Category: Chris

8/08/2014

October 8, 2014Comments Off on 8/08/2014Blog, Chris

While Katie had been to see the doctor before, this was the first appointment that I could attend.  I was excited, curious, nervous…..all the usual suspects.  Also attending was our surrogate, a close family friend with a great sense of humor who is always good at lightening the mood.  I got to meet our doctor, Dr. Whitten, and was pleased to find out that he was friendly and approachable.  Using additional data he had gathered from Katie’s previous appointment, he sat down and walked us through the process from start to finish – ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, genetic testing, egg fertilization, embryo freezing, etc.  Katie had heard some of this before and is, let’s be honest, smarter than me so she was taking it in stride.  I was excited about what I was hearing, but trying to digest the information so I could understand.  I managed to get through it without any old, college “what the hell is he talking about?” flashbacks.  After meeting with Dr. Whitten, we then met with our Nurse Coordinator named Tracy.  She sat down with us and walked us through the calendar of events, which is complicated and very specific.  Everything must be timed just right to get maximum effectiveness out of the procedure.  She gave us handy color coded calendars which I still consult multiple times a day.  Also, at this appointment, the first part of MY difficult contribution was discussed – the backup semen sample. Jokes were flying into my head at an overwhelming rate, but I kept telling myself “Don’t say anything. She’s definitely heard ALL of the jokes you’re thinking of.  You’re not that funny.  Don’t…….say…….a…….word.”  So, in the end I managed to get out of there with just a couple of jokes being thrown out there and without embarrassing myself too much (in my own humble opinion). Tracy sent me on my way with a brown paper bag containing a specimen cup and told me to bring it back with me for the next appointment.

10/06/2014

October 7, 2014Comments Off on 10/06/2014Blog, Chris

Today was egg retrieval day.  Our appointment was at 7:00 am which required a 6:30 check in.  The timing of all this is very important because at 7:00 pm on Saturday night Katie had to take a HCG shot which was the trigger that caused the release of her eggs.  They’re not screwing around about it either……the shot NEEDS to occur 36 hours prior to the retrieval.  Too late and the eggs won’t be ready for retrieval, too early and Katie would ovulate and the eggs would be gone.  Same thing on the appointment side….don’t be late!  The science of all this is pretty crazy.  We were there right on time and the procedure went well.  They were able to remove.  In addition to the retrieval procedure, I also had to bring my primary semen sample to the appointment.  As I discussed in an earlier post regarding the backup sample, there is a specific process you have to follow, questionnaire you fill out, etc.    The backup is collected in the event of “stage fright,” which apparently happens more than one would imagine.  So, now they’ll fertilize the eggs and call us tomorrow with the “fert rate.”  If you want a better explanation of that, you’d better pop over to Katie’s blog as, I’ve indicated before, she’s smarter than me.  All I know at this point is that 8 eggs are awesome!  I like those odds as I’ve been telling Katie since this started, all we need is one.

Aside from the two grueling semen samples I had to provide, so far I’ve had it pretty easy in this process.  Katie, however has had to put up with a ton and has dealt with it like a champ.  She never, and I mean NEVER, complains……and the pills and shots she’s had to take made her feel “pretty cruddy.”  The fact she said anything shows to me that she feels like crap.  I’m thankful that at this point she is through that stage and can hopefully start to feel better soon.  I’m so thankful for my beautiful wife.

10/02/2014

October 5, 2014Comments Off on 10/02/2014Blog, Chris

Katie had a really rough night last night.  She was very anxious trying to go to sleep and finally drifted off only to be up again at 3:00 am.  Her heart was racing and she had pain in her legs that was new and concerning.  She was up for about 3 hours before being able to get back to sleep for a little bit.  I felt really bad for her.  It’s one of those situations where you want to help in some way, in any way, but there isn’t anything you can really do.    She was back up again at 7 am, took her shots like a champ, we got the kids off to school and then rushed over to our daily appointment with the doctor.  They did another ultrasound to check the follicle development in her ovaries and were able to identify 6-7 that were coming along nicely.  I told Katie that all we need is one, so 6-7 is more than enough.  She scoffs at my optimism at times, but until proven wrong I’m sticking with it.  After the ultrasound we met with the doctor to discuss how Katie had been feeling and he validated her anxiety as he said the process causes many women to be anxious.  Then, they told us to come back tomorrow and sent us on our way.

9/23/2014

October 5, 2014Comments Off on 9/23/2014Blog, Chris

A day or two ago, a big box showed up on our doorstep filled with medicine in different shapes and forms.  Our appointment today is to go see what in the heck they all are and what we do with them.  We sat down with a very nice young nurse who showed up how to mix medicines, get them into syringes, administer the shots, etc.  Also, the schedule is VERY specific as to how, when and where.  For once, Katie actually seems a little overwhelmed by all this process entails, but this kind of stuff is right in my wheelhouse.  Specific doses, timeframes and methods that I can follow?…….no worries.

