12

I had my egg retrieval today!

I got there at 6:30am and they asked me to change into an oh-so-sexy hospital gown. Once changed, they had me sit in a bed for about 40 minutes as we waited for the meds to kick in from my IV drip. John gave me a kiss before they wheeled me off to the operating room. I remember entering the OR and having to move beds. Then nothing.. I was out.
Next thing I know, I woke up back in the room I had started out in. They took my vitals and then called John out of the waiting room to see me. I will still quite out of it and don't remember the conversations that John says we had.
We had to wait for an hour before they released me. They took my vitals a few more times before I changed back into my clothes.
The doctor told me that they had retrieved 12 eggs. 8-10 is the average, so that was a great outcome!
The rest of the day has been quite painful. It hurts to walk, cough, laugh and even (TMI) pee! I have been resting on the couch all day, dozing in and out of sleep.
I am excited to find out the fertilization rate tomorrow to see how many embryos we have! Thank you to my friends and family for the prayers and support!

Little update

I finished my stims yesterday. They were not as bad as I thought. With me only feeling sick the last two days. With a prayer, I closed my eyes and took my trigger shot tonight. One last boost for my little oocytes!
Tuesday the doc will go in and retrieve the multiple eggs that have developed due to the stimulation shots (stims). The eggs will be fertilized outside of the body and grown for a few days. On Friday, the best two will be transferred.
Then starts the hardest 2ww of all. I hope to do a lot of fun things during the 2ww. Distractions to make the anxiety, craziness, and unbearable curiosity of the 2ww manageable.
Why is this 2ww so hard? What exactly is riding on this?
1)IVF is the dead end of the baby making road. It is intimidating to know that there are no other options available to you, outside of more $11,500 IVF cycles & $3,000 in meds.
2) I have exceeded my lifetime infertility insurance benefits. That means ANYTHING I have done related to infertility has to come out of pocket from now on. Just to give you an idea, one of my medications cost $1,800.
3) Because I have not allowed myself to think negatively. I feel that it will taint the outcome. So, if things go south, I am by NO means prepared to handle that. (Becuase it is NOT an option)
4) Because people know. People will want to know the outcome, whether good or bad.
5) My mom and I have bought some baby clothes. (I know, I am torturing myself)
6) Because we long so much for a baby it hurts. It hurts all over, in my heart, my soul, my mind, in my core...

Please pray for us! Particularly on Tuesday and Friday of this week.
Love to all!

Psalms 113:9
He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.