Monica Does It

August 18, 2020
Embryo Transfer

Egg retrieval recovery went well. I rested which wasn’t so hard since everything is closed anyway. Husband’s recovery is a little rougher, but he did well. The biggest issue is constipation. The anesthesia causes your system to get stopped up and it has been rough. 

We got the call the day after surgery with our embryo count. Of the 14 eggs retrieved, 10 were mature and 6 fertilized. We spent the next few days just relaxing and waiting for embryo transfer day. That’s the easy part. There’s no sedation. The only thing I have to do is drink enough water to have a full bladder. This makes it so my uterus is positioned well for the transfer. The sad part is that I have to go alone. Due to COVID-19, Husband isn’t allowed in the transfer room. He’ll drive me but that’s it.

We arrive at the ARC at the requested time but must wait to get called back. I’m not sure why they told me to get there so early. They finally call us back and we discuss our blastocysts and what to transfer. Dr. Walker showed us a printout of our embryos and their development stages. Only two were in the right stage to transfer. We had another two that they’d watch in hopes that we could freeze them. The two that were ready weren’t freeze quality so we decided to transfer both of them.  The doctor gave us all the reasons why a twin pregnancy was dangerous. Still, we were ready for this.

Husband left to go to the waiting room, and I got changed into a hospital gown. I couldn’t believe we were finally doing this. We had some issue with some of the paperwork and my transfer was almost delayed. I was full of water and thought I’d pee myself. Thankfully, we got it figured out and Dr. Walker took me to the transfer room. This was the best part.

The room is right next to the operating room where I had the retrieval. The lab where they create the embryos connects the two rooms. I walked in and the lights were dimmed. There was a single exam table with ultrasound equipment. The room was huge though. So big for so little equipment. I got on the exam table and sat back. There was a television mounted on the wall to my left. Next to the television was the door to the lab. On my right was the ultrasound monitor. There was a male doctor who was the embryologist. I don’t remember his name. He was leading the team. He had the ultrasound on my stomach so he could see my uterus. Dr. Walker was handling the speculum and other equipment down there. She inserted a long tube into my uterus. This is how they’ll get the embryos in place.

The television was actually a feed from the lab. They showed me my embryos in a petri dish with my name. I had to read everything as they transferred them to another dish. They used a pipette and drew the embryos into a syringe. Next, someone walked into the room. She was holding the syringe that had a long tube attached. Those are my babies in there. I kept thinking that those are my babies. She handed it to Dr. Walker who inserted the tube in my uterus. The embryologist told me to look at the monitor on my right. He said I’d see a flash when the embryos entered my uterus. Then, I saw the flash. I saw them put my babies into my uterus. They took the syringe back to the lab and checked under a microscope to make sure the embryos didn’t get stuck in the syringe. They didn’t. They went where they were supposed to go.  

We got the heads up that all was well and Dr. Walker told me “congratulations”. I just tried so hard to keep it together. Then, that was it. They told me to go use the bathroom and then get dressed and I’d be able to leave. It was all so quick. 

Now, we wait. I’m supposed to rest for the next two days so that the embryos can implant. I have to take a blood test in 9 days to see if this worked.