Katie – See why I love Chris?  He describes me as overwhelmed.  All of the women in his life have trained him well for this moment.  I like being described as overwhelmed when really I’m being an actual lunatic.

07/30/2014

October 4, 2014Comments Off on 07/30/2014Blog, Chris

Katie wanted to go alone to this appointment so I understood.  I was disappointed because this was the appointment where Katie was going to find out if she still had eggs available for the procedure.  Prior to the appointment, Katie was not in the most optimistic frame of mind and was worried that they would find something that would immediately preclude us from moving forward with our desire to have a child together.  I wanted to be there for her in case her hunches proved correct.  However, I was not too concerned about that because my overly optimistic self knew that everything would work out.  Katie has consistently proven herself to me to be the most capable person I’ve ever met and I didn’t see any good reason why that would end now.  So, I waited for the appointment to end and for my phone to ring…….which it finally did.  On the other end of the phone was Katie telling me that she had eggs and everything looked good to move ahead.  To this day, I think I’ve managed to keep my “I told you so” on the matter in check.  In all seriousness though, it was a big excitement and relief for many reasons.  Exciting because it meant we could take one more step.  Relief because I knew Katie’s concerns were genuine and heartfelt.  In as much as I was glad for us, I was probably more glad for her at this point because she could check that big box off of her list.

Myrtle – I told you that you were going to have eggs.    This is all meant to be.  When is the next appointment?

10/03/2014

October 3, 2014Comments Off on 10/03/2014Blog, Chris

Last night was a great night at the house.  There were several kid activities going on so there was a bit of running around, but it all went smoothly.  We always enjoy the evenings, but last night was one of those unexplainable nights where everything is just a little bit better…….things get accomplished with seemingly little effort, people are laughing and relaxing……stuff like that.  Just a good night.  Which I really appreciated because Katie had had such a rough night before.  After the kids went to sleep we were going to watch a TV show we had recorded and Katie conked out before the credits.  Good.  She also slept pretty well and woke up this morning feeling 100% better than the day before, which is not to say she felt great, but better.  We went off to our appointment and this morning the doctor performed the ultrasound to check her follicle growth.  The 6-7 from the day before are growing along nicely with one who is especially in the lead.  The doc also told us that we’re on track for an extraction on Monday (in 3 days) which was good to hear because good, bad or otherwise, Katie and I both live and die by THE SCHEDULE.  So, now that we have one we can both relax a bit.  Also, Katie only needs to do shots through tomorrow night and I’m glad for her so she doesn’t need to keep puncturing her abdomen.

After today’s appointment I was pretty emotional for some reason.  I’ve been excited, but this was different and I’m still not 100% sure why.  Up until now I’ve just been trying to help Katie with her shots and make her comfortable however I can (typical guy step-to-step-to-step behavior I suppose), but with the extraction on Monday we’re close to the point where they fertilize the egg and see how things go.  While this process obviously isn’t the typical way to have children, it still involves the merging of your core with someone you love and there is something very pure and special about it, albeit more scientific.  Katie is pretty amazing and I’m a lucky guy to get to share this with her.  So there you go.  [DISCLAIMER – clearly this paragraph will impact my man card street cred status and so be it.  S**t happens]

9/30/2014

September 10, 2014Comments Off on 9/30/2014Blog, Chris

Today our appointment is to see how Katie’s ovaries are responding to the medication she’s been taking.  For almost a week now, she’s been injecting herself in the abdomen with two shots, twice daily.  I, as proclaimed earlier, have become a master mixing, dosing and timing expert.  But, I do feel bad for Katie after I prepare each morning or evening cocktail because she then has to inject them.  Her belly is a bit bruised from previous shots.  I should also point out that she has been nothing but pleasant to be around considering her body is coursing with excessive hormones and medications.  So……good on ya Kate!  We go to the appointment and Katie gets an ultrasound to determine how many follicles are growing in her ovaries.  Similar to earlier experiences, Katie thinks there is going to be some problem, I know there won’t be one.  And……the ultrasound proves me correct once again (Ahem.) as Katie’s ovaries do indeed have growing follicles.  At this point she has 6-8 follicles which, as my pea brain understands it, means there are potentially 6-8 eggs.  Also, there is still an opportunity for more follicles to develop.  The doctor’s office gives us a break from our scheduled appointment tomorrow, but wants us to come in for our appointment in two days.

Myrtle – That’s a perfect number of eggs.  Just what I thought you would have.  Awesome!

#2 – Good job mom

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