embryo transfer

it has been quite a week. yesterday we had the embryo transfer. it was a day 3 transfer, called such because the embryos had been developing for three days since the retrieval. they do IVF transfers on either day 3 or day 5, depending on the quality of the embryos, as i explained in my last post. when we got there yesterday, the doctor explained to us that the five embryos we'd had on tuesday were all still developing, but that two of them had fallen behind and three of them were doing great. those three were 8-cell embryos, which is just what they should be after dividing for three days. the remaining two were only five and four cells each, which means they might continue dividing and be good enough to freeze, but probably not. but still... three out of five isn't bad!

the doctor told us that the embryologist who, (in his words) is "never wrong," highly recommended doing the day 3 transfer and not waiting to see if the embryos would make it to the blastocyst stage. i know this has a lot to do with my age, because it's more likely for younger women's eggs to survive longer outside of the uterus. it would have been ideal to wait until tomorrow and have blastocysts, but... what can you do? we'll just hope that my uterus is a fantastic incubator and they're happy to be back in there rather than in the lab.

i was a little freaked out about transferring three embryos, i have to admit. both doctors (the two institute directors, Dr. K. and Dr. B.) were highly in favor of this approach to maximize our chances of having at least a singleton pregnancy. i get their angle, but i needed to think about my own priorities, too. my goal was not to transfer more than i actually wanted to carry as babies, because i couldn't stand the idea of not rooting for total success. but i had told the hubby the night before that i was hoping for two, but if there was a really good case for doing three, that i would. and even in my valium-induced state in the doctor's office yesterday, i felt the same. he assured us that the chances of us actually ending up with triplets is less than 1%, but i had to be at peace with the idea that if we end up in that tiny percent... i will have three babies. i guess the valium helped, but i ended up saying "let's do it."

the procedure itself wasn't much of anything. i went upstairs to the IVF area like i did for the retrieval, wore the robe and everything again, but then it was pretty much like having another IUI. i was super chill, thanks to the valium, and it went really smoothly and quickly. then they had me lay down for about a half hour, and they gave me the best thing i'd ever seen...



an actual printed photo of my embryos! like a keepsake you get after riding a roller coaster at an amusement park or something. this is probably the most amazing scientific thing anyone has ever shown me. thinking that those tiny little cells were made by me and the hubby together, and that they were now inside my body with the potential to turn into actual people... it absolutely blew my mind. and it's a good thing that i had already decided that i was okay with the possibility of three babies, because as soon as i saw that photo my eyes welled up and i instantly knew that i wanted them all.

insane, i realize. but i don't know how anyone could react any differently, truthfully.

after the half hour rest at the office, the nurse gave me my post-procedure instructions (basically continuing all of the medications i started in prep for the transfer) and sent us on our way. i go back on monday for blood work, and again later next week for more blood work, and then on february 9 for the blood test to see if i'm pregnant. it feels like a long, long way away.

the fertility institute recommends that i stay mostly on bed rest for the rest of the weekend. i definitely did for the first 24 hours... i really only got up to pee. i've read a lot of different things about these post-transfer rest requirements, and i know that many doctors don't think that this is necessary after the first day. so i'm taking their advice about 3/4 seriously. i'm certainly not going to do anything strenuous, but i can't imagine staying on my butt for four days. i went to acupuncture today, because that is incredibly important to me and i know the benefits that i likely received by going negate the fact that i sat on the subway a half hour there and a half hour back. so far other than that i've been following the rule of not being on my feet for more than 15 minutes at a time. the hubby is trying his best to attend to me, but he's not very good at it. i think he wants to be, and he's very serious about me taking it easy, but it's somehow very frustrating to him to have to incorporate extra chores into his day. it's kind of funny to watch.

and there you have it: one full cycle of IVF finished and in the books. obviously i am hoping beyond all hope that this one is all we'll need. but, if it's not, at least we know what it entails now and that we CAN get through it. i'm feeling really happy, really optimistic, and doing a lot of talking and singing to these little embryos and thinking about them finding a comfy place to stick around in my uterus. wishing and hoping...