After Egg Retrieval: An Update

 So egg retrieval sucks.

The experience really wasn't bad. Recovery's been a pain.

Folks want me to get down to the egg-y details, or the "yolk" if you will. 

The Yolk

They harvested 12 eggs, 9 of which were mature and were able to be fertilized. 

A lot of people have asked me about this part.

Do they just put the eggs in a petri dish and then put Paul's sperm in and swirl them around and hope for the best? 

Sometimes that's the case, but we're doing what's called ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection). ICSI means my doctor injects a sperm into each egg to fertilize it. That happens on day one, right after egg retrieval. 

https://www.utahfertility.com/understanding-embryo-grading/

Ideally, development goes as follows:

Day 1- Fertilization
Day 1- 2 cells
Day 2- 4 cells
Day 3- 8 cells
Day 4- 16 cells/morula)
Day 5- Blastocyst

https://www.drmalpani.com/blogs/blastocystimages

Then a couple cells will be taken from the trophectoderm (which will later become part of the placenta) and sent off for genetic testing. The lab will test for a variety of genetic diseases, and at this point, they'll also be able to identify the sex of each embryo. 

We'll find out within 7-10 days how many embryos of each sex we have, as well as how healthy they are. Because Paul is offshore, it'll actually be more like 12 days. 

The embryos will each be graded on an A, B, C scale. The trophectoderm is also graded on the same scale. A not so great embryo and trophectoderm will be a CC.

We're hoping and praying for a AA female.

At this point, one of two things happen. Either the embryo gets implanted into the uterus during the next ovulation cycle OR it gets frozen until the desired time of embryo transfer. That's the option we're taking. 

We are planning for embryo transfer during my July ovulation cycle. 

At that point, one embryo will be implanted into my uterus. 

YAY SCIENCE!

Back to Egg Retrieval 

The process itself was pretty straightforward. 

I went in, got an IV, met my anesthesiologist (who just *happened* to be my fertility doctor's husband), then I woke up (and cried a bit because anesthesia apparently makes me see my mom), and I went home. 

Paul and Gabi were both there throughout the whole thing. 

Leaving the surgical facility, my pain was at a 4. That was around 1:00pm.

By 7pm, I was at a solid 8. Even with the medication. 

The next day? 

After having slept-even in the recliner- my muscles in my abdomen had gotten cold, so I was teetering on a 10 when I woke up, just trying to get them to move. 

It stayed at an 8 most of the day. 

I kept a heating pad on my belly (and usually a cat or two, as well) and slept in the recliner.

Paul also left to go offshore. 

***Shout out to Gabi for taking him to airport at the crack of dawn!***

Yesterday was a lot more manageable at a 4/5, thank God, but walking upright for any amount of time was still out of the question.  

The animals kept me company, and my friend Elizabeth came up. She did and put away all my laundry and dishes, and she helped me find and cook something that sounded edible (because nothing sounds good right now). 

Fried okra did the trick! 

How delightfully southern...

So Why Did it Hurt?

Here's an biology lesson, folks. 

In a typical monthly cycle, a woman's ovary holds around 5 follicles and looks something like this: 

One becomes mature and is released at ovulation. 

A mature follicle is around 20mm. 

That's just shy of an inch long.  

I had 12 of those. Mine looked more like this:

You'll notice the weight of the ovary pulls both it and the fallopian tube down. 

So yeah. I was a bit "uncomfortable"

For 6 days, I took a shot to postpone ovulation. My body was pretty angry about all that. 

My everything hurt everywhere. I felt *all* the things. 

You've seen the post. 

Anyway...

I felt loads better after Paul gave me my trigger shot to trigger ovulation. 

He was a rock star- as per his usual- he's the best husband and partner, and I'm so glad we're going through this together-

And he should totally become a nurse because he gave a great shot!

He could have done this, but he didn't.

Thanks, babe 💖

Egg Retrieval

• Doc went in with a very long, very thin needle with a camera attached
• with that needle, my doctor punctured through my vagina and then through my ovary
• she punctured each follicle to retrieve the eggs

• those follicles then fill with blood
• they release the misery-inducing hormone progesterone (which is a hormone necessary for maintaining pregnancy)
• my ovary will stay swollen and continue to cause misery until I menstruate again

That's why it hurts. But you know what? 

It's all going to be worth it when I'm holding my little girl. 

Thanks for reading. 

Let me know if you've got any questions!