[BabySteps]

Hello! I am new here and very happy that I found this forum! From the posts I have read I am amazed at the kindness, understanding and support that is expressed. I am still trying to figure out how to use this forum...so bare with me...I'll check out the acronyms soon ...as for now they are a bit new to me...

I am 40, happily married to wonderful man and we have 2 adorable funny cats. I have a very low ovarian reserve so we just tried our 1st IVF with an ED on Dec. 22. I did quite a bit of research before we began but we still have so many questions. The 2ww and uncertainty is already getting to me along with my hormones. I think it would have been easier if we had eggs left over to freeze. It may sound crazy to be worried about having no frozen eggs when I don't even know yet if I am pregnant or not but it could take a few cycles to get our

We chose an ED who is young, healthy, has 4 children of her own, a previous ED where the recipients got pregnant and delivered healthy babies. As a bonus the ED even looks quite a bit like me. My Dr. retrieved 20 eggs, 15 fertilized and looked good until day 4 when many of them stopped dividing. My Dr. transferred the surviving 3 embryos so we are that we get a on Jan. 3!!

Has anyone has a similar experience where there were a large quantity of eggs and then most of them arrested? This shocked us and even our Dr. because they started out as high quality embryos!!! I would be interested in hearing other people's experiences and I look forward to reading more posts!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!!

[Kay]

babysteps- just wanted to you! for a BFP for you on this transfer. Keep us posted!
Kay

[BabySteps]

Thanks for the welcome Kay. Best of luck to you in Feb!

[odmom2b]

Shelley--Big Welcome!!!! It looks like we have a few things in common. I used an ED also due to low ovarian reserve, and I had my ET on Dec. 11. You are a week or so behind me. You should be having your first Beta soon, right? Oh, the wait b/w the ET and the Beta was horrible. I tried to keep my mind off of it, but everything that I did caused me to worry that I might have messed everything up w/one wrong more. I cheated and did a home pregnancy test first 6 days and then 8 days after the ET. The result on the first test was a very weak positive and the result on the 2nd test was a stronger positive. That was the first positive HPT result that I had EVER had!!!!! I was thrilled! The clinic told me that if I had tested on the day of the Beta blood test, that the result would have most likely been very accurate. Remember, though, the Beta can pick up lower levels than the best HPT, so it is always best to see what the Beta is before jumping to conclusions either way.

I'm sorry, I don't know what happened w/the development of the eggs. I have not heard of that happening, but I'm sure that anything is possible. We had really good results w/ours and we only transferred one out of 5 possible. So, we have 4 frozen snowbabies. My DH and I were worried about multiples, especially because I have had two myomectomies where my uterus was cut on to have fibroids and adenomyosis removed. I don't know if we were wise or not in not transferring more than one, but that's what we decided to do at the time.

Good luck--when is your Beta? I'll be anxious to hear how things go!

[BabySteps]

Hi odmom2b. Thank you for the welcome. I am new here and just found out how to subscribe to threads ... I could not find this one for a couple of days. It is nice to have something in common! Good luck on your u/s!

My DH and I talked again about HPT and we decided not to do it. I am telling you that I get the urge all the time and if I did have one at home I would have done it. I have mentally gone through things in my mind (like crazy) for almost 2 wks now. If it does not work I will take a couple of days to destress and try to put the pieces of my broken heart back together again. I will cry to sleep, wake up drink a pot of coffee, eat potato chips for lunch, followed by some more junk food and then wash it down with a few beers! LOL I am only saying that because I have done everything to make myself healthy for this beginning months ago! I do miss my morning coffee!

My beta is Jan 3
Did you do a 3 day or 5 day ET? Mine was day 5. On day 3 I had 10 good embryos...so who knows what would have happened if they transferred on that day? The poor ones could have arrested inside me just like they did before day 5 or maybe they would have done better in the uterus? I could worry myself crazy with the possibilities!!

It must be comforting to know that you have frozen embryos!! I searched for months to find the perfect donor so it was a big let down when we had no eggs to freeze. I even went as far to think if it worked this time in a year or 2 we could try it again so our child would have a biological sibbling...(greedy I know..)

Best of luck! I will be thinking positive thoughts for you!

[odmom2b]

Shelley--I know, the waiting is HORRIBLE. Plus, everything that I did worried me. Then, I would get a tinge here or there and think that I was losing the embryo. Crazy thoughts, I know, but it's what happens during such times! I totally know about the caffeine and potato chip thing. However, I have lost ~8 pounds from my heaviest since starting to watch my diet more, so that IS a nice little plus--in addition to hopefully having a healthy baby!

