2 Beautiful Blasts Back

ET went so well. Prof was there and for the first time, he did my transfer which was so fab. Of course, this is only the 3rd time in 7 IVF's that I have made it to transfer and the very first time with blasts!!!! And we had 4 blasts as of this morning and 2 morulas which could catch up. So hopefully we have 4 to freeze tomorrow on day 6. I thought you couldn't freeze hatching blasts, but apparently you can...


Prof told us that the blasts look really great and we have a 70% chance with them...and that twins is a possibility...

One baby will be perfect. Twins would be too.

I have a retroverted uterus so it was a bit tricky to get the catheter lined up. The lab technician who brought my embies in was pregnant...hoping that she left some of her magic touch LOL. I was a little tearful, realising the enormity of the miracle we were taking part in...this is the closest we have ever been.

After the transfer, I lay down for an hour and then we went home where I read and lazed about all afternoon.

I am so so hopeful that this is it.

Testing day - 10th March!!!!!

Fab 5

Got my fert report right on time this morning...

5 Embies are perfect 8 cells, with no fragmentatation (grade 5 which is the best - 5 out of 5!!).
3 Embies are 7 cells, 1 with no fragmentation (grade 5) and 2 with a little fragmentation (grade 4), and
1 Embie is a 6 cell with no fragmentation (grade 5).

So all 9 are still hanging in there and the Sister says they are looking really good. She told me that they don't look at them again until Monday morning when they should be blasts!!!! And I go in at 11am for Embryo Transfer!  So I will only know how many blasts there are then. Eeeeeeeek. Any leftover blasts will then be frozen on Tuesday.

Can anything stop them becoming blasts if they are looking so good?  I really hope hope hope we get at least 6 fab blasts....2 to transfer on Monday, 4 to freeze :)

DH kept sending me pictures of quadruplets yesterday LOL!!!

So Monday it is....
Next step: Blast report and ET and 2 Week Wait...

9 Going strong

I hadn't heard from the Sister by 2pm and was starting to stress...all sorts of terrible thoughts started pouring into my mind as only an IF can do...and then finally she called to say...


ALL 9 ARE 4 CELL and right on time for day 2!!!!
Am so relieved. For the first time I started believing that my baby is one of those embies...
Next step: Fert report tomorrow.

Fert Report #1

Got an sms first thing this morning...which I thought was strange as usually I have to call in at 11am.  Anyway, 9 of the 10 have fertilised!!!

6 of the 7 that were left naturally with the little guys, fertilised and all 3 that were ICSI'd also fertilised.

So still looking great! I keep reminding myself, all we need is one to make it all the way...just one...

But this is a numbers and luck game, and anything can happen...

Next step: Tomorrow's fert report...

Top 10

Got an sms this morning just after ER saying we got 7 eggs.

And, I admit, disappointment did creep in a little...I was so hoping for a number over 10. But I quickly adjusted my ideal to a new thought - being - just one perfect embie please.

Then I got an email saying....Final count is 10 eggs. 7 will be IVF fertilised (meaning left alone with the little guys to see what happens naturally) and 3 will be ICSI'd (choosing the best looking little guys, cutting off their tails and injecting them directly into the egg)...So I am feeling so much more optimistic! I only ever got 3 or 4 eggs, so 10 is totally awesome. A wonderful top 10.

Next step...fertilisation report at 11am tomorrow...

Then, fert reports day-by-day and depending on what is happening...embryo transfer will be scheduled. This is because we don't know how many eggs will fertilise, how embryos will develop etc. If only a few fertilise then they may want to do a day 3 transfer. If there are many and they are growing well and on time, then they will want to wait until they become blastocysts and then transfer the best ones on day 5.

How wonderful that would be...to get to day 5 with good looking blasts.

"My" ER tomorrow

It will be "my" (donor's) egg retrieval tomorrow. I sent an email asking how many follicles there are but as yet, have had no reply from the donor programme sister...damn. Hard not to want info especially as I have been so removed from the stim process.  On one hand, I admit it is a relief. Not to be worrying daily about my follicles. Did they grow? How many are there? Are they going to make good embryos this time? Will we finally get to a transfer?

On the other hand, it would be nice to know how many ova to expect. Maybe if I don't have any preconceived ideals, I will be happy with anything more than we need? I wouldn't say I am obsessing, just interested in comparing to my last cycle I suppose.

Time will tell. Next step, ER and count of ova. Then fertilisation and waiting for the fert report. Then daily fert report call-ins, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun...and then hopefully Embryo Transfer with real, live, healthy blastocysts on Monday!!!!! I never made it to actual blasts, so all very exciting.

Then of course, the loooooong two week wait until the blood test day.....

Interestingly, we had all our blood work done and I finally know what my blood type is...O Pos, which yay, is the same as the donors. DH is AB Pos which is actually quite rare - only 5% of the population have this type. Seems we are all clear on hepatitus, HIV etc etc which is a plus LOL.

Will post again with the fert report...gosh, just got butterflies in my stomach....can't believe we are here again...but for the first time...

