I flew up to Boston a couple of days before the transfer just in case there were flight delays and also to get situated with accommodations and transportation. It felt very strange to leave my 20-month-old (miracle from IVF #1) for the very first time overnight. I was sad about it, but I knew that my DH would take great care of him and that they were going to have a good time together. By the time I got to Boston, I felt very relaxed about everything. I wasn't stressed out about anything. Which is very rare for me. I usually panic and freakout. The day before the transfer, I had time to walk around, shop and visit with friends. It was sort of like a mini-vacation to my old neck of the woods.
The night before the transfer I had a good night's rest, but found myself a bit lost when I didn't have my son waking me up in the morning. It was strange, but very nice ;) I had a simple and delicious breakfast, showered, and started my trek to the clinic. It was located about 15 miles from where I was staying, so I decided to get there early in case there was any paperwork or last minute items I need to take care of. I also had a pre and post acupuncture session scheduled. Thankfully, my clinic offers these at their location, so that was convenient. I made sure to stay hydrated because my bladder needed to be full for the transfer.
About an hour before my transfer, I had a relaxing acupuncture session. I was extremely relaxed that I almost fell asleep. Before the session, the acupuncturist asked me to tell her how stressed I was on a scale from 1-10 (10 being the most stressed out). I told her a 2 - that's truly how I felt! Again, this is very rare for me. Everything seemed to be going very smoothly - from my flight there, to my accommodations, to my transport to the clinic. I was sort of waiting for something to screw it all up, because something always does, but that never happened. The acupuncturist checked my pulse after the session and said it was fantastic. That was encouraging.
After the pre acupuncture session, I return to the waiting room. I waited about 15 minutes before being called back for the transfer. Then I was given a gown, hair net, and disposable socks. A few minutes after that, a nurse went over some paperwork for me to sign, then my doctor came over to go over what I should expect during the transfer. He told me the grade of my embryo - a 3BB. My clinic rates them from 1-4, so a 4AA is the best. He said when the embryo was frozen it was at a 3BB and it was a good sign that it was the same after thawing. A 3BB is pretty average, I suppose.
I was taken back to the OR, positioned, shown a picture of my embryo on a big screen next to my name and DOB. The doctor said my lining looked fantastic (there's that word again), a catheter was inserted, the embryologist came over and very slowly placed the embryo in the catheter. He said I had done a great job keeping my bladder full. I got to see a tiny glimpse on the ultrasound machine. I was a bit overwhelmed with how quick it all was. That was it. Within 10 minutes, my embryo was now where it needed to be after almost 2.5 years of being frozen. My doctor said ..."that is the best transfer I've seen all week. No! It's the best I've seen all year!" That was nice to hear, but deep down inside I wondered if he said that to all his patients. Maybe something he says for them to have hope. Who knows? I thanked him, the nurses, the embryologist, and then changed back into my clothes.
After the transfer, I went back to the acupuncture center next door for my post session. The acupuncturist was a little surprised to see me back so soon. For the next 30 minutes I relaxed with needles in different places and drifted in and out of sleep. Again, super relaxed. Oh, for the post-session I was instructed to get on my back, and needles were placed on my front side. (For the pre-session, I was face down and needles were placed on my backside). The acupuncturist checked my pulse at the end and once again commented on how great it was. I thanked her and headed on my way to find something to eat. All in all, the transfer was very easy and everything went smoothly. I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon walking around town and shopping. I thought about going back to my hotel and not doing anything, but also felt like I should take advantage of my time in Boston.
The night of the transfer, I tried to go to bed early but had a hard time falling asleep. I think I finally fell asleep around 1:00 am and had to be up by 5:00am to catch my flight back home. Needless to say, I was exhausted on my flights home. When I finally got home, it was back on Mommy duty and didn't have much time to rest or take a breath. Went straight to playing and caring for my son while DH headed to meetings. After a few hours, I could feel the beginning stages of a migraine. I sort of suspected it was going to be bad, but didn't realize how bad. About four hours after getting home, I had to call DH and asked if he could please come home and take over bath time and bed time. I think it was around 7pm. At this point I was puking my breakfast (didn't have lunch), as well as just fluid. When he got home, I went straight to bed. I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but did feel much better and got out of bed around 8:30 am. So very thankful for my awesome husband for taking charge again after being alone with our son for four days.
So that's that. My embie is now with me. Praying that it will stick! Now we are on the 9 day wait until Beta.
Notes
- Still on Estrace (2x a day) and Vivelle Dot (every 3 days), as well as Crinone (2x a day).
- Transfer was on CD26, which is around the time I normally get AF. I was a bit worried about this, but apparently the meds are helping control my cycle
- I thought I would also mention this - my frozen embryo was in Boston because we lived there for several years and ended up doing our fresh IVF cycle there in 2012.
Here is a picture of my 3BB embryo
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