This message brought to you by M&M....

After today, we may not be able to update the blog for a couple / few weeks. Matt will be giving his computer back to Porsche, so we will be without internet access until our new home computer arrives. Please feel free to call us to get updates!

Home: 540-349-9251
Megan cell: 440-281-1473

Thanks for all of your support and prayers!

The OFFICIAL Results!!!

So, now the "real" results are in. I am PREGNANT once again. Our HCG number came back at 2615 this time, which is a really strong number. As one of the nurses told us to do....celebrate the little victories. This is the first step, and at least it was a good first step for us. I will go back on Monday for another blood draw to make sure that the numbers are rising appropriately. I will more than likely have a total of three beta tests prior to scheduling my first ultrasound. The ultrasound will be scheduled for my six week mark, which will be about 1.5 weeks from now. Stay tuned and continue with the positive thoughts and prayers for us! We appreciate it.

The UNOFFICIAL Results

For anyone who is still checking the blog page religiously, or even sporadically, you get to know the unofficial results before anyone else. Hopefully you can tell what the tests above mean, but for those of you who cannot...it means that I am pregnant. So, the total rollercoaster ride begins for Matt and I once again. I have had spotting and cramping for two days(both have all but ceased today), but more than likely this can be attributed to implantation (feel free to look up information on the web regarding this phenomenon). It is too early for it to mean much of anything else. Scary, still...but my nurse says not to worry about it. I have my OFFICIAL beta hCG test this coming Friday, January 26th. We will keep you all posted while we are on this terrifying ride for the third time. Keep thinking very happy thoughts for us!

FET Update

(note: this picture, taken from AFC of Chicago's website, shows a hatching blastocyst)

Transfer took place yesterday, January 12th. Our regular RE surprised us by showing up to do the transfer herself. You never know who you are going to get, and she wasn't scheduled to be there, but she really wanted to do the transfer for us....so she did. There.

Anyway, everything went really well. All three remaining embryos made the thaw, so we put back all three minis. Our RE said they looked like fresh blastocysts! Two of them were graded at 100% (perfect), and one was graded at 80% (not great, but not horrible). One of our "perfect" embryos was already starting to hatch which is a very promising sign. The embryos hatch from their shell (zona pallucida) in order to be able to implant into the uterine lining. This is the first time we have had one hatching prior to transfer, so it does give us some hope.

Our beta (pregnancy) test will be done on January 26th, so we will keep you informed...good, bad, or otherwise. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Transfer

We are scheduled for the FET at 3:30pm in the Rockville, MD office. I have to arrive at 3pm with a full bladder, as usual. We apparently drew the short straw for transfer times because going home we will be stuck right in the middle of DC rush-hour traffic on a Friday evening. Lovely! Oh well. I will update again after my 24 hours of bedrest.....wish us luck!

If at first you don't conceive....try, try again!

I had my lining and estrogen check this morning. Per the usual, all went well. My levels came back fine, and my lining was "8.6, beautiful, with a three-layer effect". This is exactly what they want going into transfer-time. I start my PIO IM injections this evening (1cc daily) which goes along with my del estrogen IM shots (every third day). One of the nurses will call on Thursday to let us know what time the transfer will take place Friday afternoon. As agreed upon earlier, we will be thawing the remaining three frozen M&M minins. We will "put back" however many make the thaw. I will reamin on bedrest for 24 hours, so I will post again sometime after Saturday afternoon.

Thanksgiving 2006

Here is a pic of Matt, my two nieces, and myself on Thanksgiving day. We are so cool!

Christmas 2006

Here is a pic of my mom and I while decorating my parent's Christmas tree. Batman was kind enough to pee on the tree for them. It was a live tree that was still balled because my parents were going to plant it in their yard after the holidays. Batman thought that was cool!

Little over a week to go...

I have had three del estrogen injections so far. My lining check is scheduled for Monday, and I will begin the PIO shots that night if all is clear. Totally uneventful as usual. I am ready for transfer on Jan. 12th, so it can't get here soon enough!

Cycle Day One...come and gone

Well, cycle day one hit on December 26th. I went in this morning for my cycle day 2 baseline ultrasound and blood work. Everything was fine, as usual. I will begin the del estrogen IM injections this evening, and I will get one every three days. I have to go back on January 8th for my lining check, which is also the day that I will begin the PIO IM shots. I am still scheduled for a January 12th transfer.

3 BCPs to go...after Sunday will be done!

I can't hardly wait to be done with the BCPs. They are making me miserable, and I will spare everyone the intimate details of my actual misery. After Sunday I will be all done with them, and I will have my ultrasound and blood work on the 28th as scheduled. The del estrogen shots will begin that day, and our countdown to the FET on January 12th will truly start. I still can't wait until the day prior to transfer when I have my 1 hour and 20 minute Swedish massage....aaaahhhhh!

