Retrieval!

Last night my mom, Mike, and I took off to Rockford to stay in a hotel in preparation for retrieval today! (Side note: The hotel had Sleep Number beds which we thought was really cool at first, but then we did not sleep well, so I guess it wasn't as cool as we thought. Lesson learned: We don't really need a Sleep Number bed like I thought!!! HAHA!!)

Surprisingly, I was able to fall asleep right away... I said some prayers that I would be calm and at peace with the retrieval and then, if I am being honest, I panicked a little thinking that I might ovulate early or something crazy like that!!! I woke up SUPER early... way earlier than I needed to!  But, so did Mike and my mom, so I wasn't super bored! I waited a couple hours and took my Pepcid at 7 a.m. like a good girl!! 

Mike got ready, my mom got ready, and then I finally started getting ready while they went to breakfast.  I am so thankful that breakfast is my least favorite meal because apparently they had an amazing breakfast, but I wasn't jealous because NONE of it sounded good to me!!! :)  

We made the trek over to the facility and they took me back to get me changed into a gown (Who doesn't love those gowns!!) and to give me an I.V. (another favorite!!!!).  I also got to answer lots of questions... my favorite?!?!? "Have you smoked 100 cigarettes in your lifetime?"  "No."  "Okay. Sorry, we have to ask that random question!"  So strange, but the nurse was SUPER nice!!  

Then we waited... Not because they were running late or anything, just because this is how surgeries and procedures work!!  Then, Mike was picked up to go do his thing and I waited some more!  Someday he needs to make a blog post about the awkwardness of his contributions to this process... 4 samples, 4 different places, always nurses chatting in the hallway! HAHA!! Poor guy!!!

 I believe at that point a couple different people stopped in to talk to me about the procedure and asked if I had any questions.  Then I was taken in to get my IV and anesthesia.  The lady did an excellent job!  I barely have a bruise from the IV, which is pretty exciting!! My favorite part was that she said, "This will seem a little sketchy.  This will kick in pretty quickly and the next thing you know you will be in the other room!"  I LOVED that she said "sketchy"! Too funny!!! HAHA!!

Well, she was right.  I didn't remember anything.  But, evidentally I made a fool of myself and talked about how cynical the doctor (not today's doctor, Dr. G.) is.  The first thing I remember is Mikes saying, "Julie, STOP... you can't talk like that to his staff." HAHAHAH!! Oh my gosh... I am so embarrassed!!! OOPS!! I guess my response was, "Well, he is the one that called himself cynical!"  Mike said the nurses just laughed, but that doesn't mean that I am not embarrassed!!! WOW!!! ;)

I guess while I was still loopy I missed the doctor coming in and telling us that there were 9 eggs retrieved!  Thankfully Mike was not loopy so he was able to tell me when I was less loopy!! The doctor said that they must have been hiding the last time he did a sonogram because there were only 7 that day!! I really like Dr. S. and I am so thankful that he was there today to help us!!

A little bit later the doctor came back in and told us that due to my endometriosis they were going to use a process called ISCI which means that they will inject a single sperm into each mature egg.  This will eliminate the chance that endometriosis would cause the eggs to not fertilize well.  Hopefully that means we will get a good call tomorrow saying that we have embryos that look healthy!! Grow babies!! GROW!!! :)  He also said that they would surround the immature eggs with lots of sperm for 5-6 hours in hopes that they will mature and be fertilized.  Grow!! Grow!! Grow!!!

He also told us that he believes we will implant on Saturday as a Day 3 transfer.  We will find out more information when they call tomorrow to tell us how many embryos we have.  So, our plan is that we will drive up on Friday night and stay in Rockford so that we can implant on Saturday.  We also have to make a decision... one embryo or two?!?! We need to discuss this and all the implications, and we need to make the decision soon!!!

Currently I am taking it easy while I am on bed rest.  I can't drive yet or "make decisions" per the form they gave us!!! ;)  So, I will be home on the couch tomorrow also.  I will also have to check my weight and measure my waist tomorrow to ensure that I am not experiencing overstimulation.  If I gai n 5 pounds or 2 inches I have to call right away.  Hopefully that is not something that I have to deal with!! So far I am just tryng to follow the doctors orders and Mike has been great!  He said, "You are kind of like taking care of a pet rock.  You pretty much take care of yourself!" HAHA!! I guess that means I am a good patient and don't bother him too much!!!

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!  We are excited to hear from them tomorrow and we hope that we have healthy babies growing in Rockford!!! We will keep you updated as we find out more!! Thanks again for joining us on our journey!!!

Shockingly I am very calm today.  After I heard that we have 9 eggs I stopped stressing.  I realize that this is far from over, but I know that I have done everything I can and I am coninuing to do what the doctors have told me.  I have prayed for peace and calm during this time and thankfully I have it.  Now, if I don't hear from the doctor's office fairly early in the morning I am sure I will start to get nervous, but I will do my best to remain calm!! :)

Have a great night!!!