IVF: Implant Anniversary

Can't believe it's been FOUR YEARS since my embryo implantation. The embryo that would grow to become our precious William Davis. 

Annual IVF Celebration

Happy Embryo Implanting Day!! 

Implant Anniversary

On March 31, 2015, an embryo that would grow to become our precious William was implanted. We are so thankful to God for allowing the advancement in science to make our dream of becoming parents come true. The doctors and nurses at KU Center for Reproductive Medicine were/are amazing and I am thankful for their support (and the many, many tears I cried in their offices!). I love having William's very first picture and have him take a new photo with it each year. He is our little miracle!

From Embryo to Infant

One year ago today, I had IVF surgery to implant an embryo. We all know that embryo today to be William. Bret nicknamed the embryo 'Nemo'. This was our second IVF surgery, the one in January  (2015) with two embryos implanted was not successful. 

We tried for almost three years to get pregnant before our IVF surgery, but to no avail. After talking with some close friends who also had difficulties getting pregnant, we turned to a reproductive endocrinologist (RE). Our RE and nurses were amazing and from day one we were told "You will be parents". I didn't believe them, as that is a big promise to make, especially after we had been trying for so long. But, after our March 31, 2015 surgery, we were parents as Nemo has implanted successfully. It would just take a month to confirm. With every blood test I took and sonogram that confirmed Nemo, we gained confidence in the thought of us being parents. 

Now we have known Nemo/William for three months. Our little miracle has changed our lives in so many ways! We are incredibly lucky to be his parents. 

Down to single digits!

What??? How can we be just single digits away from William's due date? It seems like just yesterday we were deciding to go through IVF to be parents. Bret and I were in William's room this morning looking at his first picture (when he was just a little embryo!) and saying that it's crazy that our baby is almost here to meet us.

We are ready (as ready as you think you are before having a baby) and excited to meet the little man. He is going to totally rock out world and change life as we know it. And we cannot wait for that! 

We hope the little guy will always know the prayers we sent up for him and how very much wanted he was/is. All of the needles and medicine and waiting and tears will be totally worth it when we get to meet William and kiss his sweet face. 

Nemo, we love you!

Why Nemo?

Ever since our implant surgery, we have called our baby 'Nemo'.

http://hero.wikia.com/wiki/Nemo

Bret came up with this nickname. After our egg collection & fertilization, we had three viable embryos. Our first IVF implantation, we put two eggs in. We thought, if they both implant we will have twins & it's a better chance to put two in instead of just one at a time. When we watched the embryos being sent into my uterus on the screen, my RE mentioned they are sandwiched in there like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. So That's what Bret started calling them during our time of waiting to see if they implanted. Unfortunately , they did not implant.

So we were left with only one embryo. Just like in the movie, "Finding Nemo" there was just one baby left. Bret decided this was the perfect nickname for our (hopefully) growing embryo. We continued to call the baby Nemo as we were told the embryo implanted correctly & was growing at a healthy rate. Even at 20 weeks, we still call our baby Nemo. Now it fits even better with Nemo being our baby BOY!

We are very lucky that our Nemo has grown at a healthy rate throughout my pregnancy. I hope he continues this trend for the second half, birth, & thereafter.

We love our little Nemo!

24 Months to Wait 9 Months

Ever wanted something so badly but were unable to grasp it? 

My husband and I want to be parents with a passion. We met my junior year of high school and were together eight years before marrying in March 2010. We have both always agreed we want be parents. We started trying in summer 2012. I tracked my period so I knew when I was ovulating so find the 'ideal time' to conceive. 

I might also mention that during this time, my husband pursued his dream of becoming a police officer. With that career change came off work/off hours. Not always easy when you are working with an ovulation calendar!

After a year of trying on our own, my GYN recommended me to seek further help with an RE (reproductive endocrinologist). An amazing fellow teacher at my school, who battled infertility as well, gave me the name of the doctor she and her husband used. That doctor had retired, but I found one of the doctors who had worked with him. 

We began seeing the RE in August 2014, a crazy time of year for an elementary school teacher!  My husband and I each went through many tests and took medicines to control our systems. 

It was determined that IVF was the best route to pregnancy for me. My egg retrieval surgery was in November 2014. It was actually the day before my husband's sister's wedding, in which I was to be the matron of honor! I took a day of bed rest, but felt up for the wedding and just took it easy that day. 

The doctor was able to retrieve 10 viable eggs for fertilization. Only 3 survived to freeze day. Instead of doing a fresh embryo transplant, we opted for a frozen because I had been on many, many meds and my body needed to regulate before another surgery. 

Two embryos were implanted in my in January 2015. Then the dreaded two-week wait began. I continued to give myself medicine (progesterone ) to help my placenta and uterine lining develop. 

Devastating news was delivered at the end of the two-week wait. My numbers were not high enough to indicate pregnancy. We only had ONE EMBRYO left!!

Our nurse/doctor asked if we wanted to continue immediately with another IVF or take some time off. Without much discussion, my husband and I chose to immediately continue IVF with our one remaining egg. 

That one egg was implanted in late March 2015. After the two-week wait (that seems more like two months!), we got great news! My levels were high enough to support pregnancy. I went back twice more to see if my levels were doubling and they were! I still didn't believe it!!  We went in for a sonogram to see if everything was developing properly and got to see they little guy/gal on the screen! We even heard the heartbeat, which made it way more real to me. 

I am still nervous something terrible could happen, but I am having faith that this child is meant for us.