So, I'm almost exactly a trimester behind in posting this, but YES- they're having a baby! Embryo transfer went so very smoothly. Basically they said you couldn't get a more textbook embryo.
Grade AAA.
(Who knew that was even possible?!)
It may have been a HORRIBLE process (seriously though, that's such a huge understatement) for her to grow, but she certainly got the job done and made this beautiful embryo
(obviously the dad helped too)
Fun facts about embryo transfer:
1- The embryo shimmered on screen. Shimmered! If you know the mom then you know this is ONLY fitting.
2- When the mom basically asked the nurse if the embryologist was just hyping up the embryo the nurse said, "That's the kind of embryo that you walk by on the counter and you have to stop, back up, and go back to say "Now THAT'S a good looking embryo!"
3- Here's their em-baby…
the inner ball turns into the baby itself, the outter ring turns into the placenta, umbilical cord, etc- you know, stuff to keep the baby alive. (as I type this this VERY em-baby is a legit baby: fingers, toes, tastebuds and all! The size of a lime…I think. Ask the mom…or the baby's big brother…they keep track of its size and development much better than I do. How amazing to have such an early first picture of their little one!)
I took the first over the counter pregnancy test on Valentines day. I sent it to the mom and dad (without peeking, hence the sideways picture that's super dark) and got a call back almost immediatly asking if there was a second line.
"I don't know! Is there?! I'll go look!" I ran to the bathroom, sliding on the wood floor in my socks because slowing down just didn't seem like a reasonable option at this moment.
Sure enough, the tiniest faintest second line was there.
There was lots of yelling, dancing and hugging at our house. We just SO badly wanted a happy ending for this family and this was literally our last try.
In the mom's words "I just don't think God would bring us all this way, and through all this stuff for nothing" (she said this BEFORE the test- she said she was just so sure this time. It was just going to work, that's all there was to it!)
I took tests everyday until the official blood test…it's a fun little party trick to be able to bring so much joy by just peeing on a stick.
Well, that and growing one of the things that is most precious to them in all the world.
I'll try to update again, hopefully before another trimester rolls by. I want to share the scariest part of this journey, but it will be long and require all-the-feels to go back to that time because I literally thought I was losing thier baby at one point (spoiler alert: it was a kidney infection AND THE BABY WAS FINE!) Looking back, I am SO very proud, impressed, and humbled by how amazingly they took care of me (I say me, because again, the baby was safe and sound- it was just me that couldn't get it together) Seriously, they HANDLED it! They could have fallen apart, but instead they held us all together. See…all the feels. More later.
Oh shoot, and I HAVE to tell the story of them (mom, dad, AND big brother) getting to hear the heartbeat for the first time…it is literally my favorite moment from this entire process. Hands down.
But for now, bed.
And protein.
In bed.
At 10 pm.
It's become quite the tradition in my life lately. No hearty meal is safe.
