Our rugby team...

According to Christina - we have a rugby team growing there! I couldn't be more pleased, today I was anxious - we've never gone beyond a three day before!!

This morning we have 7 that are looking wonderful and get this chickens - the other 6 are still growing too (no details on how many cells etc, we'll find that out in the morning)....so our little 13 are still going strong. Praise god!

On the OHSS front, I must say that I am feeling better today, not as sore but still bloated. Looks like the bedrest and lots of Abi-lovin' is paying off.

We have to be there tomorrow at 8....go my little ones, go!

Taking a chance...

We saw Dr V today, we went in to discuss our plans for our little embies.

The choice was - freeze half and grow the rest to 5 days. As of this morning (3 days past ER) there are 14 little ones still growing, to say that I am amazed is really and understatement of note! Of-course they are not all on par with eachother....here is the breakdown:

1 x 9 cell
7 x 8 cell
3 x 6 cell
2 x 5 cell
1 x 4 cell

So as you can see, there are a few that they don't think will make 5 days and trying to pick which ones out of the 8 to freeze today was just madness, we've decided to take a chance and grow them all. Dr V is optimistic, he says the he thinks that we'll be able to get between 5 - 8 blasts out of this but obviously he's not putting that on paper!!

If we do end up with 5 blasts on transfer day then we'll put two back and "vitrify" the rest - a fancy procedure they do to freeze 5 day blasts, so we're happy.

I have a mild case of OHSS, i'm very bloated and very sore...DR V has put me on bedrest with at least 4ltr of fluid a day - this is why I am so late to update you all but I needed a break from the couch!!

Abi came back home last night, we are very happy to have her back home and she is just as pleased to be here. She still has some diarrhea but is eating well, she's also lost quite a bit of weight and you can see that she hasn't been well but hopefully she'll be back to normal soon!

Will update tomorrow, thanks for all the prayers chickens!!

Never in my life...

....did I imagine that this could happen, I am beside myself with joy!!

Out of 15 - we have 13 normal fertalisations, the other 2 have fertalised but aren't looking as good as the rest. According to Heather, they can catch up overnight and if they do then we'll have a 100% fert rate.

This is better than we could ever hope for, last time we had 16 eggs and from the very first day we were only left with 8 that had fertalised so today we were hoping for at least 10 - a nice shock!

I know it's early days but this feels good, all of a sudden I am filled with HOPE!

15 Eggs...

My retrieval was yesterday. This last week hasn't been easy what with little Abi, my IVF sort of took a back seat but yesterday morning as I was getting ready to go to Vitalab it hit me, all of a sudden things felt very real and I was quite scared.

It all went off without a hitch, I had to wait for two ladies who's blasts were hatching to have their transfer before me but I went in about 8:45. Dr V is lovely, I cannot thank that man enough for being so kind and caring, before I knew it I was fast asleep and waking up in the ward with hardly any pain at all.

Even my bladder co-operated for a change, I dozed on and off until just after 10, had a cup of tea and a pee and we were on our merry way. Dr V was very happy, we got 15 eggs and the sperm was perfect, I phone at 10 this morning for our first fert report.

After my ER we went to see little Abi who is still being kept by the vet, she's looking better but still not eating, I cried so when I held her. They say that she is looking a bit better this morning and hopefully she'll eat soon because as soon as she's eating again she can come home. Our house feels so empty without her and we both miss her soooo much!

My pain started about 4 yesterday, they said that I can take stil.pain (as many as I need) but I'm trying to cope without them (that is not going so well). I'm very bloated and moving around too much hurts but it was the same last time, the only difference is that I am back at work today....aaargh!

Will update with a fert report later...thanks once again for all your love and prayers!!

Trigger tonight...

Well girls, my scan today went well. Follies are looking happy and E2 is obviously pleasing to Dr V (didn't ask - trying not to obsess) so I trigger tonight at 8! Lining was nice and thick at 12mm, I don't think it's ever been that good!

ER will be Sunday and transfer should be Friday if all goes according to plan.

Had a very long night, Little Abi started vomiting again yesterday and the diarrhea is back, there's a lot of blood too. She refuses to eat still so has now not eaten for two days. I had her at the vet at 2am this morning so needless to say we haven't had much sleep! They've kept her and put her on a drip. I'm very sad and the house is so quiet without her but I know that it's probably the best thing for her as the other treatment didn't seem to be working.

