Egg Retrieval

So after 2 weeks of over 20 shots, 5 ultrasounds and 17 original follicles, I am ready to have 10 sizeable follicles retrieved tomorrow morning. I did my intermuscular trigger shot last night to officially tell my body that it is time to release all the eggs I've been growing. I did my 10,000 unit HCG shot mixed with 1cc of solvent last night at 8:30pm and my retrieval is exactly 36 hours later on Tuesday morning at 8:30am. The retrieval is probably the most comprehensive part of this whole process, but after they put me to sleep I usually don't remember a thing. The surgery takes about 30 min but the prep and recovery in total put you there for 2 1/2 hours. I have never had any pain after the surgery, but I do know that some people have different issues. Luckily, I've been able to just take a nap at home afterwards and then be ready to go hours later. In my 4 other IVF cycles, I've always put back a fresh embryo. However, because it took me longer to grow my eggs this time, I have stimmed past the recommended date for my lining to be adequate. Therefore, I am going to be freezing my embryos this time and the doctors will work on building my lining back up over the course of the month. According to the experts, this is the best for my body so I'll take their word for it. Chad and I have also decided to use the extra month as a time to take a vacation before we get serious about the transfer and hopefully next 8 months. I think this will help us get some well-deserved R&R. Afterall this process started in January so we are ready for some time away from all the meds but also the cold, wet weather we've had in Georgia this winter. I'm looking to go someplace that has warm sandy beaches!

Getting Ready for Phase II

So, I've finished my birth control pills and decreased my lupon dose to 5cc. Tomorrow, Feb. 14 I will begin 125mg of Ganirelix. From there, I will have a submission check on Feb. 16, and if all looks good, we will start Phase II on Feb. 17. This phase should take about 16-21 days, but I promise to blog as big milestones are met. I tried to included a picture of all my medicines but I had technical difficulties. However, in order to help gauge the size of the box, it is a cooler the size of a 20" TV. Seeing this on my counter is overwhelming at times and a constant reminder of the dedication to the process, but while most would feel scared and anxious about the shots and protocol, it helps me keep my mind off the length of time til the end result and focus on the day to day tasks. You see I'm a planner and this helps me feel a little like I'm sticking to a schedule of a process that I've learned is ultimately unpredictable. But whatever works for you to help you stay sane is 100% recommended because the less stress we pile on, the better.

IVF #5

As my faith continues to mature, I have come to understand that God uses us in many different ways to help others. I have discovered that after battling kidney disease, 3 IUIs, 4 fresh IVF cycles, 2 frozen transfers, and a couple miscarriages, the responsibility given to me from God is to help provide hope to the hopeless. It is with this honor that I am choosing to document my next fresh IVF cycle from start to finish in hopes that someone will be motivated and comforted by my story. I am 36 years old living with FSG (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis), a fairly rare kidney disease for white females. I was diagnosed at age 20 while playing college soccer at Georgia State University. My prognosis is good as I've been in remission for a few years now. While I'll never be completely cured, my medications keep me stable and as a result I have not had to pursue a transplant. Backing up about 9 years ago, Chad and I decided that at age 27, we'd like to start our family. We tried unsuccessfully for 4 years. We did IUIs, Clomid, 3 IVFs, and spent thousands of dollars with only a few chemical pregnancies to show. We decided that it was time to try something new, so in 2010, we visited RBA. We were introduced to the AACEP Protocol with Follisitim and Menopur. Fortunately, this was the right choice and 34wks later, Myer was born. Of course, I endured countless shots, procedures, doctor visits, and eventually preeclampsia, but in the end it was worth it for my son to be here with us today. Some my think I'm nuts for putting my body through anymore, but the love of a child is so great and with God on my side, I know we are doing the right thing. Before going to this next round of IVF, we did attempt two frozen transfers with embryos left over from Myer's cycle, but one ended in a miscarriage at 6wks and the other never took. To start from scratch was devastating so we took some time off and thought maybe we could conceive a sibling for Myer on our own. Obviously, that didn't work out for us since the title of my post is IVF #5. However, I will say that I have read a lot of stories where natural conception takes place for so many after success with IVF. This just wasn't the path paved for us. There was a silver lining though that presented itself around October 2014 when my company switched insurance programs and infertility was finally going to be covered. We decided at that time, that we would wait til Jan. 2015 when the insurance coverage kicked in to try for baby #2. Now on January 21, 2015, I am excited to report that we have officially begun our 5th fresh and last IVF process to work on completing our family. The meds, procedures, and doctors are what help me prepare my body, but it is my faith in God that I know we will have what we need in the end. It is a long process, but my goal is to document it along the way, so that someone reading this that is scared, nervous, or contemplating their choices, can reach out to me for help. So, on day 1 of this process, I have started my first birth control pill. I will take these til Feb. 10. Lupron shots will be added during this time starting on Feb. 4-13. From there, I will start another injection called Ganirelix on Feb.14-16. That is phase I, the easier segment, of this cycle. Stay tuned for Phase II to begin shortly after mid Feb. All in all this entire process will take around 60 days, so I've got a lot of posts coming! Thanks for checking in and if you know of anyone that is going through or considering assisted reproductive technology, please feel free to pass along my blog address or facebook page. Until next time.... Jill

