IVF Update: Good Numbers, Lame Parents

I'm here and ready to update, but I'll keep it (semi) brief. Monday Ronnie had his aspiration. Monday night Ronnie rewarded himself with a feast from Long John Silvers. Welllll, that was a bad idea. Ronnie's body was so confused by that junk that he's been sick ever since. Monday night he was up "enjoying" his chicken planks and hush puppies a second time. And his stomach has continued to be really painful since. We aren't sure if it's related to the aspiration, the Long John Silvers, or something else coincidently happening at the same time. He's actually at the Emergency Room as I write this, to rule out that it's nothing else....because he's been really miserable. We are wondering if it's a partial bowel blockage, something with some organ in there, OR just the fact that he feels like he's being kicked in the boxers repeatedly. We will keep you posted, but my guess it's not cause for major concern.

Tuesday morning was my retrieval. The procedure was smooth and successful. They collected 40 eggs, 27 of which were mature. I felt pretty good yesterday aside from the typical cramping and discomfort that everyone gets after a retrieval. My stomach has continued to get more distended, but it's actually a lot better than it has been the last 3, and I don't have any other symptoms of OHSS (rapid weight gain, shortness of breath, low urine output, etc). So I'm pretty pleased. I think I would be feeling a little better than I am now if I was able to just sit in bed, but because Ronnie and I are quite the pathetic duo, I have been taking on most the duties for Mckenna. Poor Mckenna has been forced to watch more movies in the last day than she has in the last year, but I'm pretty sure we didn't kill too many brain cells yet! Our dear friend was sweet enough to take her for a couple hours this morning while we met with our foster care agency worker (not ideal timing, but we gotta do what we gotta do), so at least she got to play with friends then. And then tonight I took her to Chick-Fil-A while Ronnie was at the Emergency Room, so she could run off some energy while I sat and rested. But pretty much we have laid on the couch all day, getting up only to use the potty or feed ourselves or Mckenna, and napped when she's slept.

We got the much anticipated call from our clinic this evening that 21 of the 27 mature eggs fertilized normally. We are really excited about those numbers. Our prayer is that God provides us with exactly the number of embryos He wants us to have, so we are trusting that today he wants us to have 21. We will get another update Friday.

I started the oh-so-wonderful twice-a-day Progesterone injections this morning. Thankfully the first week of them are never too bad because the soreness doesn't start until there's some oil build up. They also have me on progesterone lozenges 3 times a day. Currently, I'm also on all the dailies they want me taking (about 7 supplements, I'll do a blog all on it's own of all my meds), and heparin and prednisone for recurrent miscarriages. One quick note about the prednisone...I don't think I'm having noticeable side effects from it...so PRAISE JESUS.

We will keep you posted on how we are feeling tomorrow and what we find out about Ronnie's tummy troubles. I told him he can have a free pass on taking care of me while I recover from the retrieval as long as he's better by the transfer day, so I can lay low after it! Priorities!! Ha! 

Thanks so much for being in this with us and covering us in prayers. So far, God has provided all that we've asked for!!

UPDATE FROM RONNIE: So it ended up only being severe constipation. I was in so much pain because my colon was full of BM from the entrance to the exit. It was also very enflamed and rubbing up on my other internal organs. I was actually having issues taking deep breaths, which is ultimately what led me to the ER. All of my other labs looked good, so they released me with a script for GoLytely. I was up until 4am letting the drink work it's magic and it continues to do the job well into today. I'm feeling much better with minimal pain when compared to yesterday. Still feeling a little backed up, so I'll take it easy with mostly liquids.

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and concerns!

Prayer Requests:

- Thank God for how well our procedures went, how good we are feeling relative to what we could be feeling, and the great numbers so far.

- Our 21 little lives as they grow and develop that God works with them according to His will.

- Continued recovery that is quick!

- God starts revealing to Drew (our embryologist) which embryos he should choose to put back on day 5. He checks them again Friday and Sunday...have God guide his eyes, mind and heart to the two that should be used!

- Mckenna feels content and is understanding as stuff looks different around the house and the routine  is different for the next few days.