the retrieval. He said there were actually 22 eggs retrieved. I'm guessing a couple of the follicles contained more than one egg. Out of the 22 eggs, 13 of them fertilized normally. So, as of now, we have 13 embabies that are strong and growing. I hope it stays that way! Dr. H said this was a great number and would give us a good selection when it comes to choosing which ones to transfer on Sunday. The transfer will take place at 12:30pm on Sunday. That pretty much sums up our past couple of days. Here are a few photos from my phone this week......I decided this is a good place to 'dump' my pictures in order to still have access to them without taking up lots of space on my phone.



Troy informed me when these were delivered that we 'won' these shiny new golf cart tires and rims. In other words, he won the highest bid and we really didn't 'win' anything.



I found this recipe on Pinterest and it looked and sounded good. Sometimes my phone it slow loading webpages so I took I picture to make sure I had access to it when I needed it. I DON'T recommend this recipe. It was horrible and neither of us could eat it.

Mom and I on Sunday after my monitoring appt and lunch! Love her!

My 'slice' of cake from Your Perfect Cake.

I love getting new things in the mail!

I included this in a post a few days ago but wanted to share it again. Hoping it's a good sign!

Ovidrel injection.

My nap buddy today.

2nd Monitoring Appointment and the Weekend

This past weekend was packed with tons of things to do. Friday night we attended a Chamber of Commerce event called Shrimp By The Bay. It usually takes place on Edenton's beautiful waterfront but it was moved inside due to rain. There was music, drinks, shrimp, friends, and a silent auction. We didn't stay out late because I had to work on Saturday at the shop. I've gotten use to having my Saturdays off so waking up on a rainy Saturday morning to go to work was no fun. I was able to get somethings done while I was there and now, today, I have time to do other things.....like update my blog. Saturday evening we met my bff, Jamie, and her husband, Garth, for dinner. It was great just catching up and spending time with them. We don't see each other nearly enough but when we do, it's like no time has passed and we never skipped a beat.

This was also the first time I wasn't at home for my injections. I had to pack up my meds in a cooler to keep them refrigerated and do them in the truck. As soon as we left from dinner, I prepared the meds (one of them has to be mixed) and we stopped right outside of town to do the injections. It just so happened we were going by the apartments where Jamie and I lived in college. We pulled into the guest parking to avoid be right beside other cars. I joked with Jamie that it's funny I was doing IVF injections here and that life was easy way back when we lived there.

These are my meds to go...

On to my monitoring appointment. My appointment was Sunday morning and I'm sure the lab tech, nurse and doctor didn't want to be there on a Sunday morning any more than I did. My blood draw was smooth and the ultrasound showed everything progressing and right on track. Most of my follicles were measuring around 14mm but I had one 'rockstar' follicle trying to be an overachiever and measuring at 17mm. My endo lining was a perfect 9mm and this was the first time I could actually see the triple stripe on the screen. I don't know anything about this other than it's exactly what the doctor wants to see and if it's too thin it's not good. My estrogen level was 1010.8. That's up from less than 25 just over a week ago. Wowza! Here are a couple of pictures of my ovaries and lots of follicles. You can't see all of them at one time and some of them looked irregular shaped because they are squished together. Also, just to put it into prespective a little....a normal, unmedicated cycle usually only results in 1 mature follicle on both ovaries combined (sometimes 2, it is very rare that it is ever more than that). I have around 10 maturing follicles....on each ovary. No wonder I'm starting to feel uncomfortable. :)

Left Ovary. The black spots are the follicles, which contain the eggs. 

Right Ovary (You can see the left ovary kind of to the right....they are almost touching, again. That's when it becomes hard to walk!)

I'm going to end this post with my fortune from dinner last night....I hope this is a good sign!!

 



Friday Photo Dump

So, I've decided that a blog without pictures is a little boring and really no fun at all. Personally, I'm attracted to blogs with lots of photos. Photos help tell a story and allow readers a true peak into the blogger's life. I always take tons of pictures on my iphone. I'm going to try my best to 'dump' my photos on the blog at the end of each week. Here's to my first Friday Photo dump! Have a great weekend!

xo, Candace

These are cornices I made for my dining room. Not to bad for my first time!

 Troy finally got the mirror up over the buffet in our dining room.

 Troy and Lexie fishing at our house.

 I painted the bird picture on the left at a Wine & Paint class last december. I finally had it framed and found the perfect spot in our laundry room for it.

 Lexie just hanging out at work.

 SALE days at Downtown Diva Fashion Boutique are always crazy! I love seeing the store full of wonderful customers.

Results From 1st Monitoring Appt

I went in this morning for my first monitoring appt for this cycle. These appts are routine.....blood work and ultrasound. The ultrasound showed about 8 growing follicles on each ovary. The smallest measured 7mm, the majority measured 9mm, and I had one 11mm follie. This is about the same amount that I had last time. This is good news and within the normal range. A lower number would indicate a low ovarian reserve and a higher number would put me at risk for OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome). I just got the call with my lab results. My estrogen level is 278.9....up from less than 25 a week ago. This is also within the normal range and shows that I am responding well to the injections. My next monitoring appointment is Sunday. Fingers crossed for more good news that day!

