What IVF Actually Involves (Day By Day Needle By Needle)

WEBVTT
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The coolest thing about IVF is you get to watch them put your baby inside you.
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All up on the ultrasound screen and it's fucking cool as.
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Like that is, if there's any plus to IVF, that's it.
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Like you get to see every stage of it.
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There's no guessing, there's no nothing.
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It's just like this amazing thing that happened.
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I actually thought it was 209,000, but it's 215,000 that we've spent so far in the last four and a bit years, which is like just an astronomical amount of money.
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We sacrificed a lot.
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We both sold our cars, we sold an investment property, we sold so many things to be able to make this happen.
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It is really beneficial having the same people the whole way through, too, because let me tell you, 900 people see up your vigilants throughout this process.
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It's very invasive.
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Our baby has literally been the result of what has been the worst frozen embryo cycle we've ever had.
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And it was so bad that we nearly cancelled it twice.
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I'm Kate Muir.
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Today I'm going to be telling you all about what the actual IVF journey is like.
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I know we get so many questions that people say, but like, what does it actually entail and what does it actually involve?
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And what do you have to do for it?
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Well, I'm going to take you through that process today.
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So just a little trigger warning on that, too.
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That um we're talking about infertility, I'm going to be talking about periods, I'm going to be talking about IVF, medical procedures, pregnancy loss, miscarriage, everything in between.
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So if that one's going to upset you today, just give this one a little bit of a miss.
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Um, but yeah, I'm kind of excited to talk to you guys about I guess what the what the journey's been like for us.
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So um it is different for absolutely every single person.
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No two IBF journeys are the same, no two bodies are the same, everybody has a different experience and different doctors and different advice and different everything.
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But um, you guys would have seen last week, we have finally been able to announce our pregnancy.
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We are having a beautiful little boy, which is so wild because actually both Cam and I both were convinced that he was a girl.
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I don't know why, we both were just getting really big girl energy, and so we're just over the moon.
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We both um neither of us had a preference, genuinely hand on heart.
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We both had sat down and had the chat about you know what we wanted and and what what that looked like, and both of us were like, we just want a baby at this point, we just want a beautiful, healthy baby, and whatever gender it happens to be is perfect for us, but we have a little man, and yeah, we're so we're so excited.
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So, look, it's actually a really hard secret to keep, too.
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Hats off to anyone who can actually keep it secret.
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Um, all of our friends and family knew.
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Um, yeah, it was just it was it was fun.
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We're just so excited.
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So, long story short, our IVF journey has not been easy.
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I definitely know of a lot of people in my life that have had it much harder, much longer, much worse, more loss, just a way harder experience than us.
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Um, you know, hopefully baking him is a lot easier than making him because yeah, it it's not been it's not been that fun.
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But um our our baby has literally been the result of what has been the worst frozen embryo cycle we've ever had.
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And like it was so bad that we nearly cancelled it twice, um, or my doctor did, but um let me tell you about it.
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Just let me tell you all about it.
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So I guess I want to start this one off with the cost of IVF.
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This is a huge question.
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Um, it's not it's not funded.
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You do get a little bit back from Medicare, you get about 30% back from Medicare, um, but for the most part, it's it's out of pocket.
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So I'm not aware of the price of public either.
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So we are very happily private patients.
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We have to be, um, which is something I'm gonna tell you about next week when I tell you about why we've had to go through the IVF journey.
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But um, we've done many cycles, many, many, many cycles.
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And you know, IVF or assisted pregnancy, as they call it, is not actually covered under any private policy at all.
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Um, if you guys have found somewhere that does that, please let me know because I'd be very, very interested.
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But um, we do get hospital stays and ether tests, some of our appointments covered, that sort of thing, um, where we just have to pay a gap and and and those sorts of things, but the actual IVF process itself is not covered by private health.
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So for clarification, this is the out-of-pocket costs of our IVF cycles themselves, egg freezing fees, all medical appointments, hospital stays, medications, injectables, naturopathy, pelvic physio, psychology, literally everything that we've had to go through so far.
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I actually thought it was 209,000, but it's 215,000 that we've spent so far in the last four and a bit years, um, which is like just an astronomical amount of money.
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And look, we understand the privilege that comes with being able to afford this, and we understand the privilege of being able to afford our$200 a week private, you know, medical cover and all those sorts of things.
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Um, that's not something that we take for granted at all.
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Um, and like I said, I cannot speak for the experience of anyone going through the public system because that hasn't been our journey, but um, we still have many obstetrician and gynecologist appointments to go.
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I'm still seeing both my my OBS arts scene tomorrow, which will be last week by the time this goes to air.
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I'm still seeing my gynecologist regularly, lots of scans, lots of appointments.
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Um, I've got something on literally every week at the moment, which is really cool.
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Um, but the great news with that is the the hospital um procedure or birth is is actually covered.
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So, you know, here's me dumbass, strapping in for a big payment to be able to pay.
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But um, but yeah, it's it's all good.
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So we also appreciate that you know what we've gone through is is actually genuinely unaffordable for so many people.
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We sacrificed a lot, like we both sold our cars, we sold an investment property, we sold so many things to be able to make this happen, and um again, we understand that that's not possible for everybody, and and we we we sacrificed a lot to be able to do this.
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And he's the most wanted baby in the world, and we're very, very excited to actually bring him into this world too.
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So, um, next thing I want to talk about is how IVF actually works.
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Now, this cycle that's bringing us our baby boy was actually a frozen embryo cycle.
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So, what that means is we did an egg retrieval, egg pickup, whatever you call it, egg harvesting many years ago, all the way back in 2003 and 2004, we did three, and then they get put on ice and then they get transferred, and then that's a that's a frozen transfer cycle.
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So um, he's from May 2024, which is so fucking cool when you think about it.
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Um, there are a few different kinds of cycles, but I want to, I guess, do my best to explain.
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May 2024 was our last frozen embryo cycle.
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I had to stop after that, it just caused way too much havoc in my body.
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So forgive me if some of the information's a little bit, a little bit, you know, out of whack for that one.
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But um people, not me, can do the egg retrieval cycle, then transfer a fresh embryo.
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Um, my body gets way too flared up, and I'll tell you guys about that next week why that happens.
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Um, so I have to do an egg cycle, make them into embryos, freeze them, and then a few months later, um, I have to have a three-month wait after a fro after an egg cycle to then do a transfer.
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So yeah, it's um it's a lot, it's a lot.
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But, anyways, let me tell you from my memory of what a bloody egg retrieval cycle is.
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So, first of all, we work with the most incredible gynecologist ever.
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His name is Dr.
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George Boggiatsis, and he works alongside Monash IVF Clinic.
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So, him, he's in a private office just next to the Budram Private Hospital.
