Our First IVF Appointment!

Yesterday was our first appointment with the IVF specialist, or RE. I think it went really well! We really like the doctor and his staff seemed like very personable and caring people. I have to go back next week for some blood work and more monitoring. We will hopefully know next week what our timeline will be for all of the medication, monitoring and procedures. As of yesterday, we are tentatively looking at having our egg retrieval and embryo transfer in early July!!! These last few months have really flown by so I'm hopeful that June will also pass quickly.

There are so many components to an IVF cycle and there are certain things that HAVE to happen for us to have a successful cycle. Please continue to pray for us as we begin this IVF journey. I'm anxious, nervous, scared and excited all at the same time. This is going to be very overwhelming but I KNOW it will all be worth it in the end.

My 3 1/2 year old niece, Berkeley, likes to pray and thank Jesus for all sorts of things...pee, poop, hands, butts and most importantly Jesus Himself! I would like to add one more item to her list...Thank you Jesus for IVF!!!

Happy 30th Birthday Christopher Patrick!!!

Where has the time gone?! My sweet husband is 30 years old today. We met right before his 22nd birthday. That seems like such a long time ago. It has definitely been a crazy adventure over the last 8 years! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, supportive husband and I couldn't imagine walking through life without him! We've been through a lot together over the last 8 years and have a lot of really great memories. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us!

Happy Birthday Christopher Patrick!! I hope you get a little miracle within the next couple of months for your birthday! That would be the best present ever!! Love you bunches!!

I want to go back...NOW!!!

Hola!! We are back from vacation and I already want to go back! It was absolutely beautiful and so relaxing. I would definitely reccommend Cabo to anyone looking for a relaxing, beach getaway. The above picture was taken at Los Arcos, the point where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean meet. It was so nice for us to get away for some days before we start our IVF journey. This will hopefully be our last vacation for awhile. I say this because I hope we have a little miracle on the way soon that will prevent us from taking a vacation! Chris will be 30 on Saturday so this was also a great birthday celebration trip for him!

We are both off work until next Tuesday and then Wednesday is our first appointment with the RE or IVF specialist. I'm so excited! I cannot wait to hear what our IVF cycle schedule will be! Well, I'm off to watch more shows that I recorded while we were gone.

Praise God!!!!

We just got some really awesome news from the doctor's office. Chris does not need to have the biopsy anymore!!! Woohoo!!! This is just such incredible news. I still can't believe it! Now all we have to wait for is the first appointment with the reproductive endocrinologist and we're on our way!!

Just wanted to share our good news!

The day my brain turned to mush...

Wow, yesterday's doctor's appointment was 3 hours long! By the time we left, I think we had spoken with every person in that office...TWICE. My brain was complete mush after we left. Thankfully, we got some good news. The genetic and chromosomal testing all came back normal. Yay!! We now have our first consultation with the reproductive endocrinologist (RE) on May 27th and we'll be able to discuss the timeline of our first IVF/ICSI cycle!! Unfortunately, Chris also has to have a biopsy on June 9th and depending on how it goes, it could turn into an even more extensive biopsy (basically it could end up being 6 biopsies in one). Please pray that the initial biopsy is sufficient.

Thank you all so much for the prayers and support! It means so much to both of us!

I am now off to battle the confusing and frustrating world of insurance today. We have to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row before we proceed with this journey. Everything has to be coded just right and the timing is crucial too. Ugh. Wish me luck!

More prayers please!!!

Well, our next appointment with the specialist is this afternoon. We have waited three weeks for this appointment and I am so glad that it is finally here! Please continue to pray for encouraging news this afternoon and that we can keep moving forward with this journey. I hope we won't have to wait another 3 weeks for our next appointment. Would you have ever guessed that patience is not one of my virtues??? :-)

Two of my infertility/IVF books came in this week and I am excited to read through them! I'll keep you all posted on the outcome of our appointment today. Once again, thank you all so much for your continued love and support. Chris and I couldn't keep pushing through this without all of you standing behind us!

My new reading material

If you know me well, then you know that I love to read. I don't always have time to read as much as I would like to, but I still love it. Last September I started reading this huge, and I mean HUGE, book called Taking Charge of Your Own Fertility. It's a great book and I want to thank my good friend, Becky for insisting that I read it! The book sat on my nightstand for about 5-6 months and Chris and I both read it backwards and forwards. At this point, though, we are at a place where this book can no longer help us or offer guidance...so onto the bookshelf it goes. (I actually borrowed it from my friend, Jenna, but she just had her baby boy yesterday, so I don't think she really needs it anymore.) :-)

Earlier this week I was reading some blogs of other couples who are facing fertility issues and saw some great suggestions for books on infertility and IVF. So, I ordered three books from Amazon yesterday and can't wait for them to come in! I have to admit that one of the books I ordered was purely because of the name...IVF: The Wayward Stork. I thought that was such a cute and clever name for an infertility book so I decided to add it to my list! I hope that these books will give us some guidance on what to expect through this whole process. I'm such a detail person so it's very hard for me to just sit back and not ask questions and not be fully informed.

Before I go, I just want to say Happy Birthday to baby Aiden! Our friends, Andy & Jenna, had their little boy yesterday and I'm so glad that we got to go visit and hold the little guy! I always forget just how little they are. There's just something so sweet and precious about holding a newborn baby! Words can't even describe it!

Woohoo it's Friday!!

Wow, this has been one crazy week! Monday it took us almost 3 HOURS to get home from work due to the crazy hurricane-like conditions on 290! On Tuesday, Chris started getting sick and my bosses graciously offered for me to work from home due to the flooding and potential for more rain that afternoon. Wednesday Chris is still sick. :( Thursday was one of the most draining days I have had in a long time. I literally melted into the couch when I got home last night and only moved to press the fast forward button for the DVR to skip through the commercials while I watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice! And for those of you who watched Private Practice...What the Heck!? I don't want to give any spoilers in case some of you still haven't watched, but let me just say that I now have a new item to add to my list of Things to worry about with IVF! :-)

Thankfully today is Friday. Woohoo! Chris is worse today so please pray for him. I think his fever was making him act even more goofy than normal this morning. As for me, if anyone is looking for me this weekend I will be disinfecting my house from top to bottom! I'm so bummed that I now have to miss my sweet friend's baby shower tomorrow, but Chris' infection is apparently highly contagious and I just don't want to risk getting her sick. That would just be horrible. :-( Sorry, Lindsay. I promise to make it up to you and little James!

A highlight of my week, though, was to learn that my 3 year old niece, Berkeley, is following in the footsteps of her Aunt Courtie! She was so concerned about the economy and her family's finances that she decided to save her parents some money and give herself a haircut on her own! (I apparently took it upon myself to cut my own bangs when I was little) Oops! Way to go Berk! I'm so proud of you for being so thrifty at such a young age! :-)

Have a great weekend, everyone!