The Transfer: I Get Pregnant!

Today actually happened. We transferred another embryo three and a half years after Olivia and I can’t really believe it.

But first let me talk about food, because that’s important too. Y’all. Buc-ee’s in Galveston, which is basically a gas station on steriods has the best chopped brisket sandwiches ever. EVER. Do you hear me?

The evening before

We left Galveston around 11:00 am yesterday and stopped at Buc-ee’s on our way to Houston at the recommendation of a friend and being that she has good taste in All The Good Food, I knew we had to check it out. I’m still thinking about that sandwich.

Luckily, they let us check into the hotel at 1:00 and I was relieved to see it was a pretty good place to spend three days on bedrest because we were going to be spending a lot of time in there.

Dinner was Lupe Tortilla and probably hands down the best Tex-Mex I’ve ever had. Too bad this baby wasn’t inside me then, because he or she would have been eating good yesterday.

We did my PIO shot (which didn’t hurt all that much) and then I did my Lovenox shot (which hurt like a MF-er and I’m still sore) and I was so glad to get a good night’s sleep because we didn’t need to be at the surgical center until 9:45. I was surprisingly calm (it must have been because I ate Mexican food) and ended up sleeping really well.

Transfer Day

We were up at seven to get ready and then it was off to McDonald’s because the hotel we’re in charges $19 a plate for a simple egg and bacon breakfast, but I did win a biscuit sandwich off my hashbrown pack, so I guess I get free breakfast tomorrow.

And then we arrived!

A quick note about this shirt. So when we were at the North Shore on our family vacation (post coming soon on that!) I was shopping by myself and stepped into this artist’s storefront, browsing the racks. I had it in the back of my head to find a shirt for the upcoming transfer and whenever I found one that made me cry, I knew that would be the one. And this was it. Because it pretty much sums up our lives when we’re trying to conceive, right?

It wasn’t five minutes later that we were brought back and I had to repeat my giant list of fertility meds once again to a medical professional and change into the garb that every IVF-er knows so well.

Then we waited. And waited. I shut my eyes. I posted on Facebook. I shut my eyes again. I asked Chris if he was excited I was getting pregnant by another man. I shut my eyes again and considered taking a nap. I think we sat in that room for almost an hour before the man of the hour came in to greet us. I know I’ve gushed about my doctor. But he has this aura around him that makes you feel like, while he does these transfers all day, when he comes to you, it’s like Oh hey! I’ve been waiting all day to see you and add to your family!

We got our baby’s first photo and he (yes, I’m calling this one a “he!”) looks perfect. Our clinic grades on a Good/Fair system and I couldn’t get over the Fair part. Like, fair just sounds so depressing. Like, eh, this one’s just fair. He said he could never get his embryologists to agree on grading, but in the AB version, this one is rated a 4AA which I think is pretty perfect. My two other fair embryos would be rated 4AB—also pretty badass.

At this point, I really had to pee because I needed to drink 32 oz of water this morning and then there was that hour wait, so we got moving.

“Let’s go get you pregnant!” He smiled, shaking my hand.

He had a harder time getting the catheter placed just right due to the fact that I’ve always had a slightly tilted uterus, and after my C-section, it apparently tilted more, so there was some time spent trying to get it in just the right spot. Jake the embryologist came in and introduced himself and I wanted to thank him for being my baby’s babysitter for the last three years and also to say “Hai!” to my two other embryos, but I didn’t. I should have.

Then they brought the embryo in and he was transferred perfectly.

“Now I’m just going to double check here and make sure everyone got off the bus,” Dr. G. said, walking over to the door. I don’t know how they can check if there’s a microscopic embryo still stuck in the tube, but hey. Meet mah baybee. Isn’t he cute?

There wasn’t a bed in recovery for me, so I was able to get right off the table and use the bathroom. Then I was wheeled out to the car and I hung out in the back seat on the ride back to the hotel.

We ate sandwiches that we brought back from Galveston and watched a lot of HGTV and Food Network. I slept a bit after we Skyped with Ollie and oh my gosh, you guys, I miss her.

It’s weird, being pregnant until proven otherwise. PUPO, you guys!!!! I can’t believe this.

Oh, and you know how we called Olivia Seaweed while I was pregnant? We were trying to come up with a name for this one that sounded beachy, but not dumb, and Chris came up with one.

“Huh,” I had said, “I actually like it.”

So…

Gully it is. Don’t laugh. Do you like it?