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I, if you guys are ever considering going in that and you're up this end of the world, he is fantastic.
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I love him so much.
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He is the most gentle.
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Oh, I nearly get, I get really I get really emotional when I talk about him because I just appreciate him so much.
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He is the most gentle, generous, kind man, and all he cares about is just how I feel and how I'm going and making sure that I'm okay, making sure that Cam's okay, and he's just he is just an angel on earth, and I'm so grateful for him.
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Um, and he is so um Monash IVF will monitor and administer the IIVF, um, where we're also allocated one specialty IVF nurse from start to finish of our cycle.
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Um, and you also have a 24-7 helpline that you can call up anytime.
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So if you're having a panic station or something's going on, or you need to, you know, just uh have a question answered, you can literally call any of the on-call nurses at any time.
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One of the many benefits of private is always having the same people the whole way through that process, with exception to if one of them is away or something like that.
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If you guys have been pregnant before and you and you've gone through an uh OB obstetrician, you would know that they usually tell you that um, you know, right at the start when their holidays and stuff are.
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But um, Georgie works in a group of in his building, there's like I think there's like six of them.
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So they all work their normal Monday to Friday hours, and then there's two of them that work every weekend.
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So if for whatever reason you have to have a transfer on a weekend, which has happened to us once, and there it's not their weekend, you'll always get one of the doctors that's in their group.
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So you're really familiar with them all.
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So yeah, that happened to us once, and Dr.
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Larwood was fab, um, but he's not my George.
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So look, it is really beneficial having the same people the whole way through, too, because let me tell you, 900 people see up your vigorts throughout this process.
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It's very um how would you put it?
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It's very invasive.
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Um, thankfully, all of my people have been really, really good, but um, yeah, the least people that you can have to transfer that information and repeat yourself, the better.
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So an IVF egg cycle starts like this.
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You'll get day one blood tests before 7 a.m.
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So your blood tests have to be early.
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The reason for that is they have to go out with the first batch of bloods and then they have to have the results within two hours because IVF is so time sensitive that if you miss that um window, no good, no good, no good.
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So um day one is the first day that you bleed.
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So if you get a little bit of a spotty bleed, day one is the next day.
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If you get a heavy bleed, day one is that day.
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So they test for E2, P4, LH, follicle stimulating hormone, BHCG, and then you would always call the IVF clinic um before 12 to 1 o'clock just to get your results.
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So from day one until you're told to stop, you'll have 300 units of gonor, which is this guy.
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If you're looking on video, it's like a you put a little needle on, it's a pen, kind of works like a um yeah, little pen thing in the guts.
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So um 300 units is not everybody's.
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Um, some people have more, some people have less.
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The first round I think I had less, but my body was more angry.
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But the last frozen embryo cycle, the one that bought us our boy, um, I was doing 300 a day, which is a lot.
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And follicle stimulating hormone, please ignore my non-medical terminology.
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Basically, when basically as a woman, every month you'll have one or two follicles pop up.
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That's when you get a little bit of like tenderness and whatever in your body.
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Um, follicle stimulating hormone basically stimulates more follicles than that, and they try to get you to 30.
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So you can imagine what it feels like.
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Same time every day, that one has to be within the same hour every single day.
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Then from day six onwards, you add in orgali injection.
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Sorry, this one's a bit of an old one.
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Um, it's like doesn't look very big, but let me tell you, when you're being stabbed in the guts twice a day, every day, it's a lot.
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So then you add that one in as well, and then you are stopping them around day 11 or 12.
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From day eight, there is strictly no sex.
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They say you can with condoms, but they don't recommend that you do because if you have 20 follicles and 20 eggs, you could literally end up octo mum, and um, we don't want that.
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So um you've literally got to stop.
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And throughout this, there's blood tests and stuff.
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I could not remember for the life of me what day that was, what times that was, because like I said, it's nearly three years ago.
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So um then what happens is when you are about to ovulate, you'll go have a blood test in the morning, they will give you an exact time of day that you have to have this.
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So for us, it's usually in the evening, and you have this ovidrel, and then you also have this injection decapaptil, um, fun times.
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So I was having just ovidrel alone for the first two, and it um it made my ovaries blow up absolutely enormous.
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Um, it's called hyperstimulation.
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So um your ovaries are normally three centimeters, mine went to 15 um to let you know what that's like, and it was insanely painful.
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Um, and so yeah, we were just told not to do that one again, and and we added in the decapaptil and yeah, changed it up a little bit.
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I had to swap my diet out, it was it was a whole thing.
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Um, but what basically what the triggers do, so you've got all these little follicles in your ovaries, and then what the trigger does is it goes, all right, oh eggs go out, like go to the end of the um go out into the follicles, and hopefully most of those follicles will have a little micro-sized egg in there.
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Um, and then yeah, that's where they that's where they pluck your eggs from.
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So, like I said, it's kind of all measured with bloods.
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Um, the reason for that is obviously it's the most accurate way of measuring it, but um, yeah, it's awesome.
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So then you have your pickup booked.
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It's a it's I think it's a few days after that, I can't remember from the top of my head, seven days maybe.
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Um, and you head into hospital, you get knocked out, you wake up, and it's actually really cute.
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They write on tape on your hand.
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I still have two of them that tells you how many eggies they got.
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Um, and then they inseminate them.
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So I'll just talk you through that as well.
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So you can actually have your egg pickup done in the chair, but I am told it is horrendously painful because they don't go up and around your ovaries, they go through the wall of your vagina and pull them out.
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Um, so nobody wants that.
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So for Cam, aside from driving me here, there, and everywhere, in the lead up to this, he has to ejaculate two to three times a week for the month in the lead up to.
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Um, that can be intercourse, or obviously, once you have to stop intercourse manual, um, and then he has to abstain from ejaculation for the two to three days before my egg collection.
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Um, and then on the day of collection, Cam has to get the little cup.
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He is told an exact time that he has to ejaculate, and then he has less than an hour to get it into our scientist and get it to our eggs.
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So um the reason they get him to ejaculate all the time, I know some people have this belief that it's like, no, you should like build them up, you absolutely shouldn't.
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You actually want the freshies.
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So, for anyone trying to conceive, my understanding is every two to three days to keep them fresh until you're ovulating, and then it's like, let's go.
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So, um, yeah, so our if you want to know how the insemination works, this is really cool.
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And again, this is different for every clinic, but our allocated scientists, because we get one of them the whole way through as well, um, they basically take all my eggs and they put them in like a little tray, and you know, they take out any of the scrambled eggs or the wonky ones or the whatever, and then they get cam sperm, and they take out all the slow ones or the two-headed ones, or the ones with double tails, or whatever, and then they literally put the sperm in with the eggs, and they let them inseminate.
