I have 2 babies inside me!!

These are our little embryos!!!

Woo Hoo! The transfer went better than we could have expected. I got the call this morning that it would be today. We had 2 embryos ready for transfer and the doctor and embryologists all said that they couldn't have looked better. They are perfect!!

So, we went in today at 11 o'clock and the nurse helped us get ready. Then we waited. Here's a little glimpse of our wait:

Getting all geared up once again. I'm really growing fond of that hat!

Waiting! Waiting!

Felipe read a little.

I admired my fuzzy house shoes, complementary of St. David's fertility surgery center. I definitely brought those home :)

Then I started playing...

They gave me Valium to help my muscles relax!! I think it worked!!

We played a game of 10,000.

Felipe won. But I let him win.

Waiting!

Time for Felipe to get ready...

Dr. Adams

Aren't we cute?

Shortly, after we took this they came to get us to take us back. The transfer itself only took about 15 minutes. We got to watch on a big screen the embryologist get the embryos and bring them into the operating room. I was awake for the whole thing. Then they wheeled me back to our room and I had to lay still for an hour. Felipe and I cried and prayed together for a while. Then we started texting our friends and family!! Directly after the transfer appointment, I went to acupuncture and fell asleep on the table for the whole 30 minutes. I guess I'm a little tuckered out. I'm now on basically bed rest for the next 3 days. They said the embryos will mostly likely implant in the uterine wall in that time. This is a very critical time for our little ones. It's completely hard to believe that there are 2 living beings in my uterus right now. Whoa!

As we prayed over our little ones today, we told them that there are so many people praying for them and lifting them up to our Father in Heaven. We told them they have lots of friends and family who can't wait to meet them. We thank you all so much for walking through this with us in love, support and prayer. We don't walk alone and we feel that today. We feel so loved by all of your words, emails, texts and loving drop-bys. Please keep praying. The battle for these little but mighty ones is not yet over. I'll keep you posted on how we're all doing. I will be able to take a preggers test week after next.

Love you all so very much.

Feleighpe

Onsight with insight...

To use the words of Mr. Steve Hawthorne, a dear friend and local prayer guru! Today we were onsight to pray with insight:

And we looked awesome doing it!!

Praying for the embryos was a really significant experience for us. Tom, the embryologist, dressed us up from head to toe and took us back and showed us the incubator holding our embryos. He opened it up and let us see the petri dishes where they are. They are still microscopic at this point, so we couldn't see them. But it was awesome to be there. What an amazing day in our lives!

Conception Day!!!

Getting going!

Hi friends. The egg retrieval went very well. The doctor said I was a great little chicken! :) The procedure itself only took about 20 minutes and I was under anesthesia for about 30 minutes. I'm feeling pretty good... still in a bit of pain and loving Vicoden at the moment :) I'm at home resting and Felipe is taking good care of me. Felipe's mom brought us lunch along with bags and bags of groceries. Sooo wonderfully sweet. She's so loving and a great mom to us. We feel our heavenly Father's gentle hand caring for us as well. I wasn't nervous at all about the procedure. Actually, I was so excited that throughout the night I woke up a couple of times and looked at the clock, thinking "is it time yet? when will it be time?!"

We got to speak at length today with Tom, the man in charge of the embryology lab. He told us exactly what would be happening with the eggs. And he helped us arrange a time to come back tomorrow to pray over our then embryos. We will go at 2pm to the lab and put on the fun, clean gear to go see our little ones in their incubator. Tom was very kind and patient with us (it was definitely apparent that no one has done this before.)

The doctor told us that we should expect to go in for the transfer of 2 embryos back into my uterus on Friday. Though, there is a small chance that they will wait until Sunday to do it. Felipe and I just can't believe all this is happening. It feels so surreal and amazing. Right?!!

I took a few pics that I'll share with you guys. If any of this is written poorly, I blame Vicoden. Smile.

BEFORE:

In my morphine-filled brain I thought it was a good idea to bring that hat home.

It's in my bag!

DURING:

Isn't this funny! They just had to let everyone know.

AFTER:

I love my fuzzy socks that my sweet hubby got me!

It's time...

I forgot to send this out yesterday :). This morning (bright and early) we go in for the egg retrieval!! I got my final sonogram on Sunday and everything looks really good. The little eggers are ready. Yay!

Please pray for a successful retrieval of all the eggs and a great meeting between them and their little friends :) And pray for God's protection over them while they grow.

Please pray for a quick recovery and for our hearts and minds to rest in the peace of Jesus.

Thank you so much.

One more day...

We went in to get a sonogram today and the eggs need a little more time to cook. There are a good number and they look strong. Tonight I'll take my last shot of "Wheaties" and we'll see the doctor again tomorrow morning. And tomorrow night we'll take the "trigger shot." This pushes the retrieval back to Tuesday instead of Monday.

