TRANSFER Day!!!

I was lucky enough to get a pretty good nights sleep.  I still ended getting up pretty early.  I had set my alarm for 6:30am, but ended up waking around 6am.  I went ahead and got up, did my PIO shot and then hopped in the shower.  I held my necklace and made my same three wishes again.  I had acupuncture at 8:30am and I was going to meet C & W for breakfast at 7:30, so we would have enough time to eat before making the 5 minute drive over to the clinic.  : ) 

Not the best picture because the lighting wasn't great, but it will do.  All ready to go!

I headed down to the lobby to meet C & W.  It was a continental breakfast, but was still great.  All kinds of fresh fruit (including pineapple), mixed dark berries with strawberries, cereal, yogurt, and pastries.  I had some fruit and a good amount of pineapple and a wonderful almost croissant.  They were SO good.  After breakfast, we headed over to the clinic.  I drank about 1/2 a bottle of a 33oz bottle of water on our way.  We got there in plenty of time for my acupuncture.  I went back and it was so relaxing.  We had such a great evening the night before, I was already really calm and the acupuncture just helped that.  I really visualized a lot during this treatment.  I could see my uterus with the embryo in it and growing.  I saw a lot of purple light, which was even more calming.  After I finished the acupuncture, I emptied my bladder because it was really full already and then we walked across the hall to the clinic.  We didn't have to wait too long before they called me back for my blood work.  C came back with me and it was very quick.  The site she placed the needle hurt a bit when she did it and it usually never hurts and when I removed the bandage, I realized why.  She had scraped the needle across my arm.  Ouch!  Luckily, it wasn't too bad and didn't really last very long.  Shortly after my blood draw, they called us all back to get ready for the transfer.  Of course, the nurse tried to make me worry (again) just like before the first transfer that I hadn't had enough to drink since I told her I emptied my bladder after acupuncture.  OMGosh.  Really?!  I knew I would be fine because I still had half a bottle, which I wasn't going to finish, but figured I should just to be on the safe side.  We went back to a waiting area and I had to put on the lovely hospital gowns.  Yes, gowns.  One open to the back and the other over it open to the front, like a robe.

So fashionable.  : )

Once I was changed, the nurse came in with all the required forms.  Luckily, it was pretty quick, they have us each say our names and last 4 of social for C & W and DOB for me because my bladder was starting to feel full.  I had already finished the other half of my water and took my Valium.  We all signed the forms and they told us the embryo thawed well and everything was ready.  We walked back to the procedure room and they said it would be a few minutes.  I think there was only one ultrasound tech there and she was busy at the moment.  Finally, she came in to check my bladder and said I was an over achiever.  I knew that by the way I was feeling.  Shortly after, the Dr. came in to do the transfer.  She is so nice and really easy going.  It was a bit of a whirlwind and finished so quickly.  I had to lay there for another 20 minutes before I could get up.  After 20 minutes, the nurse came in and said that we could head out.  I went straight to the bathroom as soon as I got out the door.  Oh, that felt so much better.  I got dressed and then we took a picture of all of us by the fountain in the lobby.  After that, we got on the elevator.  As we were heading down, I realized we forgot about my 2nd acupuncture, so back up we went.  I guess the Valium was definitely helping me relax.  I went back for my acupuncture and fell asleep this time.  When I was finished, we all walked to the car and headed back to the hotel.  C & W were going to go ahead and check out and I was going to rest up.  It was now close to noon.  I changed into my gown and climbed back into the comfy bed.  I crashed pretty hard and slept really well until almost 3pm.  C texted me to see how I was doing and we were trying to decide about early dinner.  We decided to meet at 5:30pm for dinner, so I went back to sleep for just a little bit longer and slept for another hour.  I'm glad I was able to get so much rest. 

I got up and got dressed for dinner.  C & W picked me up and we headed to a restaurant in CityCentre called McCormick and Schmicks.  It was primarily seafood, but I got some steak medallions with the absolute BEST mashed potatoes I've ever had. They were red bell pepper and white cheddar mashed potatoes.  OMGosh, fabulous!!  After dinner, they drove me back to the hotel, as they were going to meet the previous owners of their house to go over a few things.  They will be moving next week.  There was a bakery that was not far from the hotel at all.  I could actually see it from the balcony.  I walked over there and got the most amazing macaroons.  They had so many different flavors and they were fantastic.  I decided to lounge by the pool for a bit and listen to the music being played on the stage below.  Sadly, some people arrived and started smoking, so I moved over to the balcony, which was still great.  This way I could watch everyone in the courtyard below, lounge on an outdoor couch and enjoy my macaroons.  Mmmmmm!!  I will definitely have to pay this place a visit next time I'm in Houston.  I need to see if they deliver. 



 

Macaroons!  Lemon, Chocolate, Hazlenut,
S'mores and Coconut were the best!

Wonderful listening to the music below and watching
all the families.

  

It was a wonderful end to an absolutely wonderful day.  Getting lots of rest and letting this little one snuggle in nice and tight.  



The Big Day!!!

Today was the big day.....TRANSFER!! 