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So, um, the way that our clinic does it is they like it to happen this way because they like them to kind of I guess do that part as naturally as they can, um, which is so fucking cool.
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Like, I think that's absolute madness.
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I love it.
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So, yeah, and then basically every one to two days will get a call from our scientists to let us know how they're progressing.
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So, not all of them will inseminate.
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Um, basically, the first two days, maybe two-thirds of them will inseminate, and then you know, the only sort of a half of them again will will go through and actually last the distance and and grow into blastocyst, five to six to seven-day old blastocyst, which is so fucking cool.
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So um we had one cycle where we didn't get any.
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Um, we had another cycle where we got two, and then the one that our baby came from, we got four, which was so cool.
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Um, and that was from less eggs, so you can see the quality of my eggs improved, the quality of CAMSA sperm improved, that was through naturopathy diet, um, and and things like that.
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So that was really amazing.
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And then, so when they get to the maturity that they like, some of them they freeze at five, some of them they freeze six, some of them they freeze seven days, then they basically cryogenically freeze them, um, which is so fucking cool.
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I just I love the whole process.
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I find I think we are so blessed to live in this time of like science and technology and just have this available to us, which is just something that you know so many people never ever got to have.
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So then what we do when my body has normalized as much as possible, we look to do a frozen embryo transfer cycle, which means they take one little embryo and they defrost it and then they pop it inside me and it's all timed again.
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So that's kind of the gist of how a frozen, uh sorry, an egg retrieval cycle works.
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Um, like I said, it's been years, so I did my best to like remember what kind of happened.
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I've probably gotten a few things wrong.
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Um, I know that when I was about to embark on IVF, I found it really hard to find information about things like this, and you know, you're feeling pretty beaten down when you've been trying to conceive for ages, and then you've got to go talk to these doctors, and it's very invasive, and you know, it's just a lot.
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So hopefully, if I can help anyone to kind of like clear the decks and tell you a little bit about what it's like, um, you know, maybe that'll help you.
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But the other thing with that too is that um, you know, like I said, everyone's body reacts differently, everyone is totally different.
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The first egg retrieval cycle I had, I had nearly nine and a half weeks off work.
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It ruined me.
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Um, I have clients and friends who've had them and they've been working like normal, functioning like normal.
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It's just been like a bad, elongated period.
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Um, so you know, you'll probably learn next week why I'm a bit more of an extreme case, um, which a lot of women are, but you know, there's also a lot of people that are fine with it.
00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:51.200
I have a beautiful client, Loz, who has actually donated eggs to one of her friends, and she was for the most part actually fine with it.
00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:57.039
So, you know, it's really interesting to always know what people's different experiences were as well.
00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:11.920
So, look, um basically, aside from a small break, which was around the time when we moved house, we've been doing this since July 2022, um, which is fucking wild.
00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:39.839
And um, you know, I'll talk a little bit more about the side effects and stuff next week, but um two weeks after I decided to go no contact with my parents, I had a miscarriage because um of the distress that they'd caused me and having to make that decision, you carry a lot of pain and guilt, and you know, for my whole life prioritizing their emotions and their needs and their feelings, it was just a really hard time.
00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:43.519
And from there we took a 14-month break.
00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:49.519
I realized at that point I had some really deep inner work to do.
00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:52.720
There was a lot that I had trauma blocked.
00:20:53.200 --> 00:21:04.880
I really didn't want to bring a baby into this world or put my body through what it has to go through while I was going through all these mental health things and just trying to really kind of like unpack a lot of that.
00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:16.880
So I knew it was not a really good idea to put one of our beautiful frozen embryos that we have worked so hard for into my body when my body was angry.
00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:20.319
Anything mental is physical as well, and vice versa, right?
00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:23.839
So um shout out to my psychologist Kobe.
00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:26.400
She's actually gonna be a guest on my podcast soon.
00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:46.240
Um she's the first non-coddily, actually strategic, very compassionate, but best psychologist ever, I can literally ring her and I'll be like, oh my god, I just like yelled at Cam for nothing, or I just whatever, or why am I reacting like this, or why do I feel like this, or why do I whatever?
00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:48.799
And she's tough and she's honest with me and she's amazing.
00:21:48.880 --> 00:22:13.119
And I just, I'm so grateful to her because um if you're embarking on this journey or any mental health journey or anything like that, having a really amazing psychologist or Therapist or psychotherapist or psychiatrist or someone in your corner to actually help you through all of this and and and work through everything that you're feeling is so important, like so so important.
00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:16.880
And I really don't think I would be where I am today without her.
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:18.079
Um, and Dr.
00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:19.359
G, obviously, as well.
00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:22.160
So, anyways, quick little quick little pit stop there.
00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:24.880
But if anyone wants her details, just reach out to me.
00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:26.240
Um, she's she's unreal.
00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:32.880
Um, and she does telehealth, so we love that, and she's young and cool, and she's mum herself, and you know, she's awesome.
00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:48.480
So, anyways, let me talk you through a transfer cycle because this one that's gonna become our son is the worst cycle I've ever had.
00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:56.880
Little bastard, he's gonna be an Aries boy, March Aries boy, so giving me hell already.
00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:05.119
I want to talk you through this, so it all started back in late June.
00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:17.759
We'd had a couple of cycles this year, um, and it actually the chances of it working are actually if you do cycles back to back.
00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:26.640
Your body gets more used to being pregnant, um, it's it's everything, it's it's good, and so it actually gets easier every time, which makes sense, right?
00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:35.279
So um, this was the cycle after so many fails and losses and whatever that my Dr.
00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:47.599
George just said to me, You're about to hate the amount of needles I'm about to give you, but I think we need to go all in, and I think that we just need to just give it all we got.
00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:54.799
You know, we've had a couple where we've been a little bit conservative, and you know, it's not working, so let's just do what we can.
00:23:55.039 --> 00:24:01.440
So um, it was bigger, heavier, and harder than all of them, but evidently it got us to what we wanted, which is our beautiful baby.
00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:03.440
So um it was so worth it.
00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:05.039
It was so, so, so worth it.
00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:12.640
So day one, heavy bleed, I go in to get my blood, um, get results a few hours later, and no bueno.
00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:14.240
Apparently, I wasn't day one.
00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:16.880
Day two, heavy bleed again.
00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:20.000
Um, I go in again, again, no bueno.
00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:21.759
They're like, you're literally not in your cycle.
00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:26.240
I was like, well, I'm bleeding till the end of the earth, so I'm yeah, I am.
00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:27.839
Um, this is wild.
00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:35.279
Day three, no period, completely stops, dries a nun's cunt, no idea why.
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.400
I just stopped and that lasted two days.
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:42.799
And then day five, heavy bleed again, another 7 a.m.
00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:45.839
blood test, and now we're showing that I'm actually in cycles.
