4/3/2012

Dave and I arrived in Denver at 1130.  We went and got our rental car and then grabbed some lunch before heading to Walmart for some groceries for the week.  Thanks to my lovely friend Terri and her husband who are graciously letting us stay with them during this time,  we are able to buy food instead of eating out every day not to mention hotel savings.   It’s going to save us so much money and we’re so so grateful for their hospitality and kindness to us.  They have completely opened their home to us with our own guest room and bathroom.  We feel so blessed!  

So, we just happened to fly into Denver the day of the Women’s Basketball NCAA Championship game.  And you’ll never guess which team happens to be in it- Notre Dame- that’s right.  Being here and knowing ND was playing, we just couldn’t pass the opportunity up, so Dave and I scalped tickets and went to the game.  The atmosphere was pretty cool!  The Pepsi Center was totally sold out.  Dave and I were fairly high up but we were just glad to be there and watch the game.  Notre Dame played well in the first half but unfortunately couldn’t keep up with Baylor during second half.  They lost in the end, but it was so neat to be there and experience the game!

Ultrasound # 2 today 
Results:
4 follicles present:
1 at 13 mm
2 at 9mm
1 at 6mm

All on the right ovary- none on the left at this time- well, it's hard to say- she couldn't visualize the left ovary.  So, we don't really know.  Estradiol is rising as expected.  My body is not liking the drugs again this time as I am experiencing this weird numbness/pain in my extremities.  I am trying to ignore it as much as possible but this seems to be the hardest at night when I lay down to sleep.  It keeps me awake and makes it very hard to sleep.  Hoping these symptoms disappear soon as the next 10 days of these medications will seem very long. 

Our first appointment in Colorado is April 4 for another ultra sound and E2 level.  I will definitely keep you all posted.   We fly out tomorrow at 9am.  Dave and I are ready, excited, nervous, and praying without ceasing!!!   Thank you for your support and prayers while we are away.  We have felt so loved by everyone during this time- I can't tell you how much it means to us.  It makes this process seem easier with all the support we have surrounding us.  Thank you!

Round 2: IVF

Yesterday March 28 Dave and I made our way to Center for Women’s Imaging at Vanderbilt 100 Oaks for the baseline ultrasound.  This first ultrasound is a pretty big deal.  If this ultrasound shows any cysts or any other problems the entire cycle is canceled until a later date when those problems have resolved.   It’s a bit nerve racking even at this point so early in the cycle because we’ve already invested ourselves in going forward with it.  I’ve already taken several oral and injectable medications and it’s just mentally exhausting to have to think we would have to stop when we’ve mentally prepared ourselves to move forward.  I arrived at Vanderbilt first to have some baseline blood levels drawn.  Then Dave arrived to meet up with me for the ultrasound.  We finally get called back and they proceeded with the ultrasound- the tech spent a good 15 minutes taking pictures and clicking buttons on her machine never saying a word to us.  I’ve seen this done multiple times now but I still don’t exactly know what they’re looking at or seeing.   She finally finishes and tells us the radiologist has to read it.   I was slightly frustrated because that’s the whole reason Dave came was to provide moral support when we found out if we could proceed with the IVF cycle.  We left with no answers so I headed to work waiting for a phone call most of the day to hear back from them.  Luckily we were busy at work and I didn’t think about it too much.  At 4pm, I had still not heard from the doctor so I had Dave call and get some answers.  Because this cycle is different in that we will be traveling to Colorado for the final stages of the cycle, all of my results have to be faxed over to their office and then they call me.  It’s a lot of little steps.  

Dave took the information down from our IVF nurse in Colorado and they said we could move forward.  The ultrasound didn’t appear to have any cysts or any other problem areas.  We will fly to Denver on April 3 to proceed with the rest of my monitoring prior to the egg retrieval and then embryo transfer.  I am so excited!   I prayed today for peace and whatever the outcome was of the ultrasound it was in God’s hands.  I feel ready to move forward and go to Denver.  We are praying for our little miracle to happen soon!  We’ll keep you posted as we arrive to Denver and how the monitoring is going.  Please continue to pray for a miracle baby for us.  Our faith in God has gotten us through this all but your prayers continue to give us hope, strength, and encouragement to press on.  Thank you! 

