First sono (yesterday)

We have only one sac but I'll take it! Everything seems on schedule. I go back in two weeks-
December 2nd for my last appointment with my fertility doctor then I'll graduate to my regular ob. We were able to see the yolk sac but no heartbeat yet which is fine bc it's still early.
-Im so relieved and thankful! 5weeks and 5 days💕

What a reminder

So Facebook just reminded me that on this day two years ago I was going in for my frozen transfer of my last embryo from my 2012 cycle.

It simply said "Please pray for The Hill family today as we really need positive vibes".
I knew right away what that post was for. I had so much hope. Then a mere two hours before I was set to have my transfer I received the call that my last embryo did not survive the thaw. Omg the devastation was unreal. Just a week before Thanksgiving. I thought we'd never be able to afford to do this again.

Now exactly two years later I'm almost 6 weeks pregnant. Look at God🙌🏾

Beta #2

Beta #2 is in! It's 703!!!!!! It more than doubled! Only 20 points from tripling!!!!!
Since my betas have been great that'll be my last one-
Now straight to sonos👍🏽
Early sono is next Friday at 10am to check for sac (might be one or two 😱). It'll be too early for heartbeat of course . Heartbeat sono will be two weeks later-

Positive Beta!!!

Got my results from blood test today
My Beta was 241 at 13dpt😆😆😆😆
Dr wanted anything over 50!
Avery-Harper's first beta was 120!
I'm very pregnant! Ha ha
Next check is Wednesday!

When a child prays and wishes...

 At the mall last month and she saw a little girl throwing coins into this fountain. She asked me about it and I explained that she could make a wish then toss her coin and it might come true. Then this transpired. My God look at the hope on her face! I asked her what she wished for and she said for a baby sister! (tears)

 Wish made and coin tossed

Looks like her wish (and ours) came true! 8dpt with two frozen 3day old embryos

Beta is on Monday at 8:30am but I tested today, Wednesday afternoon and got a positive!!

Random Pics

my two supporters heading upstairs for another dr appointment

Progesterone patch that I have to change every 4 days

Pics of Transfer Day 10/25/16

What I'm feeling right now-

A lot of tinges and most nights I have a stomach ache-

I'm taking it as a good sign. I recall having the same type of tinges and sharp pains with Avery-Harper. Also the other day I got a wee bit dizzy! I didn't really think about it until I read a post from another recent transferee today in the IVF group. Again I'm taking that as a good sign.

Found this cool timeline of what's going on inside of me right now-

http://www.bubblesandbumps.com/what-happens-after-embryo-transfer-day-3-day-5-transfer-calendar/

3 DAY TRANSFER

Days past transfer	Embryo Development
1	The embryo continues to grow from a 6-8 cell embryo into a morula (16-64 cells)
2	The cells of the morula continue to divide, developing into a blastocyst (70-100 cells)
3	The blastocyst begins to hatch out of its shell
4	The blastocyst continues to hatch out of its shell and begins to attach itself to the uterus
5	The blastocyst attaches deeper into the uterine lining, beginning implantation
6	Implantation continues
7	Implantation is complete, cells that will eventually become the placenta and fetal cells begin to develop
8	Placenta cells secrete human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) into the blood stream
9	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
10	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
11	Levels of hCG are now high enough to detect a pregnancy on HPT. GO TEST!! (if you haven't already...)

Transfer was yesterday-

My oh my what a day it was! Well due to the fact that I misread an email, all yesterday morning I was expecting a call to let me know whether the embryos survived the thaw.

If you recall in 2014 I got to this point at the end of my FET and two hours before my transfer I received a call that my one and only embryo didn't survive the thaw. Devastated would be an understatement.

So needless to say I was waiting on pins and needles all morning for a phone call. By 11am I still hadn't received it and thawing began at 9am per my email. I was a nervous freaking wreck. However I proceeded forward with my plans of taking my daughter to ballet and my friend was meeting is there to watch her and take her to play until we were back home.

By 11:20 I couldn't handle anymore! I didn't want to call bc I remember not hearing anything the last time so I called and was told they'd call if there was a problem. Minutes later the call I received was devastating.

Nevertheless I called anyway. Spoke to my nurse and was like NO ONE HAS CALLED ME! I'm set to be there in an hour!!!! She was like no news is good news!!! 😳😳 Then she says wait here comes an embryologist so I'll ask to make sure. She did and everything was a go! I swear I immediately became 50lbs lighter!!!!! SO RELIEVED!!!!

So we went up there. The doctor said everything looked great. One embryo lost a few cells but it had so many to start with that we were fine. He said hey we're rated A's and that I was at a 1 for easiness on the transfer scale bc my uterus was easily accessible. It was quick and painless like I remembered and I was tilted upward after for about 20 minutes. These next few days I'll be resting. I'm so relived to have gotten this far.

I'm officially PUPO ( pregnant until proven otherwise) lol
I have a blood test on November 7th but I'll probably test before then so I can be emotionally prepared. Thank you God for getting us this far! Praying I can give my baby girl healthy sibling(s)!

Transfer here I come!!

GOOD FREAKING NEWS!!!!
Just leaving my dr everything looks good! He wanted my lining to at least be at 7.5 and it was at 14.51!!!! My transfer is next Tuesday (10/25) at noon! Then I'll be on bed rest a couple of days-

Praying these beans stick!!!

My FET drugs

FET drugs-
Let's see for now I'm taking Estradiol twice a day and wearing an progesterone patch which I change every 3 days.

