Baby Davis the Sequel's First Beginnings

Katie arrived in Knoxville Sunday night after a few flight delays (never fails). We left at 8:00 am Monday morning, July 8, for the transfer of Graham's sibling in Nashville! We dropped him off at his Gran's house in Crossville and got to Nashville around 11:00 and got all scrubbed up.

The embryologist came in and showed me my tiny baby's very first picture. I was a bit concerned because it didn't look like Graham's embryo picture. It reminded me more of the embryo that Brad and I transferred years ago that failed so I felt panic start to well up inside me. I asked her to be honest with me. Was this an embryo that had a great chance to implant or are we looking at a slim chance? She assured me that it looked great and that it had already begun to hatch from the outer shell. It was a 5BB (6AA is the best grading you can have there) so it still has a great shot. I felt a sense of peace come over me then and now all that was left to do was transfer this little sweetie!

We rolled Katie into the surgery room and the embryologist wheeled the embryo in for me to take a look through the microscope. There it was! So tiny but very much alive and ready to become my baby. Tears started to flow and continued throughout the transfer. The embryologist noticed my emotions and said, "No matter how many times we do this, it's always very special." And she's right. This is our 8th transfer and although I only have one live baby to show for it, every minute I have spent with them has been a very intimate time with all of my babies. So no matter what happens I will always have this moment. And I will always be your mommy.

Katie is already 75 shots in at this point because of our cancelled cycle so this baby is already giving her a tough time! She has been feeling lots of pressure and cramping in these days past the transfer so the baby is trying its best to dig in. She already feels symptoms but it's tricky when you are on progesterone which mimics symptoms so only time will tell. No positive home tests just yet but we've still got plenty of time for that second line to show up. Graham and I already have something planned just in case we get to make a big announcement this week. Beta is July 19 but we will know either way before then.

I could not be more thankful for this girl. She endures so much for us and never complains about what I already know is a tough road to making babies. There is no greater sacrifice in the world than being a surrogate. And she loves my little boy so much. I hope she gets the chance to love on his sibling for 9 months too. Come on little baby. You can do this!!!!

The tiny baby is in!!!!

One last test, maybe forever

I had one FRER left so I thought why not? Dumb idea but you always have that little bit of hope right? Today is 13DP5DT so I'm completely out but yet I still have to go do that beta tomorrow. Since I had implantation spotting and still didn't get pregnant, I really feel like putting those last two completely beautiful embryos in me is a death sentence for them. We have been talking about several options: gestational carrier, adoption and living child-free. The last one scares me and I don't think either one of us are ready for that road. I'm not sure we will ever be ready for it but we are getting to the end of this journey. We have literally tried almost everything. I think it's time to say goodbye to my uterus and to tell you the truth, it almost feels good to say that. Even if I did get pregnant I would just be waiting to miscarry it and that's no way to live. When do you say enough is enough?

BFN 10DP5DT

As most of you already know, I should be getting a faint line at this point. I'm not.

So I called my clinic today asking if I could skip the beta on Tuesday and stop my meds, which they said yes to last month when I was getting negative tests. For some reason this time I can't. I don't know if it's because it was my embryo last time and they knew it was crappy and wouldn't work or what??? I even told them that most people do a beta at 9DP5DT and they said that was too early. We all know this is not true. She also said pregnancy tests aren't that reliable but we all know that a FRER is! So I get to drive an hour to get blood work on Tuesday so that they can call me back to tell me the bad news. I'm going to have them call Brad instead. I can't handle any more bad news.

POAS 5DP5DT

I've heard of people getting a faint positive at day 5 so I thought I'd try it. BFN. I know it's still early so I'm definitely not out yet but I thought it would be nice to see on Father's Day. :( Hoping to post a pee stick in the next few days followed by a nice beta.

FET in Cincy

I am going to document this right now in case this is the one that actually sticks! Some of this probably won't interest everyone but I want to savor every moment of this process.


We left on Sunday, June 8th, to travel to Lexington to stay with my good friend Meghan. She always generously offers her fully finished basement to us anytime we are making our trek North! Unfortunately we got there so late that we didn't get to visit with her and just went straight to bed. I woke up the next morning and went upstairs to hug and talk for about 10 minutes. She wished us luck and prayers and we were on our way to Cincinnati for my scan to check my lining.