Let’s Paint This Town

Our friend Autumn Potter started a business called “Let’s Paint This Town”.   Check out her website:  http://letspaintthistown.com/home .  She hosts private parties in the comfort of your home, workplace or even church for you and your group of friends.  She provides all the essentials (canvas, paint, brushes, palettes, aprons, drop cloths, tables).  Then she helps everyone create a fabulous piece of original artwork all while having fun together!   Autumn was gracious enough to host a party for us in our home to help us raise money for Baby Stanley.  She charged her normal costs but only kept the fees to cover the supplies and gave the rest of the money to us to put towards the Baby Stanley Fund.  We had 22 people come to paint with us today!  It was so much fun!   We feel so blessed by the friends that have surrounded us on this infertility journey.   The support, the prayers, the encouragement, the donations have all meant so much.  We will continue to keep you updated on our journey and you better believe when we get our good news you will know!!!  Thanks to everyone who came out to support us today and paint a lovely cross.  I have posted the pics on facebook and am working on a youtube video to capture the event.  Will post soon!

Lately we’ve been busy with well, starting the adoption process.  Paperwork seemed non-ending for about 2 months, but we got it done and turned in.  We just completed our home study individual interviews with the social worker and they went very well.  Our social worker is very laid back and helped the process seem easy going.  We then completed our home inspection on March 8.    It went very well.  We are also having an adoption profile created for us which is a little story book of our lives and gives birth parents an idea of who we are and the type of life we can provide for a child.  We have also been exploring a few other fertility venues out there including grants offered to couples like us that provide money to support IVF costs. 

Lately I haven’t updated our blog mainly because of the business but also because we’ve been exploring so many options out there.  I feel like we’re in a bit of a tug of war.  We desperately want a child, but we desperately want to have a child.  Ultimately in the end, we know God will make that happen.  People that go through this experience it so differently and we have found that for each couple God brings an answer in his timing.  I believe a couple must reach that place of being ready to move forward- it can’t be rushed, nor should it.  For Dave and I this is knowing we have exhausted all of our fertility options.   We feel like there is a peace in knowing we did all we could to have a biological child and if God chooses to close those doors then we pray for a peace and acceptance of his will.  This doesn’t mean we are considering adoption a less best option for us, because we know that a child through adoption is one of God’s biggest blessings in this life.  Starting the adoption process and moving in that direction has been wonderful and we will continue to pursue that.  But we have not stopped pursuing fertility just yet.   

Since our home inspection is completed we are officially ready to accept a child once we were to be matched.  This can happen as quickly as 2 months to as long as 2 years.  You can’t really predict timing, we know that’s in God’s hands.  Dave and I have explored a lot of options however and for us, adoption may come in the form of embryo adoption- where we adopt an embryo  that will be implanted in my uterus and carried for 9 months just as a normal pregnancy.  Although this child will not genetically be linked to us, I will get to carry the baby for 9 months and Dave and I will get to experience the whole pregnancy journey and labor and delivery process.  There’s such a big desire in my heart to be a mother, but God has also placed a huge desire on my heart to carry a child and feel it grow inside of me and deliver that baby.   I can’t explain the yearning for that, but it has never faded and I know God places those desires in us. 

More on embryo adoption:  Again this option would actually still allow me to have the babies and experience pregnancy.  It’s actually really appealing to us in that I would carry the babies we’ve adopted.  Let me explain……….  So, there are many couples out there that go through infertility like us.  They go through with IVF and they’re successful but they actually end up with a surplus of embryos.   Those couples are than faced with deciding what to do with their excess, unused embryos that are both morally and ethically acceptable to them.   Many people choose to maintain their embryos in storage indefinitely, hoping to put off an eventual decision.  For people who do not view life as beginning at conception, thawing and discarding the embryos, or donating them for scientific research are options. For people who dislike these choices, however, embryo adoption constitutes the sole alternative.  In this option the couple donates their embryos to the clinic to give to another couple (like us) who is struggling to get pregnant.  We are excited about this possible option!!

