We are attempting IVF again!
- I have quite a saga so far... so just skip this post if you aren't interested.
- Most of you know the boys were conceived through In vitro fertilization... with Dr. Sonja Kristiansen in Houston. The experience was expensive, painful, yet amazing; and Carter and I were blessed that it worked the first time. We ended up with 11 embryos left over... which is a whole new blog post.
- Wednesday we had a consultation appointment with Dr. Jabara at the med school. We absolutely adore him already and are excited to try this process together. The process this time will not be nearly as invasive as the first time... since we already have embroys. The first obstacle we have to over-come is getting all 11 of our remaining "kiddos" to Lubbock from Houston! They can't fly because they are swimming in liquid nitrogen... a big no-no on airplanes for some reason. ;) Our plan right now is to drive them back over spring break... can't you see it now? All THIRTEEN of our children in the car together... Ha! The fact that all but 2 of them fit in a space that is about one square foot is convenient for traveling.
- Dr. Jabara was very honest and upfront with us that the success rates for a "thaw cycle" as they call it are MUCH lower than for a "fresh cycle". These terms make me shudder... but I don't know any other way to separate the two. There are lots of factors that go into the lower success rates, and we meet almost all of them. The first one he listed is whether the embryos are thawed within the first year. This one made me laugh! Can't you imagine me carting my 9 month old twins to the IVF clinic to try this entire procedure all over again? Not happening, folks! We're not even totally sure how we'll handle three kids spaced almost 4 years apart. Those of you who have closely spaced kids... my hat goes off to you!
- Dr. Jabara also feels very strongly that in order for this process to be worth our time, money, and effort he will either implant 2 or 3 embryos, depending on their quality. This scares me to death... because if I have another set of twins I might have to be institutionalized. ;) We put three in the first time and came out with beautiful boys... I just don't know if I can do four children under the age of 4. Do you think we'd be a hit as "Mandy and Carter plus FOUR" big enough to compete with "John and Kate plus EIGHT"????? (P.S. I can't watch that show without feeling lazy as a mom of two... not eight. How does she do it?)
- Have I rambled enough? I know there are more details here than some of you were ready for... and I promise to try to keep the TMI factor to a minimum... really I will.
- Because of all this, we are asking for your prayers as we attempt to have a sibling for Palmer and Harrison. We'll keep you posted.
2 comments:
I will be praying. I am so sorry you guys are dealing with this again. We are doing IUI right now and it is bad enough. Hang in there. I can't wait to meet your ONE beautiful, healthy, third child.
Mandy, I'm praying as well. I know all of this stuff stinks, but what a joy it will be to get one of those 11 home with you!
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