Hubs and I left our house around 6:30 on Friday morning and took the short drive to our RE's office.
Can you feel my excitement about needles in my vag?
We checked in and were directed upstairs to the floor where the retrieval would take place. After a few minutes, the nurse came out to get me. I said good bye to Hubs, wished him good luck with his dance with the cup, and headed off to be violated with needles.
The nurses had me change into the oh-so-glamourous hospital gown and got me a warm blanket while I waited for the doctors. I met the RE who was doing the retrieval and the anesthesiologist. The nurse asked me a bunch of questions and the anesthesiologist got me outfitted with an IV (finding a vein was once again an issue). I walked into the operating room and got up on the table. The anesthesiologist told me he was going to add the sleepy medicine to my IV and that it didn't take long to work. I remember the ceiling looked like it was moving and the next thing I know, I woke up in the recovery room. Apparently, he wasn't lying about the meds working quickly!
The awesome nurses were there when I woke up and told me to just rest for a little while. I think I fell back to sleep for a bit and when I woke back up, I felt pretty groggy but in very little pain. The nurses checked on me and got me some water and crackers. I asked about how many eggs were retrieved and they told me 13. I was happy with that number considering we had 10 measurable follies at the last monitoring appointment.
As I was sitting and relaxing for a bit, Hubs walked into the recovery room. I wasn't expecting to see him until I went back out the waiting room and the nurses said they brought him in because there were no other patients on the floor and they thought I would like to see him. Hubs filled me in on how his part of the baby making process had gone. He complained to the nurses that the DVD player in his room o' fun wasn't working. Good thing he had his phone with him for his viewing pleasure! Needles in the vag vs. porn on the phone...totally a fair division for this process!
The nurses had me use the bathroom and I got dressed after they took out my IV. They also called the lab to check and make sure we had enough swimmers in Hubs' sample (he was worried about this). The lab was very happy with the sample and told us that they were going to ICSI the eggs that afternoon. ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) allows the embryologist to inject a single sperm into the egg allowing for the greatest chance of fertilization. We were told to expect a phone call on Saturday with an update. I didn't take any pain meds after the surgery so the nurses said I could take Tylenol at home if I needed it.
Hubs and I headed home and I spent the entire day on the couch. I watched movies, napped, and sent out a bunch of emails and text messages about how things had gone. I kept myself hydrated with lots of water and G2.
Check out my stylish hospital bracelet. Hubs and I had matching ones. We decided to keep them to start a baby book if this crazy process works!
I woke up from a nap definitely needing the Tylenol and it helped with the cramping. I really can't complain too much about the discomfort considering what some women go through after their retrieval.
This morning (Saturday), Max was up bright and early and Hubs got up to play with him. I got out of bed to take my first Endometrin pill. This is a progesterone supplement that helps my body to get ready for the transfer and maintain a pregnancy. I have begun referring to this as the "vag pill." It is a suppository and has to be inserted 3 times a day at 8-hour intervals. Add it to the list of super fun IVF meds! I'm feeling much better today and have just a little cramping.
Around 9ish this morning, I got a call from the IVF lab. The embryologist told me that of the 13 eggs that were retrieved, 11 were mature. They ICSI'd those 11 and 9 fertilized normally. The two that didn't fertilize normally may still develop overnight, but we just have to wait and see. So, at this point, we are working with 9 embies. We may end up with less than that once all is said and done, but we are thrilled with that number at this point. The lab will call again on Sunday and let me know how our embies are doing and when we can expect to do a transfer (either Monday or Wednesday).
So, now we wait and pray and hope that everything continues to move forward. I am taking this all one day at a time and I feel really good about everything right now.
Back to the couch for more lounging. Continued prayers are greatly appreciated.
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