Coming Home - with photos

It has been 2 weeks since we came home from Seattle.  What a 2 weeks it has been.  It took about a week for everything to really sink in.  There is nothing to describe the ride home on Sunday the 21 of September other then surreal.  As Jeff put it on the drive up on Friday we were "engaged" to this project, on the drive home Sunday we were "married".  There was no going back.

First baby picture

All 3 embryos survived the thawing process with some cell loss in each, but not enough to be of concern.  The doctors had been hesitant to put in all three embryos, but we felt very clearly called to close the whole bank of embryos from the family we had chosen.  Coming back to do this again wasn't really an option for us.  We were asked to sign a waiver that we were going against the doctor's recommendations.  All 3 embryos were inserted.

Getting ready to come home (no they aren't that big)

 The red circle has a small, white, comma shape in it which is a small amount of liquid containing all 3 embryos being placed near the uterus lining (the thick dark area).

Then came the waiting phase.  It is really hard to wait.  You know the babies have gone in, but you don't know if they will implant and you will become pregnant.  It can take several days for the embryos to actually attach to the uterus wall and start growing a placenta.   We knew we had a pretty good chance of success because Odessa was healthy, all hormone levels were in the perfect range, and the uterus wall was really thick.  But still you wait - usually 2 weeks to confirm with a blood test. 

In anxious anticipation most women will take several pregnancy tests at home during this time.  Some research online recommended a 9 day wait after day of embryos being put in (which puts you at the first day of a missed cycle in normal terms) to do a home test.  We wanted to wait until we would have a sure positive.  But tests come in boxes of 2 so of course Odessa decided to take one early...just to see:

Positive!! Just 7 days after the embryos were put in. BTW this mean NOTHING with trying to guess how many babies took.

Because we had a positive test so early, the RN moved the 2 week wait day up by 4 days to check for the pregnancy hormone hCG.  First check was a excellent level of 579 and a second check 49 hours later showed a 63% raise - a very good sign.  And we are done with blood draws!!!

The second week signs of being pregnant definitely started showing up.  Light morning sickness, fatigue, an already growing belly, and one crippling migraine have all joined us.

5 Weeks!!

Yes we are already 5 weeks along!  This is because of the age of the embryos and how pregnancy is counted from the first day of a woman's last menstrual cycle.  Our due date is June 8 if Odessa is able to carry full term (often pregnancies with multiples come early, but give Odessa's track record we will probably be just fine).

What are we doing now?  Most medications have stopped except vitamins, vitamins, vitamins!  A small amount of estrogen.  Oh, and progesterone shots - now twice a day.  Apparently with everything that is done to receive IVF embryos, a woman's system is completely shut down and won't make progesterone for itself once pregnant.  This is the hormone that keeps the body from immediately miscarrying.  It is very important. 

Odessa had had a small amount of cramping early on (felt very much like her earlier pregnancies) and the RN was concerned.  The RN wanted no uterus cramping at all and changed our protocol from 1 shot of 2cc once a day to 1.5cc twice a day.  For those who haven't seen how much that is before - it is alot of liquid for a shot.  This task has taken it's toll on Jeff as well as he has to administer the shots.  He hates needles and he has to massage in the oil for about a half hour after each shot.  His fourarms are getting quite buff!  But his hands are often numb.

What is next?  We have an ultrasound scheduled with a local OBGYN for October 21.  We should be able to see how many babies took and if we have good strong heart beats - we get to quit the shots.  We will have to continue supplementing progesterone until we are 13 weeks, but we can change to a different type.  

We feel as if leaps and bounds have been taken in our adoption journey, but there are still many unknowns, just as with any pregnancy.  We pray for strength to parent the children God has given us and for their safety.  They are truly in His hands.