Retrieval Day

Well it is John writing this one. Jess is in bed and sleeping alot from the meds, so sorry it will be a short one. She went back for the retrieval around 8:45 and was back by 9. She laid down and she started crying in pain from her right side, that is the side that had the most follicles. But i got her nurse and she gave her some pain meds. Within 10 min jess was kinda her self worrying about how everything went. But the Dr. came in and said out of 17 follicles they got 11 eggs, so that is great. She said to call tomorrow and see how they are doing and how many fertilized. So that is about it. Everything went amazing and we know it is all in God's hands from the start. We thank everyone for the support and prayers. We are just going to stay in and order in pizza per request of jess. Anyway she will post tomorrow some pics of the inside of the clinic.

our day

me walking down from the castle

johns giant snowball

the castle

the snowball john threw...

at me

Yesterday we decided to visit another mall they have here its much bigger then the one we have been going to. Olympia had a movie theater so we saw It's Complicated with Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep, and Steven Martin. I thought it was a good movie kinda long though. When you pay for your tickets they give you an assigned seat which we thought was weird. But the movie was in English with Czech subtitles it was so nice to her our language and it made us feel like we were back at home. On the way home we stopped at KFC for dinner I was shocked that they dont have chicken breasts here only chicken fingers so I was sad about that. The chicken breast is my favorite part of the chicken. My surgery is tomorrow morning at 8am I m feeling kind of nervous but somewhat excited. I have never had surgery so I dont know what its going to be like. But I know that God is with me and he will help calm my nerves and give me strength.

Spilberk Castle

Brno from the top of the castle

Brno

Spilberk Castle

Inside the courtyard of the castle

us with the city as our background

Today we woke up to snow showers it was coming down pretty hard up until lunch time. John and I decide we would spend most of our day at the Spilberk Castle. Its huge and sits on top of a steep hill. The castle was built in the mid 13th century by King Premysl Otakar II.

It was good exercise for us to climb up the hill and it was not easy with 8 inches of snow. We walked around and saw the city from different views. The castle is closed during the winter time so we couldnt go in and see the museum. After taking in all of the beautiful views we played in the snow and had a snowball fight.

Afterwards we went and visited the chocolate shop again cause it so good and I love chocolate. For dinner we ate Chinese food. It was pretty good its not as greasy like back home. We ate gelati again its so good and low in fat so thats a plus.

That was pretty much our day filled with lots of walking and climbing, will see what tomorrow brings.

more pictures

I thought this was different 3 hens on top of the roof

view of the city

Capuchin Monastery

The top of the old town hall

shops in the downtown area

our afternoon

Inside of the cathedral

Petrov (Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul)

me at the little park by our apartment

Us at Starobrno trying to decide what to eat yesterday

We had a great afternoon. We went to the mall and while we were there we had some gelati its like ice cream but softer. Then we went and visited the Petrov its the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. Dinner was good at the pizza place and afterwards we went to the grocery store to get fresh fruits and bread. It seems like the days just fly by so fast. It gets dark early (its 6pm) here so we are now back at the apartment relaxing after a of walking.

great news

We had our second ultrasound appointment this morning and I now have 7 follicles in my left ovary and 10 in my right ovary The follicle sizes range now from 15cm to 16cm and they need to be at 18cm, so I have to keep taking my shots. And the shots make me feel tired and crampy.
I m so excited. The doctor also told us that my egg retrieval date is this Sunday at 8:ooam(which is 2 am your time) and the embryo transfer will be on Friday Feb. 5th. We cant wait to get the process started.
Yesterday we went out to lunch with the couple from Denver and had some yummy food at Starobrno. I had chicken, spinach, and noodles covered in a cream sauce and John had fish and chips. It was very good so we will coming back to eat there. After lunch we went to a bakery and a chocolate shop it smelled so good in there. We bought a couple of yummy pastries and a variety of chocolates. Later on I got a two hour massage from Henry and it only cost $50 and he comes to your home and does the massage. He also did a hot stone massage which was my favorite part. It was just what I needed. I m so relaxed. Henry was very good I would definitely recommend him if you ever visit Brno.
Now we are going to visit the mall and do some more walking in downtown Brno. We are going to eat lunch here in the apartment and for dinner there is a pizza place in town that we want to try its Pizza Colosseum(sp?). More to come later

