Playing Catch-Up

I have so much to write about but since I've spent the last 2 1/2 hours catching up on all the blogs I follow and commenting, I'll keep it condensed as possible.


Monday's retrieval was pretty smooth, in my opinion. I wore my retrieval socks. Could they be more perfect?:

I took those pictures in the hotel bathroom before we left for the retrieval. I couldn't help myself...

I also took a couple final belly pics because, again, I'm a masochist and a narcissist.

Ugh. So hot. Nastaaay.

I couldn't eat anything so we skipped that and I waddled to the car and we went to the clinic. They brought me back and after weighing me (+2 lbs), I got my id bracelet and then ran my right hand under warm/hot water for a few minutes to bring up the veins so they could put in my IV on my hand. Then I got to my bed, stripped down to my socks, put on a gown and then waited. Nurse Jackie came in and put in the IV (I'm a baby by the way and squeezed the crap out of DH's hand).

Then they walked me into the procedure room with a sheet behind me and by the time they had me get myself onto the bed/table thing, I'd forgotten about my IV altogether. They put my legs up on the stirrups which was surprisingly comfy and I just laid there, waiting to get started. The anesthesiologist put in the Versed right away and I felt sooooo relaxed. There was some conversation that I don't remember, I saw the syringe of Propo.fol being attached to my IV and I asked if that was the Propo.fol. She said yes, and I don't remember anything after that until I heard, "Christa, we're all done. You can wake up now." I was super groggy and saw DH walking towards me.

I know I asked how many eggs and he said 20, so I cried happy tears. He held my hand and sat next to me while I woke up some more. I just asked him about that so I could figure out how it went. He said I'd ask him the same question, cry with a weird face, and then fall back asleep. Seconds later I'd do it all again. He thought it was funny.

After about a 1/2 hour they took out my IV, I got dressed very slowly because my abdomen felt huge and I had some decent cramping, and then I was wheeled out to go back to the hotel.

When we got to the room, I laid down and bascially got right onto my blog to update you all. DH packed up the Traverse and set up the back seat for me to lay down on blankets to be comfy. It was so sweet and helped a lot! I'd taken a Vicodin when we got to the hotel and between that and the heating pad, I made it home pretty unscathed.

All in all, it went easier than all my other surgeries including D&Cs. Painful? Yes. Tolerable? Absolutely.

I had minimal spotting, barely anything to write home about. The abdominal pain continued through the next 2 days but the heating pad and Gatorade helped. The staff told me (yesterday) to drink G2 or Powerade Free instead of the full stuff because the low calorie kind also has lower carbs and helps with the bloating. I've been drinking the low calorie stuff since it came out so no worries there.

I spent Tuesday freaking out about the fert report...called and was told there was fertilization and the transfer was moved up to 7:30 am on Thursday. I slowly and carefully swept and mopped my floors because the cats have been peeing everywhere. I was pissed but the house needed a once-over cleaning so it felt good to get that done.

Wednesday I stayed home and felt a lot better. I did dishes, swept again and basically got our main floor cleaned up as best I could. It was so needed. I got the fert call from Dr. S around 9am and it helped having chores to do to cope with the news that my eggs suck balls.

Last night we left around 6:20 pm and the roads were unexpectedly poor. We didn't get photographed in Hannibal again but we did slide through the intersection AGAIN but during a yellow light only. No flash this time. And I had such a cool pose ready too!  We got to the hotel around 12:40 am since our Garmin decided to have us "arrive" about a mile short of the destination and we had to call for directions.

We did my shots, I took my pills, and went to bed around 1:40. Got up at 6am and decided the hotel was unacceptable. We'd stayed for free since I'd built up so many Hilton points, but it wasn't worth a second night. So DH packed up the car after taking 20 minutes to clean it off due to the foot of snow on it, and we left for the clinic. It took 40 minutes to get there when it should take 20. We also sat at a stoplight for SEVEN MINUTES. It wouldn't turn green but all the other lights kept changing as normal. I was panicking and was totally pissed. This wasn't the first intersection in the St. Louis area that's been a pain in the butt and not changed when it should.

