Steve and Lisa

Way back before we knew we were going to have such a 'fun' time trying to get pregnant, Superman and I would bounce baby names off of each other. Mine were normally something along the lines of Ava, Emma, Riley, Aiden... names that are quite common these days. One day, after suggesting something like Colin or Cole, Superman put his foot down. He declared that his "child(ren) will be named something normal- like Steve or Lisa."

This has since been a running joke with our group of friends- Why couldn't he have picked a name like Sara or Matthew? Steve and Lisa?? Where on earth did he get those names!? If you knew Superman, it would make sense- he just comes up with stuff like that.

So, we are affectionately calling our two blasts "Steve and Lisa". I hope they've found a comfy little spot and are attaching nicely. I'm worried, no, I'm scared that my body is going to be my enemy and not let Steve and Lisa stay with us. I'm trying not to angst about every little twinge or tingle, trying not to count the minutes until we get our second beta. We don't have a 2WW, the our WUB is already the longest wait of my life!!!

Anyway, I'd like to introduce Steve and Lisa:

Day 5.. or 6

I am on bed rest. We transferred two beautiful blasts at 11:15 this morning. I am officially "PUPO" (pregnant until proven otherwise). I'm nervous, scared, excited, hopeful, grateful, and a million other emotions, I can't explain it.
First, let's back up a bit- to Wednesday night. I didn't sleep. I couldn't sit still. I was anxious. Thursday was to be our Day 5 Transfer. I waited for a phone call from the doctors office all Wednesday, wanting to know when our transfer would be scheduled. It never came. Assuming that the call would come on Thursday morning, I attempted to sleep. That didn't happen.
Superman went to work early Thursday morning, knowing he's have to take some time off during the day to go with me to the doctor's office and I waited patiently by my phone- watching the minutes go by. At 9:30 I decided that if I didn't hear from them by 11, I'd call. My phone rang at 9:37- Nurse M (whose office is decorated with cup cakes... that's a whole other blog entry in itself.. save for another day) was calling to let me know that we were moving to a Day 6 transfer... WHHHAAATTTTT???!!!!!?!?! She explained that our embies were checked and were 'not quite there yet', so they'd like to wait until the next day to schedule the transfer.
Trying not to sound too frantic, I asked if this was something that we needed to be concerned about. She said that it wasn't, that they do day 6 transfers every cycle and it's not a big deal.
I thanked her for calling and hung up.. and burst into tears. I was so ready to go in, no one ever mentioned the possibility of a Day 6 transfer and now I had to wait ANOTHER 24 hours. UGH.
I called Superman, in tears, and relayed the news. He was just as disappointed as I was- possibly more. He calmed me down and told me to either go get a massage or make an acupuncture appt- I chose the latter.
Fast forward to this morning- my phone rang at 9:15 and Nurse Cupcake said we were ready to roll. Superman picked me up and we went to the doctor, completely full of nervous energy.
We were led back into the semi private room and Nurse A came in with an updated calendar and strict instructions for Superman to keep me off my feet and on the couch.
A few minutes later, we were led into the procedure room. I assumed the legs up position and Superman took the chair next to me. Dr A came in, holding the most beautiful thing I've ever seen- a picture of our two blasts. Words cannot describe how amazing they looked. Dr A transferred them and I was whisked back into the semi private room. We sat there for about 30 minutes. I would like to think I decompressed during that time, but I don't really think I did.
Superman got me lunch and 3 movies to watch while he went back to work. I was about 1/2 through the second one when I decided that bed rest sucks and I was bored out of my mind!
I have about 14 hours left and I don't want to think about having an extended bed rest later on.
God bless the women who do this for 3-4-5 weeks at a time. I don't know how they do it.
So, we wait until next Friday for beta 1, beta 2 will be the Monday after that- so that's what we're looking forward to- it's not quite the 2WW, but I'm sure it'll feel just as long!!

And then there were 8...

I just received a phone call from Nurse M with an update on our embies. All 10 are still growing, but it looks as though one is only at 5 cells (a little low) and another is at 14 (a little high). The remaining 8 are all around 8 cells (ideal) and are at a Grade 2. ET will be on Thursday.
I'm starting to get nervous.. very nervous.