00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:54.160
So they can measure where you are in your um in your female cycle by your bloods, which is wild to even think about.
00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:56.319
And this is all things that I never knew this either, right?
00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:59.680
Even being a girl, like no one talks about this, no one teaches you this shit.
00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:08.960
Um, and then again the next day, so day six at this stage, I go in and have another 7am blood test, and now we are officially day one.
00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:11.839
So I've had days and days and days of this.
00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:14.000
Um, yeah, it was crazy.
00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:17.279
So my fucked up body just doing its weird thing.
00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:21.599
So, like I said, you do have to do bloods as early as possible, so before 7:30.
00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:25.039
It's so specifically timed, you cannot miss windows if you do.
00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:26.799
You're just kind of throwing the whole cycle in the bin.
00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:31.359
So, as much as I'm not a morning person and as much as this shit pains me, I just get up and I get it done.
00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:36.079
Um, I have a really up and down cycle, and I'll talk about this a little bit more next week.
00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:41.039
But like some months I last over 40 days, some months I'm under 10.
00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:45.279
Um, I have horrifically heavy periods, I have horrendous pain.
00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:48.079
There's about three days a month that I'm not in pain.
00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:50.799
Um, if that gives you a bit of an idea.
00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:55.759
So normal cycles are meant to be 28 days, as we know, and that's not the case for me.
00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:58.880
Like, you know, me and my completely non-normal body.
00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:03.440
So um once the day one bloods are confirmed, yeah.
00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:08.160
I guess this is where the the fun begins, if you can call it that.
00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:12.400
I say use that term very loosely because there ain't nothing fun about it.
00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:24.559
Um, and it's just, you know, whenever I'm doing cycles or anything like that, it's all just like a bit of a it's a bit of a measured guessing game, really, to know what my body's gonna do and whatever.
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:42.240
So it's starting from day two for seven days, blood test 7am, 10 milligrams of sorry, 15 milligrams of prednisolone a day, little tiny steroids, so a lot of um, I know I've got a client going through cancer at the moment, he has to have them too.
00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:58.720
Prednisolin is basically a steroid that stops the side effects of um IVF drugs, my understanding of this is, and basically it um yeah, it like cools my body down, basically like makes it calmer, makes it absorb the medication better, just makes it better.
00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:00.720
So um that starts.
00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:07.119
Literal devil steroids, if you have to have these, you will not be able to sleep, let me tell you.
00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:17.680
Um so I was having them in the afternoon when I have my afternoon ADHD medication, and um spoke to the doctor, he's like, How are you sleeping?
00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:20.559
I was like, Oh like shit, I can't sleep, I'm like wide as anything.
00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:27.680
And he was like, even with your melatonin, I was getting this prescription melatonin, which are like these big blue tablets and they're like five dollars each.
00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:29.039
I was like, Yeah, I'm just not sleeping.
00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:36.400
And he's like, You need to get up, have your prednisolone first thing in the morning, melatonin in the afternoon, uh like before you go to bed, like an hour before you go to bed.
00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:46.079
I actually stopped taking the melatonin because I found if I had it two hours before bed, I'd go to sleep too early, and my body clock is out of whack.
00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:53.279
If I had an hour before bed, I would basically be awake until some ungodly hour of the morning, and then I couldn't wake up in the morning, so it just didn't work for me.
00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:55.279
So I stopped that anyway.
00:27:55.680 --> 00:28:06.799
We have um a hundred units of gonal, so it's same as the follicle stimulating hormone we have with a egg pickup, and um, yeah, like I said, melatonin as well.
00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:19.200
So while this is happening, um my body is sore, I am sick, I am nauseous, I am vomiting every day, I have the runs, I am constipated, it's just a whole thing.
00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:27.279
And you've got to remember, even though you're not actually carrying a baby, you really can't have a lot of anything.
00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:37.599
I don't like taking pain relief when I go through these things because, as well as all the other shit you have to take, you actually have um you get really constipated.
00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:49.359
Pain relief or anything with codeine obviously makes you more constipated, so then you've got to have um, you know, metamucil and movicol and like other things, so it's like you're kind of like you're telling your body to do something and then you're telling it to do something else.
00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:51.039
So I just suffer through it sometimes.
00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:56.480
Um, I try to be as natural as possible as I can with it and just you know, whatever.
00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:58.640
It's horrible.
00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:08.079
Every single day I'm having those gonal injections and all of these drugs, so it's a lot, like you're just you're just putting yourself in such distress.
00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:13.440
Um day eight, I have an internal ultrasound scan with Dr.
00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:21.599
George to make sure that my uterus lining is right, they like it to be somewhere between eight and eleven millimeters.
00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:25.039
Um, and you know, mine wasn't.
00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:27.440
Um, it was just a little bit small of that.
00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:30.799
So, um, and again, no sex from day eight onwards.
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:36.559
To be honest with you, I was in so much pain, I really didn't feel like it anyway.
00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:47.039
Um, and you know, I'm very grateful to be married to a normal man who just doesn't get shitty about those sorts of things, and you know, has a lot of compassion for how I feel and what my body does, and you know, everything like that.
00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:52.319
But um, yeah, you just I just felt like a bag of shit the whole time this round.
00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:53.359
It was just shit.
00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:58.960
So um day 10, day 11, day 12, I don't have any injections at all.
00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:05.279
My hormones are meant to keep rising, the ones that they're measuring, and getting me closer to my ovulation.
00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:10.079
Um, still going with my prednisolone, still on my melatonin.
00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:14.559
Um, and then yeah, day 12, I have a blood test.
00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:23.039
Um, and my shithole of a body does not do that.
00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:25.119
My hormones start dropping.
00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:30.960
Um, I kind of go backwards, which was not what it was meant to be doing there.
00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:35.119
Um, so I go and have another scan with Dr.
00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:39.759
George, and we, you know, he pretty much just like kind of gives me a heads up.
00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:46.240
He's like, look, what we're gonna do is um pop you back on, you know, FSH, pop you back on everything.
00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:50.960
Um, but you know, if your body doesn't play the game, we're canceling this cycle.
00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:58.880
Um, for reference, if you cancel a cycle, you lose I think two grand, you get the rest of the money back.
00:30:58.960 --> 00:31:10.880
Um, because there's still things that have happened in that, and even if it's you know just something that happens or whatever, you know, there's still costs involved for the doctors, and and I respect that and I appreciate that as much as it cuts a hole in your soul.
00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:18.799
Um, we've had a couple of these that we've cancelled, and it's been, you know, rough, we'll say, because you go through all of this stuff and then it just doesn't happen, right?
00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:25.119
Um so then I go back on my FSH injections.
00:31:25.359 --> 00:31:29.440
Yay! Higher dose this time, we do 150 instead of 100.
