Update

I know many of you have probably been anxiously waiting for me to post another update.  I'm sorry that it has taken almost a week to keep you up to date, but life has been pretty busy lately.  Like I mentioned in my previous post, lsat Thursday was my last day to take medicine...YAY!  Thanks to all of you who prayed for me as my body was taking in so many new things---God definitely took care of me and made it an easy few weeks with no complications.

We are almost to the end of this journey, and I am asking for continued prayers in the next week.  This coming week (over the next 12 days) is going to be a very critical time and I know that God is the only one who can control the outcome of it all.  He already knows what waits at the end of this, and I pray that I allow Him to do His work without worrying or stressing over things I can't change or do myself.  If I'm being completely honest, I hope for a healthy baby to be created, and I can only trust that God has that in His plan.

Thank you for all of the encouragement and many prayers that I know you all have said for Trent and me this past month.  We appreciate each of you!!!

Day 12

My appointment this morning went well!!  Today is my last day to take meds, YAY!!  I will have one more injection tonight and then I'm done!  We will be moving forward with the process very soon!  Thank you for your prayers.  Although this part of the journey is ending, we will still need God's help with finishing out the IVF cycle.

In the next few weeks we will do a lot of waiting and I know that it will be very easy for me to get impatient and more anxious than I already am.  Please pray that I will let God take control of every aspect of this process, without worrying about "what else" I can do, or all of the "what if" thoughts that come to mind.  Also continue to pray for Trent, who has been very supportive through everything.  It is hard on him to see everything that I have to do, while there isn't much he can do to help.  He is having to be so patient and understanding!  He is also very busy with baseball this time of year, so that is just one more added pressure that he has to deal with each day, and with each appointment we go to.

Through it all, God is good!

Day 11

After today's appointment, it seems that we will need yet another day of meds before removal day.  I was assured that we are ALMOST THERE and that one more day is probably all we will need.  So....tomorrow will be another day of meds, another appointment, and another morning my students will have a substitute teacher.  But, God is still in control and we are another day closer to the end. Continue to pray as hopefully tomorrow will be my last day of injections, then we will be on to bigger and better days. :)

Day 10

Today is Day 10 of my stimulation medicines.  During an average IVF cycle, this would be the last day to take stim. meds before the eggs are removed.  However, at my doctor appointment this morning I was told that it would be best to do one more day...so onto Day 11 I go.  Thanks for the prayers.  Although I am still continuing another day of medicines, I do believe God worked overnight and there was definitely growth of my follicles from yesterday to today.  This doesn't mean much to you, but we want them to be at least 18 mm before my doctor says we are good for retrieval.  As of today, my follicles are averaging around 14 mm, although one is at 22mm!  I know that God has a plan for me and this cycle, so I am moving forward to see what happens at my appointment tomorrow morning.  Continue to pray that the ultrasound in the morning will show that I am ready to have the eggs removed.  Either way, though, we are one day closer to reaching our goal. :)

On a somewhat different note, tomorrow will be my 4th "school day" in a row to go to appointments, which means my students have had a lot of time with a substitute.  Please pray that they are learning the material that they need this week while I am in and out of their lives, and that things won't be too out of hand when I get there tomorrow afternoon. :)

Say A Prayer

This is going to be a really quick post today, but I thought I would call on all of my prayer warriors to say a specific prayer for me today and tomorrow.
I had an appointment this morning, checking levels in my blood and an ultrasound.  My doctor said that I am a "textbook patient" and that everything seems to be going well!  God is so good!!  However, tomorrow was supposed to be my last day of giving myself the stim. injections....but after looking at the sizes of my follicles as of this morning, they are not quite the size my doctor is wanting just yet for retrieval.  The plan was to stop meds tomorrow night, but now I may have to continue them for a few more days.
Please pray that today, tonight, and tomorrow my follicles are growing and will be ready to stop meds tomorrow when I go back for another check up.  Although I do not want to rush things, and I definitely want everything to be "ready" before moving on with this process, more days of meds means more money spent and more injections...
Thank you all so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!  I am continuing to trust God's plan for us at this time and know He is in control!

