God is Good!  A wonderful, and long overdue, update!

Well, most of you probably already know this, but I thought I should update my blog for record keeping, and to keep everyone in the loop.  I'm pregnant!!!  And we're expecting a little boy :)

This was totally a WONDERFUL surprise.  No medical intervention needed. God just said it was time :)

I'm currently 24weeks along.  We found out in August.  Al and I were working some crazy hours at work (most weeks for a few months were over 70 hrs each week!), and we hardly saw each other.  Al was already at work one Saturday morning, and I was getting ready to head in.  I noticed I was having a tough time breathing.  That has been my first symptom with each of the two previous pregnancies I had.  So, I took a test...just in case.  I seriously didn't even realize I was late.  I thought it was a waste of time to take the test, as it has been hundreds of times before, but I did it anyways.

I set it on the counter and brushed my teeth.  As I was brushing, I glanced at the test, and noticed TWO lines....it was positive!!!  I thought "it must be a faulty test" so I took another.  Now mind you, I had just emptied my bladder minutes ago, so the chances of it being positive again were slim, even if I was pregnant, but sure enough, TWO lines.  So I opened another box, thinking ALL the tests in the first box must be faulty :) Positive again.  At that point, I called Alfonso to tell him.  He said something like "Well how did that happen?".  :)

Now, knowing what I know about my previous losses, I know I must get blood thinners and Prednisone in my system IMMEDIATELY, or I will miscarry.  I called every dr I have, and my OB/GYN called me back, very concerned, as I've never had her paged.  She told me to go to the ER immediately, and get the blood thinners.  She was concerned I may have a blood clot, since I was having difficulty breathing.  ER dr gave me blood thinners, and I could breathe and feel my fingertips again....I felt optimistic, but of course, Al and I have learned not to get too excited.

The next few weeks, we were on pins and needles.  I did a lot of crying and praying...both out of gratitude, and out of fear.  Our fertility dr did all of our early pregnancy blood tests, and from the beginning, things looked good.  Both times I was pregnant and miscarried before, my first BETA (blood test to measure the pregnancy hormone, HCG) levels were under 100.  They want to see over 100.  This time, they were around 260!!!  And the numbers doubled more frequently than every 2 days, and they need to see it double at least every three days, so we were ahead of schedule there too.

Then came the most nerve wracking part....the first ultrasound.  They warned us not to expect to see a heartbeat yet.  We were very early still.  They were correct, which was a little disappointing, however, we saw a fetal pole...which is more than we had ever seen in any previous ultrasounds :)

Next ultrasound was a week and a half later, and there it was, that beautiful heartbeat.  I screamed in the room! I truly wondered if I would ever see that day!  From there, all ultrasounds were wonderful.  There have been some minor complications to deal with, like a few fibroids, and a sub chorionic hematoma (small bleed under the placenta), but the SCH has resolved on it's own, and the fibroids, although painful, are moving out of the way, so I may not need a C-Section.

We had a few scares in the first trimester with bleeding and cramping, but those were likely due to the fibroids and SCH.  2nd trimester has been pretty uneventful, which is wonderful.  Our due date is April 28th.  I can't believe it's actually happening :)

So, for those of you who have been praying for us and supporting us through this very difficult journey, we thank you!!!  I wanted to be sure to share the good news since I have shared so many other ups and down.

For those of you still struggling in your own fertility journey, please use our story as one of encouragement, and one to strengthen your faith.  We knew all along, it was all going to be in God's perfect timing, and that His hand was in it, even though it was SOOO difficult at times.  God has His perfect plan for each and every one of us...please hold onto that faith.

I'll try to post more frequently now, and I'll post a few pics next time.  God Bless you all :)

Fork in the Road

Please send prayers our way!! 

Well, it's decision time again for the Broxton family.  Before I explain our current position, let me update everyone on the last year. 

After our ivf didn't work in April of 2011, we decided to take a break from TTC (trying to conceive).  Al's dad was very sick in the hospital for a few months, and required around the clock care, so we were exhausted, and hardly saw each other for over a month.  That's why I had no idea that I could be pregnant...and realized I was late about 8 days after I should have.  I was definitely pregnant, however, my body was attacking it again, and unfortunately, it ended in a miscarriage.  

Since then, we have not had any activity in the "baby" department.  We have been living our lives to the fullest, and focusing on improving my health.  

We have been discussing the possibility of adoption.  I have even had a few dreams about this that seem to be leading me in this direction.  My concerns are more of the child(ren) that we may adopt, and their feelings toward their biological families.  I am doing a lot of research and prayer regarding this, and what is the right path for us. 

