I have a lot to update you on today! Here’s what’s happened in the last week. (If you’re new to the blog, this is our 3rd IVF cycle. You can read about our previous cycles here).
Egg Retrieval
My egg retrieval went pretty smoothly once the procedure actually started. I’ve had an IV numerous times in my life, and without fail, there is always a problem. The nurse started it in my left hand, but about 2 seconds after she finished, blood came out of the line and we noticed a bubble forming under my skin. Not good. She tried and tried to re-position it, but it didn’t work. Finally, the anesthesiologist came in and switched it to my right hand. (The picture below was taken BEFORE they put the IV in!)
All the maneuvering hurt, and I was getting really frustrated (not to mention I was so hungry and thirsty), so of course, I started crying. Then I got mad at myself for crying, so I cried some more! I managed to calm myself down before they took me in the room for the retrieval. I remember taking two deep breaths after they put an oxygen mask on me and that’s it! The next thing I remember was waking up back in the recovery room. We ended up getting 15 mature eggs.
Fertilization
The next day our nurse called with the fertilization report. All 15 eggs fertilized, but one fertilized abnormally. That still left us with 14 embryos! We felt like that was a really good number, but our hope was tempered by caution, since this is the point in all our previous cycles where things began to go poorly.
Embryo Transfer
We got a call yesterday saying that my 5-day transfer is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9:15am. I asked the nurse if that means the embryos are looking decent. (We’ve never made it to a 5-day transfer before). She said, “Well, some are looking decent.” I didn’t ask for exact numbers, because frankly, I don’t want to know. I’m taking some inspiration from my friend Laura’s Ignorance Plan. Right now, the numbers don’t matter. Knowing how many “decent” embryos I have right now will not help my anxiety and worry. I’ll know on Wednesday when we make the decision on how many to transfer. Right now, we’re just leaving it in God’s hands.
Physically I feel pretty good, except for my super-sore hand and my nasty bruise from the IV failure. It’s been puffy and extremely tender ever since. Who would’ve thought that my biggest bruise this IVF cycle would be on my hand? Check out the difference between my right hand (where they ended up putting the good IV) and my left hand (where they tried to put it first!).
I’ll post an update on Thursday! Thank you so much for all the prayers, email, cards, and good thoughts! I appreciate them all. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a picture my husband took of me and Hemingway last night. This cat is such a lover!
