Beautiful Day in LA & Beautiful Lining!

Our view from the freeway.

Today was my last appointment before our transfer.  Dr. K said that my uterine lining looked great and that our transfer can stay on schedule for 9:45 am on Monday the 18th.  Alright!!!  I will continue my delestrogen shots on Mondays and Thursdays and starting Wednesday I will add one progesterone in oil (PIO) shot every night.  If I get pregnant from this transfer I will continue these shots throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. 

Nice clear day in LA.

Our 1.75 hr drive in today was MUCH better than the 3.5 hr chaos of last week in the rain.  Apparently it was a holiday (Columbus Day)???  How come teachers don't get this holiday?  Oh well.  The weather was beautiful today and we passed by all the touristy sites like the Hollywood sign, capitol records, and Universal Studios. 

Dan eating donut holes.

Picking out a treat from our favorite bakery

After our appointment we did our traditional post Dr. visit food hunt in the Farmer's Market at The Grove in LA.  Today we had a few donut holes, a Greek spinach and feta flat bread, and few goodies from our favorite bakery to take home.  I also peeked into my favorite French goods store but resisted the fabulous cheese counter this visit.  =)  It was a great day all around and we were able to get home just after noon so we had a nice chunk of time to get some chores done.

Our Greek spinach and cheese flat bread.

The French Market

I just have to say it one more time. . .I can't wait for our transfer on Monday!!!  Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers.  God has indeed been good to us in provision and encouragement through friends and family. We will be spending the night before the transfer in a hotel near the doctor's office so we don't have to fight LA traffic the morning of the FET. I will be sure to keep you all updated on our transfer when I get back to our house that night.

Pregnancy Tests and Patrick Henry

This week I taught Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech.  It is hard sometimes to passionately teach such amazing and historical works of art when your "audience" just turns to their neighbor and says (in a whiny, breathy voice), "This is soooo stupid."  Anyways, I digress. . . in Henry's speech he states his life philosophy, ". . .it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth . . . For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it."  I had my students reflect in their journals on the wisdom or foolishness of Henry's philosophy and compare it to how they approach difficulty.  I don't think in this passage Henry intends to communicate that we should not ever hope.  Hope when put in the right place/being is a good thing.  Here he chides his fellow colonists for putting their hope in something that is not worthy of their trust- the English government.  He encourages them to be grounded in reality; to open their eyes to the "painful truth" that war with England is coming and they should begin amassing an American militia to prepare for this war. 
When I reflect on how this philosophy relates to our embryo adoption situation I can see how I have struggled at times to be hopeful.  I like Patrick Henry think it is better to know the WHOLE truth even if it hurts so that I can move on, fight it, get prepared, etc.  I find myself at times thinking, "I just wish I could get to the transfer and two-week wait so I can just know if this transfer will work or not."   True to form today Dan and I went to Dollar Tree to purchase gobs of pregnancy tests so that I can know of our transfer results (good or bad) as soon as possible.  I know though that the hope I do have for a successful transfer is not ill placed.  As a follower of Christ my eyes have been opened to the reality that our purpose in life is to serve a loving, just, merciful, and wise God and not to seek personal fulfillment.  Sometimes his plans for my life do not match my own plans.  He may choose to have us go through a painful situation or he may choose to give us the desires of our heart.  Either way I can have peace in knowing that the one whom I hope in, the one who is my source of hope in our embryo adoption, is one who is worthy of my trust.  No matter what happens with this transfer we are acting according to His purpose for our lives in pursuing parenthood and embryo adoption and He will sustain us in difficult times and rejoice with us in times of blessing. 

I feel like I have so many more thoughts on this matter.  I think my EA blog buddies, Aaron and Jennifer who are preparing for their third transfer with the NEDC (their first two transfers did not result in a pregnancy) have beautifully expressed in their posts "Moving Forward",  "Thoughts regarding our third transfer", and "Balancing our emotions with God's truth"  how Dan and I feel about our own infertility/embryo adoption experience in relation to our relationship with Christ.  Please pray for them and for Dan and I as we approach our transfers in the upcoming weeks!

Progress?

Last Monday Dr. K increased my delestrogen shots from .2cc to .3cc since my dosage was not helping the lining of my uterus grow.  Ever since my first .3cc shot I have had very noticeable side effects which I did not have when I was taking the .2cc shots so I am guessing that the delestrogen is doing its job and I will have a nice thick uterine lining on Monday and our transfer will not have to be postponed.  I already have my sub plans made for my students on the days I have to take off work so it would be great not to have to re-plan everything if we have to postpone.  Only 9 days left before our transfer!!  I feel excited and really positive.  I know there is a chance the transfer might not result in a pregnancy but until that time I am choosing to be optimistic and so thankful that God has FINALLY brought us to this exciting crossroads in our journey to parenthood. 

L.A. County Fair

Hello everyone, this is Dan.  I thought I would share our adventure to the L.A. County Fair...enjoy!

In all my years in SoCal, it's surprising I have NEVER been to the L.A. County Fair. I didn't even know where it was. Pomona, CA (in case you didn't know either). Our friends Craig and Janee invited us to go with them after work on Wednesday, so we were excited to check it out.  We didn't let the rain stop us, there was actually a thunder storm on the way there.

