I am so GRATEFUL to have such a supportive network of family and friends. Without their support, I would not be able to be a GC. So many people helped with my children while Brock was in Peru and I was in Pittsburgh. I just was to take a minute and THANK Alicia and my mother for watching my littlest boys, Laine and Tara, and Taylor and Jordan for watching Allison and Samson. Since Brock was in Peru, I had asked my father to come with me back east. My aunt, his sister, lives about an hour away from Pittsburgh so we planned to stay with her during part of the trip.
My transfer was scheduled for Dec 15th. Preparations for an IVF transfer start well before that. I took an oral birth control to time my period. After that I started taking an estrogen pill to build the lining in my uterus. When I had first met the doctor back in August, he told me to plan on coming out for about a week when it was time for my transfer because he likes all of his patients to have their pre-transfer ultrasound done in his clinic. So on Dec 10th, my father and I flew to Pittsburgh for my appointment the next morning.
Friday morning I went in for my ultrasound. During this ultrasound I received good news and bad news...The estrogen had done its job! My lining was 10mm! That's the good news. The BAD news was there was some fluid in the fundus (the very end) of my uterus. That is right where they place the embryos. If you put the embryos into the fluid pocket it's like putting them in a swimming pool. They would be very unlikely to implant. If the fluid doesn't re absorb then they couldn't do the transfer this cycle. The clinic had me start on progesterone injections that night, often the progesterone will help the fluid resolve. We all did a lot of hoping and praying that my next ultrasound would be better news. It's weird to think I've had a shot every single day since December 11th!
My father and I spent the weekend with my aunt, it was so nice to see family. On Monday morning we returned to the clinic for another ultrasound that would decide whether or not we would have a transfer the next day. I was super nervous! Thankfully, the fluid was gone and my lining was even a bit thicker...closer to 11mm now. Yay! They told me to come back in the morning for the transfer.
On Tuesday, December 15th, at 830AM, I was sitting in the clinic ready for my IVF transfer. Your bladder has to be super full for the transfer. I think it helps the team with better visualization. My IPs were there with me. My dad was patiently waiting in the lobby. The embryologist came to discuss the embryos with the IM (intended mom). She explained that they had thawed 2 embryos. One was from 2011, the other from 2012. When embryos survive being frozen and then thawed, they are felt to be heartier or stronger. One embryo started with 7 cells and divided to 10 cells, the other had started with 6 and dropped to 5. The doctor said they both looked great and that we would be transferring them both that morning.
Only one person can accompany you into the exam room so my IM suited up and was there at my side during the whole thing. The actual IVF procedure is very anticlimactic. You lay on an exam table and with ultrasound guidance they slip a little tube through the cervix and place the embryos into the fundus. You can't really see them, just the small amount of fluid they are loaded into the tube with. After the doctor basically flushes them out of the tube, they take the tube back over to the embryologist to check and make sure the tube is empty. Once we heard the all clear, I was free to go. I walked out of the exam room, into a bathroom, changed my clothes and went back to the hotel. I lounged around that day and most of the next. Our flight home was scheduled for Thursday morning.
And now we had to wait and see...I wouldn't find out if either or both of the embryos decided they liked their new home until almost two weeks later!
