The Over 40 Crowd

[children]

Hi Kim,

MY REs are at San Antonio, where I was before. I moved to Nashville after 3 months' preg. I had 4 frozen leftover embryos from the first IVF which are now transferred to Nashville Fertility Center (http://www.nashvillefertility.com/) that is run by 4 REs, the director's name is George Hill, who will be my RE when time comes to my 2nd child. However, he has not agreed to take me as a regular patient yet, because my age is beyond the limit!

I have a 33-yr old friend who had done a lot of failed IUIs in Nashville - I don't know which facility, sorry. In the end, she gave up here and went on the Chicago Advanced Fertility Center and she is now prog with twins on her first try of IVF.

BTW, I had never used any forms of hormone pills prior to my IVF tmt. I guess that was one of the reasons why I responded to IVF drugs too well - I was over-stimulated by regular amount of drugs, we had to decrease along the stimulation process. Eventually, they did not do the embryo transfer on the same cycle. All I did was frozen cycles.

Hope this info helps.

Good luck!

Yasmina

[teachertam]

Hello Ladies:

Each night gets better with the "little guy". He is waking up about every 2 -2.5 hours. I have posted a photo of my Andrew on photobucket.

Yasmina: Where is the photo of your little beauty? Is it on photobucket?
I could not believe how quickly I progressed once give the Pitocin. I believe that I was in early labor when I arrived at the hospital, as I was having mild contractions before being given Pitocin. The only disadvantage of having the epidural was that I could not feel anything to aid in pushing him out. If it were not for the vacuum extraction, I may have had to have an emergency C-section.

Kat: Good luck with your donor's egg retrieval tomorrow!!!!!!!!

Anna: How are you doing? Your day will come very soon.

Catharine: I'm so sorry to hear your news.

Sonia: Have a wonderful time in the Alps!

Hello to everyone else.

Regards,
Tammy

[Literatriz]

Hi all,
I am so glad the "oldies" are getting together. I am, maybe, the oldest amongs us. Of course I will be using the shared eggs programs...and I do have a history of pregnancies in my favor.
My DH doesn't even dare to dream of a child. He is more in the pessimistic side - so we don't talk much about it. The fact is, I am going to Brazil for the cycle in June...and I would love to have "met" some friends to help me out during the process.
I am to start BC pills in May; my fear is that I don't get a period after I stop taking them and start the Lupron. Any experiences from perimenopausal ladies? I've had several blank moths with no periods...

Glad to read you all, wishing all the best,
Literatriz

[babyblue]

Literatriz, Welcome aboard. Just curious, but why are you going to Brazil for the cycle? I noticed you are from the US. Have you had some bad Drs here?

I just had my 2nd IVF and on my 2ww. My HCG test is Thursday morning. I am dreading this so bad. I have a feeling this is the last try because of the # of eggs this time was lousy (4) and only 1 to implant. My insurance will pay for up to 4 IVFs, but not sure if I could produce any eggs next time. Sorry, had to vent a bit but just really down this afternoon.

[Kat]

Well ladies - our lovely donor produced 9 eggs for us and 5 have fertilised ! I am so pleased we have a few to play with, now they just have to keep dividing and dividing....keeping everythng crossed...

Kat xx

[DianeC]

Hey that is great news Kat - good luck this time around

Di

[BevT]

Hi all, just a quickie AGAIN to congratulate Yasmina on such a beautiful baby girl. Eloise is just gorgeous.

Congrats to Tammy also on the safe arrival of Andrew - I am going to take a peek at him on photobucket once I have finished here.

Kat, good luck with your embies this time, I am keeping everything crossed for you and praying for a positive outcome. Big hugs

Little Wills is well over 7.5 lbs now - the health visitor is coming today to weigh him again, so I will have a more accurate figure then. He has already grown out of so many of his little outfits - shame. He is also now starting to follow with his eyes and take notice a bit more. No smiles yet!

Hi to everyone else here.

Bev xxx

[Catharine]

HI All!

All the best to the 2ww gals.


Just a quick update. Saw the RE yesterday. Everyone at the clinic was surprised at the BFN result. As it turns out the remaining 7 embies all went to blastocyst stage on day5. The clinic personeel were worried during my 2ww thinking they had advised too mnay for transfer, i.e. they thought they were worried if I got the BFP it would be multiples. Alas this was not the case. So what was transferred most likely just did not snuggle in for a good rest
DH will have some more extensive tests to have a better idea if his severe male factor is treatable. I will undergo diagnostic laproscopy to see if my catchers mit is on correctly. Then back to the drawing board.

Wishing everyone all the best
Catharine
_________
Me & DH 42
ttc>5y
IUI Nov 06-BFN
IVF Feb 06-BFN

[Hopeful2BPregnant]

Hey everyone. Hope you all are doing good.

Tomorrow is the big day. I want to go but then again I don't! I know you all know what I am talking about.

I just had a question for anyone who may know...........is cramping a sign of anything? I didn't know if it was good, bad or indifferent. I cramped the first time with the BFN and I guess I'm thiinking this is a "sign" of bad things............just stressing a little.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
Julia

[Kat]

Hi all

Julia - I really beliveed af was coming and then I got a bfp last time round, I had cramps and bloating and felt exactly like I do before af. I don't think you can read anything into any cramps or other feelings. You just have to wait ....best of luck

Now - a question for all of you - I think by far the the least stressful option and therefore the best, is to drive myself on my round trip to ET and acupuncture and back on Friday morning. Why is it that people go with DH? Is it because they want him there to hold their hand or is it so he can drive? If it's so he can drive, what is the difference between sitting in the passenger seat and sitting in the driving seat? I think I would be more stressed getting a cab (not least for the unnecessary ££££s!!) than driving myself nice and calmly. In 3 previous ETs I have never had DH in the actual ET with me so that won't make any difference either way.
Anyway, what do you all think?

