Saturday, May 21, 2016

Embie baking, round two!

Hi! We returned home late yesterday evening from our transfer trip and I am happy to report that two beautiful embryos are in and are (hopefully) making themselves at home. I would have happily updated earlier, but I didn't bring my laptop with me on the trip and blogging from my tablet just isn't practical for me.

See how beautiful!

The picture above is magnified and shows the 2 embryos at the blastocyst stage. They look good! The transfer went very smoothly. The clinic sent us home with a perfect picture of these two little embies getting nestled into that lining! See...


K, J, and the hubs and I went out to lunch after the procedure. We haven't been able to spend as much time with them as we would have liked, so this was quite a blessing.

Our flight out to NYC went pretty smoothly other than a typical delay. I say "typical" because it seems my flights are always delayed; I don't remember the last time one was actually on time. I suppose all that matters is that we made it.

After we grabbed the rental car and a quick bite to eat (breakfast at 3p!), we headed to meet up with C and the twins. We were able to visit with them at their home for about 45 minutes before C had to load up kiddos and head to another activity. I almost forgot how busy little ones can be! She is in a very busy season of her life for sure. We took several pictures, but for privacy I can not post them here. You'll just have to trust me when I tell you that those two are the cutest kids I've ever carried! I mean, they rank right up there with my own!

They are in NY and we are in TN so visits are few and far between as you can imagine. Although it felt like a short visit, I'm so grateful to have been able to see them; they are such a sweet family and they hold a special place in my heart.

Our return flight was a bit more dramatic - perhaps everything is "dramatic" when you hate flying! The airline attendant announced that 4 people would be bumped in order to accommodate a "weight restriction." The captain was in the terminal and requested a baggage and head count and asked that the plane not be fueled until after everyone and their bags were on board. He didn't say this to the passengers of course, but my anxious ears perked up after the announcement. The thought of being on a plane that may be too heavy, and therefore not weight balanced, was a bit unnerving. I know a (very) little bit about physics, and I'm pretty sure that weight and balance is important when flying a bird!

As we were sitting (me, anxiously!) on the tarmac, the captain then announced that we would be flying over some stormy weather so the second hour of the flight could be a bit choppy. *sigh* We made it just fine all the same, but I don't think I will ever get used to, let alone like, flying!

My beta blood test is scheduled for May 31. The Memorial Day holiday costs us a WHOLE  extra day of waiting! In the meantime, I've been instructed to carry on life as usual but with a 15lb lifting restriction. I need some time away from the gym anyway. ;)

I'll check in again soon, friends.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

FINALLY moving forward

We FINALLY heard from all points of contact regarding my last appointment - May 4 - and we are FINALLY a go for transfer! My uterine lining measured 17-18mm, which was a slight decrease from the 21mm it was previously. My clinic is happy with that and we are preparing for embryo transfer on May 19.  I am waiting to receive travel arrangements, but given the 19th appointment date, we should be flying out on the 18th and coming back home on the 20th. Then we wait for beta to see if either of those 2 embies decide to stick around! As much as I would like to lament over the fact that this is 3 weeks past our original proposed date, I'm too excited to care! We are FINALLY going to attempt a second transfer nearly 3 months after our chemical pregnancy. It's been a loooong 3 months, y'all.

C and I continue to be in touch about our travel dates, so we still hope to be able to see the twins when we travel for the transfer. We're excited about that as well.

My estrace was decreased again in preparation for the transfer; I'm down from the original 8mg/day to 2mg/day. The decrease in the estrace has caused some slight spotting (which helped to decrease that lining a bit), but this is normal and expected. I will take my last dose of Lupron tomorrow and begin the big progesterone shots Friday. I should be getting used to those by now...should be.

I hope you all enjoyed your Mother's Day this past weekend. My boys and I spent the day Saturday hiking, picnic'ing, and ended the night with a frozen yogurt outing, yum! On Sunday, we relaxed a bit at home and had a cookout that evening: grilled BBQ chicken and corn on the cob! We don't take time often enough to slow down and spend some time together;  it was such a blessing to do that this weekend with my family.

I will check in again soon, friends!