eight!

I was so excited to find out yesterday that of our 16 retrieved eggs, 11 were mature and 8 fertilized! I am SO happy with this number ... twice as many as our first IVF cycle.

Now I'm over the moon because the call today was more good news. All 8 embryos are still growing strong so we will be able to do a day 5 transfer.

Yay!

drum roll, please ....

We got 16 eggs today!!!!!!! 3 more than last time. So nervous about our fertilization report tomorrow but trying to stay positive.

16!

so uncomfortable!

This bloating is out of control! At least I know something is happening ...

Appointment today was okay. I had 8 follicles over 10mm, including 3 over 18mm, meaning technically I was ready to trigger. But my RE wanted me to stim for one more day to let a few others catch up. I am definitely ok with that! I don't feel like I have as many as last time :-/ E2 was a but high (3075) so I'm hoping that means I'm in a good range ... Fingers crossed I get the okay tomorrow to trigger.

That's about it ... Yawn. Both furbabies have FLEAS (gross!) and have been waking me up at night with their itching! What I wouldn't do for more than 3 hours straight of sleep.

Time for some dinner, a breaking bad and bed.

just like riding a bike

So far, IVF round 2 has been pretty much like round 1 ... I know what to expect and it's just a lot easier. Physically anyway. I've even started giving myself my own shots, which I never thought would happen (I'll save the trigger for DH though!).

There's not much to report. Today is day 9 of stims. My E2 has risen nicely just like last time (111, 256, 813) and we have just upped my meds slightly. My largest follicle was 13mm yesterday, so I'm thinking we will trigger Tuesday for a Thursday retrieval, but we'll see. As long as we avoid Saturday (that would be horrible as DH has a work commitment) we should be fine! I actually shortened my time on BCP to specifically avoid that day... Just hoping my body cooperates...

This cycle is out of pocket, though I'm thankful for financial assistance from my family and my RE! We definitely could not have afforded another cycle (my first was partially covered, but now I've exceeded my lifetime benefit for infertility... awesome). My RE's office was so incredibly generous and gave me 1200IUs of follistim, a bunch of menopur (probably 10 days worth) and some supplies. I was so happy I cried! I still have some gonal-f leftover so I should be totally covered with meds, just had to get the ganirelex and some of the pills and stuff. SO grateful!

I wasn't sure I ever wanted to do IVF again after the mess I went through after my first round ... Spotting ... Dropping betas ... Confirmed m/c .... Rising betas ... Suspected ectopic ... Mtx ... More rising betas! Ugh. Just thinking about my life in April/may of this year is exhausting.

I tried to think about my life if I were childless and it made me very depressed. The only thing that made me feel better was to wrap my mind around trying to maybe be hopeful that this would all work out ... It took me a while to get here, and while I can't say for sure exactly what I think or feel about this whole situation, I know this is the right next step.

I've already been through the worst ... So whatever this cycle brings, I can take it if it gets me closer to being a mom.