I really didn't think anyone read my blog, at least anymore. I have recently found out that I have at least three blog readers. I want to devote this post to my three known readers:
Rebecca Baudoin Johnson
Jaclyn Davern
Erin Hemming
Thanks for reading, ladies! You prompt me to want to post more often. I'll work on that!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
IVF Update
I had a consultation with the head doctor, Dr. S, at our clinic a couple of weeks ago. It was good to really be able to talk through everything. I wanted to know why he thought our three transfers failed. I truly never expected to have to endure another fresh IVF cycle. I was blaming it on bad luck, since it seems that we have a lot of that when it comes to trying to conceive.
The doctor said he would have expected one to two more pregnancies out of our embryos. He is surprised. I'm glad I'm not the only one. He thinks they failed because of the difficult transfers. The first was a bit difficult, but not noticeably so to me. The second was AWFUL. A transfer should only take a matter of minutes. My doctor tried for over an hour. She had me get up twice to relieve my bladder to see if that would help. You go to a transfer with a full bladder, but mine was too full. Finally, she gave up and said we would have to refreeze the embryos and try again.
That is when I asked the simple question, "Can you do that? Will the embryos survive?". I did not get the answer I sought. She said, "Well, we've never tried it before.". Sorry, I'm not your guinea pig. I lost it, and she called the head doctor/owner of the clinic. He came from the Edina office (to Woodbury) to perform the transfer. He did it in minutes. The third transfer was again a bit difficult, but we got it done. They have been difficult because of my c-section scar. It is hard to bypass, apparently.
Needless to say, a woman's uterus does not like to be poked a lot prior to embryo implantation. The result is much like the concept behind the IUD contraceptive device. So, Dr. S, thinks that may be the reason for the failures.
So, we have a plan for our next round. We have a new doctor, Dr. S. I think he views us as a fun puzzle to solve. He allowed us to do the HOPE warranty program again, even though we no longer technically qualify because of our three failures. I took that as a sign of confidence on his part. He wouldn't gamble with the warranty program if he thought he would actually have to give us our full $25,000 back at the end. We also got a $1,000 discount for being good customers. Ha! That's a drop in the bucket considering the amount we've paid them, but I guess every $1,000 counts?
The plan is to avoid OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome). If you recall from way back in 2008, they were able to get 29 eggs from my ovaries, but I got very sick because of being overstimulated. So much so that we weren't able to do a fresh transfer. Dr. S is aiming for fewer, high quality, eggs to avoid OHSS. He is planning on changing my protocol to basically pump my eggs up right away, but then coast a bit so as not to grow too many. Obviously that is a super simplified version of our discussion, but you get the idea. We want to be able to do a fresh transfer, and have fewer great embryos. That works for us. We don't want dozens of kids, we would love two or three. But, we will not count our embryos before they're hatched...we've already experienced the roller coaster of emotions that go with that.
So, here's hoping the new protocol works. I would love to get ten or so great eggs, and a few perfect little embryos that make a home in there for nine months or so. We have hope, lots of it.
The doctor said he would have expected one to two more pregnancies out of our embryos. He is surprised. I'm glad I'm not the only one. He thinks they failed because of the difficult transfers. The first was a bit difficult, but not noticeably so to me. The second was AWFUL. A transfer should only take a matter of minutes. My doctor tried for over an hour. She had me get up twice to relieve my bladder to see if that would help. You go to a transfer with a full bladder, but mine was too full. Finally, she gave up and said we would have to refreeze the embryos and try again.
That is when I asked the simple question, "Can you do that? Will the embryos survive?". I did not get the answer I sought. She said, "Well, we've never tried it before.". Sorry, I'm not your guinea pig. I lost it, and she called the head doctor/owner of the clinic. He came from the Edina office (to Woodbury) to perform the transfer. He did it in minutes. The third transfer was again a bit difficult, but we got it done. They have been difficult because of my c-section scar. It is hard to bypass, apparently.
Needless to say, a woman's uterus does not like to be poked a lot prior to embryo implantation. The result is much like the concept behind the IUD contraceptive device. So, Dr. S, thinks that may be the reason for the failures.
So, we have a plan for our next round. We have a new doctor, Dr. S. I think he views us as a fun puzzle to solve. He allowed us to do the HOPE warranty program again, even though we no longer technically qualify because of our three failures. I took that as a sign of confidence on his part. He wouldn't gamble with the warranty program if he thought he would actually have to give us our full $25,000 back at the end. We also got a $1,000 discount for being good customers. Ha! That's a drop in the bucket considering the amount we've paid them, but I guess every $1,000 counts?