Dave and I also recently visited one of the best fertility clinics in the country in Colorado.  We kept hearing from different people to check it out and after several referrals to this clinic and a very in depth phone consultation with the doctor there, we felt we had to go and give it a shot! While there we met with the doctor, had a full work up and discussed our treatment options.  The doctor gave us hope that they could help us!  They have the best embryologist and the clinic is ranked nationally for successful pregnancies.  Since our visit and a lot of praying, we have decided to move forward with another IVF cycle at this clinic.  Dave and I both want to do everything possible to try to have a baby and we feel a tug in our hearts to try this last option before we close this door.  We feel incredibly blessed and surrounded by our family and friends during this time as so many of you have offered to fundraise, support us, and most importantly pray for us.  We are incredibly blessed by your friendships and we know that God hears each and every one of your prayers.  We ask for your continued prayers during this time as we are so excited to be going to Colorado at the beginning of April to proceed with the IVF procedure.  Please pray for safety, good health during the cycle, patience as we wait for God’s plan to unfold, God’s timing, clarity and direction, and most importantly for His will in our becoming parents.  We know God has a plan and cannot wait to see that unfold however he chooses to do so.  

I need a Silent Night.

December is full of craziness for most families.  The true meaning of Christmas is often hidden by the shopping, buying, decorating, parties, and all the other distractions around us.  Somehow we fill our days with anything but being still and remembering the true meaning of Christmas- the birth of our Savior.  I’m guilty myself as these past few weeks Dave and I have done all of the above, but also feeling incredibly weighed down by decisions and more decisions. 

We decided to start the adoption process back in November.  I had heard the horror stories of the paperwork and felt prepared for what was ahead of us but  I don’t think anyone could have prepared us for the extent of what we were going to have to do.  We’ve been to the doctors, we’ve had blood drawn and been tested for every disease under the sun, we’ve been fingerprinted,  we’ve been given a stack – a tall stack of paperwork to fill out.  It is all a little overwhelming.   I was so eager in the beginning when we came home with the paperwork- and confident we would get it done in a week-let’s just say a little too confident.  It didn’t start out well - after working on the paperwork for hours and returning to work on it more- I discovered that everything I had worked on was gone- nowhere to be found on the computer.   I spent an hour crying and having some discussion with the Lord about why I felt so spiritually attacked.   Why does everything seem so hard right now Lord?  Then there was the paperwork the doctors had to fill out- it took over a week just to get them to sign a piece of paper and that was calling them every day to check on their progress.   

 The biggest struggle of all of this- finances.  Dave and I have worked hard to get out of debt early in our marriage- paying off school loans, cars, etc.  Our second year of marriage was spent trying to build our emergency fund (if you follow Dave Ramsey) you know what I’m talking about.  We of course had “our” plans to save a certain amount and then start a family.   Well, facing infertility has changed that just a bit.  Most of our saving has now gone towards fertility treatments (that didn’t work), and now we’re faced with needing to save a lot more to adopt a baby.   It seems to us to be the most unfair part of this whole situation.  It’s been hard to feel the pain of not bearing a child of our own, but the thought of the costs just to bring a baby home really has me at a loss. I get so frustrated by it.    We want a baby more than anything, but for me the future thinker- I not only think about this first baby we have prayed for now for 3 years, but the thought of expanding our family one day and how we will potentially have to save thousands and thousands of dollars for every time we want to have another child is very scary.  How we will do that Lord?

I am quickly reminded of Matthew 6: 19 -21"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. 

And in 1 Tim 6:10: 

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Money doesn’t solve all problems and often times money causes even more.  Sometimes I feel like for our situation money would solve our problems but I know in my heart it wouldn’t.  I know God has carried us through this for a reason.  He has revealed so many lessons to us along this journey.  This journey has not only reminded us of what we do not have, but all the things we do have.  We are so blessed to have a roof over our heads, food on our table each night, a car to drive, a job to go to each day, and clothes to wear.  These are all blessings and I thank God for daily.  I am so grateful for our health and loved ones and all the incredible gifts he brings to us daily.  I am humbled by how much we do have.  

We can’t worry about the future at this point in time or how large our family will be one day.  Dave and I must only think about today and what God has for us now. 

Matthew 6:26 : Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?

God takes care of even the birds and how much more valuable our lives are to him than the birds.  He will provide.  He will get us through this.

