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in Wonderland"},{"term":"Apartment Tour"},{"term":"Baby Shoot"},{"term":"Baby Shower"},{"term":"Bangs"},{"term":"Best of Disneyland"},{"term":"Birth Story"},{"term":"Books"},{"term":"Christmas In The Park"},{"term":"Circus"},{"term":"Clarisonic"},{"term":"Color Factory"},{"term":"Concert"},{"term":"Confessions"},{"term":"Custom Illustration"},{"term":"Drunk Elephant"},{"term":"Ear Piercings"},{"term":"Easter Basket"},{"term":"Ellie Goulding"},{"term":"Engaged"},{"term":"Engagement Party"},{"term":"Eyelash Extensions"},{"term":"Fa La Land"},{"term":"Fair"},{"term":"Funko"},{"term":"Gift Guide"},{"term":"Giveaway"},{"term":"Goals"},{"term":"Grinchmas"},{"term":"Harveys"},{"term":"Hello Kitty Cafe"},{"term":"Honeymoon"},{"term":"Hush Gel"},{"term":"In This Moment"},{"term":"Jo Malone"},{"term":"LMNL"},{"term":"Ladurée"},{"term":"Luna Lovegood"},{"term":"Memories"},{"term":"Mirror Maze"},{"term":"Oakland"},{"term":"Palo Alto"},{"term":"Picnic"},{"term":"Pixi"},{"term":"Pros and Cons"},{"term":"Santa Clara"},{"term":"Santana Row"},{"term":"Self Love"},{"term":"Ted Baker"},{"term":"Thankful"},{"term":"Thanksgiving"},{"term":"The Rose Garden"},{"term":"Tour"},{"term":"Tsum Tsum"},{"term":"Valentine's Day"},{"term":"Wedding Rings"},{"term":"What I Eat In A day"},{"term":"What My Baby Eats"},{"term":"Whoville"},{"term":"Winchester Mystery House"},{"term":"Younique"},{"term":"Zoo"},{"term":"engagement story"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Ohhjuliana"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":""},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/400672302414468518\/posts\/default\/-\/IVF?alt=json-in-script\u0026max-results=5"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/search\/label\/IVF"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Juliana "},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09410637408830790715"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"24","height":"32","src":"\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEinw98N1LY4v8SvYbQE7_w8QZkoJjgkTZuMxaLciiTGhqEIOsYZtOXCNr7YQTC05lz_vPv4_jABDfn8oJ2giVQ_04s9i77G94gU9ZaprRtLepq-xmeSbo8krD2DNsPoZT0\/s113\/ACS_0224.JPG"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"2"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"5"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400672302414468518.post-881370989952798558"},"published":{"$t":"2020-05-11T06:00:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-06-08T08:57:43.375-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Fertility"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Get To Know Me"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"IVF"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"IVF Round #2 - FET"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-0tbbK_z9LBo\/XrC6SQy8wnI\/AAAAAAAAJ4o\/raP7QrbzYi0hSP0ushLy9es_4cpnE5TxwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_8408.HEIC\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1200\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-0tbbK_z9LBo\/XrC6SQy8wnI\/AAAAAAAAJ4o\/raP7QrbzYi0hSP0ushLy9es_4cpnE5TxwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_8408.HEIC\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nToday I finally have for you part two of my IVF journey. If you don't know what I'm talking about I highly suggest you begin with reading \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/2020\/04\/my-journey-to-motherhood.html\"\u003Emy journey to motherhood\u003C\/a\u003E post followed by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/2020\/05\/my-ivf-journey.html#more\"\u003Emy IVF journey\u003C\/a\u003E, the first of this two-part series post. In those posts, I open up about mine and Rudy's struggle with fertility. In this post, I am going to continue where I left off on part one of my IVF journey which is the phone appointment with my Doctor.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFirst, I want to include a little bit of what was going on and how I was doing from where I last left off on part one of my IVF journey. Rudy could see how depressed I was and he felt so helpless. I opened up and told him how I didn't want to continue with any more embryo transfer because I couldn't go through another let down like that again. I was slowly picking up the broken pieces and if I were to go through another failed cycle I don't think I'd survive it. Rudy wasn't ready to give up and urged me to wait until my phone appointment with the Dr to see what he says before making a decision. I knew he meant well but he would never fully understand what a woman goes through or feels when dealing with infertility and a failed cycle. As the days and weeks went by I started to feel a little better. I had mine and Rudy's list of questions for our Dr. and I was ready to hear what he had to say on what was next for our journey.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003ENovember 13, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI just had my phone appointment with the Dr and I'm pleased to say it went really well and like always he left me with a lot of hope. He explained that I had a great cycle apart from the failed transfer. He said my numbers were great throughout my entire cycle with twenty-three eggs retrieved, \u0026nbsp;twenty-one mature, twelve fertilized, and a total of eight good looking embryos (with seven now in the freezer). He even said the development of our embryos were really good. I have a normal uterus and my lining was thick, at the end of the day the embryo probably didn't attach due to it having an abnormal chromosome. My Dr mentioned that it's quite common for the first transfer to not always work and there's usually more success in a second transfer especially a Frozen Embryo Transfer, FET. He told me that he feels our second transfer will have a much better end result. He explained that I would be doing a frozen cycle next and that it would consist of Estradiol pills, Endometrin (Progesterone) suppository both that I took for our first transfer, along with Dexamethasone pills, Estradiol patches, and the infamous Progesterone in oil injections. We then went over the costs for our second cycle and concluded the appointment by adding us to the IVF list, again. So we were indeed set for a second IVF cycle to transfer one of seven of our frozen em-babies.