Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Adoption Slideshow
Seeing if this might work now . . .
Hmm. Don't know what to do here! I chose a different "picture" to show on the front. It should be of both Joerg & I. And it's been more than the 6 hours they require to change it. But for whatever reason, it continues to show a picture of me. We'll just have to wait and see if they change it. I "resaved" it with the picture of Joerg & I again.
Still not right.
Hmm. Don't know what to do here! I chose a different "picture" to show on the front. It should be of both Joerg & I. And it's been more than the 6 hours they require to change it. But for whatever reason, it continues to show a picture of me. We'll just have to wait and see if they change it. I "resaved" it with the picture of Joerg & I again.
Still not right.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Our Adoption Profile Slide show
Just testing out the slide show for our online adoption profile!
Need to see that it works :)
Ok, it's not working right. Hmm . . .
Need to see that it works :)
Ok, it's not working right. Hmm . . .
Thursday, October 9, 2008
We're back from our 1st appointment at the NEDC
What a trip!
We left right after 1st service on Sunday. We drove straight from the church. I drove for several hours, then we switched off and Joerg drove for several hours. We finally decided to stop about 1/2 way, just into Indiana. Stayed at Days Inn, and we won't stop there again. Wow needed repairs! Got going and drove another 8-9 hours on Monday, arriving in the evening at our hotel. We test drove the way to the clinic, and had dinner. Then came back to the hotel. It was also a Days Inn and we will never stay there again either. We won't go into how unsanitary we both felt the hotel was . . . but I will say I used to work in a hotel, and well, in all the hotels I've EVER stayed in . . . gotta be the worst. Oh well, just know where we won't stay when we go back for the transfer! :D
Went to the NEDC on Tuesday morning. Was wonderful! Everyone is so friendly! Even the regular clients of the clinic! (They're apparently also a regular RE's office operating out of the same office. So they have the non-profit NEDC & the clinic's private practice there). One of the gals waiting in the lobby was talking about how Dr. K really values the life of all the embryos and makes you sign something to the effect of not discarding or destroying embryos! The paperwork we took with us says they'll pray with us anytime we ask! Wow! :D
So the mock went well, or at least, as well as I expected it to go. My uterus is tipped, more so than most, so yup they first used the regular thing to test, then they went back and decided to try with the bent one too, because they figured more than likely they'd need to use the bent tube thing. bendable? Anyway, it all went well. Except . . . they could not find my ovaries. Doesn't matter how many times I warn people my ovaries are high, they just invariably don't like to believe me. So he said it wasn't really necessary to find them, because if there was a big cyst it would show up. Hmm. Anyway, he did draw an E2 level. I'm on Estrace 3x a day and now they added prometrium, 2x a day for 5 days together with the Estrace. Then I stop it and when AF comes I go on Seasonal bcp's (my af doesn't come unless it's helped anyway) and then I just keep steady on that, ignoring the "sugar pills" as they do not want me to have af so they can schedule things.
I'll be going back sometime in January for my transfer. We did end up going anonymous. We flat out told him that we were completely agreeable to open adoptions right up until they changed the fee schedule for open adoptions on us after we were already in the program. He said he understood with the economy. The coordinators who we spoke with later said they were keeping "tallys" of the # who were saying they were deterred by the additional fees for open adoptions. So 4-6 weeks before the appointment (which we don't have yet, we get it after we chose our embies) we get the profiles to look through. First they send a fax with basic info, then when we chose our matches (we chose at least 1 back-up, and at least 5 embryos) they send us the complete profile (medical etc, but anonymous info). If ever there is a medical emergency, we contact the NEDC and they will contact the families involved. Oh, so we do genetic testing if they do have to use the back-up and the original choices together, to be sure which family we're together with. BTW, this is Dr. K: http://www.baby4me.net/director.shtml
So when we do the meds, it will be Lupron, Estrace, PIO (I'm to look up what oil it was I had the reaction to, so they can order a different oil), um. . . . some antibiotic, I think albuterol?, and I think um. . . I should really look these last ones up! Starts with a V I think, a painkiller, and 3 ibuprofin. I'll look up those last ones to be clear what they were a little later. I have the prescription to send in. He wants me back on Metformin to prevent miscarriage.
