Waiting, waiting & more waiting!

There hasn't really been much to report over this past week. I have been reading everything online and taking home pregnancy tests. Dr. Pablo says that every test I take will come out negative until Monday. He is correct. I have taken 3 hpt and all have been negative.

I have had a few symptoms of pregnancy: sensitive breasts, twinges of cramping, excessive bathroom breaks, and bad taste in my mouth.

I am hoping that all these symptoms are due from a growing little girl & not side affects of all the medicine I am on!!

I will continue to take these hpt every day until Monday.  I have read online that lots of pregnant ladies had their hpt say negative even on the day they took the blood test. This gives me hope!! Its not over till the blood test says so!!!!

I just ask that all my friends & family continue to pray for us. There is nothing more important to us right now than this baby. I believe God will deliver her to us!

Feeling normal (almost)

There really haven't been any new symptoms over these last few days. I am still having the lower back pain but it comes & goes. According to my chart, today she attaches deeper into the uterine lining and begins implantation.

We got back home from Ecuador today. We were greeted at the airport by Mariel then went to lunch at my favorite: Cantina Laredo. When we got home, my girlfriends had the front porch decorated with balloons, a big sign (with lots of notes from everyone), red tulip flowers, and decorations!

 Then Stephanie brought over a homemade cake! Her cakes are the BEST! It was the best homecoming ever. I feel truly blessed to have these wonderful ladies in my life. 

All this waiting is getting the best of me. I want to take a pregnancy test so bad. I think I may cheat tomorrow and buy the early detection kind.?.? I wish I could peek in on Ava and make sure she's growing like she should be!! It sure would make my life so much easier. 

While walking through the airports today I was checking out every stroller strolling by. The moms probably thought I was stalking them. I kept trying to get close if it was a model I thought I liked, I was trying to scope out the brand name!!

You know how when you are looking to get a new car & you start seeing the same model EVERYWHERE. Thats how I feel with Ava. I am seeing all these cute babies everywhere and I keep checking them out! I'm looking at the outfits they have on, if they have any cute accessories and definitely their shoes! I saw the most adorable baby today with little black maryjane slippers. I am going to try to track those bad boys down online!! A definite must have.

IF I can muster up the courage to take the test. I will let you all know! It's like reading a book. you want to know the ending but know if you wait, it will be that much better. Unless you are Mariel, then you just wikipedia it all before you even read the book because you can't stand surprises!!! Love you Mariel!

How I'm feeling

Things have been going according to plan so far! I had slight cramping the day of & the following day after the transfer. From what I've read online it seems like this is normal because of everything you just put your uterus through.  I have had a little lower back pain that comes & goes today.

I've also been a little tired but that could be because I'm up late every night reading blogs, forums, articles & anything else I can about ivf and how I "should" be feeling! What I've come to understand is that pregnancy & menstrual cycles BOTH have the same symptoms. How lovely! There is no choice but to wait it out until the blood test.

Tomorrow Ava should be implanting herself. It's like a mind tourture. I want to know what's happening with her, then I try to see if what I'm feeling is a symptom!!! Plus, having been pregnant before, every little tinge feels like a baby kick & she doesn't even have legs or arms yet.

Ahhh the 2 week wait!

While I've been resting, I have been researching lots! I've found these following items I'm going to buy: crib, changing table, bassinet, baby bag, and stroller. I have purchased crib bedding & still need to find a dresser. I've found all this in between pregnancy, ivf transfer, and 2ww information.

What is happening with Ava now?

After the transfer Nik & I checked into a hotel and watched about 4 episodes of Sons of Anarchy. We are hooked to this crazy show! The next day we boarded an airplane to come back to Salinas where we will be over the next 4 days. I am not supposed to be on total bed rest (Thank goodness!) but do need to take it easy.

Its funny how so many things were forgotten that I am remembering about pregnancy. When I found out I was pregnant with Trey, I was constantly reading about his development and what to expect during pregnancy. With Ava, it has been no different. I have been spending hours online making sure that I am doing everything right!!

I wish there was a magical way I could be assured that she is growing and developing the way she should be. I find myself rubbing the area of my belly where she is and praying (constantly) that she is doing just fine!