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003ENovember 22, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI received a call that we were cleared for our FET! Now we just have to call them to choose a start date for our cycle. I have been doing a lot better since getting the news of our negative test. I've been trying to let go of things that are out of my control, reminding myself that I am not on any timeline and that everything will happen as it's supposed to. I feel like I must have had an epiphany because I have a completely different mindset when it comes to this journey Rudy and I are on. I'm ok that we have to do IVF. I've finally come to terms and accepted that I have to do IVF to get that baby I have been dreaming of for so long. This is my story, this is my journey. I've been pretty zen with everything and seriously keeping a positive mindset about this cycle. I'm not sure if this makes sense but I feel different and strongly about these next steps. Putting out nothing but positivity into the world in hopes for it to return to me.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EDecember 26, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe clinic has finally called me and I officially paid and booked our FET which is set for the week of February fifteen! I realized that February fifteen was our very first appointment with our old fertility Dr and basically the start of this whole fertility journey. A year later we'll be doing our second transfer, wild how that happened. What if it's a good sign? My next step is to give the clinic a call to let them know when I start my cycle so that I can begin birth control and they'll inform me with further instructions.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EDecember 30, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nOne of the REI's from the clinic called me today to inform me that my calendar was all done! That was super quick. She went over it with me real quick and let me know the dates for my appointments. With this cycle, there's a total of three appointments. She let me know the dates for when I will begin my medications and the official date of our embryo transfer which is on \u003Ci\u003EFebruary seventeen\u003C\/i\u003E! I am feeling so excited about this transfer but also overwhelmed. Once I got off the phone I couldn't stop the tears from falling. I'm excited, nervous, scared, anxious, happy, and I pray to God that this transfer works. We deserve this. I've been telling myself if this transfer doesn't work it's ok because we can try again. I'm really trying to prepare myself just in case and I will be ok. We've been very fortunate thus far.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EJanuary 6, 2020\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nToday is day one of my cycle and I will begin birth control tomorrow until January twenty-five.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PDpBP2mP6Fg\/XrC63RSXOBI\/AAAAAAAAJ4w\/XawjjfOSzswAc-7m1nJylgYIHk1ivSiogCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9825.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"975\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PDpBP2mP6Fg\/XrC63RSXOBI\/AAAAAAAAJ4w\/XawjjfOSzswAc-7m1nJylgYIHk1ivSiogCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9825.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EJanuary 10, 2020\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAll of my medications came in the mail! Things are feeling more real. I have a big feeling inside that this transfer is going to work.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-5lufoVFXOjo\/XrC-uTalhbI\/AAAAAAAAJ44\/efPv7Efolk0jDXl6bujyqXtncPyk3AYIACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9829.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-5lufoVFXOjo\/XrC-uTalhbI\/AAAAAAAAJ44\/efPv7Efolk0jDXl6bujyqXtncPyk3AYIACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9829.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EJanuary 21, 2020\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nBaseline Appointment!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nToday was my baseline appointment and like usual I was nervous. I really want everything to go smoothly. Dr said my ovaries were looking good and that my lining was a little thick which means that once I stop birth control I might get a period. As of now my last day of birth control is Saturday and then Sunday I will begin Dexamethasone pills, Estradiol pills, and the patches.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PQuQmBJdjMM\/XrC_tYwcHDI\/AAAAAAAAJ5I\/tiJYnE1jxmU37BzcR459wVT3vEDPvIXgwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9832.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-PQuQmBJdjMM\/XrC_tYwcHDI\/AAAAAAAAJ5I\/tiJYnE1jxmU37BzcR459wVT3vEDPvIXgwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9832.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-7Fu349hMky8\/XrC-z72D24I\/AAAAAAAAJ48\/AFVpyVOSdzQQIwEak67He2cvrKRaGFpIQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9837.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-7Fu349hMky8\/XrC-z72D24I\/AAAAAAAAJ48\/AFVpyVOSdzQQIwEak67He2cvrKRaGFpIQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9837.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EFebruary 10, 2020\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nLining Check!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe appointment was very quick and went well. Ovaries were looking good and my lining was thick, 9mm! After seeing the Dr. I met up with the case manager and everything is set to continue medications. On Wednesday I will begin Progesterone in oil injections and she let me know that we would be transferring our 5BA embryo. This transfer feels so right!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ZdJlulfOf6Q\/XrDAzZhQaTI\/AAAAAAAAJ5Q\/MiGpz7nnN94PgsMhBQ7cZDjwqXbKdE43ACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9840.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ZdJlulfOf6Q\/XrDAzZhQaTI\/AAAAAAAAJ5Q\/MiGpz7nnN94PgsMhBQ7cZDjwqXbKdE43ACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9840.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EFebruary 12, 2020\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nToday was my first PIO injection and it wasn't bad at all. I'm not sure if it'll get harder as the weeks go by or if my bum will get irritated. I have a feeling I'll be fine doing this until ten weeks of pregnancy. Friday I start Endometrin suppository then Monday is transfer day. Things are moving by so quick!! I'm so excited and ready for this transfer! Give me my em-baby!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-q0AWElvnrHg\/XrDA5XhWm_I\/AAAAAAAAJ5U\/TQDYtRFjph0mD2O-13C_zduVvl6mHPqWgCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9835.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-q0AWElvnrHg\/XrDA5XhWm_I\/AAAAAAAAJ5U\/TQDYtRFjph0mD2O-13C_zduVvl6mHPqWgCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9835.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EFebruary 17, 2020\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTransfer Day!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAs soon as we arrived at the hospital things moved so quickly. We were called into the room to check my bladder immediately. We then met with the embryologist to give us an update on our embryo. (Not all embryos survive the thawing and if they do they can lose cells.) He let us know that our embryo was doing so good. He said it did very well thawing, \u0026nbsp;our healthiest embryo was a 5BA and it has a 100% survival rate! I feel this is our miracle embryo. The embryologist mentioned that back in October before they froze our remaining embryos they did assist hatching to the embryo which I was very pleased to hear. Assisted hatching is a technique to aid with the embryo hatching and implantation process. This increases the chances of the embryo to hatch from its shell\u0026nbsp;and successfully implant. Once the Dr came in she introduced herself and I really liked her. We got set up and she told me she had used a wash on my downstairs that they used to culture my embryo. I'm not exactly sure what that means but I'm just hoping this helps us even more with having this embryo attach. Once we got to the car I cried so many tears of joy. I really feel it in my bones that this is going to work! I am doing three full days of bed rest, something I didn't do last time, and I hope this helps. It feels so surreal that we finally transferred our embryo.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-aSlnxiAQH1A\/XrDBAb0oqsI\/AAAAAAAAJ5Y\/xaid_9wbLtIvfJWqF_eOeMQwUZBm8HC0wCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9836.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-aSlnxiAQH1A\/XrDBAb0oqsI\/AAAAAAAAJ5Y\/xaid_9wbLtIvfJWqF_eOeMQwUZBm8HC0wCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9836.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nBETA is on February 26 to find out if I'm pregnant. Last time I chose not to take any home pregnancy tests just in case I'd get a false result. This time around I'm thinking about possibly testing at home the morning before BETA to better prepare myself since I was blind-sighted last time. Hoping for the best.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EFebruary 22, 2020\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFive Days Post Transfer!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI haven't been feeling any differently lately. I get a tiny bit of cramps and today I felt a lot more cramping through the day. It feels like period cramps to be quite honest and sometimes like a pulling muscle sensation but a bit strong. Today I also started feeling tired and needed to take multiple naps. Aside from that, I'm not feeling much which is kind of leaving me to think that this transfer didn't work... but I'm trying not to think that BETA is in a few days!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIt's night time and I noticed that when I went to the bathroom I was \u003Ci\u003Every\u003C\/i\u003E lightly spotting when I wiped. I'm kind of nervous.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-1iWIm00vWYM\/XrDBLN9OM0I\/AAAAAAAAJ5g\/imJbbZZX6rkib3D5S9vQ4mIatPm8tH9ZQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_8660.HEIC\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1200\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-1iWIm00vWYM\/XrDBLN9OM0I\/AAAAAAAAJ5g\/imJbbZZX6rkib3D5S9vQ4mIatPm8tH9ZQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_8660.HEIC\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EFebruary 23, 2020\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nSix Days Post Transfer!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI woke up this morning and was again very lightly spotting and having some cramps. Rudy and I went out to run errands and once we got home I went to the bathroom and again when I wiped I was spotting. Very bright pink on the paper and at this point I was getting concerned. I thought I could possibly be starting my period. I decided to take one of my cheapy dollar store HPT, a home pregnancy test. For the first time in my life, I got a very faint second line. I didn't know how to feel about that, I think because I've been dealing with infertility for years that I only know how to deal with negative HPT, not positive ones. I honestly didn't know whether the test was even accurate especially since it was so faint, or maybe because it's still too early to test. I'm in disbelief and worried because of the spotting\/cramping. Could this be implantation bleeding? I'm confused but I have decided that I will be testing again the morning before \u0026nbsp;BETA. Whatever the results may be BETA will confirm it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EFebruary 25, 2020\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nEight Days Post Transfer - Morning before BETA!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI woke up super early when Rudy got up for work and I couldn't go back to sleep. I was way too anxious because I knew in just a few hours I would be taking the test. After tossing and turning for a while I finally decided to get up. I peed in a cup and decided to take my last cheapy dollar store test before using up my Clearblue ones. I dropped a few drops of my pee on the test waited a couple of minutes for the result and to my surprise.... \u003Cb\u003ETO BE CONTINUED\u003C\/b\u003E!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI'm so sorry to kind of leave you guys with a cliff hanger but trust me it'll be worth it. If you have been joining me since I started sharing my fertility journey thank you so much! Expect to see the continuation of this post in the next couple of weeks!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-eeiV40vizuU\/Xq-LwP-W1lI\/AAAAAAAAJ4g\/NULfYGNxxnQuiV-CZffbcg-QwaIwKk5LgCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/newSign.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"91\" data-original-width=\"185\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-eeiV40vizuU\/Xq-LwP-W1lI\/AAAAAAAAJ4g\/NULfYGNxxnQuiV-CZffbcg-QwaIwKk5LgCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/newSign.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/feeds\/881370989952798558\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/2020\/05\/ivf-round-2-fet.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/400672302414468518\/posts\/default\/881370989952798558"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/400672302414468518\/posts\/default\/881370989952798558"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/2020\/05\/ivf-round-2-fet.html","title":"IVF Round #2 - FET"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Juliana "},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09410637408830790715"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"24","height":"32","src":"\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEinw98N1LY4v8SvYbQE7_w8QZkoJjgkTZuMxaLciiTGhqEIOsYZtOXCNr7YQTC05lz_vPv4_jABDfn8oJ2giVQ_04s9i77G94gU9ZaprRtLepq-xmeSbo8krD2DNsPoZT0\/s113\/ACS_0224.JPG"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-0tbbK_z9LBo\/XrC6SQy8wnI\/AAAAAAAAJ4o\/raP7QrbzYi0hSP0ushLy9es_4cpnE5TxwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/IMG_8408.HEIC","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400672302414468518.post-3008306032837831344"},"published":{"$t":"2020-05-04T06:00:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-07-05T09:13:30.254-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Fertility"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Get To Know Me"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"IVF"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"My IVF Journey"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--pWe-eicde4\/XqjW9N3LRxI\/AAAAAAAAJ2Q\/Ws5E24BQbCgT3bYwwD_7AjGagEGraNPIwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5271.CR2\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--pWe-eicde4\/XqjW9N3LRxI\/AAAAAAAAJ2Q\/Ws5E24BQbCgT3bYwwD_7AjGagEGraNPIwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5271.CR2\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nAt one point I contemplated back and forth whether I was going to ever share any of this with anyone. While going through this journey, Rudy and I didn't open up about this with many people. Only a \u003Ci\u003Every\u003C\/i\u003E select group of family and friends knew what we were going through\/doing. After months and months of keeping this kind of a secret, I feel it's time for me to use my voice in regards to this topic. I am finally ready to share and openly talk about mine and Rudy's journey with IVF.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nNot many people know nor have heard of the term IVF which stands for In Vitro Fertilization, so let me explain exactly what it is. IVF is a series of complex procedures used to help with fertility where an egg is fertilized by sperm inside of a lab (outside of the body). Then the fertilized egg which becomes an embryo is then transferred to the uterus in hopes of pregnancy. I'm going, to begin with, our consultation with our Doctor. I'm basically going through my journal and rereading everything I wrote down, so I'm going to kind of transfer those words here. Every event is in this journal and every emotion and feeling are as well. It's hard for me to even reread the words I wrote down without breaking down. It reminds me of everything I went through to be where I am today. This will definitely be a lengthy post so let's begin.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EJuly 10, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIt felt like I was waiting for an eternity for this consultation appointment since we had it scheduled since early May. Our appointment went great, I loved and was so happy with our new Dr. We discussed all of our past tests, and he went over my x-rays of my HSG. He told me from the images he didn't believe my tube had any blockage. He went over what exactly an IVF cycle looks like and told us that he was so hopeful IVF was going to give us that baby we've been waiting for. We were all set to have a referral sent to get cleared for our cycle except I had one more procedure I had to do in order to move forward. I needed to do a Saline Sonohysterography. This procedure is done by inserting a fluid into the vagina and is watched through an ultrasound to make sure the uterus fills up properly. This was a painless procedure. Like most things in the fertility world, this has to be done on day eleven of your cycle, and lucky us I was on day eleven of my cycle. My Dr was great that he offered to take the time to prep a room for us if I wanted to get this procedure done and out of the way so we can move forward with IVF. I was so thankful for this and felt it really showed how great of a Dr he was.