ER and Fert Report

Saturday
Woke up way before my alarm- just like I knew I would. We left the house around 8:45am and I was sitting on a bed in a hospital gown by 9:15. (BTW, if anyone is looking for a million dollar idea- design prettier hospital gowns, they're so depressing and boring. I would have much rather have been in a gown with a little more flair)
Nurse A came in and hooked me up with an IV and went over all post- procedure information and instructions, including the progesterone shot instructions.
The nurse Anesthetist came in and asked me several questions, a little too quickly and left Superman and I looking at each other trying to figure out what just happened.
About 5 minutes later, I was walked into the procedure room. I wasn't put totally under, like I thought I might be- I was more put into a deep 'la-la land' for the procedure. I don't remember much of it. I do recall that I kept messing with my oxygen mask and I remember complaining of some pain during the procedure itself. (Sorry Dr. A!!!)
While I was in the procedure room, Superman went off to give a sample. When he finished, he went back into my 'room' and waited for me to return. All in all, the procedure took about 15 minutes. I don't remember getting back into the room with Superman, I was super sleepy. Someone (Nurse A?) gave me some cookies and cracker to eat because I had to fast for the ER. Superman said I fell asleep with a cookie in my mouth-LOVELY.
After about 30-45 minutes of taking my vitals, Superman was told to go get his car and I was put in a wheelchair and wheeled out- which was probably a good thing, because I still couldn't see straight! I think the nurses must have told him that I needed to eat, because the whole ride home consisted of Superman waking me up to ask if I wanted Qdoba.. Subway, etc. for lunch. Somehow we settled on McAlisters.. No clue where that came from! (Update: After speaking with Superman, I was adamantly asking for lunch.. hmmm, I do not remember that!! :))
My mom was waiting for us at our house when we got home, with pretty flowers to make me feel better. She helped Superman get me inside (again, having trouble seeing straight and staying awake!!) and I crashed on the couch for the rest of the afternoon.
Because Superman had had a super girly day- he went to some hunters auction with my dad and brother that night, for some much needed man time. My mom and sister brought dinner over and we watched super-girly movies- Bride Wars and He's Just Not That Into You.
Overall, I would say pain was at a 4 out of 10- I'm still a little crampy, but not that bad at all. I haven't taken any of the prescribed pain meds today and I only took 1 yesterday. I was the most uncomfortable on Saturday morning, before ER. I just felt like I was going to pop- my ovaries were super tender, to the point that it hurt to sit down. Now, the tenderness and swelling has gone down, and I feel like I'm almost back to my normal, unhormonal self.

Progesterone Shots
Were not as bad as I thought they were going to be. We actually switched the needle to a smaller gauge, so the giant, scary needle I had been looking at for the past few months wasn't even used. The best way I can describe the shot is that it felt like Superman was giving me a bruise in the butt- and I really don't have much of a butt to bruise. It still feels like it's bruised, but we only have to do it every 3 days, alternating sides, so hopefully by the time we get back to the same cheek, it'll be feeling better.

The Numbers
While we were in our 'room' after ER, Superman and I heard Dr A say "1-7". One of us, I can't remember who, asked Nurse A, if that was our number..?? She came in and said that he got 17. Dr. A came in, said I did great and he was happy with our number- 17- WOO HOO!
Sunday morning, my cell phone rang at 8:14am. It was nurse A with our Fert Report- out of the 17 he got, 11 were mature and 10 have fertilized. So, right now, we have 10 babies growing in a petri dish. Part of me wants to go visit them and see them.. is that weird?!?

Next Steps
ET will either be tomorrow or Thursday. I was under the impression that it was going to be a quick 10-15 minute procedure, similar to an IUI, but the literature that Nurse A gave us said that we should plan on being at the office for 2-3 hours and that I would need a ride home. I will also be on bed rest 24hrs after ET- so more days off for me! I will not be hearing from the office today, as there is really nothing to report until tomorrow.
I'm feeling pretty optimistic right now, just waiting for July 27th.. the day we'll know if it worked :)

Update #2

Nurse M just called. ER will now be on Saturday. Now, I'm waiting for Nurse A to call with my Trigger time and to tell me what time my ER is scheduled.
More to come once A calls...

U/S Update

Met with Dr. A yesterday afternoon. I am up to 21 follies, all measuring about 16-17 or so. He thinks he'll get at least 15 eggs at ER. I had blood work done this morning and am waiting to hear from Nurse M on further instructions. Still no word on when ER will be scheduled, although Dr. A mentioned Sunday would 'probably' be the day.
More to come once I hear from Nurse M...

Monitoring

Last Thursday was my IVIg and intralipid infusion. I arrived at 9:00 am and was 'hooked up' by 9:30. We started with the intralipids, which looked like milk and only lasted about 45 minutes. After that, the nurse switched me to a sssllloooowwww drip of the IVIg. The first bottle took about 2.5 hours to administer. During that time, two other women (one in the same cycle as I am) came and went, only having intralipids done. My sister brought me lunch- Bread Co. French Onion Soup in a bread bowl. She had texted me earlier, asking what I was in the mood for and at the time I was cold, so I told her I wanted something warm. Both of my arms were hooked up to something- the left one was on a BP monitor and the right one had a big needle jammed into it. Needless to say, my soup wasn't so easy to eat.

In order to avoid a massive headache and other side effects, I was told to drink lots of water/Gatorade and keep hydrated. So I did. I think I went through 5 bottles of water in about 3 hours. Holding the IVIg bottle above my head while I maneuvered my jeans down one-handed was a bit tricky, but by the 12th visit to the ladies room, I had my routine down. I think I spent just as much time in the ladies room as I did on the over-stuffed leather couch.
Because I didn't have any reaction to the first bottle of IVIg, the nurse was able to speed up the second one. I got through it in a little over an hour and was out the door by 2:15. Overall, I would say that the day was mostly boring. I felt a little 'puffy' from all of the fluids and my head felt a little woozy, but otherwise, I felt just fine.

Yesterday, I had both blood work and my first monitoring u/s. Dr A was happy with the results- right side had 12 and the left had 6. All were measuring between 11- 16mm. He said he thinks we'll get about 12-15 total at retrieval. I left the office with additional instructions- 3 vials of Bra.velle and continuing Lu.pron shots, more blood work orders and another u/s on Wednesday afternoon. It looks like retrieval will be on Friday or Saturday. I should know for sure on Wednesday when it will be scheduled. Superman and I have both taken Friday off, so we'll either have a play day or it'll be retrieval day.