They went over success rates with FET. He said 42% at their clinic with the EA. He also went over things like preterm labor is common with FET's in general, even with singletons, which surprised me. I always thought that fact came from the multiples, so was surprised they find it to be so common with singletons too! And he wants me to walk 1 hour every day because it's really healthy and helps with hormone levels etc. And the paperwork they gave us to read over, includes that we are to have horizontal fellowship the night before the transfer. Something about it actually helps with transfer & implantation! Of course, then we have to abstain, I think it was for a week?
So we were at the clinic for something like 9 to 12, then grabbed a 6" sub at Subway, and headed back for home. Drove again about 8-9 hours each day. Drove slightly different on the way home. But spent the night at a Motel 6 on the way back. Seemed to be brand new. Unfortunately, we were next to a smoking room, and for whatever reason, if they smoked, it kinda seeped into our room too. Really bad for allergies and esp. for Joerg's asthma. Oh well. It was clean! And if we stay there again,, we'll just be sure to ask for a non-smoking room on the other side of the building from the smoking rooms! Ugh. :) We made it back home last night!
The drive was beautiful! The leaves in TN are all turning different colors of reds and oranges and yellows! Just breathtaking! I mean, they're turning in MN, and then you drive through corn fields and green trees, then suddenly you get mountains and color again! Just beautiful! We drove through some rain and some sunshine too.
Oh, the matches have to be the same level, so 1 cell, 6-8 cell, or blastocyst. So if we get different donors, they have to be the same level. And then, if they do have to go into our 2nd match (say they don't have enough to transfer because first match has 2 and the one didn't survive the thaw) then they require genetic testing to determine who the match is, in case it's needed later, and so we can be sure of the medical background.
Ok, so my prescription is for: Leuprolide, Estrace, Progesterone in oil (currently cottonseed, but I need to look which I had the reaction to yet), Valium, Seasonale.
Then we also have: Doxycycline, Advil, & Albuterol pills for transfer. Hmm. I see I continue the Estrace after the transfer, in addition to the PIO shots.
Oh! So at the Knoxville location, they do transfers every other month, and mock cycles every other month. And the reason we don't have a specific date yet is because they allow those patients who had a failed transfer first chance at dates.
Love,
Julie
We left right after 1st service on Sunday. We drove straight from the church. I drove for several hours, then we switched off and Joerg drove for several hours. We finally decided to stop about 1/2 way, just into Indiana. Stayed at Days Inn, and we won't stop there again. Wow needed repairs! Got going and drove another 8-9 hours on Monday, arriving in the evening at our hotel. We test drove the way to the clinic, and had dinner. Then came back to the hotel. It was also a Days Inn and we will never stay there again either. We won't go into how unsanitary we both felt the hotel was . . . but I will say I used to work in a hotel, and well, in all the hotels I've EVER stayed in . . . gotta be the worst. Oh well, just know where we won't stay when we go back for the transfer! :D
Went to the NEDC on Tuesday morning. Was wonderful! Everyone is so friendly! Even the regular clients of the clinic! (They're apparently also a regular RE's office operating out of the same office. So they have the non-profit NEDC & the clinic's private practice there). One of the gals waiting in the lobby was talking about how Dr. K really values the life of all the embryos and makes you sign something to the effect of not discarding or destroying embryos! The paperwork we took with us says they'll pray with us anytime we ask! Wow! :D
So the mock went well, or at least, as well as I expected it to go. My uterus is tipped, more so than most, so yup they first used the regular thing to test, then they went back and decided to try with the bent one too, because they figured more than likely they'd need to use the bent tube thing. bendable? Anyway, it all went well. Except . . . they could not find my ovaries. Doesn't matter how many times I warn people my ovaries are high, they just invariably don't like to believe me. So he said it wasn't really necessary to find them, because if there was a big cyst it would show up. Hmm. Anyway, he did draw an E2 level. I'm on Estrace 3x a day and now they added prometrium, 2x a day for 5 days together with the Estrace. Then I stop it and when AF comes I go on Seasonal bcp's (my af doesn't come unless it's helped anyway) and then I just keep steady on that, ignoring the "sugar pills" as they do not want me to have af so they can schedule things.
