Bringing you up to speed......

After nearly two months, I have finally decided to update our blog. Here's a quick update, to get you up to speed: Steve and I moved into our new house on May 16th, at the end of May we went to Canada for "Aden Puke Fest 2009," and on June 22nd we started our IVF Cycle.

As you may know, Steve and I have faced some fertility issues and had sought out the advice of a fertility center in Seattle. At our first meeting, they recommended we move forward with IVF when we were ready. Steve and I decided that we would wait to pursue the IVF until after our house was completed. Originally, we were given a tentative start date of June 1st to start our stimulation medications. But of course, we were delayed by 3 weeks due to my persistent cyst and an ever increasing estradiol level. On Friday, June 19th I went in for my 3rd Suppression Check and FINALLY passed! After the suppression check, we received a phone call from the clinic with the news we were hoping for.....Steve and I were instructed to start our stimulation medications on Monday, June 22nd.

On Monday night (6/22), Steve's mom came over for a refresher on medication injections. At about 8pm, I took my first two doses of medications. Since Monday, Steve has faithfully given me my injections each night. There was only one injection for which I tried to fire him, but after the stinging and burning subsided, I agreed to give him his job back.

On Friday (6/26) I went in for an ultrasound and bloodwork to see how I was responding to the medications. I had about 6 follices on my left ovary and 4 follices on my right ovary. (For those people reading that are not well versed in IVF lingo, each follicle has the potential to hold an egg that could be fertilized and transferred back.) We received a phone call from the clinic in Seattle on Friday afternoon (they review the results of the ultrasound and bloodwork and call with further instructions). The lovely coordinator explained that I would remain on the same dose of the medications and I would be seen on Monday (6/29) at the Bellevue office for my next ultrasound and more bloodwork.

Monday morning (6/29) my mom arrived at our house at 5:30am to pick me up for our trip to Seattle. (Steve decided to keep working until he was "needed" - he's planning to head to Seattle on Thursday.) My appointment on Monday was a great experience. We arrived about a half an hour early, but they promptly took me back drew my blood and then moved me to the ultrasound room. During the ultrasound, the nurse practitioner told us that we now have 9 follicles on the left ovary and 6-8 follicle on the right (all of the follicles were measuring between 11-15mm). They instructed me to start a new medication that will prevent me from ovulating on my own and they upped the dosage of one of the medications that I have been taking for the last week. Mom began to panic a little bit because that meant three shots she was going to give me per day - but, as expected she did GREAT!

Tomorrow morning we head back to Bellevue for another ultrasound and more bloodwork to see if I am getting closer to the retrieval. They are looking for multiple follicles that are measuring +18mm. Once they see those, they will schedule the retrieval. As a side note....at our appointment on Monday, we asked the different staff we saw, when they "thought" the retrieval would be....2 of them said Friday (7/3) and one said Saturday (7/4). Tomorrow we will know!!

For the time being, mom and I are relaxing at our AWESOME accomodations....we are staying at my aunt and uncles River House in Cle Elum. What a blessing to have such loving and supportive family. I don't know what we would do without all the support we have. Steve and I are so very blessed.

Until tomorrow, I think this pretty much gets you up to speed....more to come, on a more regular basis, I promise!