IVF Update: 11 Follies a Moseying

I can't say I've ever had an egg hunt in my very own uterus on Easter before, but it looks like that is indeed what we will be doing this Sunday! Is it weird that I'm actually excited about that? If I am already getting this excited to see all of these little follicles growing inside of me at once, I can't imagine how attached I will get once they send me pics of my fertilized embryos growing in the lab, or better yet a REAL LIVE HUMAN BABY!

I mean, come on. Can't get much cuter than this.

I am trying not to get too carried away of course. It's in my nature to automatically temper my expectations to protect myself emotionally. However, I also want to at least try to allow myself the freedom to celebrate each positive step in the right direction. Today's appointment went pretty smoothly again. Here's our current progress report:

right ovary: 11, 11, 9, 8, 7, 5 mm
left ovary: 13, 7, 7, 6, 3 mm
uterine lining: 8.3 mm
estradiol: 1118

So, we are now able to measure 11 follicles and my lining looks right on track. I didn't ask, but it looked like my lining already had tri-layers too. Dr. Vaughn said my estradiol is on the "highish side" in relation to the actual measurements of my follicles currently. His guess is that my estradiol has surged a bit ahead and that my follicles will speed up their growth rate over the next couple days to match up with my estradiol reading better.

Of course, I'm not shocked at all that I've got some slow growers. I am so used to my body being slow to respond, that these types of reports and follie measurements don't even make me bat an eyelash anymore. I know my body WILL respond in full force when it's damn good and ready. What is full force? I believe Dr. V said that he wants to see at least 2 @ 20 mm and 4 @ 14mm for us to trigger and schedule the retrieval. However, even if there are follicles smaller at time of retrieval, they retrieve them all for fertilization.

At this rate, it looks like our ER (egg retrieval) will no longer be on 4/3, but closer to 4/4 or 4/5 earliest. We are fine with that. You can't rush a good thing! In the meantime, we are dropping our evening dose of Gonal-F just slightly to 225 iu. Until our next appointment on Easter, here is our meds schedule:

10 units Microdose Lupron in AM & PM
150 iu Menopur in AM
150 Gonal- F in AM
225 Gonal-F in PM
2 Dexamethasone in PM

All in all, I'm very content with our progress. Hoping and praying that all of the sacrifices and patiently waiting will pay off for us this time around! Also want to wish you ALL a fantastic Easter weekend if you celebrate and send a big shout out for being the best blogosphere peeps on the planet!  Have a blessed holiday weekend!