Kat xx

[children]

Hi all,

Tammy your son is VERY beautiful and I can not wait and see more of his pics! Eloise's pics are on our thread, page 203 within my message, it was a mistake, I meant to put only the links here, but instead, her pics showed up - sorry ladies for taking so much space here.

Kat, I am glad that you have so many fertilized egges. Good luck this time around. I think having DH on the ET dayis better because his support and caring may bring you better luck. After ET, we are asked to stay for 30 min before leaving the clinic, if yours does the same, I guess you would not want to lie there alone feeling cold and facing walls all by yourself.

Julia, cramping and bloating are the side effects of progesterone, which do not indicate any positive or negative results, in my opinion. Good luck!

Bev, thanks, Eloise smiles on her 7th day, I even heard "ge ge" sound once. She puts on smile everytime after my feeding just after she falls in asleep. The problem with her is that she is hard to burp and she spits out the milk frequently which makes me change her cloths several times a day - unlike wills, almost all nb cloths that we had are too big for her, only the ones from France (her grantma's gifts) fit well - I guess Americans' NB concept is different from that of Europe, our 7lb 11 oz baby is too small! I went back to work twice already just to have meetings with my stuff. I have not fully recovered yet, I still can not walk upright, cramping and c-section cut still hurt very much. How about you? Has your scar formed well? Are you recovered? Do you get enough sleep each night?

Tammy, same questions to you too. My nights are very tough, I heard sleepless nights for new parents before, but only understand the extend of them now. I hardly had 2h sleep each 24 h in the first week of Eloise's birth, but as you said, it gets better. I can have more sleep now at least in the daytime.

Many apologies to the ladies who are at waiting for the moments like this. I know you will get here one day in the future. I sincerely hope and believe so. I don't feel that I belong to other supporting groups so I stay in our 40 crowd one. Please ignore the baby part that you would not like to know.

Yasmina

[Sonix]

Hello everyone.

Yasmina, Eloise is very welcome on this thread too! She’s a real beauty. I keep scrolling back to take another peek at her. Thanks so much for keeping us updated, and reminding us-in-waiting that it’s not all paradise when we finally get there. It’s great to have you stay on this thread, giving us continued support. Sorry to hear that you’ve been involved at work again already. Take good care of yourself.

Catharine – so sorry to read your news. It’s really tough, I know. Good luck with the tests and your next steps, and keep us updated. Sending you PMA. Hugs.

Julia, any news? Everything crossed for your one special little embie. Good luck!

Bridget – hope you’re managing to keep the builders sorted out. It’s amazing how you can keep them happy with just coffee and biscuits. Hoping your 2ww is flying by.

Wanda – How are you feeling? Looking forward to reading about your BFP very soon.

Ann, thanks for your recommendation in South America. Glad you’ve at last found a clinic you feel confident with. Sounds like a good price too compared to the US. We’re looking at clinics in Europe for the moment. I’m not sure about travelling so far. Good luck with your cycle and keep us posted.

Anna – only a few weeks now – hope you’re surviving the last few days at work well.

Kat, good news on the fertilized eggs. You’ll be on your 2ww before you know it. Will be thinking of you bringing your embies home tomorrow. Tons of luck for you!

We’re back from the Alps. We skied ‘til we dropped and had a really good break. I’m now back at home researching clinics on the internet. Have to check with DH still, but I’m hoping to get going with DE treatment around June so I’m looking for a clinic with a short waiting time. I'm feeling better now that I have something to focus on and am going for a course of acupuncture to get myself prepared for next treatment.

Hi to everyone else and take care all.
Sonia

[Bridget Jones]

Hi everyone, finally managed to sneak laptop out of the office to do some "real work"!
Thanks Sonix, yes the boys have gone and there is a lovely fresh smell of paint everywhere now, but no biscuits left.

Wanda how are you doing? Now I understand why the 2ww is so frustrating, I really feel for you coming near to the end of yours.

Kat, I had a lovely time with my DH and really hadn't thought about him coming to the ET with me, but as it happened it was lovely to have to day together- so rare these days. He came into the ET room an even took the photo from the scan to show where my one embie has been inserted, it was a really special day actually. I did have a few tears while on the acu table afterwards, I guess the enormity of what we've been waiting for so long finally hit me. The very best of luck for tomorrow - I predict a December rush on baby-grows for all of us threadies.

I too am getting cramps and referring to the zita west book, she says that this is a really good sign as it means the womb lining is having to make room for the embryo.
Thoughts and prayers to everyone
BJ

[wandamorales]

Hi tomorrow is the pregnancy test. I have to believe that I am pregnant. Felt very minor cramping which could be due to gas and no spotting in the 2ww. I guess some women experience and some don't. Anyway ladies best of luck to all of you and thank you for your inquires about me. I pray that I will have a BFP tomorrow when I get the phone call from the clinic.

Wanda

[Kat]

Hi all
Wanda - any news? Hope it's a good day for you.

I now have 2 nice little fat healthy embryos nestling in a warm place
One 7 cell, one 8 cell
Interestingly, whilst chatting to the consultant he said they now use a new type of catheter for transfer which has a bend at the end rather than being just a straight tube and since they have been using this their success rate has increased. He said all looked positive with the embies too.

They are keeping an eye on our other 3 embies to see if they continue to divide and will let us know if they are suitable for freezing later on today. 2 are 6 cell and one is 5 so they reckon they will most likely be able to freeze 2. How exciting! Never had frosties before. Still, I won't need them will I?

I am now back home after acupuncture and am about to do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day (let's see how long that lasts!)

Lots of love
Kat xx
PS Anna - isn't today the start of your maternity leave?