We found our window!  Jason and I were a little concerned that we’d have to whip out a crowbar to pry open our window, but of course Heavenly Father made it so that wasn’t necessary.

First, Dr. Hotaling’s office got back to us. While they were unable to get the University to agree move the microscope to UFC for us, they did lower their price even more for us. Dr. Hotaling really went to bat for us and we’re very grateful for that.

Second, Heavenly Father has placed so many amazing angels around us! I’ve been in tears as we’ve witnessed the outpouring of love and generosity from family and friends. Seriously, there are no words to express our gratitude.

We are thrilled to say that we are officially going forward! Jason’s procedure is scheduled for June 2, just over a week away. Eee!!!

UFC’s phenomenal embryologist Ammon will be going up to the U to assist Dr. Hotaling with the procedure. Ammon is the sweetheart who looked through Jason’s December sample for hours and hours before they physically had to drag him away and accept that there was nothing there. We’ve met Ammon on several occasions and know that he is not only very dedicated in doing everything he can for us, but he is also extremely talented at his work. Ammon will also be in charge of transferring whatever they find at the U back to UFC. They have it set up so Ammon is basically immediately taking them back, which means they won’t have to freeze whatever they find in order to take it back to Pleasant Grove. Once he gets back, Ammon will place the sperm in a special solution for a day before they will fertilize the eggs. I don’t remember the technical name of the solution, but basically it’s a superman solution that will help make the swimmers as strong as they can. We are excited and nervous about this day. Of course, the rest of our plans hinge upon how that procedure goes. We feel very good about it and really hope it’s a huge success! Here’s hoping and praying!

I met with our wonderful IVF Nurse Coordinator Chelsee this week and got my new IVF calendar for our FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) and it’s just as magical and exciting as our last calendar.

We will be doing an FET because I need to get a certain amount of shots before the embryo transfer and I wouldn’t get enough in time for a fresh transfer. We’re ok with that though. An FET doesn’t mean a less likelihood of success. In fact, some clinics do only FET because in their opinion they are more successful. Either option was fine with us. Doing an FET works out better for us at this time because if we were doing a fresh transfer Dr. Foulk would not be able to do it, as he will be doing an IVF cycle at the St. George office. One of the other talented doctors would have done it, and Jason and I were perfectly fine with that. But now we’ll be able to have Dr. Foulk perform it! It’s so fitting to start and end this procedure with our loving, spectacular doctor.  I’ll be on bed rest for a few days following the transfer and then two weeks later they’ll perform a blood pregnancy test! Eee!! I get butterflies just thinking about it!

In the mean time, I start my drug regimen. I’ll be taking pills, shots, and (yay) suppositories. I never realized that all these medications would extend until I’m 10 weeks pregnant! (sidenote: I love how all throughout my appointment, Chelsee kept referring to “when” I’m pregnant, “when” I’m 10 weeks, etc. Just made me beam with happiness! Especially after my own “whens” have been “ifs” lately.) It’ll be worth it to hold Baby Knoell in my arms. Jason and I like to think that my two years of MS shots was training for this! These new shots will not be subcutaneous like my previous MS and fertility shots were. These are deep, intramuscular shots.  * gulp * I start out with twice a week shots of estrogen, then I’ll move up to progesterone in oil shots, which will be the ones that will follow me til 10 weeks pregnant.

I had my first estrogen shot last night and it went really well! I barely felt it. Whew! I was pretty nervous about it. But Jason has had more than enough experience administering shots now (2 years on me, 1 year on himself…too many needles at the Knoell house!!) and he was perfect. The progesterone shots still have me nervous though. As the name implies, it is oil based and is much thicker than any other shot I’ve had. If you don’t let it warm up right, the syringe can be hard and slow to push down and once the shot is administered you have to massage the medication into your skin, which can be painful. Hopefully that will also be easier than I think.

Personally, I’m trying not to think too much about anything past Tuesday. As good as we feel, I’m still trying to think about getting past Jason’s procedure and not set myself up for major heartbreak if Tuesday doesn’t go well. But again, we think it will go how we want. Keep those prayers coming!!