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The In Vitro Adventure

Our desire for a family has brought us to the Reproductive Medical Center at the University of MN. Both of us were excited to finally be starting the cycle. This was a huge step for us. Our family and friends have been wonderfully supportive and we love them all. Thanks to everyone for all your prayers and support. As we go through in vitro we will be posting updates here to keep you all informed.

Our journey began shortly after we were married in 2002. Since Zach has Cystic Fibrosis, Tara was tested to see if she was a carrier of the CF gene mutations. We were relieved when the results came back saying that she was not a carrier. At that point we were not moving forward with anything, but just wanted to know in advance what our chances were of having a baby with CF. Since this is a recessive disease, the fact that Tara is not a carrier was wonderful news!

In June 2003, Zach had his first urologist appointment. It was then that they confirmed that Zach was infertile as are most people with CF. He has no vas deferens (which is the tube that carries the sperm out of the body). We also found that his testosterone levels were low. The doctor put him on Clomid and was able to bring his testosterone level back up. We were told that in order to get the sperm we needed, the urologist would have to do a testicular biopsy. He then referred us to the Reproductive Medicine Center to get information on the rest of the IVF process. In November 2003 we attended an orientation where they went over the basic information. After that, we knew we would be going through the in vitro process, but decided it would be best to wait another year.

In August 2004 we resumed the pre-screening with the goal of starting a cycle after January 1, 2005.

November 12, 2004 - We had the last of our prescreening done and did the consent signing. After signing more papers than we did for our mortgage we're ready to go.
December 2nd - Zach's testicular biopsy was done at the U of M hospital.
December 8th - We got confirmation that the biopsy was a success and they got the sperm they will use for fertilization.
December 15th - RMC called and we received our dates for retrieval. It's set for February 9th.
January 19th - Tara started her injections of Lupron today and did very well. She's even able to do them herself! For those of you that don't know she has a bit of a needle phobia. The Lupron will shut down all of her own hormones so they can be controlled during the IVF process.

January 28th- Today we went in and Tara had an ultrasound and blood draw. In the baseline ultrasound they found a large cyst on her left ovary. The nurse told us that we may not be able to continue but they would look at the results of the blood test and let us know. It was a long morning but around 2:00pm they called and told us that the test was normal and we could continue with the stimulation.
January 29th - Today was the start of the Follistim injections. Tara now has 3 injections a day (Follistim and Lupron in the morning and another Follistim in the evening). The Follistim will stimulate the production of eggs but in doing so it will increase the size of the ovaries. They'll go from the size of a grape to the size of an orange in two weeks. So we'll be in RMC every other day for blood work and ultrasounds.
February 1st - We found out from today's blood test that Tara's estrogen levels were higher than they like to see. This means she now only has to do one Follistim injection in the morning along with the Lupron and can skip the evening shot. She is really starting to feel the increased pressure of her now larger ovaries.
February 3rd - Today was an ultrasound and another blood test. In the ultrasound they measured all the follicles on both ovaries. There are about 25 of them. Some are larger and will probably be ready too soon and therefore sacrificed as we wait for the majority of the follicles to reach a diameter of about 16mm. Some are smaller and may not fully mature. Overall, we definitely have enough for a good retrieval. Later in the day we found out that Tara's estrogen levels were still too high and they want to slow her down more. Her Follistim dosage will be lowered for the next two days until the next ultrasound and blood test. Tara is up to 26 injections so far.
February 5th - We had another ultrasound today. It looks like the follicles in Tara's ovaries are almost the right size . They told us that they may bump up the retrieval to Tuesday, February 8th instead of the 9th. We have another ultrasound tomorrow and will find out for sure. It's getting close now!
February 6th - Today's ultrasound showed that we are ready to go. Tonight will be Tara's HCG injection (this one is intramuscular). The retrieval is officially set for Tuesday, February 8th at 11am. That should put our embryo transfer on the afternoon of Friday, February 11. Tara is now done with all the subcutaneous shots (she did 32 total) and all of them going forward will be intramuscular. The Progesterone injections begin Tuesday night. That means that Tara has a whole day (Monday) off from shots!
February 8th - Retrieval Day! The procedure went well. The anesthesiologist started an IV and gave Tara something to relax her. After a minute, she said that the ceiling looked like it was moving. Then he gave her the medication that would put her to sleep. That is when Tara said that she was going to go to Hawaii! She doesn't remember this at all. After the retrieval was complete, Tara said she had good dreams and everyone laughed. While she was being wheeled back to the recovery room she said that she wanted to drive herself. They then asked her how she was feeling and she replied that she loves IVs. Tara is pretty funny when she's drugged but she doesn't recall any of this. After about an hour she was back to herself and we were able to go home. The result today is that we have 13 eggs (10 from the right ovary and 3 from the left). It appears that some of the follicles didn't have eggs in them. This turns out to be good, because the doctor originally thought Tara's ovaries were over-stimulated and that we would have to postpone the embryo transfer until they were back to normal. As it stands, we are scheduled for the embryo transfer on Friday afternoon as planned.
February 9th - The doctor called to let us know the results of the fertilization so far. Of the 13 eggs retrieved, 11 were mature. Of those 6 fertilized. Since they will only transfer two on Friday, that will still leave some for us to freeze. Later we got a call that our transfer time has been moved up to 9am on Friday.
February 11th - Embryo Transfer Day! We got to see our two embryos under a microscope before they did the transfer. It was amazing to see our little multi-celled babies! The transfer itself went very smoothly and only took about 10 minutes. Tara got to lay there for another 15 minutes before we could go home and is on strict bed rest all day. It's amazing to think that we are finally here! Now we just wait to find out that it worked.
February 14th - We found out today that the embryos left after the transfer were not of a good enough quality to freeze. That means we won't have any in reserve. If we decide to go through the process again, we will have to start from the beginning. We hope that all is going well in Tara's uterus!
February 22nd - We are PREGNANT!!! Tara had a blood test yesterday and usually they don't tell you until after the second test two days later is complete. We should have found out tomorrow. Tara was having abdominal pain/pressure and shortness of breath so the nurses wanted to see her today. They told her this morning that she was in fact pregnant and that her ovaries were hyper-stimulated. It is not uncommon and is sometimes a symptom of pregnancy with IVF for this to happen. Tara is on bed rest for today and tomorrow and possibly the rest of the week. We are both very excited and Tara is taking these few days to relax after our long wait for this great news.

