WOW ...

OK, well I got the call today that out of the 26 eggs they retrieved ...

(human egg - Not mine)

they fertilized 19 (with ICSI shown below) ...

(ICSI = Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, pronounced "ICK-see")

Out of those 19 eggs, 13 of them took! (Meaning actually fertilized.)

It is very weird to think that Mikel & I have 13 "babies" in a petri dish in Seattle! (So very, very, very weird!)

(Still not an actual picture of "our" petri dish or embryos)

Now we wait to see which ones continue to divide properly and we transfer 1-2 of them on either Wednesday or Saturday. I am EXCITED! Wish us luck.

Step 5, 6 & 7 ...

WOW today was a big step toward having children!

I had my eggs retrieved this morning 845AM and all went well. Mikel also gave a baby making sample while I was in surgery and they put them together in the lab some time today. I was still recovering from anesthesia when the doctor came in to tell us he retrieved 26 eggs. (The average is 16) The eggs retrieved will not all be fertilized for various reasons. One, they are not all at the right maturity stage (too old or too young) Second, as the doctor put it, we don't want to have a little army created for us ... 26 would be a few too many.

They will call us some time tomorrow to let us know how many eggs were fertilized out of the eggs retrieved. Until then we just wait. The transfer of 1-2 embryo will happen either on Wednesday or Saturday and if there are any extra they will be cryopreserved for future babies.

Step 4

OK my friend who is a nurse gave me my HCG IM (intramuscular) shot. It is the shot given exactly 36 hours before the scheduled egg retrieval procedure. My friend did a great job and all should go well. I took a pregnancy test the next morning to confirm that my body absorbed the hormone. It is weird to have a positive pregnancy test and know for a fact you are not pregnant. Everything is a go to have my eggs retrieved on Monday the 28Th at 845 AM. :o)

Step 3 ... Continued

OK, we are back from our lovely summer vacation and ready to try again. The ultrasound appointment last week revealed that the ginormous (both gigantic and enormous) cyst I had on my left ovary from the medication I was taking (Lupron) has "collapsed". Now that the cyst is resolved we can move on to the actual follicle stimulating medications (the ones that help mature multiple eggs).

I am on day 3 of my Follistim and Menopur SQ shots. They sting a little but they are nothing compared to the shots coming up, gulp! I am both excited and nervous; there are a lot of things that can go wrong with our fertility treatment besides not getting pregnant but for right now I am trying to stay focused on the positive and hopeful that this will all result in a healthy child or two. :o)

Your continued prayers and well wishes are very much appreciated! Hugs.