IVF or FET November/December 2015 - chat thread

[Wish2BMom]

Scooby - happy halfway!!!!

 

[scoobybeans]

What's going on ladies?? Miss you guys! Would love an update from everyone

 

[Wish2BMom]

agreed - I think we talked on here more than FB!

 

[boopin4baby]

:wave: Hi ladies,

I miss you guys, too!! I'm just waiting for AF so, I can start my de cycle.

 

[Wish2BMom]

ohhhhh!! I am SO excited for you, boop!!!

 

[scoobybeans]

boopin- So exciting!!! I didn't realize you were that close to starting. Good luck!

wish- Yeah we definitely talked more on here. I love seeing the pics on FB though! I'm just not really on there all that much.

klik- How are you doing hun? Would love to hear an update!

AFM, 5 days until V Day! I've really been looking forward to this milestone...

 

[klik]

Wish: thanks for giving us a nudge! Yeah, I was a little sad we'd stopped talking here, though, yeah, it's excellent to see the pics on FB! You and Scooby are so close to viability--that's really lovely! Best of luck on your next scan in a few days--I hope everything continues to go as perfectly as it's been going so far! I'm so happy the boys are doing so well... How are you feeling?!

Scooby: I'll have a peak at your journal, but for now I'm so glad Moobley is getting close to viability!

Boopin: I'll have a peak at your journal too, but in the meantime, WOW! Amazing you're about to start! I hope the new donor is your key to success--good luck!!!

AFM: Had another stim cycle--just had my retrieval yesterday. Despite the stim, only one grew (it was a runaway lead) but fortunately my clinic here is happy to collect just the one. It fertilized today, so hopefully will survive til Wednesday and be frozen then. Then that's it for us, for retrievals, and we'll be moving on to transfers. I've been torturing myself on whether to let the lab grow these to blast or whether to just transfer them on day 3... If we do day 3 transfers, this process can drag out for several more months as we transfer pairs of bad embryos one after another... if we grow them to day 5, they could all potentially die in the lab and then we'd be left with nothing. I'd rather do the former, but it's exhausting even for me to think about... Maybe something in between would be called for, instead... Well, let's see--I'll torture myself a bit more and then I'm sure some decision will be taken at some point!

 

[Wish2BMom]

That's so exciting, klik!!! I am a little confused, though - so they froze all of your embies at Day 3 so far, not Day 5? So they would thaw them, see if they continue to grow, and refreeze? Or they just do this on a transfer by transfer basis - thaw, watch develop a couple more days, then transfer. I think I get it now.

I fully understand your stress about all of this. The thought of them being better off in the womb ASAP vs viability/strength if they are able to grow outside of the womb for 2 more days...I don't know which way I'd go. It's so tough to say that if they stopped developing on Day 4 in the lab, that they wouldn't have survived in you!

How many did you end up with? 11 or so?

 

[Wish2BMom]

oh and I'm doing well, thank you! I'm feeling fine, though starting to get uncomfortable. My ribs are spreading to make room for the growing uterus and I think my diaphragm is already getting pushed. So that's some discomfort going on. I can't really slouch forward at all b/c any pressure from the rib cage->down sucks. Full panel maternity pants hurt too - the top of the panel comes up to right where the sore spot is. And then if I sit TOO straight, which means arching my back without knowing, my back starts to hurt. So I either have to sit pin straight or lay back quite a bit.
And heartburn has started, so I bring Tums with me everywhere.

But overall I'm good! As long as there are remedies to things, I can deal so far!

 

[Disneyfan88]

Hi ladies! I'm sorry for my absence. I've been following along here, but I haven't actually been able to respond between the recurring Disney baby ad or reading along on my phone.

DD2 is doing quite well. She's a sleepy baby, but she's gaining weight well. I'm still pumping 8 times a day around the clock (roughly every 3 hours or so ) and cannot wait until next week when I can start spacing out my pump sessions more and pump fewer times per day without worrying so much about a drop in supply. I'm currently producing just a tad more than her daily intake, so I have a small but slowly growing stash of bags of milk of varying sizes accumulating in the garage freezer. I only produced enough to not give DD1 any formula for about 2 months when I was exclusively pumping for her, so having anything to put in the freezer is new territory for us. Now if only I could get her to take more than 2.5 oz at a time. I'm eagerly,waiting for when she eats more less frequently.

DD2 turns 11 weeks tomorrow -- it's so hard to believe how fast time is flying. Her 2 month doctor visit indicated that she weighs over 10 lbs now (10 lbs 7.5 oz a week and a half ago). She seems to be in the middle of a growth spurt, so I'm curious how much she's gaining right now.

