Transfer Day!!!

Did this day really just happen?!  So many days leading up to this moment....654 days to be exact!  It all seems so surreal.  I have to remind myself constantly that I have a baby inside me right now.  This is our first real chance at pregnancy since I would never ovulate and there weren't enough fast swimmers to win the race.  We talk like I'm already pregnant but it's scary to also know that there is a chance that this baby won't stick- like a 60% chance.  I pray that there's nothing else wrong with my environment and that it will know that it's loved and be happy right where it is.  I asked Melinda "so when should I expect bleeding to start if it doesn't take?" She said that it's typically like a normal period so it'll be right around when I take the pregnancy test.  You all have been SO unbelievably supportive to us throughout this journey and for that I am very thankful.  Whether you have helped with your knowledge, your time, your positive thoughts and prayers, or your treasures, it has made this process so easy for us.  I am so glad I have gone public with all of our updates and I know this miracle embryo is loved by so many.  We clearly have fighters if almost all of the embryos survived so far!  Keep on fighting little baby :)

So I'll talk about how our days have been leading up to today and then get to the transfer part. 

Justin and I had a great time traveling to Jacksonville for the USA soccer match.  It was fun to get out of Gainesville!

Tuesday, September 13th I started my Progesterone shots I have to give in my muscle.  I had pretty big anxiety over this because I knew the flu shots hurt and to think I had to get one of those types of shots in my HIP or BUTT every single day for 10 weeks would be miserable.  I have always had my vaccines in my arms so I was worried about a new place.  I feared that Justin wouldn't be able to do it and that the meds would be so thick that it would sting or hurt.  I am here to tell you that all those fears are completely wrong!  Justin does such a phenomenal job and it hurts less than the flu shot.  We numb it with ice first so the needle doesn't hurt.  You just feel some pressure once the meds are almost all the way in.  I think Justin feels good knowing he can participate in this process.  He takes off my estrogen patches with baby oil for me every other night and then gives my shot.  We have gotten in to a nightly routine.  

"You're not putting that needle in ME are you?!- Tucker

The progesterone has increased my blood sugars slightly but it took a few days for me to notice the increase.  Every day I am having to make changes.  One night I will have a perfect straight line on my Dexcom and then the next I won't have eaten but my blood sugar will start to climb meaning it's time to increase the basal rate again. So annoying!

Then I had an endocrinology appointment on Thursday.  For the first time ever, I think my blood pressure was 100/60 and I was calm.  This new doctor likes me to get my labs drawn from the lab before my appointment so I already know my numbers and it doesn't give me anxiety when I get there. haha  So I was a little annoyed at this appointment and freaking out because she basically told me that I was doing great but that she basically didn't have time to manage my diabetes in pregnancy and that I should just be managed by my high risk OB.  This was a COMPLETE shocker to me as my last endo told me that she would manage me and I would switch off seeing her and the OB so I was seeing someone every 2 weeks.  This endo just wants to see me every 3 months.  This didn't make sense to me since she's the one with all the knowledge on managing blood sugars!  Well I started freaking out and of course decided to search for forums online for women with diabetes and pregnancy to ask them who managed them.  

Surprisingly enough, I found 2 Facebook groups called Type 1 Diabetes and Pregnancy and Type 1 Diabetes and Fertility.  I am SO glad I did because I have gotten so much knowledge in the past few days since I have joined.  These women have given me insight about how to lower your a1c, what diet sodas to drink, when to expect insulin resistance, and who managed their blood sugars.  I highly recommend joining if you are diabetic and want to know what pregnancy is like.  The majority of them said their high risk OB managed their blood sugars.  A lot of them would go in monthly or every few weeks but email their sugars and make changes weekly.  That made me feel better!

I had off this weekend before the transfer and I had every intention to get things done around the house but instead I ended up just lounging.  Justin worked on scrubbing the tile grout and we watched the Gator game.  I had tried out some Body Flow (yoga/pilates) classes at Gainesville Health and Fitness and just didn't like the way they taught or the environment.  I made the decision to work an extra 4 hours every month so that I could go back to Barre Forte where I had started to make friends and feel at home.  I went to their body flow class and relaxed on Sunday.  It was so relaxing and nice to be back.  Then my mother-in-law and I went to get pedicures for more relaxation!

Last night felt like Christmas Eve.  I was able to get to sleep but then Justin got up super early for his 5:30am basketball game at the gym and I could NOT fall back asleep in anticipation.  I had a 9am acupuncture appointment.  Justin was able to sit with me this time so he was able to get such cool pictures!  We both felt SO relaxed afterwards with the heated table you lay on, calming music, and peace and quiet.  

