"Easter" Egg Retrieval is Tomorrow

Tomorrow is EGG RETRIEVAL DAY! 

Yesterday Ryan was able to go to my sonogram and blood work appointment. As I've shared in past posts he's been preparing and administering all of my injections. He knew after yesterday's appointment that I'd probably be ready for what they call the "trigger" shot, the one that gets all my eggs ready for retrieval, and he had his paper and pen in hand ready to ask questions and take notes. He teased me afterwards because I was busy talking to the nurse about whether or not I could use dry shampoo before the procedure, all the while he was trying to ask the important questions about the drugs! He's good about making the nurses and me laugh at every appointment. And for the record, the dry shampoo was important to discuss, because I just recently learned that the egg quality can be affected by fragrances. Tomorrow morning I will be 100% natural - NO lotion, makeup, nail polish, hair spray, etc. 

Yesterday at the sonogram the nurse said my uterine lining looks fantastic and that my ovaries look GREAT. It looks like we are right on track with 12 eggs ready to be retrieved tomorrow and based on their sizes we are expecting that about 8 or 9 will be mature. The eggs have to be mature before they can be fertilized, and not all fertilized eggs make it to the blastocyst. Since we are doing a frozen embryo transfer next month it is important that we have healthy blastocysts ready for transfer. Say a prayer for healthy blastocysts! 

After our appointment yesterday the IVF coordinator called with my blood work results and she said "everything looks GREAT and that I had a very good response to all the medications!" We did the trigger shot last night and I went in for more blood work this morning. I talked to the nurse this afternoon and she was very happy with the numbers she got back today that confirmed the trigger shot worked. We'll be up bright and early tomorrow morning for the egg retrieval and then we'll head home so I can rest and drink plenty of fluids. 



Mrs. PB likes to be by my side all the time. A few nights I let her cuddle up with me when Ry was doing the injections. She always wanted to jump right up on my belly after the first injection and then I'd have to put her down on the ground and use the alcohol wipe again. I think she could sense my anticipation before the injections and wanted to be there to comfort me. She's a smart little doodle! 



I felt like I handled the injections very well for the first 8 days. I felt sore and bloated, but my energy level was good and my emotions were in check (for the most part). I even questioned Ry if it was okay that I felt so good. I only had the terrible headache after the first night of injections and then it felt like everything evened out. By day 9 everything changed. People probably think I'm pregnant thanks to how bloated my belly is right now, but the nurses keep reminding me that it's good to be bloated! I've been emotional the last few days and Ry said I was crabby today. This afternoon I could sense that I was generally aggravated over nothing. Hormones are such an interesting chemical! Yesterday I spent most of the day sleeping. I've actually been sleeping better at night than I was before. Overall, the injections were much better than I had imagined they would be and I feel very grateful that I had Ry home to do them each night. 




Today I did a lavender and lemon bath soak with epson salt and frankincense, lavender, and Peace & Calming Young Living Essential Oils. I had a vanilla candle burning, the windows were wide open, and I did a guided IVF meditation. It was blissful and just what I needed to get centered and relaxed again. 

I had intentions of making a homemade pizza for dinner tonight, but the day got ahead of us and Ry ended up getting us take-out chinese. We said a sweet prayer before dinner and we are very happy and excited that EGG RETRIEVAL is tomorrow morning. I'm ready to get these eggs out of my ovaries and to make some frosty embabies!!! 



We have a little treat for our doctor's office tomorrow and I found this card today. I don't think I could have found a more perfect card for our Easter egg retrieval than this one. 



I've got these lucky Easter Egg Retrieval socks for tomorrow! Aren't they cute?

IVF is certainly a stressful journey, and we've had some ups and downs, with much more ahead of us. Prayer and faith in God's plans for us has kept my spirits up. When I've felt down or full of worry, it hasn't lasted long, because I've learned the importance of focusing on praise and gratitude during it all. 

Thank you for following our journey to Baby Smith, and for all your love and support, and most importantly the prayers! 

xo 
Wen