IVF: Embryo Transfer Day

December 14, 2016, was our embryo transfer day.  I was supposed to arrive with a full bladder so I began drinking water as we drove to our fertility clinic.  I was also supposed to take a Valium an hour before the transfer to help me relax.  I had never taken Valium before, so I wasn't sure what to expect with that.  I took the Valium on the car ride over.  By the time we got to the clinic, I was already feeling a bit weird from the Valium.  I just kinda felt like I was floating a little bit, but my mind still felt pretty sharp.  

Adam had set up for us to chat with Dr. Brabec before the transfer to help us decide how many embryos to transfer.  When we arrived at the clinic, Dr. Brabec told us that we ended up with 2 viable embryos and they both looked really good.  She said that as long as we were okay with the prospect of twins, she would recommend we transfer both.  

Dr. Brabec hadn't lead us astray yet, so we decided to just go for it.  We also felt that freezing just one embryo might not be the best option.  Not all eggs survive the freezing and thawing process and we didn't want to end up not being able to use the leftover embryo in the future.  We figured we had dreamed about having two kids, why not have them at the same time?      

I should also mention that I continued to drink water during our conversation with Dr. Brabec.  On some of the instructions we received, it mentioned that if my bladder wasn't full enough, I would have to be catheterized.  I didn't really know what was involved with that, but I decided I didn't want to find out!

Once our conversation was over, we made our way to the fertility clinic's surgery center, which was where the transfer would take place.  By this point, I was miserable because my bladder was so full!  I could barely move around and getting up on the table was darn near impossible.  I was trying not to say anything or make a big deal about it.  But after the nurse got the ultrasound going and saw how full my bladder was, she figured out I must be pretty miserable.  

I ended up having to be catheterized anyway so they could empty my bladder a bit.  It didn't hurt at all, in fact it was a huge relief!  I immediately felt more comfortable and was able to actually put my hips down on the table and into position for the transfer.

The transfer itself was super quick and didn't hurt at all.  Thanks to doing a trial embryo transfer back in June, Dr. Brabec knew exactly what size catheter to use and exactly which position to put it in my uterus.  Rodney was there with our embryos and he handed off the syringe with them to Dr. Brabec.  She squirted the two of them into my uterus and that's all there was to it!  

I was able to get up right away, but it was recommended that I take it easy for the rest of the day.  I could get a snack from the kitchen or go to the bathroom, but I wasn't supposed to do any housework or run any errands.  I spent most of the day on the couch, hoping with everything in me that we would get pregnant.  I took off the following day from work and continued to take it easy.  I wanted to give my body the rest and time it needed to accept our little embryos. 

We got a picture of our beautiful embryos to take home with us.  We put it on the fridge as soon as we got home.       

Now we had to do more waiting.  We would have to wait 8 days until I would have a blood pregnancy test done to see if I was pregnant.  Let me tell you, it was a longggggggg 8 days!