Embryo transfer day and the end of our IVF journey

[In case you missed it, you can read all about our May 5th, 2016 egg retrieval here.]

After egg retrieval I felt like death for about 7 days. They got 44 eggs which is A LOT. After going back and forth on whether or not to do a fresh transfer (5 days after egg retrieval) or freezing all embryos, waiting 6 weeks for my body to recover, and doing a frozen embryo transfer, I decided to wait. I was so sick of shots, I had OHSS, and I just didn't feel like my body was a healthy environment to be putting one of our embryos back into. It was a tough decision at the time because that meant 6 more weeks of waiting, starting oral estrogen 3x a day, weekly doctor's appointments to monitor, and starting progesterone shots again. In the end I am super thankful we decided to wait. I honestly don't know if we would have had these results had I done a fresh transfer.

Starting 2 weeks after egg retrieval I began going back to the doctor weekly for ultrasounds and blood draws to make sure my body was ready for transfer. I began taking estrogen 3x a day and a progesterone shot at night. [By the way, PIO intramuscular shots are the WORST! Thick, progesterone in oil that leaves a lump under your skin. I had to take both the estrogen and progesterone shots until 10.5 weeks pregnant. My butt was covered in bruises ouch!] At our appointment on June 17th we officially got the green light that we were ready to transfer an embryo on June 24th!

June 24th, 2016

We woke up bright and early feeling like kids on Christmas morning (but even more excited!). We made the all too familiar 2 hour drive to our fertility clinic and then stopped for breakfast. I had to drink 24oz of water before transfer so that I had a full bladder during the procedure. That was TOUGH! I hate the feeling of having to pee! I got all changed into my gown, booties and hat then we were taken back into the procedure room. We watched as our perfect little embryo was transferred from a petri dish and into my uterus. Ultrasound showed us the whole thing on a big screen on the wall. It was amazing! I will never forget my doctor telling me, "Everything went perfect. You should be cautiously optimistic!"

Despite my doctor reassuring me that the embryo was not going to "fall out", I decided to lay there for a little while, still terrified of losing this very expensive embryo. I was officially "PUPO"-- pregnant until proven otherwise! We made the 2 hour drive home and the rest of the day was spent relaxing on the couch (doctor's orders!), eating a whole pineapple (core included... supposed to help with implantation), and doing everything possible to make that baby STICK!

Our first family picture

I was told to wake up the next day and go about my normal routine. We spent the day running errands, hanging out, and had a date night that night... my first night ordering a "mocktail" instead of wine which was pretty exciting! My blood draw to confirm whether or not I was pregnant was scheduled for 9 days post-transfer. I already knew I would test at home before then because let's be honest, patience isn't my best quality. My husband tried to convince me to wait until the blood test... sorry babe.

June 29th, 2016

5 days post-transfer. I knew multiple people who tested at home on 6 days post-transfer and got a faint positive. I woke up on day 5 and just couldn't wait another day. With hubs already at work, I ran into the bathroom and was fairly certain I was going to die of a heart attack right then and there. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Never in my life have I been so nervous/anxious/worried/excited. I peed on that expensive stick and walked away. When I came back into the bathroom my world was forever changed. The first time I'd ever seen two pink lines. Holy shit. Now what? Pee on a digital one obviously. Yes +.

I flew to my husband's work and texted him to come outside. I said I "forgot to give him something"... worst excuse ever. When he got to my car I shoved a gift bag at him full of daddy-to-be books and positive pregnancy tests. He lost it, bless his heart. I knew he would! I was still in shock and unable to cry. He did enough crying for both of us :)

Every day until our blood draw I peed on a stick like a crazy woman to make sure the lines were getting darker. And they were! On 9dp5dt (9 days post 5-day transfer) we headed to the hospital at the beach for my confirmatory blood draw. We were at the beach for 4th of July weekend so my doctor's office allowed me to have it done there and have the results sent to them. I will never forget the phone call I got a few hours later from my amazing doctor. "Hi Owen how are you? I'm amazing because YOU ARE PREGNANT! We want your HCG level to be above 50 and we are thrilled if it's above 100. Yours is 270! Congratulations momma!"

Talk about the best phone call of my life. We had to return back to the hospital 2 days later for one last blood draw. They like to make sure your HCG is doubling every 48 hours and it was! Grow baby, grow! What a whirlwind 2 weeks. We were still living on cloud 9 and in disbelief that it actually worked, that our miracle baby was finally in my belly. So many answered prayers, sleepless nights, shots, thousands of dollars all worth it.

We are so very lucky and blessed that we had success after our first round. We definitely had a long road to get to where we are now, but we are also well aware that some people go through multiple rounds of IVF without success. We will never take any aspect of this pregnancy for granted! And for those of you trying for your own miracle, do not give up! If you have any questions about IVF don't hesitate to email me at davisduoblog@gmail.com