Baby Progress!

Baby update!

I had an ultrasound on Monday and everything looked great! I had no clue going into it what to expect (and for those who have done this before, you’re probably thinking “this is all normal, Kristin.”) Not going to go into detail about everything, but I have 14 eggs thus far! That sounded good to me! I have no idea if that is a lot or a little. Again, those who have gone through this before, could probably speak to that. I had 8 on one side and 6 on the other. I go in for another ultrasound today! Is it odd that I look SO forward to these?

I can’t tell you how exciting it is to think that I have eggs growing inside of me. Yes, as a woman, this is a normal occurrence. But to think that I have 14 eggs inside my ovaries is quite a weird thought. I have been on 3-4 shots everyday (number of shots depends on whether I feel like mixing the meds or not). Sometimes it’s more painful mixing them, but sometimes just the ease of doing 3 is worth it. I am on Lupron, Gonal F, Menopur, and Lovenox (spelling?). Of course the one that hurts the most (and REALLY hurts at times) is the one not really related to egg-creating. The Lovenox is a blood thinner – need to take it because of my heart. I am starting to look colorful on my stomach – thanks to the Lovenox. They said that is normal, so I am not worried.  Overall, the shots are going so well! I feel like I have a regular ole chem lab in our office, with all these shots. Unfortunately I am often not home at 6:00 when I need to take them, so I have to take my “chem lab” with me. I get excited every time I take them and just keep thinking about what these shots are doing. It just blows me away with what they can do medically, to create more eggs.

We are shooting for the end of next week for a retrieval date! Then 2 days later (I think), we would do the transfer into Brenda. AHHHH! I cannot believe I just said that! NEXT WEEK people! Can I go to the nearest hill (b/c we don’t have mtns. in St. Joe) and just YELL that? I am bursting with excitement. Though parts of this process have been overshadowed with trials and opposition, we do not want anymore joy sucked out of this process. This is SUCH an exciting time! Not that I know what it is like to be pregnant (and won’t), I feel a little crampy at times and I just think – huh – what is it like to have a baby grow inside of you? So that is why I get so giddy over eggs growing inside of me – it is just a glimpse. What a joy it is to be able to feel like I can be a part of this process. But oh the JOY, of knowing that someone is willing to CARRY for us. To bear the literal and figurative “weight” of a pregnancy. How AMAZING. We just pray continually that we are willing to give up our lives as well for others. Brenda will be starting her shots next week. She is taking a pill currently and all is going well. Sometimes it is so odd for me to think that someone else is preparing THEIR system to carry OUR baby. How cool is that (and cool doesn’t even describe it). What a gift Brenda is!

I will try to give more of an update soon too. God has been so faithful to us, and the last thing we want to do is chicken out on what He is calling us to – embryo adoption. It is still not smooth sailing, but we have grown in our faith TREMENDOUSLY. For that, we are so thankful. So willing to go through whatever it takes to be closer to our heavenly Father.