Southbound.

I thought when I got to finally say we were headed home IVF would be behind us. Sadly, that's not our case. 

The retrieval finally happened on Thursday! They retrieved 39 (!!!) eggs! In the world of IVF this is incredible!! Explains why I was in so much pain leading up to retrieval. 25 made it to fertilization and 17 fertilized normally. But more on all of this later. 

When we were told we may have to do a freeze all cycle I was worried. I didn't want to invest so much and go home empty handed. Our doctor said it would be up to my body whether or not we transferred or not. I was confident we were hanging out till Wednesday. However, when I woke up Friday things changed. My body essentially was rejecting some of the medicines I needed. Nausea, vomiting, headaches, and pain in my heart. We called in go check and they sent us to a new location to be checked out. Words like "emergency ultrasound" "possible surgery" and "remove dangerous fluids" were all being used. Thank God, everything checked out normally, and we were sent home to rest. Sickness never went away and finally Doctor called us in for a meeting and evaluation on Saturday morning. 

Our doctor has been incredible and explained to us everything that was going on. She essentially said my body was an over achiever and over stimulated. My progesterone level (which makes embryo attach to the lining) spiked too soon. Because of this it reduced our risk of a success by 50%. This was our deciding factor to come home. Those are not odds I am willing to take. 

On top of all of this, I want to be healthy when I carry our child. I want to look back on this time and be thankful for every minute. Right now, I'm just sick. Ill be glad to remove some of these pills for our regiment and focus on what's next. 

Our center was so great we already have our FET (frozen embryo transfer) cycle arranged and we will be back in Chicago on October 24. Yup, one year to the day that we got the news of our first pregnancy. I have prayed God would ease my hurt a little on that day. What better way to ease your hurt than to be excited about a new life being put into your body. 

GOD IS GUIDING THIS JOURNEY! I may not always know His plan, but he does!!

So now we head south! I'm excited to see our dogs, to snuggle with our cat, to sleep in my bed tonight, see our families and our friends! 

Plus, I hear its fall like weather at home! Looks like we did bring a piece of Chicago home with us! You're welcome GA!