Joy comes in the morning

Wow........I'm so overwhelmed! Oh, where do I begin?

Chris was able to accompany me to the Fertility Clinic for our ultrasound appointment at 7:30 am. (No blood work needed)

Chris' sunrise photo taken Dec 1st posted on The Weather Network

So in I go to the exam table and lay down for today's ultrasound. I can tell something has been happening lately because I'm still feeling uncomfortable and...very full....

The ultrasound technician and Chris have geeky conversations about Comic Con and Star Wars as she begins to measure each follicle she's seeing. I will say I was barely listening to two of them because she was moving that dang ultrasound wand in every conceivable way within my uterus.

I just kept telling myself "Don't hit her." She did apologize a few times and I could tell she meant it. That helped. I remember saying outloud at one point, "I will not strangle you. I will not strangle you...." She thanked me for that one... chuckles The follicles that were tucked in the back were hardest to reach. She would press in hard to see them for measuring -- and measure she did!

Twenty-five follicles were measured this morning! Three of them are at 18 mms! What does that mean, you ask? Well, in all my research online it was really hard to find what type of number they were looking for to go ahead with the next step. I only found one website that mentioned 22-24 mms so I assumed our clinic would be the same. Oh no, I was wrong and I'm happy to say that!

We have scheduled our egg retrieval day for Friday morning at 8 o'clock!

Over the next few days I will following my new "Trigger Instructions". So...I hope you can follow what I am about to write out here...I can barely compute it all myself!

Wednesday December 2nd:

1. Do not take Gonal-F or Luveris today (we are all out of this drug anyhow, so need to worry)
2. Take your last dose of Cetrotide (we did this at 6:50 am this morning before leaving for our appt)
3. Take Milk of Magnesia at bedtime (2 tbsp of liquid)
4. Start Dostinex 0.5mg (oral pill) every day 3 days X 4 doses for the following days: Dec 2 (w/supper), 5th, 8th & 12th (at bedtime) (may cause nausea)
5. Take Lupron 0.6ml (injection needle) @ 8:00 pm

Thursday December 3rd:

1. Lupron 0.6m (injection needle) @ 6:00 am
2. Lorazepam (oral sedative) 1 mg @ bedtime

NOTHING TO EAT OR DRINK AFTER MIDNIGHT

Friday December 4th:

1. Don't eat breakfast. No food or liquids. You may brush your teeth. Partner (Chris!) MUST have breakfast if accompanying you in the procedure room
2. Weigh yourself and continue to weigh yourself every morning
3. Take your antibiotic (Flagy) (oral pill) and sedative Lorazepam (oral sedative) 1 mg with sips of water @ 6:00 am (may cause dizziness) 
4. Arrive at clinic at 7:00 am
5. Egg retrieval is booked for 8:00 am
6. You will stay at the clinic for 1 hour after your egg retrieval

Remember no scented products and no makeup, nail polish, etc.

The ideal time frame for sexual abstinence is 2-3 days prior for the egg retrieval for ICSI

They will be freezing ALL the eggs..Well I think they will take Chris' live sperm and inject my egg to produce an embryo and then freeze the embryos. 

Why are they freezing everything instead of placing "fresh" embryos inside of me? I have a greater chance of developing OHSS (Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome). Remember how worried I was about that during the Ovidrel shot they gave me to end the first round of drugs? Well, you have a greater chance of developing OHSS when pregnant and if they place the embryo back in right now it could trigger OHSS. They want to reduce that possibility as much as they can. I guess this is the way to do that.

So......uhm........yeah.......lots to take in!!!

Chris just keeps saying "holy crap" over and over again. He says he feels like his feet are not even touching the floor. 

I am much more nervous and overwhelmed but it all. I know that will also give me an IV sedative and medication for pain while in the procedure. 

I.am.petrified. I don't know why. I mean, I've gone through lots of surgeries in my life. This is just like those surgeries and this procedure only lasts 5-10 minutes. It's done right in the clnic. No hospital required.

Chris and I are off work for a few days -- with doctors notes! Our boss had already approved us to have an extra day off today and our regular day off is Thursday. Now, we will also have Friday off, for egg retrieval. 

Also, I will be off work until Monday to recover -- doctor's orders. 

We don't know if our boss will be giving Chris the weekend off as well or if he'll have to be in charge of the building while watching me like a hawk. (You know he will be beside me all weekend, doing just the bare minimum to keep the building going, if he is on call.) I have to admit, I'm hoping we're both off until Monday as I would like him near by while I recover.

I will have a lot of cramping, perhaps bleeding and copious amounts of pain over the weekend... I wish I had a heating pad...... Thankfully I am allowed to take Advil, Tylenol and Gravol if I need to. I don't think I'll be leaving the bed or couch very much and may not be up to snuff even come Monday.

Chris is feeling apprehensive about transportation to and from the clinic of Friday. I think he's afraid of taking a cab and things not going well there. Also, I get the feeling he may need someone for some moral support before and after. He's a good man and just wants to make sure to take care of us both, to the best of his abilities.

When I heard the big news today, after the excitement and anxiety wore off, I worried about my job and my boss' reaction. This is not the type of job where you can just take time off work and feel like everything will just continue to go smoothly. We are essential to the smooth operation and running of this building... Thankfully though our boss was wonderful when I called her. "Don't worry about a thing. I will take care of it all and figure out who can cover you. You just rest and recoup." 

I cried with relief after that call.... I really did.... I felt at peace and like I really could concentrate on what we're about to do next to become parents.

Wow.........parents...........gulps.........This might all result in our daughter or son coming into the world....

We've have already prayed once together...a wordless prayer of tears and choked sobs....we feel honored to have this opportunity to try to have children. No words can express the joy of just being able to try...... With our fertility issues we really didn't know if this would all ever be possible for us.