Implantation

I am late in getting this one out because in the wake of the procedure it was clear to see that I needed to let go of perceived “have to’s” on my to-do list so that I could relax, relax, relax. We had put so much into this IVF process that it just flat out wasn’t worth the risk worrying about the small stuff, and lord knows with a full time job and three year old, there are so many things to do each day that some extreme prioritization was in order.

So, looking back, this time around getting to implantation was much easier.

Last time, I had about a week in between the day when they retrieved my eggs and created embryos to the day when they implanted Aaron into my body. My system was a mess from all the hormones, and I had a bad reaction to the drugs at the time of implantation and ended up spending a painful and scary day in the hospital rather than the hour or so I should have been there. It really sucked.

This time around, I have had several weeks to recover from the retrieval procedure, and my body was in much better shape going into the implantation. That made all the difference, and the day was pretty easy and uneventful, thank you God!

I got up early, and immediately went for a massage. The name of the game on implantation day is to do one thing: RELAX. Therefore, some of the experts in this field recommend going for a massage before the procedure. Not hard advice to follow, right? I went to my old prenatal yoga teacher whom I love, and spent a peaceful hour having all the tension rubbed out of me. I went home after, and quickly ran through the shower.

I had to go up to Denver for the procedure, and to avoid stress we left in plenty of time to get there. On the outskirts of Denver, we stopped for lunch, and then drove in the rest of the way. They took me right on back, and prepped me and Chris, getting us dressed in hospital garb. Chris even had to wear a face mask with his coveralls! I wore the standard lovely hospital gown. They gave me valium to keep me super relaxed, though the dose was so small, I really didn’t feel it. Fortunately as an afterthought, I grabbed my relaxation cards that Chris and I have used when I was in labor with each of the boys. Each of these cards have guided relaxation stuff on them, and because we practiced with them like crazy when I was pregnant before, it didn’t take me long to get into my zone and keep calm, which is hard to do. Being in the hospital just before an exciting procedure like this can keep you pretty amped up!

Soon enough, they took us back, and got me situated. The room was dark and quiet, and they had soothing classical music on. The embryologist came back to review with us that they would be implanting one embryo into my uterus, and confirmed again that it is a girl. Yay! And the coolest part was that we got to see her! My kiddos have hands down the best first baby pictures! Here she is at about 120 cells big:

I just couldn’t stop looking at her. The picture made it feel so much more real!

Then, it was time to get going. The hard/painful part is that you have to have a really full bladder when they do the procedure. Something about that makes it easier for them to see what they are doing through ultrasound. It sucks because the ultrasound tech is doing his part with a hand-held device on your lower belly, and jamming it pretty hard into your gut, right where your bladder is. And he wiggles it around to get better views for the doctor as she is implanting the embryo. The ultrasound tech keeps it up for the whole 20 minutes of the procedure too. I just wanted to pee so badly, and obviously couldn’t. It makes it hard to keep breathing and relaxing! I got through it, and was so excited to hear that the doctor succeeded in getting our girl placed in the perfect spot in my uterus.

After that, they left the room and let Chris and I hang out alone for about 20 minutes, to let baby girl get settled in her new home.

Once that step was complete, I could FINALLY go pee, which was amazing. Whew! Then, it was time to get dressed and go home. Just like that. Simple!

We took it easy going home, and as soon as I was back, I curled up in bed and relaxed. I had two days of bed rest thereafter where I caught up on a whole season of Downton Abbey I had been saving on the DVR.

Next step was to just take it easy until my pregnancy test in about 10 days. Absolutely no heavy lifting. No overdoing it. Just take it easy. I felt really nervous, and worried I would mess it up now that we had come this far, so I really did take a load off. Now to wait to see if it took! I am feeling hopeful.

This procedure was completed on February 27, 2014.