Normal Levels

Yesterday, Brittany had her second round of blood drawn to see if her levels are in the normal ranges.  Today, the clinic called with the results and it was good news.  Her TSH (thyroid) levels went from 5.2 to .034 which is considered excellent!  I think the meds worked!  The A1C levels went from 5.8 to 5.2 and that is within the normal range.  Her Vitamin D levels are also in the normal range.  

So what does all that mean?!  This means we are done with all the initial testing and we can start the actual insemination process.  Well, it means Brittany and I need to conclude the "extreme vetting" in the next few weeks and pick a donor.  

I can tell you the list of possible donors has been cut down to 11 candidates.  By the way, going through the donors feels a little bit like being on a dating site, including the clicking of the little heart to add a donor to the favorites list.  All joking aside, this is a stressful process.  We first decide what characteristics we would like the potential donor to have.  I can say that Brittany and I were on the same page when it came to the characteristics.  Brittany wants to find a donor that has a similar ethnic background as me.  This means we are looking for an ethnic background of Czech if possible and Eastern European to open the selection pool a little.  When picking characteristics you can get as detailed as you want from ethnic background, hair color, eye color, religion, education level, etc.  The first time we searched, we checked off all the characteristics we wished for and clicked search.  To our amazement, there were no exact matches.  We quickly realized we would have to be less detailed in our wish list and decided to focus on the ethnic background and go from there.  That lead to the 11 possible donors on our favorite list.

Brittany and I will now take a closer look at each of the 11 to determine who the finalist will be.  I have three on the list that I am partial too.  The funny thing is that two of the three would probably produce a baby that would look nothing like me.  Mixed with Brittany genes the baby would for sure have darker skin tone, brown eyes, and dark brown hair.  I would look like the nanny!  They do have the Czech ethnicity, but that is about the only characteristics I would have in common with my child.  We will have to see how it all shakes out and I will let you know when the decision has been made.  

Free Flowing

So, this post is a little late...ok it is a lot late and I know many have been looking forward to it.

Several weeks ago, we went in to see if Brittany's Fallopian tubes were open.  This required an hysterosalpingogram or HSG.  This is an x-ray that looks at the inside of the uterus and the Fallopian tubes.  From what I could make out, this is not a pleasant experience.  The procedure requires a dye to be put through a thin tube and then that tube is put through the vagina and into the uterus.  The dye then flows through the uterus and the Fallopian tubes.  Then a balloon is inflated to prevent the dye from flowing out while and x-ray is taken.

This test will show any abnormalities of the uterus and blockages in the Fallopian tubes.  As you can see from the picture, both of Brittany's tubes are flowing freely and there are no issues with the uterus.  This is great news!  We don't have to worry about the eggs not being able to move through the tubes and the sperm not being able to swim and meet them.

The HSG itself was, "uncomfortable" as described by Brittany.  She also experienced cramping for the rest of the day which is normal after this test.  She did not experience as much pain as some do, so we were grateful for that.

Since the test, Brittany has been taking her medication to regulate her thyroid and to lower her A1C.  We have also been working on eating better to help with the thyroid levels.  It has been a little over a month taking the meds and it is time to have more blood tests.  We are hopeful that her levels are where they need to be and if so, we will begin the actual insemination process in July.

I have always appreciated my wife, but that appreciation has grown throughout this process.  I am grateful she is willing to go through all the procedures to grow our family.  Thank you Baby and I love you more than you know.

Messy Blood

My phone vibrates and the text message reads, "Just got off the phone with Austin Fertility Institue and my blood work is somewhat a mess."

Brittany and I have been waiting to hear the results of her blood work for several reasons.  First, knowing her blood type and if she is CMV positive or negative will help narrow down the candidates for donors.  Second, with Brittany having Hashimoto's the thyroid numbers are important to look at.

So when she said her blood work was a mess, I was assuming she was talking about the thyroid numbers and I was right.  We both figured Brittany's Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) would be high because she has not been on medication and has not been strict on her diet, but I don't think we expected it to be as high as it was.  The TSH number is important, because if it is above 2.5 then the risk of miscarriage increases and the possiblity of intellectual retardation increases.  Brittany's TSH came in at a 5.2.  This will be addressed with meds and diet.  Another concern was revealed through the test, Brittany has a high A1C level.  Dr. Crawford told her she is not diabetic, but in the pre-diabetic range and will need to take meds to regulate this and will need to cut sweets and carbs from the diet.

These results mean we will have to wait to start trying to get pregnant for at least 4 to 6 weeks.  Like I said, it is important to get the TSH numbers down and to regulate the A1C levels.  Brittany has already started the medications and there will be new blood work in about 4 weeks and hope the numbers come back lower and we can be ready to move forward in June.

Looking at the positive side of the setback, this gives us more time for the extreme vetting of possible donors.  From the testing, we know we can go with a donor that has any blood type and needs to be CMV -.  It is time to get serious about the vetting!

Beautiful Uterus

Second vist to the Fertiltiy Institute and Brittany had to go it alone because I could not get out of work.  The purpose of the visit was to make sure everything was good with her uterus and there are no abnormalities.

