We headed out for our appointment this morning - still a little scared about the fate of our last 2 embryos. The whole car ride I was looking at my phone - hoping that "RDI Lab" would NOT pop-up as an incoming call. We made it to the parking lot, still no calls. Whew!
When we went into the lab - I gave them my name and said we were here for an embryo transfer. The lady (who wasn't Kelly the embryologist) just went right into checking us in. We had to provide photo IDs and verify our name, birthdates, and social security numbers. She printed out a form and had us initial and date it. Then she told us we could just head next-door to the doctor's office. At that point I asked her, "So how are our last 2 embryos doing?" And she responded saying that she didn't know - since Kelly was working in the lab today. She said that Kelly was doing another transfer right now. Not quite the response we were hoping for. When we got outside my husband said to me, "She just doesn't have the authority to tell us the bad news." We would've liked to think that they wouldn't make us fill out a form if they knew there wasn't going to be a transfer. So I told him that I don't think she honestly knew - but that just because we filled out a form doesn't mean we're going to get any embryos to transfer either.
We only had to wait a few minutes in the waiting room before Penny, the ART nurse, called us in. I was trying to read her to see if she was going to give us bad news. But she seemed normal and took us back into our room for the transfer. (A step in the right direction!) She just told me to undress from the waist down and hop up on the table and they'd be back in a few minutes. At that point we still weren't convinced that we were guaranteed a transfer - but part of me couldn't imagine that they would have me undress - only to tell me that we didn't have any embryos. I still thought that there was a chance that even the embryologist didn't know if the embryos were good enough to transfer or not. But we still had hope! I told my husband that we could probably tell whether it was good/bad based on how Dr. Williams entered the room.
Finally Dr. Williams walked in carrying our transfer sheet! And as he greeted us (in a normal happy way), I noticed that the "# Embryos Available for Transfer" field on the paper said 2!!! And I blurted out, "Wow! We really have 2 embryos? They made it!!" I cannot explain the relief that came over us at that moment. Dr. Williams explained that when they thaw the embryos the want them to look absolutely beautiful in order for them to be okay to transfer. He apologized that we wouldn't have any more frozen embryos for future transfers after today - but he said that these last 2 were gorgeous! We were so excited. :)
Then it was time for the transfer! Penny had to get the ultrasound goo on my belly so that Dr. Williams could see what he was doing via the ultrasound machine. When the ultrasound displayed on the screen - Penny commented on how full my bladder was (thanks to my hubby for keeping on me to drink lots of water this morning) - yay! And Dr. Williams got to get everything ready to go "under my hood" - for lack of a better term. ;) Kelly, the embryologist, came in with our embryos in the catheter. I had to tell her my name and my birthdate. Then she asked how many embryos we wanted transferred today and I responded with a happy, "2 please!! And thanks for getting us our 2 embryos today." Kelly then replied, "You're welcome. I'm sorry we couldn't use the first four." And I told her that we were just happy to have any embryos to transfer today.
With the embryos ready to go, Dr. Williams went to work on working the catheter to the proper location to release the embryos. He started with the "rocket catheter." Like Dr. Schmidt, he also ran into some issues getting the catheter to the right spot and seeing it on the screen. There were a few times that he said he felt like it was in the right spot - but that he wasn't going to release the embryos until he could see that he was in the right spot on the ultrasound as well. After a little while, he decided that we needed to switch to the "tomcat" catheter - so Kelly had to take our embryos out and switch out the catheter. He reassured us that the embryos are fine and that he just wanted to be 110% sure that the embryos were released in the right spot. While we waited on Kelly he told us that the "tomcat" catheter actually got it's name because it is used by vets on tomcats - who apparently get alot of kidney infections. The "tomcat" catheter is skinnier than the rocket catheter and not as flexible - so that's why it can get through tight squeezes. Once Kelly returned with the tomcat catheter, Dr. Williams was able to quickly get the catheter in the right spot and able to confirm the placement via the ultrasound screen. He released tem and I think I was looking at the right spot on the screen to see the little poof. And all of a sudden I was PUPO - pregnant until proven otherwise!! :) Kelly left to check the catheter to make sure no embryos were leftover in it - she never came back, so we knew that we were good to go. Dr. Williams said he felt great about the transfer, wished us luck, and shook our hands!
When they all left the room, the ultrasound machine's clock said 10:55am - so we had our 15 minutes of waiting. We talked about how we couldn't believe we actually got to do a transfer today and how scared we were. And then I talked to the embryos for a little bit - asked them if they wanted to live with us on Holderman Street, told them we had lots of fun cousins waiting for them. Penny checked in to make sure we were doing okay and asked if we had any questions. We reviewed my protocol for the rest of today and the new daily routine that starts tomorrow. I asked her how long she's been working there - we were surprised to hear it was only 4.5 years. I told her that we really like her and that she does a great job! She said I made her day. :) I was kinda surprised she seemed so shocked to hear our positive feedback - but we really do appreciate her work. But I'm glad I let her know! After she left, we still had some time until our 15 minutes were up. I asked my husband to find a due date calculator online for our transfer. According to whatever calculator site he found, today I'm considered to be 2 weeks and 5 days pregnant. A due date for a single baby would be January 28th and for twins it was something like January 6th. So if we're lucky, we'll be able to kick-off the new year right in 2012. Then I made a comment about having a birthday in January wouldn't be that fun and how I guess we could have a sledding party for them. Then my husband said we could also do bowling parties, roller-skating, or ice-skating parties. I'm sure we'll figure something out. :)
When my time was up, I cleaned the ultrasound goo off my belly and got dressed. My husband gave me a kiss and we headed out. Even though my bladder felt like it was going to explode and Penny told me it was fine to use the restroom after the 15 minutes was up, I decided to just hold out until we got home. We stopped by McD's on the way home and picked up some Big Macs and fries. I need my energy for bedrest, right? :)
My husband is a groomsmen in one of his friend's weddings on the Friday before Memorial Day. This weekend is the bachelor party in West Virginia - they're going whitewater rafting. I didn't want him to miss the fun with the boys - especially since I'd just be hanging out in bed all weekend long. Between my family and friends, I figured that I could find someone to bring me food and keep me company. My sister is pretty pregnant (3 cm and 65%, due on May 23rd, tentative induction date set for May 20th), so I asked my good friend to serve as bedrest back-up. But my friend (we'll call her Elphie) was so excited about bedrest, that she signed up to be my bedrest companion even if my sister didn't have the baby yet.
Since my husband left, I've almost caught up on all of the "Biggest Loser" episodes! My sister will be stopping by today after her meetings of the day are over with and Elphie will be heading over after work. As you can see from the photo above, I have PLENTY of USWeekly magazines to catch up on. I enjoy the magazine - but I cannot keep up with them!
Thanks to everyone for their love & support throughout this cycle. We do feel blessed to have so many people supporting us in this journey. It's not over yet though. Now we just have 10 days to wait until my first pregnancy test on May 23rd.
Today's FET Regimen:
- Prenatal vitamin - one a day
- Progesterone - 1cc via intramuscular shot at 7AM
- Progesterone - 1cc via intramuscular shot at night
- Medrol 16 mg pill - one a night (the last day of this)