Egg Retrieval Day!

Yesterday was finally the day: Egg Retrieval Day! Everything up to this point was preparing me for this procedure.

Quick egg retrieval synopsis: It's considered a surgery so you prep like you're having surgery--no food or water after midnight. You go in an hour before to get ready and they start your IV--giving you antibiotics to ward off infection and eventually sedate you this way. Once you're out, the doctor goes in under ultrasound guidance and removes the eggs from the ovaries with a needle. Once he has removed the eggs, they go to the lab to be identified, isolated, and evaluated. You're in the clinic for about three hours--an hour before to get you ready, an hour long procedure, and an hour recovery. They call you the morning after to tell you how many eggs were mature and how many are fertilizing properly.

I don't remember much after the procedure because I was under anesthesia, but I do remember Dr. Will coming in to tell us how many eggs I had....

I HAD 36 EGGS.

I kept (while still coming in and out of sedation) telling Thomas that we had 23 because that was the last number I had at the doctor on Friday...and Thomas kept laughing at me and telling me there were 36!

We went home and I was on painkillers, drifting in and out of sleep all day long. The overall procedure hurt a little more than I was expecting, but nothing unbearable. They have now put me on restrictions until after the pregnancy tests...so I checked out a ton of books from the library that are going to keep me busy for these next few weeks.

This morning I talked to the lab technicians and they updated me on the progress of our little embryos. They told me that 22 out of the 36 eggs were fully matured--which they said was great! Once they found which eggs were matured, they did ICSI on all of them. ICSI is Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, which means they injected the sperm directly into the egg with a needle, making fertilization easier. After they did ICSI on all my mature eggs, there were 16 that were fertilizing properly into blastocysts.

We have 16 embryos forming! This is more than we could have hoped for and is so wonderful!

On Friday, we have our Embryo Transfer. They'll take the best quality embryo (single transfer) and transfer it. After this, they'll freeze all the other embryos that have reached blastocyst stage. So at this point, we're letting our little embryos grow and hoping that they fertilize and develop strongly, so that our risk of miscarrying again will decrease.

Until Friday, I am prepping with medications and lots of rest. I have begun Estrace (estrogen supplements) twice a day. I am on Doxycycline, an antibiotic to help keep me from infections through these procedures. I am on Medrol, a steroid which does the same thing. I start PIO, Progestrone in Oil, tonight. These are injections that prepare your uterus for implantation and help to keep the embryo implanted. The Estrace and PIO will be daily for at least two weeks. I will have blood work done Wednesday and Friday before the transfer. And I will be eating pineapple galore because it is said to help with implantation! :)

Please pray for our little embryos, that they are healthy and form properly. Please pray that the transfer goes well on Friday also! We love you all!

Abby & Thomas