Frozen Embryo Transfer Process - And Day 3 - Operation Cinco de Pregneto

The Frozen Embryo Transfer Process

What we are just starting! 

• Start 10 units Lupron about a week before your cycle is supposed to start. Continue on with daily prenatal vitamin.
• Day 1 of your cycle, decrease to 5 units of Lupron and call and make an appointment for day 3.
• Day 3 go in to check and make sure your uterine lining is looking good. Also start taking estrogen every 12 hours. And start taking a baby asprin
• Days 4-8 just keep on the nightly shot and twice daily pills.
• Day 9 continue shot, but increase estrogen pills to every 6 hours. Also go in for an appointment and blood work. 

 And let me tell you. Choose your times wisely with the every 6 hours! It is painful for me since I get an average of 8.5 hours of sleep every night! I guess it is just a preview of what we will get 9 months from now.

• Day 11 continue shot, but double the dosage of 2 of the 4 pill times.
• Day 14 is equivalent to extraction day for Thomas and I's IVF experience. At this point I switch from Lupron shots to Progesterone shots, continue with the pills every 6 hours, but I will increase all 4 of the times to the double dose. We will also add in the prednisone.
• We then transfer the wee ones most likely 5 days after "extraction day", which will be day 19.
• Then we wait!
• And 14 days later do the pregnancy test via blood draw.

Can't wait to see what God has in store for us this round or how many of those 5 littles we will actually implant.

Our littles arrived in WA last Tuesday (Oct 27th)!

Day 3 - Today

With today being day 3, I went into my appointment and everything look wonderful. So now I just wait. Oh, and start the estrogen every 12 hours. And a daily aspirin.
My estrodial level today is at 31.

And of course I looked up from other FET cycles to see what they did. And since we want my uterine lining to be nice and thick, after lots of research I have decided to follow this ladies advice. Because really, it can't hurt! And who doesn't like fresh raspberries daily?
http://chroniclesofanadoption.blogspot.com/2014/04/getting-everything-ready.html?m=0

Here is our schedule.

Day 3 - Oct 29th, Ultrasound, blood draw, start estrogen tablets every 12 hours
Day 9 - Nov 4th, Ultrasound, blood draw, increase estrogen tablets to every 6 hours
Day 11 - Nov 6, Ultrasound, possible blood draw, double the dosage every other pill time
Day 14 - Nov 9, Ultrasound, "Extraction Day", double the dosage on every 6 hour increment
Day 19 - Nov 14th (most likely), TRANSFER DAY!
15 days later will be the pregnancy test.

I will be posting these days, but it won't be every day like with IVF cycles. These FET cycles just aren't as riveting daily. :)

Also, did you know that babies cells stay in the mom and mom's cells also cross to the baby? 

Here is a fascinating article talking more about it.

Looks like this kid will get a part of me!

Prayers
I think our biggest prayers right now are:
First that my uterine lining will be perfect. It always has been every other round, but that is the only thing that can make this round not happen.

And second would be that of the 5 littles that we will be thawing out and implanting, that God will give Jeff, our embryologist, wisdom with which specific embryos to thaw and how many. We of course are leaning towards 2, but there is always the possibility that they will not be viable (if their little cells don't keep multiplying after thawing, that means they are not viable) that he will thaw out additional ones. So I just want to pray that God guides his hands in the process.

Starting the Shots TODAY!

Leading up to our little Bali vacation, I was working my tail off with a few people to make this Embryo adoption and the Frozen Embryo Transfer happen. 

I sat down with Charlene on the Sunday (the 4th) before I left, to walk through the schedule. As it turns out, everything lined up for us to possibly start the day we got back!

So we flew in on Sunday night, had an appointment on Monday morning at 8 am to do an ultrasound. This was rule out any cysts on my ovaries.
And I was cleared!

Fast forward to why I am just now writing this today, 3 days later.

Well, when I walked into the Gyft Clinic on Monday morning, one of the first things I had asked, was if the embryos had been shipped from their cozy little home in Utah, to Washington.

