Yesterday at 2:30 our embryo transfer was scheduled. We were delayed by a few hours, and ended up doing the transfer around 4:45. They brought me back into the office's OR, had me put on a gown, booties, and little hat, and Ronnie put on a full body jumpsuit thing (our IVF lingerie), which made him look more like he was clearing toxic waste than makin' a baby. We waited for our doctor to come in to talk to us about our embryos and the game plan for the day. He pulled out a sheet of paper full of scribbles and began to unpack what it held. "You had 15 embryos. Now you have 2, maybe 3. The rest stopped developing around 8 cell embryos." My tummy sank. How could we lose so many? I tried not to feel sad or get choked up: "he did say we had 2 to transfer today, after all," I told myself. After discussing the babies we were putting back, and the 3rd they'd watch overnight (which would likely peter out also), he left the room. I jumped up to go to the bathroom to process alone for a minute before having to discuss with Ronnie. I was so bummed, but trying to just focus on the fact that we had two to put back. Then it hit me. Maybe this was God answering our prayers. Our primary prayer through this process was that he would provide just the right number of embryos. We were going to use through all of the embryos we had - even if it meant 15 kids. It hit me that I shouldn't allow my mind to run through all the "what-ifs" and "to do's" if these two didn't take. Instead, I should take a few minutes to thank God for answering our prayer, even if it didn't make sense at this very moment.
So I emerged from the bathroom with a new 'tude. Excited. Ready to let these two little embryos make themselves at home in their happy mommy's tummy (no one likes a mad, bitter, worried mommy anyways, right?) Ronnie and I chatted about our thoughts on the embryos we lost, and the 2 we were transferring in a few moments. He shared my thoughts exactly.
A few minutes later we were making our way onto the bed where it was going to happen. I have to admit, I never pictured getting pregnant on a bed like this. In my mind there was never me, my husband, and 3 additional people around. Certainly no one would be wearing the clothes we were wearing. I never pictured it this way, but it was perfect! Ronnie stood at the top of the bed, holding my hands and smiling at me (he was wearing a mask, so while I couldn't actually see his smile, I could tell by the way his eyes were squinted that he was smiling). I prayed that this would go smoothly. Dr. Nemiro put the speculum in, and then inserted the catheter through my cervix. I prayed that my babies would get there soon and that God would keep them safe on their journey into my belly. 30 seconds later, the embryologist came through the door (they were communicating through a window in the wall, from OR to lab, the whole time to make sure the timing was perfect.) Drew, the embryologist, had our babies in a syringe/catheter, linked up to the catheter Dr. Nemiro had already placed - and with a steady push of the flushing fluid into my uterus, our babies were home. I prayed that they were getting nice and settled and that God would make this their home for the next 10 months. They wait 45 seconds before removing the catheter to allow the embryos to float away from and land somewhere. I prayed that they were landing somewhere and that God would protect them in my belly. Next thing I knew we were done. Just like that, two babies in my belly. Ronnie kissed my forehead and I tried my best not to move, to allow them to get comfortable.
We had to wait for an hour before leaving the clinic (we actually laid there for more like 1.5 hours, I wasn't in a hurry, wanting to give them all the time in the world to get comfortable...I would have slept there if they left me!)
So that was it. That is how you begin carrying two embryos in just a matter of hours. Now it's just pray and wait. Our pregnancy test is scheduled for next Tuesday, February 22...I think this will be a LONG week!
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