We've Got a Date!

Went in for another sonogram. It also included surprise blood work ("surprise" might be a strong word, I get that most people don't feel the need to mentally prepare for days before a routine blood draw, so it isn't notable enough to bring up ahead of time) 

Good news: The blood work was easy!

Better news: My sonogram showed 9.1 (I'll explain later)

BEST news: I got to call the mom and tell her that after all this time we've been talking and testing- SHE HAS A DATE FOR EMBRYO TRANSFER! I guess "we", but all I can think of is them. Now it is really starting to feel like the beginning of something. A temporary something for me, and a VERY big VERY exciting something for them. 

There were happy tears.

(Don't stereotype! Just because I'm on hormones you assumed it was me! It wasn't me…this time)

Now back to that 9.1  

The ultrasound was to check the thickness of my uterine lining. It's got to be nice and thick so the embryo has somewhere to land, attach, and nourish itself until it gets a yolk sak. This is also why I stopped drinking when I started taking the blue hormone pills. No one said to stop, but I just like the idea of having the most premium lining available. I did the same thing when we were trying with Eli.   The lining needed to be at least a 7, and wouldn't you know those little blue pills really WERE doing something, because it was a 9.1! Go uterus go! 

When I took this picture I didn't realize that one little kneecap would make this picture so terribly awkward. I think I've just had enough of these that it seems mundane. Fun fact (learned by snooping at the sonogram screen), my left ovary not only likes to hide…it is notably smaller than the right (based on measurements, not just me eyeballing it). Don't be TOO jealous that you don't know how your ovaries measure up. 

So, we set the date for transfer and I got my instructions for the next hormone (what day to start, when to take it, and how to use it…BEACAUSE IT ISN'T A SHOT!!!) We also got a date for the official pregnancy test. I am just SO hopeful they get a positive test! 

All good news. 

Now the plan is to keep taking the hormones, add the big hormone this weekend, and wait to hear back about the TIME for transfer. Yes, we have the date, but they schedule all the women who have egg RETRIEVALS in the morning (not us- she already went through all that work and their embryos shipped from their long term frozen home to here…as in they were in the same building as me. cool.), so we won't know a time until all those ladies are scheduled (good luck ladies!)    

Embryo transfer: what to expect when you're expecting to expect 

1) I go in with the mom. She'll have selected the embryo and hopefully it survives the "thaw" from its frozen state. If not, they have to try "the embryo with the next highest potential". It all sounds very clinical, but put yourself in this couples' shoes. These are their embryos. Each one is the hope and dream of a little baby. "Not surviving the thaw" and having to "move on to the next most viable option"  is a loss. I understand that we all see life as beginning somewhere different, but for me, these are little (albeit teeny tiny)  foundations for babies. They may not have heartbeats, brains, or skeletal systems (or any body systems for that matter), but they have already been thought of, loved, and prayed for. I don't think that any of us take this part of it lightly.  

2)  I get a uterine catheter (sounds WAAAAY worse than it is, seriously, the last one was easier than a pap) and they put the embryo in (yes, just one). I believe I heard somewhere that I need to hang out for like half an hour afterward. *remember, the embryo is the dad's sperm and the mom's egg already united. That part of the job is already done. 

3) Then, just like every other hopeful and nervous couple trying to have a kid…THEY WAIT. Waiting for a pregnancy test is SUCH a rush. Hopeful waiting, but it also borders on torturous. My goal is for them to find out first. It may take some tricky tricky maneuvering- but I'm up for a challenge!

Thanks for all the prayers by the way. 

Many people have told me about all the different people praying for us. I won't lie, I used to dislike it when people said they would pray for me. I still haven't quite figured out why yet, but the point is- NOW I'm all over it. I told one friend that my new attitude is "Say a prayer and tell a friend!" 

I am SO thankful for not only the people around us all doing the praying, but also for the parents who knew that was such an important part of this process that it helped them to decide when to make it public knowledge. I can't imagine going through the uncertainty of embryo transfer without being able to reach out to the people we love the most and to know that they are reaching out to the One who loves us the most. Ooooh…that was inadvertently deep.