Sibling Cycle Update - Beta Hell

Just wanted to give you guys a quick update as I know so many of you have been patiently waiting for us to share our news.  If you remember our transfer of one 4AA embryo was Monday July 16th.  The following week on Thursday we had our first beta at 10dpt and it came in at 77.  The clinic said anything over 30 is what they wanted to see so we were very optimistic about this number, however I had a lingering worry because our first beta with Georgia was abnormally high (967) and I felt like this number was a little lower than I would've liked to see although certainly still positive!

They wanted me back Monday (7/30) for beta number two so all weekend I took home pregnancy tests so that I could make sure that the line was progressing because I wasn't 100% confident in the number.  I went in early for my blood draw on Monday and didn't find out until after lunch that my number, although had risen, only went up to 96 in a 72 hour window.  It didn't even come close to doubling which, if you're not familiar, is what they are looking for with HCG levels.  85-90% of "normal" pregnancies have an HCG level that doubles every 48-72 hours. 

The clinic doesn't want me to go back until next Monday, however I only have enough progesterone in oil and progesterone suppositories to get me through this weekend so I will be requesting a Friday blood draw so we can at least see where we are at.  If the number has dropped then we know I can stop meds, if it's increased at all, then I can order more meds and continue to wait to see what happens.

I know that there can be exceptions to the "rule"--we are basically hoping for the best and preparing for the worst at this point and trying to remain positive that this pregnancy decides to stick around.  I'm trying hard not to compare it with my pregnancy with Georgia, but has been a challenge not to.  At this point this is all we know and all we can say.  It's not the announcement we were hoping for at all, but this is just a part of infertility that I feel is important to share. 

A friend reminded me that there are many people who have been in similar situations with their beta number and have still had a resulting live birth and another girl reminded me that if this was a natural pregnancy and I was just taking HPTs then my tests would be indicating I was pregnant and I wouldn't have any idea what my beta levels were.  Again, trying to remain hopeful but also preparing for the worst.  We are so thankful to everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers and vibes.  I will continue to update here and more often on my Instagram if you're interested in following along.

Embryo Transfer & Trip to Georgia

Guys  I have been such a bad blogger!! I have 3 drafts I haven't hit publish on and it's been close to a month since my last post.  Life has been so hectic and crazy lately, I'm really looking forward to a couple weekends with minimal commitments so we can relax and enjoy some free-time before the month is out!

So I am officially PUPO with baby #2!  My transfer was Monday, and all went well.  When we got to the office the embryologist came out and said the embryo was just like Georgia's and had thawed perfectly and was expanding just as she had wanted it to.  Our doctor was also very confident about the embryo and the transfer went smooth and only took a few minutes.  I wanted to get that part of this update out to you all first because I know some of you only see updates here.  We are very hopeful and optimistic but I will tell you rollercoaster of emotions came to the surface pretty quickly and there are always doubts that seem to creep in despite our hardest attempts to keep them at bay.  With everyone's love and support and the enthusiasm of our doctor & the embryologist, we are staying very excited and hopeful!

Ok so now that that part is out of the way, lets get to the recap of our amazing trip to GA!  I felt like I blinked and it was time to get up and get ready to leave for this trip.  Friday night I was still scrambling to get things in order, but I was able to get everything ready, Georgia down by 7:30, and myself asleep by around 8pm because the 3:30am alarm was going to go off quick.  We were out of the house by about 3:50 and on the road to the airport which took an hour.  We decided to fly out of Bloomington-Normal rather than head towards Chicago which saved me SO much stress and anxiety.  I seriously despise traveling and paying a little more to travel out of a much smaller airport was worth every penny.  We paid about $100 more per ticket, but since we didn't have a hotel stay we figured it was worth it and it was. 

Our flight was at 6am so we got through the deserted airport really quickly and got on the plane within just a few minutes after we got to the gate.  We decided to bring Georgia's car seat with us on the plane and hoped it would help keep her calm, I was 100% wrong on that.  Poor Joe dragged it in this bag which we liked but we would highly recommend something with wheels in the future!  Car seats are ridiculously heavy and although it was nice to have a bag for it, it was a lot to carry through the airport, especially in ATL.  I put Georgia in the seat as soon as we boarded which was probably a mistake.  She was out of it and in my arms before we even took off and she didn't sit still for hardly any of the flight but we kept her occupied with snacks and the ipad.  Luckily the flight was only about an hour and 10 minutes.

We landed and picked up our rental car and headed 2 hours to Augusta and were there by about 1pm.  We were tired but we had a parents night out scheduled with Amy and Allen so we freshened up and saw First Purge before heading to Bonefish for dinner.  It was soo great to see them and catch up with them.  It's been 2 years since we've been so we had a lot to catch up on!  Their amazing babysitter took great care of Georgia and Hadley which was really nice. 

We were hopeful for a long night of sleep from Georgia but she was up by about 5am on Sunday so mom and dad were forced to get up too.  We had a nice bedroom in their upstairs that was pretty private so we were able to watch TV and play and not wake anyone up.  That day we headed to some of Allen's family for a kids birthday party at a place called The Fun Factory for a few hours.  It was fun but soo hot!  That night we cooked out on the grill and I enjoyed my last few cocktails for hopefully the next 9 months! 