The Hyper-stimulation makes Tara look much more than 4 weeks pregnant.

February 23rd - We went back in today for a follow up on the hyper-stimulation. It was causing fluid to build up around the ovaries and had gotten to the point today that fluid had built all the way up to the bottom of the liver. They ended up doing a small procedure, much the same as they did for the retrieval to drain the build up. They removed almost a gallon of fluid!! Needless to say she feels much better now. She’ll be on bed rest for the rest of the week but should be more comfortable.
February 27th - Today was another follow-up appointment to check on the hyper-stimulation. The fluid has built up again, but this time it isn't quite as bad. The doctor said they won't drain it this time and that Tara is probably at the plateau point now. She is supposed to stay on bed rest for the next two days until our Wednesday morning appointment. At that point they will determine if she's doing well enough to go back to work. Tara's belly is so full that she looks like she's already three or four months pregnant.
March 2nd - Tara's weight and girth are still high. The doctor told her today that she will remain on bed rest until they start going down.
March 4th - Tara's weight and girth have started to go down and the doctor sent her back to work. It looks like she's turned the corner and is feeling much better. The nurse also told us that based on Tara's HCG levels when they did the test they think it is one baby. This is what we are hoping for so the news was a relief. We should find out for sure at our ultrasound on the 16th. The magic eight ball and the Chinese birth calendar seem to think it's a boy. We'll see later how that turns out.
March 16th - Today was our pregnancy confirmation ultrasound. Everything looked great! We are having one baby and it is due November 1st. We have two pictures of our little 'Peanut' as we call it. One shows the heartbeat. It was amazing to hear it's little hear beating so strong. It all seems more real now. The doctor says we are now a 'normal' pregnancy. Tara has to continue the Progesterone injections through the end of the week and then she's done. The ultrasound pictures can be seen through a link on the home page. The goal is to start a new section for the pregnancy. Stay tuned!
March 19th - Tonight was Tara's last injection. Yea! She did a total of 40 intramuscular Progesterone injections. She is still amazed that she made it through all of them. Our first regular prenatal doctor's appointment will be March 31st. We will keep you posted with any news and ultrasound pictures as we go along.