Can you see that needle in the middle of my head?!

Don't my toes look good?! haha

They followed a standard IVF protocol that was in two large research studies.  It was shown that it can increase your chances of an IVF pregnancy 13-16%!  Dr. Christman says that it just keeps you relaxed and helps you stay calm.  My acupuncturist says that the different pressure points help with uterine blood flow, pulling the uterine muscles up, and there were some calming points.  I definitely felt relaxed after. 

We had time to spare so we decided to walk around Books-A-Million as it should have been playing calming music and we could stay relaxed and look around.  I had to empty my bladder at 10am and then drink 16oz of water and hold it until after the procedure.  11:00am came quickly and I had to take 10mg of Valium and start heading to the clinic.  It was not fun holding my urine!

I became super dizzy and loopy from the Valium and we got dressed in our sterile gear in the OR suite.  

Proud Baby Daddy hehe

Here's a silly video I sent my cousin where clearly I was high as a kite. 

We met with the embryologist, Dr. Kramer first to get a report on our little embryo.  He said as of 10:30am, the embryo thawed great and was ready to go in me!  I asked if this was our best embryo and he said yes it was but there wasn't much difference between all of the ones we had.  They look at each embryo and pick out the best and freeze that in straw #1, second best in straw #2 etc etc.  In case you forgot, we have 4 good embryos and 4 fair embryos frozen.  This transfer leaves us 7 more for later! 

So happy to see my baby!

Our hatching blastocyst embryo

Dr. Christman was in a jolly mood as usual.  We signed consent forms and all agreed to put in one embryo.

Going over discharge instructions early

We went to the same room I was in for the egg retrieval.  Here's the pic Justin took of the room last time.

Justin was able to take pictures and video during the whole procedure.  I am so glad to have these to replay over and over!

This is a 4 min video of Dr. Christman explaining the procedure and how he is prepping me.  You can't see the ultrasound very well but I like his commentary.

This is the really cool 1 min video of him inserting the embryo in me!  Look for the highlighted horizontal line in the grey part.  That is the catheter in me and you'll see a tiny little thing get ejected.  Look right away or you'll miss it!

My embryo is in the uterus at the edge of the fallopian tubes

After it was all said and done, I got to go to the restroom and then change and leave!  We were so happy it went perfect :) 

Proud Parents

I then returned to do the same acupuncture at 4pm after it was transferred!  I'm feeling good and staying hopeful.  Thank you for your continued prayers!

Last FET Checkup & A1c

Just wanted to write a quick note about how today's checkup went.  Dr. Williams did my ultrasound today and I had another estrogen level checked.

My uterine lining went from 7.9mm to 8.2mm.  I am now officially over the 8mm threshold they wanted.  My estrogen level went down from 295 to 248.  I was worried about that decrease at first but Melinda reassured me that as long as I was greater than 150, I was fine.  I am on the same 4 patches of estrogen as the last time that I was checked so it makes sense that my estrogen level stayed about the same.  I remember my lining was up to 9mm during my fresh cycle so I'm a little bummed my lining isn't thicker.  I have to remind myself that my estrogen was up to 3823 last time so of course I was thicker and to stop comparing myself to others.  Everyone is different.  It is still stressful for me though because I like to be an overachiever haha. 

Here is a picture of them measuring my lining today.  Justin went with me so he was able to take a better photo.  You can see two little yellow and blue diamond dots in the middle towards the right which are the top and bottom of my lining with the stripe in the middle.

Justin and I went to breakfast at Peach Valley Cafe afterwards and enjoyed our meal.  I am very proud of us as we have been doing really well lately on eating within our budget.  I get out cash every paycheck and use that for our date money and personal money and so far it seems to keep us in line.  We will be starting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University with our church small group this week so I hope we can continue to stay motivated to save! 

So what's next?  I don't have any more ultrasounds or labs until the transfer on the 19th!  I will stop my Lupron shots and start Progesterone on Tuesday.  I am really anxious about my blood sugars as I know the Progesterone will increase them a LOT and I only have 6 days to adjust my insulin dosages before a baby gets inside me.  I have an endocrine appointment on Thursday though so hopefully she can help adjust things before the transfer.  I will have to do some fasting to help figure my insulin dosing before then. 

