Introducing Our Embies!

These are the 2 embryos that were transferred this morning. We hoped and prayed for 2 embryos to transfer and that's exactly what we had! Now we must just pray that they are finding a cozy little spot to call home!!!

We arrived this morning at the fertility clinic a little before 9. I changed into the typical oh-so beautiful hospital garb and then Mat and I met with the doctor. While we were blessed to still have 2 viable embryos, we were quite disappointed to learn that the other 3 had not fared so well. 2 of the 3 had stopped developing over the last day or two. The third one appeared abnormal. Of the two left, they were both Grade 2 embryos. Embryos are graded on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being the highest, although rarely (less than 7%) seen. Most pregnancies are achieved with Grade 2 or 3 embryos. The slightly concerning news was that both of them appear to be growing a little slower than they'd like to see at this point. You can tell just by looking at the picture above that the embryo on the right has better divided. That one is considered to be about 12 hours behind normal schedule. The one on the left is considered to be about 16 hours behind schedule. Honestly, I am not sure how significant this is. Our doctor still seemed optimistic and thought we were "in good shape," according to his words. I can't help but be a little sad. While I know they were only little microscopic cell blobs, I still loved them as cheesy as that might sound. It feels like a loss to be grieved knowing they were unable to keep prospering and that we won't have any on reserve for future use. I am trying my best to focus on the positive though and say lots of prayers and send positive thoughts and love to the embies that are here with us! :)

Right after going over all this news with the Dr., you sign off on some paperwork and then take a Valium. The Valium was sounding quite good about then! The purpose of that is to relax the uterus and keep it from contracting during or after the transfer. Then, I walked myself into the OR once again. This time it was just the Dr., a nurse, the embryologist and myself. Mat and my mom were able to once again get the play by play in a nearby room via a monitor. I was completely awake and alert for this procedure and they talk you through every little step while you also watch on a TV monitor. It was pretty cool...the room is fairly dark and quiet as embryos are very sensitive to light and sound. After a little prep, the embryos are inserted through a catheter. I was able to just barely see a little flash on the screen as this happened. Then, after they remove the catheter and the embryologist checks it under a microscope to be sure that they were both transferred. All in all, it probably took 10 minutes! Then, I laid in the recovery area for 15 minutes with my feet raised higher than my head. Mat got to come back during this time. Of course we both got emotional....it's been a long time coming! Then, I just tried to relax for a bit and listened to lots of relaxing music. After that, I was sent on my merry way home for 5 days of bed rest and the rest of today has been spent doing just that.

It feels like it's been such a long day full of many emotions! Although I certainly hope for the best outcome from this IVF attempt, I am determined that despite the outcome, I will always remember and be thankful for this day. For years, I've longed to know the feeling of looking at an ultrasound screen and seeing a developing fetus and today was a close start and just knowing that the chance of a future pregnancy is currently developing is awe inspiring.

Now more than ever I feel like we need a lot of prayers and positive thoughts. The stakes are at their highest. While this is the least expensive, painless, and least appointment-requiring step of the whole process, it's definitely the hardest and the biggest test of our strength and patience. It's just hard knowing so much and making yourself so vulnerable. This is just the wait and see period, and we would be so thankful for your thoughts during this time.