00:31:29.839 --> 00:31:48.240
And um still on the steroids, still on all the other things, still on fucking everything, still feeling like shit, and um then I kind of keep having bloods and and and just to ensure everything's rising and coming back up to where it needs to be.
00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:53.599
So two then I go to a conference two days later again.
00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:55.039
I have another blood test.
00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:59.200
Finally, my body's playing the game and it's kind of doing what it needs to be doing.
00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:08.880
Um, like I said, I'm at a conference, business conference, mostly men feeling two out of ten, trying to behave like a normal person, trying not to throw my guts up, trying to sleep.
00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:18.799
Um, all I wanted to do was literally curl up in a ball, and I just felt like my eyes were glazed over, and I felt like I was, you know, just not mentally there, I guess.
00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:22.880
Um for timeline here as well.
00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:28.079
Normally a transfer would happen around day 20 of your cycle.
00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:35.680
At this stage, I'm at day 27 or 28, I think, since my first bleed.
00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:37.839
So like I'm completely late.
00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:43.039
Truth be told, I didn't actually know you could do it this much later, I just didn't think that was a possibility.
00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:46.480
But um, yeah, it was.
00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:48.240
You learn something new every time you do this.
00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:50.799
I swear, every time it's just a different experience.
00:32:50.960 --> 00:33:10.400
So um going back onto the follicle stimulating hormone is like when you've already been on it and then you've come off it, and then you're going back on it again, is like quite frankly, truly fucked because it's like you pump your body, then you come off it, and your body goes, Oh, okay, I'm good, I can relax.
00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:18.480
And then you go back on it again, and it's like bah, more like you know, more anger and more things and more hormones and more whatever.
00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:21.119
So, yeah, it's it's it's hard.
00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:25.680
Um, it was double the pain, it was double the sickness.
00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:30.400
I just felt like a fucking empty vessel, let me tell you.
00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:32.319
Um, and yeah, you just feel shitty.
00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:36.079
It's kind of like you're literally in PMS for like two months.
00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:37.599
So, yeah, it's awful.
00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:44.079
So then after those extra five days, back on FSH, I go back for another blood test.
00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:48.880
I should also add, too, when I'm at this business conference, I have to get up and go for blood tests those mornings too.
00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:54.799
So I'm like driving around Brisbane trying to find this specific clinic because Sullivan Nicolades are the ones that do it the quickest.
00:33:54.880 --> 00:34:02.400
Um, and like you know, you're just tired, you're trying to be on, you're trying to learn, you're trying to be present in the room, you're trying to take all the information in, you're injecting yourself in front of people.
00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:04.640
Like it's just it's just a it's a lot.
00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:08.800
Um, but after five days, go back for another blood test.
00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:11.519
The next day I have a scam.
00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:16.320
Um, and to mine and Cam's shock, we're back on.
00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:18.320
Body's doing its thing.
00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:23.599
Um, yeah, I'm about to ovulate, um, which is really exciting.
00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:27.199
So um you'll hear about this more next week, but I don't ovulate every month.
00:34:27.440 --> 00:34:30.000
The joyous parts of being a girl.
00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:39.519
And so when you ovulate, um, you're basically, like I said, given a time to trigger, and then you trigger, and then you ovulate.
00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:47.920
So even though um we're not doing an egg pickup this time, they have to put the frozen embryo back at the same stage that it would have been taken out of me.
00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:52.639
So you don't just like go and shove it in any old day, you uh it's all timed.
00:34:52.719 --> 00:35:02.639
So if I ovulate and then they do the egg retrieval and then they grow them until seven days, well, then you've got to put the eggs, or you've got to put the embryos back in.
00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:04.719
Seven days pass when you ovulate.
00:35:04.880 --> 00:35:05.920
Does that make sense?
00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:10.079
So it's like it's so weird and so cool.
00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:14.800
Um, so yeah, it's all like it's time to it's time to the minute, it's time to the hour.
00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:24.639
So on the day of transfer, which is like I said, seven days after ovulation, I'm starting what's called an intralipid IV.
00:35:26.159 --> 00:35:28.400
I've never had these before.
00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:37.199
Um, it's like having cold acid ingested uh injected into your hand, um, and it goes, the pain travels right up your arm.
00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:39.760
Um, it's cold, it's uncomfortable.
00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:42.239
Um, but you know, you've got to do what you gotta do.
00:35:42.719 --> 00:35:48.000
Me having um negative five brain cells, a house full of landscapers.
00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:57.679
I read my time wrong, read that I was having my intralipid at 12.15, but actually I was having my transfer at 12.15, and my intralipid was meant to be at 1045.
00:35:57.920 --> 00:36:06.320
Um, so I called to see where the transfer is happening because sometimes it's with my doctor's office and sometimes it's next door at um Monash IVF, and it was definitely next door.
00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:08.719
And then they were like, um, are you coming to your IV appointment?
00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:10.239
Because we had you in at 10:45.
00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:12.400
And I'm like, oh my god, I've completely forgotten it.
00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:13.360
Fuck my life.
00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:15.440
Cam's home for the day so he can take me.
00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:19.039
Like it was just it was just a lot.
00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:23.039
Cam drives me to the transfers and stuff, obviously, because it's so exciting.
00:36:23.199 --> 00:36:32.400
The coolest thing about IVF is you get to watch them put your baby inside you all up on the ultrasound screen, and it's fucking cool as like that.
00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:35.760
If there's any plus to IVF, that's it.
00:36:35.840 --> 00:36:37.760
Like you get to see every stage of it.
00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:42.000
There's no guessing, there's no nothing, it's just like this amazing thing that happened.
00:36:42.239 --> 00:36:46.079
Um, anyways, I'm bawling my eyes out, crying, feeling like a stupid bitch.
00:36:46.159 --> 00:36:49.519
She forgot her appointment, thinking, oh my god, I fucked this whole thing up.
00:36:49.599 --> 00:36:50.239
How could I do this?
00:36:50.320 --> 00:36:53.119
They've already unfrozen my embryo and I don't know what to do.
00:36:53.199 --> 00:36:57.760
And anyways, I arrive late, but I arrive.
00:36:57.920 --> 00:36:58.639
We got it done.
00:36:58.719 --> 00:37:00.000
So Lipid is with Dr.
00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:05.599
George, and then once that's done, we wander down to the clinic um strip off.
00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:13.039
We have our nurse, our doctor, and our beautiful scientist there as well, and they do the transfer.
00:37:13.119 --> 00:37:14.719
And the transfer is fucking cool.
00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:25.840
So the scientists will come into the little waiting room and they'll be like, We have a beautiful embryo, and he's from May 2024, and he's defrosting perfectly, and he's like looking nice and spongy and like ready to go.