I'll be going back sometime in January for my transfer. We did end up going anonymous. We flat out told him that we were completely agreeable to open adoptions right up until they changed the fee schedule for open adoptions on us after we were already in the program. He said he understood with the economy. The coordinators who we spoke with later said they were keeping "tallys" of the # who were saying they were deterred by the additional fees for open adoptions. So 4-6 weeks before the appointment (which we don't have yet, we get it after we chose our embies) we get the profiles to look through. First they send a fax with basic info, then when we chose our matches (we chose at least 1 back-up, and at least 5 embryos) they send us the complete profile (medical etc, but anonymous info). If ever there is a medical emergency, we contact the NEDC and they will contact the families involved. Oh, so we do genetic testing if they do have to use the back-up and the original choices together, to be sure which family we're together with. BTW, this is Dr. K: http://www.baby4me.net/director.shtml
So when we do the meds, it will be Lupron, Estrace, PIO (I'm to look up what oil it was I had the reaction to, so they can order a different oil), um. . . . some antibiotic, I think albuterol?, and I think um. . . I should really look these last ones up! Starts with a V I think, a painkiller, and 3 ibuprofin. I'll look up those last ones to be clear what they were a little later. I have the prescription to send in. He wants me back on Metformin to prevent miscarriage.
They went over success rates with FET. He said 42% at their clinic with the EA. He also went over things like preterm labor is common with FET's in general, even with singletons, which surprised me. I always thought that fact came from the multiples, so was surprised they find it to be so common with singletons too! And he wants me to walk 1 hour every day because it's really healthy and helps with hormone levels etc. And the paperwork they gave us to read over, includes that we are to have horizontal fellowship the night before the transfer. Something about it actually helps with transfer & implantation! Of course, then we have to abstain, I think it was for a week?
So we were at the clinic for something like 9 to 12, then grabbed a 6" sub at Subway, and headed back for home. Drove again about 8-9 hours each day. Drove slightly different on the way home. But spent the night at a Motel 6 on the way back. Seemed to be brand new. Unfortunately, we were next to a smoking room, and for whatever reason, if they smoked, it kinda seeped into our room too. Really bad for allergies and esp. for Joerg's asthma. Oh well. It was clean! And if we stay there again,, we'll just be sure to ask for a non-smoking room on the other side of the building from the smoking rooms! Ugh. :) We made it back home last night!
The drive was beautiful! The leaves in TN are all turning different colors of reds and oranges and yellows! Just breathtaking! I mean, they're turning in MN, and then you drive through corn fields and green trees, then suddenly you get mountains and color again! Just beautiful! We drove through some rain and some sunshine too.
Oh, the matches have to be the same level, so 1 cell, 6-8 cell, or blastocyst. So if we get different donors, they have to be the same level. And then, if they do have to go into our 2nd match (say they don't have enough to transfer because first match has 2 and the one didn't survive the thaw) then they require genetic testing to determine who the match is, in case it's needed later, and so we can be sure of the medical background.
Ok, so my prescription is for: Leuprolide, Estrace, Progesterone in oil (currently cottonseed, but I need to look which I had the reaction to yet), Valium, Seasonale.
Then we also have: Doxycycline, Advil, & Albuterol pills for transfer. Hmm. I see I continue the Estrace after the transfer, in addition to the PIO shots.
Oh! So at the Knoxville location, they do transfers every other month, and mock cycles every other month. And the reason we don't have a specific date yet is because they allow those patients who had a failed transfer first chance at dates.
Love,
Julie
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Consistent Carbohydrates
I finally got in to see the dietician/nutritionist!
So she's putting me on a new diet, and I'm really already learning something new!
So when I was in 6th grade, they told me milk was a protein! Who changed that to carbohydrate???? I can't even put it in both categories. The Insulin Resistance Diet book called it balanced and said I didn't need to worry about lactose.
It's no wonder my insulin levels remained slightly elevated all the time. I love milk!
Well, it's not a protein, it's now classified "carbohydrate". And she said cheese is a "meat" but milk is a "carbohydrate".
