It's Official... (almost)

WE ARE HOMEOWNERS! We signed a contract on a house today. Assuming everything goes well in the next 28 days, we will close on the 27th! I know what some of you are thinking. "Wow! You are going to close on a house RIGHT after you go through implantation???" Sure, it sounds like a lot on our plate, but I know for me personally if I don't stay busy my mind starts to wonder and I will go nuts. If I go nuts, my husband goes nuts, so it is a good thing all around! In my opinion, this is perfect! Between moving, decorating, painting, etc.. I will not have time to focus on the possibility of being pregnant!

Here is a picture of the house:


We are REALLY excited! I am sure that our realtor is too... Last night we had to plan if my husband would administer the shot in our car or in a vacant house when 7pm hit! Then, like mad people we were digging up slush/snow to put in a Ziploc to make sure our medicine stayed cold. We are turning into one HOT MESS! - Moral of this story, don't hang out with us around 7!

Other than that, nothing is new on the IVF front. I cry ALL the time. Today I cried during some stupid movie with Julia Stiles & Freddie Prince Jr. It was quite possibly the worst movie ever. With that said though, you would have thought I was watching the Notebook. It is becoming so common that my husband is prepared with Kleenex when he hears a sniff.

I was also going to make sure that everyone knows that if you have any questions or concerns that you would like to ask us, please leave a comment under the latest blog and we will address it on the next one. (Remember, nothing for us is getting "too personal"! We would be happy to answer any questions!)
~Amy

Nor rain, sleet, or snow!

The enduring ice storm finally begins to evaporate before our eyes. Today I had the pleasure of driving to Atoka, OK for work. During the lengthy drive and throughout the day, my thoughts drifted to my wife. During this truly amazing journey that we have begun, I seek to create a stress free environment for her. I cannot possibly image what it must be like to have your body completely flipped upside down. I have been administering shots to Amy every night at straight up 7 (the shots must be given at the same time everyday). I find it important to be there for Amy and want to make sure I am there to do my part.
Yesterday evening, I found out I would be taking a deposition in Atoka from 1:30 until ????. I initially had two thoughts; first being without knowing where Atoka is located I knew it must be a long ways. The second was the remnants of the ice storm will have the country roads covered up. Both thoughts turned out to be right. The trip there took a little over 2 1/2 hours from my office. This would give me a slim window to get home by 7 for the shot. I would need things to get wrapped up by 3:30 and everything would work out. As it turned out, I headed for home at 3:40. With improved roads and some luck missing the OHP, I rolled through the door at 6:57, and shot #5 was smooth as could be.
Before signing off, I want to express my gratitude to all our friends and family. Without your love and support, we would not have the peace of mind that we have throughout this experience. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
~Z

F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-E-D!

So today was supposed to be the conference call with the doctor in Maryland (for the third time). It has been rescheduled, again, to Monday at 2pm... I am not holding my breath. The doctor whom I refer to is the geneticist who will preform our PGD. He will tell us on the conference call if my translocation is mild or severe, as far as the number of eggs he thinks it will affect. People get confused about this... We are not doing this for the same reason the Hollywood stars are. You know, to pick a boy or a girl, or to make sure their child is genetically perfect. We have to do this to make sure our babies have enough chromosomes to survive. However, we could know the sex of our baby on the day of implantation. Isn't that crazy? Imagine knowing the sex of your baby the day you become pregnant!?! We have opted to wait until the normal 16-20 weeks to find out, if we are so blessed to get that far.

I was thinking last night after I posted about the call, that some of you might not understand what got us to in-vitro/PGD in the first place, which triggered a thought! Here is a great definition taken from About.com:
"A chromosomal translocation is a condition in which part of a chromosome has broken off and reattached in another location. People can have translocations without being aware of the condition. This is usually the case for reciprocal (or balanced) translocation, a type of chromosomal translocation that increases the risk of recurrent miscarriages.
In a balanced translocation, a person usually has all the genetic material necessary for normal growth -- a piece of a chromosome is merely broken off and attached to another one. However, when that person's cells divide to create egg or sperm cells for reproduction, the egg or sperm cells can end up with extra genetic material or missing genetic material, which could lead to miscarriage depending on which chromosome and genes are affected.
There is no cure for balanced translocation, and in most cases, the only adverse effect on health is recurrent miscarriages. For couples affected by balanced translocation, odds are in favor of a successful pregnancy at some point, but repeated miscarriages can obviously be difficult to cope with emotionally.
Couples with balanced translocation can opt for a treatment called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). In PGD, the couple conceives via in-vitro fertilization along with gene testing of the embryos to be sure that they do not have an unbalanced translocation. PGD is very expensive, however, and not covered by insurance, which is another reason why many couples are forced to keep trying without intervention."

Nothing I do can be simple! :)
~Amy

3 Days of Lupron

Shot #3 is over with and tonight I will focus on my husband; his face is priceless the second before he administers the shot. I can tell you that you can, without a doubt, tell if a man loves you by the facial expressions he makes when he has a needle in his hand knowing that he has to stick it in your body! He is so sweet to me now, I hope that I can control my hormones enough to not make him mad at me through this process! Not to keep boasting ad nauseam about my husband, but within 3 seconds after the shot is over, he is making sure he didn't hurt me. I tear up talking about it. I am not sure if it is just me or the hormones.... I did cry in Spiderman 2. Regardless, I am one blessed woman.

Tomorrow is the conference call with the geneticist in Baltimore. I will make sure you all know how it turns out. We are hoping to find out that my translocation is a simple one and that it will not affect many of my eggs.

Before I sign-off of this blog, I want to tell you all about our addiction to the Wii Fit. If anyone has a Wii, but not a Wii Fit, I strongly encourage you to get one. It keeps track of your weight, balance and you can do Yoga. My husband and I do it every night and we are both so competitive that we will keep going until we are exhausted just to beat each others score! I am telling you, this thing is so amazing, it could bring the world together!
~Amy

Day 2 of shots, 240 of living with the Fam...

I promised that I would not be one of those women who acts like she is the first person to ever be on hormone shots, but I am starting to become out of control. I am so hot that I am about ready to put a sleeping bag in the sleet! Honestly, that sounds refreshing. Last night was my first dose of medicine and my husband did GREAT! (Have I mentioned how insanely lucky I am to have him?) Everything was fine until I woke up this morning and I felt like I was in an oven... Then once I was at work I just wanted to punch someone in the face! My girlfriends at work are wonderful as they are fully aware of what I am going through and giving me a "Free to be a Nightmare" pass until the end of February. Gov. Henry saved the day today, and the sanity of my coworkers, when he let us off at 12:30 due to the "State of Emergency" (That is a topic I cannot even address right now.... Why does a little ice freak everyone out as if the world is ending???) Anyway, I needed to be alone to sweat, to cuss, to complain and to cry. As I was sitting upstairs in our room I randomly thought to myself, I am glad I watch Oprah. I am hoping she will get me through this. I need her to have great guests and talk about great topics and do one of her announcements like, "Today we have Jennniffer Aaaaannnisttttooonn!!" in her weird throaty voice...
If I don't already sound cranky enough, today marks day 240 of living with my mother and grandmother. Why can't we find a house we like? We have gone from looking at historic homes in the downtown region of Oklahoma City to brand new homes in Deer Creek. We aren't difficult or picky, we just cannot find the right one! People always say when you walk into a home that was meant for you, you will know.... Well, we have not had that feeling yet, and at this point I am ready for a travel trailer or even a nice 5-6 person sleep tent that I could camp out down by the river....
~Amy