We had a successful transfer yesterday morning – how EXCITING!!! I’m on Cloud 9 now that I have my Monkey back. Some details of the procedure…
Of course, as usual with the staff at New Hope Fertility, they were amazing. The two nurses’ care I was under (Ann and Juany) were great. They took the time to answer my questions and I felt like I had my own cheerleading team. They were calm, professional, and thorough. I was shown a picture of our embryo (shown to the left) before the procedure and Ann said that our embryo was beautiful… and perfect (Yay!!! Having a great embryo is important). That meant a lot to me hearing an expert’s opinion. She even hugged the photo – how sweet.
While waiting in the pre-op waiting room with other ladies, I practiced my visualization techniques. I visualized Merlin (my imaginary friend who is helping to make my uterus nice and healthy) getting ready to greet our embryo and taking good care of Monkey, once Monkey arrived. I imagined my uterus nice and fluffy and a little sticky (so Monkey stays put) – kind of like cotton candy is. I practiced my calming deep breathing. And, I also used the time to work on hypnobirthing relaxation techniques I learned last month to enhance relaxation. It was great.
Then, they called me to the procedure room where they double checked my wrist band (name and medical record number) twice. They had me confirm my name on the petri dish. And, then the doctor came in to do the job. Legs in comfy stirrups, I laid back and relaxed, while he transfered Monkey into my uterus. Voila. That’s it. I had a 5 day old (6 days now) healthy growing embryo inside of me.
My instructions:
No sex :(
No baths :(
No hot tubs
No pools
Resume life as usual, but no heavy lifting :)
Get blood work done (pregnancy test) in one week! Only 1 week this time!
Next up for our plans… we’re driving home. It was suggested that flying might not be the best so we’re gearing up for a long trip home. My instructions are to stop every 2 hours to walk around, stretch my legs, etc. And, in general, don’t spend too much time in the car. Therefore, we’re making it a fun road trip that starts in Washington D.C. on Tuesday. Then, we’ll head to Charleston, South Carolina for a night. Then, to some place in Georgia for the night (don’t know how the flooding will affect where we stay yet). Then, we’ll visit my father-in-law in Pensacola, Florida for a couple of days. This is where we’ll get the blood test. Then, we’ll head to New Orleans. Then, off to Texas where I’ll stop for a visit outside of Beaumont to see my friend with horses, dogs, and monkeys. :) After that, I’m not sure of our route.
If anyone has any tips for foodie places along the way (organic? vegan friendly? raw?) please let us know.