A Heart of Syringes

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Remembrance Tattoo

Found this article online and thought that the tattoo is really beautiful.


~ Joan Bremer's miscarriage remembrance tattoo ~

“Even though it was devastating to us, I wanted to be able to remember it in some way, while still healing and moving on.”

Happy and Sad

Earlier this month, I scrolled through FB (while lying on the bed just before bedtime) and found out that an ex-colleague is expecting her number 3. Viewing FB right before bedtime is really not a wise choice, but I just cannot resist being a busybody. For the longest time, I've been telling myself that I really shouldn't be going into FB too often, because I get a little upset whenever I see another pregnancy or birth announcement.

Yesterday, one of the girls in the IVF WhatsApp chat group shared her good news when we met for lunch. Then, today, DH's friends are at our house for a gathering and one of them announced her good news. Two BFP news one day after another. Haiz... sad... happy and excited for them... but sad...

When will it be my turn? If not for the miscarriage, I would be in my 2nd trimester by now.

Embryo Under the Microscope

Chanced upon this photo by zeiss_microscopy in Instagram:


This is how intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is done by the embryologists in the lab.

IVF Frozen #2 Day 37

BT result: BFN. Devastated.

Post ET Herbs

I brewed my herbs last night. Due to my inexperience, it took longer than expected and I slept late. The instruction from Dr Lim is to boil the first batch of herbs from 3 bowls to 1 bowl, then add the second batch, bring to boil and switch off the heat. I used the slow cooker because the pot is made of ceramic. I wasn't comfortable using the stainless stain pot, even though it is generally deemed as safe for TCM herbs. After almost 3 hours, the amount of water in the pot didn't reduce much. So I opened the lid slightly, then I waited and waited. I didn't dare to leave it heated overnight, as I didn't want to risk the herbs drying up.




At the beginning of brewing my first batch of herb with 3 bowls of water:


Dr Lim prescribed 5 packs of these herbs, each pack cost $100. After brewing, I divide the liquid into 2 portions and drink 1 portion each day. Thus, 1 pack will last me for 2 days. On the 3rd day, I rest, no need to drink. Also, on the days I drink the brewed herb, I have to mix a pack of yellow powder medicine and drink it. I have no idea what is that and it taste weird.

IVF Frozen #2 Day 19

Today is ET day! Our appointment was at 8.30 am. Everything happened just like frozen #1, except we waited longer for our turn to go into the procedure room.



Here are my 2nd pair of embryos that thawed, survived and grew to 8-cells. Unfortunately, 2 cells in the top embryo died (and have turned dark in colour). The embryologist said that the chance of it becoming a pregnancy is lower, but if it does become a baby, the 2 cells that died wouldn't affect his/her health.

My 2nd frozen cycle timeline:

CD1	Call KKIVF
CD4	4 mg progynova daily for 5 days
CD9	6 mg progynova daily for 10 days
CD11	Visit KKIVF for scan. Uterine lining 8.9 mm
CD17	Crinone gel inserts twice daily until BT
CD19 / 0dp2dt	ET. 2 embryos transferred. TWW begins! 4 mg progynova daily until BT.
CD37 / 18dp2dt	BT

Dr Suresh Nair on YouTube

A sister shared the link to this video in our IVF WhatsApp chat group. It's a rather long video, but very informative.

IVF Frozen #2 Day 11

Status update: Uterine lining 8.9 mm. ET schedule on 10 Jun (CD19).

Perhaps, TCM medicine and acupuncture helped to improve my lining. Frozen #1 lining was 8.1 mm on CD10. For the past 2 days, I've been seeing Dr Lim for acupuncture and I just had a 3rd one in the late morning. Since, my ET is scheduled 1 week later, Dr Lim wants me to come back for another 2 sessions before ET.

Cost of each acupuncture session:
$20 (consultation) + $40 (acupuncture) = $60

In The News

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Extremely unbelievable.