I'm trying to stay positive through this process and trying not to do much complaining. However, these side effects are getting the best of me. I've had a non-stop headache since I started the lupron injections on Saturday. I can only take tylenol and that doesn't help at all. I had a meltdown last night before I got my pm injections. I hope it goes away soon or at least eases up a little. Other than the headache, I'm feeling good. I'm not uncomfortable yet. I probably have a couple more days before I start waddling.

That's about it for today. Thanks for reading!

xo, Candace

Eating Healthy

I've been reading lots of articles online about increasing my chances for a successful IVF cycle. Who knows how credible these articles are, but they majority of them have one thing in common.....healthy eating. I've read about cutting out red meats and saturated fats and adding lots of fresh fruits and veggies. So, with that being said, this time around I'm trying really hard to eat very healthy. I haven't had any red meat for weeks, no caffeine, no alcohol, and I've done really good making healthy choices when we eat out or eat on the run at a fast food place (yuck!). Last night I made a really yummy (and healthy!) dinner. One of Troy's  favorite meals is ham and cabbage with boiled potatoes. I fixed some extra veggies since I wasn't eating ham. So Troy had ham, cabbage, potatoes, and corn and I had cabbage, corn, and squash. No ham and no potatoes for me. I've been trying to eat less carbs and starchy foods. I used low sodium chicken broth to season my veggies and a little Smart Balance 'butter' on the corn. It was so yummy to have been such a healthy meal. Here is a pic of the fresh goodness (straight from the grocery store) :)

Can't forget dessert.....sweet, sweet NC watermelon!

One another note, we've been having afternoon storms A LOT this summer. Last night, I looked outside and saw this beautiful double rainbow. Maybe it's a sign of double blessings on the way?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Candace

Countdown is OVER!

The countdown is officially over and IVF #2 is in full swing! My meds arrived a day later than I expected. They were scheduled to arrived on Thursday and when they didn't, I PANICKED! When I called the pharmacy, they said there was a hold up with my insurance. Wait, what?! I know my insurance doesn't cover fertility drugs and reiterated this several times. I finally go my package on Friday, which was still a day before I was to start the injections. This is what came in my package....

So, Saturday I started lupron injections. I get 20 units in the morning and 20 units at night. These are a breeze and I honestly don't feel much. The anticipation is the worst part because I am terrified of needles. On Sunday, I had to add 2 injections to the 2 lupron injections I was already getting. The gonal-f injection wasn't bad either and I knew what to expect from last time. Then came the menopur injection. I read online that it burned going in. Well, I wasn't expecting it to burn as bad as it did! The needle itself was the same as the lupron and gonal-f but the medicine going in was horrible. I am dreading the next week and a half of this. Not to mention, about 10 minutes after the injection, I started cramping. This was something new. The only side effect I've experienced so far this time is a never ending headache from the lupron. I've had a headache since Saturday morning. I'm allowed to take tylenol only but I'm trying to tough it out. I figure the less I put in my body at this point, the better?!

My next appointment is on Thursday and I'm hoping for a rising estrogen level and lots of growing follics! Until then, it's 4 injections everyday and a never ending headache. 

Another Weekend at the Beach!

Troy and I were both on vacation last week. Well, I had to work for a few hours on Thursday and most of the day on Friday, but either way, days off with my hubby are always welcomed! Originally, we planned to spend our days off at the beach but then we started thinking of all the things we needed to get done around the house. I made a list and we decided we would go to the beach if we completed our list of things to do. I can't believe how much we accomplished! I'll post on our projects later, because it was a lot and the results definitely deserve their own post.

In the middle of all of our projects, we had to make a trip to Greenville for my first monitoring appointment. My estrogen level came back less than 25 (which the nurse says is great and that's all I know!). I had around 14 small follicles on each side. As of now, everything is right on track and looking great!

Now on to our weekend! We left late Friday afternoon to head to the beach. We slept in on Saturday. I was looking forward to sleeping in at least one day all week. It's just what I needed. My mom cooked breakfast/brunch for us. Before we could make it out to the beach, we decided to go offshore just to sight-see. I was thrilled because I had never been offshore. We packed a few snacks and were leaving the dock around 1pm. Most offshore trips leave in the wee hours of the morning so we were way behind. Thankfully, it was a calm day with only 3-5 ft swells. We started riding and then we rode and rode and rode some more......for a total of 29 miles offshore. Then we came across a grassline. This is just patches of seeweed and apparently a great place to fish. Our sightseeing turned into a mini fishing trip. Almost as soon as the lines were out, we started getting bites. My mom and I both reeled in two of the biggest catches of the day. She got a mahi and I got a wahoo. After that excitement, I was ready to head in. On the way in, we got to see the most beautiful sunset over our favorite place....the Outer Banks of NC (also known as the OBX!). We finally made it back to the dock around 9pm. We spent a few hours on the beach on Sunday and then headed home sweet home! Here are a few pictures from the weekend: