In this post, I want to get you caught up on preparing for our frozen embryo transfer and what that looked like. Thank you again for all of your support and prayers over the last few months, we know many of you prayer warriors have been all over this!
My last blog entry was about the days directly after our egg retrieval and the embryo growth itself. As you know by now, it takes five-six days for an embryo to grow to be frozen for a future transfer. We had five perfect little embryos that were waiting for us at that time.
Following the egg retrieval we had to wait until my next official Day 1 of my next cycle to begin again. Every IVF/IUI time line or transfer time line is based off of that, so once again, more waiting for that to arrive. It was known to us that the Day 1 following an IVF cycle could be a month away or could be delayed up to a few months, so we didn't know what to expect. To keep this short and sweet, the one month mark came and left. My official Day 1 was on the 51st day of my cycle... so August 3rd it was. On that day, I called the clinic and went in for my Day 3 blood work and ultrasound. Everything was looking great and back to normal post IVF. I purchased Estrogen patches that day as well and started them that evening. Four 100mcg Estradot patches are applied and changed every two days. This continues until the 10th week of pregnancy (if achieved). The Estrogen puts your cycle on hold so you don't ovulate and thickens the uterine lining to prepare for pregnancy.
After being on the patches for a little white, we returned to the clinic on August 16th for blood work, ultra sound, consent signing, payment, and medication teaching. We had great news on this day that I was very much ready for a baby to implant! Everything went very smooth and my body was doing exactly what it needed to. That day, we received teaching for the Progesterone in oil injections (25mg each injection) that I would take every other day until my transfer date. Post transfer and after becoming officially pregnant with confirming blood work, the injections are every day until about the 8th-10th week of pregnancy. Prometrium suppositories are also added to the mix and are taken every day, three times a day until around the 10th week of pregnancy. My body would be weened off all of these medications in future weeks.
The uterus loves Progesterone and it helps to support a pregnancy. Between the 8th and 10th weeks of pregnancy, the placenta can support itself just fine on it's own and these medications are no longer needed. This is not to say that my body couldn't do it on its own, but it is just part of the IVF protocol to achieve optimal results and to help prevent miscarriage.
The Progesterone injections were a bit daunting at first as I knew for many weeks to come I would have to inject 0.5mls of thick oil into my hip with an inch and a half long needle. I had previously self injected my own deltoid three times for vaccines so I felt confident I could get the job done. Plus, I knew I could do anything for these children, including the painful aspects in bringing them here. Lots of this process is phycological. I kept God in the centre and knew He was with me the whole way. He grounded me and took all my fear and worries away to create a stress free, joyful, trusting environment. I am thankful for that. I'm not going to lie, I felt like super nurse and super mom every time I injected that stuff!
As we were back in the clinic today for all of the testing and teaching, we also received an official booked date for our transfer. August 25th 2016! The medication prep was only about three weeks, so the wait wasn't too bad!
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| These flowers were from the Radcliffes for our embryos! They gave them to us a few days after we received our final count. |
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