Pills and patches and shots, oh my!!! I got my protocol instructions on Friday...WOW! I think one of the instructions should be, "Buy a smart phone because you're gonna need it!" Luckily, I have a Droid so I spent my Friday evening programing reminders into my Gmail calendar so my phone will tell me when it's time to do all this stuff. DH says he needs to see how big the needles are before he decides if he's going to be able to give them to me. He's super nervous about hurting me even though I told him that I have a high tolerance for pain. Mom is the back up...she's an RN and has no problem inflicting pain on my rear end! ;)
My RN told me that the pharmacy that they use will be in contact with me regarding delivery of all my meds. I'm really hoping that insurance covers at least some of this stuff. I had planned on using a fertility clinic that wasn't too far from my work (& took my insurance) for the monitoring ultrasounds and blood work, but I called them yesterday to set up the initial appointment and they decided to tell me then that they charge a $200 "admin" fee for satellite monitoring and that they don't bill insurance for those services so I would have to pay out of pocket. Hmm...mayhaps you should have told me that when I called to ask if you do satellite monitoring and confirm that you accept my insurance. Just a thought! So I'm working with an RN at my GYNS office to see if they can do it there.
So now I'm just patiently waiting for AF to show up so I can start the BCP. I think this is the first time in 3 years that I actually want her to get here! Hopefully, she'll arrive this weekend and we can get this show on the road!
Oh...almost forgot....our Dr. looked over the psych evaluation that I sent her from when we were going to use donor sperm and she said that it was acceptable for the donor embryo program too! That was a $250 out of pocket appointment so I'm glad we don't have to do that all over again!
As we proceed with all these tests and meds and things, I'm trying to keep prayer at the forefront of my mind. I've developed this indescribable connection to our embryos already. Kind of this long distance love/nurturing thing....I don't know. Like I said, indescribable! I pray for them daily and hope they decide to take up residence in my womb for nine months! I'm not even thinking about an "if not", because I'm remaining positive about all of this, which surprisingly isn't hard to do. I feel like this is right and God won't bring us to it without leading us through it!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
On April 21st...
...I will be carrying TWINS....until proven otherwise! I talked to our nurse yesterday (who is absolutely wonderful, might I add) and we picked our transfer date!! She called in a prescription for BCP, which I'll start on day two of my next cycle. I need to call her on day one and she'll send me the protocol and we'll get started. I went ahead and scheduled the endometrial biopsy with my GYN so that I had it on the books and told them I'd send the order when I got it. I go in for that on March 30th and our RN will tell us when the SHG should be and I can schedule it there as well.
As anxious as I am, I'm glad we were able to get this all scheduled so quickly. I was really hoping for the March 28th date but they need to do a mock transfer 5 days prior to the FET so we had to push it off until April because we're going to St. Croix from March 19th - 26th. We'll drive down for the day on April 16th (it's a Saturday) and do the mock transfer and then come home. After we get off work on the 20th, we'll head down and check in to a hotel, have the transfer on the 21st and head home on Friday. I checked the calendar and realized that it's Easter weekend which I think is awesome, but I'm kinda bummed since it'll be tough to fun a church service for Good Friday. I'll try and do some research before we head down and see if we can work something out.
I'm so completely optimistic about this and I'm hoping that I'm not getting my hopes up too high. All the girls on the BBC message board got BFPs recently and I'm so thrilled for them!! It's bolstered my confidence that this is going to work for us. I'm trying to stay focused and faithful and pray every chance I get! I know that, ultimately, this is in His hands, but I've never felt so right about a decision that I've made so I'm praying it's the right one!
As anxious as I am, I'm glad we were able to get this all scheduled so quickly. I was really hoping for the March 28th date but they need to do a mock transfer 5 days prior to the FET so we had to push it off until April because we're going to St. Croix from March 19th - 26th. We'll drive down for the day on April 16th (it's a Saturday) and do the mock transfer and then come home. After we get off work on the 20th, we'll head down and check in to a hotel, have the transfer on the 21st and head home on Friday. I checked the calendar and realized that it's Easter weekend which I think is awesome, but I'm kinda bummed since it'll be tough to fun a church service for Good Friday. I'll try and do some research before we head down and see if we can work something out.
