This morning we had a delicious breakfast at Bob Evan's. Since we had to go potty at 9:45am and not go again until after our transfers, my sister and I stuck to some yogurt, fruit, and biscuits with honey. We still had some time to kill before we had to be at the lab, so the boys stopped by a local beer shop while we waited in the car. Even after that, we still had some time - so we stopped at another store. The sign said "no food or drink" and I needed to drink my 20 oz of water - so they all went in and I stayed in the car to drink my water!
Lab Update: Around 10:30am we all headed to the lab to show our IDs to release the embryos for the transfers. When the lady opened the door, my husband said, "We're here for the double transfer...." :) Shortly after, Kelly (our embryologist) came out to get my sister's ID. They already had copies for our IDs from the egg retrieval - so they just added hers to the form. She also said she wanted to give us the heads up on our embryos. When they give you an update on embryos - they typically start with the most developed embryos first. I was really expecting us to have at least 4 blastocysts - partially because we had so many blastocysts on Day 5 back in 2011 and because our embryos seemed to be doing so well up until now. So my heart sank a little, when she started out the list with 1 Grade 2 early blastocyst and then started talking about a bunch of morulas. :( Since we had only transferred blastocysts before, I wasn't even sure if they would transfer morulas. Kelly explained that there were 5 morulas that were all grade 1 and are looking really good. I was a little confused because I thought she said over the weekend that it's tough to grade morulas. Maybe Day 5 morulas are easier to grade than Day 4 morulas - because she did say they were able to grade them. She also explained that another reason that they don't give Day 4 lab updates is because they try to let the embryos be for a day without getting them out to be evaluated. I asked if the morulas were worth transferring or if we should just go forward with transferring into just my sister. Kelly said they were definitely still worth transferring and that if we were only going to transfer one embryo - they would probably recommend 1 of the Grade 1 morulas vs. the Grade 2 early blastocyst. My brother-in-law asked if we could see the embryos - but Kelly said they have to use microscopes to see them. She did offer to show us some beautiful embryo photos that they have hanging up in their office and talked us through the various stages of embryo development. Nice of her to spend so much time with us! I know we're lucky to have had any embryos to transfer today - but I must admit I was a little disappointed that we didn't have more blastocysts. But my IVF Buddy reminded me that it only takes one good one. And my husband reminded me that the blastocysts didn't work for us before- so maybe the morulas will do the trick. And a wise girl having a baby on Friday said that the embryos probably needed a more cozy home to grow/develop in - rather than those Petrie dishes. All very true statements! :)
Below is the detailed lab report of all of our 13 embryos. Since we transferred 4 today, the lab will continue to watch the remaining 3 morulas. If those 3 make it to the blastocyst stage, then they will get frozen. The other 6 embryos that are still ranging from 6-12 cells are pretty much out of the game at this point - but we appreciate their efforts.
Transfer 1 in Room 2: Shortly after Dr. Williams left, Chris came by to take my sister and her hubby back to Room 2 to get her ready for her transfer. I had mentioned that we wanted to be there for it on Monday, so we waited in the office - figuring they'd come get us when it was time. When nobody came for us, my husband started to wonder if we were going to miss it. Chris stopped by and I asked her if they would come get us when it was time. She said they were doing it now and quickly took us to the room. My sister was already in position and they were just waiting on Kelly to show up with the embryos. She walked in and had her state her name, birthday, and how many embryos she wanted transferred. Then Kelly asked who she was doing it for and she said, "Joby & Annie." (She later told me that she started to tear up when she said our names.) Penny already had the goo and ultrasound in place on my sister's belly - so her uterus was up on the ultrasound screen. I was trying to see the catheter moving around on the ultrasound screen, but I had trouble following it this time. So I don't think I saw the little poof of embryos like previous transfers. But it was still nice to be there and as long as Dr. Williams knew where it was and where he injected the embryos - that's all that counts. After the transfer, they had the lab check and we got the "All clear." My sister was now PUPO! She had to stay on the table to rest for 15-20 minutes - so I gave her a hug and a kiss before we left the room.
Transfer 2 in Room 1: When we left Room 2, Chris took us next-door to Room 1 for our transfer. I undressed from the waist down and hopped up on the table. Dr. Williams came in and said that since my past two transfers required the special tomcat catheter - he was going to just start with it this time. Penny came in and put the goo on my belly for the ultrasound - they do the external ultrasound for the transfer. We had a little downtime waiting for Kelly to come in with the embryos. Dr. Williams reminded me that the embryos are really sticky - so a sneeze or a poop wouldn't dislodge it. :) We also talked a little bit about beer and the basketball games going on tonight - Dr. Williams seems to be a basketball fan. Kelly came in with our embryos and asked me to state my name and birthdate. When she asked me how many embryos I wanted, I said "Two please." Then I joked, "Even though I know Dr. Williams wants us to transfer 3 - we just want 2." And he quickly jumped in with, "I did not." :) The transfer was pretty quick - I watched on the screen again, but still not positive I was looking in the right spot. I would've asked for someone to show me - but Dr. Williams, Penny, and Kelly all had their hands full during the procedure. For the ladies, the procedure is pretty much just like a pap smear - they open things up and then put the catheter up there (which you can feel, but it doesn't hurt). The lab checked to make sure all of the embryos were out of the tube and we got the "All clear!" again. And with that.... I was PUPO, too. Kind of a crazy feeling - knowing how much our lives can change based on these 4 little embryos. My husband came over and gave me a kiss and said a little prayer. We listened to music while we waited for my time on the table to be up. Penny came to check on us and told us that Chrissy/James would be in shortly. It was nice to have them in there with us while we waited.
Below are a few questions that we asked the doctor during our first IVF transfer back in 2011 - thought it might be a good refresher for all of us. :)
Next Steps: So my sister and I will continue bed-rest through most of the day tomorrow and will return to work on Thursday. On Thursday morning, we both need to go in for blood tests to check our progesterone levels. This test won't indicate whether we're pregnant or not - it will just let them know our levels, so they can adjust our progesterone dosages as needed. The next blood test is the big one.... the beta test, which is the pregnancy blood test. That one will be a week later on Thursday, Feb 28th. The test is always two weeks after the egg retrieval - so we only have 9 days to see if any of these embryos worked. Fingers and everything else crossed! :)
All in all, everything went very well today! We have our 4 little embryos on Holderman Street and hope that at least one of them will go the distance and turn into our long-awaited Baby Johnston! Thank you again for the over-abundance of love today with your text messages, phone calls, and thoughts/prayers. We appreciate having so many people cheering on our embryos! In closing, we'd like to shout-out a very happy birthday to Heather, Logan, & Greg! :)