I slept really well last night thank goodness, because today was a big day.  I ended up waking up before my alarm around 6:30am, which is still an hour after I would normally wake up during the week.  I took my meds, watched a little TV and then started getting ready.  C had a work call at 9am and W had some work to finish up, so I was just going to eat breakfast downstairs and C would pick me up after her call to head to the clinic.  My acupuncture appointment was scheduled at 11:15am.  I was pretty excited for that part, as I've always been fascinated by it, but just never had the opportunity to actually do it.  After I got ready, I headed downstairs for breakfast and they had a great buffet.  They even had some pineapple!  Yea!  Pineapple is a tradition for a lot of surros since it has an enzyme, Bromelain, that is said to help with implantation.  I love pineapple, so it works out just fine for me.  I had some other fruit and an omelet too with spinach and mushrooms.  It was a really good breakfast.

 

After breakfast, I headed upstairs to my room to hang out while waiting for C to finish up at work.  It was a very relaxing morning.  C called a little after 10 and was finished up and heading to pick me up.  They only live about 5 minutes from the hotel and about 15 minutes or so from the clinic.  We headed to the clinic and absent minded me, realized as we were about to pull into the parking lot, that I had left my new patient paperwork on the desk at the hotel.  Luckily when we arrived, they were able to print new forms and they were really quick to fill out.  It's great that the acupuncturist is actually connected to the IVF clinic, so I just had to walk across the hall when I was finished.  I went back for my appointment and C waited for me in the lobby.  The acupuncture was very relaxing.  They use all individually wrapped needles and swab the area to put the needles with alcohol prior to inserting them.  They are really teeny tiny things and a couple of them, I felt a small sting when she put a couple of them in (which she warned me about), but once they were in, I couldn't even feel them at all.  She placed one or two on the top of each of my feet, one on each wrist and arm, one on my head and a couple in each ear.  She placed the first set of needles and then left me to relax for about 10 minutes then came back in, made a few adjustments and left for another 15 minutes.  She had some very relaxing music/water sounds playing and turned out all the lights.  Once I was finished, I went back to the lobby and W had arrived.  We all walked over to the IVF clinic and checked in.  We didn't have to wait very long at all.  I went back for blood work first and then shortly after, they came out to get us to head back for transfer.  I had wondered if I had enough water to drink because I asked the nurse as I was walking back for my blood work how much I really needed to drink and she asked how much I had already.  I told her and she made it seem like I was way under where I should've been.  I did feel like I was starting to get the feeling that I would need to go pee soon, so I really think I was fine.  She told me I should've had 32-40oz of water.  Wow, that sounds a bit excessive to me.  She said it takes an hour for it to get from my mouth to my bladder.  I had a glass of water and orange juice with breakfast too. 

When we got back to the prep area for transfer, I asked the nurse there too.  (Different answer too - Crazy)  At this point, I knew I had enough to drink and would be fine.  I changed into the gowns and then the nurse came in with C & W to go over paperwork.  She was so nice.  After we all signed the consent paperwork, I took my Valium, we waited a few more minutes and then headed back to the transfer room.  W had a prior commitment that he couldn't miss, so he headed out.  C and I got settled in the transfer room and all the nurses were bustling around getting everything ready.  The embryologist came in and asked my name, last 4 of my social, my DOB, who I was transferring for, etc.  She confirmed that we were transferring one embryo.  Yes, that is correct, only 1!  The nurse checked my bladder to make sure that it was full enough (and it was).  Shortly after that, Dr. M came in and got ready for the transfer.  The embryologist came in around the same time, wheeling the embryo in with her in an incubator.  C got to go over and see it under the microscope too.  I made sure to ask for a picture of the embryo too, so that C would have a copy.  Dr. M started the transfer and explained everything as she went.  It was amazing to watch the catheter go in and actually see where she was placing the embryo.  She said that my uterus looked great and that the embryo looked great too.  Now we are PUPO (Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise).  BETA for pregnancy confirmation is scheduled for 4/14, which is a Sunday, so I'm thinking they will push it to Monday.  Now the dreaded 2WW begins.....

After I changed back into my clothes, I headed back over for my second acupuncture treatment.  I actually fell asleep during the 2nd one.  It was so relaxing.  The Dr. actually left 2 needles in each ear and said to remove them on Monday.  I can't even feel them though, so that's great.

After acupuncture, C and I took a picture in front of the beautiful fountain at the clinic and then headed to grab some lunch.  We both really like Panera, so that's where we headed.  We had great conversation.  After lunch, she took me back to the hotel, so that I could rest and we planned on an early dinner.  When I got back, I threw on my sweatpants and watched a little TV.  After a few minutes, I decided to go ahead and take a nap.  I slept for a good 3 hours.  When I woke up, I called C to see if they were still up for dinner.  They planned to pick me up at 6:45 and head to dinner.  I also had an email from the clinic with my blood work results.  She said everything looked good.  My Estrogen was at 994 and Progesterone was 9.8.

We went to a little restaurant pretty close to the hotel and the food was great.  I had a pecan crusted baked chicken with a risotto and sauteed spinach.  I grabbed a piece of key lime pie to eat later because I was stuffed and there was no way I could eat another bite while we were there. Dinner was great and I had such a wonderful time visiting with both of them.  The conversation comes so easily with them and it makes the whole journey that much better.  I'm so glad that we got to spend some more time together during this visit.  Stay tuned.