I'm so completely optimistic about this and I'm hoping that I'm not getting my hopes up too high. All the girls on the BBC message board got BFPs recently and I'm so thrilled for them!! It's bolstered my confidence that this is going to work for us. I'm trying to stay focused and faithful and pray every chance I get! I know that, ultimately, this is in His hands, but I've never felt so right about a decision that I've made so I'm praying it's the right one!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Babies on ice...
So, of course, I had a few questions to ask our nurse before we made a decision about the profiles. I e-mailed her today to ask her if CMV status and/or blood type mattered when choosing an embryo, if we would be able to reserve more than one FET worth of embryos to ensure that we would have biological siblings, and verify that one of the profiles that she sent us had, in fact, been frozen in 2001.
And, of course, the one that was my favorite was also DH's favorite and when I talked to the nurse, they only had 2 embies left from that couple. Needless to say, this lit a pretty big fire under our butts! While there was another profile that would yield children that looked more like us than our first choice profile, that one had a history of breast cancer in the maternal mother and grandmother which made me super nervous.
We didn't want these last two embies to slip away so we went ahead and reserved them! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, our embryonic children are waiting for us!!! Our nurse had already left for the day, but the financial coordinator told me that she would follow up with us on Monday. I spoke to my OB/GYNs office and found out that they can do the endometrial biopsy and SHG at their office which is awesome because I really didn't feel like getting another doctor involved if we didn't have too. I like my OB and would like to stick with that practice. As for the satellite monitoring, I found a clinic that's not too terribly far from my work that would handle all that once we got the orders from our nurse and they accept our insurance!
I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't work something out with one of the doctors at the hospital where I work. Being one of the best hospitals in the world, you would think they would have been able to handle something like this! Maybe that's my calling when I get out of nursing school? I'll expand the fertility center there to make it as world renowned as the rest of the institution! Dreaming big, I know!
The DH isn't getting his hopes up about anything but he lets little things slip sometimes that let me know he's as excited as I am and he's just trying to hid it so he's the strong one. I had dinner with my mom tonight too which was really good for both of us. She got her self all worked up and anxious yesterday about this whole thing. She said she didn't want us to rush into anything. I explained to her that while this answer came pretty quickly, we've been asking the question for a long time. We've had a lot of time to process all this information, weigh our options and most importantly pray about it. God took a little bit to give us our answer but I think He was waiting for us to get our butts into gear in some other areas of our lives before He showed us the path we were supposed to take. Once I explained to mom that this felt right to me and told her about all the little things that have happened recently that led us to this decision, she calmed down.
So there's officially nothing I can do on the baby front until Monday, so I'm getting ready to hit the books and do some last minute reviewing for my nursing school entrance exams tomorrow. I'm hoping I can keep the day dreaming to a minimum and focus on this test. Either way, I'm offering it up to Him and if it's meant to be, it will be!
And, of course, the one that was my favorite was also DH's favorite and when I talked to the nurse, they only had 2 embies left from that couple. Needless to say, this lit a pretty big fire under our butts! While there was another profile that would yield children that looked more like us than our first choice profile, that one had a history of breast cancer in the maternal mother and grandmother which made me super nervous.
We didn't want these last two embies to slip away so we went ahead and reserved them! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, our embryonic children are waiting for us!!! Our nurse had already left for the day, but the financial coordinator told me that she would follow up with us on Monday. I spoke to my OB/GYNs office and found out that they can do the endometrial biopsy and SHG at their office which is awesome because I really didn't feel like getting another doctor involved if we didn't have too. I like my OB and would like to stick with that practice. As for the satellite monitoring, I found a clinic that's not too terribly far from my work that would handle all that once we got the orders from our nurse and they accept our insurance!
I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't work something out with one of the doctors at the hospital where I work. Being one of the best hospitals in the world, you would think they would have been able to handle something like this! Maybe that's my calling when I get out of nursing school? I'll expand the fertility center there to make it as world renowned as the rest of the institution! Dreaming big, I know!
