The Road to Mini-Mart!: The Little Embryo That Could

I started this morning off a little different than usual. Patient's must have a full bladder prior to transfer to aid in the visualization via ultrasound. I have a bladder the size of a walnut and was not looking forward to this part of the IVF process. My alarm went off at 0800 and I proceeded to drink 32 ounces of non-caffeinated, non-carbonated beverage. (This doesn't sound like a lot, but YOU try it.) I take a shower, but neither of us can wear anything scented i.e. lotion, perfume, or deodorant. Just au natural, baby! We hop in the car at 0915 and I try to find a delicate balance between finishing my 32 ounces and not having to pee every 10 minutes during this 90 minute drive to the surgery center. We pull into a lovely McDonalds at 10am which is to be my last pee stop before GO time. This is where it got fun. I'm already entirely full of water, but must drink 28 more ounces before 1030. You know how if you drink too much too fast after exercise or when it's really hot and you can feel your stomach sloshing around? That's what I felt like. Like my guts were floating. Traffic in Seattle was horrendous today so we pulled up right at 1045. I couldn't sit comfortably, so I walked around the waiting room impatient and nervous. 1100 comes around and we are taken back to a darkened exam room. J has to leave his coffee behind - the smell will disturb the lil embie! Inside is a fancy stirrup table with a huge ultrasound machine, a window that looks like it belongs at the McD's drive-through, and a small t.v. screen up on the wall. First, we talk with the embryologist. She was a super nice lady. She gives us the schpeel, we sign the consent papers, and she tells us that our little embryo is a beautiful, "good" grade 10 cell! On day 3 (which is today for me), they like to see embryos at 6-8 cells, so we are above the wicket, YESSSS!!! She hands us the first picture of our little embryo. Talk about cool!! People think the fancy ultrasound pics they post on Facebook are the shiznizzle, wait til they get a load of THIS. Next, an ultrasound tech comes in to make sure my bladder is full enough for action. I tell her that I KNOW its full enough but she checks anyways. Low and behold, its too full. ugh! I have to try and pee out about 100cc into a paper cup... Kegels, anyone? Apparently I must have some adhesions from my other surgeries and these make my uterus rise higher than normal with a full bladder making it tough to see. Anyways, I figured it out and now she can see perfectly. Next, Doc comes in and they do another trial transfer. They make sure the catheter goes in easily, they can see everything they need to see via ultrasound, and that everyone is ready for the handoff. Then, the tv screen in front of us they switch over from the ultrasound to the camera in the back. We can literally see the microscope on tv! They show the label on the dish, the tech and doc check my armband to make sure I'm getting the correct embryo transferred, and then we watch wide-eyed as the embryo gets sucked up into a little tiny catheter. The embryologist passes it off through the drive-through window to the doc who then puts the catheter into my uterus. They measure and look and measure again to make sure it's exactly as deep as they want before they deploy the catheter and little embie is inside. Then they check the catheter to make sure its empty and little embie is, in fact, safe & sound in the ut. I laid there for my mandatory 15 minute resting period and off we went, back to home! I gotta tell ya, I am kind of a sciency geek, but seeing this was SO. FRKN. COOL.

Our transfer couldn't have gone better. Though we were hoping twins would be in the future, I am super happy with the high quality singleton we have! I am to be on modified bedrest for 48 hours and then light duty for 2 weeks. Like I said, I was too scared to POAS before my blood draw, but J talked me into it. I took one this morning and it is still lightly positive. We shall see what happens the next few days! By my calculation, the trigger should be gone by Sunday... My official quantitative HCG is schedule for Sunday, August 19. 10 days away. Eeeeeek!