Transfer Complete

Well, it's done. What has been medically possible to make and keep me pregnant has been done. I am relieved and so happy to have the little ones "home" with us.

The day was a bit hectic at first. I didn't sleep very well last night, a combination of nerves and excitement, I suppose. I was wide awake at 5 AM and decided that I might as well just get going. As I am not planning on going back to work until after the New Year, I had a lot to take care of workwise. I also wanted to do a final "once over" on the house, just in case we get any visitors over the weekend. I dusted, mopped, and ran the vac. Finally, at 11, I jumped in the shower and quickly got ready to go.

I took my valium at 11:45 and started drinking my water. I had been warned by many of my friends not to drink as much as they suggest. I drank an entire bottle by the time we left the house and finished another bottle on the way there. On our way, the IVF coordinator called to tell us the final fertilization report: two perfect blasts reading for transfer, two blasts already frozen, and three blasts still in culture for a possible freeze tomorrow. We were thrilled!

We were brought to the transfer room at exactly 1 PM. The valium was really starting to kick in at that point and I was glad to lay down on the exam table. The embryologist came in and updated us on the quality of the blastocysts. She used the words gorgeous to describe our little ones. She went into pretty great detail about implantation and all that. My husband asked "When is she officially PREGNANT?" I thought that she would say wait for the beta, but she replied that we have two really viable blasts going in, so she would consider me pregnant as of fifteen minutes from then.

Dr. M came in with J, the ultrasound tech. I had bought some really soft and cute socks just for the transfer. They even had little fur cuffs on them. My husband made fun of them, but both ladies had a fit and wanted to know where I got them. We then talked a little about when to do the beta (I'll post more on this later).

Things went pretty fast after that. I was put into the stirrups and J spread the warm goo on my belly to do the external ultrasound. They checked my bladder and were a little disappointed that it wasn't more full, but were still able to visualize the uterus. They showed us the embryos on a screen on the wall, just sitting in their culture dish. Dr. M put in the catheter, which didn't hurt, but felt like a pap smear. Then, she threaded the catheter through and said, "I'm ready."

The screen on the wall showed the catheter picking up our embryos. As she was working on that, I asked Dr. M if I should be worried if I spotted at all later on today. She looked at me strangely and said, "What are you planning on doing?"

I thought she meant was I planning on being really active, so I responded, "Not much, pretty much just heading home and to bed."

She was still looking at me so strangely, so I started to further explain. "It's just that when you have had miscarriages, any blood is really scary and. . ." I trailed off as she started laughing.

She thought I had asked her if I could go to a spa! It was definitely a funny moment!

At this point, the embryologist came back in with the blastocysts and she transferred them in. I felt a small bit of pressure from that part, but no pain. We could see a little "puff" of liquid go into the uterus and that was it. She withdrew the catheter and they checked to make sure that it was clear of the blastocysts.

Dr. M said that it went as smoothly as it could, patted me on the knee and told me to come back for my beta as soon as we had decided which day we want the news.

The tech and the embryologist stayed longer, instructing us on what is normal to expect as far as cramping (from the catheter, the progesterone, and possibly implantation), spotting (even red is normal after transfer), and liquid coming out from down there (leftover stuff they used to clean up my girly bits). They also said that there were no hard and fast rules for how easy to take things, but to treat myself as if I am pregnant, and to "listen to our hearts." They did recommend doing nothing but resting the rest of today and tomorrow morning. They wished us luck and then it was just my husband and me.

We then stayed put for another fifteen minutes, I used the bathroom, and we were out of there.

It is amazing, so amazing. If I didn't have those pictures of the blastocysts, I might not even believe that it happened.

Thank you for your prayers and good wishes. They are so appreciated. Now, we just have to wait. And wait. And wait.