As we continue through the paperwork and seek his daily guidance and direction in making some really big decisions, we ask for your prayer.  Please pray for clarity- that we may hear the Lord speak his plan into our lives and feel his leading in a certain direction.  Pray for trust in the Lord – that He will lead us through these high waters we are treading through right now.  Please pray for peace- that we may truly experience the Prince of Peace this Christmas season. 

My family ask me every year what I want for Christmas.  It’s incredibly humbling that I can’t really think of anything because I don’t really need anything.  What I do want this Christmas is a Silent Night. Not necessarily around me, but a silence in my heart, a peace in my heart.   Amy Grant expresses it beautifully in her song I need a Silent Night.  I truly pray to experience the Prince of Peace this Holiday season.  I pray that we can be still and know that He is God.  I pray that we will hear him speak through the chaos and the noise. 

I am so moved by this song, and it brings me to tears as I pray in my heart for what this song speaks about.  May you be reminded of what Christmas is all about as you listen to this song and may you also experience the Prince of Peace in your heart with whatever you find yourself facing today.

 Since we’ve been home from Disney Dave and I were able to talk more about where we going.   Recently God has surrounded us with friends going through the adoption process and seeing the joy that it has brought into their lives.   God has put so many people in our lives that have experience the joy of adoption, or are currently going through the adoption process.  I have so many resources to go to and I feel incredibly blessed that they’re so willing to share their story with us. Our neighbors next door have adopted two children, a couple in our Sunday School class just completed an adoption 2 months ago and have a beautiful baby girl, more friends of ours from church are about to get a baby girl next week.  I also have numerous patients that have encouraged me in the adoption process. 

I feel like I have come a long way since the beginning of this journey.  My heart feels more prepared for God’s blessings through adoption, rather than feeling discouraged that I may not ever have a biological child one day.  My focus has turned more towards the joy of being blessed with a child however God provides that for us, rather than the failure of my own body to produce a child naturally.    I have been praying daily for God to speak clearly to us, for God to show us as clearly as he possibly can that we are to move forward with adoption . We have grieved so much for our biological children and I really believe God has been working on our hearts and preparing us for this time.  We can’t set a time frame on grieving the loss of anything, everyone grieves in their own way, in their own time.  God has to heal our hearts, work on us, and help us to move forward with our lives.  I feel like my heart is experiencing the joy and peace that come with that process.   There is just something different in my outlook, something different in the way I see things.  People kept telling me throughout this journey I would know when yI was ready to move forward- that I would feel it so I began to pray that.  I wanted to truly know what God wanted for us and how we were going to get there.  I prayed for a peace in my heart.   At the time, I didn’t feel like I knew anything- I felt lost, discouraged, and angry at God.   I’ve now reached a place of peace and joy that I didn’t feel before.   God knows exactly how Dave and I will have a child one day, but He knows He has to get us to that place and sometimes our hearts are so stubborn, resistant, and we're just not ready to hear God speak to us.  It is God who brings us to a place of acceptance and then joy!  The process of grieving, healing, growing stronger takes time.  Sometimes God walks us  through the hurt and pain to get to the peace and  joy on the other side.

I went to my former doctor at Vanderbilt Nov 3.   I had not seen him since my surgery back in May 2010,  but I felt like he would give me an honest op inion on what we should do at this point in our journey.  NFC, the fertility clinic we were going to has been a great place and they help so many couples achieve pregnancy.   However, we’re at a point mentally where we don’t need to keep going through treatments and spending thousands of dollars on them if they’re not going to work.   There’s no way they can possibly know that, and many couples achieve success after multiple attempts.  For us, we are reaching a point where we don’t necessarily feel we need the most aggressive treatments, but a doctor who will sit down and look at the whole picture and tell us honestly how to proceed.  At my appointment I looked my doctor in the eye and said, I can’t keep doing this and I need to know what you recommend for us.  If you think there is anything else I can try, I will, but if you think we’ve exhausted all options, please, please tell me to stop.  He proceeded to tell me after looking at all my tests, labs, and failed treatments, he would say I had a 3% chance of achieving pregnancy.  I knew at that moment God has been working on my heart, because instead of getting big tears in my eyes or being angry and feeling pity on myself, I felt like God was speaking clearly to me like I had been asking him to.  I felt fine, almost relieved to hear something so clear.   My doctor said he had seen many women like me, with a diagnosis of premature ovarian failure who went on to get pregnant.  The success he saw in them was from going on birth control for a short time to suppress the ovaries and let them rest, and then reattempting an IUI with stimulation after coming off the birth control. It seems backwards to go on birth control to get pregnant but it’s not going to hurt anything, it’s not expensive, and it doesn’t require doctor’s visits, so I said ok.  For the next 3 months, I will be taking birth control, suppressing my system.  We will not have to go to the doctor, spend money, or worry about getting pregnant.  At the end of the 3 months, I will return to the doctor for some blood work to check my hormone levels.  If the hormone levels have come down as he hopes, then we will  proceed with 1-2 IUI attempts with stimulation.   The timing of this came perfectly for us because during the holidays we’ll be traveling, and it will be a good break from everything.   We won’t be thinking much about it.  We won’t have to be worried about timing an IUI, or taking medication or stressing over are we or aren’t we pregnant.  We can simply enjoy the holidays with family and friends.

