Uugghh!!!!!

Just thought I'd say that Thursday can't get here fast enough!!!!

That is all...you can resume your regular activities now :)

Three Weeks Old

Today, it's been three weeks since fertilization.
The most surprising thing I learned is that our baby has a yolk sac!

Just like a chicken.  It serves the same purpose, to nourish the growing embryo before the umbilical cord develops.

This is what things should have looked like about a week ago:

The entire embryo is still covered by the uterine lining.

As you can see, the embryo has expanded and now contains a yolk sac and an amniotic sac, with placental cells growing around it.

The cells that will become the baby (here, titled the "embryo," so as not to confuse, ha!) line themselves up into two layers.

Here, it's about the size of a poppy seed.

Here's what things look like now:

The entire thing is still covered by the uterine lining, but boy, those placental cells really have been growing! The third week after conception marks the beginning of the embryonic period, when the brain, spinal cord and heart begin to develop.  Here, where the cells that have lined themselves up in two layers in the previous week, are now becoming the neural tube.  From the neural tube, the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will develop.

Here's a closer look of the baby:

Isn't it cute?

The baby has three layers: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and and endoderm. The ectoderm (the outer layer of cells) will turn into skin, nervous system, eyes, and ears.  The mesoderm (the middle layer of cells) will turn into the heart, bones, muscles, kidneys, and reproductive system.  The endoderm will become a tube-like structure and the lungs, intestines, and bladder will develop from it.

(what is confusing about finding pictures is that most are considered "5 weeks" at this stage, since the pregnancy is timed at the beginning of the last period.  We know our date of conception, and know our baby is exactly three weeks old.)

The Pictures Tell Their Own Story...

Before Transfer - our wonderful NC Barb :)

Lucky Socks!

An awesome gift basket

Prayers after transfer...My favorite nurse CJ is such an amazing prayer warrior!!!!  I specifically asked for her to come in to pray over us.  Not a dry eye in the room when she was finished.

After transfer...Do I have that "just knocked up" look yet?!?  

The best "after transfer" snack...pineapple has enzymes that help with the embryo implantation.

First tests were very negative :(  But 5dp5dt (5 days past a 5 day transfer) is still very early, so we weren't losing hope!

My 1st super-faint-can-hardly-see-it-without-super-surro-vision positive :)

And later, another super-faint-barely-there positive

The next day at lunch time was slightly darker, but at 7dp5dt, it was still very light.  At this point, I was beginning to think we had a chemical pregnancy.

These are the EPT tests that Carrie had given me in my super-cool basket.  Unfortunately the blue dye isn't as sensitive as the pink dye.  BUT, you could see the super-faint plus sign here.

This was my collection of tests as of 7dp.

At 8dp, it was more visible, but just as light as the day before.  At this point, I was preparing for bad news on beta day!

Beta day arrived (9dp9dt), and we felt like our piddly 9.8 was a sign of what we had assumed we'd hear - likely, we had a chemical pregnancy.  But Carrie & I decided to keep testing, just to see what might happen.

Our 2nd beta at 11dp5dt did something we didn't quite expect it to do!  We were almost tripled at 26.4! Wowzers :)  Relief, but still worry as to what might happen after a few more days.  Another beta was scheduled.

Our 3rd beta at 13dp5dt tripled AGAIN to 84.6!!!  We were shocked, and so very excited with the news.

But I'm still testing.  Its the need to see that positive line get darker.  

These tests were today, at 15dp5dt.  The positive line was visible quicker than the control line :)  

And because I have an amazing IM, I received a special delivery of these today via FedEx!  My nausea has been out of control, and in the past, these have been my saving grace.  I'm so thankful that Carrie bought these for me, without my knowledge, because when I headed to the maternity store to get them after work, I discovered the store wasn't there any longer :(    I was a little worried about what I would do to try to control my nausea moving forward, but now I have no worries :)  Let's just hope they do they trick!

Good News!

Do you like roller coasters?  I don't.  I hate them and would much prefer to stay safely on the ground.  I'm not liking this roller coaster ride we're being put through: the up's and down's that seem to happen every two days when Jenn gets bloodwork done!

Yesterday's report brought some very good news!  Jenn went in for bloodwork again yesterday and the beta level has almost tripled!  As of yesterday it was 26.9.  That is great news!  We are back in the game, and it is looking less like this was a chemical pregnancy.

Why did this happen?  Well, one possibility is that our little embryo took awhile to hatch and implant- it took longer than the 36 hours it usually takes.

Contemplating our Situation: Life, God and the Power of Prayer

Although our circumstances are unusual outside the world of IVF, and in regular life a woman would not even know she was pregnant in two weeks time (today our embryo is 17 days old- 5 days in a petri dish, then 12 days since transfer).  She would not know or worry about her hCg levels or worry about numbers increasing or doubling.  She would not know which day her baby was conceived, but only have a vague idea later on.

There is one woman in history who was aware, before any reproductive technology was invented, the day (or very close to the day) her baby was conceived.  That woman was Mary, the mother of Jesus.  In the angel Gabriel's explanation to Mary's question "How will this be, for I am a virgin," the angel explains, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:36).  Soon after this, Mary made the trip to see her cousin Elizabeth.  The journey was about 60 miles, and it is estimated that travel time was roughly one week.  Elizabeth greeted Mary when she was at a very early stage of pregnancy (possibly two weeks), carrying "only" an embryo. Elizabeth said to her, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord shall come to me?" (Luke 1:42-43).

