Project: Joey

Clay and I went to our IVF consultation on the 12th and talked to Dr. Gibson and one of the nurses about the process and our calendar. We had to work around our trip to Portland, so we will start injections on Sunday, Sept 6th. We have an injection class on Thursday, Sep 3rd to learn about the whole process. The doctor also suggested that we may want to get a genetic screening for cystic fibrosis, so I’ll have that done in the next few weeks. I’m sure it will be fine.

Next week we’ll know if Clay’s sperm is able to penetrate a hamster egg. That will determine whether or not we will have to do ICSI, which basically means they take the sperm and insert it directly into the egg. It’s over $1000 more, so we’re hoping the little guys are strong at infiltrating eggs!

I’ll be taking Lupron for up to 4 weeks. The 3rd week, I’ll start taking Follistim and Repronex. This is all to produce as many eggs as possible. I’ll go in for ultrasounds and bloodwork every morning during the 4th week until they set a date for the egg retrieval. The embryos will then be watched and the best one will be transferred 3 or 5 days after the retrieval. I start taking Progesterone right away to help the embryo stay implanted. If all goes as planned, I should know if I’m pregnant right after my birthday!

Typically, during a regular IVF they transfer 2 embryos, but they have asked if we want to be part of a study where they will only transfer one. They will cryopreserve the other embryos for up to three years and I can have them transferred at no cost. It sounded like a perfect plan for us!

I’m just getting anxious about getting started. This will be a very long 8 weeks! More updates to come!

Oh, by the way… the bean growing has been interesting! One has really flourished and the other is struggling, but has finally poked his head about the soil. I’d like to think it’s representative of our long wait and struggle to be parents, but when it happens, it will be worth it!