Cycle #3...

Here is our Cycle Schedule for Cycle #3. 

Completed:
Lupron start date: 7.4.10

Coming Soon:
OCP (birth control pill) stop date: 7.9.10
Approximate date of suppression check: 7.15.10
Estrace start date: 7.16.10
Approx. date of endometrial lining check: 7.30.10
Last dose of Lupron: 8.2.10
Begin progesterone & prometrium: 8.3.10
Begin prednisone and doxy: 8.4.10
Embryo transfer is scheduled for Monday, August 9th, 2010
 
:)

Waiting for "the timeline"...

Looks like the weekof 8/8/10 is when we might be looking to conduct Transfer #3!

We'll hopefully have the timeline next week.

Yay!!  :)

The countdown to Transfer #3 is about ready to begin!

Following a very much anticipated conference call with Dr. H., it appears that we are ready to create the timeline for the Transfer #3, which should be finalized by the end of the week!

Each of us now has two frozen "Grade A" five day blastocycst embryos ("five day blasts"), and the idea at this moment is to transfer three of them to Jane.  Which three of the four isn't really a concern - we're just hoping for at least one healthy baby!

Woo-Hoo!!

2 More Frozen Embryos!

We were notified by the clinic today that two of the embryos fertilized by Potato #2 made it to nice Day 5 "blasts" - YAY!!  They are still keeping an eye on the third one, but we are excited, as we now have two nice frozen embryos each - almost enough to take over the world with!!

And there is another egg donor coming in this week, whom we also hope to receive more eggs to fertilize from.  So, though we are trying really hard to temper our excitement, we are really excited!!

Woo-Hoo!!!

WooHoo - there's an update!

Gee, sorry for not posting in so long - but there just wasn't anything to post.  :(

Now, after over a month of silence, we are happy to report that there is finally something to update everyone about!!

The clinic contacted us during April about an egg donor that will have eggs retrieved during the week of the 17th (if not sooner).  So, we while Potato #1 has two happily frozen 5 day blasts, we decided to use Potato #2's sperm for these eggs (assuming we get any).

Then this week, the clinic contacted us at the last minute about an egg donor  (literally for the next day).  We wound up with 3 eggs which were successfully fertilized with Potato #2's sperm.  Now the wait is on to see how many might actually grow to become happy 5 day "blasts"!  What a blast, man!  :)

Yay!

:)

And the wait continues...

We followed up with Dr. Handsome to make sure we are still on the radar, and are relieved to hear that we are.

At this point, we have two frozen "grade a blastocysts" and are just waiting for more available eggs to fertilize.

Ugh.  Thank goodness we are patient people!  :)

"Oh Sugar!"

We just learned that none of the last batch of eggs made it to cryopreservable embryos.

Bummer.  Ellen - are you following?!?  You really should put us on your show so that you and your audience can follow us along our journey towards parenthood!!

Oh well, we'll just look toward the next fertilization batch.

:(

Looks like we will have one more embryo to freeze!

Quick Update:

We received (4) eggs from the last egg donor, and following fertilization it looks like we have (1) really great grade A embryo that we'll be able to cryopreserve tomorrow!

Of course there is still the chance that there might be two!  I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

Oh, and btw, do you watch the Ellen DeGeneres show?  Well, Ellen is lookin to change lives, and is looking for folks to write in about anyone you know that may be having a tough time ( more at http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/respond/?PlugID=234).  Though we have jobs, and a roof over our heads, I am trying to see if I can get them interested in doing a story about surrogacy, as I don't believe they have done one yet.  Feel free to drop the show a line and give a plug for us - just reference our website so that they know where to go to read about us!

:)

No update to update the update yet...

So, we are anxiously waiting to hear if we got any eggs and fertilization action going on yet... more news as soon as we have some!

Next Egg Donor on deck!

We just got word that the next egg donor we hope to receive eggs from will likely start her stimulation medications this Friday, with an anticipated retrieval by the week of 3/1/10!

As for the status of the fertilized embryos, we wound up with two "Grade A" blastocysts to cryopreserve.  According to the Clinic, the vitirification process used in the cryopreservation provides for an average thaw rate of approximately 99%.

Yay!

Lets just hope that this doesn't become an Abbott and Costello skit!  Hey - who's on Third?  I don't know?!?  First Base!  nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!

Embryo Update...

According to Dr. H, the Clinic was able to cryopreserve two "Grade A (the best grade) blastocysts" today.