Personality Traits and Funny Phrases



October 13, 2014



1st Soccer Season (Fire Ants #9)

I figured after months of not writing, an update was overdue. I write to allow our friends and family a sneak peek into our lives, but more importantly I write to capture events and memories that I may otherwise forget if I didn’t take some time to capture them here. Everyone always told me that your kids grow up too fast, but I wasn’t fully prepared for the speed at which this happens. It feels like just yesterday we were bringing home our 4lb baby from the hospital after spending his first 2wks in the NICU, and today, Myer is one of the tallest 3 year olds on his soccer team. While is height and physicality are a sports coach dream, he hasn’t fully grasped the interest in athletics just yet. He does love to play with the kids, but right now, the soccer ball just gets in the way of him making friends out on the field. However, what he lacks in athleticism, he makes up exponentially in intelligence. Myer has a great memory which allows him the ability to name every car make and model in the parking lot! He also just surprised us by being able to recite the entire Pledge of Allegiance. Note, I didn’t learn that til 1^st grade, so he’s already ahead of me! He also knows where the Eiffel Tower is and can locate about 30 states on the map. I’m around 3 year olds a lot between church and soccer and I can safely say that Myer is one of the brightest I’ve met so far. Now, if we could only get him to stay focused on learning things he doesn’t have an interest in, he will be light years ahead of this peers when he hits kindergarten.

As Myer gets older, there are some obvious traits from both Chad and I that were passed down. The first one that Myer definitely got from us is stubbornness. While most of the time, you think of this word in a negative way, I do believe that Myer’s will is what helped him thrive as a preemie. I also know that Myer will never give up and will always try if faced with a challenge. On the other side, Myer does not like to be helped which is due to this also. Just like Chad and me, Myer must fix a problem, open a jar, or move a piece of furniture on his own!  If he doesn’t do it by himself, he feels defeated. This is something we are trying to improve so he doesn’t get angry over little things.

Another trait that we see in our son is the hunger and tired mood swings. Chad gets irritated when he is hungry, and I could bite your head off when I’m tired. Unfortunately, Myer has a little bit of both, but maybe that is also a culprit of just being 3 years old. I hope so! I guess the quick fix is to keep Chad and Myer well fed, and Myer and I well rested. I think we can handle that!

One personality trait that Myer didn’t inherit from either Chad or me is his thirst to be the center of attention. He talks to everyone whether we are in the grocery store, library, or doctor’s office. I think he surprises people when he opens up to them about his day or the latest train video he just saw. Yes, he is in love with trains!!! In fact, he’ll shake their hand, introduce himself, me, and then say “nice to meet you”. Sometimes, I feel bad, but I even have to cut him off in restaurants so the waiter can get back to serving the other tables. He is quite the social butterfly which to me is a great trait to have. I will continue to encourage him to engage in adult conversation because that will help him mature and speak intelligently as he gets older. Also, I think it makes a 3 year old that much cuter if they are willing to acknowledge adults.

Myer’s most famous trait right now is his blond curly hair. I’m not sure how long it will stay blond or be curly for that matter, but after 3 years he still gets comments on his “gorgeous” hair from strangers. A lot of people ask “where did you get those curls from” and I just like respond with “we aren’t sure” if they haven’t noticed the thick, curly fro that sits on my head! Chad and I always said that between my curls and his thick hair, we would have kids with lots of hair, so I guess are predication was pretty accurate.  Myer’s trademark is his hair for sure, but I think he’s got one of the most angelic complexions also. Of course, I’m his mom, so I would think that!

Before I close this post, I wanted to take a second and write down some phrases that I want to remember since they are some of the cuter things Myer has said over the last few months. Everyone has told me to keep track of things like this so I could share with Myer when he gets older and since, his baby book is already full, I’m jotting them down here.

·         “Can I keep my door crackly?”

·         “Mommy are you a princess?”

• Old McDonalds for McDonalds fast food

·            Vaust for exhaust (on a car)

·         Superdo for Subaru

·         Mims for Mimi and Nan for Nani (these are his new nicknames for his grandmothers)

So, as I end this journal entry, I will say that I’m going to try and do a better job of updating my blog from time to time. After all, before too long, Myer will be starting kindergarten! I’m not sure what the future will hold for expanding our family, but I do know that Myer has been a blessing (even with his temper tantrums) and I’m so thankful that we’ve been able to share him with the world. I pray that one day we can share a sibling with him so he will know the love that comes with growing up with your best friend. Until then, Chad and I are honored and willing to accept the role that Myer considers us to be his best friends!



