We have a plan!...

Alright, I still haven't started my cycle, so I can't officially say we are set, but holy-moly it's coming because I am cramping and bloated and ready. Aside from that, we were still able to go see Dr. Jaffe and finalize our IVF plan, I will just have to go back once my cycle starts for blood work.

Now, bear with me, because it was a truck load of information and, well, I don't drive a truck. :) Lucky for me, unless you are going through IVF and I misspeak, you wouldn't know. HA!

After a lot of talk and thought we decided to more forward with a "standard antagonist protocol". Given my age, my AMH levels, Mike's specimen, etc. Dr. Jaffe feels like this is the best option. What the heck does this mean?... good question, let me try to break it down a little more.

There are different ways to reach the goal of egg retrieval, and different methods are preferred based on your personal test results. Being that we are younger,  my egg reserve levels are high (meaning I have a lot of eggs left), and Mike's sperm are Olympic athletes ;) we have chosen to go the more simple route [simple is being used loosely here, as none of this is simple]. So here is a timeline of our plan:

-On cycle day 3 I will begin taking birth control, we will continue on with that until somewhere around day 12.
-On the day we are to stop taking bc, I will have an ultrasound done, and unless something goofy happens, we will begin the stim shots the next day.
-Stim shots *should* run from cycle day 13-16, 4 days. At that point I will go into the office for another ultrasound. This is to check and make sure we are moving along, also to make sure we aren't over doing it as well.
-If everything is "on-track" we will be told to continue on with that pattern of shots and ultrasounds until the eggs reach 12mm in size. (Typically around day 18)
-Once the eggs are the correct size, we will do a trigger shot, precisely 36 hours later we will be doing the egg retrieval.
-Based on the fertilization response and the egg development, we will be doing the transfer 5 days after the retrieval. As long as I don't show any signs of hyper-stimulation, we will be doing a fresh embryo transfer of one fertilized egg. Any other eggs that made it through fertilization will be frozen. I am still trying to talk Mike into letting them pop 2 eggs in :)
-Assuming that everything goes perfectly (ha!) we would know if we are pregnant or not about 2 weeks later.

So for now, I just need my darn period to start! If it starts tomorrow I am looking at an egg retrieval in early July (around the 5th) and an embryo transfer around the 10th!

Whew, that was just a rush of emotion. I can't believe we are actually starting this process. I am nervous and excited and thrilled and scared all at the same time. While I am dreading all of the needles, I can't wait to get going and watch our babies grow! So much of this is just amazingly breathtaking to me! I know it is a ton of information to try and wrap your brain around, but I can't wait to see all of this unfold. From the time they take my eggs, they will call me each day with an update from the lab of how things are progressing, which is really neat.

I can't say enough wonderful things about Dr. Jaffe and her nurses at The Center for Reproductive Medicine, here in Orlando. Positivity radiates off of all of them, and every time I am there, they make you feel like you are more than just a patient. My favorite nurse, Michelle, was going over all of this with me today, and she just kept reinforcing that we are on the right path, and that we are going to be a success story for them. They all know about my medical history, and the fact that I was fertile prior to my emergency cyst surgery. She and Dr. Jaffe both were so nice and so encouraging to us today, and as we were leaving I heard Dr. J say "I just love that couple". While I was in with Michelle, she kept telling me how much we deserve this after everything we've been through in the last 5 years. It feels good to know you aren't just a number, and that they can't wait to congratulate us when we are finally pregnant!

In all of this I will continue to just hand it all over to God. He has brought us this far and every time I have felt a door slam shut, He has opened a new one. I can barely speak about the process without tearing up and I am just in awe of God's greatness. The ability to potentially watch your baby from the moment of conception on is a miracle to me, a true testament to the power of God. I am totally aware that we aren't pregnant yet, and while it is impossible to not get my hopes up, I also rely on the sovereignty of the Lord. If this treatment works, the first time, and fills my belly I will shout out in praise, if it doesn't and we are forced with what's next, I will shout out in praise as well. This isn't the beginning or the end for us, and no matter what, for that alone I am so thankful!