Today is 5dp3dt. Yesterday the blastocysts continued to hatch out of their shells and attach itself to the uterus. Today, they will attach deeper into the uterine lining and begin implantation.
I am finally getting to the post about my transfer day. I apologize if you have been patiently waiting for a more detailed post about our transfer.
Our transfer was on Friday, May 16th at 11am EST. I started drinking water a little over an hour before the transfer. I was a little nervous because at my first transfer in November, my bladder was not full enough, so it had to be filled with at catheter. That was not real fun. The other reason why why my bladder was not full enough was because after I started drinking water, I had to have a #2 (bowel movement/poop!) and ended peeing too. Sorry, if TMI!
I was nervous because I was trying to "go" before starting to drink water. Man, what a relief it was when I actually "went". Now I could concentrate on just drinking water and filling my bladder. At 10 am, an hours before the transfer, I took my medication for the transfer: Va.lium, Al.buterol, and 3 ibuprofen tablets.
We arrived and checked in at NEDC at 10:30 am. I was already relaxed and a little giddy from the Va.lium. We were shown into the recovery room and met Julia, one of the nurses working that day. She was the same nurse that helped us back in November too. I undressed below the waist and put on hospital gown and cap. This time, I only wore the snowflake necklace that Babe gave me for Christmas, unlike back in January where I was decked out in a ton of snowflakes: earrings, necklace and socks.
Candy, the new IVF nurse that replaced Katie (we miss her!) stopped by quickly to introduce herself. Dr. Keenan stopped by and chatted for a bit. He asked a few questions and had me sign some paperwork.
Then Carol, the embryologist stopped by and gave us our embryology report. She thawed all 5 of our 2PN (day 1) embryos. Of those, 3 survived the thaw and had grown into multi-cell (day 3) embryos. I was a little sad that 2 of the little embryos did not make it.
Unlike blastocysts which are graded with a number and 2 letters, multi-cell embryos are only graded with a number from 1 (best) to 5 (worst). Out of the that made it to multi-cells stage, two were graded at 1, and one was graded at 2.
Below is a photo of our 3 embryos. As I mentioned before, Babe as affectionately named them "The Three Amigos".
- The first (A) was graded a 1, with 8 cells. This looks good.
- The second (B) was graded a 2, also with 8 cells but its cells were fragmented. Carol didn't think this little guy would make it.
- The third (C), was graded 1. This is our little overachiever as it was already a morula, meaning it was already a day 4 embryo.
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| Embryo A, graded 1; Embryo B graded 2 with fragmented cells; Embryo C graded 1, morula stage. |
There was a large TV screen on the wall that I was able to see the ultrasound image on. The dark blob towards the top and middle of the screen was my bladder. The middle part below the bladder where the "+" sign was my uterus, and to the left of it, the cervix.
He then inserted the speculum and proceeded to clean the entrance to my cervix with first a warm saline solution (I think), and then with an alcohol solution that stung like heck (which he apologized for)! He did a test transfer first where he inserted a catheter in through my cervix and into my uterus. He told me to watch for a white line (the catheter) snaking in from the left. It was only a test transfer, so there were no embryos in the catheter. When we were all ready, Carol the embryologist passed the embryos in a catheter to Dr. Keenan through a window to and adjoining room. I'm assuming that is where the lab or incubators are. I was asked my name, birthday and how many embryos were were transferring. Dr. Keenan inserted the catheter with the embryos into my uterus and told me watch for the white flash light. There was the white flash of light! The babies were in!
The catheter was removed and Carol checked the catheter to make sure no embryos were left behind. We were done! You can see 3 little white spots below the "+" sign where the embryos were placed. I'm praying that The 3 Amigos will snuggle in and stick around for the next 9 months.
I have to admit, I was a lot more nervous this time around. Probably because this could be our last time here if this transfer does not result in a successfully pregnancy. But Dr. Keenan is so sweet. He said to stay positive, and he will be praying for a positive outcome!
I laid on the table and rested for a few minutes before making my way onto the bed where I was wheeled back into the recovery room. Babe was waiting for me with a smile. He had been chatting with Julia and she even recommended a Cuban restaurant to us.
The foot of the bed was raised and I was told I had to rest there for 30 minutes. I was glad my bladder was not extremely full as the longer I laid there, the more I felt like I had to pee. Towards the end of the rest period I was crossing my legs and was anxious to use the bathroom. When it was time, I was allowed to use the bathroom and change back into my regular clothes. We were given our after transfer care instructions. On our way out, the receptionist gave me a slip with the date and time of the post transfer phone consult with Dr. Keenan.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by Mimi's Cafe for lunch. I would love to go back there some time for dinner. When we got back to the hotel, I took a 5 hour nap. The Va.lium really got me. For dinner, we went to La Cabana, the Cuban restaurant recommended by nurse Julia. It was a first for the both of us, and it was pretty good. We just took the rest of the night easy, watching movies on TV at the hotel.
My first beta is next Tuesday, May 27th, day after Memorial day. It's only less than a week away. We'll have to see if I have any symptoms this time around, since I didn't have any previously.
