Thursday, January 19, 2012

The FET Transfer

We made it! We finally made it to a transfer!! Since the fresh cycle got cancelled in Nov, it seems like the fresh and frozen cycles have blended together. It's feels like we've been doing injections, ultrasounds and popping pills for sooooo long!
The embryologist called me on Tuesday to confirm thawing 2 embryos on Wednesday. She said she'd give us a call on Wed morning if one of them failed to defrost so we could give her the permission to defrost another. I hoped and prayed we would not hear from her Wed. I wanted to only thaw 2. I checked my iPhone about 20 times on our way to the clinic to see if she called.
I also went for a 60 minute aromatherapy massage on Tue. The masseuse told me she was having a hard time getting my muscles to relax. She said I was tense. Ha! No doubt. One of the most important days of my life was looming...
We made it to Chatt and got ready to head in for the transfer. I was very apprehensive about the entire thing, but of course C was successful at making me laugh while we sat waiting. He helped me calm down with his foolishness.
The Embryologist, Shan, came to talk to us about our embryos. I knew it would be positive news when she came around the corner smiling. The initial 2 embryos both survived the thawing process. One came from ICSI and the other was from the good old fashion swimming method. She showed us pics of the embryos at different stages of the thawing. She did a procedure known as assisted hatching with them. When embryos are frozen, their outer shell can become thick. This makes it more difficult for the embryo to branch out and implant. Assisted hatching means putting a small slice in the zona pellucida (outer shell of the embryo) to help it expand.
In the series of photos we could see the embryo initially in the corner of the zona pellucida and slowly it expanded to fill the entire space, eventually branching out. Both the Embryologist and MD were very pleased to see the embryos branching out of the zona pellucida. I had no idea, but apparently this is very encouraging. Shan was thrilled with our embryos. We immediately felt much more at ease after speaking with her.
Dr. Scotchie also came by to speak with us and have us sign the paperwork. She walked in proclaiming, "You two make beautiful embryos!" What a compliment!! She said I was an ideal candidate for a single embryo transfer because of the quality of embryos and my age. However, she said if we wanted to maximize our chance of pregnancy transferring both was ideal. We never faltered with our decision. We were putting both in! The two of us are inquisitive, so of course we bombarded her with questions. Dr. Scotchie estimated about a 60-65% chance of pregnancy based on the quality of embryos, number of embryos etc. She also estimated the chances of twins to be about 30%. Chance of triplets < 1 %. Most importantly 60-65% chance of success?! I LOVE these numbers!! This has been the most positive experience in the IF game to date.
The transfer itself was fairly uneventful. There were 3 women (Doctor, Nurse and Embryologist) and 1 man (the husband) in the room trying to get me knocked up. Who knew it would ever require this many people? My bladder was not as full as it had been on the trial transfer so it was a bit more difficult to locate everything. It was a bit painful, but very similar to IUI's. I couldn't see the ultrasound screen, but C said he could see a small blip on the screen when they placed the embryos in.
That's the story of the transfer! I'm officially PUPO status (Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise).
I'm off of work until Monday. I've had several calls/texts to pick up shifts, but I've had to decline all the offers. My priority right now is to relax and get those embryos to implant. If they are implanting, and I know they will, they will implant by Friday. Come on sticky embryos!
Both of us are feeling positive about the transfer. We're hopeful. What else can we be?
We've had fantastic support and tons of prayers from family and friends. I trust our medical staff and genuinely like the clinic. I know they have done their best for us.
I really hope this is it!! We'll find out next Friday, Jan 27.

9 comments:

Janet Off Kilter said...

Congratulations on being PUPO! Here's to hoping the next week passes quickly!

Jill said...

Sounds like it went so well! I hoping to hear good news from you soon. Good luck!

Eva Carper said...

YEAH! Such a positive experience. So glad it went so well :) Take it easy and pamper yourself!

Charlotte said...

Wow, good luck with everything! So good to hear such positive news and I hope everything goes really well!

Julie said...

Keeping my fingers crossed for you and C!

Just T said...

Fantastic news!

stick said...

Congratulations! I am so excited for both of you. What a wonderful day you had. Take it easy until Monday. Go fellas stick!

Anonymous said...

Great news!!! Rest up :)

Jules said...

"I'm feeling positive. What else can I be?" That's the spirit! You gotta fake it til ya make it, girl! Your report sounds fabulous and I'm thinking sticky thoughts for you!!!