IVF#2 Egg Retrieval

This morning I woke up excited and ready to get these eggies out of me! We left the house bright and early at 6am and we arrived around 6:30am. I probably looked like a penguin because I was waddling so much. In fact, every time my heels hit the ground it caused my ovaries to jiggle and hurt so I was walking on my tiptoes. Luckily there was no one around to judge me and give me funny looks except Chris.

Pre-egg retrieval hospital pedway selfie

I was the only person having their eggs retrieved today again, which makes it really nice and an almost peaceful atmosphere. I immediately changed into my hospital gown and put on my fun socks! They came all the way from England! Thanks Auntie Linda!

The socks say “Little Miss Bossy”

The scariest part about any surgery for me is the IV and last time my vein was blown and I ended up causing a whole scene. This time I asked for the lidocaine shot right off and the wonderful and sweet anesthesia nurse (same as last time) inserted the IV and there was no issue whatsoever! Hard part over! We then chatted with the nurses for a little bit while we waited on the doctor. Once he arrived it was go time! I walked myself to the surgery suite and got on the table. I told the doctor’s to get more than two eggs this time! I was chatting with the anesthesia nurse and remember her saying this is the last thing I would remember. And it was! I found out later that I was apparently quite the comic. Chris said he could hear the nurses and doctor’s laughing and the nurse said I was asking recommendations for scary movies. I remember none of this.

The next thing I knew, I woke up and I was not crying! Almost anytime I come out of anesthesia I cry, it’s just my body’s reaction to it. I immediately asked how many eggs they got. Ready for it? 14 eggs!!! That’s amazing!!! We are over the moon happy that we were able to get 14 eggs! I still can’t believe it!

Once I woke up, I was given some pain medication and Zofran to help with the nausea. After I was able to use the restroom I was allowed to be wheeled out and go home. We stopped by Panera on the way home because I was very hungry. The rest of the day has been uneventful. I have been resting in my chair with my kitties. The past hour or so I have noticed some abdominal pain. Similar to the painful, discomfort/pressure I have had the past few days only fuller. It hurts to sit straight up or use my abs. I am assuming there is a build up of fluid going on so I have been drinking lots of coconut water and Gatorade to try and help it. I hope it’s not an early symptom of OHSS. If it’s not better by the morning, I will call the nurse.

The embryologist said he will call in the morning to let us know how many fertilized. He will then check on Saturday and give us a call to let us know how they are doing. By Monday or Tuesday they should be becoming blastocysts and we will know how many made it to freeze!

As for what now? Now, I get to be shot free for a little while. Woo hoo!! We wait until my period starts which should be in a week or two, then it’s back on birth control and then estrogen to get ready for our FET!! I am so thankful that we have made it this far! We have accomplished a major milestone!

For your viewing pleasure, here is me right after waking up from anesthesia explaining what I know. Enjoy!

IVF#1 Did They Fertilize?

I am currently drafting a post detailing the retrieval including the good the bad and the ugly. I even have a video for you guys of me all doped up right after I got back to the room afterwards! And I am so OCD that I like doing things in chronological order so this is hard, but I just HAD to write a quick post!

We got the call at 8:30 this morning. Dr. Christensen, the embryologist, called to tell us the life changing news. Did they fertilize? Are we parents? Do we have at least one little embryo? Did neither of them fertilize? Do we have to start all over? Can we start all over…financially? Emotionally? These were all questions that immediately ran through my mind all at the same time as soon as I answered the phone. Then he said it…BOTH eggs fertilized! We have TWO embryos growing!!! He said they look to be good quality but they cannot really determine quality or grade until tomorrow morning when they see how they are dividing. He did say that one embryo did seem to be slightly better than the other regarding the placement of the nuclei but to just take that with a grain of salt since it really cannot be determined until tomorrow.
So when do we transfer? TOMORROW! We are doing a Day 2 transfer. Because we only have two embryos it is not as important to wait as long as possible for transfer to see which embryos are the best and which ones should be transferred back. We are transferring both. Fingers crossed for twins! I am so happy we are transferring tomorrow because I feel that they will given the best chance if they are put back inside me…their mom! That is so weird to say! We are officially a Mom and Dad!!

I am overcome with an odd sensation that is almost primal and instinctual. I want those embryos back inside me. I feel as though there is part of me out in the world that needs to be put back where they belong and I need to protect them. It is so surreal to think about.

Here is a picture of what our embryos most likely look like today on Day 1:

Grow, embies, grow!! Tomorrow there should be clear division or cleavage. We are praying they continue to grow and remain healthy and strong. There is always a chance that their growth will halt but we are trying not to think about that right now. We have even named them! They are Ethel and Mildred! And we imagine them to be two old ladies keeping each other company in an incubator! That might seem weird to name them but it makes it more real for us and also makes the surrealism of this entire process a little bit easier to handle. Hopefully we will get pictures of them tomorrow. And they should look something like this:

So tomorrow we transfer. I have to take a Valium at 10AM and we arrive at the clinic at 10:30AM. I am to drink lots and lots of water and have a very full bladder. I will take a second Valium while we are in the waiting room and we will most likely do the transfer around 11 or so. I am praying that it goes better than the mock transfer (also praying they don’t need to use a tenaculum! If you don’t remember that fiasco click here and here). That was difficult and unsuccessful. It is of the utmost importance that my uterus does not contract during the transfer, hence why they are doping me up with Valium. If my uterus contracts it could expel the embryos. We do NOT want that.

Thank you everyone for all your prayers! They are working so far so please keep them coming! Please pray that the embryos continue to grow and the transfer goes beautifully tomorrow. This time tomorrow we will be PUPO (Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise)!!! Sticky baby dust to everyone!!

 

IVF#1 Egg Retrieval – Quick Update

I will write a longer post detailing my experience, but I wanted to let everyone know that everything went well. I am okay and at home resting. They were only able to retrieve two mature eggs so I am a bit disappointed and upset that I did not have more. I am in some pain and the anesthesiologist gave me some Dilaudid so I am about to fall asleep. Thank you all for the prayers! Please continue praying that both eggs fertilize and they grow steadily and become nice and strong!!