TTC Check-In (May 4)

[wittyandwaiting]

Hello All
Tell us where you are, milestones, big deals, small wins, gripes, whatever you want to share.

**If you have a BFP to share- start a new thread so we can all celebrate with you, please don't post it here!!**

RM80
kh826
mahler5
cetcar
wittyandwaiting
esquette
kona
Stringy
shemarie82
bmorecharming
03mrstn
luckypanda
dannigirl
jazibel

QOTW: What something that you've accomplished lately that's totally brag-worthy, or not brag-worthy but you feel like bragging anyway?

[shemarie82]

TTC: I spoke with a girl that I graduated with that is going through IVF right now, she highly recommends her RE. When we were looking before, we just went based on closest, because we don't know anyone with experience, it is nice to have some input on a different option. They are both about an hour drive from our home.

Non TTC: We are still waiting for our environmental study to come back. We were expecting it in the mail on Saturday, but of course that isn't the way that things go. Once we have that, our home study should be sent to the state for approval. I am trying to hard to not hold too tightly to the thought of us getting THESE kids. It is hard to do though!

Side note: I am so very thankful for everyone I have "met" here. Without this forum, I am not sure how I would be able to deal with the constant roller coaster of emotions. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was trying to cope with potentially not ever being a mom, now it is possible that within weeks, I will be the mom of 2!

QOTW: I HATE manual labor, to be real honest, I am a fricken princess. This weekend, I spent over 6 hours outside doing yard work. I won't admit it to B, but my thinking is that the back yard needs to be kid/toy ready.

[kh826]

Our FET is scheduled for this Thursday!
On Friday AM at my second lining check my lining had thickened to 9.5mm with a triple stripe and my E2 levels looked good, so I am still on Estrace and added several other favorites to my cocktail (include progesterone shots starting on Saturday)... I go back in for blood work on Wednesday morning to confirm that we don't need to tweak my med levels at all, and then on Wednesday they will tell us the time of the transfer on Thursday!

I am excited and nervous and trying to remind myself that nothing is a given and this might not work. I need to manage my own expectations b/c I have only had one embryo transfer before and it resulted in a baby, but that doesn't mean it will definitely work every time. Trying to find that delicate balance between being confident and positive but also being realistic and manage my expectations so that I am not too terribly disappointed if it doesn't work.

While rocking fertility meds. Because those have a tendency to make me more reasonable. Right.

QOTW: the only bragworthy accomplishment I have had in the last year is my son. If it was socially acceptable to brag about him 24/7 I totally would b/c he is awesome sauce. Otherwise, I have accomplished nothing of note recently. Other than managing to not eat everything in site this weekend. Because, progesterone.

[jazibel]

kh826, I hope this one try is all it takes for you.

We finally talked to the RE on Friday evening. He said everything looked really good with EV's blood work. Her egg quantity/quality also seems to be what is expected, at least from these preliminary tests. I am so relieved and grateful that we got a green light.

The clinic we're with has a very conservative BMI limit for outpatient anesthesia so EV's goal is to lose a ton of weight in preparation of an ER this Fall. We would like to try and get pregnant in October. I am joining her on this quest to lose weight because I'm hanging onto 2 babies worth right now and I truly can't imagine getting pregnant again without dropping significant pounds. That said if we can't meet the exact goal we'll likely look at doing the ER at a local hospital.

QOTD: I've managed to go on an 1 -1.5 walk or hike nearly everyday with the family.

[mahler5]

kh826-- I'm so excited your FET is Thursday. FX for you.

jazibel -- that's awesome you have been walking so much. Good luck with the weight loss.

shemarie82-- I hope you get kiddos soon!!!

I managed to get to within 5 pounds of my pre TTC #1 weight before TTC #2 but now I'm worried I'm going to start gaining again on all these hormone meds. The estrogen doesn't make me eat more but it makes me want to eat junk when I do eat. But the progesterone will likely make me pig out after the FET.

Nothing new here. We have an ultrasound a Wednesday and fET is still scheduled for next Thursday.

QOTW--- I can't think of much really . I've been a little down about my lack of professional career right now etc. I love staying home most of the time but I miss the affirmations I would get from working sometimes.

Also, these meds and lack of sleep lately have been making me irritable so i haven't been very positive lately.

I did manage to make it out of IKEA yesterday spending less than $60. I was seriously proud of myself for that!

[PiradicalMaid]

GL with the FET mahler5!

jazibel, that's awesome that you're managing a walk nearly everyday! That's something I've been trying to work on fitting into my daily routine as well.

kh826, Finding that balance can be so hard. I've always been on the philosophy (just personally, I know it's not for everyone) that I'd rather err on the side of overly hopeful. That's definitely meant that some things in my life have been a harder blow, but I feel better day to day when I lean on the optimistic side. Best of luck to you!

shemarie82, I think it makes total sense that you're already attached to the idea of *these* kids. I'm sending you all the positive vibes and love and hope!!