00:37:26.159 --> 00:37:32.960
And then you get taken through into your room, you know, feet go up on the big stirrups, um, eye strip off.
00:37:33.199 --> 00:37:36.320
It's um, it's really beautiful.
00:37:36.719 --> 00:37:41.360
And my doctor's so gentle, and he's like, now I'm gonna do this, and now I'm gonna do this.
00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:48.960
And if you look on the screen and you see a white speck, that's your thing going in, and like it's just it's just wicked, it's just fucking cool.
00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:50.320
This is like it's the coolest part.
00:37:50.400 --> 00:38:04.320
Obviously, the coolest part is gonna be having the baby and like you know, growing the baby now, but in terms of like the actual RVF process, it's so cool, it's so cool, it's just such a beautiful thing to be a part of, and um you just get to see that exact moment.
00:38:04.559 --> 00:38:05.840
That's awesome.
00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:20.079
So, um, fun fact for you our little embryos defrost in about 20 minutes, and if the defrost fails or the embryo is damaged, if you have another one there, then they'll defrost another one.
00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:26.480
Um, you basically sign a permission slip to say that you're okay with them doing that, and you don't want to throw it in the bin, obviously, you want to try and use one.
00:38:26.719 --> 00:38:34.960
Um fun fact, there's actually a higher success rate from frozen embryos than they are from fresh embryos, which is such a cool thing, too.
00:38:35.039 --> 00:38:53.039
But like also the fact that it only takes 20 minutes, like, I don't know why I had in my head it's like frozen embryos defrosting like 20 minutes, and I don't know why I had in my head that it was like defrosting a chicken breast or defrosting a steak, like it would take like half a day, 20 minutes, that's all it takes.
00:38:53.280 --> 00:38:56.719
Um, so yeah, I just thought that was that is fucking hilarious.
00:38:56.880 --> 00:39:04.239
So um on the day of transfer, I also start daily Klexane.
00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:09.119
These cunts of things, if you've ever had Klexane, they are the worst.
00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:11.840
I had them for six months after my motorbike accident.
00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:14.000
A lot of people have them after accidents and stuff.
00:39:14.079 --> 00:39:15.599
It's basically a blood thinner.
00:39:15.679 --> 00:39:21.119
Um, apparently, this is the most accurate way of doing it, opposed to you know, wolf-rin tablets or something like that.
00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:25.519
But these bastards, they're actually quite blunt, quite thick needles.
00:39:25.679 --> 00:39:28.239
The actual stuff that comes out of it is like a gel.
00:39:28.719 --> 00:39:30.639
Shit balls, they sting.
00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:34.719
I am still so bruised from them because I only stopped them last week.
00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:36.559
Um, they're just fucking awful.
00:39:36.639 --> 00:39:38.800
And you'd have them after cesareans and things like that too.
00:39:38.880 --> 00:39:40.320
So yeah, they're just absolutely horrible.
00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:41.519
So I start them.
00:39:41.760 --> 00:39:44.320
I also start pesseries three times a day.
00:39:44.400 --> 00:39:46.960
Now, if you don't know what a pessary is, it's a Vadroina tablet.
00:39:47.039 --> 00:39:49.840
Um, so three times a day I have to put a little tablet up there.
00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.480
Um, and they're like the texture of cottage cheese, they're fucking disgusting.
00:39:54.559 --> 00:39:59.440
Um, they come in little capsules, obviously, so that you can get them up there, but they're just gross.
00:39:59.679 --> 00:40:04.639
Um, and I'm still on my um steroids in the morning as well at this stage.
00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:15.920
So um then the waiting game starts, and this is the worst part of doing a transfer is actually the waiting game where you just have to wait to know if it actually worked.
00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:22.400
And we've had you know many times where it's worked and then it's not made it to the five, six and a half week mark.
00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:24.239
Um, it's just it's it's shitty.
00:40:24.320 --> 00:40:32.800
So for us, it's like even if it is pregnant, it's so exciting, but it's also like is it gonna last to the next week or the next week or the next week?
00:40:32.960 --> 00:40:35.920
I know that a lot of people feel that and know how hard that is as well.
00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:40.800
So um, 11 days after the transfer is pregnancy test day.
00:40:40.960 --> 00:40:42.079
For us, it's a Monday.
00:40:42.239 --> 00:40:46.559
First thing I do is get up in the morning and I'm like off, go get the pregnancy HCG test.
00:40:46.800 --> 00:40:52.239
Um, and then for us, I always like Cam comes home work from work early.
00:40:52.320 --> 00:40:59.039
His work shout out, they've been unreal for giving him time off for appointments and and being with me and phone calls and stuff like that.
00:40:59.199 --> 00:41:00.239
It's it's been awesome.
00:41:00.320 --> 00:41:03.920
So then I always wait till he's home so that we can ring together.
00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:08.320
Um, I think whether it's positive or negative, I want him to be a part of that.
00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:10.480
Um, that morning, I don't know why.
00:41:10.639 --> 00:41:15.119
I actually did two um piss tests because I was like, oh, I feel like maybe I want to know.
00:41:15.280 --> 00:41:16.719
He wouldn't have cared if I found out first.
00:41:16.800 --> 00:41:23.360
But I'm like, maybe you want to have a look, and then I weed on them, and then I couldn't look at them, so they were locked in the bathroom cupboard until later that day.
00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:35.840
We've also had a few of them where um, you know, I have weed on them and it's been very faded, and then you know, we've we've had a loss, you know, within a week because it's just the HCD just isn't where it needs to be.
00:41:36.079 --> 00:41:43.519
Um and for us, you know, a normal range is somewhere between 100 and 300, and ours is actually higher than that.
00:41:43.679 --> 00:41:48.079
So there was a moment there where my doctor's like, you can be having twins, we'll see.
00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:51.119
Um, yeah, it's kind of fun.
00:41:51.280 --> 00:41:55.119
Three days after that, we have another intralipid IV transfer.
00:41:55.599 --> 00:42:02.960
Um, you know, those acid injections, and you know, everything was seemingly really good.
00:42:03.280 --> 00:42:09.519
Um, wasn't really feeling sick, was actually feeling better, I think, because I wasn't on a lot of the drugs and stuff that I'd been on.
00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:12.639
So I think my body was sort of starting to normalize a little bit.
00:42:12.960 --> 00:42:22.400
Four days after that, so seven days post-pregnancy test, we then go in for another HCG test, make sure it's still viable, make sure it's still growing.
00:42:22.559 --> 00:42:33.039
Um, and then seven days after that, again, we do the third and final intralipid I of transfer and another blood test.
00:42:33.119 --> 00:42:39.119
So it's just kind of like lots of tests, just making sure it's developing as it needs to be, it's growing as it needs to be.