So I'm supposed to pay attention to eating at specific times, and consistently eating the same amount of carbs at meals and snacks!
I'm to read the labels for serving size & servings per container (something I already do), the carbohydrates, and the fats. Well, the only thing I didn't worry about before was the carbs!
I'm to walk for 30 minutes, 3 times a week.
Meal Plan (I'm to concentrate on eating times as well as consistently the same number of carbs at meals and snacks):
(oh and she said if I'm in a (10+/10-) range of the #grams of carbs at meals, it's ok.
7:30 AM:
4 carbohydrate servings (60 grams of carbs)
1 meat or meat substitutes (ah I miss counting milk in my cereal here!)
1 fat
9:30 AM:
1-2 carb choices (15-30g)
12:00 PM:
4 carbohydrate servings (60g)
1 nonstarchy vegetable
2 meat or meat substitutes
2 fats
3:00 PM:
1-2 carb servings (15-30g)
5:30 PM:
4 carbohydrate servings (60g)
2 nonstarchy vegetables
3 meat or meat substitutes
2 fats
8:00 PM:
1-2 carb servings (15-30g)
So I learned yogurt and milk are carbs. Cheese is a meat. I'm really trying to refigure this out now. You hear of this before? It's ok for me to eat sugar (I told her I don't eat artificial sweeteners, and she said that's fine.)
I'm not diabetic, or hypoglycemic. I'm Hyperinsulinemia. I have slightly elevated insulin levels and so I'm supposed to start being consistent with my carbs and that will bring it back under control and finally allow me to lose weight.
I'm really wondering now . . . all these years I just drank so much milk thinking "protein". Ugh!
I see her again in 3 weeks.
I've been doing this for a few days now, and it's actually pretty good! I mean, my energy levels are much more consistent! I'm not perfect at the diet but I'm still learning how it works too.
So she's putting me on a new diet, and I'm really already learning something new!
So when I was in 6th grade, they told me milk was a protein! Who changed that to carbohydrate???? I can't even put it in both categories. The Insulin Resistance Diet book called it balanced and said I didn't need to worry about lactose.
It's no wonder my insulin levels remained slightly elevated all the time. I love milk!
Well, it's not a protein, it's now classified "carbohydrate". And she said cheese is a "meat" but milk is a "carbohydrate".
So I'm supposed to pay attention to eating at specific times, and consistently eating the same amount of carbs at meals and snacks!
I'm to read the labels for serving size & servings per container (something I already do), the carbohydrates, and the fats. Well, the only thing I didn't worry about before was the carbs!
I'm to walk for 30 minutes, 3 times a week.
Meal Plan (I'm to concentrate on eating times as well as consistently the same number of carbs at meals and snacks):
(oh and she said if I'm in a (10+/10-) range of the #grams of carbs at meals, it's ok.
7:30 AM:
4 carbohydrate servings (60 grams of carbs)
1 meat or meat substitutes (ah I miss counting milk in my cereal here!)
1 fat
9:30 AM:
1-2 carb choices (15-30g)
12:00 PM:
4 carbohydrate servings (60g)
1 nonstarchy vegetable
2 meat or meat substitutes
2 fats
3:00 PM:
1-2 carb servings (15-30g)
5:30 PM:
4 carbohydrate servings (60g)
2 nonstarchy vegetables
3 meat or meat substitutes
2 fats
8:00 PM:
1-2 carb servings (15-30g)
So I learned yogurt and milk are carbs. Cheese is a meat. I'm really trying to refigure this out now. You hear of this before? It's ok for me to eat sugar (I told her I don't eat artificial sweeteners, and she said that's fine.)
I'm not diabetic, or hypoglycemic. I'm Hyperinsulinemia. I have slightly elevated insulin levels and so I'm supposed to start being consistent with my carbs and that will bring it back under control and finally allow me to lose weight.
I'm really wondering now . . . all these years I just drank so much milk thinking "protein". Ugh!
I see her again in 3 weeks.
I've been doing this for a few days now, and it's actually pretty good! I mean, my energy levels are much more consistent! I'm not perfect at the diet but I'm still learning how it works too.