NOPE.

Dang.

So after lots of emails, phone calls, and everyone pulling together for us once again (God really has placed the very best people in my life), I finally got the go ahead email today!

Our little buddies are going to be shipped up here next week, and I get my very first shot today!

I will write tomorrow about the whole process and how different it looks from the IVF process.

But as for tonight, I get to start Lupron. 

Thomas gets to give me shots every day.

And we start this whole embryo adoption/transfer thing.

Thank you Jesus for your goodness to us!

You awe and humble me like no one else.

Steps for Embryo Adoption

Over the past couple of weeks after deciding to do embryo adoption, we have been working hard to make it happen, but I haven't wanted to bore you with the daily details.
 If I had, my posts would have looked like:
Talked to the nurse today.
Talked to the lawyer today.
Forwarded an email today.

 And you all don't need that. And really, it has been lots of logistics, but there are also lots of emotions that happen as well. Such a process!

And this was a beautiful reminder for me.
No matter what, I am His.
And for that I am so thankful!

So the emotional part really hit me, when my friend asked me about hosting a Noonday party, because Noonday Collection is partnering with AdoptTogether to help adopting families bring their children home.
Whoa. I am adopting. Let that sink in.

And while that is sinking in, lets talk about the logistics of getting the beautiful embryos into the state of WA, to the Gyft clinic, into my belly, and ultimately into our arms.


First off, there are a few different ways that you can adopt just like in traditional adoption. For embryo adoption there is the possibility via clinic (like an anonymous donation), via agency (requiring a homestudy) or private (which includes a lawyer) versus international/domestic (although I guess technically it could be.....) although not foster adoption. I don't even know how foster adoption would work, although, maybe that is what surrogacy is? I digress. Onward.

We have been blessed with being able to go through a private adoption. The story is incredibly beautiful and makes me tear up every time I think about it, even now. But because of that, we want to keep a few things out of the lime light. Some day we may share this incredible story, but until then just know there is an incredible family that God worked in their hearts to make this happen. And I am so very thankful for them for giving us this gift.

 

I love all of these truths. And although I don't see anything bad about our story, in fact I love every second of it, I do know that some people would think there are bad parts. And because of that, the best things will come out of it.


Now for the details.
There are a few things that have to happen to get these 5 little buddies over into our hands.

1. All 4 of us adults have to get STD tested. 

Both the Embryo Donor's and the Embryo Adopters.
There just has to be knowledge that if there is an STD that could be transferred, that everyone is aware.

2. The information from the clinic where the embryos were made as well as where they were stored, about the embryos has to be passed onto the Gyft clinic who will be making the transfer.

The Embryo Report needs to include how many cells each embryo had when frozen and what the quality of each cell was.

3. A lawyer has to be contacted to create the Embryo Transfer Contract between the Embryo Donors and the Embryo Adopters.

This has to be signed and notarized by both parties.

4. The embryos have to be transferred from their current nursery to their future nursery at the Gyft clinic where they will be transferred to me eventually.

All this to say, the process leading up to the shots, unlike IVF which is essentially doing tests on my body to see where it is at, this process requires an incredible coordinating dance with everyone.

Once all of this is coordinated, the next step is Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET). This will now be our new favorite acronym after IVF. If we had additional embryos after any of our IVF rounds, we would have already walked this process. But now we get to walk it hand in hand with embryo adoption. And I cannot wait!
He makes all thing beautiful in His perfect timing. Even the invention of our tiny little toes. In a crazy story we never could have imagined, but is so very perfect.

We will keep working through everything, waiting to see if this FET will happen at the end of this month (October) into the beginning of November.


So keep praying for:

1. His perfect timing for the FET.
2. Smooth paperwork processes.
3. Both the embryo donor's hearts and our hearts as we work through this new adventure.

 The next update will be whether or not we are starting the FET at 3-4 weeks!
Eeeeekkkk!!!!