We arrived about ten minutes early. My thinking was that if they would see me early, I wouldn't be so miserable sitting with a full bladder. You know how when you plan something out, something always gets thrown into the mix to throw you for a loop? This situation was no different. We were taken back to the room where the procedure would take place. The nurse gave me my instructions, I got prepared with the lovely white sheet they give you, and we waited. We waited for about fifteen minutes when I decided I couldn't take it any more -- I had to go to the bathroom, I was literally in pain. At that point my biggest fear was that I was going to start going and not be able to stop. I managed okay, and felt much better when I got back from the bathroom. Once I got seated and situated again, we waited. About twenty minutes after our scheduled appointment time a nurse popped her head in to tell us there had been an emergency and the doctor was running about a half an hour behind...meaning we "only" had ten more minutes to wait. I had to relieve myself once more in that time frame because I, again, was starting to get extremely uncomfortable. I have to say, it was way easier the first time to stop! Again, I got seated and situated. Finally, the doctor came in.
She first had to speak with the embryologist. She came back and informed us that we had five very nicely developed embryos. They were all considered "grade A" embryos. She asked us to start thinking about how many we'd like to transfer, while the embryologist turned on a screen to let us see the one he'd picked out as "the best." He did indicate that it was hard to decide, since they were all high-quality, this one just showed a little more progress than the others. It looks so different from the embryo we used in our day three transfer last year. I will post a photo at the end, but I don't want to force anyone to look at it. So, I'm giving you fair warning now, there will be a scientific-looking photo of our five-day-old blastocyst below :) The doctor said it looks like it's just about to "hatch." No, we're not having a chicken! After implantation, the blastocyst will divide into several parts, including the placental cells, the embryo and the yolk sac.
We ended up just transferring the one embryo. This wasn't an easy decision. Prior to arriving, I'd told Tony I wanted to do two. Bless his heart, he stayed adamant that we wanted two because he was trying to follow through on what I wanted. But, after talking to the doctor I changed my mind. She was pretty confident that with the high quality embryos we were using that we would almost definitely be looking at a multiple baby situation if we put in two embryos. As cute as the idea of twins or triplets is, I think for this first time around I would be much more comfortable with one baby. Not to mention that multiples put both mom and babies at a higher risk for complications.
I'm feeling pretty good about things, trying to take it easy and just relax. I'm eating warm, nourishing foods and drinking lots of water. And, of course, I'm analyzing every twinge and cramp I feel praying they are good signs. I spent the morning doing some cleanup in my classroom. It's HOT in here -- about 82 degrees the last time I checked. I was feeling pretty nauseous earlier, but am doing better now that I sat down, had some water and have started to cool down.
I'm sure you're all wondering when we will know. We are scheduled to go for a blood test on Wednesday, June 25. That's right, it's a TEN DAY WAIT. I cannot tell you how much easier that was to hear than to hear we would have to wait fourteen days. I know four days may not seem like much, but to this girl it's an eternity! I've vowed that I will not test until then, and I'm hoping I can stick to that. Because I used an HCG trigger shot during my IVF cycle, there's always the possibility of getting a false positive if you test too soon. Some women will test immediately and keep testing until they test negative (called testing out the HCG), and then they keep testing until they get their "true" positive or get a negative blood test. But, this is not for me. I am trying to remain positive, optimistic, and most importantly stress-free. I'm going to enjoy my last two days at work (as much as one can enjoy hot and humid temperatures while cleaning inside a school building) and then have a relaxing start to summer. My second of two classes at UWM starts next Monday, so that will keep me busy as the clock ticks away until Wednesday!
WARNING: PHOTO OF EMBRYO BELOW!
Again, thank you all so, so, so much for your continued thoughts, prayers, and positivity. We could not have done this without you. And now, the photo:
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| Embryo, five days old |
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