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nEverything looked great! Once the procedure was done we met up with him once again in his office and he went ahead and added us to the IVF list. He said our cycle probably wouldn't begin until September-October but we were finally on the list and moving forward.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E \u003Cu\u003EAugust 1, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI finally received the call I had been waiting for, we were cleared for an IVF fresh cycle! I was given starting dates to choose from for when our cycle would begin, and of course, I chose the first available one for October 12, 2019. It felt surreal that we finally had a start date\/week for when we would begin our cycle. We've been truly lucky that Rudy's insurance covers IVF, however, we did have to pay a deductible along with another cost since our Dr chose for us to do ICSI which was costly. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, \"ICSI\", is where the strongest sperm is injected straight into an egg with a needle for the higher success of fertilization. When it comes to IVF any and all payments must be paid in full. Now that we were set with our date all I had to do next was call them to let them know when I begin my period.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nWhat's been on my mind? A whole lot is the answer. I'm wondering when the time comes to doing an embryo transfer how many should we transfer? I only want one baby, but should we transfer two in case one doesn't stick? But what if they both stick? I definitely don't want multiples and my Dr is very cautious about transferring more than one embryo as he tries to avoid multiple births.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EAugust 26, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nToday is day one of my cycle, aka my period, is that too much information? My case manager is having me begin Birth Control tomorrow until September 14, then stop for two days and resume from September 17 - September 29. The end date may change depending on my IVF calendar!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThings feel like they're slowly but surely falling into place and at this moment I am so happy, anxious, and excited to get things started!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003ESeptember 11, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nMy case manager gave me a call today to let me know that my IVF Calendar is finally completed! I will continue birth control exactly as they last instructed. Rudy and I are scheduled to take an IVF class on September 24, our birthdays. My medications are scheduled to be delivered on the twenty-fifth and boy that is a lump sum of money for hormone medications. I will begin injections in October and I'm extremely excited!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nImmediately after the phone call I was nervous and overwhelmed and broke down in tears. I just feel like a whirlwind of emotions is hitting me. I am \u003Cb\u003Eso\u003C\/b\u003E scared of doing all of this, mostly injecting myself with medications. I want this to work so badly I honestly don't know what I would do or what will happen if it doesn't. I try not to let myself think that way but I feel so much pressure not only because I clearly want this so badly, but we don't have that kind of money to continuously dish out for cycle after cycles if this doesn't work. I'm also still upset that this is the route we have to be on in order to try and have a baby of our own. I thought I accepted it but I still find myself struggling with it. I'm so used to only getting negative home pregnancy tests, it's all I know. When will that change? How much longer will this fertility journey go on for?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003ESeptember 17, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nMine and Rudy's two year wedding anniversary!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI got my IVF Calendar and paperwork in the mail. As I was going through all of the paperwork I felt extremely overwhelmed and sick to my stomach. I don't know how I'm going to get through all of this. I know that I will get through this but geez, when will it get easier? I hope that once we have our class and begin injections things will feel less stressful. Especially once it becomes part of our routine. Right now I am trying to enjoy these last two weeks before starting injections.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003ESeptember 24, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nHappy Birthday to Rudy and myself!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nWe had our IVF class today and it went really well. I found that it was very informative and really helped, even though I felt like I personally didn't really need the class since I have been doing a crap ton of research since July. Consent forms were signed and turned in! We're getting close!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003ESeptember 25, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nBaseline Appointment!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-oeOVD9Ga6cM\/XqEV2JQ8cXI\/AAAAAAAAJ18\/HDj-rYTVGRYqyqohWNZLEcJ4hh5YTX2QQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9599.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1280\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-oeOVD9Ga6cM\/XqEV2JQ8cXI\/AAAAAAAAJ18\/HDj-rYTVGRYqyqohWNZLEcJ4hh5YTX2QQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9599.