Connie led Jonathan and I back to the "prep room" where I dressed in a nice warmed hospital gown and donned my fluffy warm socks. Then she came in and prepped my IV and it was all a breeze. Then Angie came in and took some video of me and Jonathan just being together and being silly for a minute. Then my mom took Angie's place for a bit, then Bernice came in and took her place. For the next half hour or so Dr. Hansen came in to talk with us and so did the anesthesiologist. Connie was there by my side the whole time keeping me calm and Jonathan was giving me little kisses and reassurances. Then, before long, it was time to take me back! Connie sent Jonathan to "the man cave" and the anesthesiologist came in and gave me a few shots of loopy meds in my IV. I was coherent and aware while they took me into the procedure room. It didn't take long, though, before I was out. And then it felt like 10 seconds and they were wheeling me back across the hall to the prep room. Connie laughed and said that when they brought me out of anesthesia and told me they were done I crinkled up my face and said, "Are you serious??". It really didn't feel like it should have been over so quickly! But I had no pain whatsoever and no trouble coming out of anesthesia.
On the wall of the procedure room there is a digital counter. In red I saw the number 11 which didn't mean anything to me at the time. Dr. Hansen came in not too long after and said they had gotten 11 "textbook eggs". He followed them to the lab for John, our embryologist, to evaluate. He was totally happy with the number and VERY happy with the quality. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little caught off guard by the number. I really thought that with 30 follicles, there would have been more eggs. But my sweet friend Kathleen reminded me later that a big quantity doesn't necessarily guarantee quality. And it's ALL about the quality. And as far as I was concerned, if Dr. Hansen and John and Connie were happy with 11, I can't complain! While I was coming out of anesthesia in came Kisha and Amber to thank me for the note I wrote them and the earrings I made for them (it's my love language y'all...of course I made my nurses something!). They were so sweet and they gave me hugs and talked with me for a minute. I got a minute to really talk with Connie and tell her how grateful I am for her and for OU Repro. I told her how much we loved Dr. Hansen and she and Amber both agreed that his bedside manner and his focus were two things that were really wonderful about him. They said lots of people didn't really get him, but that it was cool that I really did. Man I'm a blessed woman!
So then I went home to sleep off the anesthesia and wait for the fateful phone call today...
I was anxious all morning. The what ifs running through my brain (which is NEVER a good thing). at 1:30, Connie called. I thought I might have a heart attack! She asked how I was feeling...wondered if I had any pain today or any nausea. I told her no pain at all but I'd had a little nausea the night before. No big deal. She said:
"Well I'm glad you're feeling better, but I've got some news that will help you feel even better! There were 11 eggs, 9 were found to be of really great quality and maturity... Of those 9... 7 FERTILIZED!!!"
SERIOUSLY??!?!?! O. M. G!! We have 7 embabies y'all!!! 7!!!!!
Connie says the embryologists are VERY happy with the number. It's a higher than average fertilization rate and, though we won't have "grading" on them until tomorrow, they are happy with what they're seeing. Tomorrow Connie will call me with grades and they will also decide then whether transfer will be Saturday or Monday. I'm thinking with 7, it's probably going to be Monday. Even though I'm anxious to get them back in my uterus, I'm happy with a possible Day 5 transfer. That will mean they are the most stable they can be...
So for now, I'm literally delirious! 7 Embabies. I am so relieved and also shocked and very overwhelmed. God is good!! Jonathan and I came up with embryo names for our Lucky 7. Here they are...don't laugh... (ok fine...you can laugh...):
Peter Pa (Pa, that one's for you!)
Skinny Pete (Jonathan's pet name for one of my follicles that he'd been watching...it had been smashed between two bigger follicles the whole cycle...)
Ziggy
Shasta (don't ask me...that's Jonathan's invention)
Lady Bug
Jelly Bean
Peanut
So tomorrow we will have more details about our little babies. For now, Mommy and Daddy are ridiculously excited and humbled and in awe. Thanks for your prayers. They're helping to create miracles!!
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