Our hearts feel very peaceful about all of this.

A few weeks ago, Felipe and I asked Dr. Silverberg if we could go into the lab where our children will be conceived and pray over our potential embryos. We asked again today and Dr. Silverberg called the head guy in charge of the lab. A few people have spoken to us about the man who runs the Austin IVF lab leading us to believe that he might be a believer. We have been praying for favor in this matter. It feels very important to us. We overheard Silverberg's conversation asking him if we could come into the lab and pray over them. Without hesitation, the man said yes and we got the thumbs up!! The picture I have is of Ezekiel prophecying over the dry bones. The bones began to move and come together, but there was no life until God told Ezekiel to prophecy the WIND. We want to pray for the Holy Spirit to come and breath His life where He may and withhold life where it should not be. We have also spent time putting together a prayer of blessing over our children. I feel so blessed and in awe that this is happening. Dr. Silverberg is a Jewish man with rich Jewish roots. His wife is President of the Texas Hillel (the Jewish student community at UT). From Silverberg's initial response we guessed that no one had ever asked him if they could go into the lab before. It's a multi-million dollar, clean-room embryology facility. They do a lot to protect it and the embryos. When I shared the story of Ezekiel with Silverberg, he wanted to make it happen. We have really grown to love Kaylen Silverberg a lot. He truly has been an amazing blessing for us.

I will write another post prior to the retrieval just to remind and ask everyone to pray. That is day our child(ren) will be conceived.

Please continue to pray for me and our little eggs. This time is crucial for them. Please pray that they don't release on their own (stay in there little buddies!). One more day of wheaties!! And please pray for endurance for me. My mind more than my body is growing tired of getting poked with needles :) Today I went to give blood for an estrogen test. The sweet man in the lab stuck me and missed my vein completely. So he had to stick me again. That makes 4 shots today instead of 3. I'll go again in the morning. Bummer. :)

Thank you all so much. Truly. Thank you.

They're growing!!!

Today we saw the doctor and got to see the little follicles (what they call them before they are mature eggs) in my ovaries. The dr said that I'm doing a lot better than he thought I would with the condition my ovaries are in. That's encouraging to us. There are a good number of follicles growing and they look strong. We will go again to the doctor on Saturday and if everything looks good, we'll take the "trigger shot" to make them release on Saturday night and go for the retrieval on Monday!! We are really encouraged.

We would love to ask as many of you who are willing to commit to pray for us regularly over the next 3 weeks. On Monday (or TBA) I'll go for the egg retrieval. This is a surgical procedure. Then the eggs will be fertilized and a few days later put back into my uterus. A couple of weeks after that we'll know if we're pregnant.

Things to pray for:
1) Our hearts, minds and souls and my body. I have a host of side effects from fatigue, to nausea, to bloating and just feeling crummy. This morning at 5am I woke up with what could only be called a migraine with nausea. Today, I'm feeling much better but really tired. We are both a little anxious and growing more so. It's so exciting and whoa-kind-of-crazy at the same time.
2) Please pray blessing over our little eggs. That they would grow big and strong. And for God to breath life where He may.
3) Please pray for my body to continue to respond well to the meds. This morning I gave myself my first shot. I just had to do it to get over the fear. And after last night's migraine it seemed like no big deal :) Felipe has been wonderful in giving me all the shots. He's now a pro as we've been doing 2 a day for the last week or so.

Thank you all so much for walking this path with us. We feel as though we are being lifted up by our friends and family. It's been amazing to know how many of you are rooting for us and cheering us on. Thank you for lifting us up to God. It's in Him alone we find peace.
We love you all so much.

I'll keep you posted!

injectable "Wheaties"

So, we saw the doctor yesterday and today I start taking the second injection... what I like to call injectable "Wheaties." This is the medicine that makes the eggs grow big and strong... like Mary Lou Retton. That's who was on my Wheaties box when I was a kid. Sidenote: she's who inspired me to become a competive gymnast for 7 years of my life. Who was on your Wheaties box?

Back from the bunny trail... so here we go. It all happens pretty quickly from here. I'll take these shots for the next 7-12 days depending on how quickly the eggs grow. I'll see the doctor again next Tuesday to see how I'm doing. The egg retrieval should happen on or somewhere around the 17th. Wow!

Another side note: This past Tuesday, I woke up with a bad sore throat which has now turned into a full fledged cold or something. The doctor is being very aggressive about making sure I stay healthy. (I haven't had a cold or anything in about a year and half... hmmm.) So, I'm on an antibiotic and I had to get a test to make sure it's not the flu. We won't know until tomorrow. Please pray that it's not the flu and that I'll get well ASAP!! My body needs all the energy it can muster plus all it's back-up reserves for this process. It's very important to get well. Plus I just feel crummy :(

But nevertheless, we are excited! It all feels a bit surreal that we are finally moving forward. Is this really happening?