Tomorrow, perhaps some of the others will also make it to the blastocyst stage and they will be able to freeze them also, but at least today "we have two beautiful ones."

Woo-Hoo!

:)

Embryo Update...

As of Saturday...

Potato #1: (3) 8-cell embryos "(ideal)"
Potato #2: (1) 8-cell, (1) 4-cell , (1) 2-cell embryos

On Monday, any embryos that make it to the blastocyst stage get cryopreserved.  The most likely ones to do that are the ones currently at the 8-cell stage, but the others may get there too by then...

Current thought is to get 5 or six high grade blastocysts in storage before the next transfer...

:)

Quick Update!

As of this morning, four of the six "very nice looking mature eggs" retrieved yesterday have fertilized and we should have more info on how they are doing on Monday...

Our sperm was also broken out into three batches (with each batch containing each of some sperm from each of us), for future fertilization.

Meanwhile, we are reviewing another potential donor...

Yay!

Moving forward...

Hola everyone!

To paraphrase Mark Twain (and the Lowell Shallot), "rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated" and we are [albeit] slowly moving forward towards Transfer #3! 

Following several strategy discussions, here is our general plan of action:

1. We will be using eggs from several donors.
2. Both of us potatoes will provide our sperm, which will be frozen and thawed as needed for fertilization.
3. Donor eggs will be fertilized, and any resulting "good day-5 blastocysts" will be cryopreserved.
4. Once we each have a good number of frozen embryos, they will get thawed and transfered to Jane.
5. Assuming that several embryos attach, anything over two will be selectively reduced.

Today, 2/10/10:

• Both of us went to the Clinic and provided our sperm.
• Several "very nice looking mature eggs" were retrieved from an egg donor.
• The first batch of eggs were fertilized.  We should gain a better sense of how many fertilized tomorrow, and how many resulted in blastocysts on Monday.

Woo-Hoo!!     :)

And today's word of the day is...

dis-ap-point-ment   [dis-uh-point-muhnt] / [dɪsəˈpɔɪntmənt] / hear  **

-noun

1. the act or fact of disappointing: All of his efforts only led to the disapppointment of his supporters.
2. the state or feeling of being disappointed: Her disappointment was very great when she didn't get the job.
3. a person or thing that disappoints: The play was a disappointment.

Origin:

1. 1605-15; DISAPPOINT + -MENT

Synonyms:

1. failure, defeat, frustration
2. impasse
3. setback
4. fiasco
5. mischance
6. dissillusion
7. false alarm
8. flash in the pan

** Compliments of Dictionary.com (An Ask.com Service)

We received the call at 11:23am to let us know that we're not pregnant.  We immediately called Jane (not knowing if she had already received the results), and sure enough, she already had.  Needless to say, all of us were somewhat shocked.

Dr H called us this afternoon to follow up with us and discuss options.  Hearing from him really helped; more on that later.  For now, we are all trying to stay upbeat as we consider our next step in this journey.  Jane is doing okay, and though the Potatoes are a little bit mashed up, we haven't beome French Fries yet...

My apologies for not updating everyone sooner, but I'm sure you understand. 

Thank you all for your good thoughts, well wishes, and prayers.

Potatoes 1 & 2

Today will be a loooong day while we wait for the Pregnancy Results!

Jane's appointment is this morning, and we should know by noon if we are pregnant!  Wish us luck!  :)

We have frozen Embryos (yes, that's a GOOD thing)!!

This morning, the Clinic notified us that two of Potato #2's embryos had achieved the desired blastocyst stage, and had been vitrified/cryopreserved and stored!  YAY! 

I was also made aware of a great site that does a wonderful job of explaining the advanced assisted reproductive techniquest that we are using.  It provides a timeline, pictures, and statistics, and we really wish we had known about it before hand, as it is likely that it may have impacted some of our decisions to date!

Jane also went to get her estrogen and progestorone levels checked today, and they are "perfect."  The Clinic wanted her estrogen above 250, and her progesterone between a 10-47; Jane's levels were 357 and 25.9 respectively!  YAY!

So, we keep praying and hoping for good beta results next Friday, and really want to thank everyone for their continued well wishes, good thoughts, and prayers!

Thanks!

Potatoes 1 & 2

Embryo Pictures!

WOW - what a difference good eggs make for good embryos! Below are pictures of the two "perfect" day three eight-cell embryos (according to the embryologist and Dr H2) that were transferred to Jane today (on Day 3).

