Lots to Catch Up On- How Retrieval One Went Down...

I have been the absolute worst at updating y'all over here. There's really no other way to put it! Ha! In case we aren't FB friends, here is how the rest of my first retrieval played out...

Originally posted on FB June 14, 2021

“Hey Courtney, you had your eggs retrieved 5 days ago, and now your embryos are in a lab and you have absolutely positively no control over how they grow, which survive, and which are genetically normal. What are you going to do?”

We’re going to DISNEY WORLD!!!!

I cannot begin to express how NORMAL Bradford and I feel right now. Travel, no meds, no injections, no strict schedule, alcohol , rollercoasters , OUR MOST FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

Disney World is our jam (& the only time we are ever morning people ), and we’ve been dreaming of taking another trip there before kids. Once covid and infertility were thrown into the mix, it looked like it just wouldn’t happen. It’s extremely rare to be able to plan a successful Disney trip on a whim (and that’s exactly how life is with infertility appointments, tests, and procedures). When I got my retrieval date for IVF I immediately reached out to my planner Kristi and said could we make Disney happen…. but nothing was lining up. The parks were booked solid. But then, around 9pm two Fridays ago, she texts me to say “They just opened more park capacity. Let’s book now.”- and the rest is history! I will say having a 10 day Disney countdown sure beats a year one. Within hours of us booking the parks were full again. As Kristi said, “It sure looks like someone somewhere wanted to make sure y’all could have a little extra joy in your lives.”

So now we are officially off to test our theory of “Disney makes everything better.” Consider this your warning- if couples in their 30s frolicking around Disney World in coordinating cheesy shirts isn’t your cup of tea, ya might want to unfollow me for the week.

Oh and prayers for our 4 little embryos, please. It’s all up to science and God now, but we have a good feeling that our sweet Baby Z(s) are in a cute little petri dish as I type this awaiting their first plane ride to California for genetic testing. They say your embryologist and geneticist are the most expensive babysitters you’ll ever pay for.

Originally posted on FB June 15, 2021

& then there were THREE!

Today while we were having a ball at Magic Kingdom we got the most magical news ever (how fitting ). THREE of our four little embryos made it to day 6 and are officially viable little babes!!!!!!

My doctor said we were hoping for 40% to make it this far and I’m excited to say we had nearly 67%!!!!

So it’s safe to say I cried happy tears in the MK today. This wasn’t my first time but these were by far the happiest tears I’ve ever cried here ha.

Something cool…. One day when we bring our babies here to Disney Bradford and I will be able to say “this is where we were when we got the news about you.”

Now we pray that they are genetically normal. They were biopsied today and are headed to California (wrong Disney, but we’ll teach them better when they’re finally here).

Originally posted on FB June 28, 2021

It feels amazing to finally be able to say we have some good news to share.

Like, really good news.

This week Bradford and I found out that 2 of our 3 embryos are genetically normal and viable.

This is a blessing we are very thankful for, but it doesn’t come without fear (which apparently is a theme of parenting in general ).

We haven’t kept it a secret that we want two children- and while having healthy embryos is a HUGE and totally necessary step in the right direction, there are still so many other things that have to go right. Knowing that 100% of everything 100% of the time has to go right for these two to make it earth-side is very scary. Especially when, statistically speaking, that’s just not how IVF works. Plus, with my diagnosis, we are up against the clock, and this very likely is going to be the only time in my entire life that we’re able to retrieve and preserve my eggs.

We have a lot to still think about, and a lot we’ve been thinking about that we will share when we’re ready, but we wanted to share this good news with you all because it is VERY GOOD NEWS indeed. We know not every couple in our situation is blessed with results like this, and we don’t take that for granted.

Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes. Each message of checking in or sending hope is so appreciated. Please keep your prayers coming. We’re definitely one gigantic step closer to the “finish line” but there’s still lots of ground to cover.