Sibling round

[2mumlife]

Hi there,

Used to be part of a different thread for sibling round, but thought I'd start a new thread to see if there was anyone else considering a sibling round this year?

@taytay2020 @2mumlife thanks so much for your thoughts on this!
Helpful to know you both went with the multicycle and how it went for you both.

I feel pretty sure right now that I'd want more than 2 children but then who knows what might happen so I do understand we don't always get what we want!

I felt really hopeful with having 11 fertilised on our first round so to then lose 9 by day 5 was quite a shock which is making me think more about embryo banking. But then I also understand every cycle might be different - we could get a few more or we could get less or even none. I know nothing with IVF is guaranteed and that's what makes these decisions so difficult. We are using donor sperm so I don't think we'd be able to donate any embryos.

Since I posted on here the clinic also offered a duostim package for us to bank embryos which would be slightly more expensive than the multicycle but less than 2 single cycles. They also said we could do the 2 egg collections at any point we choose instead of both in the same cycle. 1 transfer is included. So I feel like at this point its either duostim or multicycle for us.
I do like with the multicycle you get unlimited transfers, so we have the best chance at a second and still the option of storing any left over if we have them.

Hi all,

I’m new to this thread but thought I’d join as we welcomed our first baby in August last year (IVF) and are looking to do a second transfer in August / September this year. We have 5 embryos in the freezer, I can’t remember the grades but I think there was at least one that was as good or almost as good as our son.

I had a c-section so have to wait 12 months before the FET. I stopped breastfeeding gradually last month, was a bit gutted to do so but the reality is I’m 36 this year and my husband is 38 and we didn’t want to wait much longer to have a second child so in order to have stopped bf at least 3 months before the next FET (which is our clinics recommendation) I thought I’ll just bite the bullet and do it. Will resume taking vitamins etc and try to have a healthy summer to maximise our chances of success and also try to stay realistic as we may not get as lucky this time.

@Magix86 we did a multi cycle package and I am so glad we did because our first cycle they collected 16 mature eggs but none fertilised! The second cycle they collected much more and that time we ended up with 6 freezable embryos. I got pregnant on the first FET so the next one we have to pay for but overall I think we definitely got our moneys worth on the multi cycle and it took away a bit of the stress on the first cycle. Obviously can’t comment on the embryo banking aspect as that was never our intention but I think knowing you have a second chance if the first cycle goes wrong was very valuable.

Hi @AMMxx thanks for sharing! Sounds awful to have 16 mature eggs and none fertilised 🥺 your second round sounds like it went so much better! To have 5 frozen is amazing
We're very similar in timings.
Our clinic also offer embryo assurance so we could pay a little extra (£700) and then if we have no embryos at the end of a round they will do another round for free. There are just so many options it's weighing it all up!

It was such a rollercoaster going from the excitement of having so many to the disappointment of having no embryos. But the good thing was they could then adjust the meds and that clearly worked so all well in the end! I have PCOS so produced lots of eggs but most were not mature or otherwise not great and my husband had low sperm count so that was two hurdles to overcome.

It really is hard navigating the options and impossible to say what’s most cost effective as really it depends on how successful your first round is and how much you can comfortably afford. The embryo assurance sounds good but I think I’d prefer a package that only stops at a successful pregnancy (ie to term / baby) because there is still a lot of uncertainty around implantation and carrying the pregnancy. But that’s just me - guess what gave us the most peace of mind was knowing we wouldn’t need to mess around with sorting funding in between cycles or transfers. I think we went with Access and it was about £10k at the time (2 years ago roughly).

Magix86 I think I'd to the duostim personally - with the multicycle because you (normally) have the transfer all the embryos before the second egg collection it wouldn't work so well towards the embryo banking. With the duostim you can have a go at getting eggs now before you get any older, and then you know what you have to work with :) I'd also get on any supplements to improve egg quality as it normally takes a few months to see the full effect of that. Given your age I would definiutely page the extra for embryo assurance to be honest - particularly if that covers the cost of meds as well?

