Today's BIG praises:

1) The egg retrieval went really smooth yesterday!  I didn't feel a thing and got myself a nice little nap :)  My biggest fear was that I was going to ovulate on my own before they did the retrieval....but luckily that didn't happen!  Once I woke up, the doctor reported that they were able to collect 13 eggs from my ovaries!  Corey and I have talked and prayed a lot about the number of eggs we were comfortable starting with and had both agreed on 10.  It is a hard decision to make because you have no idea how many embryos will come from that amount of eggs. You worry about getting too many and about not getting any. That is where trust in God has to come in.  We've had to keep reminding ourselves that He is in control and He knows exactly what He wants for us. Statistics mean nothing to Him. It is easy to lose sight of that truth.  So they took 10 of the eggs and put the sperm with them and then all we could do was wait and see what happened! I slept most of the way there, most of the way home, took a 3 hour nap right when we got home and slept all night last night. Needless to say, I was pretty out of it!  I am feeling much more alive today!  

2) We got a call from the doctor's office this morning letting us know that 6 of the eggs were fertilized!!!  Eeeekkkk!!  We officially have 6 little zygotes!  Here is a little science lesson I gave myself today... When a single sperm enters the egg, conception occurs. The combined sperm and egg is called a zygote. The zygote contains all of the genetic information (DNA) needed to become a baby. Half the DNA comes from the mother's egg and half from the father's sperm. Over the next few days, it divides to form a ball of cells called a blastocyst. A blastocyst is made up of an inner group of cells with an outer shell. The inner group of cells will become the embryo. The embryo is what will develop into a baby. It makes me sad to think that most likely all 6 of these fertilized eggs will not survive and grow into babies.  Once again, it is out of our control.  Only God knows the plan He has for these tiny little cells that are the start of human life.  All I know is I am praying my heart out for them!  

3) So far the hyper-stimulation seems to be under control and not getting any worse.  The nurse really helped explain everything to us yesterday.  She said I don't actually have Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome yet, but I am at high risk for it because my estrogen levels are so high, I have polycystic ovarian syndrome and I have a small body frame. The cause of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome isn't fully understood, although having a high level of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) — a hormone usually produced during pregnancy — in your system plays a role. Ovarian blood vessels react abnormally to HCG and begin to leak fluid. This fluid swells the ovaries, and sometimes large amounts move into the abdomen and possibly the chest. During fertility treatments, HCG may be given as a "trigger" so that a mature follicle will release its egg. OHSS usually happens within a week after you receive an HCG injection (I had mine Sunday). If you become pregnant during a treatment cycle, OHSS may worsen as your body begins producing its own HCG in response to the pregnancy. We were told yesterday that the next few days are very important in determining how severe it will be.  I am watching carefully for any concerning signs and symptoms.  We were told that if I do develop nausea/vomitting, difficulty breathing, decreased urine output, weight gain, etc. that we will have to freeze the embryos and wait to do the transfer until next month because at that point, proceeding would be too risky for me and the possible pregnancy.  Apparently your body resets once you've had a menstrual cycle.  I am really hoping that doesn't happen because a) it would be a scary and uncomfortable thing to go through and b) we are SO ready to do this.  But if it does, it won't be the end of the world.  We have to make sure I am healthy so my body can handle a pregnancy and I would never want to put a baby's life at risk!  

Our embryo transfer will either be Friday or Sunday, depending on how our zygote/blastocyte/embryos are doing.  That's all for now, but I'll be back with an update soon!  

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"  Matthew 7:7-11