Yesterday I was a nervous wreck! I was so anxious that Mike had to drive to DeKalb. Anyone who knows us well knows that I am the driver in this relationship!! I get car sick VERY easily and I also get nervous as a passenger... it didn't matter to me yesterday because it felt like I had an elephant on my chest. Shockingly, today started off with much less anxiety. I woke up and took my my oral estrogen and decided that it was best if I went back to sleep for a while instead of sitting in the dark, quiet hotel room. So, that is what I did!!!
The drive to the clinic was very uneventful! It was a dreary morning, but we didn't really notice because we were just ready to get there and get the morning started! There really wasn't any waiting once we walked in the door. They called us into the business office to let us know that we needed to pay for the next 3 months of embryo storage before our procedure today. OH!! That was a little bit of a surprise! But, I have realized that this is all just part of the process... surprise bills!! ;)
Next the awesome nurse that we met during my previous transfer came in and prepped us for after care. She told me that I needed to be on bedrest today and tomorrow. She told me about the restrictions that I have: no lifting of over 10 pounds, no standing for prolonged periods of time, no exertion, be as sedentary as possible, avoid stress, etc. She also reminded me of the importance of continuing all of my medications at the correct times. Then she said that the embryologist was ready to see us to give us the latest update on our embryos. At that point I really didn't know what to expect. When we elected to freeze all 5 of our embryos rather than discard the 2 level C embryos they told us that they didn't think that the level C embryos would survive the thaw. So, I was prepared for him to tell us that they had to thaw another vial to achieve the 2 viable embryos that we planned to transfer. When the embryologist walked in and told us that both embryos thawed it completely validated the fact that we made the right choice!! The embryologist then told us that the level C embryo is not very likely to make it and that the other embryo looked really good. That didn't phase me! I can only hope that our little C embryo has inherited every ounce of stubbornness that it's mommy and daddy have and that it uses that stubborn streak to prove him wrong!! At that point I looked at Mike and said that we did the right thing and that it was going to be a fighter! We signed the paperwork showing that we were using 2 of our 5 embryos and they he went off to prepare the embryos for the transfer!
At that point, the nurse came back in with Dr. S. so that they could do an external sonogram to see if my bladder was full. It was!! I definitely knew that to be true and I was already counting the moments until I could get to the bathroom!! They then did all the super fun things that happen to prepare me for the procedure, including using the crazy leg contraptions that make the usual stirups look like a walk in the park!! I will spare you the details of all of that, but I will say that he determined that my cervix is very irritated from all of the procedures that have been happening. He said that he thinks that it is the culprit of all of my unexplained bleeding. I said that it wouldn't surprise me because I have already had to have surgery on it. He didn't realize that and said that it wouldn't be surprising to him if I had some spotting throughout the day due to all that happened to complete the transfer. Thankfully I did not experience spotting and I hope that things continue that way!!! I am a little nervous that I will continue to have issues with my cervix throughout this process. I am not sure what we can do to make it happier, but hopefully it stops getting irritated very soon!!! ;)
Once we were all set up and everything was in place they called for the embryologist and he brought in the catheter containing our embryos. Thankfully the process went very smoothly and the prep ended up being the most painful part of the process. Then the embryologist took the catheter to flush it and determine if both embryos successfully were transferred and we got the "all clear"!! What a wonderful feeling!!! :) Dr, S. then removed all of the evil equiptment and started chatting with us about various things. He is such a wonderful person! I really enjoy him and feel that he really cares! We shared some laughs about the various shows that depict infertility treatment and the fact that they give false impressions of what the process actually looks like. I hadn't thought about it until he mentioned it and it is true. So many people feel that they have knowledge about the way things happen because of shows and movies like he mentioned that have storylines regarding infertility or surrogates. He said, "Now you know what really happens and you will watch things differently like I do." It is so true. Things are so simplified and shown incorrectly... I had never noticed!! Another reason that it is important for me to continue my blog!!! :) Thanks Dr. S. for the validation!! :) Hopefully it doesn't ruin shows for me like it does for him!! He also joked many times throughout the procedure that Mike was free to experience all of the things I was experiencing so that he had complete sympathy! HAHAH!! Mike assured that he was aware that he didn't want to do these things! :) It was so refreshing to be relaxed and joking during this procedure and after the procedure because it is such an intense process that it is easy to stress. And NO STRESS is on my restrictions sheet!! ;)
They told us that our 30 minute wait had already started and then they reminded me that I was free to go directly to the bathroom once the clock hit 11:35! Time stands still when you have been through a procedure like that and can't use the bathroom... add a full bladder and time seems to go in reverse! HAHH!!! The embryologist came in to see if we had any questions before they left us to wait and I asked him if he had pictures of my embryos. Unfortnately they don't take pictures of the embryos, so I could'nt get a "babies first picture" from the earliest stages. BOO!! I thought it would be cool to have that in the baby book if this is successful. But, no big deal! I am sure I could add something awesome like a print out of our facebook post with all of the amazing comments from people supporting us!! :)
When 11:35 hit I was thrilled!!! Mike went and got the car and I took care of important business!! :) As I walked out of the office it took everything in me not to stop every other person in the building to tell them my exciting news... afterall, Mike wasn't next to me to be embarrassed by my craziness!!! ;) But, I refrained! We got on the road and realized that the weather was REALLY icky!!! Mike evern used my favorite description for ickiness, "craptastic"!! It was foggy, cold, rainy, YUCK!!! I said, well, even more of a reason for these little ones to get cozy!! :)
We stopped for lunch at Culver's so that I could enjoy my favorite fries!!! Then we headed for home! Once we got home I quickly realized that all of the excitement of the day had exhausted me!!! I cuddled under a blanket on the couch and slept for 2 and 1/2 hours!!!
I cannot thank you enough for your support, love, and prayers! We are so grateful for all of you and we thank you in advance for your continued thoughts and prayers as we wait to see if this is going to be successful. I am doing everything they told me to do and Mike is making sure that I am taken care of. He is great about confirming that someone is able to take care of me when he has to be at work or that we have a place to do shots when we have to be away from home. Though this isn't a journey that I ever imagined we would have to face, I am thankful that we are facing it with so much support and love surrounding us! What lucky kiddos we will have!! They were loved SO much before they were even possible!
Have a wonderful evening! I will keep you posted on any new developments and probably just some state of mind posts as we continue to take this day by day until we know more!!
No comments:
Post a Comment