Womack Embabies

Today I take my first injection of Lupron. I remember when we did this the first time, once that first injection happens, everything seems so fly at break neck speed. Technically the next week or so is fairly low key in the grand scheme of the process, however something about these shots in the belly makes everything more real. And then I take a step back and truly look at our timeline and I get a major adrenaline rush (its equal parts excitement, nervousness, and fear) when I think that in 2 1/2 weeks, God willing, more Womack babies will exist on this earth. They are little lives, little PEOPLE, as soon as they’re fertilized!!  And let me tell you, these tiny little embryos each have a unique personality from the literal minute they are created. They each divide differently. They each behave differently.  They hatch at different times, contain different combinations of DNA.  They are each their own unique size and shape.  It's incredible to see these little lives develop from such a small little bunch of cells.  The first time we ever laid eyes on Greysen, he was literally 6 cells big.  His entire "self" could fit on the head of a pin!  And now he runs and talks and laughs and has opinions and a beating heart and functioning lungs.  What a MIRACLE life is!  And we get a front row seat to the incredibly complicated and tedious process of how that life is created...

Of course the prayer immediately following "Please help our embabies grow and develop!" is "Dear God, PLEASE let us meet at least one of these beautiful lives here on earth!"  In our first process we ended up with 11 eggs retrieved, 7 eggs fertilized, 3 viable embryos, 2 embryos transferred, a singleton pregnancy, and one frozen embryo.  Why did we choose to go through another fresh transfer instead of using our frozen embryo?  1) Our sweet little frozen embaby is very, very marginal.  That means that, as far as the grading system of the strength of an embryo and it's propensity to continue into a healthy viable pregnancy, our embaby is the lowest possible grade above "non-viable". It doesn't mean he or she won't eventually grow into a healthy baby and be a part of a healthy pregnancy, but it's highly likely that our little one may not survive the cryogenic thawing process.  2) With my age being what it is (I will turn 34 in November) and our desire to at least have the *option* of 3 children, we are going to have to go through this IVF process again at some point.  It is best to do that as young as possible so that my ovarian reserves don't drop drastically and so that I can be as healthy as possible to carry a pregnancy to term.  So basically, no time like the present...

No matter how many embryos we end up with with this process, every single one of those viable embryos will eventually be transferred right back to where they belong...into their mommy's womb!  Including our one little frosty embryo at OU right now.  We pray fervently for strong and healthy embryos, and we pray even more fervently for a healthy pregnancy and beautiful babies that we meet and know here on earth.  They are beautiful lives from the outset.  What a blessing that so far we have had the privilege of knowing at least one of them here on earth...our little Greysen!  And he's pretty darn fantastic...

Wait with us.  Pray with us.  Hope with us!