Wooohoo!
We have our initial appointment at the NEDC! 10/7 we go in for our initial appointment. They'll do a mock transfer, and discuss our medical history. Then after that we'll enter the matching. :)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Approved!
Ok, so we were approved for the Embryo Adoption concurrent adoption on 7/15/2008 :D
So now what happens is . . . .
We're waiting to adopt 2 different ways, but waiting at the same time. So whichever program is matched first, the other program is put on hold until either (of course dependent on which program is first):
a. a child placed through domestic infant adoption's adoption is finalized
or
b. a child born through embryo adoption is 6 months old.
At that time then we update the homestudy, update the profiles, and go back into the waiting pool of the other program.
The only real problem would be if we end up with twins or more in the embryo program first, because then we're ineligible for the domestic infant program and would lose our program fee. We could however, go into the international program, but again, that domestic infant program fee is not transferable and not refundable.
But we're soooo excited! We can hardly wait to see where God leads us now. We're approaching the 1 year mark (11/30) for domestic infant, and that's the average wait time for the domestic infant program in this office at this time (it does change over time, so this is the average based on when we were approved).
I spoke yesterday with Nancy at the NEDC. What happens now (they have our profile and all other paperwork etc.) is we're in the matching process.
If we're matched with a closed adoption, we're sent matching possibilities and then we pray over them and decide and if we move forward, then we let them know and we start moving forward.
If we're matched with an open adoption, then first we're sent to the donor couple. Then if they chose us, we're sent their non-identifiable info and we pray over them and decide. And if we move forward with them then what happens is someone from the Bethany office will call both the donor couple and us and arrange the open adoption agreement at which time we pay an additional $3000.
If we want fully open there's no further fees. But if it's semi open through Bethany, we pay an additional $4000. However, if it's semi open and we just set up a private email just for communication between us, then there's no additional fee.
Sound complicated yet? :D
Ah well. I know whatever happens that God is the one moving us forward and doing the real matching.
We are very excited to see where God leads us and also to see which program comes first now! I hope you're just as excited!
We continue to pray for the expectant parents and the genetic parents, that God would guide them in their decisions, and that they are blessed by whatever they decide to do as they follow God's will in their lives.
Love,
Julie & Joerg
So now what happens is . . . .
We're waiting to adopt 2 different ways, but waiting at the same time. So whichever program is matched first, the other program is put on hold until either (of course dependent on which program is first):
a. a child placed through domestic infant adoption's adoption is finalized
or
b. a child born through embryo adoption is 6 months old.
At that time then we update the homestudy, update the profiles, and go back into the waiting pool of the other program.
The only real problem would be if we end up with twins or more in the embryo program first, because then we're ineligible for the domestic infant program and would lose our program fee. We could however, go into the international program, but again, that domestic infant program fee is not transferable and not refundable.
But we're soooo excited! We can hardly wait to see where God leads us now. We're approaching the 1 year mark (11/30) for domestic infant, and that's the average wait time for the domestic infant program in this office at this time (it does change over time, so this is the average based on when we were approved).
I spoke yesterday with Nancy at the NEDC. What happens now (they have our profile and all other paperwork etc.) is we're in the matching process.
If we're matched with a closed adoption, we're sent matching possibilities and then we pray over them and decide and if we move forward, then we let them know and we start moving forward.
If we're matched with an open adoption, then first we're sent to the donor couple. Then if they chose us, we're sent their non-identifiable info and we pray over them and decide. And if we move forward with them then what happens is someone from the Bethany office will call both the donor couple and us and arrange the open adoption agreement at which time we pay an additional $3000.
If we want fully open there's no further fees. But if it's semi open through Bethany, we pay an additional $4000. However, if it's semi open and we just set up a private email just for communication between us, then there's no additional fee.
Sound complicated yet? :D
Ah well. I know whatever happens that God is the one moving us forward and doing the real matching.
We are very excited to see where God leads us and also to see which program comes first now! I hope you're just as excited!
We continue to pray for the expectant parents and the genetic parents, that God would guide them in their decisions, and that they are blessed by whatever they decide to do as they follow God's will in their lives.
Love,
Julie & Joerg
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