00:42:39.199 --> 00:42:43.760
You know, this is another really beneficial part of IVF is they test you so closely and monitor you so closely.
00:42:43.840 --> 00:42:49.360
There's really, you know, you're really aware of everything that's going on the the whole time.
00:42:49.920 --> 00:43:01.039
So then I head off to Sydney for the weekend for um Beauty Expo weekend, and shout to anyone I spent time with that weekend because I had to tell you all that I was pregnant because I have never been so fucking sick in my whole life.
00:43:01.280 --> 00:43:02.480
Holy shit.
00:43:03.039 --> 00:43:04.159
Actually, I lie.
00:43:04.320 --> 00:43:13.599
To be honest, this IVF cycle was way harder than this pregnancy has been, but um, I was getting, I don't know why they call it morning sickness when it goes all bloody day.
00:43:13.760 --> 00:43:20.239
A lot of it I just felt so fucking nauseous, but like little salivary vom, like it wasn't even a real one.
00:43:20.320 --> 00:43:22.639
I just felt crap the whole time.
00:43:23.360 --> 00:43:30.880
And I don't know what kind of stupid person I was going on a fucking cruise in Sydney Harbour when I'm six weeks pregnant, six and a half weeks pregnant.
00:43:31.119 --> 00:43:32.159
Um, everyone.
00:43:34.000 --> 00:43:39.920
Wow, everyone at my table, I was like, I'm just letting y'all know that um if I gotta sprint, I'm pregnant and I just gotta sprint to the toilet.
00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.079
So if I just stop big conversation and run, I apologize in advance.
00:43:44.320 --> 00:43:47.679
Um and yeah, it was hell.
00:43:47.840 --> 00:43:51.360
Anyways, the Monday morning, big weekend, awards night, the whole thing.
00:43:51.679 --> 00:43:58.079
I wake up, I go to the toilet, I turn around to flush the toilet, there's a bit of blood in the toilet, so I had a bit of a blood scare.
00:43:58.239 --> 00:43:59.760
Um, naturally, I ring my doctor.
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:00.880
And I'm like, what do I do?
00:44:00.960 --> 00:44:06.239
And he's like, look, if you want, you can go to the hospital, you can go get another blood test, I can send you the forms, I can give you whatever you need.
00:44:06.400 --> 00:44:08.559
Um, no qualms there, no dramas.
00:44:08.719 --> 00:44:12.719
And um, but he's like, otherwise, let me know when you land and I'll come meet you.
00:44:13.039 --> 00:44:21.920
Um, my plane was delayed, and then I didn't get home till six o'clock, and then I actually already had an appointment the next day anyway, just to catch up with him and see how I was going.
00:44:22.320 --> 00:44:38.159
And um, so we went in and we had a little scan and we had a heartbeat, and he had warned me, he's like, I'm just letting you know that sometimes, like somewhere between like the six to seven week mark or just before the seven-week mark, you still don't get a you still don't get a heartbeat, but he's like, let's have a crack anyway and see what we can find.
00:44:38.480 --> 00:44:46.480
And he had a heartbeat, and that is the coolest noise because we've never gotten that far into a pregnancy before.
00:44:46.719 --> 00:45:02.159
Um we've had confirms, we've been pregnant naturally, we've had uh once, we're pregnant naturally once and had miscarriage, and then we've had yeah, a few, like where it's been low level and we've been confirmed, and then we've may had losses, we've had a couple of failed transfers, there's just been a lot going on.
00:45:02.239 --> 00:45:07.519
But hearing that heartbeat, oh my god, that is the coolest noise ever.
00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:11.280
Um, and just a little here's a little bean.
00:45:11.760 --> 00:45:20.480
And then a week later for my pre-pan plant um seven and a half to eight week scan, beans totally changed shape.
00:45:20.719 --> 00:45:26.719
And it's wild how much they grow and change so quickly, and the most hectic strong heartbeat.
00:45:26.800 --> 00:45:29.119
Like it was so different to the week before.
00:45:29.440 --> 00:45:35.039
And then um, two weeks later again, I'm back for the nine and a half week, ten-week scan.
00:45:35.280 --> 00:45:37.920
He was wriggling, he was wriggling all over the place.
00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:41.360
It was a wriggly little bugger, and I'm not surprised because me too.
00:45:41.519 --> 00:45:48.079
Um, and it kind of starts looking like baby shape, as much as it's like this tiny little minuscule thing, it actually starts looking like the shape as a shape of a baby.
00:45:48.159 --> 00:45:50.079
So he was wriggly as hell.
00:45:50.400 --> 00:45:55.440
Um, and yeah, again, just like the strongest heartbeat.
00:45:55.519 --> 00:45:57.360
It's so fucking cool.
00:45:57.599 --> 00:46:03.519
And then, you know, at this stage, um, I get referred to my obstetrician who's gonna take over from Dr.
00:46:03.599 --> 00:46:15.199
George soon and look after me right until you know she delivers my baby, and you know, it's just it's a really cool experience.
00:46:15.360 --> 00:46:23.679
So um, my first official appointment with her is tomorrow, which by the time this goes to air will be last week, and um yeah, I'm excited.
00:46:23.840 --> 00:46:26.480
And so then Monday just gone.
00:46:26.559 --> 00:46:28.639
We have sorry, not Monday just gone Monday.
00:46:28.719 --> 00:46:48.800
Last week, two weeks ago when this episode goes to air, we had our nipped, and then last week on Monday, by the time this goes to air, so last week Monday, um, we got our beautiful babies, gender, and we found out he was a boy, and this was so weird because like I said earlier, Cam and I both just had just big girl vibes, so our vibes are so wrong.
00:46:49.039 --> 00:46:57.280
Um, and we're having a little boy, we had the perfect numbers, everything looks great, everything looks perfect, super viable.
00:46:57.920 --> 00:47:01.840
Um, and then you know, here we are today.
00:47:02.000 --> 00:47:16.239
So Klexane injections stopped a week ago, which is bloody brilliant and been weaning off predicolone, so they stopped last week, um, and then still doing some pesteries, but they'll stop well today by the time this ep goes to air.
00:47:16.480 --> 00:47:26.000
So um for a little while up until the 14-15 week mark, I'll be seeing both my gyno and my OB weekly, which is great.
00:47:26.320 --> 00:47:37.280
And um, truly, aside from like the week that I was in Sydney, typical always picks the week when you're away, and like the last sort of two weeks, I've actually not been super sick.
00:47:37.360 --> 00:47:44.639
I've been never been so tired in my whole entire life, except maybe that first um, you know, egg transfer cycle.
00:47:44.960 --> 00:47:49.360
But um, I've actually not not been too bad, just super nauseous, super tired.
