Fert Report, ET, 2WW

I have been negligent in keeping up this blog - sorry!

The ER went well on Nov. 24. They retrieved 10 eggs, 9 of which were mature, and 7 of which fertilized normally. The RE was very happy with this outcome. I recovered well from the procedure with no complications.

At 3dpER we got an update. The RE said our embryos looked "spectacular." We had 4 at 8-9 cells, grade 1-2. The others were developing more slowly. But things were looking good and we were on for ET on day 5.

I went for acupuncture the morning of ET. While I was waiting for the acupuncturist to arrive, the RE called and gave me an update. The embryos had slowed in growth and weren't as far along as they would have liked. We had one early-blast, one morula, and some stragglers. At that time she wasn't sure if we would do the ET that day or wait until day 6. Ugh! Talk about nerve racking. The ET was scheduled for 11 and we needed to leave by 10, so the RE said she would call back at 10.

At 10:15 we got the call. The embryos had progressed enough in that 2 hour span such that the embryologist and RE both felt the ET should be that day. So we hustled into the car and I started drinking water with a purpose.

We didn't wait long before they took us back. The nurse checked my bladder and said it wasn't full enough. I explained that I had just finished drinking my water, that I had started late since we weren't sure it was going to happen. But she forced me to drink another 12 oz on top of the 30 oz I had just finished. I was not happy.

By the time the RE arrived to check me, my bladder was TOO full and I had to let some out. This happened twice, and I blame the nurse. I was so not happy and couldn't concentrate well on anything the RE was trying to tell us about our embryos.

In the end, although I had hoped to transfer just one excellent embryo, we ended up transferring two that were "ok." One was a blast and one was just between morula and early blast. It made me nervous because I'm not trying for multiples. But it seemed like the best thing to do and was recommended by the RE. J was fine with it. I think I was the only one with hesitation.

The next day I got a call from my regular RE (it's a group practice so he didn't do my ET). First, he reassured me that he agreed with the decision to transfer two embryos. Then he gave me the bad news that none of the remaining embryos had made it to freeze. I was crushed. I had fully expected we would have at least a couple to freeze. FET was our backup plan if this doesn't work. But it wasn't meant to be.

It's been a rough several days for me since the ET. I was was really focused on not freezing any embryos for the first few days, and I was pretty down. But then life got a bit busier and I got more distance, and now I've mostly accepted it. I've been trying to focus on the two embryos we DID transfer. As J said the day after ET, "We are farther along than we've ever been before. We know there are two embryos in your uterus right now." And he's right. For now.

Tomorrow is my beta. I have managed to hold out and not POAS. I decided it would make me crazier no matter what the outcome. Besides, my clinic does betas at 14 dp ER, so it's really not that long of a wait. Fingers and toes crossed!