The plan is to avoid OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome). If you recall from way back in 2008, they were able to get 29 eggs from my ovaries, but I got very sick because of being overstimulated. So much so that we weren't able to do a fresh transfer. Dr. S is aiming for fewer, high quality, eggs to avoid OHSS. He is planning on changing my protocol to basically pump my eggs up right away, but then coast a bit so as not to grow too many. Obviously that is a super simplified version of our discussion, but you get the idea. We want to be able to do a fresh transfer, and have fewer great embryos. That works for us. We don't want dozens of kids, we would love two or three. But, we will not count our embryos before they're hatched...we've already experienced the roller coaster of emotions that go with that.
So, here's hoping the new protocol works. I would love to get ten or so great eggs, and a few perfect little embryos that make a home in there for nine months or so. We have hope, lots of it.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Labor Day in Florida!
Addie and Dad at the beach at Doc's
Addie enjoying the ocean view.
Celebrating Grandma's birthday!
Lounging by the pool.
Jumping!So, we are addicted to Florida. We didn't have any plans over the holiday weekend so we decided to look at airfare. Well, it was a steal. We promptly booked our flights to Naples! We were able to get on the exact same flight as my parents, so it was perfect. We just had a really relaxing long weekend...or almost a week. We got lots of pool time, one beach day, and a couple of happy hours out on the town! It was perfect. Addie has turned into quite the fish, so she enjoyed being able to wake up and hit the pool every day. Her favorite thing to do is count to three and then jump into the pool (into our arms, of course). We've got to get this girl some swimming lessons!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Summer Playdates
We've had a busy summer, with lots of great playdates. Below are just a few! I'm not always the best at getting the camera out, so I miss some key shots. Oh well.
Playing with Kendall (and Devin, but she was on the slide) this spring.
Hanging out with the Grandmas at Como Park.
Devin's 2nd Birthday Party, Addie got to spend some quality time with Devin's little brother, Lucas.
A Tuesday morning at the park with Great, Great Aunt Jeanne.
Playdate with Kendall in August.Bavarian Blast
Addie enjoying her brat
Dancing with Grandma Emily
Daddy and his infamous dip.
More dancing
Dancing with Grandma SueIn July we hit the Bavarian Blast in New Ulm. At first it was a bit underwhelming. We were all tired and hungry by the time we got there. So, when we saw three large tents and essentially nothing else, we were worried. All it took were some brats and beer and we were ready to polka! Addie loved all the dancing. She wasn't sure about dancing alone but loved getting all of us on the dance floor. I'm pretty sure she likes dancing with Daddy best, though. Just look at her smiles!
Addie's First Minnesota State Fair
Yum, fries.
Baby ducks
Addie's favorite calf
I like him, but I don't want to touch him, Mama.Well, it was a brief visit, but we hit the important stuff! Tuesday morning, after a struggle to start the car, Addie and I picked up Grandma Emily and headed to the State Fair. We saw the Miracle of Birth barn, where Addie LOVED the calves. She was not so sure about petting them, but stared and said moo. She did not care so much for their mamas, though. I think she thought they were a bit large.
We then headed to the Colliseum to shop a bit. Grandma Emily bought Addie a cute book about getting dressed with magnetic clothes so she can dress all the children in the book. She loves it! We then decided we were hungry, because you HAVE to eat at the State Fair. We found a bench where we could watch a live folk band. Grandma Emily and Addie watched the band while I got us Fresh French Fries. Yum! At this point Addie had had it with the fair. She was tired and it was getting hot. We were all excited to get back to the car.
We then headed to the Colliseum to shop a bit. Grandma Emily bought Addie a cute book about getting dressed with magnetic clothes so she can dress all the children in the book. She loves it! We then decided we were hungry, because you HAVE to eat at the State Fair. We found a bench where we could watch a live folk band. Grandma Emily and Addie watched the band while I got us Fresh French Fries. Yum! At this point Addie had had it with the fair. She was tired and it was getting hot. We were all excited to get back to the car.
We were all piled into the car, ready to go, when...it didn't start. Luckily Kris had just texted me an hour before asking what we were doing for the day. Well, he saved us! He jumped the car so that we could get it home. It needed a new battery, but at least it got us back. The added bonus was that Uncle Kris hung out with Addie and me for the rest of the afternoon. It was a good day!
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