Also, the option of surrogacy is still out there.  We have had a few people offer to help us by carrying our baby, but unfortunately, none of them would pass the health requirements :(  But thank you to those of you who have so generously offered!!  The main (and really, only) problem we have with surrogacy is the cost.  It is the cost of in vitro, PLUS the cost of lawyers, AND the payment to the surrogate herself.  The only way we may be able to pull this one off is if the surrogate would do it for little or no cost.  

So, we have a lot to think and pray about.  For those of you following my blog, I just ask you for your prayers that God will clearly direct our steps to the right path for us to start a family.  We are soooo happy for all of our family members and friends who have started their families, but we are ready for it to be our turn....we can't wait to have little ones of our own! 

The end of the road

Well everyone, we do not have the best of news, I'm afraid. The dr called today and left me a message regarding my first blood test results, and they were negative. So, we have been told to stop all the meds and call them on Tuesday if we want to talk to the dr.

Throughout this journey, I have never even thought "I'm done", but today I said it out loud. The emotional, physical, and financial toll that it has taken on Al and me is just too much to handle right now. Not to mention, our ENTIRE life has been on hold to work around ivf attempts.

Right now, my mind is saying that I'm going to just live my life for a while, enjoy my husband, maybe travel some. I just can't let another year be spent worrying about trying to have a baby.

I know I'm old, and the window of opportunity is slowly closing, but I just need a break from it all.

We are crushed beyond words. But....we do believe that God has a plan, and that He is looking out for what is best for us, even though it may not feel like this is best right now. We trust that God will get us through this, and lead us in the direction we need to go from here.

If you think of it in the next week or so, please say a prayer or two for us....we could certainly use it! And in that prayer, if you could ask for a miracle for us, that would be great :)

Thank you for your continued love and support! We love each and every one of you!!!

I'm PUPO!!! (Pregnant until proven otherwise)

Great news everyone! Dr called this morning to tell us that we were ready for embryo transfer. When we got there, they told us that only 2 out of the 6 embies they tested were chromosomally normal. Apparently, that's actually GOOD. He said they've had times where they had 10 embryos sent off for chromosome testing, and none came back normal! That is why so many women have early miscarriages, usually due to chromosome issues.

So, they asked how many we wanted to transfer. I said both, since we had already discussed transferring up to 3. The dr explained that usually when a chromosome test is done first, they don't transfer more than 1, since the chances of success are so much higher (more than double!). He asked Al and I both if we were ready for twins. He had to tell the embryologist to prepare both embies. Sounded like they were planning on just one.

They even asked us if we wanted to know the gender of both embryos. We declined. Isn't that just crazy, though? It's tempting, for sure. But for now, I'm going to wait a bit. We'll see how my self discipline holds up!

I'm so encouraged and excited. God has really worked everything out perfectly for us on this cycle. Finally, I feel like there is nothing we're missing!

It may be a few weeks before you hear any updates from us. We want to wait until a certain point in the pregnancy to share any results. I promise, as soon as we're ready to share...I'll be posting again!

Stay tuned :)

Tomorrow's the big day!

Well, I spoke to the lab today, this is where they do the chromosome testing. They received cells from all six embryos to test. Yippee!

The results will be in tomorrow morning. The doctor may transfer tomorrow, and they may wait til Thursday am. Either way, please pray that all of the "chromosomally normal" embies make it to day 5!!! They want to transfer THREE embryos!!!

God has been good to us, we see his blessings every day in our lives. Hopefully our story will bless someone you know or love!!! God Bless you all, we'll update soon!

"For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37)

Embie update

Well, today is day 3 for my little embies. We drove back from my Grandma's house last night, so we could be here for transfer. No transfer after all! Dr said we now have SIX embryos (one caught up since our last phone call). They are looking for 5 cells in each embie at this point. We had 1 at 12 cells, 3 at 8 cells, and 2 at 4 cells. The dr is going to wait until this afternoon to see if the 4 cells turn into 5 cells. Then they are going to take one cell from each, and send it off for chromosome testing. It's just amazing what they can do! He was VERY happy with the quality of the embies, said that the 4 leaders were the best possible quality. So, now we wait again...until Wednesday! They may transfer Wednesday or Thursday, depending on whether or not the chromosomally normal embies make it to a "Blastocyst" stage. He may wait until day 6, if necessary. I'll update you again on Wednesday. Thank you again for your continued prayers!

Embryo Report

I only have a few moments to post, but wanted to update everyone. As of this morning, we have five embryos. The dr was very happy with this number, since many of the 10 eggs were not mature. He said that five embryos is great for someone with high FSH like mine. They will call us Monday with another report, and instructions as to whether we will transfer them that day, or on Wednesday. I'll keep you posted. Thank you for your continued prayers!