I found a chart from a fertility center website that lets me know whats going on with her over the next 2 weeks:

3-Day Transfer

Days Past Transfer (DPT)	Embryo Development
One Feb 19	The embryo continues to grow and develop, turning from a 6-8 cell embryo into a morula
Two Feb 20	The cells of the morula continue to divide, developing into a blastocyst
Three Feb 21	The blastocyst begins to hatch out of its shell
Four Feb 22	The blastocyst continues to hatch out of its shell and begins to attach itself to the uterus
Five Feb 23	The blastocyst attaches deeper into the uterine lining, beginning implantation
Six Feb 24	Implantation continues
Seven Feb 25	Implantation is complete, cells that will eventually become the placenta and fetus have begun to develop
Eight Feb 26	Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) starts to enter the blood stream
Nine Feb 27	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Ten Feb 28	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Eleven March 1	Levels of hCG are now high enough to detect a pregnancy

http://www.nyufertilitycenter.org/ivf/embryo_transfer

I have been told from Dr. Pablo that I need to have a blood test on March 3rd to make sure that we are pregnant. The period between the transfer and the blood test is known as the dreaded "2 Week Wait - 2WW". From everything I was reading online last night there is really no way to know if the symptoms I am feeling are from the monthly menstrual cycle or the beginning of a pregnancy. It is all so confusing! You go on one website and it says if you have this list of symptoms, you are pregnant or about to start your monthly cycle. I am going to TRY not to obsess over every little change in my body over the next 10 days. Then I will take an at-home pregnancy test on March 1st and the blood test on the 3rd, this will be the only true way to know if she implanted and is growing!

Transfer complete! We are officially pregnant.

The day is finally here! We had the embryo transfer today. I came into the office, had to drink a ton of water and walk around a lot before we could get started. They wanted a full bladder before the transfer so it is easier to see when they perform the transfer. 

After about 5 mini ultrasounds to check the progress of the size of my bladder, we were finally ready! Dr Pablo came in, explained the process. He was super sweet by letting Nik come into the Operating Room. He said they don't usually allow anyone in or video record. 

It was a little painful at first but once the catheter was in, there was no pain. Nik started recording & we got to watch Dr Pablo get her from the incubator & insert her thru the catheter. 

At this time, WE ARE PREGNANT!!!! He said it was a "perfect transfer". It took acouple  minutes for me to process everything. Then I just started crying!

Here is a pic of Ava:

We were able to take video but I'm not sure how to upload it to the blog. I will try to figure this out later today. 

Nik & I are staying at a hotel tonight then fly back to Salinas tomorrow, then back to the states Sunday!!!

Green light for Tuesday!

Today was the l o n g e s t day ever!!! I was in a bumpy cab for 6 hours, in an airport for 4 hours and riding airplanes for 2 hours. All of this travel for an doctor appointment that literally lasted less than 20 minutes..... I had to fly into Quito for the ultrasound to check my endometrium. In order for you to get implanted, you need to have a thickness of 6. I had a thickness of 7.83 so we are all set to get implanted Tuesday!!

I got the results of all the embryos genetic testing.

There are 3 different chromosomes they test for to make sure you will have a healthy baby and also testing for gender. They take the embryo and biopsy one cell and from that one cell they get all this information! In order to have a perfect baby, you should have 2 of each of these chromosomes. If you have less or more, it will not be healthy.

Here are the chromosomes they test for:

Chromosome 13 for Patau Syndrome: Patau syndrome /ˈpætaʊ/ is a syndrome caused by a chromosomal abnormality, in which some or all of the cells of the body contain extra genetic material fromchromosome 13.  The extra genetic material from chromosome 13 disrupts the normal course of development, causing multiple and complex organ defects. Like all nondisjunction conditions (such as Down syndrome and Edwards syndrome), the risk of this syndrome in the offspring increases with maternal age at pregnancy, with about 31 years being the average.^[1] Patau syndrome affects somewhere between 1 in 10,000 and 1 in 21,700 live births.^[2]


Chromosome 18 for Edwards Syndrome: Edwards syndrome (also known as Trisomy 18 [T18]) is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. Edwards syndrome occurs in around one in 6,000 live births and around 80 percent of those affected are female.^[2] The majority of fetuses with the syndrome die before birth.^[2] The incidence increases as the mother's age increases. The syndrome has a very low rate of survival, resulting from heart abnormalities, kidney malformations, and other internal organ disorders.


