Back to the Beginning
We're starting the whole In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process again as of this week.
There, I said it. That's the bare fact, but there's so much more represented in the words of that sentence that I can't just leave it at that: There are a year's worth of seemingly unanswered prayers behind that sentence. Or maybe, rather, a year's worth of answered prayers! Depends on how you look at it. There is anxiety and dread behind that sentence, as well as hope and growing excitement. That sentence represents a two-month-long string of pills, shots, blood samples, and doctor's appointments. Hopefully, the Lord will give us our second child at the end of this.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with IVF or have forgotten since the last time we did this (believe it or not, that includes me! I've forgotten more than I remember, I think!), I will give you a rundown of what we can expect over the next several weeks. I'm actually going to just copy the information from an email I sent out over 2 years ago when we were about to jump off for the first time.
To remind you, we chose IVF because of my severe Endometriosis that is compromising the condition of my ovaries and causing our infertility. Our doctor has repeatedly told us that we do not have time to waste. We tried for over 3 years prior to our successful IVF cycle, and we've tried for a little over a year prior to this one. IVF is not a guaranteed fix, but we trust it is our best option right now. Much prayer has gone into this decision!
There are basically 5 steps to IVF:
1. Fertility drugs to suppress and then stimulate egg production
2. Careful (almost daily at times) monitoring through bloodwork and ultrasound
3. Egg retrieval
4. Fertilization of eggs and (hopefully) development into strong embryos
5. Embryo transfer back into the womb
I'm in the suppression stage right now, and early in April we will probably begin the stimulation phase. I'll update as we know more. Our first appointment for those of you who would like to pray, will be Wed, March 18. That will be a long visit involving 2 procedures and a nurse visit where they acquaint me with all the shots and refresh my memory at giving myself injections.
Our prayer requests at this point in the process are identical to the ones we had at this stage the last time:
1. That our minds would be stayed and focused on the Lord. As you can probably guess, IVF requires MUCH involvement physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, and places large demands on our time and schedule. It is one of the most consuming endeavors we have ever gone through, made a little more challenging with Noah in the picture. (THANK YOU to Jen who has offered to watch Noah when necessary!!) Quite simply, I'm asking that you pray for our peace of mind and reliance on the Lord through it all.
2. That God's will would be done through this~hopefully that means a successful outcome!
We do thank you for your prayers. If you have more questions that I have not answered already, please feel free to call, email, or post it in the comments section. I will gladly answer your question if I can!
There, I said it. That's the bare fact, but there's so much more represented in the words of that sentence that I can't just leave it at that: There are a year's worth of seemingly unanswered prayers behind that sentence. Or maybe, rather, a year's worth of answered prayers! Depends on how you look at it. There is anxiety and dread behind that sentence, as well as hope and growing excitement. That sentence represents a two-month-long string of pills, shots, blood samples, and doctor's appointments. Hopefully, the Lord will give us our second child at the end of this.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with IVF or have forgotten since the last time we did this (believe it or not, that includes me! I've forgotten more than I remember, I think!), I will give you a rundown of what we can expect over the next several weeks. I'm actually going to just copy the information from an email I sent out over 2 years ago when we were about to jump off for the first time.
To remind you, we chose IVF because of my severe Endometriosis that is compromising the condition of my ovaries and causing our infertility. Our doctor has repeatedly told us that we do not have time to waste. We tried for over 3 years prior to our successful IVF cycle, and we've tried for a little over a year prior to this one. IVF is not a guaranteed fix, but we trust it is our best option right now. Much prayer has gone into this decision!
There are basically 5 steps to IVF:
1. Fertility drugs to suppress and then stimulate egg production
2. Careful (almost daily at times) monitoring through bloodwork and ultrasound
3. Egg retrieval
4. Fertilization of eggs and (hopefully) development into strong embryos
5. Embryo transfer back into the womb
I'm in the suppression stage right now, and early in April we will probably begin the stimulation phase. I'll update as we know more. Our first appointment for those of you who would like to pray, will be Wed, March 18. That will be a long visit involving 2 procedures and a nurse visit where they acquaint me with all the shots and refresh my memory at giving myself injections.
Our prayer requests at this point in the process are identical to the ones we had at this stage the last time:
1. That our minds would be stayed and focused on the Lord. As you can probably guess, IVF requires MUCH involvement physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, and places large demands on our time and schedule. It is one of the most consuming endeavors we have ever gone through, made a little more challenging with Noah in the picture. (THANK YOU to Jen who has offered to watch Noah when necessary!!) Quite simply, I'm asking that you pray for our peace of mind and reliance on the Lord through it all.
2. That God's will would be done through this~hopefully that means a successful outcome!
We do thank you for your prayers. If you have more questions that I have not answered already, please feel free to call, email, or post it in the comments section. I will gladly answer your question if I can!
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