13 BCPs to go, but who is counting????

Oh yeah, I am. Uggh. They truly suck, but oh well. My yoga 4 fertility dvd arrived yesterday, and I gave it a whirl this morning. I really liked it. It has a lot of great stuff to help you relax and focus, and the yoga poses are great. It will take awhile for my body to be able to do some of the poses perfectly / properly, but I will get there. I am certainly glad I ordered it. I also made my appointment for my massage the day prior to transfer. I am going for an EIGHTY minute swedish massage...yay! I am so excited for that! Well, I must go down a cup of hot raspberry leaf tea....

11 days down...18 more to go

I am 11 days into the BCPs, and I still do not like them anymore than I have in the past. But, I only have 18 more days to go, so it isn't the end of the world. For this FET cycle, I am taking a very positive and relaxed approach. I have begun incorporating a variety of holisitc / homeopathic variables into the mix. I am doing yoga and will soon begin doing a yoga specific for women with fertility issues (a yin form of yoga). I really enjoy this form of exercise as it makes me feel relaxed yet very strong. I have started taking a bubble bath at least once a week while listening to a relaxation CD and reading. I am eating pumpkin seeds (known for holisitc properties regarding the female reproductive system) and drinking a lot of raspberry leaf tea (known for toning and strengthening the uterus and regulating female cycles). I am eating well, although this is nothing new or out of the ordinary. I have put my diet Coke aside for the most part, and I generally drink naturally flavored sparkling water in addition to my tea. The day prior to my frozen transfer I plan to go for a massage. After the transfer I will continue with my yin yoga, and I also plan to go for a facial. I don't know if any of this will result in a pregnancy this time around, but I do know that I am feeling much more in control of what we are doing, and I feel very positive and calm. That, in and of itself, certainly can't do any harm.

Family Holiday Photo

This is the one that is being used to create our Christmas cards. Batman displayed the utmost patience as he was staged for this photo-op. He did try to eat his "arm" on several occasions, but other than that he was a good boy.

FET Round Two....Ding

Well, we are now onto our second FET journey. I started my birth control pills (BCPs) on Sunday, and I will take them for 29 days this time. I will take my last pill on December 24th, my next cycle should begin on December 27th, and I will go in for a baseline ultrasound and bloodwork on December 28th. If all goes well with the baseline workup, then I will begin my del estrogen IM shots again on that same day. Sometime after that the PIO shots will follow suit. My transfer date is tenatively set for January 12th. We have decided to tranfer all three remaining frozen M&M minis, that is if they all survive the thaw. Our estimated beta HCG test would be on / around January 24th.

Thoughts are confirmed....it is official!

Had the beta HCG test today, and it came back negative. Neither frozen embryo "took". My RE called me personally to deliver the news. She is allowing us to go straight into another FET cycle, so I will begin BCPs again sometime in the next week. We will be doing a transfer with the remaining three frozen minins (whichever ones survive the thaw) in early January. This is one of our last attempts, so we hope it works.

Please keep thinking positive thoughts for us!

Thanks - Megan and Matt! =-)

Nothing New - 8dp FET

Eight days past the FET and still just waiting. I have no real symptoms or signs this time around. Although it is still fairly early, I did do an HPT, which as expected came back negative. So, I am not terribly confident that the FET worked for us. I won't have the official word until sometime on Tuesday afternoon, but we already have a gameplan in place if needed. Our follow-up with our RE will be on December 19th. If we have the funds in place through insurance, I will probably start BCPs again in December and do a transfer with the remaining frozen embryos (3) in late January / early February. We shall see...it isn't over until the infertility lady sings (she is a cousin of the fat lady).

4dp FET

We are four days past our FET. Just counting down the days until our beta test....

FET, November 8th

The FET took place yesterday just as planned. The embryologist only had to thaw two embryos to get the two to put back. That is great news, and it means that we still have three frozen minis waiting if we need them. The two embryos that they put back were rated a "95". The RE said that she likes them to be between 90 and 100, and ours were. She said they were "excellent". I had to come home and remain on bedrest until today at 1:30pm. I am now on two to four days of light activity. Once that is over, I am able to resume light to moderate walking for exercise. That is about all I am allowed to do...no weights, no running, no heavy aerobic activities, etc. We will go back to the RE's office on November 21st for our beta HCG test (pregnancy test). Until then, we just wait and hope.

FET TIME!

The nurse just called, and I am all scheduled for my FET tomorrow. I have to arrive at the Rockville, MD facility at 12:15pm ready to go with a very full bladder. The actual transfer is set to take place at 12:45pm. So, as of tomorrow afternoon I will (hopefully) have two minis back where they belong. I have a bunch of magazines and a new book waiting for me when I return home for my 24 hours of bedrest. I even pre-made a casserole so that my lovely husband doesn't have to worry about working and cooking while I lay around like a slob. Twelve days from tomorrow we should have our results. Wish us luck!