Genetically Viable...ugly words

December 22^nd

Fox News Headline today:

 Seven girls, ages 13 to 15, are pregnant after a five-day school trip to their country’s capital city and their parents are being blamed.

http://nypost.com/2014/12/22/seven-teenage-girls-get-pregnant-on-school-trip/

 A doctor was quoted saying:  “Early sexual relations lead to adverse consequences such as infertility, various diseases, miscarriages and premature births.”

What is this world coming to? Really people? Really! I know I seem a bit emotional today but I have every right! Chris and I have to subject ourselves to the mercy of infertility treatments and by subject I mean: financially, physically and most of all emotionally. It has been a roller coaster ride, tests, injections, procedures, the humiliation of having your beav up high and on display as the doctor performs their voodoo magic to your ovaries and uterus. All the while teens are getting pregnant all over the world without so much as a hey how do you do!

The fertile really have no idea how sad this makes women and their partners out there just like us.

On to better topics...

Today I went in for my first post transfer bloodwork and it was good meaning hormone levels are where they are supposed to be and we keep waiting until day 10 when we find out the answer to our family…but I am jumping ahead.

We went in for the egg retrieval on the 13^th of December and out of the 36 eggs only 17 were viable. Our good Doctor was able to make 14 embryos with the 17 eggs and they all made it to the ‘critical’ day three! So here was our choice: our IVF package included the genetic testing of only 8 embryos but we could spend another $300 per embryo for testing over the 8. So we spent the $1800 and we are so glad that we did!

Only 4 of the 14 embryos were ‘genetically viable’ meaning they had all 46 chromosomes no more and no less. Two of each one from each genetic donor (Chris & I).  We came out with two girl embryos and two boy embryos.

We ‘transferred’ one boy and one girl this past Thursday the 18^th... Of course I asked if we could transfer 3 but the wise doctor said NO!

Post transfer I got to enjoy ‘princess time’ or what I like to call being bored out of your mind time. Time when you relish in watching cheesy scyfy movies like Snomageddon and Ice Quake and Icetastrophe….. I really hope our children get my taste in movies.

This ‘princess time’ is also the time for me to start taking more meds including what is listed on my IVF calendar as ‘vag gel’. Yes folks….it is what it sounds like. An oral progesterone medication that if I am lucky I get to take two times daily for the next ten weeks; throw in a daily blood thinner injection for six months and a prenatal that makes me burp up what I can only describe as prehistoric smelling putrescence and I am in heaven. But…it is all for a good cause.

So back to the good news….

Bloodwork my hormone levels are increasing and I retest on Friday. If all goes well we (meaning me) take a preggo test on Tuesday the 30^th and then again on the 2^nd just to confirm.

Then it is on to the world of ultrasounds a few weeks after that! We should know by January 15^th or so if we have one, two, three….or four brewing inside my uterus that is just now feeling very small J Oh yes folks you read that right….on day eight (this past Saturday) both of our little embryos had the possibility of splitting into two. My NP calls it a ‘freak of nature’ and yes, she knows I am a twin, aka freak of nature. So I guess it was a sound medical decision on the Doctors part to only put in two and not three like I requested. *Chris is laughing on the floor right now….and thinking about moving to Canada and changing his name.

Stay posted for our next update!

Forever grateful for your love and prayers!

Amanda & Chris….and at least two embryos.