The numbers

17 eggs were retrieved from our donor this morning.

My lining was a "perfect" 8 mm, triple-stripe pattern.

We are planning a 5-day blastocyst transfer on Monday and will be getting daily updates from the embryology lab until then.

Off to a good start!

Does anyone else. . . .

find it odd that I am on a higher dose of estrogen than someone who is in the process of a gender reassignment from male to female?  I am taking 10 mg a day of Es.tra.ce, 4 mg in the morning and 6 mg at night.

No wonder I feel. . . . not-quite-myself.

Update on N and Baby W

You may recall my post about my friend N and her baby a few weeks ago.  I haven't provided an update, so I wanted to today.

N's cerclage was placed, and she got through the critical first 48 hours without pre-term labor and was released to home bedrest.  N had her two week post-cerclage appointment with her MFM Monday.  Baby W appears to be doing very well; she was 24 weeks 3 days at the appointment and was measuring two days ahead per usual. Everything else looked fine according to the doctor, and he was very optimistic that N would make it to term.

The MFM was prepared to release N from bed rest to light activity, but she is waiting to see what the regular OB has to say later this week. Once she gets past 28 weeks without issues, she should be able to return to her office as long as the OB agrees.

Thanks again for your prayers, which have helped to get them this far.  Please continue to keep N and Baby W in your thoughts and prayers.  Every day Baby W can remain in utero improves her chances once she is born.

Retrieval Wednesday

I should have updated the blog yesterday but got busy with other stuff.

The weekend nurse saw our donor again yesterday for a follow up ultrasound. She had approximately 35 follicles with her leading follicles measuring 16-25mm. Dr Dumbledore recommended she come back in today for another ultrasound and trigger tonight, with egg retrieval on Wednesday.  (I actually don't know whether she is taking additional stims or just "coasting" until tomorrow night's trigger; the nurse's original email didn't say, and by the time I got it hours later--I was in a movie when it arrived--it was too late to ask.)

I will receive another update today after her appointment .  I have been mildly concerned that things have been pushed out one day later than I expected, but I realize stimulating ovaries is not an exact science, and I have to trust Dr. Dumbledore.  I mean, if I don't think he knows what he's doing, why are we doing our cycle with him?  Lord knows I did enough research before picking St. Mungo's.  And they don't have an 85% success rate on fresh cycles for nothing.  So I am going with the flow and trusting that he knows the best thing.

So MM and I will be traveling tomorrow evening for our appointment at St. Mungo's Wednesday morning.  It's going to be an exciting week

To POAS or not to POAS

[For those not in the know, POAS = pee on a stick, i.e., take a home pregnancy test (HPT).]

I have never really been one who is fond of early POAS.  From my days on a popular fertility charting website and from reading numerous infertility blogs, I know that many women like to test "early and often."  But after a few early disappointments in the halcyon days of early TTC, before we knew we would have problems, I was turned off POAS.  I hated that sinking feeling in my stomach when I checked the HPT only to see a stark white space where the second line should be.  As a consequence, the only times I've taken HPTs in the past two-and-a-half years have been when I have been directed to do so by a doctor.  (And our RE required a HPT at the end of every treatment cycle and would only draw blood for a beta hCG test if the HPT was positive.)

From others who have cycled there, I have learned that St. Mungo's does your first beta hCG test 11 days after a 5-day blastocyst transfer.  Assuming egg retrieval on June 7 and transfer on June 12, that would make my blood test June 23, which is a Thursday.

I realized recently that our embryo transfer is the week before Father's Day.  That means, in theory, that I could take a HPT on Fathers Day and have some chance of its being positive if our cycle worked.

On the other hand, even if our cycle worked, testing 7dp5dt *could* be a little too early to get a positive.  It would be a bummer to get a negative any day, but particularly on Father's Day.  (And obviously we could get a negative because the cycle was a failure, too.)

In addition to the fact that it would be GREAT to get a BFP on Father's Day, if I am going to test at home before beta, I would want to do it on a weekend morning.  Testing on a workday morning is no good, whether it's a positive or negative.  If it's a negative, I'll be bummed and preoccupied.  If it's a positive, I'll be THRILLED and preoccupied.

So I guess my options are to test on Father's Day or not test at all until beta.  What would you do?

I think if I do POAS on Father's Day, I will keep it to myself unless I get a positive.  No point in bumming MM out, too.  Also, I know he is opposed to early testing and thinks I should just what for the blood test.

Wow

Our donor was seen at St. Mungo's today, and she had 35+ follicles, with the largest measuring 14-21mm in size.  (Obviously not all of these follicles will have eggs/mature eggs in them, but our nurse said "this is a great number to have prior to egg retrieval.")  Her estrogen level was "solid" (1509--anyone know if that's good?), and Dr. Dumbledore asked her to return on Sunday for another visit. 

There is a good chance she will be triggered for egg retrieval on Sunday.  If so, the retrieval would be on Tuesday, which is what we have been anticipating.  I will have my final passing ultrasound at St. Mungo's the same morning, and MM will produce his "fresh sample."  (We already have a sample cryopreserved, too, just in case.)

If the donor is not triggered Sunday, then she will return Monday for a visit, and her retrieval would be Wednesday.  That will mean moving my appointment.  The weekend nurse will update us after the donor's appointment on Sunday.

Either way, we will (we hope) have embryos growing in the St. Mungo's lab by next week!  :-)

First follicle check

Our donor had her appointment at St. Mungo's this morning, and I found out the results from our nurse this afternoon.  She has approximately 30 follicles growing, with the largest of those at 14-16 mm.  She will be starting Ce.trot.ide tonight to help prevent ovulation and continuing her stims.  She will have her next monitoring appointment on Friday, and we will see where she's at then.

Our nurse said the donor is "pretty much exactly" on pace with where she has been at this point in her previous cycles, so that's good news.  In that case, it sounds like we are still on track for her triggering on Sunday and having the eggs retrieved this coming Tuesday.

Wow.  Less than a week from now.

[You are all probably getting sick of hearing me say "wow" and marvel at how close this is getting!  LOL]

So glad things are on target!