Day 3 After Retrieval

Today was another FANTASTIC day!  Remember back on Sunday, when Dr. Wilshire said they were able to retrieve 11 total eggs?  And then on Monday, they informed me that only 9 fertilized?  Well, today we got news that we have 9 perfect embryos!!  I was shocked and confused that we went went from six to nine!?  The nurse said they kept the eggs that didn't fertilize to see what would happen and then ended up getting fertilized!  She also said that she misspoke when she told me that three had arrested to develop yesterday -- they were just completely undeveloped at that point. So it sounds like of the 11 eggs retrieved, only two have arrested to develop.

So at 72 hours, the embryos should have 8 cells.  Here are today's results:

4 embryos have 8 cells and are Grade 1

1 embryo has 10 cells and is Grade 1

2 embryo have 6 cells and are Grade 1

1 embryo has 4 cells and is Grade 1
1 embryo has 2 cells and is Grade 1

I couldn't be happier!  What a great looking team!  Yes, we got some slower ones, but they are developing beautifully!  The embryos will be left alone the rest of today and tomorrow. 

My transfer is scheduled for noon on Friday.  I have to arrive at 11:30 with a full bladder and they will give me valium at this time as well.  Additionally, they will give me the final stats of the remaining embryos and they will choose the top two to be transfered back into my uterus.  The others will be frozen for a future transfer.  I will stay laying down at the office for two hours before they release me.  I plan on bringing a book and some cards to entertain ourselves.  Too bad, we don't have a tablet....hmm, I should put that on my Christmas list!  Then I get to spend the rest of my birthday and the following 48 hours on bedrest.  Not sure what that all entails at this point -- can I shower, can I lay on the couch?  I am just simply thrilled right now at how well things are going.  And the support!!  It has been tremendous!  Just being able to share these little details with you really keep my spirits up.  Hopefully soon we'll all get to meet Baby Williams!      

Egg Retrieval Day!

Before I get into the events of this morning, let me catch up from Friday night...

So Friday night, Jared and I went to play poker at a friend's house.  We had to bring a bag with the trigger shot since we wouldn't be home at 10pm to take it.  We both set an alarm on our phones to not be late!  Jared's alarm was set earlier than mine so that he could get everything all set up in the bathroom and then I joined him a few minutes later.  This medicine was a little more difficult to mix than the others, but the added stress of meeting a deadline probably didn't help either.  We were ready to go at 10:01pm.  The 1.5in needle surprisingly wasn't too bad, probably because I had so much adrenaline and excitement for the retrieval.  However, the injection site has been sore since!   But, I'll gladly take the soreness since this was the last injection!  I just kept hoping and praying that we did the injection in the right spot and everything would be okay for the retrieval.

We woke up today at 5:15am to get ready to make the trip to Columbia.  We arrived right at 7:30 and the nurse took us back so I could get ready for surgery.  The anesthesiologist came in and asked a few questions as well.  I then said goodbye to Jared and they took me to another room, where they started the IV.  Twenty minutes later, the surgery was over and  I was waking up with Jared at my side.  The only pain I was experiencing was moderate to severe cramping, which was expected, so the nurse gave me some Tylenol.  Dr. Wilshire then came in to give us our egg count...only 11 eggs were retrieved.  9 were matured and 2 were expected to be mature within 24 hours.  I was devastated and began to cry.  All these shots and all the pain and tears for 11 eggs?!   He was pleased with this number though, as he aims for 10-15 eggs, but I wanted more.  Luck is never on our side and I know that not all 11 will fertilize - in fact, roughly 70% will fertilize, and even fewer will be considered normal by day 5.   I was so disappointed....

The nurse  then went over all of the post-op directions with us.  I start the Progesterone suppositories tonight.  Tomorrow they will call me to give the exact number of eggs that fertilized and on Tuesday, they will let me know how the embryos are doing -- if only a few look normal, they will want to do the transfer on Wednesday.  However, if several look normal, they will let them continue to grow and we'll do the transfer on Friday.   I'm hoping for a Friday transfer!