What a Steal of a Deal!

Well I ordered my ivf round #3 medications this week and found myself very happy when I savd a little money by using some leftover medication I had from round #1 and #2.  

You have to celebrate the small triumphs through the ivf journey and saving money is one of them.  Ivf medications are not cheap!  Thankfully I was able to use 5 individual medications I had leftover because I was told I had reached my MAXIMUM limit that the insurance would cover.

A little scary when you hear the words " your maximum has been reached!"  But thankfully our insurance covered most of round 1,2, and 3 except for some copays.

I also was pleasantly surprised that I had a credit to apply to my genetic testing balance and saved myself another $500.00!!!  Unfortunately the special genetic testing we need, called PGD, is all out of pocket but totally worth it to one day bring home baby Medema!!

So once again the Medema At Home Pharmacy is growing!!!

Shots start on Saturday!!  Matt and I will be traveling to the good ole mitten for a long weekend.  Matt is having a guys golf weekend and is going to be away from me and will not be able to administer the shits.  So I have to depend on someone else to give me the shots.  

I asked my dad.  His response... Would you like them in the molar or bicuspid?  A little family humor... My dad is a retired orthodontist. So hopefully he remembers how to give a shot from years ago in dental school! 

Memorial Weekend!

Matt and I had a pretty uneventful Memorial Weekend.  We spent lots of time outside enjoying the sunshine and our backyard!  Here are some pictures from our Memorial Day BBQ! 

 Rather than the traditional hamburgers and hot dogs we decided to do pizza on the grill!  Turned out super yummy!  

We started to make another pizza but had to stop due to some horrible rain and thunder!  Thank god Matt shut the grill off because soon after the rain and wind knocked our grill right over!  A few broken knobs and a very angry husband later thank god we did not have the grill on or else we would have had a nasty grill fire!  Happy Memorial Weekend Everyone!  I hope it was spent with family, friends, and a little BBQ.

Inconclusive Results

Well we just encountered one more bump along our in vitro route.  Pretty typical.  Of course nothing can be easy in an already stressful and emotional journey.  Today we found out how many normal embryos we had out of the 5 total embryos.  3 abnormal and 2 inconclusive.  

Inconclusive you say... You mean you don't know if it's normal or abnormal.  That wasn't part of the plan.  That wasn't ever given to us as a feasible option.  So now what.... 

We were given three choices....

Option #1 Continue with medication to prep my body for implantation.  When my body is ready for implantation they can thaw the embryo and biopsy the embryo again and within 24 hours we would either have an embryo that was normal or abnormal ( if normal be able to implant). 

Option # 2 thaw the embryo biopsy again freeze the embryo and wait 10-14 days for results.  I would still continue with implantation medications but if the embryo was abnormal and no good I would only have to take 1 week of medicine vs 3 weeks.  If normal continue my medications an implant the end of June. 

Option # 3 do another round of in vitro and batch the testing with the two "inconclusive" embryos to improve our chances.  

Sooo we have decided to go with option # 3!  In vitro # 3 will start May 31st.  Hopefully we will continue to have more embryos and the two inconclusive results prove to be normal.

Matt and I were disappointed ( again ) but again these are the cards we have been dealt and have quickly learned that this is completely out of our control.  

Today we spent the day together!  Did a little retail therapy, hung out with our new neighbors, and indulged in some wine and ice cream. 

Domestic Duties!

I have decided to work part-time while going through in vitro and trying to get pregnant again. Working full time with a long commute into the city and having lots of doctors appointments was just too stressful!  

So now I have lots of free time to do all of my house chores, shop, nap, catch up with friends and family, and just waste time ( man am I good at that). 

Matt has been working hard and has been traveling a lot this week to Minneapolis and Indiana.  I decided I would be a good wife and attempt to cut our lawn!  It was way over grown !! Here is a before and after.

A little hard to tell but it was super long!!

A nice fresh looking lawn.  Looks pretty good for a girl who has never used a push mower before!  

Waiting...

Well we got the final count of how many embryos had made it to the final 5th and 6th days of growing.  5 total embryos.  I was a little disappointed with 5 since we had 6 last time but after reaching out to my doctor he confirmed we are right where he would expect us to be... Not more not less.  

So now we wait two more weeks to get the results of the genetic testing back.  Will there or will there not be any " normal embryos" to implant? 

It only takes one to make a baby so let's hope at least one ( hopefully more) will be good. I selfishly am hoping there are two in order to increase our chances but at this point I would take one.  

So in the mean time I have started another round of birth control to suppress those lovely little eggs from ovulating and will start more shots in a few weeks if and when we have an embryo.  If none, then we get to start another round of in vitro.  

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend celebrating Mother's Day!  Although it doesn't feel like it I suppose I fall into the category of a mom, just one to an angel baby.  My sister sent me a beautiful story about "the world's best mom." She too had was an angel baby like me and no living children.  I definitely could relate!  When you want a child you really will do anything to get there... And when you have a child you will do anything for them.  

Here is the story she sent me.  Better get a tissue before you read it!

http://mattwessel.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/worlds-best-mom/

And the grand total is 14

Wednesday felt like it couldn't come fast enough.  After I tossed and turned all night long the alarm finally went off at 4:55 am!  It's funny how when you are hoping and wishing for a good thing to happen your mind wanders and thinks the worst. 

All night long I could only think the "what ifs". What if we don't have any eggs, what if my body expelled all of them, what if they aren't mature, what if they don't fertilize.  Silly brain... I just have to remind myself to trust god and trust my doctor!  

The egg retrieval went well. 17 total eggs retrieved.  It's amazing how less than a year ago I was sitting in the same surgical suite waiting for the doctor to take my eggs.  Sometimes it feels like I am reliving a bad dream but wake to find myself still hoping and praying that putting my body and relationship through all of this will be worth it in the end.

 I  found comfort in being greeted by the same two friendly nurses Barbie and Kris.    The same anestesiologist started my iv and I was wheeled back for a quick medicine induced nap!  Right before I was put to sleep the anesthesiologist said " ok Jennifer here we go this time we are going to go all the way no half way". 

What encouraging words!  He's right.  All the way, no 21 week baby this time. So hopefully we will have a few embryos to implant. 

 I woke up this morning with great news!  Out of the 17 eggs, 14 had fertilized.  This is 4 more than we had last time. 4 more chances to maybe have a normal embryo or two.  It's an emotional roller coaster and the number 14 brought a few happy tears to my eyes.  

So now we have the fun part, waiting.... Matt knows how patient I am so all in all I think this is the hardest part. 5-6 days to see how many grow and another 14 days to get the genetic test results back.  So keep praying, hoping, and wishing with us.  We want babies as much ( and more) than all of you want for us!  

Here are few pictures....