Things look good

                                                 This is a pic of a building in Stone Town, Zanzibar

So, our donor's first scan was yesterday on CD8.  I couldn't wait until my scan this morning so sms'ed the donor sister for info. Her reply was "Too early to count follicles, small follies on both ovaries. Next scan Monday, Things look good"! I couldn't remember if I knew by day 8 how many follicles I had, so I looked back at some of my past IVF cycle notes. Yes, I did know as there were only ever 3 or 4 growing from an antral follicle count which at best was 5 or 6! So I took this as a good sign that there were quite a few follicles so not necessary to count yet...oh imagine...to have so many that you only really check the leader.  I never had that luxury and spent hours willing my few follicles to grow grow grow.

So off to the scan I went, intending to quizz my Prof further. He came in to do the scan and seemed in a rush and the first thing he said to me was "how are you doing? Are you at peace". And I said, "I am completely at peace and completely ready". He scanned and said my lining is already a perfect 11mm so no need to increase Progynova dosage and that it would not be necessary to come in again for another scan! Awesome. Then he said, he had scanned our donor yesterday and that everything is looking really really good. I asked him what her antral follicle count was and he said, about 15! Wow. My best was 6 I think!

I read that a good donor should have 15-25 antral follicles. Also, you can calculate how many eggs you will get with a simple calc: EGGS = 0.8*FA (Antral Follicle Count)+2. So if our donor had 15 antral follicles then hopefully we will get 14 eggs!! That would be great, if one considers only about 50% fertilise. I would be completely thrilled to have 7 embies. They also say that approx 30% make it to blast, so if we get 7 embies, then hopefully hopefully hopefully we will get 2 healthy blasts to transfer, maybe more.

Monday will bring more news about how the follies are doing. Prof also said he thinks ER will be on Wednesday, but will let us know.

Wow.

Letter to our donor

Dear Donor angel

I wanted to write you a letter to express just how grateful we are to you for the incredible gift you are giving to us – a chance at finally, possibly having our baby.

Our journey to this point has been long and difficult and we are emotionally weary after all the heartache and loss. We have been trying to have a baby for 13 years now, since we got married when I was 25. I had severe endometriosis, severe pelvic scarring and my tubes are badly damaged and I was told at the age of 28 after a laparotomy that it was unlikely I would ever fall pregnant naturally. After further surgeries, we tried various fertility treatments before deciding to try naturally again. This lead to an ectopic pregnancy which we only realised when it ruptured while we were on holiday in Etosha, Namibia and I very nearly died.
We had another natural ectopic pregnancy a year later. This was devastating. So close, but the baby was in the wrong place and I had to undergo surgery again to have it removed. After a break, we started with IVF treatments. The first one resulted in a pregnancy, but it was not to be and I miscarried. The next 4 IVF’s all resulted in cancelled cycles as our embryos were not making it past 4 days. Our final attempt with IVF 6 was also a negative.
Not only am I a poor responder to IVF drugs but after so many years of trying, my egg quality is now questionable at the age of 38. Our only hope is now through a donor.

Each time, we gather up new hope and keep on going and this time, because of your special gift of donated ova, we will hopefully and finally welcome the little soul we have been waiting for, for the last 13 years.

We are so grateful for your courage and generosity to give of yourself to us by going through this process with such grace.
We will treasure and love this baby should we be successful this cycle, with all our love, forever.

We pray we will be blessed and we ask that you are too, always.

Thank you

Getting closer...

We had a really great trip to Zanzibar - in a mosaic of words.......hot, tropical, spicy, vivid colours, blues, smells, visual gems, noise, salty air, cold beer, seafood, warm wind, indian ocean, rough rural landscapes, palms, kangas, seaweed, swims, coconut, fruit, music, books, sleep, sticky, adventure, Africa, poverty, clouds, trees, Muslim, Arab, Indian, heritage, slavery, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, green, lush, simple....

Here I am on an island just off the west coast of Zanzibar on a rather windy day....it really is that beautiful...

We went on the 3 Island Tour to celebrate Henk's 51st Birthday. The wind had picked up and the crossing to the islands would have been tricky so we opted to go to just one of the three. A delicious seafood lunch was prepared by the tour guide and served to us on the beach. The water was just beautiful even with the wind. Crossing back, it had become almost gale force and the rolled up sail roof fell, knocking me on the head...it was F'ing eina. 

Visually, the colour and the people, kanga's, cloths, fruit, food, trucks, buckets, shack shops...were inspiring to photograph. Only problem being that people do not like to be photographed, so it has to be done from a moving car, or while no-one is looking otherwise they get very upset!

This was the view from Croal Rock Bungalows where we stayed as the tide was coming back in.

This is with the tide out far. We could walk out to the deep water along a beautiful sand bar, looking for scarlet red and spidery starfish and seaweed farms along the way...

More on Zanzi later...

I started taking daily Lucrin injections the day after we got back from Zanzibar to start down regulating my own cycle awaiting my day 1 which was yesterday. I felt excited to be getting closer to the next step by phoning the special donor cell number to tell Sister Fourie that it was my day 1. She then called our donor to tell her to stop taking her BCP's and to wait for her day 1, while I continue with the Lucrin injections. Her day 1 should be in the next 3-4 days and then she will receive her stim protocol and meds and stimming starts!!! Then after about 10-12 days of stimming, we go to ER - probably around 24 Feb! Then we wait until day 5 if lots of embies (hopefully!!) to ET. I will be taking more meds as well to prepare my lining for ET and then daily gestone injections until 9 weeks of pregnancy!

I am completely ready.