It's a sad day for the world

I feel bad for the people that didn't get a chance know Elwood Lawler. They have missed out on a truly special individual. Someone that is extremely funny, witty, caring, brave and an overall wonderful person to know. Yesterday at 4:09 pm Grandad went to be with Jesus. He was 93 years old. He was in great healthy up until November when he started to have some pains. He was still living on his own and driving himself to Luby's on a daily basis.

On Christmas we were able to share the news of our pregnancy with him. We also got to tell him that our son will be named after him. Our son will be named Deacon Elwood. Deacon means servant and that actually describes Grandad very well. He was a servant to his country, his family, his friends, his church and most importantly to Christ. I can't wait for our little boy to grow up and hear all about Grandad and to see the video we have of him accepting his World War II medals. With a name like Deacon Elwood, he has a LOT to live up to but I'm pretty sure Grandad will be there with him, helping him along the way.

One thing about Grandad was that he had lost most of his hearing. So we either wrote him notes or yelled in his ear. When we told him our son's name he asked if we named him D.E.F. on purpose :) When Justin told him about our miscarriage his response was priceless. He said "Well I'll just stay deaf (DEF) until he gets here". That makes me wonder, with the timing of his passing and our transfer, did one DEF enter the world in the same time another was passing through?

Transfer Day - Take 2

Today was our transfer! We got there around 12:45 and got my Estrace refilled. Then we headed up to the IVF lab to check in. We were called back rather quickly and got dressed in our gowns and caps and went into the procedure room. When they did the initial u/s my bladder wasn't full enough yet so I had to wait about 10 minutes or so on the table for it to it to fill up more. Then the nurse came back in and did a second u/s, by then it was ready. Dr Dunn came in and we started. Within minutes it was over and I was pregnant. I laid in the dressing room on a bed for about 10 minutes and then we left. We had a nice lunch at Lupe Tortilla and then headed home. It was a big deal, but also an uneventful day at the same time. I've been sleeping and laying around since we got home.

I may start testing as early as Thursday, Feb 28th. However, that is still a bit early. But I know myself well enough to know that I will be dying to test by then!

I'll be posting a picture of the embies as soon as I get it scanned in. They look different than the first set we transferred, I hope that is a good sign!!!

I changed my mind about tomorrow....

No, I am not talking about the transfer. I changed my mind about doing the acupuncture again. Here is my list:

Pros:
Relaxing
Known to thicken lining

Cons:
Cost
Time strain (I want to relax at home tomorrow morning and sleep in)
No proof of benefits
Justin would have to wait in the waiting room for an hour

So after thinking about the pros and cons, I decided to cancel my appointment. I'm glad I did.

Acupuncture

I forgot to get on and post about my first acupuncture experience. I have to say that I didn't think it was that bad, but it wasn't great enough to have me going back week after week. However, I did agree to go tomorrow before my transfer. When I got to the office Lora (acupuncturist) greeted me and had me fill out a lot of paperwork. It was your typical new patient packet that you would fill out at the doctor's office. When I was finished I went back into the room with the table and her desk. She went over my answers on the paperwork and asked me some medical questions. She asked about my cycles, my headaches, my eating habits, etc.

Then...I got on the table. At this point I was mildly nervous but trying to act brave. She cleaned off the injection points on my stomach, legs, feet and scalp. Then she began inserting the needles. Some I couldn't feel and some were a little painful. The pain died down after 30-45 seconds though. After I had all the needles in she turned a heater on above me and left the room for 25 minutes so I could relax. That was the best part! It was very relaxing, I have to admit. But it was hard to get too comfortable b/c I knew she would be back any minute. I wish they gave you more time to just lay there. Finally she came back in and took out the needles and I got off the table. I felt little jolts here and there when she would insert the needles, but nothing life changing :) Although, I hope it was LINING changing. I've heard that acupuncture can thicken up your uterus lining, which makes implantation and pregnancy easier.

I am not really looking forward to doing it again tomorrow, but I figured I will be glad for the 25 minutes of relaxation before the transfer. I AM looking forward to the transfer though. It's all I have been able to think about. I remember the last transfer we had...it was such a great day. I hope we have the same type of fun and enjoyable time that we did back in December.

Almost there

4 more days until our transfer! I have had two PIO shots and now 2 bruises. Tina and I will be fasting for the next 3 days in order to forcus on praying for the transfer. I will be doing a liquid fast which will consist of a lot of juice, water, broth (with brown rice) and smoothies. I hope that during this fast I am able to push through and pray specifically for the FET.

Tomorrow I will being doing acupuncture for the first time. I made an appointment for Monday and for Thursday before the transfer. I'm going to have 4 big days of prepping my mind and body for Thursday.

I found out last week that a girl from the message board from Houston will be transferring the same day as me. I'm really excited about the chance to finally meet her in person. We've known each other for about a year online and have talked about getting together to hang out for a while now. My transfer is at 1 and hers is at 1:30. How cool is that?!?!

U/S Results

Wow, I can't believe it's been 10 days since my last post. I have wanted to get on here and just blog away, but I have had absolutely no updates so I didn't want to blog about nothing. But today, I have updates!

On the way in to the RE's office I was praying (don't laugh!) "God, please let me have a bulky uterus like Nicole today. I know it is unlikely that they will use that exact term, but just let me leave that u/s knowing that I am in great condition for the ET" So....the u/s tech wouldn't tell me anything. And my regular nurse wasn't there so I had another nurse give me the results.

She said "Your lining looks great, you are ready to go. It's a triple thick lining, that's perfect" I said "what does triple thick mean" and she said "means its perfect!" OMG, I started tearing up...as I do best, but played it off and kept talking :P

I started the PIO and medrol tomorrow and lower the estrace. My ET is Thursday at 1pm!!! And that is enough time for acupuncture before hand in the morning....what do you think? Should I go for it? She said there is no proof it helps, but it won't hurt. She said she noticed her patients are more relaxed after it, if I am stressed it may be good.

I am so excited about my PERFECT lining. That was God walking right into that room with me and saying "Jennifer, I said I would take care of you". So now my big decision is: TO ACUPUNCTURE, OR NOT ACUPUNCTURE. I'm not married to the idea just yet, but I am considering it. I've emailed to places that do it and now I am asking to see if they have any openings that day.

So my next blog will probably be about whether I did it or not, and if I did, what it was like. Until then, I'm off to go enjoy my my perfect lining!

Another day of Estrace down

I have to say that I really despise this medicine Estrace. The headaches are ridiculous. However, I believe I know why I get them. When I am about to get AF I get a migraine. So to me it only makes sense that the extra estrogen would cause headaches. As much as I hate taking it, I would take whatever Dr Dunn told me to take to get my uterus ready for implantation.

I'm thinking of doing acupuncture before my transfer. I need to remember to ask the nurse what they recommend. I've heard it is really relaxing.

I'm looking forward to the transfer. The last transfer day was so great. It's was just a wonderful feeling of knowing you are walking out of there with a very high chance of being pregnant. On top of that, it's nice for Justin and I to know something that no one else knows. :)

Encore, Encore!!!

Encore because the first FET was so fun, right? Yeah right! But alas, here we go again. AF came on Saturday and I started my Estrace on Sunday night. Unfortunately the headaches started within a few hours of my first pill :(

I have had the same headache all day today. It's only for a month though....right? Here is my schedule for this cycle:

2/3 - Start meds
2/15 - U/S to check lining
2/21 - Transfer

My transfer is in 17 days....that's quick! I think it will fly by. My m/c was a month ago tomorrow and I can't believe how fast that month went.

I only took the day of the transfer off last time. This time I am taking the day of the transfer and the next day off. So I will have 4 days of laying around. I know Dr Dunn doesn't require time off but I think I will change it up a bit and just try it. I need to finish cross stitching another baby bib anyways :)

It's working!

So far Remi is just the distraction that I needed to get past my m/c. I love taking care of him. He gets so excited when he sees me and he wants to be near me all the time. It's made me forget about TTC and the failed IVF and the m/c. I know he didn't erase those memories, but he has made it easier for me to move past them.

Today is the day I expect AF to show. Today makes 4 weeks since the m/c, so I should be starting any time now. Once I start I will be taking the Estrace again (great! remember how sick that made me?) and preparing for FET #2. If I start soon I should know by my birthday if we are pregnant and if the numbers are doubling. Man, that would be a great birthday for me! Maybe that's when I could tell my family??? We'll see about that. Regardless what I know, I won't be telling people my good news for a while. My immediate family can know, but no one else (with the exception of Tina, Carrie and Lana...and my HOPE group).

So now I just sit back and wait for AF to show....wonder when that will be? She already sent in her welcoming committee....THE CRAMPS!