[cetcar]

kh826 and mahler5 Good luck with the transfers!!!

shemarie82 So exciting, hope the rest of the 'TWW' goes smoothly.

We're currently at 3dp6dt, beta isn't scheduled until a week from Tuesday! Not sure if we'll test ahead of schedule or not. It seems like people test by 7-8 days past a 5 day transfer? Our embryo was fully hatched at the time of transfer, so if it worked, it should have gotten right to business in there We're still reeling a little from all the events of our 'surprise IVF,' but we think we made the right call based on how CAR was responding, and how many embryos we ended up with. We'll see....

CAR made it through the mandatory 3 day 'bed/couch rest' this weekend, but is still quite bloated, especially at night. However, it's not really getting worse daily (but not really better either). We're watching it, and trying to keep with the protein/salt diet. The RE did say that we can actually expect it to get worse if it turns out to be a BFP....so that's a mixed emotion

[PiradicalMaid]

Ooooh, FX for you two, cetcar! I don't know anything about testing early, but hopefully someone else here can offer you advice. Hope CAR feels better (but also kind of not )

[esquette]

shemarie82, so exciting! I hope all the paperwork comes through!

cetcar, Sending sticky thoughts to your little embie! I hope it makes a happy nest and gets to be your take home baby.

jazibel, walking is such a great place to start. I love walking! My FitBit helps me keep on trucking. (I don't work for FitBit, but sometimes I think I should, I sell them to so many people.)

Well, we narrowed down to two possible sperm donors! Which is awesome. Donor A (at the time he did his paperwork) was studying aerospace engineering, wanted to do Navy Seal training after he graduated, described himself as a thoughtful, sensitive introvert and had a totally great family history. After reading the profile, he was our clear choice. He sounds like Sweetie. Donor B was also science dude, with a slightly more problematic family history, and didn't seem as all around awesome. But we asked for a photo match, and Donor B looks way more like Sweetie. Now what?! We'll discuss it more at Kid Meeting tomorrow. I could see us going either way, at this point.

Questions: I gots my folic acid going. I gots my period tracker tracking. I gots a doctor appointment set up to (hopefully) get the all clear I was really bad at temping and charting, and I think I might just start with OPKs and go from there. Does anybody have an OPK they loved/hated? Does it matter which ones we use? If we are planning to start trying at home ICI's in June, should I do OPK's in May for some reason? Today is CD 1, so I think I need to start the Amazon ordering now if that's how we want to do it. Or is it good enough to start in June? Also, despite copious research, I am now doubting myself about how all this works. I assume an OPK tells you "Okay, inseminate now!" not "Okay, you should have inseminated yesterday!"

I think I'm just panicking because the cost is so high, and the timing is so important, that I want somebody else to tell me I've got it right.

TLDR: Help!? Tell me about OPKs!

QOTW: Ummm. I made dinner and it was good? I'm drawing a blank here.

[wittyandwaiting]

It's CD8 here I was at the RE this morning for bloodwork, ultrasound and a little check-in; I was a little bummed because last CD8 had a 14 mm follicle and this time around, with an increased dose of Gonal, I have no noteworthy follicles. With that being said everything looked fine of my blood work so I'm back in there in two days and staying on the same dose.

I can't recall if I sent this last week or not, but at this rate it looks like we'll probably be doing the IUI on Mother's Day.

I'm so excited for all the good news and I'm coming awesomeness that's happening here. Good vibes for all!

QOTW: somebody is driving me bonkers at work, I haven't snapped at them or been rude to them. I feel like that's a big accomplishment.

[healz413]

cetcar, after our first transfer, we tested at 6dp3dt (in the evening) and with our second transfer, we tested at 8dp3dt because of not wanting to test while we were at parents' houses over Christmas.
It would not be uncommon for a "pee pusher" to encourage you to test at 5dp6pt with a FRER early response test. This is kinda like the equivalent of 11dpIUI I think it's a bit further along than that because they injected the sperm directly into the egg rather than in an IUI when it has to swim up there, make it's way through the egg's shell, etc.

The cons to testing that early are that you have to wait longer for your beta at the RE's office which can be a nervewracking wait especially since they have you coming in so late! Also you have a higher chance of turning a pee stick positive if it's a chemical pregnancy if you test early rather than wait until when a chemical pregnancy would have a higher chance of being out of your system. Some people would rather know about a chemical pregnancy than not know. Others would rather not get their hopes up on a chemical.
Good luck on whatever you choose.

