I’m going to start from the very beginning…(sorry, it's kind of long)!
Brett and I were married July 2005. From the the moment we were married I wanted to start a family. Brett and I had two different plans and Brett's was to wait for a year before we added a little one. One year passed and Brett still wasn't convinced that we were ready. 6 months later he gave in and we started to try and get pregnant. For those of you who have had a hard time getting pregnant or it didn't happen right away, you know the pain that come every month when you are not. Month after month no success. Month after month more sadness.
April of this year, most of you know that Shane and Truly (Brett’s brother and his wife) went through a long procedure to allow them to have a child (they got the two for one special and are pregnant with twins!) She had one of her appointment with Dr. Richards- also know as Doc, and invited me to come along. At this time Brett and I had been trying for a baby for about 17 months with no success. She thought I could ask Doc a few questions after their appointment. This appointment was the start of a long road.
After talking with Dr. Richards he concluded that we needed to get some more testing done. We went through a long rigorous testing regimen. The way everything happened so quickly was scary but we knew that this was our chance. Within a few weeks we were told that we would need to proceed with IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). *To read more about IVF use this link; http://californiafertilitypartners.com/treatments-in-vitro-fertilization.html.
Doc informed us that because of our circumstances artificial insemination and fertility treatments would have a slim (less than a 5%) chance of working. Regular IVF “may” work so we would not only have to go through IVF but we would also have to go through an additional step called ICSI. *To read more about ICSI use this link; http://californiafertilitypartners.com/treatments-intracytoplasmic-sperm-injection.html. Because of this extra procedure we were told that the very best chance of success would be to travel to a world renowned doctor in Los Angeles California, Dr. Marrs. With a lot of praying we decided this would be our chance.
In Vitro is a long, 1-2 month process that requires strict injections of hormones and stimulation drugs. This allows and prepares my body for a surgery called the egg retrieval followed 3 days later by a transfer. With blood draws every other day, ultrasounds, injections of drugs and support of loved ones...hopefully pregnancy is achieved. The success rate of IVF varies due to age, male or female factors and the experience your doctor has. Dr. Marrs has 30+ years experience and defiantly knows just about everything there is to know about baby making!
Brett did such a great job drawing up the medications and comforting me!
I had the great opportunity of having two shots in my stomach daily! Please let me remind you that I am terrified of needles! The best medication of all made me feel like I was going through menopause. Yes…hot flashes, night sweats, headaches, nausea, mood swings and all.
I had numerous blood draws and ultrasounds. Brett’s birthday, July 11th, was on a Friday. This was the day that my nurse Kristin called from California Fertility Partners and told us to be there on Monday for an appointment. We would finally meet Dr. Marrs for the first time! We were so excited we left the next morning. We started the drive to LA.
We stopped off in Las Vegas and Ryan and Sarah McGiven were nice enough to let us stay the night. Brady and Easton were so adorable!
We arrived at our hotel in LA on Sunday afternoon. Comfy bed!
Our Monday appointment went very well with an ultrasound and meeting Dr. Marrs.
What we went through the next week in LA was stressful yet strengthening our relationship. We did find some time for some fun and relaxation.
The Beach, out to dinner and DISNEYLAND.
I was in a wheel chair because I was still in some pain from the egg retrieval the day before.
The Egg Retrieval- Thursday, July 24th.
Making sure my levels are all good. They gave us the go!
Brett's addition :)
Before I went in for surgery they let Brett come in and see me followed my Dr. Marrs letting be know they were going to get started soon. Because of the other patients privacy they weren't even going to let Brett come back, so I was very excited to see him. Once my IV was started and the drugs went in I was feeling the effects almost immediately. I just started laughing and then I was out...
Waking up from my surgery. They got 10 eggs out of my two ovaries. It was amazing because he predicted to retrieve 8. I had 13 eggs which was surprisingly low for my age. I should have had close to 20. It may have been due to the cyst I had on my ovary earlier in the cycle. Well we got 10 eggs and now it is time for my eggs to meet up with Brett's sperm. Dr. Stone (embryologist) performs ICSI and microscopically injects the sperm into my each of my eggs. Now the waiting game. They now become embryos and grow like crazy. Out of the ten eggs, three didn't make it right off the bat. The next day Dr. Stone called and told us that only 5 of the embryos made it and they would be transferring the embryos back into my uterus.
Sunday...The Transfer!
Sunday we arrive at California Fertility Partners.
I was given a Valium for the next procedure I would go through. We went into the room and they showed us that we had 3 good embryos. The goal was to get the embryos to an 8 cell count and a 7.0 grade. I had 8, 7 and 6 cell count embryos. Dr. Marrs showed us this picture!
This was the surgical room were I had to drink 3 water bottles!! After bottle 2 I almost through up and then had to keep chugging. That was the worst of all! This was to fill my bladder so they could get a better look with an ultra sound where they were going to place the little ones.
The great doctor that helped us through it all!
Dr. Marrs
Another Waiting Game
The embryos were in and we made the trip home. We had to wait until August 1st to find out whether this entire journey was successful. That was a LONG day!! I'm going to say the longest day of my life! I had a blood draw that morning and then we just had to wait and wait and WAIT.
We got a phone call from Doc which I was not expecting because I was supposed to be contacted by my nurse Kristin. I answered the phone not thinking anything of it. He said "I just got off the phone with Dr. Marrs and.......................................................................................YOUR PREGNANT!!!!!!"
This is the little one at our ultrasound on Tuesday, August 19th.
Thank you to everyone who fasted, prayed and held your breath for us!! We are so blessed and know that this child is a Miracle Baby!
