OK...sorry for leaving you hanging folks (Sorry Katie!). So...here is what happened with the transfer...
On Saturday 12/17 we head in at 11:30 for a 12pm transfer. I had to start drinking fluids at 11, and take a Valium (the first because I was supposed to have a full bladder, the second, I assume, was because there is something I would freak out about. I chose not to think about that one.). We get there at 11:30 - get stuck back in our little cubicle, and get into the gown, etc. And we wait. Of course, when I'm supposed to have a full bladder (for the girl who has to go to the bathroom about every hour), the doctor is late. 12:30 comes around, and I'm doing a little dance on my gurney. Not a happy girl.
So, at about 12:45 the doc shows up. The good thing is that it is my doctor (you generally get whoever is on rotation) - so I'm more comfortable with that. She tells us that one egg did really well - is at blastocyst stage (which is the highest chance of success), and then the rest aren't really doing anything since last night. They were going to take the blastocyst and the best of the slow bunch, and use those. She does say that that blastocyst is a "baby maker"...that's good news. I say goodbye to the wife (have to go into a surgical suite for this, so she's not allowed), and head on back, trying not to moon the rest of the place. I hate those stupid gowns.
So...this is the cool part. I get into the surgical suite, get settled, and the Embryologist (I know...the embryos have their very own doctor...super cool) hands me photos of our embryos - simply amazing to look at. So, I'll share:
These pictures live on our fridge, and I stare at them all the time. If this works - I have a picture from 5 days after conception. The earliest baby pictures ever!!
So...I got to watch on a monitor while the doc chased the eggs around in the petri dish, trying to get them into the catheter that she was using for the transfer. Then, on the other monitor, I got to watch the ultrasound image of the catheter going into my uterus, and the eggs shooting out. I must say - science is amazing stuff.
Then we go home, and I have to be on bed rest for 48 hours. Which, with my a goodie bag from my friend Jenny with a book, puzzles and a National Enquirer (you wouldn't believe all the crazy stuff Tiger has been doing), and some movies, I settle in for my imprisonment. I will admit, it drove me nuts to just sit in bed that whole time. After 24 hours I was allowed to go downstairs and sit in my chair. Exciting stuff. But, I behaved for the sake of the kid, and that was totally worth it.
I found out on Monday that the other eggs never grew beyond what they were on Friday night - so they never made it to the freezer. I guess it doesn't shock me...with all the fertility issues I've been having, it would have been surprising if all 9 eggs grew normally. All that means is that we have to start from scratch next time...we won't have any in the freezer that we can use. Hopefully we don't have to think about that until we talk about a second child. Fingers crossed on that one.
And...we wait. The embryo has to attach, and once it does it starts producing whatever hormone it is that pregnancy tests test for. I go in on the 29th for my first pregnancy test - one of 3. Because of all the hormones I have going, they have to do three to be sure that the hormone level is actually going up. But I suspect we'll know something by the first week in January. You would think, with all of the crazy scientific stuff they've done so far, that they'd have a faster way to figure out if this worked. I guess they haven't gotten that far yet.
So, wish us luck. I'm hoping for good New Year's news...
Because I find this stuff super fascinating, I found this video of an egg going from a single cell to blastocyst (first 5 days)...it totally makes you believe that some sort of brilliance went into designing the human race:
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