Moving on to Next Stage of Frozen Embryo Transfer and the Balancing Act of Parenthood

2 Comments October 12, 2015 TheSweetlyDecoratedLife Blog

The Oscar goes to Progesterone

Okay now onto the next phase.  I call this the final countdown!  Last week I was relieved to find out that my lining looked as they say “pretty”.  What they mean to say is my uterine lining looks healthy enough to implant an embryo.  I laughed out loud and said “pretty” really?  Okay that word alludes me but let’s go with it. The cyst on my left ovary has appeared to dissipate with the left still producing some follicles (egg production).  I tried to quiet them with lots of Lupron-ugh……the sonographer, although not privy to give me the last word somewhat told me it wouldn’t be an issue. Okay left ovary-cooperate. Your stopped in your tracks. The goal here is to stop egg production to “trick” the body into thinking it’s pregnant or will be pregnant.  I’d like to quote Dana Carvey’s character, Church Lady in this instance, “Isn’t this Fun?!”

The protocol I’m on calls for 8 more days of Progesterone (that 2 inch needle is for the birds) and Del Estrogen every 3rd night and Progesterone in Oil for the remainder of those days leading up to a pregnancy test.  Don’t give up I say.  It’s only temporary.  Did I mention my blood clotting disorder requires me to be on injections the duration of my pregnancy?  I used Lovenox in my last pregnancy; a very well-known blood thinner to keep the oxygen and blood flowing to the uterus.  This time around, because of my accelerated age (incredulous here) I will be wearing compression stockings which too aids in vein health.

If you had asked me in my 20’s would I be willing to go through something like this to have a child, I probably would have answered Heck No because I never thought of having children.  As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until I met my husband in my early 30’s did I decide that children would be in my future.

Emily’s School Trip in 20008

There I was on a field trip with my stepdaughter Emily (pictured directly behind me).  I’ve always loved having children around but to take on more than my stepchildren, which is a job in of itself, was going to require that I move mountains.  I don’t want this blog to portray that life is easy or that I throw paint on furniture while my twin five-year old daughters watch copious amounts of television. That’s not the deal.  What I do is not easy.  My daughters are out in the garage with me while I work on projects so I have to naturally balance teaching them and work and for me, not anyone else, this takes some major skill sets!!

First you have to be PATIENT and find it in your patience purse to pull back and assess if what you’re doing is more important than missing those precious parent-child moments.  More often than not, I stop what I’m working on and come back to it later.  Sometimes it’s much later and other times, it’s at night when they’re sleeping.  It just depends.  I don’t want to miss a thing but I do want to put out there, I get flustered.

Being kind to yourself and your mother load is very important also, but you already know that right?  For me a shopping trip is just the key to improving my mood (yesterday).  It took some prying on my husband’s part but once I was out the door and in the mall, it was SUCCESS.  Let me just say that flannel shirt that I said I wouldn’t buy because I said I would never wear flannel, we’ll let’s just say the Lumberjack isn’t the only person who looks good in red and black flannel!  I bought it in a large just so if I grow out a bit, I’ve got room.  I will wear it with cozy black leggings in the Fall and duck boots. I will wear it proudly with or without a pregnancy.  I’m nervous about this coming Friday.  I’m now off to pursue a fertility acupuncture treatment.  I’m fortunate and blessed today that my husband is working from home and able to spend quality time with our daughters.  Thank you for reading my blog!  Happy Monday!

A Marshall’s Bargain!

Surviving those Fertility Drugs, IVF and Frozen Embryo Transfers

6 Comments October 7, 2015 TheSweetlyDecoratedLife Blog

The del estrogen shot!

Did I think my first blog would be about adding to our family, no I really did not. I thought it might be about one or more of the house projects I’m working on but I’m happy to blog about more than that: my last two years trying to follow through with my  Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET). The process began for me in 2013 in New York, taking me to Maryland through a major storm in October.  I’ll never forget that drive with my twins in the car!  We made it and thanks to a healthy uterus, I was cleared to begin my protocol of hormone medications, but let’s start at the very beginning shall we?

More than six years ago, I began the arduous journey of In Vitro Fertilization, better known as IVF.  I’m not infertile, I don’t have polyps, when my husband and I met more than ten years ago, he had two children, eight and five years old and wasn’t going to have any more.  We were both divorced and wanted children together.  A decision to have a reversed vasectomy wasn’t the optimal decision told to us via the urologist; he advised us that the best option for your money was to move forward with Shady Grove Fertility Center.

Patrick and I spent a great deal of time at Shady Grove.  They became our second family.  After two successful implantations, I was very saddened to equally lose those two pregnancies at 10 weeks.  My obstetrician discovered soon thereafter through blood tests (insurance finally paid) that I had a very common but unknown by most women a blood clotting disorder, called Factor Five Leiden.  I was still in mourning over the subsequent losses but relieved to find out why the oxygen and blood wasn’t reaching the fetus.  Our fertility doctor whom we trusted advised us to take a much-needed break and vacation out west to clear our heads and come back to start again when we felt ready.

