Great expectations...

Today was the day. Embryo transfer day. Susan, who is a fledgling minister had a gig doing   a graveside service which she could ( obviously) not re-schedule, so I was on my own. Yes, it was a circle of life day. We should have got civil unionized just to top things off really.

The part that I was most looking forward to, apart from the idea of bringing new life into my barren womb, was the lying down part.  That's from being a mom and never having enough time to just relax. (Once when I was driving past a cemetery I thought to myself, wow, that must be really relaxing to be in there. I know. Bad. I think it was before I had Isobel but I can't be certain. Yes, I know two kids are way more tiring than one ).You know, the hanging on the treatment table / couch   before and after the transfer, and  the part when you get to go home and lie in bed. With a valium which they prescribe for you. One pill. It cost me about $1.40 with insurance. Except I had no one to drive me so I wasn't taking the valium until I got home. To Isobel who was lively and needing lots of activity. I finally coaxed her into bed with me for a nap around 3pm and we slept for about 1.5hrs. It wasn't enough but it wasn't bad.

The transfer went very quickly. I had just settled myself in the waiting room, even plugged in my phone charger and was meaning to post on here and my secret FB groups and they called my name. I was scheduled for 1.15 pm with a 12.15 arrival. They called me at 12.15pm and I think I was out of there before 1.15pm. I had been kind of blase about drinking enough water because I thought I had time so my bladder was not very full but it didn't seem to matter very much. The perky embryologist came in and told me that the first embryo they froze survived and I asked if it was hatching ( they don't give you much information really) and she said yes. She said it was 2AA quality which is the same it was when it was frozen, which means good.

The doctor who did my first fresh SET  in 2009 was doing the transfer today and was friendly and professional. The ultra sound tech was the same as for my other two transfers. She is so frikking chirpy and romantic about the whole thing. It's like being in the Sound of Music when she is around. She calls it the "homecoming" when the embryo settles into the the cavity surrounded by the endometrium. She burbled on about second babies and how SFETs are the thing now and that it's easier to get pregnant when you have done it before. She was excited to hear about Isobel. She said she hoped I had a nice scheduled c section for the birth....It was cute, but also a little irritating. She pointed out that the  endometrium was bright on the screen which means that it is nice and soft and receptive for the embryo. I got to see the embryo on a screen before they inserted it into the catheter. It looked nice. I am not an expert so I can't say more than that. The doctor thought she was going to have a hard time getting past the bend in my cervix ? uterus ? but it went smoothly. I think they were all very  pleased with how it went. I got to see the burst of light as the embryo came out of the catheter and have a picture to take home of that moment. We don't get to keep photos of the embryos. I was looking it and thinking, "this tiny tiny little thing could be a sibling for Isobel." Amazing and miraculous.

So yes, they said take a few minutes, get dressed and you can be on your way. No lying around for me. One of the two people left at the clinic that I like is my old doctor's nurse. She is one of the few of the  remaining old guard ( she was the first nurse that the IVF program hired in 1988) while many  of the rest of the staff seem slightly disinterested baby factory types.  I think that it's the result of the company going very corporate. Anyway, Nurse D has kept up with my progress and came in to see me and to wish me luck. Very sweet. That clinic has phenomenal success rates and embryology but is seriously lacking in bedside manner. You never meet the IVF nurses who do your schedule and call you with updates. But I have Nurse D so I don't really care.

So my beta is on Friday May 24th and I will POAS the night before. That' s how it was the only other two times I got to this point with IVF, so that's how it's going to be this time.

Seriously hoping for a BFP!