The whole process was pretty quick and simple. I arrived around 12:40, with my lucky green toe nails, green socks, and Eiffel tower bracelet M & S got me for Christmas. I wanted these babies to have a part of their daddies there for the transfer so I made sure to wear it. I was quickly taken back to a room where I changed into a gown. The Embryologist came in to confirm my name/date of birth/IP names to make sure everything was lined up then gave me a Valium. My acupuncturist arrived shortly after and did a 15 minutes session on me. As I was laying there, the Valium started kicking in and I got a bad case of the giggles. Mark had to keep wiping my tears off my face because I was laughing so hard.
After the acupuncture, they gave Mark a suit and cap to wear and then wheeled me down the hall to the Transfer Room where they confirmed my identity again. Unfortunately we weren't able to take any pictures in the room but they did put a picture of both embryos up on the TV and emailed a picture of the embryos to M&S. I wasn't really looking forward to the procedure because the mock transfer they did a few months back was pretty uncomfortable. Well, I don't know if it was the Valium or what, but it really didn't hurt at all. The most uncomfortable part was that darn speculum. They took a while with an external ultrasound to find the perfect spot in my uterus to transfer the embies before actually transferring them. It was strange to see the Embryologist walk into the room with a long catheter that contained the little nuggets. It's nuts how these tiny little bundles of cells could turn into full blown humans. The whole time I was laying there thinking how I could possibly be getting pregnant with twins right now. So crazy!
After the transfer, they wheeled me back to my room and I had another session of acupuncture. They had me lay for another half hour or so and then wheeled me down to the car. Off we went with two babies in my tummy!
It's tradition, at least in the surro community I'm in, to eat McDonald's french fries after a transfer so I made sure we stopped and got some on our way home. Mark dropped me off at home, where we found a box of beautiful flowers waiting on the doorstep from M&S. That made me feel so happy and spoiled by my wonderful IFs. Mark made sure I was all set up in bed with my water, books, and french fries and then headed off to get our boys.
The rest of that Monday and all of Tuesday I was on bed rest. I could only get up to pee, brush my teeth, and move from the bed to the couch. I quite enjoyed the time I got to spend in bed reading books. You forget how much of a luxury it is to just sit and read until you have kids and that luxury becomes a rarity. The boys didn't understand why mommy had to stay in bed so they came and hung out with me frequently, which I didn't mind. :) Mark was great through the whole bed rest period. He made me food, brought me water and tea, and took care of the boys the whole time. I couldn't have done it without him
Monday and Tuesday I had some cramping/soreness going on in my uterus. The doctor said the embryos should implant within 24 hours of the transfer so I'm hoping that's what I felt. Other than that, I haven't had very many symptoms. It's hard not to over exaggerate every little twitch or feeling I have in my body and question whether it's a pregnancy symptom or not. I will admit that I'm getting kind of anxious about this not working. I've been very positive this whole time but the "what ifs" are creeping into my head. I don't like it. I'm trying my best to keep my mind off everything and just take care of myself the best I can. Today, almost 3 days past the transfer, I'm feeling some more cramping and nipple tenderness. But again, I'm really trying not to read into every little thing.
My blood pregnancy test (called a BETA test) is scheduled for next Wednesday but I should know before then if it worked because a home pregnancy test will show positive/negative before then. Overall I'm just very excited about this whole thing. Of course I desperately want this to work (and I want both babies to stick) but I know that sometimes it doesn't work out that way. M & S have been so supportive about every little thing and have reassured me that if it didn't work this time, we would just try again. I'm very blessed to have them in my life. They have such a great outlook on life and are genuinely caring people. They have made this surrogacy a priority in their life which means the world to me. I have no doubt in my mind that they are going to give these babies 110% of themselves. <3
My little piece of the guys
Lucky Green Toes :)
Before Going Into the Office
Waiting in the Room
Acupuncture!
:)
All done!
I may or may not have eaten every last one of these "Good Luck French Fries"
Flowers from M&S
Embie #1
Embie #2- Aren't they cute!?
Good luck, sticky vibes to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!!
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