Holy Eggs, Batman!

My egg retrieval was Thursday morning and I have to admit, I was really nervous. I just kept remembering all the failures of last year's attempt and they clouded my mind the whole morning leading up to time I was called back.  I didn't sleep well the night before and was up way before my alarm. However, those feelings washed away the minute the nurse called my name. She had the kindest smile on her face and genuinely wanted to know how I was doing. She reassured me everything was going to go smoothly and basically kept me calm until I passed out from the anesthesia. As I the IV went into my hand and the oxygen mask over my face, I just looked up and asked God to hold my hand. After it was all said and done, I woke up to my husband and the nurse and the excruciating pain and nausea. I had the hardest time coming out of the medically induced nap I endured for only an hour. My husband mentioned it took longer than usual just as the embryologist came in saying, "we're still tallying up the eggs, but so far the count is 37!"  WHAT? REALLY?!  37? That's unbelievable. I was so shocked and amazed, but couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to display my excitement.  The whole procedure took quite a toll on me and with good reason. They retrieved a grand total of 40 eggs from my body. The embryologist was amazed, but extremely concerned with my risk for OHSS and how horrible the rest of my day was going to be because of the pain. I agreed about the pain, but was just too ecstatic over my egg count to really pay attention to how serious it could be.  Finally after an hour in recovery, I was able to stand up to try and use the restroom. Unfortunately, I was not successful because of just how painful it really was. The nurse told me to sit back down and when I felt comfortable to try and get dressed. They had to bring me wet towels, ice chips, and an alcohol swab to decrease my nausea and hot flashes.  Eventually the nausea subsided enough I could get dressed and go home. They informed me that they would call the next morning to let me know how many of the 40 were mature, fertilized, frozen and out to be watched every day until transfer. The number 40 was stuck in my head and a smile stuck on my face. I came out of the office to a world full of sunshine (literally), happiness and peace. The drive home, although excruciating with all the bumps on the road, was exciting to me. Exciting for the fact that we have a real shot this time! 40! Even if a lot didn't fertilize, that's still more than last year (15 eggs) and we surely will have some to freeze to try again if this time doesn't work. That's all that kept running through my head. If this time doesn't work, it's not over! We can try again for sure.

As the day went on, I felt great. I didn't care about the pain and my husband and I just relaxed outside most of the day. I worked on a good sunburn and loved every minute of my day. I took the Vicodin each time to fend off the pain as much as possible and was truly able to relax for first time in weeks. I even took a small nap...I NEVER TAKE NAPS! I prayed to God numerous times throughout the day just thanking him for being so good to us. As night fell, I began to get anxious about the next morning's phone call. I reminded myself it was all in God's hands and was able to fall asleep. Aside from getting up multiple times to use the restroom and trying to get comfortable in spite of the pain, I feel I slept pretty well. Morning came and relaxation went out the window. I had to find things to do to fill the time until the phone did ring. I put a load of laundry in the wash, swept the floor and intentionally woke up my husband (at 10am, so don't feel bad for him) before I did anything else to land myself in the hospital with OHSS. We decided to lay outside on our deck again to pass the time and sure enough the phone rang!

The embryologist called with great news! Out of the 40 eggs, 35 were mature! He ICSI'd all 35 and 27 fertilized. Out of the 27 that fertilized, he froze 16 of them and kept 11 out to watch their growth. How amazing is that?! My hopes have soared along with my excitement and praise to God. I mean, I thank God every day for a thousand things, but today, I was especially grateful!  We have 11 embryos to watch and work with, hoping they are of good quality and grow big and strong. He will call back tomorrow morning with more news of how the 11 are doing and when he thinks my transfer day will be.  If all goes well, he's really hoping for a day 5 or 6 transfer, right at the blastocyst stage so they are ready to attach when they get inside. If the embryos aren't faring too well outside on their own, they will have to transfer them back on day 3, being Sunday. So tonight we continue with the steroid pill so my body doesn't reject the embryos when placed back in, the antibiotic to protect them from bacteria, the Vicodin for the pain and the progesterone shot for the best possible environment for the little future bambinos. Fingers crossed for more good news in the morning!