A Hamster Baby ?!?!

There is so much "preparing" that comes with the start of IVF. Tests, blood work, appointments, consultations etc. Sometimes it feels never ending! Eli has been such a trooper through all of it and has been more then willing to do what he has to do to prepare. One of the tests that he had to do recently was a Sperm Penetration Assay. A PSA is a test that measures the number of sperm that are able penetrate an egg for fertilization. It is a routine test for those preparing for IVF as it determines the need for ICSI or not. ICSI, or Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection, is a procedure that includes the injection of one single sperm into an egg that assists in fertilization. ICSI is used when there is male factor infertility including low sperm count, sperm motility less then 35% and/or poor sperm morphology.

I bet your thinking where does a hamster play in all this?!?! Its actually pretty funny! To perform the test they take a sperm sample and put it together in a petri dish or test tube along with a hamster egg!!!! They watch under a microscope to see what the sperm do around an egg. So last week, Eli's sperm were hooking up with a hamster egg! We thought it was pretty funny! The test came back at 100% penetration, the sperm knew what to do on their own. They also did a sperm count and it was amazingly high at 400 million active sperm! Great news all around, no ICSI for us! Thank god! When I called Eli with the results he said "so we have a hamster baby coming?!?!" So glad he can find humor in all of this! Makes this stressful journey a lot easier on us!

This Wednesday I have some tests that need to be done and next week we have a nurse consult where we will go over and sign our IVF contract! Wednesday I will be having a Saline Sonogram and a Trial Transfer. Both tests can cause a lot of cramping :-( so please think of me and pray for minimal to no cramping! I will update Wednesday after the tests!

Love, Kristen & Eli