Embryos are Home

The transfer is done. It was a very easy procedure compared to everything I/we have gone through the past two months. I took a valium which made me really loopy. I felt like I couldn't see or speak clearly. Anyway, the embryologist met us in the lobby at 12:15 and brought us back to the same recovery room we were in for the retrieval. First, he told us that our embryos look great. On day 3, he wants 6-8 cell embryos and we have one 10-cell and one 8-cell!!

They are very careful about keeping a clean and sterile environment around embryos so I had to change into a gown and put on a hair cover. Chris had to get into a jump suit, cover his shoes, his hair and wear a mask. Dr. NFB and the embryologist did the same.

We went into the same procedure room as the retrieval only all of the machines were turned off and instead of ski-boot looking things for my legs there were standard stirrups. Dr. NFB did a mock transfer with an empty tube. When she was satisfied with everything, the embryologist went into an adjacent room to retrieve our embryos. There was a TV in our room connected to a camera in the embryo room where we watched him show us the petri dish with my name on it and two little dots inside. He loaded them into the tube and brought them back into the room. He held the abdominal ultrasound wand while Dr. NFB transfered the embryos. We were able to see the whole thing on the ultrasound monitor. It was actually really cool. As a final check, the embryologist took the tube back to the microscope to make sure the embryos were out. They were and that's it!

While we were there, I asked Dr. NFB about my response to this and how I was surprised that things just didn't go as I had hoped. I was so relieved to hear her say that she completely agreed. Just like us, she had expected a higher response (more follicles), more mature eggs, and a much higher fertilization rate. She said she has some thoughts on what happened, but for now has confidence in the two embryos we transferred. If we have to come back, we'll definitely talk about a different protocol. There is no way to predict exactly how someone will respond to all these very potent medications, so this is definitely a learning process. I am so grateful for the care and attention Dr. NFB, the IVF nurse coordinator, and the embryologist provide.

I am on three days of "couch potato" rest. I can get up to shower, eat, and make a simple meal, but that's about it. I'm taking full advantage of this - Netflix, my Kindle, and a snuggled-up kitten are my good friends. For now, we just have the daily progesterone injections and lots of prayers for our little ones.

Everyone, meet the Brown Embryos: