PUPO in 6 days!

For those of you that are wondering what the heck "PUPO" means, here it is: Pregnant until proven otherwise. In 6 days, I will be PUPO for the 5th time in my life. Our transfer is set for Friday, May 21st, at 1:15 p.m. Pacific. It has been 7 months since our last embryo transfer and we are more than ready to have our sweet little embies back at home with us. Much has happened since October, including, 2 surgeries for me, countless needle sticks, blood tests and ultrasounds. We also switched clinics a few months ago and could not be happier. Transferring our remaining 8 frozen embryos ourselves was quite the ordeal, but thanks to my friend, Melissa, and the Lord's provisions, they are safe and sound at our new clinic. Oh, and we just came back from a lovely 10 day cruise to the Caribbean where we celebrated 6 amazing years of marriage :) Needless to say, we are relaxed and ready for this upcoming transfer!

Transferring all 8 of our embies frozen in this tank of liquid nitrogen!

My dear friend, Melissa, drove all 10 of us safely to their new temporary home :)

We needed a bumper sticker with "Embryos on board"

First formal night on our cruise

The Cayman Islands

Costa Rica

Celebrating & Relaxing, Caribbean Style

It's been a while since our last update, but honestly, not much has been going on until the last week. I've been taking a daily shot of Lupron to suppress my body (which as of last night, I am done with!) and while on our cruise, I started another injection called delestrogen to thicken my uterine lining. I've also been taking a low dose aspirin daily and pre-natals, of course. My first ultrasound to measure my lining was last week and it went fine. It measured 7.5 and they like to see it at an 8. My estradiol level was also a little on the low end at 582, so they increased my dosage of delestrogen and scheduled a follow-up ultrasound and estradiol check on Thursday this past week. If my lining would not have improved, they would have pushed my transfer date back a week, but thankfully, it did and we are able to keep our date next Friday! My lining looked "textbook" perfect with a triple pattern and it measured 8, which is what they were hoping for. My estradiol also increased appropriately, with a result of 977. Once again, we give God the glory for how He has been with us each step of the way.

I had my first acupuncture treatment last week and that went really well. Both Paul and I have been somewhat skeptical (he calls it the hokey pokey), but my doctor recommended I have it done immediately before and after our transfer to help minimize uterine cramping and for relaxation. I thought I should have a few treatments prior to the day of transfer so I know what to expect. My next treatment is on Monday and then the day of transfer. I really like my acupuncturist and at this point, I don't really care if it's placebo. I'm willing to give just about anything a shot, no pun intended ;)

Speaking of shots. The mother of all shots begins tonight. So far, I have been tolerating the intramuscular fanny delestrogen shots on Mondays and Fridays, but those restful days in between are over. Tonight, Paul will begin sticking me with that giant needle filled with progesterone in oil. The PIO shots will maintain my lining, so our embies have a fluffy home to snuggle into. These lovely, butt kicking, shots will continue daily through my 1st trimester of pregnancy should I become pregnant. I add two more oral meds tomorrow as well, Medrol and Doxycycline. The Medrol is an anti-inflammatory and the Doxycycline is an antibiotic that will take care of any infection that may be looming. I will be banned from the sunshine for a week, as the Doxy makes you intensely sensitive to the suns rays, so even as I write this, I am basking in it's warmth while Paul tends to the yard. Like so much of this journey, it will be worth it in the end, I am sure of that. I imagine us holding our baby for the first time before each needle stick and it really does help ease the discomfort. Oh, how incredibly loved this child already is!!

Which leads me to more exciting news to share! A few weeks ago, a dear friend of mine asked me if I knew of anyone who was both trustworthy and good with kids that would be able to immediately help out family in need. Sooooo, I told her that I would be willing to help, but I could not commit to the whole week because of some appointments I had. I also told her that I had a good friend that would likely be able to help out and fill in the gaps for me when I could not be there. Long story short, my friend and I met with the family that night and I started watching this darling 3 month old baby the very next day. What began as a week long commitment has turned into a full-time job (45 hours a week) until June 20th! I have truly loved being a stay at home wife, but I am really enjoying taking care of her. My friend watches her when I cannot and both of us have fallen in love with this precious gem! I must admit that the job is exhausting (especially since I love my sleep!), but each time she smiles, my love tank fills and my energy is restored. Not only has this little girl solidified my desire to be a mom, but she has made it grow exponentially. How is that possible?!

I found this Baby Bjorn carrier at Once Upon a Child with the help of Melissa

and got a GREAT deal!

I think she likes it :)

So, those are the logistics. On the emotional front, Paul and I are doing really well. I have this incredible peace that our time is coming soon. No, God has not definitively spoken to me, but I do believe He has given me peace and joyful anticipation of what's to come. I'm not sure how else to put it into words. For our anniversary, I wanted to get Paul a Willow Tree Angel to add to our collection, but as my eyes scanned the figurines, I realized that we had many of the angels. Unwilling to move on, I kept perusing and then my eyes locked on an angel that I did not recognize. When I read the description, I knew she was the one for us:

Celebrate

with joyful anticipation

We do have some prayer requests, if you feel led to pray on our behalf.

*That the PIO shots will be as pain free as possible!

*That my blood work on Monday goes well. They will be checking my Estradiol and Progesterone levels

*For our embryos. This request is by far, the most crucial to us. Our embryologist plans to thaw all 8 of our embies Friday morning. She will assess how they are doing initially and after several hours. There is a chance that none of our embryos are healthy enough to transfer. We are hoping for at least one, but will transfer as many as three. Please pray for these tiny little lives. Pray that God imparts wisdom to the entire team that will be involved in our transfer process.

Many thanks to each of you who read this and lift us up in prayer. Our hearts are incredibly grateful for your support.

In Christ,

Gretchen & Paul