After much prayer, Dave and I have also decided to start the adoption process.  So, we are completing a home study, adoption profile, and doing a lot of reading, research on the options out there for us.   Our hearts are very open to adoption.  We are so ready to see God work and the good that will come out of this whole process.  I know he is working on my heart and bringing us both to a place of peace. 

We are so thankful for all the prayers being lifted to our Heavenly Father for us.  Please pray for…………….

  * peace in our hearts
  *wisdom & discernment as we start the adoption process

  *that we will feel his leading and guidance with the adoption process
  *clarity in the direction we should go
  *rest over the next 3 months as we take a break from fertility treatments
  *for our future children- that God is preparing our hearts for them and their hearts for us
  *for our story- that it would be a testimony to others going through this
  *that we can trust God  every step of the way, esp. his timing

 

God knows when we need a break because after finding out this last round of IUI did not work for us, Dave and I were headed to Disney.  Literally the day before we left my period started.   For me, a getaway vacation was more than welcomed to take my mind off of our bad news but also to enjoy all the many blessings in my life.   My sisters and I surprised my parents for their 40th wedding anniversary as we all ended up in Florida to celebrate and go to Disney together as a family.  It was such a great time.  My favorite part was watching my nephews faces light up over a ride they just rode, watching them give Mickey Mouse a hug, and listening to them talk about all their experiences of the day.  It was so good.  My 4 yr old nephew probably enjoyed it the most as he was old enough to ride some of the big rides but still enjoy the smaller rides and he loved the characters.  He wanted to hug them all.    




There were a few times I caught myself on vacation tearing up- no reason in particular but just finding this sadness come over me out of nowhere.  Usually something triggers it- like seeing a baby, or hearing a child tell their mommy they love her.  But the few times on vacation it was really unexpected.  I would try to stop the tears but that just seemed to make it worse.    Many memories were made at Disney with my family.  It's so nice to have everyone together.   Looking back on last week when we were there I smile at the memories we made.  I also frown that it passed so quickly.  It's almost like in hindsight I wish I could go back and enjoy it even more- capture every moment, every memory, look around me and thank God for all that I have.  I don't think I do that enough.   Too many times a memory passes and all that's left is the picture I took to remember just how wonderful the moment really was. 

So before we left I gave NFC a call to let them know my period had started.  I guess our original plan was to try 3 rounds of IUI before giving up.  Due to our vacation putting us out of town the week  I would need to go in for frequent monitoring, we postponed the next IUI for the month of November.  Honestly I think we needed to take a month off.  All the monitoring, appts, meds, etc. take a toll on us and for me I felt slightly relieved that we wouldn’t be able to do it this month.   So, we’re taking the month off and we’re trying to enjoy life without constant thoughts of making a baby.   It’s really nice! 

Upon returning home, I have gotten 2 baby shower invites in the mail, an email to sign up to take a friend dinner because she just had her baby, a co-worker is pregnant,  and found a couple more friends on facebook are pregnant.  It doesn’t get any easier.   Friends of mine that have been married for less time are getting pregnant and somehow that doesn’t seem right.   The way my brain reasons is we should get pregnant before them because we’ve been married longer.  Obviously that doesn’t make sense but that’s the way I’m reasoning it.   For all my friends reading this, I have always said to you please allow me to share in the joy of your pregnancy.  Do not hide your happiness around me or exclude me from a baby shower.  Of course, it’s not always easy for me, but I’m still happy for you.  I really am.    Noticing answered prayers of others can be the best cure for overcoming the forlorn assumption that my own prayers are going unanswered.