When we arrived in the parking lot, I saw this on the back of someone's car!

For those of you who aren't aware, Grant is the name of our first baby. I got pregnant the first month we were trying and miscarried shortly after at 6 weeks. Even though we miscarried so early and of course didn't know the sex, we figured it was probably a boy since the Davis side is boy-heavy. Grant will always be our first baby. Back then we were so naive, never thinking I would miscarry but even when I did, knowing I would get pregnant easily since I had this time. Those were the days! Thanks for my little piece of Grant that day Jesus!



So we went inside for my ultrasound to check my lining.The doctor said my lining was good at 7mm and everything was on track for our transfer in the morning at 10:00! Since we hadn't eaten yet we decided to go to the mall because there was a Cheesecake Factory there. Yum. I don't normally get dessert at lunch but today we had reason to celebrate!

I know that's a lot of chocolate. Don't judge me. 

After lunch we went straight to Pottery Barn Kids. It's always nice to go there anytime we have a chance at actually using the stuff they sell. The salesgirl asked if we were registered and I explained our situation. She wished us luck and told me that if it works they do complimentary room design. Yes please!!!!We looked around and I found the cutest stuff. A girl can dream, right? I do this every   time and it hasn't ever worked out but I will not let infertility steal my joy or hope.

We went back to the hotel to take a nap then caught a ferry over to the Reds game. They didn't win but it was still a lot of fun.

Catching the ferry

 After the game we went to the brand new Casino called Horseshoe. We got a gross hamburger at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville inside and then I put $5 in a slot machine. I'm not much of a gambler so $5 was my limit. Turned out pretty well for me!

The next morning was the transfer. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott which was across the street so I got to sleep in, my favorite! I'm so hoping I won't get to do that for too much longer. Anyway, as I was on my way to change into my gown, hairnet and booties, the nurse said, "Did you hear the good news? Your embryo made it and it looks beautiful!" I couldn't believe it. Yes I know that doesn't mean it will implant but the fact that our own little guy survived was so unbelievable considering what we've been told about embryo quality. Of course I'll be upset if it doesn't work but this cycle two things worked: I made an appropriate lining for my baby and my baby survived. Not too shabby!

Without further ado, here he/she is! They said it started expanding just like it should as soon as it thawed. Grow baby grow!!!! Stay tuned for poas. :)

FET Success!

I will do a more detailed post later but I wanted to fill you in quickly. Our FET went great! My lining was 7mm and my own genetic embryo survived the thaw. It was already expanding so now it just needs to grow and implant. I'm so hopeful and excited. I covet your prayers during the 2ww.

It's almost time

Pregnant or not? I don't know and it's driving me crazy. Last week was awful of course because it was too early to test so you just live in ignorance. But now it's almost time. It's almost time to poas and I'm scared to do it. If I do it too early then it might be negative even if it's going to be positive. But I can't wait too late because I have autoimmune issues that cause me problems in early pregnancy. If I get a positive test then I will need to immediately get my beta so I can get my immune tests drawn again to see if my numbers have climbed due to the embryo implanting. The girls at Coram aren't going to like me very much if I call them again to schedule an infusion that I may or may not need. I've had to cancel two so far; one because I didn't get pregnant last cycle but the other because my numbers were super good!

The truth is I will probably poas Thursday morning. That way I can go get my beta Friday morning and work on my immune tests for the following Monday. Monday will be 14dpIUI and it may take a day or two to get the results. Hopefully that won't be too late to save the baby if my body wants to destroy it. The trick is getting an infusion appointment quickly. Part of me wants to go ahead and just do one again but that's a lot of money to spend if my numbers are fine.

Be ready to see some pee sticks at the end of this week! Prayers are appreciated as always.

Double IUI

Thanksgiving morning was spent at my RE's office getting an ultrasound and then we were sent over to the hospital for an E2 draw. He said it looked like I had 4 follicles that would be ready soon. He told us he would either call us that night or Friday morning to let us know what the next steps were. He asked us if we had a trigger shot at home and we told him yes.