Boopin - I'm so excited that your gearing up and getting started. Sending you some major pixie dust and good vibes!

Klik - Congrats on finishing your final retrieval! You've been such a trooper for so long! If I was in your shoes, I think I'd consider a day 3 transfer and let them thrive in their natural environment. I'd say you could always consider genetic testing, but we only got successful with 1/4 of what was found to be genetically normal. Best of luck with your decision.

Wish & Scooby - I hope you aren't too uncomfortable! It's so exciting that v-day is coming up! If it starts getting uncomfortable when you are laying down, I found this wedge pillow to be awesome. I still use it today (though now it's behind me helping me lean a little forward while I pump). I have a Boppy version of the same thing which is way too hard. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KG84CLI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amanda - Your daughter is adorable! I hope everyone is doing well!

 

[Wish2BMom]

omigosh, just looking at the picture of her sitting on the couch reading is enough to make me buy that pillow! That's where I get the most discomfort - I can't sit like that. DH and I might spring for a new recliner anyway. We've been thinking about it for awhile and now seems to be like the best time to get it b/c I think it would help me when hanging out in our living room. We have a few gift certs to a furniture store here so shouldn't be a big expense.

That's GREAT you are able to produce and store so much! I can't believe she's already 11 mos. That makes me a little nervous that you're still pumping so much at that timeframe, though. Simply b/c I will maybe be able to squeak out 10 weeks of maternity so I could spend my entire day at work pumping!

 

[Disneyfan88]

The pillow is great for supporting your bump while you lay down in bed or on the couch when you're a little bigger, too.

I actually had to work really hard to get my supply to where I'm at. I've read that babies that are bottle fed take about 25-30 mls between 1-6 months, and their needs don't go up after 6 months since they tend to start solids by then. I'm pumping about 30-32 oz a day right now, and she's eating about 26-27 oz a day. I've been taking supplements and pumping around the clock to get here, and I topped out around 25 oz when exclusively pumping for DD1 (we supplemented with formula). I don't respond to the supplements as well as most people (so I've been on them longer than most people generally are), and I have a crappy milk ejection reflex that makes it hard for me to actually get the milk out without doing extra stuff like massaging/hand compressions or applying heat while I pump. I'm not the norm, though, so you will more than likely be fine. I would have switched to formula and would have been totally fine with it if the pumping didn't seem to be working. As much as I loathe pumping, it's helped to take it just a day or a week at a time.

 

[Wish2BMom]

Great notes on pumping and some of the challenges. I'm sorry you're going through them, though. Do you think you'll start weaning soon? Or baby-led weaning?

I'm trying to forego buying lots of pregnancy-specific things since I'll only be pregnant for another 3+ months. Not that you probably can't use that pillow at other times, of course. But I'm loading myself up with throw pillows, and in bed I surround myself with pillows as well. Bed pillows work absolutely fine so far and I think I've found a good position (finally) on the couch that lasts longer than 20 mins. And I think we're going to look for a new recliner tomorrow night. So once THAT stops working, then maybe I'll look to the specialty wedges and pillows! Obviously a new recliner is way more than a pillow but we could use another sitting spot in the living room anyway

 

[scoobybeans]

I've got to make this snappy because work is bonkers again (I'll have to fill you guys in, there's so much going on here!)

wish- This is the pillow I got: https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Shaped...3210&sr=8-7&keywords=pregnancy+u+shape+pillow I also got the jersey slip cover so I can easily wash that. It's seriously been a huge help with my hips/lower back/sciatic pain. I also didn't want to get a lot of pregnancy specific stuff but I sit this up when I read in bed and have heard it comes in handy for breastfeeding down the road, and also as like a mega Boppy for baby (which would be great for 2!) Anyway, I'm a big fan!

klik- Congrats on completing your last retrieval!! So exciting that you're moving onto the transfer phase now. Since I had success with a 3-day transfer I may be biased, but I do think embryos thrive best in the womb. I'm wishing you so much luck my friend!!!

Disney- Fantastic that DD2 is doing so well (both of your daughters are gorgeous!) and hooray for less pumping! I'll probably have a million questions for you when I get to that stage lol.

My 22 week appointment went very well and baby is kicking all of the time now He definitely seems to have specific times when he's active and he is a BIG fan of sweets lol. (Last night I had an ice cream sandwich and it was like a little disco in there ) We have our birth class at the hospital next Saturday, my 1hr GD test on 10/23 and my shower on 11/5. Lots to do!

 

[klik]

What a treat to get so many updates!

