Transfer Day

What a magical day!

After a good night’s sleep (and some great baby dreams) I woke up and went for a walk. It was a gorgeous spring morning. I wanted blood flow and fresh air.

We killed time until we showered, packed a little lunch (while my favorite theme song serendipitously came on the radio) and left at noon. During that time we got a call from the embryologist sharing amazing news. “You have nine total embryos that made it to day 5 and three that are just beautiful! Will you be putting back 1 or 2?” We said that we’d talked with Dr. H about 2 but that we planned on hearing his recommendation today. She said, “Well, perfect, then. They’ve self selected. You have 2 that are at the highest grade we give: 4AA. They are just excellent!” She sounded so happy about this it made us cry.

We called my mom and told her the good news and she cried too. It feels like this whole process just keeps getting more and more blessed and magical.

Needless to say we were thrilled and I, in particular, was in a giddy mood. Though I did still feel some nerves and excitement but that didn’t last long before we got to the clinic and my acupuncturist did her magic.

Acupuncture in my ears. Acupuncturist is Liz Richards Blossom Clinic.

Transfer Prep
They got me undressed and on a medical bed. The room was super heated which was nice. The embryologist came in and reviewed the embryos again, my acupunturist kept working her magic and they slipped me a valium to relax me. Dr. Heslea came in as well and again, he was all aglow. He had the biggest grin on his face when he said, “Well! You have some gorgeous embryos growing!” Gina said, “Ah, you say that to all the girls.” He laughed and said, “No! I wish I could! Yours look just perfect. You are very fortunate.”

The embryologist and Dr. H talked with us about how many embryos to transfer, the likelihood of twins, and the risks of twins. Of his patients who transfer back 2 embryos (which he recommended for us), about 2/3 of those women become pregnant with twins. Then, about half of that 2/3’s bring twins to full term (the other half lose the second fetus, it’s commonly called vanishing twin syndrome). In the end, we chose to transfer 2 embryos. Doing the math, that gives us about a 33% chance of having twins; although my acupuncturist thinks it might be higher given I am not ‘infertile’ and I am so healthy, fsh so low, bloodwork and uterus all so good. I don’t really feel like we are going to have twins but then I’ve been surprised every step of the way so who knows.

I laid on the bed with lights dim in silence for a bit there after, breathing deeply, focusing and visualizing and waiting for the valium to take effect. My bladder was being checked frequently by the nurse (it needs to be full but not too full because I have to lay still for an hour after).

The Transfer
When we were all set, they wheeled me to another room (a surgery room) where it was dark and warm. Soft, lovely music was piped in. There was a small window to the lab where my little embryos were. They told me they did it this way so that the embryos don’t have to travel too far.

There was a TV monitor up on the ceiling so that I could see it perfectly from where I was laying. On the screen was an image of our two little embryos. It was amazing and surreal! THERE THEY WERE! One (or maybe two) of those little clusters will be our child someday.

Embryos: The one on the left is just starting to "hatch".

Normally, they don’t let partners come in the room but I think after a 5 year relationship with Dr. H (and perhaps his soft spot for Gina), he had her get all dressed in proper attire and allowed her to join. I was so happy.

Dr. H took a few pics of Gina while they were prepping me in surgery room.

There was a big light above Dr. H sort of shining right at my yoni but felt like it was in my eyes so I just kept them closed and relaxed. They triple checked my name and birthdate to match the embryos with me and off we went.

Dr. H did the speculum, the catheter and then nodded to the nurse and magically a long skinny tube appeared. Gina tapped me quickly so I would open my eyes and see. Dr. H took the tube and inserted it into the catheter, all the while the nurse would not let go of the end (safety precaution, I’m sure). He took a long time injecting the embryos. We’ve been told he’s stellar at the transfer part, too. And it was clear as he really took his time and was incredibly focused.

It was all painless and fun even. When it was over Dr. H said, again with a smile and more than a bit of peace, “Everything went perfectly.”

Resting
The nurse wheeled me back into my original room where my acupuncturist worked her magic again. She did a protocol that brings blood and chi to my uterus.  After about 15 minutes I had to pee so bad it hurt so they put a bedpan under my hips and let me pee. Sweet Jesus that felt good.

After that I fell asleep for about 45 minutes. After strict instructions on how to stay on bedrest, I got up slowly and with help. Gina got me dressed and then went downstairs and warmed the car. The nurse gave us a picture of our embryos “for our baby book hopefully” and put me in a wheel chair and wheeled me down the hall, then elevator where eventually I landed in the warm car. I laid down in the car on the way home and I ate my little sandwich and apples I had packed. It was already after 3pm!

Home care instructions. They are not kidding around!

Home
I climbed in the day bed, ate a bit of warm soup and took a 2.5 hour nap. By the time I woke up it was  7:30. Holy cow! I felt some light uterine cramping but I think that’s a bit normal. I’m not to sit up anymore than a 45 degree angle or use my thigh muscles really. So, I just got real still and relaxed again with my hands on my belly.

I took my meds and Gina made me my favorite dinner: porkchops, green beans, mashed potatoes and applesauce. Mmmm good.

By 10pm I took my progesterone shot and am close to calling it a day.

If and when implantation happens, it will happen in the first 24 hours- 3 days later. Odd to think it could be happening at anytime. Maybe even already! If you’d like to see what implantation looks like, check out this link. Go to the video #4. Very cool. This is what I keep visualizing.

So now I lay low, basically being still, visualizing, taking meds, eating well, trusting and intending.

I can hardly believe this day has come and almost gone. We did it! Well, we did this much anyway. Now we wait. Pregnancy blood test on March 23rd. Hang tight!

With love and gratitude,
regina
xo