"All three"

On May 16, they retrieved 7 eggs: 6 fertilized normally. Those 6 were still growing by day 3, so we waited for day 5 to transfer which has a much higher success rate. That is in part because the embryos are more developed and in part because you only go to day 5 if you have more, higher-quality eggs to choose from.

We went at around 11. They had Robin take a Valium and a pain pill ahead of time because you are awake for the transfer but still need to be still and calm. Unfortunately, Jay didn't get one too. Before coming in, the doc had shared that of the 6 embryos, two were of the highest quality (AA), one of which was already starting to hatch (level 6). This was great news!

It was then, with one of us in stirrups and one of us in a panic-sweat, that the doc told us there was a third embryo we could also transfer, if we wanted. We asked their advice and they said either course of action would be fine. They said there was less than a 5% chance that all three would implant, and that if we froze #3 there was a chance that it would not defrost successfully (they like to have several to freeze in case you lose one or more in the thawing process, and so you can still proceed with a frozen embryo transfer or FET). The doc stepped out, we said a quick prayer, and Jay said, with 100% confidence, "All thee." So that's what we did.

This meant it was time for the "two week wait" to begin again. This time, Robin was in the throws of teaching summer school 4 days a week, so being busy was a blessing. We also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary (May 31st). The day before our anniversary and 9 days past our transfer, Robin decided to take a home pregnancy test. The nurse said we could trust a positive, but not a negative because there might not be enough HCG in the bloodstream.

[Robin] "I usually know my body pretty well, and I knew this outcome was different from before. My breasts were unbearably sore and I had weird cramps (uterus stretching) that I had never had before. And, low and behold, we got a Big Fat Positve, or BFP in pregnancy slang. Yea! Even though it was positive each time, I took a pregnancy test everyday after that until my blood test on Monday just to make sure it stayed positive (illogical, I know)."



So, on Monday, the nurse called with the blood results and all she said was the HCG levels were high, which is great news. Low numbers could indicate a “chemical” pregnancy. We were thrilled, but told very few people (Ashley, Kim, my brother) because we wanted to wait until Wednesday. We felt like Wednesday was the real test because it would tell us that things were progressing and it wasn’t just a chemical pregnancy. The nurse called again on Wednesday, and said the levels were progressing just perfectly. Finally, we were pregnant! We called all the parents that night and went out to dinner. It was time to (cautiously) celebrate.

[John] "Wooooooooooooo!"

Headaches, panic attacks, and more headaches

Previously on Three Little Birds, Robin and Jay had just started their 2^nd round of IVF…

At this point, it was finally time to start back on BC for round 2. We were both so excited! After a month, we went in to check if Robin was ovulating, and unfortunately she was. They also found a cyst on Robin's right ovary. All of which put us back another month.

After the delay, we were good to go. Yay! This time they put Robin on a “long” protocol, which involves being on Lupron for a couple of weeks (as opposed to a couple of days) before starting the stim meds. If Lupron ever made a commercial, a voiceover would most likely explain its three most common side effects:  headaches, headaches, and in some cases, headaches. We started up the injections again every evening, and after two weeks we went in to make sure we were ready to start stim meds. But once again, the hormone levels suggested ovulation, and they had discovered another cyst, this time on the left ovary. The good news was they said we could come back in a week (instead of a month like last time) to check and see if things had changed.

 Meds Round #2

 River making me a sticker chart for Round #2

A week later and the cyst was BIGGER. The doc told us it likely meant the hormone levels had increased as well. He said they would call later in the day with blood results, but that most likely we would be pushed back another MONTH, all while continuing the headache-inducing Lupron.

[Robin] "This was probably one of the lowest points in the whole process for me. I had a panic attack on the way home, called Jay, scared him half to death, and was about five minutes from driving myself to the ER to be sedated. I got home and laid in the shower until the water turned freezing cold, then crawled into bed and cried myself to sleep. Three hours later I got a call that my hormone levels were stable. They had me come back in the office that afternoon and drain the cyst. This was one of the most painful procedures I have ever had (no meds), and I've had a few, but at this point I didn’t care because it meant we could start again!"

I have to say how invaluable the love and support of our friends and family (those who knew we were going through the process (I tell my business too much so there were quite a few people who knew about our ”journey”). I have to say especially how much Ashley and Kim meant to me during this time. Below is a pic of us and Olive Sue (Ashley’s baby conceived through IVF – now 6 mo). Ashley had been through two cycles and Kim had been through six (three fresh, three frozen until she got Jake – now 2), and they were a wealth of knowledge, love, and support.

The support was incredible. I remember them both saying to me more than once, “there is just nothing that is going to make this better” or “This was the hardest part for me.” That may not sound like encouragement, but it was exactly what I needed at the time to validate my feelings. Throughout this whole process, I had a lot of guilt about my feelings. Nobody was dying. Some people never have kids. Some people don’t have a devoted spouse like I do. For all of these reasons, I would tell myself I didn’t deserve to feel the way I was feeling, so it was invaluable to have them around. I highly recommend to anyone going through IVF or infertility to find friends who have been through it.

[John] "I feel the need to also especially thank Ashley and Kim. As supportive as I tried to be, it's impossible to fully understand unless you've gone through it yourself. They were amazing and I owe them a great deal of gratitude."

IVF round #2 was much easier, partially because we knew what to expect and partially because I didn’t get overstimulated and was in far less pain. They put me on the lowest doses of both Gonal-F and Menopour. This meant I had to stim much longer, but without getting sick this time.

 If you hit a capilary in your belly, it is not pretty.

[John] This was a shot Robin did. Not me.

A note about acupuncture: I have to say that I attribute the success of this cycle in large part to acupuncture. My acupuncturist specializes in fertility and was such a blessing each week. I firmly believe she helped my hormones stabilize even though the cyst got bigger and kept me sane during cycle #2. On the day of my transfer, I went to see her immediately before and after, she triggered points to make my uterus homier for the embryos and to make them more likely to implant. When I came back the second time that day and told her that we had transferred three, she said, “I better be careful then because they are likely to all implant” (and she was right!).