I received the exciting news from M this morning that one of the embryos that the embryologist was growing out made it to a day 5 as a grade 2 and was frozen, yesterday, for future use! Hopefully a year or two in the future ;o) M and C are thrilled and I'm so happy for them!
As for me, I'm having a lot of pain and soreness from the progesterone injections, particularly in my right hip for some reason, but hanging in there until testing day! I survived bedrest and am now on limited activity (only allowed once up/down the stairs per day, no cleaning, lifting anything heavier than a 1/2 gallon of milk, no exercise, etc)...so I'm feeling pretty worthless around the house here but I guess I should enjoy it while it lasts!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Transfer Complete!
This morning, when the clinic called, they had one 5-cell embryo and one 7-cell embryo so the plan, at that time, was to transfer the 7-cell embryo. But within 6 hours, just before transfer, the 5-cell embryo had grown to 8-cells and the 7-cell embryo was still at 7-cells so the decision was made to transfer the one 8-cell embryo.
This is the 7-cell embryo that they will grow out to day 5 or 6 to see if they can freeze it...more on that later this week!
Both the 7-cell and 8-cell embryos looked great but since the 8-cell had a recent "growth spurt", it was decided that it would be a better choice.
The transfer itself was easy and "perfect", Dr. L was able to place the embryo exactly where he wanted it. They did do assisted hatching beforehand so hopefully the embryo will hatch out of its shell over the next few days and find a nice place to snuggle in for 9 months!
I return for a blood pregnancy test on September 7th!
This is the 7-cell embryo that they will grow out to day 5 or 6 to see if they can freeze it...more on that later this week!
Both the 7-cell and 8-cell embryos looked great but since the 8-cell had a recent "growth spurt", it was decided that it would be a better choice.
The transfer itself was easy and "perfect", Dr. L was able to place the embryo exactly where he wanted it. They did do assisted hatching beforehand so hopefully the embryo will hatch out of its shell over the next few days and find a nice place to snuggle in for 9 months!
I return for a blood pregnancy test on September 7th!
Transfer TODAY!
The clinic just called and there is one little embryo that is the star of the show right now so we will be transferring that one this afternoon to give him/her the best chance to thrive in a more natural environment. The others will be grown out to see if they can be frozen for future use, if needed. I'll be on bedrest for 24 hours after the transfer so I'm sure I'll be back with another update!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Donor Egg Thaw & Fertilization Results
Yesterday morning I received a text message from M with the somewhat disappointing news that only 4 of the 6 frozen donor eggs survived the thaw. *sigh* Not how we were hoping to get this started! Of course we agonized all day yesterday, then today we got the exciting news that ALL FOUR EGGS FERTILIZED! *happy dance*
So things are looking good right now, we just have to wait and see how the four little survivers grow! Hopefully they'll do well and we can do a day 5 transfer on Thursday, we should know more by Tuesday!
So things are looking good right now, we just have to wait and see how the four little survivers grow! Hopefully they'll do well and we can do a day 5 transfer on Thursday, we should know more by Tuesday!
Monday, August 20, 2012
"I'm really happy with everything I see here..."
...said the doctor to the surrogate, while checking out her uterus via ultrasound.
Today was my last appointment with Dr. L until transfer day, which we can now officially say is next week (thanks to M for pointing that out to me!), and Dr. L is super happy with how everything looks - which is awesome to hear. Gotta love when your uterus cooperates!
This weekend is going to be very exciting! On Saturday, the clinic will thaw 6 eggs from M and C's selected egg donor (which were frozen after a previous cycle). According to Dr. L, stastically, 5 or 6 are expected to survive the thaw. Because freezing of the eggs can make the outer layer of the egg harder to penetrate, they will be using ICSI to help encourage fertilization. Typically, they will check for fertilization 24 hours later - so Sunday morning. Again, statistically, they expect about 2/3 of the eggs to fertilize. This should leave us with 3 or 4 embryos. Dr. L will want to see which embryo will be the best to transfer so they will observe the embryos over a 3 to 5 day period. Some of them will not grow and there is a small chance that we will only be left with one embryo by day 3, if that's the case, we will do a day 3 transfer on August 28th. More likely, they will continue to grow the embryos until August 30th, which will be day 5, or the blastocyst stage. At this stage it is easier to select the best one to transfer. Depending on the thickness of the outer layer of the selected embryo, the embryologist may perform an assisted hatching procedure immediately before transfer, to help encourage implantation. Any remaining embryos will be frozen for future use.
Then the agonizing wait until I can take a pregnancy test begins!
P.S. Read the links above if you have the time, the science behind all this is really fascinating!
Today was my last appointment with Dr. L until transfer day, which we can now officially say is next week (thanks to M for pointing that out to me!), and Dr. L is super happy with how everything looks - which is awesome to hear. Gotta love when your uterus cooperates!
This weekend is going to be very exciting! On Saturday, the clinic will thaw 6 eggs from M and C's selected egg donor (which were frozen after a previous cycle). According to Dr. L, stastically, 5 or 6 are expected to survive the thaw. Because freezing of the eggs can make the outer layer of the egg harder to penetrate, they will be using ICSI to help encourage fertilization. Typically, they will check for fertilization 24 hours later - so Sunday morning. Again, statistically, they expect about 2/3 of the eggs to fertilize. This should leave us with 3 or 4 embryos. Dr. L will want to see which embryo will be the best to transfer so they will observe the embryos over a 3 to 5 day period. Some of them will not grow and there is a small chance that we will only be left with one embryo by day 3, if that's the case, we will do a day 3 transfer on August 28th. More likely, they will continue to grow the embryos until August 30th, which will be day 5, or the blastocyst stage. At this stage it is easier to select the best one to transfer. Depending on the thickness of the outer layer of the selected embryo, the embryologist may perform an assisted hatching procedure immediately before transfer, to help encourage implantation. Any remaining embryos will be frozen for future use.