Driving the ship at Jay and Becca's Wedding 9/13/14

Pledge of Allegiance by Myer Lewis- age 3

 

Halloween 2013

 

Myer never ceases to amaze us and he didn’t disappoint on Halloween. First, let me start by saying Myer is 2 years 7 ½ months. Now that you know he isn’t even 3 yet, you’ll understand why we were so impressed with our little guy last night. For starters, he wore his whole train engineer costume (hat and all) the entire night. He also never asked for help carrying his candy bucket, and we hit about 20 houses all of which he said “trick or treating” (his words) and “thank you”.  

Myer as the train engineer- Halloween 2013

 

He even crossed the street with care and admired everyone’s pumpkin carving talents. It was a just a special night to be able to relive an old holiday tradition through our child’s eyes. The simplicity and purity of life are amazing things, and we are so grateful to have Myer show us what’s really important in life! His excitement yesterday was infectious, and it felt good to just be with family walking up and down streets.  The humanity in the neighborhood with people laughing, socializing, and loving one another was also inspiring and cherished. When I see a man on the street get out of his car to help another man push a broken down car out of the way, I can’t help but smile inside and feel good about our society. For me, it came in the way of a Starbucks drive-thru the other day. The person in front of me paid for my coffee. Of course, it was only $6, but it meant so much to me that I paid for the person behind me. I drove off thinking how wonderful people can be in this world. I also thought that if a $6 coffee could make me feel so special and loved, there were plenty of things I could do for others to make them feel the same way as I did that morning. Therefore, on Dec. 1, I will be starting a new tradition in our household. Instead of the daily advent calendar to just solely count down the days til Christmas, I want to create a Good Samaritan count up. By this I mean, I will create a list of 24 helpful things that Myer, Chad, and I will attempt to accomplish during this holiday season. I think this will be a great family tradition and will help Myer learn the beauty behind being a caring and loving person as he grows older. My goal is for him to be the man that is getting out of his car to help another stranded driver someday.

 

For those interested, I’ll post the list as soon as I have it in case you want to play along with your family.

Where has the time gone?

Today is August 27, 2013. Its been over 9 months since my last post, so Myer is now 2 1/2 and growing like a weed. He is about 3'2" and probably around 35lbs. He is a little monster! His vocabulary has exploded in the last couple of months, and he is saying everything from "excavator" (that's a bulldozer like truck for those that don't know) to singing "Day-O" in Nani's car. He loves to ask questions, but will not accept "I don't know" as an answer yet. Therefore, I have to know where every car is going, what every truck is doing, and the location of all his missing toys. Like I said in an earlier post, his memory is incredible because he will remember every bargaining tactic I use to persuade him to eat his dinner, brush his teeth, or use the potty. For a while, I had promised him a toy car if he used the potty. Well, for weeks he would randomly bring it up until finally he was awarded the car. Of course, the potty trick didn't last too long, so we are still working on that. Some of Myer's favorite foods are: pancakes, barbeque, grapes, milk, sweet potatoes, yogurt covered raisins (or white gummies as we like to say), and fried okra. Yep, that is right...the boy likes fried okra! In fact, every time we drive by the restaurant, he tells me he wants okra. I guess he gets that from Chad. Overall though, Myer is a great eater and will try most things. He is not a huge dessert fan, but of course, he will eat it if he tries it. As for daycare, we are still taking him to Miss Judy's. He also goes to Waumba Land at church which has been so good for him. He asked me the other night if we could pray before eating dinner. I think he likes to say "Amen". We still have a hard time getting him to sit still in restaurants, but the high pitch screaming has subsided for the most part. That was by far the worst habit we had to break. I know he was just being 2, but I am glad that phase is almost over. He is such a sweet and sensitive boy that I hated people seeing that side of him out in public. It was almost like I wanted to tell everyone that he is normally not like that. I guess the majority of people understand though. Oh, we did take Myer on his first plane ride in June. We decided to make a quick trip down to Disney to celebrate our 10yr anniversary with him. The plane ride was a success, thank goodness, but Disney was difficult this time around with Myer being a little older. He got thrown off his nap schedule, he didn't eat much, and it was so hot that it made for a very stressful time. Chad and I have promised each other not to go back until Myer is about 4 or 5. I just hope Chad can hold out a couple years. :)  Myer still loves trains. He has already asked Santa to bring him a Chuggington track system. We have a picture hanging on our frig and every time Myer sees it, he says "Christmas". I hope he can be a good little boy for the next 4 months. We will probably try and get him some educational toys as well though because he loves to learn. He still likes to sit and look at books by himself. He even gets out his toy computer to "work" on like mommy and daddy. He knows most of his shapes, numbers, and letters already, so next up will be reading or adding. I know Chad would like him to be in Calculus by age 5. :) Myer is still working on his athletic ability, but I will say that the kid can dribble a soccer ball for his age. He tends to be left footed, so I find that pretty cool. He hasn't shown much interest in catching, so baseball and football may be a while off yet, but he loves swinging the golf club and putting the ball in the basketball goal. As for tennis, well...he just likes running around the court. He is a pretty good swimmer though, so maybe endurance will be a strength of his, like me and he'll excel in sports that highlight that long distance. I guess only time will tell. Whatever he does, I just hope he has fun and will be proud of his accomplishments.