One of the things I was looking forward to most was the FOOD! I heard they had “Pinks” world famous hot dogs, as seen on Bobby Flay's Throwdown on Food Network. I also was geared up to try some of those evil deep fried goodies everyone talks about: fried Twinkies, fried Snickers, fried avocado, fried Oreos, fried peanut butter jelly sandwich, fried White Castle burger...no, I'm not kidding. Just to name a few. As we walked in the gates I immediately smelled the fragrance of funnel cake, kettle corn, and chocolate covered bacon in the air. Oh look, there's Pink's!

Time to EAT! What should we get? Classic Pinks dog...Nah. Jumbo Mustard dog...getting warmer. Ah yes, the Huell Howser, one bun, two Pinks dogs, extra chili, extra cheese, and onions.

The fair grounds are so huge, it took us about 30 minutes just to walk from one end to the other, and that didn't include going up and down each row of: food, games, rides, exhibits and shops. We decided to check out the animals first for the kids' sake. Okay, for the grown ups too!

There were 100's of animals but I was intrigued the most by the pigs. How ironic after just finishing off a ½ pound chili cheese dog. This bad boy was a dainty 675 pounds.

When we finished our rounds I was on a mission for a deep fried frenzy. And what a frenzy it was. Rather than pay $6.50 for a fried cookie or cake or candy bar, I decided...hey why not go for a pound of garlic curley fries served in a giant cone. Oh yea! Elizabeth got one of those fresh squeezed lemonade drinks. It was so refreshing.

What about dessert? A bucket of fresh, deep fried, mini donuts sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar, and...wait for it...powdered sugar. Yes, that is MY name on the side of the bucket. There were about 35 of the best-est, warm-est, yummy-est mini donuts EVER! I washed this down with a hot cup of fresh brewed coffee. So far, I'm loving the LA County Fair.

No, we didn't go on any rides...probably a good thing considering what we ate, if you know what I mean.

For inquiring minds. . .

This is what happens in a 5dt (5 day transfer):

-1dpt (day post transfer) ..embryo is growing and developing
0dpt... Embryo is now a blastocyst
1dpt....Blastocyst hatches out of shell on this day

2dpt.. Blastocyst attaches to a site on the uterine lining

3dpt.. Implantation begins,as the blastocyst begins to bury in the lining

4dpt.. Implantation process continues and morula buries deeper in the lining

5dpt.. Morula is completely implanted in the lining and has placenta cells & fetal cells

6dpt...Placenta cells begin to secret HCG in the blood

7dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops

8dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops

9dpt...HCG levels are now high enough to be immediately detected on HPT (home pregnancy test)

So. . . we should know if the embryos implanted on October 27th.  

Mock Transfer Report

Today Dan and I made it through 3.5 hours of LA traffic in the rain (plus 2.5 hours on the way back) to the FET Dr.'s office for our mock transfer.  In the mock transfer he maps out my insides so he knows its shape and how far to place the embryos.   Good thing because apparently I have a very crooked uterus.  (TMI I know. . .)  Then he did an ultrasound and blood work to check the lining of my uterus to see if my meds are working.  The lining was not getting thick enough so we had to increase the dose of my delestrogen this week and we will check it again next Monday.  I did find out that if my lining is not the right thickness next week that my transfer may be delayed by one week.  We will know at the Oct. 11th appointment if Oct. 18th is still our transfer day.  If my lining is good next Monday we will begin our progesterone in oil (PIO) shots on Oct. 13th.  I will only have to take them once a day through the first trimester.  (Yea! because I thought I had to take them twice a day for some reason.)   Looking forward to meeting our babies in two weeks (hopefully)!  I hear that Dr. K will get a picture of the embryos before they are transferred.  Before we lost our baby in 2008 to miscarriage at six weeks we had gone to an Ob/Gyn for an ultrasound when I was having bleeding.  We got to see our baby before it died and she took it's picture and put it in our file.  I have always been glad that we got to see the picture of it but sad that we were not given that picture to keep.  I will be glad that we get to keep a picture of our embryos even if they don't make it to birth.  AND if the embryos do make it to birth that picture will be a powerful testament to the precious lives that they are.  Life begins as a small cluster of cells and grows to become a baby.  Amazing.

Oh to be a cat. . .

On this Saturday morning we are doing chores, taking care of important business, and I am working on grades for my students.  Doesn't my cat Figgy look extra comfy?  Dan's first time giving me my delestrogen shot on Thursday night went well.  It took us a while to actually do the shot.  I got nervous then Dan got nervous which made me more nervous but then he just did it and it was much easier than he thought it was going to be so we should be good for our next shot on Monday night.  Monday is our mock transfer and they will also make sure the shots are doing their job in getting my body ready for the transfer.  Only 16 days until our transfer!  I can't believe we are this close after 7 years of waiting to parents.  I am going to start filling my mp3 player with music that will help pass the time during the transfer.  I am also going to lots of spin classes and using my new Bosu before I have to go on bed rest  for several days after the transfer.  I already feel like a marshmallow from not working out like I usually do because I've been sick for the last three weeks.  I'll post again Monday night to give a report on our mock transfer.