Is My Body Ready for a Frozen Embryo Transfer?

Now that we've started planning for our next trip to Reprofit for a second donor embryo transfer, my focus has turned to getting healthier and in better shape. For our last trip I had lost a significant amount of weight and had begun exercising regularly.  I wholeheartedly believe that this contributed to our successful frozen embryo transfer (FET).  However, once we found out I was pregnant and started having complications, I was no longer able to work out as frequently. I also had a difficult time eating healthy due to terrible morning sickness and weird food cravings. I'm hoping our second time around, things will be different by developing more healthy patterns!!!

My first goal, is to implement a regular exercise routine long before the FET in January. If our FET is successful, I want to ensure that I'm at least walking on a regular basis. Currently, I've been walking on the treadmill and using my elliptical around two to three days a week. This might be wishful thinking, but I'd like to increase this to at least four to five days a week.  Albeit it has been difficult to establish a regular routine now that I am back to working full-time with the baby. When I get home all I want to do is spend time with my daughter. By the time she's in bed and we've had dinner, it's around 8 or 9 o'clock.  Now that I wake up around 5AM with the baby, finding the time to work out has not been easy. I end up sacrificing sleep or time spent with my daughter to exercise these days. 

My second goal is to continue eating healthier. I am determined to either avoid Gestational Diabetes, or at least control it with a healthy diet if the transfer is successful.  I have already started eating more vegetables and lean meats.  I also do my best to avoid pasta and breads since the carbohydrates do not help my blood sugar levels. But let me tell ya, it is going to be difficult to give up my creamy cups of coffee in the morning.  My doctor actually advised when I was pregnant to not go cold turkey because it can cause caffeine withdrawal.  So, instead of giving up coffee completely, I plan to cut back on the cream and drop to one cup a day instead of my regular two to three cups.  Although, it is not going to be easy with a baby that wakes up at 5 AM everyday. Hopefully, I can cut down on my sweets intake as well!:) I will definitely keep you updated on my progress:)

Some other things I may be considering before the transfer is to include a daily aspirin in my ritual, as well as a multivitamin.  I did this prior to my daughter's transfer and want to make sure I do the same things, since it all turned out to be successful.

And last but not least, I have scheduled some appointments with my GP and OBGYN to confirm that my body is ready for another pregnancy!

I will keep you posted on my progress.  If you are preparing for a trip to Reprofit or a another fertility clinic in Brno, and would like a cycle buddy....please leave me a comment and I will get back to you!

Back to Brno for a sibling!

My husband and I have decided to start planning for a sibling for our daughter! I'm not getting any younger and I'm determined for my daughter to have a brother or sister.   However, we've decided that I may be making this IVF abroad trip alone.  Since it took two IVF procedures last time before we had a successful transfer, we would like to try and save money in case we have to go back.  By going alone, I only need to buy one airplane ticket. I also save on food and travel expenses since I do not plan to do any sightseeing.  Essentially, we plan on this being a quick in and out trip. 

For this donor embryo transfer we made arrangements directly through Reprofit International in the Czech Republic, instead of using an outside consultant. It was much easier then we thought it would be.  We went directly to the Reprofit website and found their list of contacts. The clinic has flags next to each consultant's name indicating the languages they speak.  I clicked on the "Send an Email" link under the name of one their English speaking contacts.  A window appeared on my screen.  I typed in our message explaining our intentions and hit SEND.  The message was a couple of sentences explaining that we were seeking an embryo transfer with the clinic. Within an hour we had a response in my Inbox.  

The first email I received included a brief message from the fertility clinic about the IVF donor embryo services they provide including an attachment.  In the document was a list of questions for us to answer regarding our physical characteristics, each question specific to our hair and eye coloring, blood types and education.  In the notes section, we were able to describe our donor embryo preferences. We sent the document back to Reprofit. A day later the clinic sent along their offer for donor embryo's available.  From the options provided we made our selection and sent an email back with our decision. It was that easy..I have no idea what I was scared of the last two times we did this.

In the following email exchange we made arrangements for when the IVF donor embryo procedure will take place.  We have decided to wait until January.  The clinic says that they will hold on to the embryo's for us until then.  Our contact also included the IVF stimulation protocol information in the email.  I will follow this protocol as we get closer to the IVF procedure.  

Essentially, an IVF donor embryo protocol includes instructions for when to start taking the hormones necessary to stimulate your uterus for the frozen embryo transfer. Both Estrogen and Progesterone will prepare my uterine lining for embryo implantation.  I must follow the instructions to the letter to make sure the IVF procedure can take place.  If I miss anything, the frozen embryo transfer may have to be cancelled.  So it is very important that I follow the directions exactly as they have been explained.  

So at this point, I've started the process!  I have reserved our embryo's for the transfer which is scheduled to take place late  January.  Now I need to make my flight reservations, arrange my hotel stay and get my body ready for the transfer.  Easier said than done.  However, we are very excited and plan to document EVERYTHING!!!  