My heart is aching for her and I just want her home and better. It's been a very trying week but we're hoping that it has a good ending.

Will update on Sunday, please keep up the prayers for us and little Abs...

Day 9 stims...

My Day 9 scan didn't turn out as I thought it would, the way my ovaries feel I thought I would trigger tonight or tomorrow night but apparently that is not what they have in store for me.

Things are looking good with a count of 16 follies - about 8 on each ovary now (give or take as I have no idea how they make anything out!). My lining is 11.4mm which is good and I don't think that it'll get much thicker before trigger (last time it was 10.7mm at my last scan before trigger so I'm really happy with 11.4mm!). My right ovary has some 18mm and close to that and the left ovary is a bit behind with 15mm - 16mm follies, so the plan - so as not to lose out on the left hand follies is to stim for another 3 days (today, Thursday and Friday).

My next scan is Friday and then they'll probably cut my stims down for that day and then Saturday should be Trigger and ER on Monday - that's Dr V's plan but you know how these things go, it all depends on Friday's scan and my E2 results which were only 4287 today which sounds a bit low for all those follies but they say it's fine. I was a bit dissapointed because things are getting rather uncomfortable now but Dr V says that he prefers that I stim longer and slower - hopefully this way we'll get some good quality eggs!

I cried all the way to VL and all the way back, Frank wasn't with me as he had to stay with Abi. Abi is terribly sick at the moment, she has a bad gastric infection so she's vomiting and her tummy is running non-stop. We had her at the vet last night and they gave her 3 injections and then this morning again for another 2. I have to take her back again tonight for more and if she's still sick tomorrow then she'll have to have a drip. She's not eating and has a horrible fever so they worried about dehydration. My poor poor baby, I'm crying more about her than anything else but it doesn't help that my hormones are all over the place.

So, now I suppose we just wait and see....

Follie count...

Day 7 of stims revealed 12 follies ranging from 10mm to 14mm with a lining of 9.4mm.

The plan is another set of injections today and tomorrow and a scan on day 9, last time we did this, day 9 was my last stim day so we'll see what happens, I'm thinking trigger on Thursday or Friday this week and Retrieval on Saturday or Sunday. Things are moving really quickly now chickens!!

I'm grumpy, tired, bloated and quite sore - but this is par for the course for me by now. The headaches seem to have gottten better with the addition of the cetrotide yesterday. My goodness, the cetrotide is not a pleasant injection at all, the area stays red and nasty looking for about 2 hrs after the shot and leaves a horrible bruise. I have bruises everywhere on my tum now and it's not much fun at all. Don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining - this is not my favourite part of IVF but I'm glad that we have some follies on the go!

My E2 level was around 2000 yesterday, Heather said that it should double daily as we go (give or take), she said that they measure it to be around 700 per egg so we'll see what it's like on wednesday I suppose.

So far so good. It's finally starting to feel real, I'm still feeling really calm for now, Abi is a wonderful distraction and it's also easier once you know what to expect, that doesn't make me any less scared for Retrieval tho!!!

My update...

It's day 4 of stims and I went for accupuncture today, Dr Debbie said to keep on drinking lots of water to keep the headaches away but they don't seem to want to budge, she said that the area around the needle looks good and goes nice and red quickly which is good. She also says that it doesn't look like i'm that acidic anymore which is good too.

I need to go back the day before ER and then the day before transfer and straight after transfer. I do hope that this works, really I do...I'm starting to feel like a chicken without a head with all this running around.

On the stress front, I'm not feeling too bad at all actually. Little Abi is good at making the days go fast and keeping my mind off things. I think that we gonna have a few follies on Sunday as my ovaries are already starting to feel a bit strange, not sore but definately making their presence known!

I got some wonderful news today, you know who you are my friend and I love you guys with all my heart, I am so so happy for you!!

Carrie asked for updated pics of Abi, so here you go, how cute is her pink harness??:

I heart the Gon.al F Pen!!