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nThe first stop was the lab for some blood work. This was a very quick appointment. Dr came in and did an ultrasound to make sure everything is looking good. I was kind of nervous leading up to this appointment because I wanted everything to look good, this is the appointment that you either get the green light to go forward with your calendar or the red light which would postpone everything. Everything looked great and I even had a few more follicles from the last ultrasound he did back in July. He gave me the green light to continue following my calendar! Afterward, I met up with my case manager where she went over instructions, continue birth control until the 29 then begin injections next week! My medications were delivered today too. We're pretty much ready to start.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-weog34u6U_s\/XqjVN5Fc5aI\/AAAAAAAAJ2I\/ZmEB0p9b9WcdvMbEKcRHXAj8KFE56luOACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5270.CR2\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-weog34u6U_s\/XqjVN5Fc5aI\/AAAAAAAAJ2I\/ZmEB0p9b9WcdvMbEKcRHXAj8KFE56luOACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5270.CR2\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nIt felt great hearing nothing but great things. I hope this is all good signs. I keep thinking will I finally be pregnant by the end of October?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 2, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nStims Day One!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-vUakHeYguJs\/XqjYkievG7I\/AAAAAAAAJ2Y\/aqWjRBgdT7YiKDpTrw_TNz0oUuNPWcyVACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9691.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-vUakHeYguJs\/XqjYkievG7I\/AAAAAAAAJ2Y\/aqWjRBgdT7YiKDpTrw_TNz0oUuNPWcyVACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9691.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nIt's day one of injections holy crap! I woke up ready to take on my first injection which I will be doing myself since Rudy leaves for work super early. I was pretty excited to start. My sister came over for support which was great. The morning injection is the Follistim pen which I found would be the easiest for me to inject myself with. When it came down to giving myself the injection I was surprised at how much courage I had inside of me. Just before injecting, I found myself being a little hesitant and before I knew it the needle was in my belly. It was so easy and guess what, I didn't feel a thing!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nPM shot!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nSince my morning shot went so well I thought I would try giving myself my Menopur injection. It was planned that I would give myself the am shots and Rudy would do the pm. Turns out that was a big mistake. Immediately while I was prepping the injection I was feeling weird, nerves maybe? When it was time to administrate the injection, I was frozen. I just kept staring at the needle then broke down. I didn't want to do this anymore, like at all. Rudy ended up taking over and it wasn't bad at all. I did feel the medication going inside my skin unlike the Follistim but it was fine. Man, I felt so drained afterward I really hope things get easier.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 3, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nStims Day Two!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\nInjections went so much better today. Morning shot was a breeze, and the afternoon one I prepped and Rudy administrated it. Before I knew it we were done!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 6, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nStims Day Five!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-EsgC5arlYUQ\/Xq9GAMouB2I\/AAAAAAAAJ4I\/GYxRAqt9VDYOM7qIMp4lvRNtRX7Y0xWNACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9708.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-EsgC5arlYUQ\/Xq9GAMouB2I\/AAAAAAAAJ4I\/GYxRAqt9VDYOM7qIMp4lvRNtRX7Y0xWNACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9708.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nToday I had one of many ultrasounds I'll be having this week to track the growth of my follicles. I will be going in for blood and ultrasound every other day until surgery. Dr said everything was looking great and one of the larger follicles was measuring at 12mm. Dr even said I was measuring a day ahead of schedule! He guessed if all continues to go well I will be having my egg retrieval surgery on October 13. Tonight we are adding another shot into the mix, Ganirelix. I am to administrate it tonight and then beginning tomorrow I would continue administrating it in the morning alongside the Follistim injection. Since I was going to have to give myself this shot in the mornings I decided to try and give myself the shot all by myself tonight. I'm happy to say that I did great administrating the shot myself and I know I will continue to do great with these injections.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-A-b-auOb94M\/Xq9GIsJhidI\/AAAAAAAAJ4M\/QpLQI4U5QyMECfVwQRfn0vlwDLKkDVdDwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9695.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-A-b-auOb94M\/Xq9GIsJhidI\/AAAAAAAAJ4M\/QpLQI4U5QyMECfVwQRfn0vlwDLKkDVdDwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9695.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nBloating is very very real at this point. I can definitely see a huge difference in my belly. My jeans are fitting me way snugger. Also, there's a lot of bruising going on my belly from all these shots.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E \u003Cu\u003EOctober 8, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nStims Day Seven!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nBack again for blood and ultrasound. Dr said my follicles have grown a lot since Sunday's appointment as he showed me my chart. He said it was great stimming! Dr is having me order one extra Ganirelix injection and said I might even be pulling the trigger shot by Thursday. I'm so happy that I continue to hear nothing but great things.