pictures

our bedroom

the kitchen

living room/dining room

our dinner which was Indian food

The local grocery store

visiting the city

We woke up to snow this morning and it actually was accumulating (not like back home where it melts as soon as it hits the ground). We went to downtown Brno and all of the building are so beautiful. We walked around and found a movie theatre, we might go see a movie tomorrow night, and a pizza place that I really want to go try. After walking around for a couple of hours we went to the salt cave to relax. It was so cool I wish I had a picture of it but the lady at desk said no pictures allowed. But its a man made cave that has salts from the dead sea and it is supposed to relax you and its also good for respiratory diseases.

Then for dinner we went out with our coordinator and another couple from Denver. They were really cool and we had alot in common. It was really nice to share our stories and hear how we both struggle with infertility. So tomorrow we are going out to lunch and then hopefully I can get a massage. We are going to exchange email addresses so we can keep in touch. Now we are back at the apartment its 9:15pm here so we might watch a movie. The pictures are of the salt cave building, churches, and the shopping area.

day 2

Yesterday afternoon we stayed in our hotel since we were so tired. We had dinner at 4pm which I guess was an early time here because we were the only ones in the restaurant the entire time. The restaurant was located inside our hotel and the food was very good. I ordered chicken with ham and cheese on top,veggies and salad. John had pork chops, potatoes,and veggies. After dinner we went back to our room to shower and we tried our hardest to stay up as long as we could so that we could try to adjust our bodies to the time here. John was on the computer and I read some of my book but we still didnt make it to 9pm. John fell asleep at 7 and I did too shortly after. Then we both woke up at midnight wide awake. I fell asleep again and John did around 3am after getting back on the computer again. We had to get up at 7ish to get ready for breakfast then to repack our things and meet our coordinator in the lobby so she could take us to our appointment.

We just got back from viewing Brno. Our coordinator was showing us around the city and telling us what train we will be using to go to the shopping mall and restaurants. She also took us to the grocery store which is a 5 minute walk from our apartment.

Today its 2o degrees with snow showers later on, its been cloudy all morning.

John and I also went to our first appointment at the clinic. The staff was very nice and everyone we met spoke good English. Our doctors name is Dr. Stepan, he explained our protocol to us and said we have an excellent chance of conceiving. He also did my ultrasound which showed 11 eggs and the sizes range from 10cm to 12cm. My eggs are at the right size and are developing great. He also told me to start my Cetrotide shot and this medication will make my eggs develop evenly. The eggs need to be at 18cm before they do the egg retrieval. Dr. Stepan also moved up my retrieval day to this Saturday the 30th. John did his semen analysis today too and they are going to freeze his sperm just in case he doesnt give a good sample on the embryo transfer date. And all of this is because of God and all the prayers we have been saying. God has truly blessed us with a great appointment and many more to come I am sure. With out him this would not have been possible.

The pictures above are of john waiting for our train yesterday, the views from our hotel room and the last two pictures are of the sign of our clinic Reprofit and the actual clinic.