[RM80]

I’m a day late to the party as my parents were in town and I dropped them off at the airport last night! It was great to see them, but happy to have an empty house again too.

TTC: I go today for CD3 monitoring and I’ll start my Femara tonight (7.5mg, 5 days) then I’ll start Gonal-F (150iu, 2 days) and next ultrasound next on CD10. I’m hopeful as it’s a new cycle with new meds- so everything crossed!


shemarie82, I hope everything comes through for you soon so you can get the final approvals, i'm so excited for you! I know you are excited for THESE boys!

kh826, Glad your lining is catching up and I hope you have a smooth FET this week!!!

jazibel, glad all the blood work came back with a green light! Getting so close, August will be here in no time!

mahler5, FET next week!! So exciting!

cetcar, I'm always amazed at your ability to not POAS, but will you?! today you are 4dp6dt, that's the equivalent of 10dpo!!! You could TOTALLY start testing just saying! And yes, i'm a pee pusher! I'm a test early and often kind of girl

esquette, So exciting that you've narrowed the donor pool! Always nice to feel like you're making progress!

wittyandwaiting, I hope your follies catch up... I'm sorry it wasn't a better scan for you yesterday Everything still crossed!

ETA: QOTW- I've got nothing off the top of my head.  Last year I got a professional certification for work.  Not required, and it's not common, but felt good to get something that helps give me an 'edge' or at least I hope it might.  I had to do some serious studying and it felt good to pass! The pass rate is about 50%.

[mahler5]

healz413 -- do you remember when the tests started to be positive? Just curious as I've read mixed stuff on the webs. This last ET I started testing 6dp5dt and it was really nerve racking ( all the tests were negative of course). I'm not sure if I want to test early again because it stressed me out. But honestly, I might not be able to stop myself. I have little self control.

RM80 -- your pee pushing is cracking up! Hope the new meds work well and give you little side effects!

[healz413]

(Trigger warning--discussion of past positive pregnancy tests)

mahler5-- we got a very faint squinter on the evening of 6dp3dt but that was with twins and with the FRER 5 days early test. It was still a squinter for another day. With our singleton transfer, the test was positive the afternoon of 8dp3dt (we didn't test before that). I would probably start any future IVF testing for us at the equivalent of 11 dpo (whether 8dp3dt or 6dp5dt) because I know that we can't (don't want to) wait until beta and 11 dpo is a pretty good time period for an IVF (where you know when the sperm met the egg). If I was feeling anxious, I might wait until 12dpo.

We only tested at 6dp3dt because it was Manada's birthday. It was sooo early that we said that if it was negative it wouldn't mean anything and we'd wait another two days to test.

We have only ever been in situations where tests never turned positive (all 6 of our IUIs) or that they were positive when we first peed on them and then stayed positive. There are lots of people, of course, who pee early and get a negative and then pee a couple days later and get a positive. And then another set of people who pee early and get a positive and then pee later and get a negative. I can't speak to what the experience is like for them. I know that for us we felt that even on our negative cycles we appreciated having a little bit of let down each day rather than holding out to the end and being completely let down all at once. That said, I know many people who feel the total opposite and find multiple day testing to be agonizing.

[mahler5]

healz413-- I know what you mean about not wanting to be completely let down all at once, and wanting to sort of prepare yourself. That was one reason I did it last time. But then wanting to test each day after gets old too so idk!

Thanks for the info!!!!

[RM80]

mahler5, I'm a known pusher, but that's just because I'm so impatient! Pros/cons to both approaches!

For our FET, I tested every day starting at 4dp5dt and didn't get a bfp until 8dp5dt. Sadly ended in MC.

Last cycle, I was in a testing nightmare... I tested out the trigger (I thought) but then when I tested on 10diui I got a squinter- I mean, serious squinter... But then it was gone next day. So maybe a chemical, maybe still the trigger, who knows... but it was agony testing every day. That said- i'll still do it again! I want all the information I can have as soon as I can have it! If my wife would allow, I would probably test daily from the day of the IUI Not logical, but I would do it!

[kh826]

mahler5 - I will represent "Team Beta or Bust" ... I never tested when pregnant with Will. We waited for beta, and we were both happy with that decision. I would have told you the morning of our beta test that there was a 50/50 chance that I was pregnant in my opinion. I really had no idea. For me, not testing was prolonging the let down in case it was a negative. Being PUPO felt like hanging onto maybe, and I wanted to hang onto that as long as possible. I was also really afraid of a chemical and squinting at sticks trying to interpret. I just wanted to know for sure once there was something to know for sure.

With that being said, I did POAS for all of my failed IUI cycles. I was totally nuts about it, and I think it made all of the BFNs that much more difficult.