So Thanksgiving came and went with no call. I didn't think to ask him if I still needed to stay on my 150IU of Follistim so I just took it. I figured if he wanted me to stop he would've said something. So he calls Friday around 12:00 to let me know we will be doing the IUI in the morning. I said, "But what about triggering?" He said, "Didn't you trigger last night?" and I told him no. He said he told me to trigger if I didn't hear from him last night. I never heard him say that and neither did Brad. So now I'm freaking out thinking I have screwed up this entire thing. The NK cells are low, the cytokines are low, I responded well but not too much to the Follistim and now this? UGH! So I told him I took more Follistim and he said that wouldn't really matter. Thank goodness! He said we could still do the IUI in the morning if I go trigger right after we get off the phone. I did. I also peed on a OPK to make sure I hadn't ovulated on my own yet and I hadn't. Disaster averted hopefully!

I contacted my consultant to let her know what happened and to get her opinion on my mistake. She said it might be a good idea to do a double IUI and Brad and I agreed with her. We had the first IUI at 7am Saturday morning. He did an ultrasound to make sure I didn't ovulate on my own yet and I hadn't. This time he said he saw 5 instead of 4 and that made me feel better for our chances. We asked him if we could do a double and he agreed that would be fine. He said it wouldn't up our chances a ton but it could help. I told him since I responded so well this time we would like the best chance possible, even if it only helps a few percentages.

We went back this morning, Sunday, for the second one. I was having lots of cramping before the procedure on my left side along with some CM so I was pretty sure it was happening! I had 4 out of the 5 follies on the left. I pointed to the spot that was cramping and he said that's about the right spot! Come on follies!!! I need all 5 to release in hopes that at least one or two are good eggs. At my age you just never know. ;)

So now we wait. Fortunately I will know ahead of time because I always do. I am going to start testing out the trigger in a few days so I'll let you know what's going on this time hopefully. I was just so disappointed in my response to Clomid last time that I didn't keep anyone in the loop. This time I am cautiously hopeful.

I think I'm pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do ya think? (That second one said 4th morning urine because I ran out of tests and had to go buy some so it's wasn't first morning.)My beta is tomorrow morning!!!!!During my other two IVFs I had already started on Tuesday so to make it to today is amazing. I have had some almost black spotting but not very much at all so I truly believe it was implantation bleeding Sunday and Monday. I think I'm in shock. I haven't seen two lines in four years. Wow. Thank you Jesus. My mourning is turning into dancing already!

Symptoms or side effects?

So I hate being on this Crinone progesterone gel. Yes, it's gross but that's not why I hate it so much. The side effects mimic pregnancy symptoms. Tiredness, sore breasts, enlarged breasts (ok that one I like),headaches,lower abdominal pain. So although the trigger shot is probably out of my system by now, I'm having all of these symptoms but you don't know if it's pregnancy or the progesterone. I'm trying to believe it's the medicine so I don't get my hopes up too much just to get let down again for the 400th time but it's hard not to think it could be something else when you boobs hurt this bad. Brad gave me a hug last night and I screamed. :/ Anyone else had these same symptoms while taking Crinone and gotten a BFN? I'm halfway through this 2ww and as you know everyday is the equivalent of two days. Come on Friday!!!!!!!

Hanging out in the 2ww!

Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me so long to post. Well my 8 embryos grew to day 5 and they picked out my two best ones to transfer on President's Day. The two they chose were one stage until blast and two stages until blast. The doctor said they have until day 6 so it was OK they weren't quite there yet but it still made me nervous. The transfer went well and they said they would call about the rest of them growing to blast to freeze.

They called on Tuesday with the news that none of my other embabies made it to blast. This news was so devastating. Not only was I sad that no one made it but also that maybe the quality wasn't very good. I know they put the best two inside me but still. (I would post a picture of them but my iPad isn't allowing me to post any pics right now.)

This Friday, March 2, is my blood test date. I'm planning on driving to Knoxville that morning, working a half day at school, then taking the afternoon off just in case the news isn't good. I don't think hearing news like that would be very good around a bunch of 4-year-olds. That is, if I make it without AF until Friday. Last IVF I started on Tuesday when the test was on a Friday. Waiting is sooooooooooooooo hard. I bought three HPTs today and I'm trying to wait until Wednesday to take one. If I get a negative then it will help prepare me for Friday. If it's positive, it'll give me hope.