Brittany was nervous the morning of because she was not sure what to expect.  Brinttany asked me if I thought the ultra sound she was having was a regular ultra sound or if they were going to have to actually put something inside to see the uterus.  Of course I am not a doctor so I did not have a clue, and I was not sure why it mattered.

On my way home from work my phone rang...it was Brittany.  I answered and asked how everything was going.  She responded in a whisper that she had to remove her clothes from the waist down and that there was a wand that was going to be going you know where.  I then told her, "I guess it's not your regular ultra sound."  I told her I loved her and we got off the phone.

It was not much longer after that Brittany was calling back to share the results with me.  Her first words were, "Dr. Crawford says I have a beautiful uterus!"  This was good news, I was sure of that, but I started wondering what constitutes a beautiful uterus.

I had to get an answer to my question so I texted Dr. Crawford and asked, "What exactly makes a uterus beautiful?"  She replied, "It means beautiful!  No masses or abnormalities!"  So there you have it, I now know and there is a picture to prove it.

Brittany then told me that the green dot in the picture is where the embroyo will attach itself when the time comes.  I then had another question, "How do they know that is where it will attach?"  She said they know because that is the thin area in the uterus.  Then I needed to know why the embroyo attaches to the thin area of the uterus and this required more questions for Dr. Crawford.  So, I learned the green dot is the where you find the endometrial lining.  This is what you shed off each month with your period...this is why it is thin now, but it is thicker at the time of ovulation and when the embroyo will be attaching itself.

We came away with postive results after this visit to the doctor.  During this process, it is good to get to recieve as much positive results as possible.  First test down and all is good.  The next test is the hysterosalpingogram (HSG) test to determine if the fallopian tubes are open for eggs and sperm to meet.

Ready, Set, Go!

This will come as a suprise to some....heck it still suprises me sometimes.....but after many conversations Brittany and I have decided to grow our family.  Today was the beginning of that journey with the consiltation with Dr. Crawford at Austin Fertility Institute.

Let me give some background about my views on having a kid first.  For most of my adult life, I had never considered having a child....and I still don't want to be the one actually giving birth, for those of you who were wondering!  Being around kids was not my idea of fun and I would find myself losing my patience anytime I was in a small childs presence.  The idea of not having freedom to go and do whenever and whereever I wanted was not attactive to me either.  I was perfectly happy to enjoy life with my wife and our furbabies.

As I have grown older, and my closest friends and family have begun to grow their familes, I have found myself surrounded by more and more young children.  Being around these awesome babies has brought out a new side in me.  I have developed a love for them that I can not explain and I would do anything for them.  My patience has grown more than I ever thought possible.

You know that I can tell you when I realized I might want to be a mommy some day.  It was during Christmas two years ago when we went to North Carolina for Brittany's family Christmas.  We would be spending a week with her mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, niece ( 1 1/2 at the time), and month old nephew.  I was a little nervous to spend a long period of time with young kids and I wondered if there would be a way to escape if I needed to.  As it turned out, I was pretty good with the babies, but my heart melted when Brittany's neice brought a book to me, crawled in my lap and asked me to read to her.  This made me feel warm and fuzzy inside and still does every time she asks.

After that visit, Brittany and I started talking about having our own baby.  The more we talked about it the more I was excited about the possibility of growing our family and having a small one of my own that will bring me a book and crawl in my lap for story time.

So that brings us to today!  We are taking the leap off the ledge and are starting the process of Hatching a Velebil!

Today was all about setting up the plan of action and time table for the IVI process.

• Step one is for Brittany to start prenatal vitamins 
• Step two includes blood tests.  The tests are to identify Britt's blood type and to determine if she is CMV, Cytomegalovirus, positive.  If the blood type is a + and she is CMV + then pretty much any sperm is good for us.  Now, if she is blood type - and she is CMV - then we will need to find sperm that is blood type - and CMV -.  The blood test will also test for various things such as TSH, T4, TPO Antibodies, prolactin, vitamin D level.......and on and on.  All of this is important because Brittany has Hashimoto's.
• Step three is what I am referring to as Extreme Vetting.  Brittany and I will begin looking through profiles of potential sperm doners.  Brittany was looking at one of the banks websites and said it was kind of like a dating app....swipe right if you like and left if there is no chance in Hades.
• Step four is waiting for the first day of her next period so we can set up the ultra sound test for the next day or two to make sure Brittany's ovaries are working right and that her body is producing all the right hermones.  Then, sometime during days 5-11 days after the period starts she will go in for a HSG (x-ray dye test) to make sure at least one of her fallopian tupes are open so the sperm and egg can find each other.

Mixed emotions of excitement and nervousness have been going through me all day.  The consultation today increased the excitement and reduced some of the nervousness.  This is the beginning to a long road, but I am sure it will be worth it.  Brittany and I know this journey will have highs and lows and are ready to take it together.  We are excited to have Dr. Crawford helping us along this journey and we know we could not be placing the future of our family in better hands.