6dp5dt

Today's 11 days after retrieval, 6 days after transfer. That's the same as being 3 days before a "missed period" in a regular person's world.

And there's a line on the expensive home test. (Seriously people - First Reponse Early Result (pink box) is no joke with the sensitivity!)

It's faint, but it's there.

It's only a first step - we've been this far before - but it's a positive sign. :)

Snowflakes

We have 2 embryos that were able to be frozen. While I still very much want this cycle to work, it is a load off the back of my mind to have a back up plan. If we had not been able to freeze anything, then this cycle would have been our last chance. We are out of insurance coverage after this cycle, but saving up to pay for a frozen cycle is much more feasible than a fresh. (approximately $5k vs approximately $25k.) I really hope that we don't need a back up plan, but I'm glad it is there.

Morally and ethically, this definitely adds to the thought process of our lives, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We knew what we were getting in to, and we haven't come to complete terms about what to do with any that are left when we consider our family complete. That's almost as hard as the rest of the process.

Still Waiting On News

We didn't get our snowflake yay or nay call today. I figured it would come during afternoon call hours, so I didn't call them. Then by the time I realized we hadn't gotten a call, it was too late to call them. I'll call in the morning if I don't hear by then.

I wasn't going to lay on the couch all day today, but toddler child and I butted heads (literally) by accident this morning and my nose got slammed to the point where it bled and I couldn't see straight. So I spent most of the day with ice on my face. No kidding - the pain was up there as possibly the worst I've ever felt. I thought I heard my ears ringing but then I realized it was me screaming - I was that out of it for the moment after impact.

I can't believe athletes just go back out there and play, because holy cow. It hurt.

5dt

So today we did our 5 day transfer. It's a much more pleasant procedure in the new office. When they were in the hospital, you had to get on a stretcher and be moved to a little back room attached to the lab in space they had carved out of another room. During my first transfer, there was a person to wheel me, a sonographer, 2 lab people, a doctor, and a med student. (No hubby because it was past the 'clean' doors.) In the new surgical center that is just theirs, it was similar to a regular doctor's office room. Hubby could be there, and they have closed circuit TV to the microscopes that actually flashes up a picture of the embryo they're transferring. That was pretty cool.

We transferred the one embryo that made it to the blast stage. The other three haven't made it that far yet, so they will check them tomorrow. If they blast overnight, then they are eligible for freezing and safekeeping just in case. We did not have any "snowflakes" last time because of the rescue ICSI issue and sub-par quality issue. They did grade the transferred embryo as "fair" but the nurse said that doesn't necessarily diminish our chances.

Back in the day, the blood pregnancy test was scheduled for 2 weeks after egg retrieval/conception, because that would be the day in a regular person that they got a positive test. However, they were picking up so many low numbers that then didn't take, that they decided to bump it a few days. I'll "cheat" with a home test anyway when it's time. But on top of all the extra waiting, pregnancy tests ("betas" is the IF lingo) aren't bloodwork that they do on holidays and weekends. Since they have a smaller staff on weekends they only do monitoring that has to be done for cycling patients. That means I have to wait until July 7 to get my official beta numbers.

Compared to my last cycle, that is on the same day as my 3rd beta last time. So hopefully by the time that day rolls around, there will be a nice big number on the result list.

No Fert Report on Day 4

They don't look at the embryos on day 4. This is the point where they start morphing from just a small collection of cells to "blasts." We have an appointment for tomorrow morning for the transfer and a friend who is in on our secret is watching IVF cycle #1 for a couple hours. Thank goodness for good secret keeping friends!

Today is the first day that I have started to feel better. I don't feel good by any stretch, but I can stand up straight and walk normal amounts (just slowly.) I took a ride with hubby and child to a local blueberry/raspberry picking farm anticipating that I'd just sit in the car with the window down to enjoy being out of the house but I was actually able to meander slowly around and take a couple pictures and hold the berry container. I'm exhausted now but it isn't the same kind of pain that it has been, thank goodness! This will make tomorrow's transfer easier.

Fert Report Day 3

We still have the same set growing strong. One may be going a little too strong - one is all the way up to 11 cells, which can actually show problems by dividing too quickly. Who knows for sure, and they'll call later with more information. I do appreciate that the doctor himself calls each morning to check in on me. He confirmed that we're heading for day 5 this weekend. Can't say enough how great this whole practice is with bedside manner.

If only them being great could make me feel great. My whole abdomen is still a mess. I haven't slept more than a couple hours in a row in days. I drink Gatorade to help with the pain and it will help for awhile but not continuously. Hopefully hubby takes a turn for the better today because we're coming up on weekend and today's the last day of daycare. He is at work, so that's a step in the right direction. My worst case scenario is to ask for grandparent babysitters on Tuesday if I'm not human by then. I have a serious issue in that I can barely lift anything, let alone a 22+ pound wiggly kid. I know I did not feel quite this awful last time, and I didn't have anyone to take care of. It will be worth it in the end if this all works, but this has been a really hard week!

Fert Report Day 2

Of the 5 that fertilized, one is only 1 cell today and is probably out of the running. 3 of them are 4 cells, and one of them is actually 5 cells. They're anticipating a day 5 transfer this time, which is mind blowing. We're still not used to positive calls. There is still a lot up in the air, and it's scary to go past that day 3 point because that's the point of no return - but if we make it to day 5, our chances are a tiny bit better of success. Fingers crossed for both that and being able to keep some food in my digestive track so that I can start feeling better. I really forgot how awful this stage was.