We are here

We arrived here safe and sound. The flight over to Czech was really nice, we got to sit in first class. There was lots of leg room and comfy reclining chairs too. Mid way through the fight we had lots of turbulence, which freaked me out. We were both ready for it to be over it lasted quite awhile. We took a taxi over to the train station and waited there for 3 hours. The train ride was very scenic, it was so beautiful to see all the cities covered in snow. Now we are at our hotel room very tired and hungry. Our apartment that we will be staying in will not be ready until tomorrow, so Mag got us room at a very nice hotel. We also met our coordinator she is cool and is around our age. She is going to so us around tomorrow since we were too tired today. We also have our first appointment at the infertility clinic tomorrow at 9:45am Czech time. More to come later we are about to go get something to eat we are starving. The pictures above are Prague, our train, us waiting for the train, and us waiting at our gate at JFK.

hours left

Well its finally here we are leaving for Czech tomorrow morning. We have to get up really really early like at 3am to be at the airport at 5am. Our flight from here to New York leaves at 7am and then we have a 7 hr layover before leaving for Czech at 5pm. Its going to be a nine hour flight and we arrive in Czech on Sunday at 7am. Czech is 6 hrs. ahead. I know we are going to be so tired.
John checked the weather and its 20 degrees right now and that is the high all week. Monday it shows snow showers so we are so excited about that. I cant wait to play in the snow.
Today has been a very busy day first I had work and then we stopped by to see my family. They are so excited and have been so supportive too. We will be talking everyday through skype, I cant go without not talking to them. John went and got all the last minute things from Wal Mart and we just finished packing everything.
John and I have received so much support from friends and family. And they all will be praying for us. It's still hard to believe that its finally here and our dreams are about to come true. I m just amazed at all the work God has done for us. We are so blessed.
Well dinner just arrived, we ordered pizza since we have to go to bed early and its kinda late already. Continue to pray and I ll be blogging everyday and hopefully posting some pictures

6 days left

My family came over for dinner today, our last get together before our trip. My mom got on to me for not being packed yet. So she got me motivated and now I am packed. I am so thankful to have such a great mom. John still needs to pack I kinda helped by packing his sweaters and some jeans. But he will have to come home tomorrow and finish.
We also got some great news this week. John passed all his tests to become a paramedic. I am so proud of him. It was alot of hard work but it was well worth it. I love him so much and I think to myself God has truly blessed me with an amazing husband. I feel like the luckiest girl in world. This is a great way to start off our week.
We have lots of friends and family who will be praying for us, and it just amazes me how much we are loved and care for. I cant thank them enough. Just knowing they will be praying for us makes me feel so fearless and at peace. We are going to have the best trip ever. I cant wait to share it all my friends and family.
Wednesday I start my hormone shots...yikes...John is going to be giving them to me cause I dont think I can do it. Then on Thursday we leave to Fayetteville to say with his parents. So we really have a busy week trying to take care of last minute things.
Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and I ll keep you posted on whats going on.

18 days

Happy New Year! Its 2010

Well I can't believe January is here its already the 4th and we have 18 days left until we leave for Czech! Time seems to be flying by so fast.

I received my passport on Dec. 30th we are so relieved and this time everything was correct..yay! We also did some more shopping this week, I love to shop. I got some long sleeve shirts and a new jacket. John got a couple of things at American Eagle. My mom is letting me borrow her carry on luggage so I might start packing some of our stuff. I'm trying to think of it as a vacation it helps me to think of it that way. John has been looking online at different things we can do while are there. I told him I want to go out and do things to keep my mind off the procedure.

Lately I have been feeling kinda of scared about the whole thing. But God is with me and he showed it to me on Sunday. Just as I'm thinking about all my fears he sent me a message through our preacher Paul. The sermon was titled Confronting Fears focusing on Matthew 8:26 . WoW I knew right away this was God's way of telling me I hear you and I am here for you. Mr. Paul said to overcome fear you need FAITH and COURAGE. He also said we need to walk in FAITH because life can be fearful. That sermon was meant for me, I needed to hear it. I need faith. Which brings me to think if we have a baby girl Faith sounds like a great name. Faith means so much to me now. I want to have faith. If I have faith and courage my fears of flying, the procedure (in-vitro), and worst one the fear of losing the our baby when we return home. I know God is with us through this whole process and I don't have to be afraid about anything. I feel at peace.
here is my favorite bible verse from the sermon Matthew 14:27~ But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."