I do not plan to POAS with this upcoming FET. J and I haven't even talked about it, but we are very much the type of people that when something works for us, we just keep doing it. Waiting for beta felt right last time, and I don't feel any need to "test early"...

That's just my 2 cents. I know everyone is different and respect that. I am not a "wait for beta pusher" by any means, but it is what works for us.

[dannigirl]

8dpiui, and holy do I feel like I hit a brick wall.

This morning I started feeling nauseous, head was groggy, little dizzy, smelt someone's body odour and that just about made me throw up.
I ended up coming home at lunch to sleep for a bit, and now it feels like I'm getting a head cold or something.

My friend, who is pregnant with twins right now, convinced me to take a ClearBlue HPT, which was negative. But that's okay cause that means the trigger is out of my system. I'll wait a few more days and do anything test and see.

[RM80]

CD3 update- giant 40mm+ cyst on right ovary. FML. I'm supposed to take a week of birth control now and go back next week to see if it resolves on its own. I feel like 40mm wont just disappear on its own! I have a feeling we're out this month, but I'll know more next Tuesday. Apparently when time is ticking biology doesn't want to cooperate!

[cetcar]

RM80 - So sorry to hear that!! Hopefully it goes away, or reduces enough that you can move forward soon. Did they do bloodwork to see if it's estrogen producing? CAR had a cyst both of our last two cycles, but we could go forward after the blookwork came back ok.

[RM80]

Huh... No bloodwork... I'll be sure to ask on Tuesday!

[cetcar]

Yeah, my first cycle I had one on the left that went away with the trigger. For the next two I had one on the right that started at 25mm but ended up staying around 20mm. They checked my estrogen levels at my day 3 appointment to see if it was releasing estrogen. Guess it needed to be 60 or lower in order to go ahead with the cycle. Mine was 32 so they said the cyst wasn't a problem. Every RE is different but hope this helps.

[mahler5]

kh826--- thanks. Yeah, we did POAS for our IUIs but it didn't seem as nerve racking because the odds were much lower so we knew there was a very good chance they would be negative if that makes sense (although the BFNs still really sucked). With the ET I think we were thinking around 50/50 since we had a good grade egg. Although in hindsight I'm pretty sure it's less since we transferred only one....

Anyway, it doesn't matter. It just felt like more of a let down with the ET in a way because we had our hopes too high. Hopefully I won't set my expectations too high this time!! And if I do POAS I'm waiting until at least 7dp5dt.

[mahler5]

RM80-- I'm so sorry to hear that you have a cyst. I hope it clears up in time for the IUI.

[wittyandwaiting]

Update: Back at the RE today and I've got a 15mm follice so it looks like I just had a slow grower and my estrogen is looking good so I'm feeling a lit better.

RM80 - I'm sorry to hear that you have a cyst and hopefully it doesn't impact anything. I have had a few cysts and they have always done bloodwork, told me that things look fine and moved on.

For the record - I'm Team POAS but C is Team Beta so I guess we compromise (she mostly wins) and I've only POAS twice. I want to have this magical moment where we are the only two people in the world who know.

[mahler5]

Just had my ultrasound and the nurse mentioned that they could thaw two embryos and decide which one looks the best and put one in and re freeze the other.

Has anyone done this or have any advice??

She said with the new freezing technology they can do this well now.

We have 7 frozen embryos right now. 4 Extended blast ( grade one), 1 blast, and 2 grade 2.

[kh826]

mahler5 - with the new freezing technique (Vitrification), it increases the likelihood that the embryos will survive thaw and re-freezing. My RE said there was a 97% chance our embryos would survive thaw due to the vitrification technique that was used on them. We did not ask about refreezing and rethawing, but from some preliminary internet research (i.e. the dreaded Google) it seems that there is not a ton of data on this since the technique is new, but that results have been mostly good for refreezing and rethawing at least once.

[RM80]

Personally I wouldn't risk it. While technology may be good, there's always a risk. But that's coming from someone who didn't have a choice and my 1 didn't thaw properly so I'm not the best one to ask...

[mahler5]

Thanks kh826 and RM80.

I think what confuses me the most is whether they can really tell by thawing one if it looks better. I read a study that said on average about 50% of extended blasts are abnormal anyway, and they can't tell by looking at it. I think this compared to 35.5% of grade 2 or something being normal.

They also said they could thaw one and if it doesn't look great then thaw another. I think that is where we are leaning.

If we don't get pregnant this time though, I think we may put two in next time. FETs are expensive!!'

I'm getting ahead of myself though. One thing at a time!'

[wittyandwaiting]

IUI tomorrow! Suddenly I have two follicles (20 and 15), I triggered this morning but they also called to let me know that my LH was surging.