5 Embryos Redux

August 13th. I worked from home just as a precaution but I felt fine. That morning the embryologist called and said that of the 7 eggs they'd retrieved the day before, 5 were mature (probably the Big 5) but of those 5, all of them fertilized! Hooray for ICSI! She said she'd call with one more update on them the next day, but that we were still all set for a Tuesday embryo transfer.
August 14th. The call from the embryologist on this day said that all 5 embryos were still dividing as they were supposed to, and she'd see us on Tuesday. We wouldn't be getting any more updates between then and Tuesday. Alrighty then.
August 15th and 16th. Nothing of note on these days (crazy!).
August 17th. Transfer day! I had set up an acupuncture appointment for before and after the transfer. There's a study that says that this specific acupuncture can increase our chances so I went for it. I showed up an hour before the transfer time (so 10am) at the clinic and met the acupuncturist and she led me back to the room I'd recovered in the prior Thursday. She set up the stretcher/bed with comfy cushions and pillows and then I stretched out on it and got comfortable. She stuck a needle in the very top of my head, two in each ear, one somewhere on each foot, I think one in each of my legs, and one in each arm, and maybe one or two in my belly. And then I was just supposed to relax for about a half an hour. So I did.
The husband showed up around 10:45 and the acupuncturist led him into the room, she removed all the needles, and then the embryologist came in to give us our pre-transfer update. She showed us a picture from the microscope of all 5, and showed us how two of them were the farthest along, two had stopped developing since Saturday, and one more was still developing, but not at the same pace as the strongest two. She said that the strongest two were a little behind where they expected them to be, but that they were still growing and that we should transfer them both. So we did!
I'd had to drink about 20 oz of water before the acupuncture so that my bladder would be full and pushing on my uterus making my uterus easier to see on the ultrasound during the transfer procedure. So at this point I felt that I had to go! But instead, off to the OR we went where The Husband had to put on scrubs and a hairnet and a mask and booties on his shoes. Then the doc came in and got everything ready to go, and then the embryologist came in with a tube full of fluid and the two "early blastocyst" embryos. We watched on the ultrasound while the tube was inserted, threaded through my cervix, into my uterus, and then we saw the fluid with the embryos in it emptied into my uterus and then we were done! They had me lie there for another 10 minutes and then I could get up and rush to the bathroom, yay! After the transfer we did about another 30 minutes of acupuncture and then I was free to go. The Husband had gone back to work already, but I wasn't allowed to. I'd been ordered to 2-3 days of bed/couch rest so I went to a drive-thru for lunch and then headed home where I spent the rest of the day relaxing and napping. I didn't have any cramping from the transfer at all, so it felt strange to be doing all the things I do when I'm sick, while not being sick.
August 18th. My friend Amy brought me lunch this day and came to keep me company for a little while. My friend Laurie brought dinner over (The Husband had to be gone this night to study for a football officiating test he had to take) and we played a couple board games and watched a movie. Laurie's first baby is due in less than a month so it was some nice girl-time that we probably won't have for awhile again. It was great to have some company during the day that day because I was SO BORED sitting around and napping at home. I felt fine!!
August 19th. I worked from home on this day. I sat with my feet up most of the day and work didn't really stress me out that week so I figured it was ok. The embryologist called that morning and told us that the last embryo we had arrested overnight and stopped developing so we weren't going to have any to freeze. He did, however, say that the two we transferred "should get the job done." I sure hope so!
August 20th. We had this day off work and since my bedrest was over we decided to go out for lunch and run a couple of errands. It was so great to get out of the house! We were out for only about 3 hours but I was exhausted when we got home and spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch. We had dinner at home that night, even. On a weekend!
August 21st. The Husband had a race to run at Copper Mountain on this day so we headed up to the high country early, stopping for breakfast on the way there. I had a camping chair with me but it turns out some friends who were also doing the race had scored some great comfortable Adirondack chairs at the base of the mountain and so I sat there most of the morning. I got up and did a bit of walking after an hour or so to watch a bit of the race and then back to my seat - I didn't want to overdo it. We headed home around 1:30 or so and stopped with friends for lunch on the way home. During lunch I felt some cramping and I did some quick Googling on my phone and found that cramping a few days after embryo transfer is usually a good thing - it could be the end of implantation! The cramps weren't that painful and only lasted a few minutes so I decided not to let myself be concerned by them.
August 22nd. That's today! Today I had my blood drawn at the clinic. I'll go again on Wednesday and Saturday and Saturday's the day that they'll call and tell me whether this whole process worked or not. Fingers crossed!