Friday, February 1, 2008

Uh, Houston? We, Uh, Have a Transfer

Around 1:30pm this afternoon, I was strapped into the gurney of death, legs firmly velcroed into the cushy stirrups (so much better than the ones at Dr. Uterus' office!) and our three little A grade embryos made the final journey through the catheter back to the mothership. They are now pinging around my uterus where hopefully at least one (but not three, please!) will implant for the next nine months.

The mock transfer was a lot easier than this one was, though. I had some cramping as he was inserting the catheter, which I told him about. Once the catheter was in, he gave me the time to wait for the cramping to subside before he inserted the embryos. I did some deep breathing and held onto Sweetie's hand (he was in the Bunny Suit and he looked like a giant Smurf with a blue cap rather than a white one) waiting for everything to subside. It did and he went ahead with the transfer. He removed the catheter and Dr. Freak Out looked at the entire thing under the microscope to make sure none were still in there. She gave the all clear and he released me from the jaws of the speculum. All in all not horrible, but not the most pleasant experience either.

I had to remain lying down for another 30 minutes during which time we talked with Dr. Uterus about the procedure and what to expect from now on. I had to ask the obvious question of whether the minute I went to the bathroom I would expel the little guys which Dr. Uterus informed me was "outlandish" bordering on "impossible" (there's that hyperbole kick again). I'm not on bed rest, but I am on restricted duty - so no raking (no chance of that anyway), but most sedentery activity is ok. I'm not the super high impact kind of gal anyway, so I am perfectly content to read, blog, sew, snorgle animals, and just plain be boring which is exactly what the doctor ordered.

I also start the progesterone shots this evening. I'll be on my own this time since I can't call my neighbor every night to come down and help. Sweetie has promised to be just outside in case I find that I need reinforcements. I'm going to try not to dread them as that will make them that much more painful.

Ah, what I won't do for a child.

Image: Saffanna

11 comments:

Lori Lavender Luz said...

Let the games begin!

Burrow, burrow!

(Notice there are only 2 burrows.)

Gumby said...

Holy crap! Are you giving yourself shots in the bum or in your thigh?! I couldn't imagine giving myself shots in the bum, but then I'm kind of a baby when it comes to needles.
BTW, I stumbled across your blog via another blog. When I saw your list of fave music I had to stop by. It was like reading part of my past - Depeche Mode, Pixies, Cure, and especially The The. I LOVE The The!
Anyway, hi and best of luck to you. I never made it to transfer my first time around the IVF ride back in July. Hopefully I'll get there in March or May when we give it another shot...
I'm crossing my fingers that one (or two?) of yours stick! :)

Schatzi said...

Congrats on your transfer. Here's hoping one or two of those little ones stick around!

Shinejil said...

Congrats! I'm glad all went well and that you're taking it nice and easy.

I loved the image of Sweetie as a smurf, lovingly standing by during the transfer.

I hope things work out exactly as you two would like.

JellyBelly said...

i'm sending you positive implantation thoughts!!!!

Deathstar said...

Dig in little babies, dig in! Wow, I never had to give myself progesterone shots, just suppositories. Ah, the 2 week wait, also known as the 10th circle of hell. Hang in there!

peesticksandstones said...

Yay! I hope you're relaxing. I'm both really looking forward to (and really scared of) this part, too. Let's face it, the whole process is crazy.

Take care of yourself over there!

Melanie said...

Fingers (and legs) crossed for you. Please let me know how your shots work out. I'm particularly interested in the pretzel technique. (My favorite nurse told me that if you turn your feet in toward one another, it decreases your ability to tense, hence less soreness. I think a shot of Kentucky bourbon might work better.) Progress report, please.(And a very sincere thank you for your kind words).

Best...Melanie

Mrs.X said...

Thanks so much ladies for all of your wonderful wishes! I also appreciate the one or two burrows, not 3!

Gumby- welcome to the blog. I hope you enjoy it. Anyone who loves The The must be high quality right there! Good luck on getting to transfer!

Pamela T. said...

I didn't see anything about the Valium. I do hope there was Valium involved. It was the best part of my transfer...totally mellowed me out.

Wishing you and the embies all the best. (To add to your list of distractions --watch a Masterpiece Theatre Jane Austen episode tomorrow night. Loving the series!)

loribeth said...

Good luck!!