IVF Transfer #2

IVF starts with stimulating the ovaries to harvest eggs that will be used during fertilization. We had the harvesting done in July, 2015. We chose based on our beliefs about life to only fertilize 6 eggs (read more about our decision-making process). In July, we fertilized 6 eggs: 3 embryos stopped progressing, 3 developed into healthy embryos (1 was implanted on Day 5, 2 were frozen on Day 5 and 7). We implanted one of those embryos, became pregnant, and then lost our little one, Hadley Hope (See Hadley's Story), via an ectopic miscarriage on my left side.

Soon after that miscarriage, Evan and I moved across the country for our jobs, which we both love. Our move forced us to find a new team of doctors at SRM, and I’m thankful that the Lord lead us to another team of incredible doctors. When so much is at stake and out of your control, having doctors you love and trust is pretty priceless.

In December, with input from our new medical team, we chose to have an elective surgery to remove my left fallopian tube. We were supposed to have this exact surgery during our previous miscarriage, but, frustratingly, our doctors in Massachusetts chose to cancel at the last minute. Thankfully, the surgery was went smoothly and was a success. Additionally, since it was no longer emergency surgery, they were able to take extra time to look around for other potential issues, and found and removed some mild endometriosis and adhesions. You don't always get to know the why, but in this case, I can see the Lord's hand in the cancelling of our original surgery. I am grateful to get to know our silver lining story, and thankful that the doctors were able to find and remove those issues, as they could have impeded a successful pregnancy. I had such an incredible support system during my recovery from surgery with my mom flying out to take care of me and friends from church and work helping out, too.

For this round of IVF, we still had 2 remaining embryos that were frozen during our last cycle. We chose again to only implant one embryo during this cycle based on the high success rates at my age and the risks associated with multiples. Our doctors cleared us to begin our next cycle after 3 weeks. Since this was a frozen embryo transfer, we did not have to do a harvesting surgery, which makes the whole process was much less intense and difficult. The frozen embryo transfer only involves taking hormones and injections, and at a lower dose than a harvesting cycle. On the night of Amazon's post holiday party (hence the picture), I even surprised Evan (and myself) by running to home to give myself the injection!