The Little Lining That Could

So, I'm in Colorado and I had a follow-up ultrasound at CCRM on Sat. My lining is finally behaving and plumped up from a 7.1 to 8.5!!!! We finally hit and passed the magic number. I ended up crying when the verdict was in. And then laughing at myself for crying over my uterine lining.(The ultrasonographer told me many a girl had broke down over the same thing.)

Come Friday, two of our frostie 5-day-olds will be transferred. I honestly can't wait. It has taken almost a year to complete this last IVF cycle (with microarray testing and canceled cycles over a thin lining in the mix). Now we are finally at the finish line and I couldn't be more ready. The Bunny heard me. All I want for Easter is two eggs in my basket, and it looks like that is exactly what I am going to get!

P.S. I am wildly jealous of all those who got to eat chocolate bunnies today. Next Easter, I'm taking down my share X 10 to make up for my currently chocolate-less life.

Why Oh Why Won't My Lining Cooperate?

So, I am estrogened up. And when I say estrogened up, I mean it. My counts are currently over 5,000. My lining ... not so much. The first ultrasound showed a 7.1mm. Better than last time, but no where near the 12mm that it got to during the stim cycle.

What the heck? The more frightening part is when I asked my nurse what the alternatives are, she pretty much said they are using all the big guns on me. There aren't other super lining drugs out there to try out that we haven't tried.

Our Plan

So, I hit a slump last night. As you can imagine with my estrogen levels, the emotions weren't exactly steady to start with. Today, feeling a bit better.

We've decided to head to Denver for the next ultrasound on Sat. They just have better equipment and the techs seem to do a much more detailed job. So, there you have it. I'm going in to ultrasound 2 with mad hope. What else can a girl do?

Mr and Mrs IVF and the Hope They Give Me

The plan from Doc S is to rescan on Sat, with the hope that the lining has beefed up a bit, but as long as it hasn't shrunk at all, they want to move forward with the transfer. I have mixed feelings, because it took so very much to get our frozen family and I don't want to transfer unless it is optimal conditions. That said, it doesn't look like there is any known way to get me to those optimal conditions.

The story of Mr. IVF (who has since become Mr. Inbetween and is a second trimester father of twins) gives me hope. Mr and Mrs. IVF found themselves in the same exact situation. They transferred two post-micro-array blasts at CCRM with a 7mm lining and -- VOILA -- it all worked out.

The bonus of traveling to Denver is I get to have Easter with my Ps in Boulder. I like that bonus. I will be feed well and taken care of. Yep. I like that bonus a lot.

On a side note, any one else have estrogen that high? I am a LOT of woman right now.

Day 1: Let The Games Begin

So, Day 1 finally arrived earlier this week and I've been getting estrogened up for our FET at CCRM ever since. And when I say estrogened up, I do mean estrogened up. Estrace 3 X a day, Del Estrogen shots in the arse 2 X a week and patches. Let the games begin. Frozen family -- I'm coming for you!

All I Want for Easter ...
Our tenative transfer date is April 7th, which I love, because it means I will be at my parents house in Colorado for Easter ... which I haven"t been in years. My mother has already dusted off my basket, which is also the basket she used as a little girl, and the one I hope my child will use next year. And I know what I am asking the Easter Bunny for ... yep ... two eggs in my basket, please!

The Case of the Incredible Shrinking Uterine Lining

So, we are in a holding pattern. Many pills, patches and acupuncture appointments later, my lining went from 7mm to 6mm. Um ... hello uterus ... that is NOT what I told you to do. It appears there are some communication issues between my uterus and I.

My nurse at CCRM told me that sometimes they see the lining begin to compact in a cycle. Basically, it is the body's way of saying, "it ain't happening this time." So ... it is disappointing to say the least, but we are trying to stay chin up. We still have four great quality 5-day-olds out there. We'll just have to learn patience before we get to bring them home. Patience has always been a tough one for me.

The next attempt probably won't be until April or May, since they want all the meds in my body now to completely flush out first. Spring is a beautiful time of year in Colorado, so we'll put that in the plus column. Next time through, we will use injectable estrogen along with the pills and patches and see if that does the trick. Since I haven't had this problem historically, they think it will. They will take the birth control pills and Lupron out of the equation.

What to Do While Waiting

I have an easy answer. Run away to Paris. This is my reaction to stress. Some people eat ... I choose to eat in a foreign country. I think I have officially convinced the hubby that we should book up. Perhaps the next time I post, I'll be eating a croissant!

To the Other IVFers Out There

If you are reading this, you are probably an IVFer like me. Just a shout out to the community boards on Fertility Community. They are an incredible place to vent, smile, chat and learn from all the other strong women experiencing the same thing. If you are headed to CCRM, there is a "CCRM Girls" group and lost of wisdom within in. I highly recommend it.

Estrace and the Crabby Dragon

So ... we've hit a bump in the road. My lining came in at a slim 6.5mm last week. It needs to be at least 8mm for the transfer. This is the first time I've had a lining issue (go figure). So, a few more potions have been thrown in the mix. Meet Estrace. The little blue pill that, very unfortunately, doesn't get swallowed. That's right. It's a vaginal pill. Who knew such a thing even existed?

In addition to its unpleasant delivery system, it's pure estrogen. So the side effect ... it turns you into a crabby dragon. Of course the hope is, it turns this crabby dragon into a one with a 8mm uterine lining! And if it does, I will take back all bad things I have said about it.

We will remeasure this Friday and hopefully then be given the green light to hop on a plane and head out to CCRM to meet our frostie 5-day olds. My fingers are crossed that at this point next week, we'll know the day of our FET.

One Egg or Two?

One egg or two ... that is the question being mulled at over here. Originally, if two was an option we weren't even thinking of stopping to pass go or collect our $200 -- we were going for it. It gives us a higher chance of making it to barefoot and pregnant. But the idea of bed rest and possible complications has definitely given us pause. I'm asthmatic ... so that adds to the concerns. On the other hand, going through two separate pregnancies has its risks as well ... and I would be yet one year older for the second time through. (I've heard being pregnant doesn't get any easier with age.)

So ... leaning toward two. Any one else out there in this situation? Or any asthmatics who have carried twins?

Sober, Decaffeinated and Hormonal

Sober, decaffeinated and hormonal. It's another day in the day of the life of an IVFer.

I started estrogen patches last night. Any other takers out there? So far, so good, although I am a little worried about finding real estate to stick them on when it goes up to four patches at a time combined with shots.

And I am going to admit it. Although I have given up my coffee and given it up for good (in the short-term, anyway, and hopefully for the next 9.5 months), I miss it. I was very close with my good friend caffeine. Breaking up is so hard to do.

The next few weeks involve the winning combination of more Lupron, more estrogen and baby aspirin. All of this is in preparation for our egg transfer on Jan. 28th. The countdown has begun. We will be headed back to CCRM soon.