Day 3 Embryo Update and Happy Transfer Eve!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days. Between going to work every day this week and recovering from the egg retrieval, I've been kind of ho-hum. I haven't had much to blog about. Or maybe I just haven't had the energy. I've been pretty tired since the retrieval on Sunday. I have also had a lot of soreness and bloating in my stomach, which is completely normal. Apparently, the follicles fill back up with fluid after the retrieval and take a little while to get back to normal. Everything is still really swollen and bloated. But, overall, I'm doing pretty well!

The embryo transfer is scheduled for 11:30am tomorrow. I have been waiting all week for someone to call me with instructions for the procedure. But the only thing I could see was the appointment time on my online patient portal. So, around 4:00pm today, I called my nurse to see if there is anything else I need to know about tomorrow. She said "Didn't the surgery center call you with instructions today?" I said "No. Where were they supposed to call me?" She said "Yes, between 1pm and 4pm today." Well, obviously either they forgot or they were way behind on their calls. So the nurse proceeded to give me instructions, which consists of showing up 1 hour early tomorrow to take my Motrin and Valium and get my bladder as full as possible. Then, right before the transfer, the doctor will go over the latest embryo report with us and discuss how many we want to put in. We may have come to a decision on that, but stay tuned until tomorrow for the final weigh in... ;-)

Speaking of embryo reports... when I was on the phone with my nurse today, I asked her how the embryos are doing. The only thing I have heard all week was on Monday morning when I got the call that we had 13 embryos. So, since then, I have been wondering how our little beans have been doing. I have been praying for them every night. The nurse said that, as of Day 3 (yesterday), we still have 12 embryos hanging in there. Yesterday, two of them were 10-cell, one of them was 7-cell, and 9 of them were 8-cell. By day 3, ideally, you want them to be at least 8-celled -- so we are doing really well with at least 11 of them! Unfortunately, one of the original 13 had to be discarded earlier in the week. RIP little bean! But to still have 12 embryos growing strong at this point is such a blessing! I believe tomorrow they will check the quality of each embryo and decide which ones will be good to transfer, freeze, and discard. So the number may continue to go down, but we will see. I will make sure and post an update of those results tomorrow or this weekend.

So tomorrow is the day!! I am getting excited! Honestly, it hasn't sunk in yet that this is really happening. I'm sure once I am in the stirrups, having an embryo (or two) inserted in me, it will all hit home. I thank God every day for this opportunity and for the miracle of modern science. Without it, I would be so lost in my life right now. This has given me hope, and I am so blessed. Can't wait to see what the future holds! :-)

Video: Embryonic Development, Days 1-5