Retrieval Day!

Phew, we made it!  I'm happy to say that I am on the other side of the retrieval.  We reported to the doctor's office at 7:15 this morning for an 8:00 AM retrieval.  The nurse prepped my IV and I met with the anesthesiologist.  Things got going just after 8. 

The sedation worked like a charm.  Once I got in place in the procedure room, the anesthesiologist gave me some oxygen and asked me if I was starting to feel fuzzy.  I said "No,"...and that was the last thing I remembered!

Unfortunately, after the procedure I woke up to quite a bit of pain because I was cramping like crazy.  It lasted the better part of an hour but progressively got better as the tylenol (and later, the ibuprofen) kicked in.  I went home and slept most of the afternoon and now I feel like a new person.  I am still quite sore in the abdominal area, but I think that I'll be feeling back to normal tomorrow!

And...the results.  Well, we continue to be cautiously optimistic.  Based on ultrasounds, the doctor was expecting to retrieve 15-18 eggs. We were to the point that we were thinking that we would need to limit the number that we had fertilized.  But for whatever reason, there weren't eggs present in each of the follicles that he aspirated.  This seems to be a repeating pattern for me in these IVF cycles, and we're not sure why.  But we ended up with 8 eggs, which is still a good number.  The last few days we have been praying over the number of eggs, that God's sovereignty would cover whatever decision we made with our limited knowledge and perspective.  Now we need to trust that this is the perfect number for us, and hope that God will choose to bless us in this process.  It only takes one embryo, after all!  (Although we are certainly hoping for a few more!)

Tomorrow we will find out how many of the eggs they were able to fertilize, and what time to report on Monday for the transfer (God willing!).

Tonight I am feeling thankful and am feeling at peace for the most part.  We hope to get great news tomorrow, but we know that we are in God's hands, and that is a good place to be.  May He give us grace for whatever the outcome!

Thanks to those of you who have walked with us, prayed for us, and encouraged us through this process.  We love you and are thankful for each of you.