00:47:49.440 --> 00:47:57.119
There was a day last week where I sat in the bath for seven hours and made Cam bring me icy soda, water, and salt vinegar chips and pretzels like every half an hour because I wanted fresh ones.
00:47:58.239 --> 00:48:01.920
I still have random cries, like I just get randomly emotional, it's really random.
00:48:02.159 --> 00:48:06.639
My boobs are as big as my fucking head, they are so massive.
00:48:06.880 --> 00:48:14.480
And nice little D's before this whole process started, you know, four years ago, and now they're letting double F's and they're getting bigger by the minute.
00:48:14.559 --> 00:48:16.480
So good old cotton bras for the win.
00:48:16.559 --> 00:48:19.519
I have to sleep in bras now too because they're so sore.
00:48:20.320 --> 00:48:30.000
Um, and when it's been like, you know, you're piggybacking IVF cycles and so many injections and whatnot, like your body just it's truly it's wrecked, like it's it's really, really wrecked.
00:48:30.159 --> 00:48:32.719
And like, you know, my uh my doctor described it really well.
00:48:32.800 --> 00:48:41.199
He's like, well, you know, we've been forcing your body into a literal extreme pregnancy state for the whole duration.
00:48:41.360 --> 00:48:47.679
And like I said, it's it's more beneficial and it's more um successful if you do cycles back to back.
00:48:47.840 --> 00:48:56.000
If you think about normal women who experience pregnancy, they have normal periods, normal cycles, whatever happened to lead to, we're multiplying that by 20.
00:48:56.239 --> 00:49:01.840
Um, so you know, for anyone who's about to go in it or about to go through it or anything, just prepare.
00:49:01.920 --> 00:49:03.599
Um, the body changes are a lot.
00:49:03.840 --> 00:49:10.239
I'm gonna talk about like all the side effects and stuff that I experienced in next week's episode.
00:49:10.400 --> 00:49:14.639
Um, because I know that's been, you know, a big ask as well is like, you know, what's it like?
00:49:14.719 --> 00:49:15.440
What does it feel like?
00:49:15.599 --> 00:49:16.639
What does it do to you?
00:49:16.800 --> 00:49:27.599
Um, especially being so many of my listeners are small business women and working one-to-one with clients and working standing and not working behind a screen like what I do.
00:49:27.760 --> 00:49:30.960
Um, it's been hard enough to do my job like that.
00:49:31.280 --> 00:49:34.880
Um yeah, so yeah, it's so exciting.
00:49:34.960 --> 00:49:41.519
I was meant to go to the UK with my best friend in January, and I can't go now because I'll be too pregnant.
00:49:41.599 --> 00:49:43.920
And my doctor's like, absolutely no bueno.
00:49:44.400 --> 00:50:05.119
Um, so yeah, there's been a lot of changes and things like that, and obviously I'm now limiting myself to um, you know, just working purely online or having people come to me, which is also fine, or very, very low distance travel, but um yeah, so if you didn't know, this is pretty much how IVF works, and it's very fucking cool.
00:50:05.440 --> 00:50:35.440
And um like I said, I'm just I'm I'm grateful to live in this time of technology and this time of medicine and this just era of life because I think so many people never had this, so many people never get to experience this, so many people, you know, just weren't this blessed, and I think we are, even though you know I would obviously like my husband to just like be able to do it in my body to just play the game, and we can just do it naturally, but um, that's just not our journey, and that's so fine.
00:50:35.679 --> 00:50:45.360
So, um, Coco, our little intuitive baby girl, has stuck to me like glue, um, like well before we even did the transfer, like from the start of the cycle.
00:50:45.440 --> 00:50:50.960
And she's not normally a super cuddly gal, so she's super intuitive, and it's it's like she just knew this time.
00:50:51.519 --> 00:50:54.480
Um, it's been very cute, very, very cute.
00:50:54.639 --> 00:50:58.960
And look, as she does this, this whole thing has been, like I said, we're just we're super grateful.
00:50:59.199 --> 00:51:09.519
Um, so I hope you kind of like get a bit of an idea of what it's actually like, and again, I guess following on from last week, check in on your mates that are going through it, yeah.
00:51:09.679 --> 00:51:12.000
Um, the girls, but also the boys.
00:51:12.239 --> 00:51:20.880
I think being the woman that experiences the brunt of all the medication and like all the appointments and like all the everything, because Cam doesn't come to every appointment, which he doesn't need to anyway.
00:51:21.119 --> 00:51:29.199
Um, you know, the boys get a little bit forgotten about too, and um, I've even been guilty of that as well, where I'm just like, oh, I haven't even asked you how you're going.
00:51:29.360 --> 00:51:38.400
He always says it's fine because he's a trooper and whatever, but um just check in on your mates who are who are experiencing infertility in whatever level that is.
00:51:38.639 --> 00:51:41.599
Um, they need some loving, they need some loving.
00:51:41.679 --> 00:51:48.960
But I'm very excited to share with you guys a little bit about our baby boy Jenny and you know, keep checking in on socials and stuff like that.
00:51:49.199 --> 00:52:00.239
But look, generally, guys, if this has helped you, um if this episode has kind of opened your eyes to anything, if you think there's somebody who would like to hear it, I'd love for you to send it through to them, be respectful if they don't want to know this sort of stuff as well.
00:52:00.400 --> 00:52:03.760
Um, if you loved this episode, please chuck us a rating.
00:52:03.840 --> 00:52:08.320
Um, ratings are really important for us, and we don't get enough of them, and we don't ask enough for them either.
00:52:08.559 --> 00:52:18.000
And last but not least, if you do have a topic, an idea, something you'd like me to speak about, or if you want to shoot your shot and be a guest with me, please send me a DM.
00:52:18.079 --> 00:52:19.760
Please inquire by my website.
00:52:19.840 --> 00:52:21.119
Um, please let me know.
00:52:21.280 --> 00:52:26.159
I'm I'm all about it, and you know, I love when you guys can come up with ideas and suggestions for me too.
00:52:26.320 --> 00:52:32.559
So um, thanks for listening to me ramble on about our beautiful baby boy that's coming soon and how we got there.
00:52:32.800 --> 00:52:48.639
There is no suck in this belly-in anymore, and he's definitely starting to round me up, but we're over the moon, we're so excited, we're feeling so loved and supported, we're so grateful for our people, we're so grateful for even just like the random love and calls and messages we've gotten from people who don't even really know that well.
00:52:48.719 --> 00:52:55.599
Like, you guys are amazing and and truly like I'm very, I'm very grateful, and I can't thank you all enough.
00:52:55.679 --> 00:52:58.239
So, anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this ep of Tell Me About It.
00:52:58.320 --> 00:52:59.199
I'm Kate Mia.
00:52:59.679 --> 00:53:01.360
I'll see you next week.