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 10, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nStims Day Nine!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nDay nine ultrasound and Dr is very happy with how my follicles are looking and growing. The largest follicle is 18mm. Dr would like me to go one more day with injections so that the smaller follicles can hopefully catch up and that means egg retrieval surgery is set for October 13. He wants me to go back again tomorrow for blood and ultrasound, and that will be when my case manager will go over instructions for the trigger shots.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-7mT8uFsoPvQ\/XqjagAJfNbI\/AAAAAAAAJ2w\/FAeANms9bnwiuXRKZpjyg5g0-JsTJ-j_gCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5213.HEIC\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1200\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-7mT8uFsoPvQ\/XqjagAJfNbI\/AAAAAAAAJ2w\/FAeANms9bnwiuXRKZpjyg5g0-JsTJ-j_gCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5213.HEIC\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nI'm definitely praying for quality over quantity when it comes to my eggs. I hope we're able to get a good bunch of eggs. Right now I have no idea if I even have good quality eggs and what if that's the reason why we've never been able to get pregnant? I'm pretty uncomfortable because of how bloated I am. It's nothing painful but there's some discomfort for sure. I can't believe how bruised my belly is. It's a reminder that this is all worth it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 11, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nStims Day Ten!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThings went so well at today's appointment. One of my follicles from yesterday went from being 18mm to 23mm! What a jump. I met with the case manager after my ultrasound and retrieval is set for Sunday at 9:30 am and we will have t be at the hospital at 8:30 to prep me. I'm taking my last Menopur at 5:30 pm and trigger shots are to be administrated at 9:30 pm on the dot. I'm excited and ready!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 13, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nEgg Retrieval Day!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-dJoOjjCUi_0\/XqjcF7zfeHI\/AAAAAAAAJ3I\/lXF6jacSQS4iOa5dj06uVQ9LTVHXIl5QQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9700.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-dJoOjjCUi_0\/XqjcF7zfeHI\/AAAAAAAAJ3I\/lXF6jacSQS4iOa5dj06uVQ9LTVHXIl5QQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9700.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nThe surgery went well, we retrieved a total of 23 eggs! Wow, I wasn't expecting that much. After we left the hospital I was feeling a little crampy which is to be expected especially in the woman that they retrieve more than twenty eggs. Once we got home I slept a lot and as the day went by I was becoming more alert. I've been putting a heating pad on my tummy to help with cramping which was helpful.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-FjEvqiJJmVU\/Xqjbio_JPFI\/AAAAAAAAJ3A\/XyHTMs9evakt08Hki50N7UXJvg_i-jyHwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5300.HEIC\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1200\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-FjEvqiJJmVU\/Xqjbio_JPFI\/AAAAAAAAJ3A\/XyHTMs9evakt08Hki50N7UXJvg_i-jyHwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5300.HEIC\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 14, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-P7bbIsGKAPw\/Xqjevx_bigI\/AAAAAAAAJ3U\/EV7p_bNMbNQK0S3mS-Zy5EE1QKy-A2DvwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5310.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"814\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-P7bbIsGKAPw\/Xqjevx_bigI\/AAAAAAAAJ3U\/EV7p_bNMbNQK0S3mS-Zy5EE1QKy-A2DvwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_5310.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\nI'm feeling a lot better today, a bit sore and still cramping. I'm still pretty bloated and constipation is real due to all the hormone injections and surgery! I got a call from the hospital to give me an update on our eggs. Twenty-three were retrieved, nineteen were mature, twenty-one were ICSI'd and twelve were fertilized! Wow, twelve is such a good amount. Hopefully, we don't lose many by day five, that is when they should turn into blasts. Friday we will get another update on the \"embryos\" and that is also when we go in for our transfer!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-I23rRPfhSro\/XqjfJa-55wI\/AAAAAAAAJ3o\/Nn0VzRPjcpE3QORnxxfyugYfTftJ1-jjACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9705.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-I23rRPfhSro\/XqjfJa-55wI\/AAAAAAAAJ3o\/Nn0VzRPjcpE3QORnxxfyugYfTftJ1-jjACNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9705.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nI will begin taking two medications for our fresh transfer. One is an Estrodial tablet three times a day and the other is Endometrin suppository (a Progesterone) also three times a day at least until BETA. BETA is the day you go in to check the levels of the hormone HCG in the blood to find out if you're pregnant along with checking the levels of the pregnancy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 18, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTransfer Day!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_Y6mt5Kwk2A\/XqjjRn2b_AI\/AAAAAAAAJ34\/OrF64IF88XgwMbK6-rWHY-Yfp1fT6fwsQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9711.