"It Doesn't Get Any Better Than These"

My transfer yesterday went great!  There are officially two good-quality hatching blastocysts in my uterus – as the doctor said, “It doesn’t get any better than these.”

My nurse called me on Friday (day three after my retrieval) with my final update on my embryos.  I had one 4-cell, one 6-cell, one 7-cell, and three 8-cells.  The 4- cell was obviously a little behind, but the other five were great – even cells, no fragmentation.  As we were about to hang up, the nurse added, “If they look on Sunday morning and they’re all early blastocysts, they’ll call and push you back to Monday.”

At first I figured that the possibility of a day 6 transfer meant that my embryos were so great that they could spare an extra day for them to show which was best.  But then I started Googling, and realized that while a day 6 transfer is still pretty good, the very best embryos will be hatching (and therefore ready to put back) by day 5.  So, the possibility of the day 6 transfer had given me something new to worry about. Ugh.

On Saturday Henry was running a half marathon in DC, so that was a great distraction.  A few members of my family were running, too, so my mom was there, and my sister-in-law and her husband brought my six-month-old niece out to cheer for Henry.  The weather at race time was supposed to be cold and rainy but ended up sunny and warm – Henry and I took it as a sign that luck was on our side.  Later, on our way home, a ladybug flew through the sunroof and landed on Henry’s leg. Another sign?

The next morning, I woke up nervous about the possibility of getting pushed to day 6.  The nurse said I’d get the call between 6:45 and 7:15 if I was going to be delayed (we had to be at the hospital at 8 for my 9:15 transfer), and it wasn't until 7:16 that I finally let myself believe that the transfer was that day.  I got all dressed in my green for St. Pat’s Day, and Henry put on his lucky clover underwear.

We got to the hospital at about 8, and as soon as the nurse saw me she started pressuring me to fill my bladder asap.  But I’d been fooled before - during my last transfer I filled my bladder too much too early, and was literally in physical pain before, during, and after my transfer.  I was determined to not make the same mistake again.  And I didn’t! In fact, I managed to achieve the perfect level of fullness.  Here’s a step-by-step on how I did it:

• Take 20-24 ounces of water with you to the hospital.  DO NOT DRINK IN THE CAR.
• Empty your bladder right when you get to the hospital.  Your nerves might make you feel like you need to pee, but you’re probably empty.
• Start drinking about an hour and ten minutes before your scheduled transfer time. Don’t drink too fast, and don’t let the nurse pressure you to drink more or faster.
• Continue drinking slowly but steadily, so that you’re done about a half hour before your scheduled transfer time.  By transfer time, you’ll probably be at a “I’d go if I could, but can still manage to distract myself” level of fullness.

Anyway, at some point before the transfer the doctor (not my normal one) came back to go over everything before he knocked me up.

“Today we are transferring two good quality hatching blasts – it doesn’t get any better than these! Are you sure you want to transfer two?”

“Yes”

:::stern stare:::

“Yes. I transferred two last time and neither one took, so I want to transfer two.”

“But were they this good?”

“Well, no, but I’m sure”

“Okay…”

I took this as a very, very good sign.

He also said that one of my embryos was being frozen that day, and they were watching two more to potentially freeze the next day.  Not to get ahead of myself, but I may never have to go through a retrieval again!

And then there was the transfer, which seemed to go fine, and a day of napping and watching movies and Arrested Development reruns on the couch, which was great.  I have the next few days off of work for “spring break” (ah, working at a university), so I’m trying to lay around, not exert myself too much, and just be happy.  Today I watched Zoolander and did crafts with my sister and tomorrow I’m going to lunch and a movie with my mom and sister.  YAY RELAXATION!!!!

Nine more days till my pregnancy test…