If you are in the process of making arrangements for IVF or your thinking about embryo donation, and need some suggestions or someone just to talk to, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will get back to you! You can send your emails to WetravelledforIVf@gmail.com...until next time!

How to get to Brno!

I realize that for some traveling to another country for IVF may seem outrageous. Not knowing the language or where to stay that is safe and affordable, can be overwhelming to think about if your not a seasoned traveler. I think being a Flight Attendant for five years helped alleviate any fears for me traveling overseas.  I was already acquainted with navigating different countries where English was not the spoken language. So I thought I'd pass along some tips I learned along the way for those who may be considering traveling to Europe,  or the Czech Republic for IVF:

LANGUAGE 

English has become the language of business throughout Europe.  It is very common to find someone within the Travel and Tourism industry who speaks English, such as waiters, taxi drivers, store patrons, and hotel staff.  You will not have trouble finding someone who speaks the language. 

HOTELS 

The Internet has a plethora of resources and suggestions for places to stay throughout Europe for travelers.  Some of the sites I used when planning our trips to Prague and Brno:

• The New York Times - Travel section is a great resource for learning where to stay, eat, things to do, the best neighborhoods, and excursions for those interested in going off the beaten path.  
• TripAdvisor - This is a great site for everything! They have a great Brno section for those traveling to Reprofit. The site is very informative and can help you find your way around your destination. 
• Venere.com, RyanAirHotels.com, and Booking.com - I usually stick with these three sites when searching for the most affordable hotels. I have found some great deals using these sites.

AIRFARE

Traveling to Europe can get expensive, if you follow some of these tips, it can be quite affordable:

• The best time to travel to Europe on the cheap is during the winter months (January - March).  Spring and Summer is the tourist season and flights and hotel stays are more expensive during this time. If you are looking for an affordable time to travel, I would stick with anytime after January and before June. 
• The best days of the week to search for airfare are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Typically, people are more likely to plan their trips toward the end of the week or over the weekend.  So looking for airfare earlier in the week tends to offer more affordable fares.
• Certain countries are cheaper to fly into than others:

Ireland (Dublin)

Denmark (Copenhagen)

Luxembourg

Denmark (Amsterdam)

Spain (Madrid)

Turkey (Istanbul)

Poland (Warsaw)

*We have always been able to find the more affordable flights flying into Dublin than any other country in Europe.  However, some of the other countries listed can also be more economical than the biggies like London, Paris and Rome.

OneTravel.com, Kayak.com and Priceline.com - I have used all three sites to find airfare to Europe.  OneTravel has been my goto site for most of my travel overseas.  However, Priceline and Kayak have had some great fares as well.  For one trip I used Priceline's "Name Your Fare" feature and found a great rate to Dublin. If your okay with the worst seats on the aircraft which are usually toward the back of the plane, they're not that bad.  All three travel sites have been useful at various times throughout our travels. 

Europe's low cost airlines are the way to go when flying from within Europe from country to country.  These airlines are considerably cheaper than flying one of the larger airlines and can be more economical than rail.  The most popular airlines:

Ryan Air

Easy Jet

Aer Lingus

Wizz Air

SkyScanner.com is a site we've used to find fares on Europe's low cost carriers.

We have also had a lot of success going directly to each airlines website.

GETTING TO BRNO

These airlines have affordable direct flights into BRNO:

Ryan Air - No direct flights from Dublin. You have to fly into England then onto Brno.

Easy Jet - Direct flights from England

Wizz Air - Direct flights from England

You can also fly into Prague and then take a Student Agency bus or the train into Brno. The bus will drop you off right in the middle of downtown Brno, across the street from The Grand Hotel. You can also find a taxi cab that can take you anywhere in Brno within the same station. 

*We used Student Agency buses exclusively to travel within the Czech Republic.  They were great!  You have an entertainment system in each seat to help pass the time, as well as free wifi.  All I can say is, we had plenty to keep us entertained and the trip went by rather quickly. We highly recommend Student Agency.  They are very economical way of traveling throughout Europe. 

Hotels in Brno where we have stayed: 

Hotel Europa - This is a very nice budget hotel with several restaurants nearby.  The rooms are small, but the hotel is well maintained, in a nice neighborhood and there is wifi in the lobby. It is also close to the center of Brno and is a cheap taxi ride from Reprofit.

The Grand Hotel - Directly across the street from the train/bus/taxi cab station.  It is centrally located and a very quick taxi ride to the clinic.  You can also take public transportation if you want to save money.  However, the hotel is more expensive then the others listed.  You actually can save money by staying at a more economical hotel and then take taxis. We never spent more then $5.00 per taxi ride.

Hotel Cyro - A nice modern hotel with several restaurants nearby. A free breakfast is also provided downtown stairs every morning.  This hotel is also a quick taxi cab or train ride away from Reprofit.

*If you are planning a trip to Brno and would like some suggestions, I highly recommend all of the resources mentioned above.  If you are still in need of some help with planning your trip, please leave a comment and I would be happy to help you.  We have become very familiar with Prague, Brno and the surrounding areas. We wish you the best of luck in your travels!