Success Times Two

Before we started our doctor had reassured us that with one egg retrieval we would be able to have atleast 10 kids, if we chose. We were so excited to get things going and move past this hard procedure. Unfortunately the whole invitro process was nerve racking, with surprises and anxiety around every corner.

Probabley the biggest fear I had going into all of this was my fear of needles. We won't get get into it, but let's just say I had had some tramatic experiences with shots and getting my blood drawn that would freak anyone out. 

Each day Tom gave me 2 to 3 shots in the stomache. I also had my blood drawn every couple days. After all was said and done, I was poked 30 times.

Tom and I both, were put under for simple surgeries in preparation for the embryo implantation. It was funny to watch Tom wake up after his surgery, those drugs really make him silly!

As the doctor monitored our egg growth we were sad that I wasn't producing as many as expected. When the time was right, 7 eggs were harvested. After fertilization only three eggs became healthy embryos. 

With only 3 healthy embryos, a chance for 3 or less children, my hopes of never dealing with all those needles again faded away. I knew I'd have to do all of this again to bring more kids into our family. Who knows, maybe I'll be content with three kids. 

The doctor then encouraged us to only implant one embryo which would give us a 65 percent chance of success. She left the choice up to us, we could implant one or two embryos.Tom and I prayed about it and we both felt the same, we wanted to increase our chance for success to 75 percent with implanting 2 embryos instead of 1.

10 days later did a blood pregnancy test and were positive. Then we went in for an ultrasound at 6 weeks to see if one or both of the embryos had took. To our surprise they both had! We got to see them and hear their heart beats. What a special moment. Tom was on Skype because he was our of town during the doctor visit. It was so cool and exciting!

I surprised my parents with this fax: 

At our 8 week check up we were excited to see one baby moving a ton. We were also able to hear their heart beats again. Our excitement continued to grow.

At 13 weeks, on July 13th, we made our official announcememt on facebook: We are excited to announce that we are 13 weeks pregnant with twins! Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement as we have gone through invitro to bring these little ones into the world!

Wednesday we are going to our new doctor in Washington, we will be 15 weeks along. I really miss our babies. It feels like forever since I last saw them, 7 weeks. Who knows, maybe we'll find out their gender.

So excited for this new adventure. Can't believe it's really happening! :)

The Time is Here

So I bet everyone is wondering how things have been going for the last 4 months???... The answer would be crazy...and amazing!

Between earning extra income, being apart for two months to make that extra income, being a full time teacher who enjoys putting on plays and other time consuming activities, doctor appointments, minor surgeries, and mental stress... well it suffices to say,  that it's been a daily struggle!

While coping with this ever evolving sacrifice, to have children, I was unable to bring myself to keep up this blog. Sometimes, even on a daily basis, I was eondering if this would ever work out. A blog is a lot like a personal journal and I'm the type of person who loves to keep a journal. That is.... until life gets rough, then it just isn't fun for me to re-live my stress by writing it all down. I wanted to be positive and push forward, not dwelling on the struggle.

But things are going really great right now :) I dont have a lot of time right now, but I wanted everyone to know that we started IVF! This is all finally happening!

April 14th was our first day. Tom has given me shots daily, and I've had doctor appointments every couple days. Our egg retrieval will be this week, then one or two embryos will be implanted the following week. We hope to be pregnant in May!

So much has happened! We have seen real miracles take place, and we are so excited for the results. We know that God's hand has been the main reason why our journey to baby has moved forward so quickly. We are so grateful!

I promise I'll write more details soon. Until then, keep us in your prayers. These next two weeks will be really important.

Tom and I Snowmobiling this winter 

with the Pratt Family

Snowman Fundraiser

I handmade some really cute Sock Snowmen, perfect for a holiday decoration or gift (visiting teaching even).  Proceeds from these sales will go to our baby fund. I will be in Idaho Falls till Saturday, then off to Kennewick. So let me know if you want yours brought with me to Washington. Prices posted on pictures. 

Here we go!

I meant to post this last weekend...
Tom and I had the opportunity to go to Tom's preprocedure appointment in Salt Lake last Friday. It felt good to be making progress.

Our doctor journey all began with some questions to my family doctor over a year ago, who suggested Tom visit his doctor, who referred Tom to a Urologist,  who confirmed his condition and led us to meet with a fertility doctor, who then had Tom go to a male fertility specialist for his retrieval procedure. 5 doctor appointments later and still a ton more to go.

Our goal is to have our embryos implanted March or April 2016. We are so grateful for all the donations that have made these doctor appointments possible.

Stay tuned for more updates.

The Crazy life of a Teacher ;)

This week I have parent teacher conferences! Ugh... how I very much dislike the horrible nightmares I get during these weeks! Here are a couple examples of what I'm talking about; my classroom being a disaster with no time to tidy up, parents hating me and wanting their kids out of my class immediately, the principal asking me to no longer teach at the school due to my poor teaching abilities, forgetting all the papers I've prepped for the conferences so I have nothing to show parents, etc.

Only teachers can truely understand the way this feels, which is very stressful and exhausting. I hear it doesn't get much better with time or experience... lame.

So a little update on our Saving for the Stork campaign, we have raised a little bit more in the last couple days. Unfortunately, I'll have to give you a more detailed update, as soon as this week is over! :)

Happy Parent Conference Week!

Last Day to Shop While Contributing to our Cause

Today is the last day of our MyThirtyOne fundraiser. Make sure to take a second and look at all the great deals. 20% of each sale goes to our baby fund.

To place an order, go to www.mythirtyone.com/charitymiller then click on my parties, our parties is titled Saving for the Stork. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Saving for the Stork, MyThirtyOne fundraiser

This fundraiser goes through the end of November, so only 2 days left! 20% of each purchase goes straight to our baby fund! Please take a look online and help our cause if you can.