I also have Progesterone Cream, progesterone pills, antibiotic and Medrol which I'll take later in the protocol-

In addition to those prescribed meds I take one baby aspirin once a day and blood pressure pills twice a day.

 All my meds

 All my meds

Minivelle Patch

FET MEDS HAVE STARTED!!!

I'm so excited I'm near tears! Damn emotions😒
FET prep has officially started today! Went in for my baseline sono this morning and received my med chart-

Started my estradiol and estrogen patch today.
I still had Endometrin (Crinone), progesterone pills (prometrium) and medrol left over from my fresh cycle meds which I'll take later in this FET protocol.  I had to also purchase doxycycline to start later as well. I will be continuing with my baby aspirin and prenatals daily.

Tentative transfer date is October 25th!

Time to get started!

Well my cycle came two days earlier than I thought it would! Called my dr today and they want me to come in Wednesday morning for my baseline sono! I'll also start my meds that day! I'm so excited! Transfer should be at the end of the month!

I was told I'd be on progesterone pills and progesterone patches. Plus continue taking my prenatals and baby aspirin of course. I'm so ready!

Endo Scratch Completed

Well I had my Endometrin Scratch yesterday and it was not pleasant.
It was highly uncomfortable but quick like 5 minutes or so-
I came home right after and pretty much stayed in bed all day. Enjoyed a nap and just took it easy. I had light bleeding which ceased within an hour or so-
I understand why they don't put you under for something like that but at the same time it was really uncomfortable, intimidating and I found it hard to relax.
I'm just glad it's over! Now I'm just waiting until my cycle starts and then I go back to the doctor on cycle day3 for a baseline check and I'll start my progesterone and progesterone patches! I'm so excited to move forward-

Estimated Infertility Tally-

I'm trying to keep a running tally of everything we've paid for during this infertility journey.
I'm thinking from 2009-date we've spent about 50k over 8 years. That includes doctor visits, IVF fees, meds for 3 cycles (2 fresh IVF and 1 FET), 2 failed IUIs, 3 surgical procedures (laposcrophy, polypectomy and  hysteroscopy), 1 IVF (successful), 1 failed FET (embryo didn't survive the thaw) and 2 Endometrin scratches.

That also includes this process of our 2nd fresh IVF where we added ICSI.

Endometrin Scratch Date Set

Endo scratch is set for 9/26/16 at 11am-
No anesthesia and it should only take about 5 minutes then I'm out the door!
So excited....

AF has arrived-

Well 12 days after my egg retrieval my cycle finally started this morning-Now I get to call my doctor tomorrow to see when I do my endo scratch. I'm glad to moving forward. I was wondering how long it would take to start. It's really hard not to be anxious. I'm just ready to have my transfer so I can finally have a resolution soon-

Endo Scratch Anyone?

I've decided to get an Endometrin Scratch before my October transfer in hopes that it will increase my chances for a successful embryo(s) implantation. During my first IVF (for Avery-Harper) they found a polyp during my trial transfer so I had a polypectomy weeks before my transfer. My doctor said he'd go ahead and do an endo-scratch while he was in there in hopes that the tackiness that occurs when it heals would help with implantation. Now I have no way of knowing if it did but I figured why not try again. I want to do everything I can to increase my chances bc this is it! I'm praying so hard that I'm able to give Avery-Harper a healthy sibling or siblings. I don't want to have any regrets this last go round.

ENDOMETRIN SCRATCH:
Best described as being similar to a smear test, an endometrial scratch involves a quick scrape of your womb lining at a certain point in your cycle. The promising research suggests it could improve embryo implantation, especially if you’ve had failed IVF attempts before. You can have a scratch before fertility treatment with your own eggs, donor eggs or frozen embryos.

How does it work? Well, endometrial scratching seems to provoke a reaction within the inner lining of the womb. Hormones and chemicals are released to help the lining repair itself. A genetic trigger response to an endometrial scratch may give the implantation ‘green light’. In essence, the temporary injury seems to make the endometrium more receptive to an embryo. That means a better chance of a pregnancy and a live birth.

Vacation CANCELLED 😩

Soooooooooooo throughout this very long process Ive had an anniversary trip already planned and paid for-
Not until yesterday (20 days before vacay) when I was on a play date, my friend asked where we were going and I said Playa Mujeres, Mexico. She turned totally white and was like "even with the Zika"!!!!!!
My God! I never thought about Zika this entire time.
I told my husband we had to cancel. I called my RE and my OB for their opinions as well, both suggested I cancel.
After all of the stress with this protocol and with the constant setbacks, I REALLY needed that vacay! But no way in the shit I'm risking anything-

Oh well......I can travel anytime but it's obvious that I can not have a baby anytime I want.

So far for this protocol I had to:
Cancel our Staycation at Great Wolf with our friends
Cancel our trip to Houston for our great niece's birthday
Cancel our Mexico vacation
Miss my nephew's birthday party
Miss our friends' 10 year Anniversary party

There's gotta to be a big blessing in store for us right?🙏🏾

Way to go TERRIFIC TWO!!!

UPDATE:

I just got the call that my "terrific two" grew beautifully and made it to day 3 freeze with no problems. Hallelujah 🙌🏾

I did ask her (the embryologist) why day 3 freeze and she said the same thing as my doctor. Our natural bodies are the best environment for the embryo so there is no need to wait to day 5. Especially being that I only had two embryos. You chance losing viable healthy embryos by stretching it when it's not even necessary (her words). She also said even if my transfer would have been fresh I'd still be doing it today on day 3 to give the embaby the best chance.

So now we wait until my cycle after the next one to start FET prep.

I'm so relieved!!! Thank you Jesus!!!