We started the IVF (in-vitro fertilization) process January 8th. It was quite different from doing IUI's (intro-uterine insemination) which we had done to get our Lily. I had a thought the other day that Lily, even though we had to do an IUI to have her, she still was conceived "inside" of me. Meaning, the sperm found my egg and the whole fertilization process was done inside my body as if I actually got pregnant by having sex. TMI? Sorry. But baby #2 will be a "test tube baby." I don't like that title, but that's basically what he or she will be. My egg floats around in a petri dish and Dan's sperm will be placed in the dish to find it's way to the egg OR the sperm will be ejected directly into the egg with a process called ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection). Once fertilization happens, the now embryo, will be placed back inside of me to hopefully implant itself into my uterine wall. How amazing is it that we live in an age where this is a new normal for people who can't conceive naturally?
All together, it took 9 weeks from the start of the process to the end when we found out that we were pregnant. What a long journey but definitely worth it.
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I was on 10 medications with the IVF process:
Medication #1: The Pill - Started 1/10/14 ... Ended 1/30/14
True that the pill is used to prevent pregnancy, but it also has a greater function for those who will be doing IVF. The Pill will stop my follicles from growing eggs. This is important because we need a lot of eggs to grow all at once for the best chance of egg retrieval.
Side effects? A little moodiness.
Medication #2: Lupron - Started 1/26/14 ... Ended 2/24/14
Lupron (leuprolide acetate) prevents ovulation in order to control the timing of IVF or artificial insemination. I started taking Lupron 2 1/2 weeks after the start of my cycle. It is taken as an injection in my abdomen.
Side effects? It has been giving me major headaches at night and upset stomach. Luckily, once I started the next 2 meds on my list, I went down in the dosage amount of Lupron...which helped ease the headaches and stomach issues.
Medication #3: Menopur - Started 2/9/14 ... Ended 2/23/14
This is used to stimulate the development of multiple eggs and is injected in my abdomen.
Side effects? Well, besides the horrible burning sensation I get from injecting it into my stomach, I would say moodiness is a major side effect.
Medication #4: Gonal-F - Started 2/9/14 ... Ended 2/24/14
This is a human follicle stimulating hormone that gets injected in my abdomen. I take this in conjunction with the Lupron and Menopur.
Side effects? Moodiness.
Medication #5: Ovidrel - Started 2/25/14 ... one dose only
Another injection in my abdomen, Ovidrel stimulates the release of the egg during ovulation. I only take this once.
Medication #6: Dostinex - Started 2/27/14...Ended 3/4/14
This was used to prevent Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). I had a lot of follicles so they didn't want to take any chances.
Medication #7: Doxycycline - Started 2/26/14...Ended 3/4/14
This antibiotic pill will be taken 2 times a day for 7 days starting the night before they retrieve my eggs. We don't want an infection!
Medication #8: Methylprednisolone - Started 2/27/14...Ended 3/4/14
I take this pill once a day for 6 days the night of the egg retrieval. It is used to relieve inflammation.
Medication #9: Crinone - Started 3/1/14...Ended 4/24/14
This coats the vaginal tissues to provide long-lasting release of progesterone. I'll be taking this once a day. I will continue to take this for the 2 week wait and if I am pregnant, I keep taking it until week 10 of my pregnancy.
Medication #10: Estradiol - Started 3/8/14...Ended 3/17/14
Making sure the estrogen levels are where they need to be, I will be taking this pill 2 times a day.
As you may have guessed from reading all the injectables I needed to take, my abdomen looked like a drug addicts arm with all the puncture marks and bruises. Not pretty.
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The Retrieval Process
On 2/27/14 I went in to my fertility doctor's office at 7:30 am. I was put under local anesthesia for this procedure.
I had a total of 16 eggs retrieved. Out of those eggs, 9 were able to be fertilized. 2 were chosen to be placed back inside of me. Out of the 7 remaining embryos, 3 survived to the freezing process for that just in case we need them scenario.
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The Transfer Process
On 3/4/14 I went in to my fertility doctor's office at 8:45 am. I went in with a full bladder, the 2 embryos got injected inside of my uterus at precisely the spot where they will need to implant themselves, I stayed laying down for 30 minutes, I went home to wait.
I was a 5-day transfer, meaning the 2 embryos that were placed inside of me already made it to the blastocyst stage. This is a good thing because it means that they were stronger and more likely to survive. Now they just need to attach to my uterine lining.
Here's an outline of what is happening when everything goes according to plan.
Taken from nyufertilitycenter.org
I was a 5-day transfer, meaning the 2 embryos that were placed inside of me already made it to the blastocyst stage. This is a good thing because it means that they were stronger and more likely to survive. Now they just need to attach to my uterine lining.
Here's an outline of what is happening when everything goes according to plan.
5-Day Transfer
| Days Past Transfer (DPT) | Embryo Development |
| One | The blastocyst begins to hatch out of its shell |
| Two | The blastocyst continues to hatch out of its shell and begins to attach itself to the uterus |
| Three | The blastocyst attaches deeper into the uterine lining, beginning implantation |
| Four | Implantation continues |
| Five | Implantation is complete, cells that will eventually become the placenta and fetus have begun to develop |
| Six | Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) starts to enter the blood stream |
| Seven | Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted |
| Eight | Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted |
| Nine | Levels of hCG are now high enough to detect a pregnancy |
Taken from nyufertilitycenter.org
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The 2 Week Wait
Once I got home, I was put on strict bed rest for 48 hours. After that I was on restricted activity for the dreaded 2 week wait. That meant no lifting heavy objects. Hmm? What about Lily? Yes, she is a heavy object and I was very limited by how I could lift her if needed (in and out of the crib only).
The 2 week waiting period to find out if all the work to get pregnant was a success was so dreadful. I just wanted to know already!!!! During that time I was going in for blood work to make sure my hormone levels looked good.
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Our Wait Is Over
On 3/12/14 we got our answer to whether this whole lengthy process worked. We didn't have to wait the full 2 weeks to get the call that informed us of our future... We are pregnant!
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Our 1st Ultrasound
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Our 2nd Ultrasound
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Our 3rd & Final Ultrasound With Our Fertility Doctor
On 4/3/14 I went in for my last ultrasound with our fertility doctor. This time, my sister Kristene came along to videotape so Dan could see when he got home from work. Again, we heard two beautiful, healthy heartbeats!
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Now our journey to being a family of 5 really begins. Stay tuned!
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