Here we are… almost one year later – starting our second round of IVF. For anyone that is new to our story you can catch up by reading Our Journey with Infertility.
We were so optimistic for our first round – everything was new and because of our health, age, and history our doctor said “we will get you pregnant in no time”. Ok… maybe not those exact words, but that’s what he insinuated. We were diagnosed with unexplained infertility – basically, we don’t know why you can’t get pregnant, so let’s try all of these crazy, expensive procedures to see if something works. And after countless procedures, blood draws, and pills nothing worked.
In late July 2020 we began the protocol for our first egg retrieval. I had the surgery on Everly’s first day of school and retrieved 12 eggs. From the 12 eggs we had four embryos that made it to blastocysts on day five. We were unable to do a fresh transfer and had to wait until Halloween to do our frozen embryo transfer where we transferred two embryos and it failed. Our next transfer wasn’t until February 2021 – we also transferred two embryos this time and had a chemical pregnancy. Since the last transfer failed in February we have done two months of Letrozole – basically trying naturally and have had no success, so here we are! Unfortunately, we don’t have any answers for why the embryo transfers failed and it could be a combination of things – quality of embryos, uterine lining not thick enough, etc.
Now that everyone is up to speed you are probably wondering why I am not nervous. Of course, I am having some anxious feelings, but most of the nerves around IVF come from the unknown and at this point I know what to expect. I already know that I may not get a lot of eggs retrieved at the surgery. I already know that the shots and medications are brutal and make you extra hormonal and tired. I already know that all of this might be for nothing, like the last round.
Also, this round is covered by a new, supplemental health insurance plan that we purchased so the financial burden is not as heavy. Going into the first round I was very naive about the whole experience and my expectations have shifted for sure. It doesn’t make the bad news hurt any less, but at least I :::somewhat::: know how this will all go.
We have a very busy summer planned, so we were extremely eager to get our first round underway. We were able to skip the suppression phase and move right into stimulation medication – these are the scary shots that feel not so scary this time. We are expecting to have our surgery in the first week of June and if all goes well we will do a fresh embryo transfer shortly after.
I know this might seem like a lot for you to be reading on the internet, but I am so glad I’ve been sharing my story openly. I have met so many amazingly strong men and women that are also in the same boat as Jake and I. My hope is that being open with our story will help eliminate the stigma around IVF and infertility.
Thank you for being here and supporting us/praying for us!
xo,
Jacci
