IVF Consult with Chicago IVF-Our Journey to Baby Miano

Day 1 of our IVF journey came on Wednesday.  I had been so so anxious all day, wanting it to be here and to be over at the same time.  I wanted our choice of IVF to be a unanimous decision with the center.

First of all the staff was incredible.  From the front desk, to the nurse, to the nurse practitioner.  They all knew this was a woman's last step after TTC for so long and took a lot of love, hope and courage to come in.

The consult was 2 hours.  It could have been longer if it were up to me.  I have a huge fear of needles and of course this process should help me overcome that quickly.  Lots of talk about the procedure itself and what we would have to do was done.  Once my period started, I would start birth control so we can completely control my cycle and ovulation.  But blood tests to see where all my levels currently are was the first step.  Roughly 15 vials of blood were drawn.....just the beginning!! There will come a time where I will go daily for levels to be checked.

We went over all the tests that will come up before my new insurance kicks in on January 1st, as that is when the treatment portion will be allowable under my new Illinois plan after the deductible of $3500 is met.  We may meet that alone with the medication.

So my period came Thursday, of course the next day, and when I called to let them know, we scheduled my sonogram for Tuesday and the consult with the head doc on Friday to go over those results.  The sonogram will be an ultrasound where they fill me with water and we will look at the exact spots fertilized embryos will be planted to make sure there are no issues.  If there are, we will deal with them when we speak with the doctor.  So they told me the results of all of my blood work were great but my prolactin levels were high.  Normal range for a woman not pregnant or lactating should be 1 to 23 and I was 34.  So I went back yesterday after fasting for a redraw.  My level came back 11.  So we are good.  Food or drink could have affected the first draw.

They also gave me prenatal samples to try so I have been taking those since Thursday and this morning I am about to start birth control.  Still humorous to me that that is the first step to getting pregnant.

I still have a lot of reading to do and Nick and I will need to go to a "teach" were we will learn how to administer the daily injections of hormones.  But we have a plan now and a plan is HOPE!!!  Giving us more hope than we have had in a long time.  If the insurance cooperates, as there will be a pre auth required for my class 5 fertility drugs and if my body does too, medications will start at the end of next month.  My grandmothers birthday is February 3rd so shooting for that day so she is with me. After the meds are completed, which will essentially turn me into an egg making factory, there will be a retrieval surgery and then we will choose the best embryos, fertilize them and another surgery to implant, letting us know if we are pregnant before the end of February.  THAT IS SURREAL TO ME!!!

I want to start looking for cute egg socks to be my lucky socks for these visits and I really want to start buying baby stuff but I know I have to be patient.....I think that's normal, right?? I already have a pinterest board for Baby Miano :)

Nick and I are trying to remain as hopeful and positive as we can and already are so thankful for all the support and prayers and love we have been receiving.  Thank you to those that are sharing your stories with me and helping ease my fears.  The plan has started and although the hard part that my body will physically go through has not begun, we have answers and goals so far.

Thank you for following us on our journey to Baby Miano.

Have a great day!! xo