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Saturday, November 10, 2007

And now the wait begins...

Sorry for the delay in updating. I'll go back to yesterday and I'll apologize in advance for the long post.

I was expecting a call Friday to let me know what time transfer was going to be today. There was never any expectation that we'd be doing a 5-day transfer so all day long I was calling into the home machine to check messages even though I'd specifically asked them to call me cell phone. By 2pm I'd still not heard anything so I called into the office. I reached our nurse at 2:30 who checked and said they still didn't know but she'd make sure someone called. By 4pm I was extremely antsy and agitated that I'd not heard and called back in. Being a Friday i think that the office might close at 4:30 but I'm not sure. No one answered so I left a detailed message hoping that someone would pick that up that before 5, and if not then, first thing this morning.

Well, this morning arrives. I've got an acupuncture appointment schedule at 9 (or so I thought) so V and I leave the house by 8:20am. Along the way I called in to the clinic to find out what's going on and the person I spoke with was extremely surprised I hadn't heard and asked if I been sure to have checked for messages. I assured her I had and she went off to check for me, after making sure I wouldn't hang up (I had no intention). Our nurse comes back on the line and said that she did call yesterday and left a message on the number I had given her. I told her I didn't get it, but that it didn't matter. She told me that our transfer was scheduled for 11:30 which was more than enough time to get down after my acupuncture appointment, and fill my bladder. We get to the acupuncture clinic just after 9 and find that I'm booked for 10 which is not a good thing because it would be very tight to get downtown from their since we needed to be sure to arrive at 11:15.

It turns out that it's not a problem and they were able to do my session and we were done by just after 10. Just as we were leaving I got a call from the nurse saying that the doctor had gotten a call from the hospital and had an emergency he had to deal with. Immediately I'm thinking she telling me because either they're pushing the transfer off until Monday or someone else was going to be doing it. It was neither. She said they were calling everyone and asking them to come earlier. I assured her we were on our way down and only about 30-40 minutes away. We had out to the car. V. drives this time and I start drinking. I finished off my large mug of tea and a bottle of water within 15 minutes. I grab another water and continue to sip on that. We arrive at the clinic at 10:45 and head off to the IVF Suite, my bladder feeling sufficiently full.

After changing into gown, booties and hair net, and V. into his smock, mask and surgical mask we're taking into the room. I get up onto the table. They've got a little window that leads into where the embryologists are, or at least where the embryos are stored and call out that I'm there and they need the embryos. They also have me tell the embryologist my name to ensure I am the right person and such. The doctor comes in and tells them as well.

They get me into position. The ultrasound technician does a quick scan and, having a full bladder, says not to push back on her. I guess that changes the orientation or something for the transfer. Besides the screen to my right which shows what the ultrasound tech and doctor see, there is a larger LCD screen off to my left. They took the petri dish that the embryos were in and place it under a camera/magnifier and it's displayed up on this screen. They verify that the name on the petri dish is mine, and then they zoom in on the embryos so that we can see them.

The doctor says that of the six embryos, four had "made it all the way" and the other two were a little slow. Of the four, we were transferring two and freezing two. He said they were all grade A and the two we were transferring were 8-cell and 9-cell. The slower two were going to be left a little longer to see if they would go to blastocystand could be frozen. I'm expecting we'll get a call on Monday about that, but he didn't say for sure. So we are looking at the lcd screen at the embryos and the doctor, nurse and tech says "look at those embryos. beautiful. beautiful embryos". So of course I asked him if he said that about all the embryos he transfers and in unison I get "no". V. and I laughed. I guess I wanted to make sure that these truly were great embryos.

We get down to business. On the ultrasound screen that V. and I can see, I see that the tech has measured my lining (looked like 13 to me now). We could see where the catheter entered the uterus and then we could see the two embryos as they were released into the uterus. We didn't get any pictures of the embryos but here's what an 8-cell embryo looks like (remember - not ours).



What we did get was a picture of the actual transfer. You can see the catheter as well as the two embryos. I'll get V. to scan it and then I'll upload it here.

So now we wait. The dreaded two week wait (2WW) for me will be 2 1/2 weeks because I have to go on a business trip. I have to go in for the blood test (beta for those uninitiated) on November 24th. However, I leave for Bardstown, KY on November 21st and don't get back until the 27th, so I will go in on the 28th. They won't do the test before I leave. I then leave again on the 30th until December 6th. I'll be 5 weeks when I go in for the initial blood test and if it's a positive, I'll probably have to go back on the 7th for a second beta and probably an ultrasound because I'll be 6w2d then. For now though, we need to get through the next 2.5 weeks. I've promised V. I won't pee on a stick (poas) while I'm away because as he puts it, we've gone this far together. So why would I deprive him of finding out the results together. But OMG, it's going to be so hard not to poas

10 comments:

Unknown said...

OMG! It sounds like everything went so well! Good luck with everything, I a thinking only positive thoughts for you guys.

Drowned Girl said...

You enjoy being Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise!

xx

LadyofAvalon56 said...

I know I heard all of this via text message yesterday and I know you two know how we feel, but I'll say again:

We want this as much for you as we do for ourselves.

Our prayers and sticky thoughts are with you.

P & Mark

thrice said...

Who says that you need "your" clinic to do the beta? Why not your gyn or your PCP (GP), before you leave on your trip?? It's a pretty random test that anyone could do. No???

Pam said...

Thank you all!

Thrice - it's not a matter of who does the test but when. Doing it before I leave makes it 4 days early an then a possible false BFN. So rather than risk that, we're accepting that it's 4 days later than we'd have normally done it so it's more conclusive at 18dp3dt. :) Can't say I won't poas when I get back though. ;)

Anonymous said...

My fingers are crossed for you!

niobe said...

I'm hoping that this is it!

Kami said...

May you have lots of peace and luck during the 2ww!

gold star said...

YAY!!! This is so exciting!!!

wizdom said...

we say yeah!

still praying and will keep on it :)

go cells go!