{FET Cycle: Transfer Day!}

April 10th, 2013. 

 We had been waiting for this day for so long! We had originally planned for this to happen on December 5th, 2012 but ended up in the hospital instead and we weren't able to go back for our babies at that time. Broke my heart, and Bryce's too. As soon as we figured out about how long it would be before going back I made up this extra calendar and added it into the back of my planner so I'd have a place to cross of each day that went by til we could go back....and yes there are actually Three calendars shown here that I used....it feels like more progress when you can cross off the day three times instead of just one. ;) and I'm just a very visual person..... (April is on the back of the white paper. We had thought we could go back in march but when I had that lame follicle, it bumped everything out an extra month)

SO!!! Transfer Day! It was so exciting preparing for it as it got closer and closer. 

They encourage you do be on strict bed rest for 24 hours MINIMUM after the transfer. Our transfer was on a Wed morning....you had better bet I took the rest of that week off work so I could rest as much as possible for as long as possible to give that baby the best chance ever!

So I prepared ahead of time. I had a bunch of books, movies, scriptures, my laptop, my phone etc all right next to the bed on my nightstand so I could stay there as long as I wanted. I also did the same thing I had done for the retrieval. I downloaded a couple special songs specifically for the occasion and had my headphones so I could relax with some music...really loud. (I like to feel the music in my bones. Drives Bryce crazy so that's why the headphones! :)

The morning of the transfer came....I drank lots and lots of water and didn't use any perfume, deodorant  or hairspray. Neither did Bryce...I knew you'd be worried about his use of hairspray.

 Our hopes and spirits were high. We felt like we were going to pick our kid up from the babysitter's after being gone from them for months. We couldn't wait. 

 We drove the 50 minutes to the office while I drank more and more water. 

Above and below, you can see my new nail polish color I bought for the occasion.  (it's a vibrant salmon/pink/orange color. My FAV!!!) And YES, of course my toes were painted the same color. I figure if those doctors have to be down in yonder-region, they might as well be able to admire my beautiful toes. :)

 And I always have to take the feet pic while at the office. Even though the pic looks the same every time...I can't help it. :)

 They brought us to our room and Bryce changed into some dark blue scrubs and I changed into my ever-beautiful gown, hair net and booties. It's pretty sexy...

 Here's the fabulous Dr. Carlos Guerrero. He's our babysitter and the nicest guy you'll ever meet. He was fabulous and made us feel comfortable from the second we met him!

 He told us about our little circles and how they were doing. We had a few still hanging on and looking good. He was giving a few of them another 24 hours to see how they did. And he had chosen the best strongest looking embryo of the bunch and he said it looked absolutely perfect! :) 

He gave us the photo of the embryo they would be transferring. How cool is that?! No one else gets to see their baby picture when it's only 5 days old! We count our blessings! This photo is framed and on my dresser to this day. 

(OH! and if you're interested, the "baby cells" are the group of dark cells in the center. The cells that will eventually form the placenta are the ones around the very outer edges of the larger circle. )

 They made me drink some more water....I was gonna die, I had to pee so bad. 

I don't have many pics after this, for obvious reasons. ;) During the procedure, I was awake and Bryce got to sit right up next to my head and hold my hand nice and tight. I loved that! Dr. Noorhasan and the nurse use a catheter that is designed specifically for your body measurements so they can place the embryo in the perfect spot in your uterus. Then, when the catheter is placed and the ultrasound is running on your stomach to guide everything, the bring in the embryo in a long needle/syringe. This is threaded through the catheter, again, guided by ultrasound, and placed in that perfect spot. 

Once it's been placed, everything is put on hold while the embryologist (Carlos) checks under the microscope to be sure the embryo actually left the needle. "Clear!" Yay!

Happy day when you get to have the blankets back! {Count your blessings.} They moved me back to my own bed and wheeled me back to our room, where you're tipped back a little to let gravity help the embryo out a little! 

I have a video but they never upload for me. So here's one last pic of me after the transfer. I kept rubbing my tummy and telling Bryce I was keeping our baby warm and happy. 

Honestly, for me, the worst part of the transfer experience is just that you have to pee so freaking bad and yet, you are supposed to try to relax. Yeah, NO, not happening! lol Using a bed pan was definitely a new experience for me and certainly one I don't want to repeat. haha. {But really...as humiliating and humbling and weird as it is, we'll do whatever we have to for these little ones. We'll go in for another try in the fall and we'll do it again! }

After our meditation session, which was a cool experience, they let us rest in our room for about half an hour and then sent us on our way! Then it's just that 9 day wait for results!

I'm really just amazed at some of these experiences we've been having. They're just never ones I expected to have. All this medical stuff is so foreign to my little brain! It's truly amazing and I'm loving learning more and more about our bodies and their complexities..... I'm so grateful for my body! I know our bodies are one of our greatest blessings the Lord has given each of us. Even when they don't work exactly like they should, they're a miracle.