Chromosome 21 for Down Syndrome: Down syndrome (DS) or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21.^[1] It is typically associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features and mild to moderate intellectual disability.^[2] 


Out of all 8 embryos tested the ONLY ONE who came back with a perfect score of 2,2,2,XX and   this was embryo #6. Not only did she have perfect amount of chromosomes, she also was scored a Grade A embryo. There are 4 categories of A,B,C & D.

For now the doctors orders are to continue on these Lindisic patches until the 10th week of pregnancy.  On Feb. 16th I will start taking 3 more different medicines:
Progesterone ( a steroid hormone that supports gestation) twice a day until the 10th week of pregnancy.
Metilprednilolona: Once daily for 4 days (After egg retrieval for a cycle of in vitro fertilization, methylprednisolone may be prescribed to prevent the body from rejecting the embryos being transferred, up to the time of implantation)
 Azitromicina: Just 2 tablets for 1 day. This is an antibiotic that prevents bacteria from growing in my body.

I'm still taking a baby aspirin once a day, fish oil and my prenatal vitamins. This is a lot of stuff to take & I hate taking pills! But its all in the name of Ava, so I won't complain!!

I hope to be able to take a video of the doctor implanting Ava on Tuesday. It will be so cool to be able to get it on film!!

I am feeling fine, still not crazy, but who knows how I will feel after the 16th after taking all those pills?! Trey has been such an angel. Last night he said a special prayer just for Ava. I love it when he does stuff like that on his own!! My boys are getting excited and it is so awesome to know that I have so much support from all you guys. Please continue your prayers that everything goes great for Tuesday and that we have a successful implantation!

All we needed was one perfect embryo

Today I found out the results of the genetic testing. We tested 8 embryos. Out of the 8 we have: 1 perfect baby girl, 1 fragmented girl embryo (healthy but the nucleus is not whole), 2 boys with abnormal chromosomes & 4 very abnormal embryos.

I cannot believe it.... We have ONLY ONE perfect baby girl. Out of this whole process it has bothered me "How will I choose which girl to implant?". God has a plan for us. We don't get to choose, there is only one option!!!!

Originally we were going to wait until Day 5 to implant. Since there is only one perfect baby girl, we will implant her at Day 3 stage. The mothers womb is the best incubator! If we would have had more embryos we would have waited until Day 5 and been able to see which ones made it. Since there is only one, we can't take the chance that she won't make it to Day 5 outside my womb. We are going to implant her February 17th.

I go back to Quito to have an ultrasound February 13th to check my endometrium. I believe I will also start another medication to get ready for implantation.

This is a true test of faith. There is only one baby girl. I pray that she makes it all the way thru to a perfect baby girl. Please include us in your prayers. Everything is on Gods hands! I believe he will deliver us a beautiful baby!!!

The date is set..... I will OFFICIALLY be pregnant!

The big day is quickly approaching! I will begin taking these hormone patches tomorrow. I will place 6 patches of Estradiol on my stomach for 5 days, remove then repeat on my lower back another 5 days. I will have to keep rotating these patches front to back until Feb. 20th.

I will fly into Quito for a quick appointment on Feb. 14th to have an ultrasound to check my endometrium.

What is an endometrium:

Function[edit]

The endometrium is the innermost glandular layer and functions as a lining for the uterus, preventing adhesions between the opposed walls of the myometrium, thereby maintaining the patency of the uterine cavity. During the menstrual cycle or estrous cycle, the endometrium grows to a thick, blood vessel-rich, glandular tissue layer. This represents an optimal environment for the implantation of a blastocyst upon its arrival in the uterus. The endometrium is central, echogenic (detectable using ultrasound scanners), and has an average thickness of 6.7 mm.

During pregnancy, the glands and blood vessels in the endometrium further increase in size and number. Vascular spaces fuse and become interconnected, forming the placenta, which supplies oxygen and nutrition to the embryo and fetus. 

-- Taken from Wikipedia (Don't ya just love the internet!)

I will be calling in on Feb 11th to find out the results of the genetic testing on the 8 embryos. This is when I will find out how many are healthy and how many are girls...... I cannot wait to see the results!

We have decided that instead of implanting a Day 3 embryo, we are going to see how many girls will make it to Day 5. This will give us a better chance of successful implantation.

Hopefully all will be well with the ultrasound on Feb 14th. and on the 20th, we will officially be pregnant!!!!!