Transfer Date Arrives!!

Flashback November 5, 2010:

Another appointment to attend. This time, it was a beautiful day in November... and we discussed our anticipations and hopes as we walked from the parking ramp to the check-in counter. Today was the big day... transfer day.

To those who don't have a clue what I'm talking about... this was the day they had scheduled to transfer embryos into my uterus. Prior to this point, we had done a retrieval and they had fertilized the eggs and kept them safe.. now it was time to see if we would be one of the fortunate couples who achieved pregnancy on the first try at a transfer. We had chosen to have the transfer done after 2 days, rather than 5. This being said, there was about a 40% chance of success on a live transfer. (The odds on a blastocyst transfer are higher, but we were skeptical about trying to take it out to 5 days just in case... in hind sight, I'm glad skepticism had us choose the first option.)

After check in, we were taken to our room for the morning so I could change and prepare for the procedure. This time, Rob would be allowed to accompany me to the procedure room, so he was given some scrubs to change into. I got ready and the nurse came in to take my vitals and get some more information prepared for the procedure. I remember the nurse saying "This is an absolutely beautiful day to get pregnant." I thought that was an incredibly sweet thing for her to say - considering I was almost scared that something would happen and the procedure wouldn't take on the first try. (No thanks to the internet and reading some stories from different couples who had been through many cycles of medication and still not achieved pregnancy.)

We were taken down to the preparation area and the process was explained for what seemed like the millionth time... but it's always good to be informed. For those of you who haven't ever been through something like this, the process is nothing short of amazing.

It was time to go into the procedure room where things were reviewed one more time and Dr. Jensen asked if we wanted to modify the original plan due to the low number of embryos. I told her that, with my luck, I would end up carrying three sets of twins if I had her put all three embryos in, so I declined the third and we opted to have it frozen - despite the fact that a vast majority of eggs don't survive the freezing procedure. I said a quick prayer that my guardian angel would protect the embryo and see that it made it through, and we were off.

When you do a transfer like this, the procedure is very intricate. A person from the lab was on hand to load a teensy catheter with the two embryos that were prepared for them to transfer. The catheter was literally as thin as a strand of hair - and to think, an embryo is THAT tiny when it first finds its way into the uterus... holy cow! We watched the monitor in wonder as they performed the procedure. I remember saying "Okay both of you make yourselves at home... we're in this for the long haul!"

Throughout the procedure, Dr. Jensen and the staff members were chatting jovially with us - we were discussing Disney Cruise vacations and how enjoyable we find them. After the procedure was completed, we were taken back to our room.

I had to lay flat for an hour. Now, I neglected to state earlier that one of the requirements for the transfer was that I come in with either a partially full or full bladder... so you can imagine the prospect of waiting another hour... Once the hour was up, the nurse came in and said I had to do three things before I was released to go home... #1 go to the restroom, #2 eat and drink something, #3 walk around. Let me tell you, I was famished and in a definite NEED to go to the restroom, so I knocked two of those out right away. After a brief walk around the unit, I was released to go home.

A day of bed rest lay ahead of me... I'm not a great candidate for bed rest, but I had Rob on hand to remind me of the importance of taking it easy ... so I was a good girl for the remainder of the day, despite being incredibly bored.