Wish: they all were frozen on day 3, the plan being that they get cultured to day 5 in one go--if at least 2 survive, the best two are transferred then, and any others are frozen. The idea is, my 3 cycles together would look like a "normal" woman's cycle (like, one who doesn't have diminished ovarian reserve)... There is one "save"--if ALL embryos slow down on day 4, the ones that look like they're struggling the least get transferred back on day 4. So you're pretty much guaranteed there will be something to transfer--just, you don't know if the lab has done any harm in the meantime. I'm sorry it's been so difficult for you to find a good sitting position, but glad you've found some interim solution... I hope the recliner rocks! Annoying about the heartburn, though I do find Tums pretty tasty!

Disneyfan: Thanks! Hey, you are an absolute heroin! Well done on all the pumping--I'm glad it will get somewhat less demanding soon...

Scooby: yay!!!! Excellent to hear news of a good appointment and of lots of kicking! Cool about birth class, and best of luck on the GD test!

So, our last little embryo survived, and it's a top-grade 8-cell! It's in the freezer with the others. So now we have 8x3-day embryos here in London, 3x1-day embryos at Cornell, and 10xeggs here in London (and we'll transfer those in that order). I hope there's enough there for at least one baby (hopefully 2)! I spoke to DP and he's on board for the 3-day-transfers-2-at-a-time. We agree that instead of almost literally putting more eggs in fewer baskets, it makes more sense to give my body several chances to be receptive... Now we just have to convince our doctor! We're meeting with him tomorrow...

 

[Wish2BMom]

thanks, scooby!! That pillow would certainly help my intermittent wake-ups to roll over and re-adjust all pillows. I like how they show putting it around the babies later on too! Like you said, giant boppy!
You sure do have a lot going on!! I have to get a move on on classes, but I think I'll shoot for Nov for those so it's freshest in our minds. That's actually when we have the most time too.

klik - wonderful news!!! top grade 8-cell is amazing!! Thank you for the layout of the plan too! As Scooby is biased about transferring Day 3s, I'm biased about transferring 2 at a time So all of this is great!! I'm so excited for you!

 

[Wish2BMom]

Great scan this morning! The boys look wonderful, though they are both breach now. Buggers. Twin A's feet and legs were tucked under him and he was face down, 1lb 7oz, HB of 148 and stubborn to give us a profile pic but we finally got one. Twin B's feet were up by his head, he was facing up, 1lb 5oz, HB of 140, more than happy to give a profile pic. He'll be my snuggly, calm Mama's boy
Now I know what the punches/kicks directly on my bladder and cervix have been - their little feet! They were so cute to watch move around.
I asked her to measure my uterine growth, just to see where my body actually is - 31 weeks. I'm only at 23+4!!

next scan is 11/3 and glucose test the week after that.

oh and they are definitely both boys!

 

[boopin4baby]

Wish - I'm happy to hear your little guys are thriving!!

Hi ladies :wave: Sending you all love, hugs & baby dust!!

 

[Wish2BMom]

V Day today! Though I was reading some stories about people still losing their children at 26, 27 weeks, 6 months...I don't feel too secure getting to 24 weeks anymore. But I'm happy with each day. They were moving like CRAZY this past Saturday night - my friend and I were in NYC over the weekend and walked like 10 miles on Saturday. So I think once I stopped, they were woken up immediately and wanted to party. My stomach looked like a bunch of pops and waves - so nuts!

How is everyone doing? Happy V Day this past Saturday, Scoob!!

 

[scoobybeans]

klik- Congrats on adding another perfect embie to your growing collection! That sounds like a really solid plan you've worked out. What happened at your meeting? Is your doctor on board with the 2-at-a-time plan? Are you beginning prep for an FET this cycle?

wish- Excellent that you had another great scan and the boys are thriving! I've got the same thing going on, lots of little kicks down low because his feet are kicking at my bladder lol. Happy V day to you!!! I agree, it's still WAY too early and I'd like all of them to cook for a lot longer. Crazy you're already the size of a 31 week preggo woman. The human body really is amazing isn't it?

boopin- Thank you! I'm going to stop over at your journal and see what's been transpiring...

AFM, I'm trying to be calm in the midst of lots of stressful work stuff and I feel like I'm succeeding a lot better than I was last week. It's cliché but it really is all about taking things one step at a time, one day at a time. Part of the problem with being a project manager is you always look at the big picture first, which can be overwhelming. So I'm focusing on the little tasks that I CAN handle right now and reminding myself I still have 3 full weeks until we have to move out of this office and almost 4 months (hopefully) until the baby arrives.