Monday morning we got a much better and longer night of sleep from G.  She slept til about 8 which was really nice for everyone.  We spent the morning playing with the kids & headed out for our transfer around 12:30.  My appointment was at 1:45 and we were back to Amy's house by 3 so it was pretty fast.  That night the girls (me, Amy, and Amy's daughter Stella) were heading to Melting Pot for dinner while the guys stayed back and ordered pizza and watched the little ones.  If you've never been to a Melting Pot I highly suggest finding one right now and going to it.  It's fondu and it's amazing!  So many courses and sooo much food!  It was great to have a girls night.  It was about an hour drive to Columbia so we had more time to chat and catch up. 

On Tuesday we spent most of the day in our jammies playing with the kiddos inside.  Amy had an appointment and Allen was working so Joe and I were in charge of the 4 kiddos for a few hours.  Stella was really helpful and I think we did pretty well!  Hadley wasn't feeling 100% herself so she just wanted to be held by me (she wasn't a fan of Joe for some reason that day) so Joe and Stella kept Max and Georgia wrangled and Stella introduced us to some of her favorite YouTube vloggers like Sav & Cole and Shot of The Yeagers.  Joe decided that we need to start a YouTube channel and become vloggers so maybe that will be our next venture...(insert eye roll here).  Once Amy was home we hit the pool with the kids for about an hour, it was a lot of work getting 4 kids ready for the pool and trying to watch them.  I wasn't able to get into the water (was told that by a previous RE not to swim after a transfer so I just went by those rules), but we survived enough for everyone to have a little fun.  That night we cooked out steaks and had another amazing dinner.  We hit bed a little earlier that night since we had to be up around 4 to head home.

We got up and were out the door by around 5 & got to the airport by 7.  Our rental return, check in, and TSA went insanely smooth and I was certain something would go wrong during our travels but it didn't.  Our flight wasn't boarding until about 9:30 so Joe spent most of the time chasing Georgia around the terminal while she made friends with everyone!  We decided to check the car seat this time, but still boarded early so we could get settled before everyone got on the plane.  I sat Georgia in her own seat with her blankie and my phone and about 10 minutes later she was reaching for me and ready to close her eyes.  She was asleep before takeoff & slept the entire flight which was amazing!

Our trip was so fun and amazing!  We are so thankful to our donor (I seriously owe this girl my LIFE) for her hospitality and for arranging a babysitter for us and for watching Georgia while we went to our appointment, and for all the food, and everything they did for us!  We had so much fun and we can't wait to see them again.  We are hoping they can come see us sometime in Illinois but we will definitely head back to Georgia in the future as well. 

DEFET Details

If you're like, wtf is DEFET?, let me explain... Donor Egg Frozen Embryo Transfer, also known as DEFET.  As most of you are all aware, we are currently on track to be transferring our next embryo for baby #2!  As of Monday evening my period had started so I emailed my clinic & was given instructions on Tuesday to start Estradiol (2x day) and baby aspirin (1x day) we also started Delestrogen on the 28th which is taken every 3 days and it's only 4 doses.  Delestrogen is administered just like progesterone in oil, which is intramuscularly in the butt cheek.  I've had a lot of questions about the baby aspirin and I will tell you that not all clinics add this to their protocol.  It's used to improve blood flow and is also considered to be an anti-inflammatory.  If I get pregnant I take it until 18 weeks.  Do I believe it will make a cycle successful, no, but I don't it can hurt at all either. 

I had my baseline ultrasound on 6/27 and all was clear.  I go back on 7/9 for a follow up and lining measurement to make sure my Estradiol & Delestrogen have been doing their jobs, but I've never had an issue with my lining so I'm not too concerned with that.  I also start PIO and Prometrium (2 forms of progesterone, one IM injection & one vaginal suppository) on the 10th with our transfer to follow on the 16th!

Originally I had booked our flights for 7/11 returning the 16th, I thought I would be able to transfer a little sooner than what I am actually scheduled for so I panicked when I had to reschedule my flights, however due to medical reasons I was able to do so without the $200 x ticket penalty they were originally quoting me.  We fly to Georgia on Saturday the 14th, transfer on Monday the 16th, and return on Wednesday the 18th.  Our donor is off all the days that we are there which is awesome!  We are hoping for a parents night out on Saturday night and then maybe the zoo and Melting Pot on Sunday with the kiddos.  They've been kind enough to open their house up to us as well.  I can't wait for all the kids to meet, Georgia is going to be obsessed with all of them.  She just loves kids.  So I am really looking forward to having a fun few days while we are there.

I'm guessing that my beta will be the following week, around the 26th or so.  As excited as I am, I'm trying to remember there is always a chance it won't work.  Even with our 5 highly-graded embryos, there is never a 100% guarantee that comes along with this.  The logistics of this process alone are complicated and expensive enough so I am being as hopeful as I can that this WILL WORK first time around.  I do believe the odds are in our favor, however our record is still a losing one at 6-1, so I'm hoping we can bring it to 6-2 this round!  I'll try to keep updates here on the blog  of everything that is going on. 

PS. for some reason I have not been receiving blog comments via email so I am sorry I have not been responding if you've left a comment.  I have tried to come on here and reply to them on the post, but I'm hoping I fixed the email feature for good.  I try to respond to all comments via email as long as you aren't a no-reply blogger.