@AMMxx Might be a bit late but just to say there is a breastfeeding while undergoing IVF group that is very useful for deciding if you want to continue to breastfeed (with or without your clinics knowledge). I breastfed during my success FET and throughout pregnancy, and breastfed through my recently unsuccessful FET.

Thanks @AMMxx and @2mumlife again for going through this with me!
I think I'm finally leaning towards duostim, with the embryo assurance to provide another round if we get no embryos. The good thing with the embryo assurance is we can use this alongside the 2 separate egg collections I believe.
I feel like having a chance to bank some embryos now for the future is the best option given my age. We'll just be losing the option of unlimited transfers with the multicycle so will have to hope we get a good amount of embryos and also that we don't need a lot of transfers for number 2 🤞🏻
IVF is such a gamble isn't it!
We have a follow up consultation booked for next week so hoping they will help us go through these options and we can make a decision to go ahead.

That's good to know about the breastfeeding. I also stopped about a month ago because I thought I'd had to be prepared for another round of IVF. To be honest I wasn't fully ready to stop and do feel a bit sad about it now.

@2mumlife That’s interesting re breastfeeding, thank you! I do still have some supply so could restart if I wanted to but probably won’t as I’ve made peace with it now. Did your clinic know? From what I’ve read the guidance seems to vary by clinic and tbh I haven’t looked much into why that is and how much it could potentially affect the success of the transfer.

@Magix86 really hope it goes well for you whichever option you go with!

@Magix86 @AMMxx re: breastfeeding my clinic aren't supportive of breastfeeding, so they didn't know, which sits a little uncomfortably. The reason they gave for stopping breastfeeding wasn't safety concerns or success rates, but that if I achieved a pregnancy my supply might drop or stop which is an odd argument (wean your child which isn't an easy thing to do, because you might need to wean your child if you're pregnant which isn't even a garauntee🙄).

I spent quite a bit of time reading about it before going ahead. Both times I've chosen to wait until my period has returned (around 14months post partum each time) before doing treatment, and it was a medicated FET both times, where the medication isn't contraindicted for breastfeeding (though can affect supply - though to be honest I've not noticed any noticeable dip in supply during the TTC part either time). I think its a bit different in you're doing stims, as there is some medication, such as letrozole for example, which is not safe to take during breastfeeding, because there is good evidence it enters your milk in higher quantities. The research around breastfeeding and IVF isn't well researched though,but there are some small studies suggesting it doesn't impact success rates. I think its very much a personal choice though. And I had some horrible breastfeeding aversions during pregnancy so stopping has some advantages I think. On the otherhand, in my situation where my transfer didn't work, I can still continue to breastfeed my son without putting him through the disruption of weaning, when the transfer didn't work anyway.

@Magix86 I think I'd concentrate more on the embryo banking and the embryo assurance, than the multiple transfers I think. If you wanted to cut down on the cost of transfers you could do PGTA screening. Its expensive but less expensive than the cost of transferring and embryo that wont work, and would at least mean you know how many viable embryos you have to work with, and might be good for helping to decide if you needed more than 2 egg collections to bank enough viable embryos? Though I think the flip side is then on how you would feel at the other end if you were having to destroy an embryo thats viable. P.S you CAN donate embryos made with donor sperm, if there is still a family slot available for that donor in your country (this was something I asked my UK clinic about)

Thanks @AMMxx you too! Keep us posted 🙂
Ohh that's interesting @2mumlife about the breastfeeding, sounds like you've researched it quite a bit.
Also great to know about embryo donation with donor sperm, I hadn't realised that was still an option!
Hopefully we'll be clearer after our next consultation but talking it through on here has helped me work out my feelings on how to proceed. Let's see what happens

Hey guys!