Myer's First Haircut- August 2013

Myer's 2nd Birthday

Closing out 2012

I can’t believe the last time I submitted a post was shortly after Myer’s first birthday back in March. I guess I’ll never make it as a blogger, so I’d better stick to selling baby diapers for now.  At any rate, Myer is now 20 months and 3 weeks, 27lbs, and at his last appointment, the doctor predicted he’d be 6’3”. As you can see, a  lot has changed in the last 8 months or so since I last wrote.

Myer is running, climbing, destroying, and just being a boy these days. His favorite things to do at the moment are redecorating the Christmas tree, playing with cars, playing outside on the playground, and reading. He knows a lot of words and he can point out almost anything if you ask him to find the object in a book. I think he has a good memory, except when mommy tells him not to do something like play with the outlets. Somehow, he forgets that a lot. Over the last couple of months, we have learned that he is very independent and stubborn, two traits that both Chad and I possess. At least we know he will be strong willed with a never give up attitude. I guess we should have known that from day 1 when he was only 4lbs in the hospital struggling to learn how to eat. He also has a very sweet, caring side to his personality. We know this because he has never met a stranger. He says “hi” and “bye bye” to everyone, everywhere. In fact, sometimes he feels obligated to give hugs to the little girls.  With his white blond hair and blue eyes, he’s going to crush a lot of hearts someday!

 

Another event that took place within the last 8 months was our trip to New Smyrna Beach in Florida back in September.  We had 20 members from the Lewis family down there with us, so we had a lot of fun just relaxing and spending some quality time with the group.

In October, Myer got to go trick or treating for the first time since last year he was still too little. We dressed him as Mickey Mouse, and he absolutely loved it. We visited about 10 houses and then called it a night. I am pretty sure Myer solely enjoyed just saying hi to everyone since he never took any candy from their bowls. Our little social butterfly, or I guess I should I say social mouse?

 

Then in November, Myer was selected to be on my company’s first online diaper brand, EcoBundles that is launching in April of 2013. Myer will be on one of the training pant bags because he did so well with the potty at the photo shoot. I’m sure he’ll love that story when I tell it to friends someday. At any rate, you’ll be able to find him on storknest.com when it launches. 



Myer's Photo Shoot

As for what’s going on currently, we are rapidly approaching Christmas so we are just trying to tie up some loose ends. Myer will be visiting with Santa on December 13, so hopefully, I’ll be able to post a couple pictures from the event. It will be interesting to see how Myer reacts this year. We have been prepping him to say “Santa Claus” so hopefully he will be able to put a face with the name and be comfortable with him.  He has been fascinated with all the Christmas decorations so far though, so maybe Santa will just awe him to the state of complacency. I think Santa may be bringing him a wagon and Cookie Monster doll this year. Myer has a bias to Cookie Monster now because he eats cookies.

After Christmas, we are doing another Disney trip this year. The whole family is coming again and Jay’s girlfriend Becca will be attending this year as well also. We are excited for the trip, but I am getting a little nervous not knowing how Myer will handle having to be still in the long lines. He is a mover! I guess only time will tell.

As for the rest of the family, everyone is doing well and in good health. Mom and Dad are still teaching, counting the minutes til retirement. Jay and Becca just celebrated 3 years together in November. Karen and Doug, my in-laws, are enjoying be grandparents to Myer, and Lindsay has almost completed her first semester at PA school in Alabama.  Chad and I are coming up on our 10 year wedding anniversary in June, so as you can tell, we are fine. We also just chose to sponsor another child through Compassion International. This is the same organization that we have Daniel in Kenya through. This time, I chose a girl named Estafani in the Dominican Republic. I can’t wait to start corresponding with her and tell her all about what a wonderful network of friends and family we have.

 Other than that, we are just closing out another wonderful year. Please stay tuned for more excitement in 2013. Happy Holidays!

November 2012

 

Thanksgiving 2012