I had my a1c checked and I was bummed that I stayed the same at 6.9.  My Dexcom said that my estimated a1c over the last 90 days was going to be 6.0 so it clearly shows you how different meters are.  I know all of the hormones had a huge effect on it so I'm glad it's still less than 7.  My kidney function looked good though. 

Please continue to pray for my nerves...that I will be less anxious about this whole process.  Maybe it's the estrogen talking but I really get emotional thinking how I am trying my best to control these blood sugars and they still aren't perfect.  You guys have no clue how hard it is to try to balance it all. I have to fast and not eat in order to check my basal rates, make adjustments, and then eat pre-packaged unhealthy food that have exact carb counts so that I can adjust my carb to insulin ratio.  Then I want to be healthy so I have good nutrients for a future baby, so I cook at home but then carb counts aren't perfect and it is a guessing game so my blood sugars turn out not perfect.  Getting tired of trying so hard...but I have prayed about it and that's all I can do!

I will post again on Tuesday with how my first Progesterone shot goes.  Until then...see you later!

First FET Checkup

What a crazy two weeks this has been!  We finally finished painting the ceiling!!  Justin did a great job and we have saved so much money by him doing it himself.  Super proud wife :) 

I have enjoyed putting all my fall decorations up already.  Here's our mantle.  Fall is my favorite time of year in Gainesville!  I was super happy to find out I could get a Pumpkin Spice Latte in Decaf at Starbucks and boy was it yummy! 

We were very lucky that Hurricane Hermine didn't do any damage to our home.  A lot of friends lost power or had trees fall on their property.   They threatened us at work that if things got too bad, they would just keep us at the hospital until things cleared up.  I came prepared with all of my fertility meds just in case.  I wasn't having anything mess this cycle up!  

Well of course things cleared up and I didn't have to spend the night at the hospital BUT I was so distracted by life that I FORGOT MY SHOT!  I usually take it around 10pm but I fell asleep and woke up at 4am freaking out.  I took the Lupron 6hrs late and started researching what could possibly happen.  I am not sure how accurate this is, but I read on some forum that the estrogen patches that I am taking will prevent you from ovulating 90% of the time and therefore some clinics don't even have their patients take Lupron.  That made me feel better.  But the Lupron is supposed to help make sure that there is no chance of ovulating.  Melinda said I should be fine but I knew I wouldn't feel ok until I got my ultrasound check today. 

Today's ultrasound was done by Dr. Rhoton.  She said "What a beautiful stripe you have!" talking about my endometrial lining.  They seemed very pleased with how I was progressing and said everything is right on track!  They take a measurement of my lining three times and take the average number to make sure it's right.  I am at 7.9cm.  Dr. Rhoton was pleased with anything over 7mm and I am hoping I'll keep growing before Saturday's check again.  Here's a picture of my lining.  They always go so fast so this picture is a little blurry but you can see the bold white horizontal line in the middle of the ultrasound.  They measure how thick it is. 

The white bold line above the arrow is my endometrial stripe

Then I had my labs drawn again.  They are measuring my estrogen level to make sure it's not too low and that I don't need to increase the amount of patches I wear.  They want the level to be around 150 or greater.  Mine resulted at 295.   So that is a good number.  I will continue wearing the four patches every other day.  

I have been feeling SO happy on these hormones lately- it's crazy!  I wonder if I'm having all the hormones that typically women get in their 2nd trimester because holy moly- I have so much energy.  I even got to the point where I busted into the kitchen and had to tell Justin how I couldn't control how happy I was! lol  So strange.  I guess it's better than crying all the time.  But don't get me wrong- I have been very emotional at cheesy tv shows.  I can also feel my uterus getting thicker or full.  I'm not sure if it's pushing more on my bladder or what, but I'm having to go to the restroom more as well.  

I also asked the lab to draw my labs that I need for my upcoming endocrinology appointment.  Of course that entails another a1c level as I get them checked every 3 months.  I am SO nervous once again because my Dexcom meter says I have been doing so good that I am hoping for my best number yet.  However, there is always an error rate and I don't want to get disappointed with a higher number.  I always get anxious about my kidney function numbers as well.   Please continue to pray everything looks great for a baby!  I will get these back in a few days. 

So tonight we are going to the USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago soccer game in Jacksonville.  Should be fun!  I have 1 week before I have to start taking those AWFUL progesterone shots in my muscles.  Feeling pretty nervous about those but I will keep telling myself that it's for the baby...it's for the baby...

Countdown to baby:  13 days!!