We got to the clinic at 7:25 am this morning and was told they were running a little behind. So I sat, with a full bladder, for about 30 extra minutes. I already pee when I laugh (see: Lizzing) sometimes so I was so nervous I'd pee everywhere at some point. They brought me back and I stripped down to my socks and bra, I kept my necklace and rings on it like I did at the ER (I didn't mention that but I got to keep my necklace and rings on).

Do you like my socks? I took a picture afterwards in the car:

Chicks!

Eggs on Monday...chicks today!!!

Love 'em. So much.


Once I was neked-ish and had my gown on, the embryologist came in and gave us the report. Out of the four embryos we had yesterday, all were still growing. He gave me a picture of the two we were transferring today:

He said he'd done assisted hatching on them because it wouldn't hurt anything. I asked why we couldn't transfer three. He said because I'm 30. I said I'm 28. He said that his supervisor would freak out if he put three back into a 28 year old who had 2 remaining embryos still dividing. Fair enough. He said he felt really good about these two and that they're right where they should be for day 3. One at 8 cells, one at 9 cells.

He answered my questions about the eggs retrieved, what happened to them, etc. I felt much better. I will be asking for copies of all that paperwork for my records.

Then the nurse came back and said they were ready. I wrapped a sheet around myself and walked to the procedure room with DH behind me. I got up on that bed/table thing again and they propped up my legs on the comfy stirrups.

Now here's where it differed so much from the retrieval - I had to pee like a mother and I had a lot of abdominal pressure yet, so when they started pushing down with the external ultrasound wand, it didn't hurt but it was very hard to relax. Dr. S put in the speculum, which wasn't super comfortable. Then he started cleaning out the "interior" with saline and iodine. I think it was iodine. I don't like when my cervix is touched so that sucked. They kept telling me to relax, I kept trying.

Finally, it was time. The embryologist drew up our embryos into a catheter and the main catheter was set in the uterus where Dr. S wanted it. The embryologist came in and confirmed who I was and then had our babies in his hands. They agreed that the spot in the uterus was good and then they babies were put in the catheter. I saw the flash on the screen as they were each placed in my uterus. I had a couple tears slide down my cheeks and I had such a big smile. I was squeezing DH's hand and arm the whole time and right when they went to put in the embryos, I relaxed so much. I stayed relaxed because I would do anything for my babies and I knew this was the one time I had to suck it up and focus.

I laid there for a few minutes and then they had me walk (I shuffled) back to the bed and then I laid down for about 30 minutes. One of the nurses came in and we talked about what I should do over the next couple days and weeks, and what I should expect. She said if I get cramping and spotting in about a week, that it's a really good sign. She said with all the hormones I'm on, especially the progesterone and heparin, I will likely spot and I should stay calm.

The beta is on 2/3/11. And get this: our first ultrasound is included in the package! I had no idea!

I'm thinking that if we can get one done locally to ensure it's not ectopic and then go down for the heartbeat ultrasound in STL after that, it might work out better.

Just passing thoughts so I get them out. I know its premature but I'm a planner. Have you noticed?
We left the clinic and attempted to get here to our new hotel but the Missouri Bridge was shut down just as we were crossing it. We sat in standstill traffic for over an hour, and we were only a mile from the hotel. I put up my feet, leaned back, and just relaxed. I also took a picture or two of the traffic. It was ridiculous:

This was as condensed as I could keep it. I also wanted to get everything out while it was fresh in my mind.

I'm going to relax now and watch some Netflix on the laptop. I slept from 11am till 3:45 pm today I was so tired! We go home tomorrow and I'll definitely be relaxing in the car and continuing bed rest at home till Saturday mid-day. I figure 48 hours of rest is appropriate. I was told 24 but I'm an overachiever.