This morning, Sunday, at 9 a.m. we had another appointment for blood work and ultrasound.  The blood work, thank GOD! went well and only had one stick. The ultrasound was a bit more exciting.  I had 14 follicles that were size 14 mm or higher and considered mature.  There were 10 more that could possibly have eggs in them. However, we needed to wait and see what my estrogen level was before deciding to wait another day before getting the 'trigger' shot (tells my body to ovulate).  It is a balancing act between growing as many mature follicles as possible and keeping my estrogen at a safe level.

This afternoon, my doctor called to report that my estrogen level was 2,700 (abnormal would be anything over 4,000). To give you an idea, on Friday, my level was 1,780 so to wait another day to see if those 10 follicles would mature to give me 24 is too risky. To have 14 mature follicles is a really good number anyways! To retrieve 24 eggs is a lot!

So, this means, Nicole will give me the normal shots, minus the Menapure, tonight at 6:30 p.m. and the trigger shot at exactly 7:45 p.m. 

Let me explain the exactly part. My doctor was very and repeatedly clear that it is to be given at this time. The reason, is that they need to time it just right because if they do not, I could ovulate before they are able to get the eggs and that would be no bueno! It would spoil the whole cycle and all that we have done up to this point. On the voicemail she left me, she said 7:30 p.m. but then the lab called her back and said 7:45 p.m. so she called to notify with me. Fifteen minutes? Really. Apparently yes it is that big of a deal. 

This shot is gonna hurt. It goes in my upper butt area (inter muscular) and has a big honking needle. Thanks to the advice of Rachel, I will be icing the area to help numb it. "Small price to pay!" is what I will be thinking. 

Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. I have a blood work appointment only to ensure my body absorbed the trigger shot and to check my estrogen level again. Travis and I will both work full days tomorrow and then head over to Miami. Tuesday morning at 7:45 a.m. we will go in for my egg retrieval. Exciting!  Since I will be on bed rest, I took Wednesday off as well as Tuesday.

Our good friends, Dana and Jeff will be watching Ben for us. We debated on bringing him over but he usually drives on my lap and that probably would not feel so good going over or heading back. Plus, he loves playing with their Puggle, Harley! We love our Ben! This picture was taken a while ago. He is such a good doggie and cuddler!

Ben is always very sensitive to when I am upset and is quick to bring comfort! So glad he is in our family!

They will retrieve all of the eggs, whether mature or not. And then my empty follicles will fill up with fluid again so the bloating and pressure feeling stays.

Just because they retrieve 14 plus eggs does not mean we will have 14 embryo's to choose from. At each stage, some do not mature enough to move on. Half of the eggs will be directly injected with Travis' sperm which is called icksee and the other half will be given the opportunity to 'hook up' naturally. They will put one egg in a pastry dish of one million sperm for example, and let them do their thing. Then they watch both the icksee and natural method embroy's and measure their growth.  The embryonologist (sp?) will give us updates along the way with their progress. 

THEN, we go back to Miami on Saturday for our embryo transfer which will take place on Sunday, July 2nd.  Yes, Michelle, this means, I could be getting pregnant on your birthday!

Travis and I are very happy to be graduating to the next step. 

Praying my anesthesia goes well and I do not wake up horribly nauseas! Please say a prayer on Tuesday at 7:45 a.m. for a great procedure and smart anesthesiologist!

More to come! The best part actually - mid July and beyond!

Lots of love,

Lauren