Sunday, July 5, 2009

Let the waiting begin...

Today was our day 5 embryo transfer. It is amazing how drawn-out, stressful and all-around painful the IVF process is and then, in a matter of mere seconds, the transfer is over. Pretty incredible.

My husband and I have had some pretty sleepless nights leading up to this, always trying to push the worst case scenario out of our minds. What if none fertilize? Yay, five of the six fertilize. Day 3 transfer...what if none of them survived? Yay, five survive and we're scheduled for a day 5 transfer instead. What if none turn into blastocysts? Well, that leads us to today.

Our ET was scheduled for way too late in the morning giving us too much time to sweat it out (thank God I was able to sleep in until almost 8am, unlike 6:30am the past few days). On a side note, they gave me a valium but I think it did nothing to calm the nerves, just made me sleepy once I got home.

The nurse got us all prepared and FINALLY the embryologist came in to give us the news. Ah, the anticipation and sweaty palms. Well, the good news is that 4 of our little guys survived thus far. Two were early blasts and two were still in the day 4 stage of morula, which means they are lagging a little behind but could still turn into strong, healthy blasts.

Two of our little ones won the prize of getting transferred into my anxiously awaiting uterus! And we'll keep our fingers crossed that the other two come along so they can be put on ice for use down the road. Of course I had to ask the embryologist the quality of the little guys and we were thrilled to know that they are USDA certified Grade A! And, as a souvenir, we have pics of the little guys as well as getting to keep their first home, the petri dish (to use as a coaster, perhaps? Hmmm...).



So now we wait and wait and wait. 2 solid weeks. Test on Sunday, July 19th. What to do to pass the time??? Oh, right, I'll turn 30 (July 12) and hopefully my husband will have something fabulous planned. At least that'll break up the monotony. We'll see. And we'll wait.

(Update #1 - note the thick zona, or outer shell, around our blasts. They ended up doing assisted hatching, something I knew nothing about. But hopefully it gives our little ones an easier time breaking loose!)

(Update #2 - just got a call from the RE...only one of the remaining two embies can be frozen. I'm a bit disappointed, though one is better than none...)

13 comments:

  1. Fingers crossed for you...the waiting really is the hardest part. :-)

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  2. That picture is beautiful! Here's hoping it all goes well! Crossing my fingers for you too and sending positive vibes your way!

    I nominated you for an award on my blog. Happy Monday!

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  3. Congrats on having 2 blasts to transfer. That is wonderful news. Wishing you the best of luck. :-D

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  4. Sticky thoughts heading your way!

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  5. 2 blasts!! Great!!! Sending you many sticky wishes.

    Now for the 2ww, what are your plans to keep busy?

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  6. Hey! I know! I'm so excited that I found your blog this morning. My beta is scheduled for Monday, July 20 -- exactly 14 days from ER. Are you going to test sooner? I think I probably will because I won't be able to wait. Best wishes! I'll be thinking of you!

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  7. I really hope this works for us. I can't endure another ER. :)

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  8. So awesome!!!!!!!!!!! They are sure cuties!
    It is funny how easy transfer is isn't it? And then the feeling of "what are they doing in there" and the fear that you can jostle them out by moving too much. I'm so pumped!

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  9. Actually, I had that date wrong. My first beta is Tuesday, July 14th. :)

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  10. Fantastic news! I hope you have the best birthday ever...with the best gifts ever too!

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  11. This is great news! I'm hoping for you.

    Thanks so much for your very kind comment on my last post. It means a lot.

    BIG HUGS as you wait! And happy early birthday!

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  12. Best of luck to you. And good luck staying sane in the 2WW. I hope your husband has something fabulous planned for your big day, but we all know that a positive beta will be the best birthday present-even if it is a little late.

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