FET Road Map

As we roll into "Operation Baby#2" I realize that I talk a lot about infertility stuff around here, and that a fair few of you (like my lovely family and friends) have no idea what any of this actually means, or what you should expect over the next month. So I figured it was a good time for an FET road map. Like the one I did for IVF back in 2008. I am nothing if not considerate when I choose to talk about nothing but a topic you all know little about.

So a Road Map for the FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer... so this is to transfer the embryos we have left over from the IVF that gave us Henry):

• Begin birth control about 6-8 weeks before desired transfer. This is to regulate your cycle timing. I started he birth control pills (BCP) in late January.
• Stop Birth control about three weeks weeks before desired transfer. This should trigger your period, and then you are good to go. For us (because we love to be different) the BCP triggered three weeks of bleeding so they don't expect me to have a period. Still, I start hormones on Wednesday.
• Wednesday February 23: start hormone patches. I will be changing/ increasing hormone patches from now until the transfer date. This will get my lining to the correct thickness for implantation.
• March 7-9: I will go in for an ultrasound to check to make sure the old trusty uterus looks good for a baby. Mainly just the lining thickness is checked. Thumbs up here means we are good to go for transfer!
• March 9: begin progesterone. This will continue (along with patches) until 12 weeks of pregnancy if I am pregnant.
  
• March 13-14: Embryos will be thawed. Since we are using frozen embryos we have left over from our IVF, so we are not actually 100% sure we will have anything to transfer until this point. Some embryos do not survive, but since we have 6 on ice we feel confident at least one or two will make it. (I am hoping we actually get 2 FET transfers out of the ice-babies, but time will tell)
• March 14-15: Transfer. We will go in to the fertility clinic and have two (as long as we have two) 5-day blast embryos transferred. (Yay!!)
• March 15-23: Wait
• March 23-24: Pregnancy test!

So that's it. A road map to the madness. I don't know if you can tell, but this is a much easier process than the IVF was back in 2008. Less medications, less procedures, less money, NO shots (crazy!). All around a better deal. The trade off is that the success rate is a little less, but only time will tell what that means for us.

Fingers crossed because here we go!