Getting a little bit closer...

This FET process seems like it takes forever, because you do so little that the time passes much more slowly. With IVF and IUIs you are stimming, doing ultrasounds, getting blood drawn, and etc. ALL the time. With the FET, there is hardly anything to do.

At this point, I have received four del estrogen injections. Matt is an old pro at this point as far as giving the IM shots is concerned. He just may have a second career as a "shot giver guy". I'm sure "those guys" make a ton of money. I have another injection on Wednesday, and then I go in for my lining check (ultrasound) and bloodwork on Friday. That is when things will really get moving. More shots, more often. A week from this Wednesday should be our transfer. I am hoping that our frozen M&M minis survive the thaw all right. We only have five left...

So - stay tuned to this absolutely riveting process! I'm sure y'all are glued to your computers just waiting for the next exciting post.

Matt and Mr. Duvall

Matt and Robert Duvall during the trophy presentation at the 69th International Gold Cup. Also included is a photo of the horses jumping during the Porsche sponsored race. Beautiful day!October 21,2006

M&M with Mr. Robert Duvall

Here is a photo of Matt and I with Robert Duvall. The shot was taken at the 69th annual International Gold Cup which was sponsored by Porsche and two of Matt's local dealers. Matt did a trophy presentation with Mr. Duvall, so we were able to meet and briefly chat with him. He lives in the area and enjoys being present at this event when he can. He is a very nice guy, and it was such a trip hanging out up there. The event was a big success, and I am very proud of my husband for pulling it all together in such a short amount of time. Good job, baby!

Grab your needles....let the shots begin again!

Everything went well at the RE's office today. The RE said that my uterus looked like it was "ready for some embryos". The lining was fine, and my uterus and both ovaries were "quiet". Apparently the blood work came back clear as well because we will begin the del estrogen IM injections this evening.

I will draw up .2 ml of the del estrogen using an 18G needle. Matt will inject the oily solution using a 22G x 1" needle. These needles are so much better than the 1 1/2" ones I used for most of my IVF cycle....my body is too little for the longer needles. Anway....these shots will be administered every third night through the time of transfer (and well after). On November 3rd I need to go back to the RE's office for another lining check and more blood work. If all looks good on that day, the following day I will begin doing the PIO IM injections along with the del estrogen IM injections. The PIO shots, unfortunately, need to be given every day. I will continue these shots for five days, and then we will have the transfer done on November 8th. Through all of this, I also must take a pre-natal vitamin and a baby aspirin every day.

So - we are once again getting close.........to what??? Who knows. We'll keep you posted.

TODAY IS DAY ONE!

So, today is the first day of my cycle! That means tomorrow I go in for my baseline ultrasound and bloowork, and more than likely I will begin my del estrogen IM inejctions tomorrow night. This is the official kickoff of our FET cycle. Stay tuned.....

Surviving 12,304 feet - M&M in the Rockies

Here is a beautiful shot of ourselves at the top of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The wind was a blowing somethin' fierce that day, but we were still able to travel up and over via Trail Ridge Road. We hiked up as far as we could into the tundra. Awesome! What a great trip!

Out with the BCPs

So, I am finally finished with the BCPs after taking them for 21 days. Now I sit and wait for my next cycle to begin so that we are able to kick off the FET process. On the first day of my cycle I will begin taking baby aspirin along with my prenatal vitamin. On the second day of my cycle I must travel to the clinic to have my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork completed. If everything looks ok then I will begin my del estrogen IM injections on day two as well. About 17 days into injections of both del estrogen (only given every third day) and PIO (given every day starting 12 days into the del estrogen shots), we will be able to do our actual transfer. We are getting excited, but it also seems surreal. I don't know if we are more relaxed about this attempt given that we lack hope in general, or if it is just old school to us at this point in time. Who knows....but we are doing it anyway. Here's to the start of another journey (good, bad or indifferent)!