We finally got to meet with our doctor today after a LONG week and a half. He was encouraged by this cycle, even though it had a negative outcome. He showed us the differences in the embryo quality from the 2 cycles. Our embryos did a lot better up until Day 4 this time. Last cycle, most of them were poor quality by day 3. However, last cycle I did get pregnant, even though it was a chemical pregnancy. So, he was encouraged by my body's response to a Day 3 transfer. He wonders if we would've done a Day 3 this time, if it might have turned out differently. However, he also said, he is glad we did the Day 5 transfer this time because it showed where to go from here. So, we are continuing on to the next round right away. We will follow the same protocol because my egg quality has improved, yippee!!! Acupuncture must be helping! Thank goodness because the next step would have been donor eggs and we didn't want to go that route. So, this was very encouraging news.
He also wondered if there was a sperm quality issue but he ruled that out when looking at all of Grant's "sperm stats" (sorry if TMI but there is nothing we can't talk about after going through all of this). One other possibility for the embryo issues has to do with genetic factors. We have already had some chromosome testing done and neither of us is a carrier for anything. So, I had to get more bloodwork done today (of course, Grant doesn't have to get stuck with the needle). 10 VIALS of blood later, they were finally done. Yikes! That was a shock to me. She just kept taking more blood. This time they are testing for Fragile X and a bunch of other mutations. The results take 2 weeks.
So, at this point, we will follow the same protocol and do a Day 3 transfer to get those embryos back in their natural environment quicker. Our doctor also thought the extra two days in the petri dish may have played a factor in the lower quality on Day 4. So, we won't be doing the Day 5 transfer.
I go back for bloodwork and ultrasound on May 30th. After reading through my old posts (glad I have them to reference), it looks like I will start the estrogen patches after I am finished with the birth control pills on June 3rd. Then I will wait for my cycle to begin and start the shots again. I know this is what I want but I am just not looking forward to my entire June being spent doing shots again. We were really hoping this would be behind us at this point. I am also sick of these rounds affecting everything in our lives. We may have to cancel weekends away, etc because of all of this. It's definitely not how I wanted to spend my summer. But, I know it will be TOTALLY worth it when we are holding a precious little baby in our arms. After all, I have had the names picked out for just about a year, so this has to work, right???
We had such a great afternoon and evening today. Since Grant got off early for the appointment, we were able to ride our bikes to pick up Caitlin from school. Then, we had a yummy grilled vegetable salad for dinner. Next, we rode bikes to the Daily Scoop for some yummy ice cream and finished off the night with another bike ride. What a gorgeous night it was! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful little girl! She is such a sweetheart!
Thank you all again for your touching e-mails, phone calls and texts. I still cry every time I read another one. I have said this a lot, but we are so lucky to have such a wonderful support system. I don't know what we would do without all of you. Thank you for letting us share our journey with you through this blog. It has made it so much easier to get all the information out to you! We love you all!