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1067\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_Y6mt5Kwk2A\/XqjjRn2b_AI\/AAAAAAAAJ34\/OrF64IF88XgwMbK6-rWHY-Yfp1fT6fwsQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9711.JPG\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nOne of the days we've been waiting for! We had to arrive thirty minutes before our appointment and I had to arrive with a full bladder. We didn't have to wait too long before the nurse called us into a room to check my bladder and lining. \u0026nbsp;The nurse said my lining was looking good and thick. We then waited for the embryologist to come in and update us on our em-babies. Once the embryologist came in she told us we had a total of twelve embryos! Six of them were looking really good and the other six were slightly behind for the five-day mark so we were going to give them until day six before disposing of any.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI wanted to mention that we chose not to PGS test our embryos. PGS testing is a genetic screening that is done prior to an embryo transfer to test for chromosomal normalcy. We chose to opt-out of this screening for a few different reasons. One being our Dr was not for it. He said the percentage of this test isn't high enough for him to recommend it to us. Another reason being Rudy and I both are still young with no reason as to why we cannot get pregnant, and lastly, it was another additional cost out of pocket. Every reason is personal to each couple.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-EeMhw6O9CrI\/Xq8_0A1y5yI\/AAAAAAAAJ4A\/yl8PzQJbI3k-MidtgUMj2js-p1DBon1aQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9800.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1600\" data-original-width=\"739\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-EeMhw6O9CrI\/Xq8_0A1y5yI\/AAAAAAAAJ4A\/yl8PzQJbI3k-MidtgUMj2js-p1DBon1aQCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/IMG_9800.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nWe were told the embryo we were having transferred was graded a 4AA which we were told was one of the best gradings for an embryo. It left me with a lot of hope that this embryo was going to attach to my uterus. I was pretty emotional, I mean how could I not be right? We watched the embryo get transferred via ultrasound and it was incredible. It was a quick and painless procedure and we got a photo of our embryo to take home. I couldn't stop starring at that photo the whole drive home. The BETA test is set for Monday the 28th, as excited as I am for it I'm also extremely nervous. I'm scared the test will be negative. I'm scared that I'm going to get my hopes up. I'm scared that I'm going to let so many people down. I just need to relax and think positive.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 23, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFive Days Post Transfer!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFor the last few days, I have been feeling cramping which is normal after transfer. I have also been feeling pretty nauseous and tired! I'm trying not to let myself think that these are possibly pregnancy symptoms because the medications I am on give off pregnancy systems as side effects. We'll find out if I'm pregnant in five days.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 28, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nBETA Day!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe test came back negative. I'm not pregnant. I am crushed. I feel so defeated. How didn't this transfer work? Why didn't that embryo attach?! Next, I have a phone appointment with my Dr to discuss what our next steps and options are.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cu\u003EOctober 29, 2019\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI've been a complete mess since I got the negative results yesterday. All I do is stay in bed and cry. I cry until I fall asleep. With my history of depression, I can already feel depression consuming me and I just don't care. I think that getting pregnant and being a mother just isn't in the cards for me. I give up. I no longer want to continue this \"\u003Ci\u003Ejourney\u003C\/i\u003E\" on trying to conceive. What's the point anyway.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nWe have reached the end of this post. Again, I would like to say thank you for reading this post and joining me on this journey of mine and Rudy's. If any of you are struggling with infertility I know exactly what you are going through. It's hard and at many times you feel alone but you are not alone. Please know that I am only an email away and would love to chat with you. Part two of my IVF journey should hopefully be posted within the next few weeks. These posts take a lot of time so keep an eye out!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-uEJXCIhOSLA\/Xq9MRQCr20I\/AAAAAAAAJ4Y\/XMd_GQLFOLktEt2dtRxc8WEFWGqoUL8XgCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/newSign.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"91\" data-original-width=\"185\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-uEJXCIhOSLA\/Xq9MRQCr20I\/AAAAAAAAJ4Y\/XMd_GQLFOLktEt2dtRxc8WEFWGqoUL8XgCNcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/newSign.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/feeds\/3008306032837831344\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/2020\/05\/my-ivf-journey.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/400672302414468518\/posts\/default\/3008306032837831344"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/400672302414468518\/posts\/default\/3008306032837831344"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.ohhjuliana.com\/2020\/05\/my-ivf-journey.html","title":"My IVF Journey"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Juliana "},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09410637408830790715"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"24","height":"32","src":"\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEinw98N1LY4v8SvYbQE7_w8QZkoJjgkTZuMxaLciiTGhqEIOsYZtOXCNr7YQTC05lz_vPv4_jABDfn8oJ2giVQ_04s9i77G94gU9ZaprRtLepq-xmeSbo8krD2DNsPoZT0\/s113\/ACS_0224.JPG"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--pWe-eicde4\/XqjW9N3LRxI\/AAAAAAAAJ2Q\/Ws5E24BQbCgT3bYwwD_7AjGagEGraNPIwCNcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/IMG_5271.CR2","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}}]}});