I'm so chuffed with myself, now I know that many of you can do this with your eyes closed but Frank has always given me my injections, but today I decided it was time to start doing them myself while Frank watched in amazement and said "geez, I didn't think you'd be able to do that yourself!" because you see, I'm a bit of a "wussy" =)

It wasn't bad at all, I love the pen - no mess, no fuss and the needle is a bit thiner and shorter too!! Thanks Jenna, I love you my sweet friend!!

From Friday I have to start using the mix it yourself kind, not looking forward to that, the mornings take me forever as it is what with mine and Franks to do and a little Abi who wants constant attention!

Who wouldn't want to use this:
Instead of this?

Finally....

Whew...this has been quite a build up and I must say it's a relief to finally be doing this IVF!!

I went to Vita.lab for a scan this morning, i'm still bleeding quite a bit which Dr V doesn't understand as the pill is supposed to keep your lining thin, my lining was 3mm and there was still blood "in the cavity" as Dr V explained to the nurse but otherwise everything is quiet on the ovary front.

He's just come back from a conference in Spain and must have learnt something different because this morning he looked through my file and decided to "tweak" my protocol a bit, here'
s the plan:

Day 1 & 2 of stim ~ 225iu Gonal F
Day 3, 4, 5 of stim ~ 225iu Gonal F and 37.5iu Luveris
Day 6, 7, 8 & 9 of stim ~ Scan, 225iu Gonal F, 37.5iu Luveris & cetrotide
Day 10 ~ Possible trigger!!!!
Day 12 ~ Possible egg retrieval!!!!

There's some Anti-biotics somewhere inbetween for both Frank and I and of-course Frank is still on his injections so mixing them in the morning is gonna take me forever!

It's different but I think Dr V's onto something here, we're starting to feel a bit more positive, it doesn't really feel real yet. I had a bit of a cry on the way there this morning, feeling a bit overwhelmed I think but it's all good. We're ready so bring it on!!!

I know that I don't need to ask, but please keep us in your thoughts and prayers ~ we going to need all the help we can get here, please please please let this be it.

Okay, I'm ready already!!!

So here I am, twiddling my thumbs a bit impatiently because guess what....

Today was supposed to be day 1 of stims, yes...

No.

Bloody AF (excuse the pun) decided to pitch up at 8 last night, despite threatening all day! Once she did arive she decided to give me a run for my money with the worst cramps I have had in a very long time, I couldn't get off the couch!! So Heather (my IVF co-ordinator) says that today is day 1 so I start shooting up tomorrow!!

I'm feeling more positive about this up-coming IVF as we get closer, I'm feeling awful physically with headaches everyday since I stopped BCP and terrible cramps but i'm sure I'll feel better soon. The lack of sleep with little Abi wanting to play at 3 in the morning is probably a contributing factor too....

Here's the latest pic of Abi, she's growing so much and changing everyday, still the cutest little thing ever!!

Here we go again....

Well folks, the results are in:

57 million per ml compared to 22million per ml

4% Morphology - up from 3% - they say that 4% is good and that morphology rarely gets any better than that?

35% Motility - only up 5% but we gonna try some Vit C and they also adding some medium to the spec jar next time which should help the boys swim better!

So all in all, we're happy. It's been an emotional morning, I'm relieved and scared at the same time, scared because now it's so real!

I took my last pill yesterday, now we wait for a breakthrough bleed and start stimms on day 2 which will most probably be Monday. So that means retrieval will be in about 2 weeks. Oh my word!!

Let's hope that this is the last one and that the lucky gonal f from sweet Bumble does the trick.

Buckle up because this time it's for real, here we go again!!

We're back....

We're back home with Abi, she is the most adorable little thing I have ever seen. She's a fiesty little thing too but so so lovable at the same time. She loves being held and comes and climbs on me when she's tired, it's the sweetest thing!! She has brought so much joy to our lives and we're constantly laughing at the silly things she does, just too precious for words!!

It's been tiring, she's still really small but we're gettting there. She's already been to the vet with a runny nose and tummy, her food is making her tummy run and she has a bit of a cold - from the temp change between her and KZN I suppose!!

Here's some latest pics...

Still teenee, tiny!! Smaller than we thought she'd be!

In other news, it's a week until Frank's SA. We ready but scared at the same time, it's been hard - Frank has been feeling really down lately - I think it's from the Meno.pur but hopefully he only has about 10 more shots to go!! Roll on IVF, we're ready for ya!!