A dear friend of mine who has walked with me on this journey since early on shared an article with me that helped encourage me to continue to pray for a baby.  The article was actually addressing single woman who had been praying for a husband but were still single.  I could totally relate to the points made in the article even though I’m relating it to praying for a baby.  It was very applicable. For some of us the article fits- we’re praying for a husband, for others like me we’re praying for a baby, and for others it may be something else.  But each of us has gone through a desert with God where we feel like he’s not answering our prayers.  Below are some of the article highlights that stood out to me.   

Inevitably, though, when I talk about praying for husbands, someone comes in a theological tangle, wondering if God is good to me and to anyone else who is still praying and still single. Should we even pray for husbands? Is that acceptable? What if we pray and we remain single—what then??

My first answer is that of course God is still good if we pray and remain single. Marriage is a gift for this life alone. If we have received forgiveness for our sins and life eternal, we have already received the biggest and best gift and one that is for all eternity. We didn’t miss out on God’s very best.

Secondly, if we are still alive, the story of God’s grace in our lives is still being written. We don’t know the future. Only He knows the beginning from the end (Is. 46:10 and Rev. 21:6) and so it is arrogant to assume we can survey our circumstances and conclude we know what God is doing. (See: Naomi. A woman who was so very sure God’s hand was against her that she wanted to be called “Bitter.” But as she stood complaining, she had no idea that God was already at work to provide food, a kinsman-redeemer, an heir, and even far more unexpectedly, a place in the lineage of her Savior!)

Thirdly, we have no other option, according to Scripture. Philippians 4:4-7 makes this very clear: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This passage makes it very easy for us to understand that all we can do is pray, be thankful, and avoid anxiousness, which leads to bitterness. We’re not in charge of the answers. We’re in charge of the petitions. So, petition away!

But be thankful in those petitions. Since we’re not the omniscient, omnipotent, perfect, holy, just, and merciful Being in these transactions, we get to be the grateful recipients.  All the time.  Without ceasing. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thes. 5:16-18).

What circumstances do you find yourself in today? Give thanks and pray without ceasing. For as we keep our eyes on Him and praise Him in all circumstances (the good, the happy, the hard, the confusing, the horrifying), we silence the Accuser, the one who exists to blame God for not being good and blame us for not being good enough.

Of this I am supremely confident:  When we see our Savior and Redeemer face to face, we will not regret being thankful for trusting Him, even in circumstances we could not control and would not have chosen. We will see then by the light of His glory all that He was doing in and through those very moments. What seemed like unanswered prayer will be set against the grand tapestry of His grace coursing through history. We will see what He was doing . . . and we will eternally praise Him for it.

So pray without ceasing and eagerly await what God does in and through these prayers.

Article by Carolyn McCulley

So, I started Folistim on Saturday Sept 17 and did 225 units every night thru Sept 23.   Last night I did my Ovidrel shot (to trigger ovulation).  And then tomorrow is the big day for us.  
At my last visit   I had 7 developing follicles.  They measured as follows:
Right ovary:                                                    Left ovary:
15x20                                                                 15x15
10x9                                                                    11x10
14x13                                                                  12x9
12x11
So, they like for follicles to be about 18mm, and she said after my last dose of Folistim and then my Ovidrel injection, it looked like there were probably 2 that would be completely mature (18mm).   That doesn't mean that the others couldn't mature, but that was her prediction.  Again, it only takes one follicle with one egg inside to release and meet up with the sperm, but we're trying to optimize our chances with as many follicles as we can get.   Not all follicles have eggs inside them either- all these exceptions to the rule.  

My baseline estrogen level was 42, it then went up to 342 on Wednesday Sept 21, and at the last visit on Sept 23 it had reached 846.  They say your E2 level is 150-200 per mature follicle.  The follicles grow about 1-2mm every night, so we're hoping we've got a few good ones to work with by Monday morning when I go in.  

Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow morning Sept 26 as we will go in for the procedure at 1130am.  Then we wait to find out if anything is growing in there.