Sunshine After The Storm

You know that wonderful feeling after you’ve been congested for a while and you can finally breathe again? That’s kind of how I feel today. I feel normal again and it feels GREAT! Everybody join me for the happy dance.

Early last week I started feeling like poop. Thursday was the big day – the egg retrieval – and it went as well as we could have hoped. Depending on the source, an average egg retrieval  yields around 10-12 eggs. Are you ready for it? We got 23!  Go me, go me!

Ordinarily, around 60-70% of those eggs are mature. We had 21 (91% - if you’re counting)! Of those 21 eggs, 18 of those fertilized normally (85% - versus 70-80% average) and became developing embryos.

We were thrilled when our doctor called on Saturday, sounding almost giddy, and said that almost all of our embryos were doing extremely well. Really exceeding expectations. I won't get into the details, but it was fabulous news.

Earlier this week, we transferred one single embryo into my uterus. The doctor recommended that we only transfer one because the embryos were doing so well. Although we had discussed having twins and agreed that it would be fabulous, the doctor cautioned against this because of the additional risks a twin pregnancy can present to me and to the babies.

She left the decision up to us but strongly recommended the single transfer. I still haven’t figured out exactly why, but she explained that transferring two would not increase our odds of becoming pregnant. Hmmmm.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned above, I was really feeling the effects of all of the procedures and medications I'd injected over the past couple of weeks.  I was so bloated that I could barely close my pants. Apparently, removing 23 eggs is a lot of poking with a needle, and every follicle that had an egg removed was now filled with fluid (as much as a golf ball). To say that makes you uncomfortable is an understatement. And then there was the nausea. Not fun at all.

Anyhow, enough about that. As I said, on Tuesday we transferred the embroyo (they even gave us a picture of it) and then I rested. More quality time on the sofa at the treehouse. I am happy to report that today I am feeling fantastic (and very optimistic)! So good, in fact, that I feel like I could run. But no running for me. Just light cardio for now.

Next step is the official pregnancy test on May 16^th. Nothing more for me to do between now and then except continue taking my meds (I don’t want to talk about it – they suck) and keep my fingers crossed. Also, the doctor mentioned that blood sugar is a factor so that it could help if I indulge in sweets like cupcakes and ice cream. So if anyone wants to bring me treats, it could really help. Okay, I totally made that last part up; she said nothing of the sort. But it couldn’t hurt.

The embryo will either stay where it is or it won’t. I feel really good about our chances with our overachieving embryo, but if it doesn’t work this time, it will work next time.

Fingers crossed. Happy day!