IVF Injection Day 2 ... This is cake!

Well, by now we are old pros at this injection thing.  I thought I'd take the opportunity tonight to explain exactly what this process will entail. 

1.  Right now we are in Ovarian Stimulation Mode.... basically the meds are making my ovaries go into hyperdrive.  Sound painful?  Not yet.  : /  This will go on for about 10 days or so and we'll go in for regular bloodwork and ultrasounds (about every other day) to measure progress.

2.  Once the Dr. determines my eggs Done! (stick a fork in 'em) ... They will then give us the green light for the HCG shot, Ovidrel.  This triggers ovulation.  We have done this one before with our IUI cycle .... I was awake in the middle of the night that night in horrendous pain trying to get ahold of a 24 hour pharmacy to make sure this was normal ... LOL ... it was.  At least this time we know what to expect.  I ain't skeered ; )

3.  A couple days after the Ovidrel shot, we go in to retrieve my eggs.  Woohoo!  I will be under anesthesia and they'll basically go in with a long needle and pluck the eggs right out of my ovaries! (Thank Jesus, Mary, and Joseph that I will NOT be awake during this). 

4.  Then the exciting part happens .... they will start fertilizing the eggs and let us know how many fertilize... we hope it's bunches .... Because of our history with recurrent miscarriage, they will be doing something a little different with our cycle .....

5.  Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis - They will be testing all of our embryos for chromosomal abnormalities.  If many of them are abnormal, this could give us some insight into why we have been losing pregnancies.  Any news will be better than the big, fat Nothing we've had to go on for the past two years!  :)  If any of the embryos are chromosomally normal and viable, we proceed to Step Six

6.  Embryonic Transfer - We will get to schedule this day and will keep it Top Secret.  This way, if we do end up getting pregnant, we can still have that element of surprise that NORMAL couples get to have when announcing pregnancy.  Not many people have to share the intimate details of  how they conceived their child, so they get to surprise their families with the news that they are expecting.  We feel that it is important to share what we are doing with our families and friends, but still want to be able to surprise everyone when we get good news!! Oh Happy Day!

7.  If in fact, the Dr.'s find that none of our embryos are viable, we will move on to using Donor Eggs.

Either way ... we are WELL on our way to having the children that we love and want so badly.  I hope this post answers some questions about what exactly IVF is and what we are in store for in the next month or so.  We want this blog to serve as a place for information so that we do not feel pressure to answer questions, talk about things during difficult times, etc.  We are so happy that you are reading this.  One of my personal wishes, too, is that this blog might serve the purpose of so many blogs I have read over the course of our fertility challenges.... and that is to encourage and support others in the same situation.  If this is you, please know that you are not alone, that others do understand what you are going through, and that you can and will get through this.  You are STRONGER than you believe, BRAVER that you seem, and SMARTER than you think.

All my love,
Ash