egg retrieval day.

Well, today’s the day! Our appointment on Saturday brought news that the average size of our follicles were within range. (Josh reminds me that bell curves are good when I worry too much about the super big ones). Even better, when the nurse called later that afternoon, I was informed that my hormone levels squeaked up to a solid 1,011, just enough about the 1,000 minimum to move forward! YEAH!

Josh administered a “trigger shot” to me at 12:30 am on Saturday night. *Yawn* He did SUCH a good job! I seriously didn’t even feel as the 2” inch needle slid into my hip/glut muscle. I was almost worried he didn’t actually put it in right until the muscle soreness came yesterday morning. Ah, yes, there was a gigantic needle in me. But that set everything else into motion.

So with good follicles and good hormone levels, we have been cleared for the egg retrieval surgery! Hurray! Pre-op is 11:30 today and the surgery is at 12:30. I will be released after I wake back up and they clear me to go home. I am not sure if they will tell us around how many eggs they were able to get or not today. Some Centers do and others wait the traditional 2 days. I have been told anywhere between 6-15 eggs retrieved is average. They will take all they can, with or without being in size range. They will try to fertilize all that make it, although those that become fertilized are typically much less than what they retrieve. From there, the embryologists will take care of them, trying to keep them alive, monitoring them each minute of the day, and providing them with nutrients to stay alive and develop. Our goal is to do an implantation 5 days from today, although a 3 day transfer is an option as well. The strongest embryos are most likely to make it to day 5, although you do take a risk waiting that long.

Ok brief medical talk – skip this paragraph if you are bored – We want our implanted embryos to be a blastocyst. A blastocyst is an embryo at an advanced stage of development when there are two cell types present: one group of cells that form the placenta, and another group of cells that form the fetus. The further developed the embryos, the better our ability will be to have the healthiest and most viable embryo(s) transferred. A blastocyst embryo also has very low changes of developing into multiples at this stage.

So, the prayers for today!

Pray that there are good quality eggs retrieved today that become fertilized.
Be praying this week that the embryos make it and continue their strong development. We would like to have 2 strong ones for implantation and ideally 2 more that we could freeze for another round if needed (and/or a sibling down the road).
That the surgery today goes well and that our embryos can make it to a day 5 transfer (Saturday).

It’s so funny how much “ahead” of us God is. I take the wrong medication and it’s actually “just right” for my body. I “tentatively plan” on a Sunday egg retrieval and my hormones comes back too low so we have to wait an extra day, and then on Sunday a blizzard hits, leaving 16” inches of snow behind. We would have had a stressful commute to and from the Center yesterday, and with timing being as critical as it was, who knows if things would have gone the way they should have. It’s a continued reminder that “’My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’” (Isaiah 55:9 NLT) He knows best, He always has and He always will. And REGARDLESS of how today turns out, this week, or this month, He will still be the same constant, faithful God, which is really all we need.

I was thinking last time what a big step this really is for us, and how surreal it feels to actually be here. My devotion reminded me that this is exactly where God wanted me to be. “Be willing to go out on a limb with Me. If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be. Your desire to live a risk-free life is a form of unbelief…In order to follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your tendency to play it safe…As long as you stay close to Me, My Sovereign Presence protects you wherever you go.”

My mind has been operating like a seesaw, when I let the fear and worry and anxiety go up, the trust I have in Him, the peace I feel goes down. Right now my energy is precious and I have to solely focus on the positives, the trust and Hope and joy He provides. The rest is in His hands and that’s exactly where I want it to be.

Here is a little peek at all of the daily work that has brought us to this place today! :)