Mary, in this very early stage, was recognized as a mother, and Jesus is recognized as her son, a baby. Knowing what I know now about embryo development, I am in awe of what is probably less than a 1-2mm in diameter embryo.  So tiny yet so miraculous.  Marc and I believe life begins at conception.  Insight into this story reinforces our view.  We call this embryo our baby.

Also, for all those who have been praying for us, and we feel truly blessed to be included in your prayers, we believe the Beta numbers are going up because of you.  I believe the numbers are being "prayed up."  God has a sovereign plan in all of this, and that plan includes prayer.

Bad News

This morning Jenn went in for bloodwork so that they could see what her beta numbers are.
We got the results around 12:30.  They were not good.  9.8.  This means that there's still a small chance the pregnancy could take, but a much bigger chance that this is a "chemical" pregnancy, meaning the embryo attached but dissolved.

So, what are beta numbers?

"Beta" numbers are short for Beta hCG (human chorianic gonadotropin).  HCG is otherwise known as the "pregnancy hormone," and is made by the cells that form the placenta.

I've read that anything above 25 is a positive pregnancy (anything below 5 is a negative pregnancy), and this number (in 85% of pregnancies) should double every 48 to 72 hours until they drop down and level off at 8 to 11 weeks.

A low beta could mean a very early miscarriage (otherwise known as a chemical pregnancy) or a blighted ovum (meaning the embryo has attached itself to the uterine wall, but has not developed).  Even some increase in hCG levels could still point toward a blighted ovum- as the placenta can continue to grow without a baby for a short time.  A blighted ovum is usually caused by abnormal chromosomes.

Waiting

It's been five days since transfer.  This Thursday, Jenn will go in to get a pregnancy test done, and then we'll know.  We'll know if at least one of these little embryos was successful in its voyage.

In the meantime, I feel like I should update everyone on the fate of our other embryos.  As of transfer day, we still had nine other embryos growing.  Here is the chart I was given of their status.

Embryos #1 and #2 were transferred.  Here, the "1" means Stage 1 blastocyst and the "M's" mean morulas. For  #7, "EM" means early morula, and the rest, "MC's," mean multi-cellular.  As of Day 6, Embryos #3 and #4 had become full-blown blastocysts: Grades 4AA and 4BA.  These were frozen.  We have two great frozen embryos!  As for the others, their growth was so slow that their development was considered "arrested" by Day 6, so they are no more.

So here we are, waiting.  Still four days to go...

Transfer Day

Yesterday was transfer day.  Wow what a big day!  Our transfer was scheduled for 11:30, so we arrived at 11 for Jenn's bloodwork.  After that, we went into the same area where I had gotten ready for my egg retrieval.

This is where they gave me what will hopefully be our first baby pictures (click on image to see both images)!  Introducing... Embryo A and Embryo B (I know, not very creative).  The embryo on the left was a Stage 1 blastocyst when the picture was taken early that morning.  By the time it was transferred into Jenn, it was between a Stage 1 and Stage 2 blastocyst.  The embryo on the right was a morula when the picture was taken, by the time it was transferred it was a Level 1 blastocyst.

Side Note:  Embryology 101 (by Marc, edited by me)

The morula stage is usually reached by Day 3 after the embryo reaches eight cells.  This stage is significant because in order for a morula to become a blastocyst, a large number of genes must be activated and expressed for the *first time.*  Morulas and blastocysts are able to actively replicate their own DNA which causes them to grow and develop.  The difference between morulas and  blastocysts is that blastocysts are able to differentiate (this means the cells are able to form specialized proteins and cell structures that first form the placenta and the fetus, then later specialized body parts such as the heart, lungs, liver, etc.).  

There are about five stages of blastocyst development, where a large, fluid filled cavity is formed within the cell and highly specialized smaller cells and proteins are localized at certain areas throughout the cell.  The first to be developed are the placenta and the fetus. 

Both of our embryos were similar to the early blastocyst stage as seen here.  Once in Jenn's uterus, they should continue to expand until they "hatch" and implant themselves.  This should have happened later the night of transfer or the next morning (yes, it's that fast!).

Later, on the 7-8th day the embryos will "infect" (Marc's word) the uterine wall for implantation.  The embryo will secrete enzymes that will destroy capillaries in the uterus so that it can implant itself inside the uterine wall and latch on to Jenn's blood vessel(s).  The destruction of blood vessels will also promote the uterus to make new and more blood vessels for support.  (This is why they say some spotting is okay around days 7-8)

**end technical stuff here... on to fun stuff**

Here we are, waiting to go into the transfer room, with our nurse Barb and Jenn's Transfer Day gift basket

We had matching green socks for luck..

and matching green fingernails!

Here is the room where the magic happens.  Jenn is talking with the embryologist and being prepped.  This is the same room where I had my egg aspiration.  The window at the back is where they passed the test tubes containing my eggs back to the embryology department.  BTW, girls, this bed had some serious stirrups, not the kind we are used to at our OB/GYN's offices!  No way to move your legs in this one!

Our embryos were wheeled in the transfer room in an incubator.  My eyes burned from trying to hold back my tears.  I couldn't believe they were right there!

Jenn's ready to go!  Her spirits were so high and she was so excited!  Marc and I are just so happy that God chose her to be our surrogate.

This image is difficult to make out, but this is Jenn's uterus just after transfer.  They put two bubbles in the catheter which come out as small bits of light.  It's how they know the embryos are in there, as they are microscopic.  Here, the streak of light can be seen.  Our embies are in there somewhere!