We went to Utah for the first time.  It was majestic and relaxing.  I became pregnant for the 3rd time in April of 2009 and gave birth one month early to a healthy set of twin girls in November of 2009.  We were elated.  Five months later, my husband’s career took him to New York City; I was avidly looking for a rental house and by June 2010, we moved into our new home (it was home to us!).

How did four years fly by and not once did I think about having another child?  The answer: we were so busy raising our little girls, immersed in their every day lives that thinking about another one seemed out of the question!

Going back to Square One:  when my eggs were fertilized back in 2009, the docs managed to freeze one remaining embryo, a very good one they said-an A-B type.  I’m not sure how far this embryo has developed really, stage five or six day embryo but I feel like it’s good that’s all I can say.

In early 2014 my husband’s job moved from New York to Philadelphia and we moved back to our home state of Annapolis, Maryland and moved back into the home we built in 2008.  Modest but it was our humble beginnings.

Circa 2009

We came back to a damaged home, wrought with renovations to be completed, some items we ourselves never got around to completing and some damages we incurred from renting our home.  This stopped us right in our tracks. Financially as anyone knows whose going through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) or a frozen cycle, your bank account comes to a screeching halt as ours did.  We had all the work on the house to do, the yard, front and back had been destroyed due to the eight dogs the couple had who were renting our home (they were showing dogs in and out of our house) not to mention the basement where they were housing this operation.  A nightmare!!!  Baby plans halted.  Hired a competent general contractor, a referral from a friend (thanks Billy!).

Here we are today.  Blessed beyond measure.  House pretty much done……………

To save money for the Frozen Embryo Transfer, we rented our home out to a respectable Navy family for commissioning week and proceeded to pursue all of the necessary doctors appointments to cross check my uterus and make sure I was on target.  In April of 2015 I was dealt a blow I was not prepared for: I had heavy uterine scar tissue that was very near my bladder and could potentially limit the growth of a baby in the five-six month stage of development.  My husband and I left that meeting after viewing the 3D x-rays, purchased Chick-fil-A for lunch after which I inhaled the fries and tried to manage a phone call to my mother.  I was overwhelmed.  Another setback?  Why GOD?  What is your plan for me?  For our family?  Should I not ask for another child?  Am I ungrateful?  These questions and more ravaged my artistic brain.  My fertility doctor sent orders for me to have an HSG of my uterus which is basically an x-ray of the uterus, the fallopian tubes and ovaries.  If I’ve left anything out, please let me know I’m not a doctor!

I was very pleased to find out that my uterus was normal in shape, size, and contour!  Wait a minute, why then did the 3D sonograms of my uterus tell the doctors otherwise?  It was determined amongst all my doctors involved that the scarring was outside of the uterine wall and that during pregnancy I would need to be closely monitored to ensure that the placenta does not attach to this scar tissue.  Since I’m a high risk pregnancy anyway with the blood clotting disorder and my over 35 age, it makes sense to monitor the scar tissue and baby more closely (if there is one).

The first photo of the needles and drug mentioned above are some of the last medications I take during the FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) process.  Every third night my husband injects that sharp needle into my backside.  It’s over in a pinch.  He leaves tonight for a business trip so my dear friend is staying the night to administer the shot for me.  In a few more days I start taking progesterone in oil shots and they help to keep the baby inside (if there is one and were hoping their will be!) the womb.  I remember these shots from my multiple rounds of IVF cycles and they are not fun.  The bloating and irritability are similar to experiencing severe PMS.  Part of the process.  I try to remember to be kind to myself; not take on too much.  I sit down and read to my girls and treat myself to a delicious coffee with the foam on top.  That makes me happy.  I advise my husband to ignore my moods and be patient with me.  It’s the hormones talking!

As we move forward into this possible new phase of our lives, we are hopeful about a baby boy, a healthy baby boy.  I would welcome a son with open arms and cherish a relationship that only a mother and son have.  With that being said, there are aspects of this process that may not work. I choose not to go there. I walked into this life with FAITH and that’s how I’m going to continue to lead my life.  A big thank you to everyone so far who has walked through this process with me, my husband Patrick, Mom, Kathy at Shady Grove, Rhonda, all the big docs (and you know who you are!), Dana, The Lilly Family, Molly, and for GOD, the big master of all things, I know your there!  Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**I want to mention that I added a healthy eating regime, walked leisurely for relaxation, and received fertility acupuncture treatments.  Supplements also helped such as Fish Oils and Grape Seed Extract and Royal Jelly.  For specifics, please feel free to contact me, I’d be happy to mention the brands I used!