Egg Retreival, Fertilization & Blastocyst

This is us right before our egg retrieval. 

What an emotional roller coaster. I remember going into this appointment feeling so excited. All smiles and ready to see how many eggs I made after weeks of injections, ultrasounds, and blood tests. Danny and I walked into the office, signed some papers, and within minutes I was taken back into the procedure room. With booty covers after my Ultra Boosts, I was getting ready to change into the fancy hospital gown, while Danny got his troops lined up. Dressed in my gown, hair net and all… I sat there alone reflecting on how I was feeling. I broke down. I didn’t know what it was that triggered it. Maybe the scary looking leg spread-ers, the cold floor at my feet, the fact that I just went through weeks of hormones.

The nurse walks in on me balling my eyes out. She was so sweet and concerned. I told her I don’t know what it is and made an excuse that I was scared to get an IV. She said she’d bring in our best IV applier, which ended up being our sweet friend, Dani. What felt like minutes later - Danny, Dani, Dr. Shah and the nurse/physician’s assistant were all in the room. The IV was painless and soon enough I felt like I had a bottle of red wine to myself.

The procedure – I felt enough of it (ouchhh). Although I was sedated, I felt a lot of pressure/cramps and pain when the needle went through my ovaries. Danny recorded the entire thing and I was moaning out of pain, so they gave me extra drugs. I do remember them coaching me through breathing.

The recovery – I threw up as soon as I left the office from all the medicine. Once we got home I just slept and rested for the remainder of the day.  It took a  week before I felt normal again. It took time for my ovaries to go back to normal and not feel so bloated. I took it easy for a week before easing back into the gym.

In the end, we had 26 eggs retrieved and 19 eggs fertilized and at the blastocyst stage! God is good.