18 month weight in

Wee Man is a little over 18 month so I thought I'd do a weight and height check.

Weight: 1st 10.5lb (50th percentile)
Height: 2' 8" (25th percentile)

To the uninitiated this means he's short and cuddly :-)

Sledging

Some extra Christmas photos

What do they learn here - mediocre studies?

It's all over

The last few days have been an emotional roller coaster. We went down to London yesterday ready for the embryo transfer. Half way down we got a call to say that they wouldn't get the DNA results until the next day. It was always a possibility that they would need an extra day. We check that Wee Man can stay over night with Gran and Grandad, and that my Mum can doggy sit - all ok, do we decided to stay down in London for the night.

We get the call at 11 this morning and its the worse possible news - all the embryos have stopped growing and there is nothing worth transferring.

Home now having cuddles with my little boy. We'll try again in a few months.

Snow!

Come on daddy - I want to play!

Operation pin cushion: day 16

All embryos were successfully biopsied - there are still lots of top quality ones. Will get the dna results on Monday - we have be down in London for 1pm ready for the results and to get the best 2/3 transferred back into me. No eggy updates tomorrow - they get left alone to grow.

I'm feeling less sick and sore today but very tired. I think the norprolac is working because I don't feel too bloated - shame it's making me feel so tired though.

Today's drugs:
Crinone x2
Progynova x2
Norprolac
Baby aspirin
Clexane

Operation pin cushion: day 15

Had to wait until 10am for today's news - I guess the snow caused some disruption. One of the slow embryos has caught up so we have 15 on the go. Of those 11 are top quality, 3 are good, and the last one is average. I'm very happy. Biopsy is tomorrow but we won't hear any news until midday at the earliest.

Today's drugs:
Crinone x2
Progynova x2
Norprolac
Baby aspirin
Clexane

Operation pin cushion: day 14

I didn't sleep so well last night - very nervous waiting for news on how fertilisation got on. I got the call at 9am - great news - 17 of the eggs were usable and out of those 14 have fertilised, with another 2 that might catch up. Very happy with that!

Will get another call tomorrow morning to let me know how they got on today - they should be at 4 cells tomorrow.

Today's drugs list is the biggest one so far, and it included an intermuscular injection that Andy did in my bum - ouch, it's still very sore. I'm feeling very tender today - not that surprising when you consider what my poor ovaries went through yesterday.

Today's drugs:
Doxycycline (last one)
Crinone x2
Progynova x2
Norprolac
Baby aspirin
Clexane
Lentogest - an injectable progesterone, thankfully I only need this twice a week.

Operation pin cushion: day 13

Egg collection today - they got 21! I'm still in shock - I was expecting 9 or 10.

We went up the night before and were at the hospital at 8am. I went in for my operation about 9:30 and was awake and talking by 10:30. Because they got so many eggs they have to be careful of something called ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OHSS) which can make you feel very rough. I have some extra drugs to help stop that.

Wee Man had a great time at his sleepover and didn't wake up until 9am

Today's drugs are the beginning of a new regime - the aim is to make a nice snuggly womb to put the embryos back into:
Dexamethazone
Doxycycline
Crinone - a progesterone supplement
Norprolac - this is to stop the ovaries leeking so much fluid in order to try and stave off OHSS. !

Operation pin cushion: day 12

No injections today! Just a few tablets. We came down in London ready for my operation on the morning. Wee Man is on his first sleepover at Grandma and Grandad's - I hope it was a "sleepover" not an "awakeover".

I'm getting nervous now. And a bit hormonal I think - stupid drugs.

Talking of drugs - today's were:
Dexamethazone
Doxycycline

Operation pin cushion: day 11

Had a scan today which showed great egg growth - lots of the small ones had grown too so we might get a bigger harvest than expected. The doctor said I might need to take the injection to mature the eggs tonight instead of tomorrow but would wait for the results of my blood test.

We decided to drive home and if I needed to go back in tomorrow for a final scan then I would leave Wee Man with his grandparents and get the train in.

Got the call from the hospital at 4:30 to say that they wanted me to stop taking the growth drugs and take the drug to mature the eggs tonight at 8:30, then report back to them at 8am on Wednesday morning got egg collection - yikes!

Final injection done and a night in my own bed to look forward to.

Today's drugs were:
1000ui Gonasi
Dexamethazone
Doxycycline

Phew - what a week!

We're home - yay!

We have had a busy week. We've driven nearly 1000 miles in sunshine, wind, rain, sleet and snow. We've travelled by car, bus, train, high speed train, underground, lift, escalator, buggy and on foot.

Wee Man has stayed at all of his uncle and auntie's houses. He has learnt the names of them, his cousins, and their various animals. He has tried new food (ice cream was definitely the favourite), learnt lots of new words, and finally come round to the fact that not all trains are called Thomas.

I've had 5 scans, 9 blood tests and injected myself 26 times.