Potato #1's is a Day 3 EIGHT-Cell Embryo who, like his papa, likes Cuban food, long walks on the beach, Star Wars, Star Trek, playing guitar (with his extra fingers), pondering world peace (for which he hopes to one day receive a Nobel Peace Prize), and playing with his doggies. 














Potato #2's is a Day 3 EIGHT-Cell Embryo who, like his papa, likes Italian food, long hikes, gardening, family, and playing with his doggies.














Scroll down the page and compare these Day 3 embryos to the Day 5 embryos that were transferred to Jane back in August, and against the "generic" sample of a Day 5 eight cell embryo shown further below.

All I can say is "WOW!" I guess THAT is what a Day 3, eight-cell embryo is supposed to look like!!!

YAY - Now comes the hard part - the waiting!  We need to wait until the Friday after Thanksgiving to find out if we are pregnant (well, actually... if Jane is)!!  It is going to be difficult (not to mention wierd looking) to be walking around with all of our fingers and toes crossed for the next couple of weeks!!!

Calls, Calls, Calls... :)

8:45am Call #1: From Embryologist
Each of our batches have (3) "nice" 4-6 cells embryos, and (1) "beautiful" 8 cell embryo! Given how beautiful the 8 cells are, he is recommending that we transfer TODAY. Needless to say, we are kinda' surprised (as we didn't think today would be "the day"), but we are all for it - after all, the embryologist knows what he is talking about!! So, the donor team has been notified!

8:48am Call #2: From Clinic donor team
Jane has been called, and is scheduled to be in for the transfer at 11:15am. Unfortunately, due to the drive distance, this means we can't be there (earliest we could be there if we left immediately would be noon - ugh)! The Clinic will email us some paperwork to sign/pdf back to them.

8:50am Call #3: From Jane
Jane is excited that today is the day, though is equally surprised (as we were)! She is gearing up to get there, and will be hitting the road soon. We explained that we can't make it on time due to the distance, and she is understands (have we mentioned how awesome she is?).

8:52am Call #4: From Donor Team
Either Dr H2 or the Embryologist will be calling us to further discuss the embryos and the "transfer options." This may impact the paperwork we need to complete/pdf (?), so there will be a slight delay in the paperwork.

9:01am Call #5: To Jane
Called to update her on our conversation with the Clinic. Apologized again that we can't make it there for the transfer (as much as we really wanted to be there!). Invited her to lunch with us and our moms on Wednesday.

10:01am Call #6: From Dr H2 (Dr H's associate)
We each have (1) "perfect" Grade A embryos which are doing great, and are "exactly" what they want to see for transfer! In addition, Potato #1 has (3) "nice" embryos with 4-6 cells and Potato #2 has (4) "nice" embryos with 4-6 cells. Dr H2 indicated that given the perfect quality of the embryos, he really recommends transfering them today, and to let the additional embryos go on through Wednesday or Thursday in the hopes that they will develop into nice blastulas that we can cryopreserve. We may also choose to transfer some of the other embryos, but that may introduce additional risks including multiples, but the last thing we want is to create any risks for Jane, or additional multiples - two is definitely enough!! :) So, we agreed to go with the transfer of the perfect embryos from each of us, and to let the others grow out for cryopreservation! We also reminded Dr H2 about the pictures... :)

10:18am Call #7: To Jane
She is on her way to the transfer, excited and doing well! We updated her on our conversation with Dr. H2, and talked about how excited we all are!!

10:38am Email #1: From Donor Team
Paperwork to fill out, initial and sign re the "consent for disposition of embryos".

11:19am Email #2: To Donor Team
Initialed/signed documents re "consent for disposition of embryos".

Though we really are somewhat dissapointed that we can't be there for the transfer, we are really excited too! More info posted as it happens! Yay!!

Fertile Friday Update...

Dr. H called us a little while ago and gave us an embryo update:

• (14) Donor #414 eggs were thawed; and separated into two batches (one for each of us Potatoes)
• (1) Donor #414 egg wound up being immature
• (6) Donor #414 eggs in each were successfully fertilized (way to GO, sperm!)

Dr. H commented that this really is great proof of the quality of Donor #414's eggs, and that since so many fertilized and looked good, it appears likely that the transfer will actually occur on day 5 (Wednesday), rather than on day 3 (Monday).

Since they don't like to distrub the embryos, they will be next checked on Monday morning to see how they are progressing and give us a call with an update.

Yay!! :)