The DH isn't getting his hopes up about anything but he lets little things slip sometimes that let me know he's as excited as I am and he's just trying to hid it so he's the strong one. I had dinner with my mom tonight too which was really good for both of us. She got her self all worked up and anxious yesterday about this whole thing. She said she didn't want us to rush into anything. I explained to her that while this answer came pretty quickly, we've been asking the question for a long time. We've had a lot of time to process all this information, weigh our options and most importantly pray about it. God took a little bit to give us our answer but I think He was waiting for us to get our butts into gear in some other areas of our lives before He showed us the path we were supposed to take. Once I explained to mom that this felt right to me and told her about all the little things that have happened recently that led us to this decision, she calmed down.
So there's officially nothing I can do on the baby front until Monday, so I'm getting ready to hit the books and do some last minute reviewing for my nursing school entrance exams tomorrow. I'm hoping I can keep the day dreaming to a minimum and focus on this test. Either way, I'm offering it up to Him and if it's meant to be, it will be!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Phone Consult...
We had our phone consult with our first choice clinic today!!! The doctor we dealt with was wonderful, as was all the staff that we spoke to. She still didn't have all the medical records from the clinic that we used locally, but it sounds like all we have to do is get a sonohysterogram and an endometrial biopsy and we're good to go! We had a psych evaluation when we were considering donor sperm and the doctor said that most likely that will suffice since it's been within a year.
They sent us 5 profiles to look through and one only had one embryo available. I've chosen to put that one at the bottom of the list. I've been pouring over them all day and DH is at his parents house helping his dad with their father/son bonding project right now so I'm super anxious for him to get home! This just feels right...I can't explain why but I'm hoping that following my gut instinct is going to pay off!
I also heard today that the blogger that was my inspiration and my "sign" that EA was the right choice for us finally got her BFP!!! Yet another blessing that God has put in my path to make me realize how awesome He really is!
It's going to be IMPOSSIBLE to sleep tonight! Or focus on my nursing school entrance exam on Saturday....Wish me luck!
They sent us 5 profiles to look through and one only had one embryo available. I've chosen to put that one at the bottom of the list. I've been pouring over them all day and DH is at his parents house helping his dad with their father/son bonding project right now so I'm super anxious for him to get home! This just feels right...I can't explain why but I'm hoping that following my gut instinct is going to pay off!
I also heard today that the blogger that was my inspiration and my "sign" that EA was the right choice for us finally got her BFP!!! Yet another blessing that God has put in my path to make me realize how awesome He really is!
It's going to be IMPOSSIBLE to sleep tonight! Or focus on my nursing school entrance exam on Saturday....Wish me luck!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Body Gospel...
On a completely non-infertility related topic (which I think I'll need sometimes!), I started an aerobics class at church on Tuesday nights and it's really lifting my spirits and keeping my mind occupied. It's called Body Gospel and it's produced by BeachBody (the same people that do P90X and Slim in 6). I liked the first weeks workout so much I bought the whole series! I love finding these new ways that I can welcome God into my life!
I'll be taking my nursing school entrance exams on Saturday morning! (As if I didn't have enough on my plate already!) I'll be tested on pretty much everything I learned from kindergarten through 12th grade. I work with some nurses on a daily basis that, I'm certain, never had to pass this test! Of course, I hope I do well and my grade gets me a ticket into nursing school, but at this point, I'm willing to put that dream on hold for a while, if need be, in order to follow my dream of becoming a mother. I have a good, stable job that gives us great benefits and still allows me to care for others, just not in the capacity that I'd like. If I have to stay where I am for a few more years than originally planned, so be it. As much as I feel that I'm called to be a nurse, my call to motherhood is louder!
We have the phone consult with our first choice clinic on Thursday morning so I'll be sure post afterwards! All prayers are much appreciated!!
I'll be taking my nursing school entrance exams on Saturday morning! (As if I didn't have enough on my plate already!) I'll be tested on pretty much everything I learned from kindergarten through 12th grade. I work with some nurses on a daily basis that, I'm certain, never had to pass this test! Of course, I hope I do well and my grade gets me a ticket into nursing school, but at this point, I'm willing to put that dream on hold for a while, if need be, in order to follow my dream of becoming a mother. I have a good, stable job that gives us great benefits and still allows me to care for others, just not in the capacity that I'd like. If I have to stay where I am for a few more years than originally planned, so be it. As much as I feel that I'm called to be a nurse, my call to motherhood is louder!
We have the phone consult with our first choice clinic on Thursday morning so I'll be sure post afterwards! All prayers are much appreciated!!
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