One Week Strong

Sorry I haven't posted anything this past week, but there hasn't been much news to share.  Everything has been pretty much the same--same meds, a couple of routine check up/monitoring appointments, etc.  I have been taking the stimulation medicines for a week now, and I am still feeling normal.  God is so good and is completely taking care of me during this time.   I had an appointment on Friday, took some blood to monitor hormone levels and did an ultrasound to be sure everything looks ok internally.  Everything seems fine and the doctor was pleased and said that I look like I'm right on track with this cycle.  We are hopeful that it won't be much longer now!  Continue to keep us in your prayers this week as we continue medications and doctor appointments.  :)

Emotionally... Excited.  Anxious. Physically... Still feeling good! Nothing unusual going on. Mentally... Beginning to get scared of what answers we will be receiving in the next few weeks. Greatest challenge... Trying to get a refill on one of the injection medicines over the weekend. Biggest success... Making it a week giving myself 3-4 shots per day, without much pain at all. My drugs... Menopur. Lupron. Follistim. Doxycycline Monohydrate. Aspirin. In love with... The beautiful weather this afternoon!

Stimulation Medications

Today I started taking my stims (stimulation meds).  These meds are to help grow healthy eggs in the next couple of weeks in order for IVF to be as successful as possible.   I'm in such a good place emotionally.  I can actually say... I'm excited. Who knows how I'll feel later this week when the three shots a day make me feel like a human pincushion!  But for now, I feel good. :)    

My daily meds for the next couple of weeks

Sometime I've let my fear that IVF won't work keep me from embracing this process, and thinking of how God picked me to be strong in this situation.  And how He knows (although I didn't realize it until now) that I can handle this.  Although it still might not work, which will be devastating, I am completely putting my trust in God to give us His healthy child in the end.   Still, I refuse to let my fear overshadow the very exciting possibility that it might will work.  If my mind starts to spiral down a path that is making me feel sad or negative, I pray.  I remind myself that with every shot, we are closer to our baby than we've ever been. I focus on the things that I'm grateful for...like my amazing husband and family, great friends, a healthy body which will hopefully allow me to become pregnant, the great clinic and doctors we have access to, and the encouragement that I receive from all of you. It's amazing how powerful our thoughts can be and how much they dictate how we feel. We certainly can't prevent bad or unfair things from happening in our lives. But we can decide how we want to react to them.

I choose joy and excitement!  Here's to continuing with 3 shots in the stomach, growing lots of healthy eggs these next couple of weeks, and to being one step closer to hearing great news in the end!
Emotionally... Excited. Peaceful. Hopeful. Physically... Feeling great! Nothing unusual going on. Mentally... Thinking a lot about the future and trusting God's plan for our life. Greatest challenge... Mixing and administering first stim shots---thought they might be painful. Biggest success... Giving myself the stim shots, without much pain at all. My drugs... Menopur. Lupron. Follistim. Doxycycline Monohydrate. Aspirin. In love with... My husband for encouraging me and helping me through administering our first stim shots.

Here We Go!

Today I had my pre-stimulation appointment, which is basically where they take blood to check hormone levels and then do another ultrasound to be sure everything internally is still looking good.  Everything went well, so that means on Sunday we will be starting the last phase of injections before "go" day (egg removal day).  This is such exciting news, as this is coming so quickly!  Sunday morning I will start taking two injections in the morning and then another at night, every day.  I will be going back to my doctor every 2-3 days for more blood work and ultrasounds, as I must be monitored until I am "ready".

Thank you so much for praying for us during this time, and also for the encouraging words that we are receiving from so many of you!  I would like to ask you to continue praying for us as we will have a tough week ahead of us (3 injections per day, stimulation meds which could have some side effects).  

I feel like we have done really well with everything so far.  The Lord has given us both a peace and we have felt comforted knowing that we are not alone in our daily walk.  He is always with us, taking care of us.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  -Philippians 4:6-7

We Did It!!

Yesterday we got the first injection under our belt, and today was even better.  With Trent's great encouragement and help with my first shot at giving myself the injection, we did it!!  Trent drew up the medicine (since "it's just like when you vaccinate cows" ha!) as I mentally prepared myself to stick a needle into my stomach.  In the end it really was no big deal.  I did stand for about a minute with the needle almost to my skin, and took several deep breaths before actually doing it.  Regardless, the first one is done and today was a breeze!  I even did the whole process by myself this morning.  I am so thankful that I can do this part of the process so easily, and that God has given me the strength to do it!!  Thank you for your prays and encouragement that you have already expressed so far.  The next step is to continue these daily injections, and then I have a check up appointment next Friday, the 8th.  Please continue to pray for our strength in this journey, and for a healthy baby in the end----which I believe God is already preparing for us.  :)

Supplies for the first day of injections

Trent getting it ready for me

Trent actually took a picture of me when I was giving myself the injection, but I will spare you all of that!!  haha  :)