"An Angel in the book of life wrote down my baby's birth. And whispered as she closed the book "too beautiful for earth."

Hello all! I just though I would send out an update! Thank you all for the sweet messages of concern and prayer. Please keep them coming as they are very needed these next few weeks especially! 

I started my Lupron shots on the 26th and other than the actual medicine stinging like crazy and a few crying spells, and an allergic reaction on my arms, I haven't noticed any side effects (lol, I love to be complicated).  I will do my best to explain what the meds do since I have people ask me constantly. Lupron in a nutshell causes a "flare effect". The flare effect of Lupron can be used at the beginning of a fresh IVF cycle to help stimulate the development and maturation of eggs. Lupron is given for a few days and then injectable fertility medications are started.  It essentially acts by suppressing the pituitary gland (the gland which is normally responsible for triggering ovulation). However, before suppression occurs, Lupron will briefly stimulate the pituitary causing an increase in the pituitary hormones LH (luteinizing hormone) and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone).

Two days later I started Gonal F injections. Gonal FSH increases the number of growing follicles and stimulates their development. Within the follicles are the developing eggs. FSH also increases the production of oestrogen, and under the influence of this hormone, the largest follicle continues to develop. This medicine is used to stimulate the development of follicles and eggs in women who are having difficulties getting pregnant due to problems with ovulation. 

So the side effects of both of these are:

• Pain, bruising and inflammation at the injection site in men and women.
• Headache in women.
• Ovarian cysts

• Mild to moderate over-stimulation of the ovaries (ovarian hyper stimulation), causing the production of many eggs.
• Disturbances of the gut, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and bloating in women.
• Breast enlargement, weight gain, acne and swelling of the veins in the scrotum in men.

I am experiencing every one of them except the scrotal swelling which if Steven doesn't play his cards right...he may experience! (lololol! crack myself up again).

I have this entire week off which is a God send because I am going to need a lot of sleep I do believe. 

Please pray for me this week. As if the hormones are not atrocious enough, this would have been my week to deliver nugget #1! November 6 would have been my first babies due date (at least by my calculations) and anybody that has ever had a miscarriage knows, a mommy never forgets that date. I cannot dwell on the past, however I do feel like that baby deserves some remembrance and I won't ever stop thinking about it! It was my only "first child"! Hopefully I'll be adding a sister or brother to the mix here shortly! 

Enough about that (sniff, sniff)...I go back to the doctor to see my new babies again this Friday. At that point they will assess how the medicines are working and at what stage the eggs are in order to plan their retrieval. November 10 is the tentative date for removing those bad boys. They will put me to sleep and use a very large needle to poke through my uterus and into my ovaries and get each individual egg out of it's nest! How cool is that?! Then we will put them together with Steven contribution to the process, and wait..... 

Somewhere around November 13-15 they will take the good embryos and implant the two best ones back in and WAIT...

All of this is assuming they have enough eggs to harvest and that they survive this process. I am praying and believing that I will produce more than enough and that they will be exceptionally gorgeous! (ha)

At this point, if they are ugly PLEASE DON'T TELL ME! I will dress them cute anyway.

Many prayers needed for my health, sanity and marriage over the next month please! 

Here is a sweet reminder of my first angel that I won't ever forget! 

XOXO sweet fetus!

                       Nothing will ever out do this I don't believe! 

Have a great week!