We did a 5 day transfer. That's what they advised. I know, it's a gamble either way. It's so hard to know. At 5 days, the embryos that have made it have a really good chance of implanting, so that's a good argument for a 5 day transfer. Try not to worry about that now--I know, easier said than done, but try to put that out of your head. I'll bet that a 5 day transfer was a really good bet. Who knows--you may have plenty of siblings for your baby(ies)!

Be sure to let us know how your Beta goes. I will for your !

[BabySteps]

Odmom2b I am praying that your next u/s is great!! I got my today. Oh boy it was a really long day.... I gave blood at 8am and I did not find out until 4 pm. The nurse told me that I was VERY pregnant with a Beta of 2542! wow I get my 2nd Beta this Saturday. I am so happy but I am cautious at the same time. I have a feeling the worrying continues.....but atleast I have a good start!!

I do not know what they look for in an u/s so I am not sure what to say about yours. Sorry but I do pray that everything looks perfect for the next one!

[bd711]

Wow! Such a fantastic BETA. Is this just 14dp ET? That number's fabulous, BabySteps. Congratulations!!!

[BabySteps]

Thanks. The number did shock me a bit. I really don't have symptoms except feeling tired most of the time. (I did just wake up at 2:45 am a few minutes ago though..but I will go back to bed soon...my mind is still spinning)

bd711, it is 12dp ET!!!!

Last night my husband scanned the pictures of the embryos and u/s of ET and emailed them to me with the captions..Here are the twins and here are the twins in Mommy...LOL It was so cute. He is so happy!

[BabySteps]

Hey bd711 I just noticed that you are or may be considering an egg donor. Have you began to search for one? We used an egg donor. I have a very low ovarian reserve and was only given about a 5% chance of success using my own eggs so we did not even try. For me the choice was easy. Good luck. Let me know how it goes!!

[FurBaby]

Congrats BabySteps! Your beta sounds like mine.

When is your first u/s sound?

Hugs,

[bd711]

Hey Babysteps (btw - love your screenname) - If you were just 12 dpt, you may be doubling your family size soon!

Yeah, we've decided to use an egg donor. We actually just made a final selection and paid some money down, so the process has begun. I'm both excited that this could finally work - and scared out of my mind that it might not.

I feel like a bit of a freak in this ED thing - my FSH number is still pretty good for my age (7.1), my IVF yeilded 10 eggs (7 fertilized and by day 5, I had 3 good looking embryos), and I've gotten pregnant 3 times. All that said, it seems that my egg quality is probably very bad. And I don't want to go through this several times again on the off chance that my eggs might produce a child. As my dr said, moving to ED makes sense biologically, financially, but (maybe most importantly) emotionally. If all checks out with our donor, we're set to go in March.

Your Beta gives me major hope. I'm so glad to have found this community of supportive (and fun) women to share in this journey. Keep us updated on your betas, etc. B

[BabySteps]

bd711, I had the same feelings you did about the ED and being a bit scared about it not working. They retrieved 20 eggs, 15 were fertilized and 10 where good until the day of the transfer we found out only 3 divided properly and could be used. One was actually poor quality by then and would not have done well to be frozen so we decided to put them all in. It should have been one of my happier days but I admit I cried for a couple of days at the thought of having none to freeze and wondering if the 3 in me would stop growing. She was a proven repeat donor and young mother of 4.

There was so much time, money and most of all emotional energy that went into the donor selection and preparing for the cycle...plus my hormones were really wired! All I can say is that if I need to go through this again...I would because I do believe it is worth it!

With all the testing and set backs it seems like a long journey to get to where I want to be...but eventually I will get there...hence BabySteps. Most days it really feels like I am taking baby steps!!

[BabySteps]

Hi FurBaby!!! Wow it is great to see another Canadian here!!!! I am one too!!! I was born and raised in Ontario and moved to Alberta and live there for about 9 years before moving to California in 2006!

I will find out when my u/s is next week after my 2nd beta. They did say that it would be in 2 weeks...just not sure of the date. Wow your first beta was really high too.

Did you have to come to the US to get the donor eggs? I am not sure if it has changed but in 2004 I was told that I could not buy donor eggs in Canada and that I would have to travel to the States for the procedure.

[odmom2b]

Congratulations Shelley!!!! That is wonderful!!!!!! I am so happy for you. Yes there will still be moments of worry, but obviously you are over the largest hurdle so far. Wow. That is a great Beta. Please let us know how the Beta is on Saturday. Do you know when your first u/s will be?

Hey, have a great time and enjoy the first few days of your pregnancy! Any pregnancy symptoms yet?