Monthly Archives: July 2019

Just got the call, and we have two blastocysts! That’s 100% more than I expected last week, so I am thrilled. Now feel free to let your eyes glaze over for a minute, because even I do not understand the … Continue reading →

Just got a call from the embryologist with results from the ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection). They collected 8 oocytes yesterday. Of those, 6 were mature, and 3 fertilized. The remaining 3 are what they call “questionable” which means they may … Continue reading →

The eggs have officially launched their bright careers as students in an embryology lab! You gotta start them early working with grad students if you want to have any hopes of being a scientist, of course. The procedure could not … Continue reading →

Another trip to Lone Tree, CO today (Sunday). The follicles all seemed to grow by 2mm this time, an improvement! So it looks like we might finally be on the exponential growth curve, at the very last possible day. I … Continue reading →

Pretty non-eventful trip to the CCRM in Lone Tree, CO today (Saturday). The ultrasound showed that the follicles are still growing, but slowly. I’m still hopeful I guess? But each follicle only seemed to gain about 1mm since yesterday, so … Continue reading →

Wow this is such a roller coaster. So much monitoring and uncertainty! Well, today was the first completely optimistic day at the IVF races. I had my physical exam, to make sure I’m going in to egg retrieval healthy. I … Continue reading →

I’m glad they do such close monitoring of follicles at CCRM, because it means they can tweak medications very precisely and catch anything that’s off early. Not all clinics do such frequent ultrasounds and blood tests. But it also means … Continue reading →

Well it’s starting to look like I might have two lead follicles (14 mm and 15 mm), and a trailing cohort of six much smaller follicles (between 8 to 9 mm). This isn’t what you hope for. What it means … Continue reading →

Until today I was mainly able to continue with all my usual chores, running around, taking Emily here and there. But it is clear now that the remainder of the time until egg retrieval is going to require a severe … Continue reading →

This post is just a lot of boring details that I might want to remember later. The short version is that everything is progressing well so far. First ultrasound today and all seems to be progressing pretty much as well … Continue reading →

The injections are getting more routine now, Louis is a pro. I only had a headache that first day, and then a little bit of nausea for a couple days. But now I mostly feel normal again. My resting heart … Continue reading →

We survived the first day of injections! Wow that was nerve wracking. Reconstituting the drugs (mixing powder with liquid) and injecting turned out to be pretty complicated and quite annoying. The instructional videos are all severely lacking in detail. There … Continue reading →