Then the agonizing wait until I can take a pregnancy test begins!
P.S. Read the links above if you have the time, the science behind all this is really fascinating!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Appointment Update!
I had an ultrasound this morning to check the uterine lining. Dr. L said anything over 7mm is good and mine is *drumroll*.........12.3mm WOOHOO! Dr. L also observed a triple layer pattern, which is considered ideal for implantation. So we're still on for transfer in TWO WEEKS!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Keeping It Real
I have been hesitant to blog about this because, really, who wants to hear me whine?? But things have at least somewhat turned a corner now and I've decided I'm keeping it real so here it goes...
I've been doing Lupron injections nightly for 10 days now and the first week was really rough. The shots themselves are not a big deal, the needles are tiny and relatively painless - although you couldn't tell by looking at my lower abdomen, which is riddled with little bruises in various stages of healing. But the side effects have been...not fun. I was completely exhausted all the time and had a splitting headache every day - for a good 7 or 8 days straight. Then I started Estrogen patches 3 days ago and about that same time I started getting some energy back and the headaches have at least diminished in intensity - thank goodness for Estrogen! I'll be on this Lupron/Estrogen combination until the day before the egg thaw, which is just 14 more days!
I've been doing Lupron injections nightly for 10 days now and the first week was really rough. The shots themselves are not a big deal, the needles are tiny and relatively painless - although you couldn't tell by looking at my lower abdomen, which is riddled with little bruises in various stages of healing. But the side effects have been...not fun. I was completely exhausted all the time and had a splitting headache every day - for a good 7 or 8 days straight. Then I started Estrogen patches 3 days ago and about that same time I started getting some energy back and the headaches have at least diminished in intensity - thank goodness for Estrogen! I'll be on this Lupron/Estrogen combination until the day before the egg thaw, which is just 14 more days!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
I'm Not Going to be Octomom - and Other Surrogacy Myths Busted
1) We will be transferring one embryo. I'm not going to be Octomom. In fact, the chance of me finding myself pregnant with twins or higher order multiples is exactly the same as it would be with any other pregnancy (really small).
2) It's not going to be hard for me to "give up" the baby...because it's not my baby! This baby will not be genetically related to me in any way, shape or form. M & C have selected an egg donor from their clinic's frozen egg donor program. The egg will be fertilized with "genetic material" from M or C. The resulting embryo will be transferred into my uterus. I will then, put simply, "baby-sit" for approx 9 months, until their precious bundle is ready to take on the world! Then M & C get daddy duty and I get to sleep for 8 hours a night, sounds good to me.
3) We will be planning a homebirth, just like we had with my youngest child. Pregnancy and labor/delivery is not scary or dangerous. In fact, it's a normal, healthy process, best left alone to proceed as naturally as possible. I'm not putting myself or my family at risk, steps have been taken to ensure everyone's welfare should the pregnancy not go as perfectly as my other pregnancies have.
4) My husband and I have taken the time to explain gestational surrogacy to our children - even warning them what others may think (see #2) and they completely understand and think it's great, they adore M & C and are so excited for them! My children will not be confused.
5) Many kids are raised in non-traditional families and they turn out just fine and some kids are raised in traditional families and turn out not-so-fine. The point is - whether a child is raised by a mom and a dad, two moms, two dads, a grandma, a uncle, a parent and step-parent, etc has little to do with anything. This baby will not be "damaged" by being raised by two dads. The most important things that a child needs are love and family - this lucky little one will have plenty of both!
2) It's not going to be hard for me to "give up" the baby...because it's not my baby! This baby will not be genetically related to me in any way, shape or form. M & C have selected an egg donor from their clinic's frozen egg donor program. The egg will be fertilized with "genetic material" from M or C. The resulting embryo will be transferred into my uterus. I will then, put simply, "baby-sit" for approx 9 months, until their precious bundle is ready to take on the world! Then M & C get daddy duty and I get to sleep for 8 hours a night, sounds good to me.
3) We will be planning a homebirth, just like we had with my youngest child. Pregnancy and labor/delivery is not scary or dangerous. In fact, it's a normal, healthy process, best left alone to proceed as naturally as possible. I'm not putting myself or my family at risk, steps have been taken to ensure everyone's welfare should the pregnancy not go as perfectly as my other pregnancies have.
4) My husband and I have taken the time to explain gestational surrogacy to our children - even warning them what others may think (see #2) and they completely understand and think it's great, they adore M & C and are so excited for them! My children will not be confused.
5) Many kids are raised in non-traditional families and they turn out just fine and some kids are raised in traditional families and turn out not-so-fine. The point is - whether a child is raised by a mom and a dad, two moms, two dads, a grandma, a uncle, a parent and step-parent, etc has little to do with anything. This baby will not be "damaged" by being raised by two dads. The most important things that a child needs are love and family - this lucky little one will have plenty of both!
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