On friday, my egg donor had her egg collection. It didnt go as planned. The package I paid for guaranteed 8 mature eggs, but they only managed to collect 6, which was disappointing. At that point I was asked it I wanted to proceed with fertilisation, or get another donor. I decided to proceed, but with the caveat that, if things didnt go well, some adjustments would be made, as I was owed 2 more eggs!

Well, today was d5 and I got the call from the lab. They froze 4 embryos, with a 5th one still developing, but without much hope. So Id say, in the end, it was a pretty successful round! 2 embryos are good quality, the other 2 are less so (2 4ABs and 4BB and 4BC).
Ill wait for the lab to call tomorrow, with news of the last embryo, and then book an appointment with my doctor at the clinic, to discuss next steps.

Wishing you lots of luck @ASGIRC

@Magix86 Hope your next review consultation is useful. I always find it good to have a sounding board too.

@ASGIRC 4 embryos is great! :)

Thanks @2mumlife it did go well. We've decided on a duostim package! I think we'd regret not doing everything we can now to bank some embryos for the future, compared to wanting the transfers included in a multicycle now. Having a scan on Monday to see where things are at - really hoping it's good news.

@ASGIRC good luck, 4 embryos is a good result

@Magix86 Best of luck with the duostim package :)

Hope everyone is doing ok x

@2mumlife I’m sorry your embryo didn’t take 💔 Hope you’re doing ok x

@Magix86 Good luck with your scan today! 🍀

@AMMxx Do you mind me asking, did they give a reason that you have to wait 12 months for transfer after C-section? My clinic don’t seem to have an issue with transferring but they did request a HyCoSy to see how the womb/ scar was looking beforehand.

@Ivfchat How are you doing?

We are currently 9weeks, and I really hoped I could enjoy this pregnancy more than my last but it’s been so stressful. I went to A+E due to consistent spotting at 6 weeks, I eventually got a scan a week later and they said all was fine.
I was still spotting on and off and had my scan in my clinic last week (8 weeks) and they said everything looked good but I did have a hematoma that looks like it had broken down, so it was about 1cm at the time of the scan.

Since then I was fine but have been spotting all weekend.
Everyone has said everything looks fine, but everytime I go to the loo and see more, I worry.
Im booked in for my dating scan in 2 weeks and honestly I feel like I’m just living from one scan to the next. 😩

@Wildflower9 no I didn’t ask why because I was expecting them to say that based on what I’d read online although I did also read that some clinics allow it (like yours). How long ago was it for you (between c section and transfer)?
In fairness time is going so quick that we would probably have waited that long anyway and at least now I can enjoy the summer without the stress!

Congratulations on your pregnancy! So sorry to hear it’s been a rocky start, it sounds very stressful. Hope the spotting stops soon, at least all of the professionals you’ve seen have said it’s fine so take comfort in that!

@Wildflower9 congratulations! I hope the spotting stops soon then you can relieve some stress

We've got our first appt at the clinic in 2 weeks. An inital consultation, bloods and ultrasound. I'm trying to eat healthy, exercise, manage stress etc. Our 3yold son has decided he doesn't want to go to bed or sleep through the night anymore so we've been functioning on little sleep. Perfect timing!

@Wildflower9 congrats!!! I’m sorry to hear you’ve so much spotting, hope it calms down soon! Doing ok here. Slowly moving into a position of accepting we might just be 2 and through as DW is feeling more ready to move on each day. I’m still wondering if we give it 1 last shot as still feel sad about the idea of not having any more, but I can also see I can make peace with it if we’re done

@HappyMamma2023 I can guarantee if your embryos wants to stick it will (coslept and breastfed all through my second pregnancy 😂 and have both babes sleeping either side of me the now 🤪)

Guys, it's happening!! I had my pre-ovulation scan and also my peak LH on Monday, started my cyclogest on Wednesday, and I'm doing my first ever FET (but 3rd transfer ever) tomorrow! It feels so unreal!

@taytay2020 Good luck for today!!!