We Are A GO For January Transfer!

I had my ultrasound and estradiol appointment this morning.  I was a little nervous that my lining would be too thin, like it was in September.  My lining measured at 7 mm this morning.  I remember back in September I was told that NEDC requires the lining to be at 7 mm at this point of the cycle.  I JUST made it.  I was so nervous about it that I emailed Katie the NEDC nurse right away but I didn't hear back from her until when she called.  Of course when she called, I was in the middle of my eye appointment, so she left a message.  Thankfully, everything looked good.  And yes, 7 mm is the minimum for the lining to be at this point in time.

But, I'm good to go.  We are still a go for my transfer on Tuesday the 21st.  I won't know my exact time of my transfer until closer to Tuesday.  We are going to be leaving on Sunday on a super early flight.  It leaves at 6:30 am so we will have to leave our house at 4:30 am.  I'm not looking forward to that as I am not a morning person.  Also, Babe will have to give me my PIO when we connect in Charlotte, NC.  We will have to find a family restroom so he can give me a shot there.  There is no way I can give myself a PIO shot.  That will be interesting to see how that turns out!

More than a couple of people have asked me how I feel about this transfer.  Excited?  Nervous?

I guess the answer is neither, but also a little bit of both.  After so many rounds of failed IUIs and IVFs, in the past few years, plus the last transfer that resulted in a chemical pregnancy, I guess I am approaching this like I did in November.  Cautiously optimistic.  I am optimistic that this can work but also cautious because I know that it can not work.

I feel like I should be more excited about this transfer but at this point, I'm not.  Maybe part of it is I was nervous that the transfer may be delayed if my lining wasn't thick enough and I didn't want to get disappointed.  But now that that hurdle of it is out of the way, I will hopefully start getting excited.   Especially since I start my PIO shots tomorrow morning (Ouch! Not really looking forward to that!), it may seem more real.  I'll probably be more excited once I'm on the airplane heading south to (slightly) warmer weather.

Now, off to start packing for my trip to TN!

2014.... Here We Go!

I can't believe that we are already almost to the second week of 2014.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas celebration with family and friends, and hope your ushering in of the New Year was fun and safe. 

Our Christmas this year was pretty uneventful.  The weather here in MN cooperated, so we had cold but good weather for Christmas eve and day.  We were able to attend Christmas eve service at our church and they had really awesome Christmas music and message.  On Christmas Day, we drove an hour up north to Babe's family and celebrated with all the extended families.  We celebrated New Year's by having a small get together with a few friends at our house and had food, fellowship and played some games.  It was nice and intimate.

As you may know, we have a transfer coming up on January 21st for our adopted frozen embryo(s).  This is a great way to look forward to the new year, with the hope that we will be pregnant and have a baby this year.  So far, I had been on BCPs for about 3 week (done now), am currently on Lu.pron (started on 12/22) and started taking Es.trace on January 1st.  I have my next ultrasound and E2 appointment on January 16th, and if all goes well there, I will start my PIO (progesterone in oil) shots on the 17th. 

It seems like everything was a waiting game, and now the transfer is almost here.  Transfer is in 12 days and we hop on a plane in 10 days!

This Christmas, Babe surprised me with a sweet gift.  He's usually not so great about getting gifts, plus we also agreed that we were not going to get each other a Christmas gift as our little Texas vacation was our gift to each other this year.  Anyway, Babe had heard that I would have liked to get something "snowflakey" to commemorate our embryo adoption transfers..... earrings, a necklace, etc. Well he surprised me with this little silver necklace with a sparkly crystal snowflake!  Sorry the photo isn't the best, but it really is pretty.  

My pretty silver necklace with a pretty crystal snowflake

Speaking of snowflakes, I forgot to post about this after my November transfer.  On our long drive (14 hours!) back to MN from Knoxville, we stopped at a rest stop in Berea, KY which also happens to be the Kentucky Artisan Center.  It is a neat place that showcases art and handmade items by local artists.  I wanted to pick up a Christmas ornament that would be a keepsake from our transfer.  I saw some cool wooden snowflake Christmas ornaments.  I had a hard time deciding between these 2 snowflakes, so Babe said let's get both.  We did transfer 2 embryos, so one ornament for each embryo.  Even though our November transfer resulted in a chemical pregnancy, I'm glad we picked these 2 up.  It is a wonderful way to remember the 2 embryos that I was pregnant with, even if for just a couple of weeks.

Wooden snowflake Christmas ornament from KY

Wooden snowflake Christmas ornament from KY

I am usually not one to make new year resolutions, but I have decided to read at least 25 books this year.  It shouldn't be too difficult, right?  Less than one book every 2 weeks.

What are you looking forward to in 2014?

Post Transfer Consult & January Transfer

In case you are wondering if I had fallen off the face of the earth after our last transfer and chemical pregnancy, the answer is no.  Actually Babe and I were on vacation down south, to the (slightly) warmer state of Texas.  It's actually pretty funny, the day we left last Saturday, Dallas was actually warmer than Anchorage, Alaska!  It was a good thing we didn't fly into Dallas.

On Monday, while on vacation, we had our post transfer phone consult with Dr. Keenan.  This was actually scheduled before we left NEDC on our transfer date.  Dr. Keenan said there were a few things that he wanted to go over and try to figure out what, if anything would have caused this transfer to not be successful.

1. The embryos:  The embryos were excellent, at 6AA and 4AA after they were thawed, so they were great.  There were no problems there.
2. My lining:  My lining was fine at the transfer.  Again, no reason for concern there.
3. The transfer process:  The transfer we perfectly without a hitch, so not a problem.
4. Anything post transfer:  I mentioned that I was sick with a cough and was on antibiotics and inhaler meds, and he said that was not a problem.  I also mentioned that was some stress due to a death in the family, pain from the PIO and travel.  Dr. Keenan said, as far as stress, as long as I was not so deeply affected by it that I could not sleep or eat, it would not have been a problem.  Everything else should not have been an issue either.

So, as I am already aware, sometimes even with the most perfect embryos and best situations, we may still not be successful.  Dr. Keenan said sometimes, it may take more than one transfer for us to be successful.  If we wanted to go back for a January transfer, we could do that.  I told him we have already decided we would do that, and Katie already has put on the list of January transfers.  He said let's pray that the next time we would be successful.  I love that he used the word "pray".  Even though he does not say things outright, I can tell he is a man of faith.  Did I already mention that I love Dr. Keenan?

On Thursday, I received my protocol from Katie for our January transfer.  Our transfer date is Tuesday, January 21st.

I'm already on BCP, and am looking forward to moving forward to our January transfer.  I just put together my calendar with all my dates and times for meds, shots, etc.  I will order my meds on Monday, and will start my Lu.pron shots on December 22nd.

January will be here before I know it.