Last time I wrote to you, I was getting ready to head down to Little Rock Friday for my appointment with the infertility specialist.  He ended up having me come back both Saturday and Sunday mornings for labs and ultrasounds because he wanted to keep a close eye on my progress. My estrogen levels and follicle sizes continued to rise and yesterday he said my follicles were at an ideal size and that we would do the egg retrieval on Tuesday morning!  He also gave us pictures of both ovaries showing most of the follicles. Even though we watch all the ultrasounds, I thought it was great to have these so I could show all of you!  According to him, I have 12 total follicles and at least 8-10 were "ready" yesterday.  More could mature by tomorrow morning, so we should end up with between 8-12 good eggs to use.  That is pretty much exactly the number range we hoped for :) 

In the car yesterday on our way home, we got a call from my doctor.  He got my lab results back and my estrogen had increased substantially.  It had gone from  2, 000 on Saturday to 3, 400 yesterday. My progesterone had also gone up, from 0.7 to 1.9.  He said these were signs of ovarian hyperstimulation.  So, he called me in another pill that I was told to start immediately, which is supposed to keep it from getting much worse.  It was unexpected and kind of scary news to get because I know that Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome can cause complications to both my health and the health of our potential pregnancy.  But for now, we are going to hope and pray that it continues to be mild and manageable and that none of that will be a concern. I am not currently displaying any symptoms other than some mild bloating, so that is a good thing. Jesus is Lord over it all, and this comes as no surprise to Him!  Although I had a bit of a breakdown yesterday, I am feeling better today and continuing to trust that He has me in His hands.  I personally think if your estrogen level is > 3,000, you should have a free pass to cry whenever you want to :)   I am feeling better today after a good night of sleep and a full day at home with no appointments or traveling.  

Last night at 10 p.m., I took my HCG trigger shot as I was instructed, and I'm so happy to say that I am now officially done with shots! From here on out, my meds will all be in pill, patch or suppository form.  I started an antibiotic yesterday and will start a steroid tomorrow.  The antibiotic is to prevent any infection from the egg retrieval procedure and the steroid is to decrease any inflammation from the procedure and in the uterus to promote implantation of the embryos when that time comes.  Below is information straight from my doctor's website on the egg retrieval procedure that will be taking place tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m.  

"Approximately 36 hours after the Ovidrel (HCG) injection, we will retrieve the eggs transvaginally under ultrasound guidance. This procedure is performed in our clinic under intravenous (IV) conscious sedation. You will be heavily sedated, but not asleep. You should experience no pain during this procedure. The egg retrieval usually takes about 30 minutes to complete. Afterwards, you will recover for about two hours before going home. You will start progesterone supplementation the following day. We will need a sperm sample from your spouse shortly after the egg retrieval. The sperm and eggs are then mixed together in our laboratory and incubated overnight. The next morning, we will evaluate the eggs for signs of fertilization. On average, approximately 60-70% of the eggs will fertilize normally. The fertilized eggs are then placed in new culture media and placed back in the incubator where they will remain until the day of embryo transfer." 

Basically, the way I see it, they are going to pop each follicle and suck out the egg.  I'm pretty happy I will not be conscious for it!!  I do think it would be cool to watch, but I am guessing it would not feel too good!  After it is all done tomorrow, we will shift gears from focusing on the eggs & follicles to focusing on and praying over our little embryos!  

Tomorrow is such an important and special day!  It will be the first day of life for the child or children God blesses us with through IVF.  My eyes just filled up with tears and I got a huge smile on my face as that thought crossed my mind. What an incredibly beautiful thing!  I am so in awe of His goodness.  I will get to pray for these sweet babies of mine from the moment they are created.  What a gift as a mother!  

More from my doctor since I am not sure if I will have another chance to blog before the transfer takes place...." Embryos are transferred either on the 3rd or the 5th day after the egg retrieval. Embryo transfer is usually a painless procedure and does not require any sedation. The embryos are loaded in a small catheter, which is placed through the cervix and into the uterine cavity. The number of embryos that are transferred depends on several factors including the embryo quality and the age of the woman. Your IVF physician will discuss this with you and together you will make an informed decision as to the number of embryos to transfer. In our program, we typically transfer 1-2 embryos. Any additional embryos may be frozen for later use. After you are discharged, we recommend bed rest for the next two days. After two weeks, we will preform a pregnancy test to see if implantation has occurred. Hopefully, you will have a positive result and it will be time to start preparing for your little miracle."  

We know for sure that our embryo transfer will take place on either Friday or Sunday. What a big, big week this is for us! I am trying to taking it all in, but it still seems kind of surreal. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel to and from Little Rock tomorrow.  Also pray that the egg retrieval procedure will go smoothly and that God will continue to keep me safe and healthy throughout this process.  And of course, pray that some of the eggs will be fertilized and that our fragile little ones will grow healthy and strong with God's love & protection over them!  I can't wait to tell them someday how loved they were from day 1 :)  

We'll continue to keep you updated!