We have had a great time. Thank you to my lovely siblings, siblings in law, niece and nephews for packed lunches, home cooked meals, lifts to various stations, babysitting, baby entertainment, and finally but most importantly, great company. Xx

Operation pin cushion: day 10

Left Wee Man playing with his cousins this morning while I went for my scan. We're looking on track for egg collection on Thursday. There are 9 fair sized ones, with a few other ones that might grow enough, so fingers crossed for a good harvest.

Todays drugs are:
112.5ui Gonal F
150ui Merional
Dexamethazone
Doxycycline

Operation pin cushion: day 9

Just a blood test today. My brother, sister in law and two boys came into London with us today and we had a lovely day out. Wee Man had a real adventure and when he was going to sleep he told me all about his day: "bus, train, birdie, tick tock, Percy".

No change to my drugs today:
112.5ui Gonal F
150ui Merional
Growth hormone
Dexamethazone
Doxycycline

Day out around London

I was carried by my uncle around the Tower of London. Then we went over tower bridge where I had a big snooze all snuggled up with my raven. I really like my raven - I call him birdie. Don't worry Nana - he's not real!

Operation pin cushion: day 8

I'm at my other brothers for the weekend. Wee Man has been having lots of fun playing with his cousins. They have a vast collection of Thomas toys so he's in his element.

Had another scan today - eggs are growing well. 7 on the left, and 10 or so on the right, with a few other small ones. Largest few are 18mm so all is looking good.

No change to today's drugs:
112.5ui Gonal F
150ui Merional
Dexamethazone
Doxycycline

Operation pin cushion: day 7

Had a busy day at the hospital - blood test then lots of waiting around to see the anaesthetist to make sure they are happy with which drugs they can and can't use on me.

Wee Man has been very sweet and thoroughly enjoyed played with his uncle and auntie. He only had a 10 minute nap in the afternoon so he was very cuddly which was lovely.

A new drug has been added to the cocktail - an antibiotic:
112.5ui Gonal F
150ui Merional
Growth hormone
Dexamethazone
Doxycycline

Boobies!

My brother in law spent a fair while last night making sure Wee Man could say "boobies" clearly. He would have cried with laughter this morning when Wee Man pulled down my top and shouted boobies on the packed commuter train. Cheeky chap!

Operation pin cushion: day 6

I had my first scan today to check on egg growth. There were 6 on the left side and around 12 on the right. There were a few big ones but most were around 8mm. I've just checked where things were this time last cycle - I had 5/6 on each side around 8mm, so we're doing just fine.

Today's drugs have changed a little - my Merional has been increased:
150ui Gonal F
150ui Merional
Dexamethazone

Playing in the park

Operation pin cushion: day 5

I left Wee Man with my sister while I went for my blood test. I think they had fun - he was saying "happy" when I got back and very cuddly with his auntie Sarah. I was back just in time for his nap so we had a lovely snooze together.

No change to today's drugs:
150ui Gonal F
75ui Merional
Growth hormone
Dexamethazone

Operation pin cushion: day 4

I had to go into London for a blood test this morning. It was Wee Man's first trip in a train and he was rather fascinated by it all - he enjoyed looking out the window and eating his picnic (thanks auntie Sarah). I was helped with the pushchair on and off the trains/tube by a wide assortment of people - there was always someone offering a hand.

Got the call about what drugs to take today - no change:
150ui Gonal F
75ui Merional
Dexamethazone

Operation pin cushion: day 3

Drove down to my sisters today. I'm staying here for a few days then going to stay for a few days with each my brothers.

Wee Man was very good on the journey - slept some of it - watch Mr Tumble the rest. The only issue we had was when we stopped for tea and he saw the machines with toys in them. There was a water pistol with Thomas on it (teeny tiny - that boy has good eyesight) which he really wanted and kept trying to escape to go and see. Holding a wriggly child, food and a change bag isn't easy!

Off to London in the morning for a blood test to check everything is on track.

Today's drugs were:
150ui Gonal F
75ui Merional
Growth hormone
Dexamethazone

Operation pin cushion: day 2

Only 2 injections today - no growth hormone. And I remembered to take the steroid in the morning so I didn't get insomnia.

Today's drugs were:
150ui Gonal F
75ui Merional
Dexamethazone

Operation pin cushion: day 1

Had a scan and got the go ahead to start my ivf cycle. Yay. I had to give myself 3, yes 3, injections! It wasn't so bad though - it all came back when I got the kit out and got started.

I remember trying to do it the first time - shaking like a leaf and trying to convince Big Man to do it. He wouldn't because he was going home the next day so wouldn't be there to help. He (rightly) thought that I needed to do it the first time while he was there to talk me through it. I eventually stabbed the needle in and hardly felt anything (tiny needles) - all that drama for nothing.

Today's drugs were:
150ui Gonal F
75ui Merional
Growth hormone
Dexamethazone (a tablet - yay)