Earlier this week when I was at the grocery store, a stranger walked up to me and asked how far along I was. It’s crazy to think about how many times friends and strangers have asked me this question throughout our infertility journey. I would normally try and make a joke about the big burrito I ate at lunch to stop myself from bursting into tears. But this time, I turned to her and said “It’s just the bloating from IVF”. She said “Oh” and walked away.
Something so personal as asking someone when they are going to have kids or if you are pregnant or how far along you are can all sting. You don’t know the journey that person has been on and how those words will hurt. What that stranger in the grocery store didn’t know was I lost my first baby after two years of trying to conceive and fertility treatments and am now trying to get my body ready and wrap my head around the idea of trying again. It made me think about how much I miss being pregnant and the optimism that came with our first frozen embryo transfer (FET). So I thought maybe it would be therapeutic for me to reflect on our first frozen embryo transfer as we prepare for our second transfer.
After an IVF egg retrieval, whatever embryos have grown and developed (and not used in a fresh transfer) will be frozen for future use. The day of a frozen embryo transfer, embryo(s) are thawed and placed back into a woman’s uterus. But before you can get to transfer day, you have to get your body ready. Here is the breakdown of my protocol leading up to our 2018 FET.
Sept 22-Oct 7: Took birth control pills
Oct 10: Baseline ultrasound (Lining was at 5mm; Right ovary had 2 follicles or cysts but bloodwork showed they weren’t producing hormones so we could move forward)
Oct 11: Started estrogen pills (4 pills orally every day) to help thicken my uterine lining
Oct 18: Ultrasound (Lining was at 6mm and appeared triple line pattern; Small cyst was still on right ovary)
Oct 25: Ultrasound (Lining at 7mm; “Pretty” triple layer pattern; No activity on either ovary, right ovary cyst was gone (finally!); Added 1 estrogen pill vaginally every day to assist with thickening my lining since it wasn’t progressing as much as we would have liked. This actually caused the clinic to delay my transfer a few days to give my lining extra time)
Oct 29: Ultrasound (Lining was at 7.47mm - as good as it seemed to want to get although we were shooting for at least 8mm)
Nov 1: Started progesterone-in-oil (PIO) shots daily to help my uterus prepare to receive & keep an embryo
November 6, 2018 arrived and it was time to bring our little embaby home. The only word I can use to describe the day of our transfer was MAGICAL. Jeff and I spent the morning doing what we love - tried a new restaurant for a protein-rich breakfast and went to the beach. I listened to some meditations while watching the waves. Throughout our entire infertility journey, I never felt more optimistic than I did this day. I was dressed the part and so ready!
When it was time, we checked into the fertility clinic an hour before our scheduled transfer time. I choose to do acupuncture before and after my transfer as it has been one of the few things I have done for myself over the last year that made me feel I had control over what was happening to my body. Plus, acupuncture before and after a transfer actually helps to increase success rates since it helps to get the blood moving to the uterus! So once my acupuncture session was complete, it was time to get knocked up (but not by my husband...he just watched someone else do it haha)!
First, the embryologist came into our room to talk to us about the embryo we were transferring and show us pictures. How cool is it that we get pictures of our possible future baby when the embryo was 5 days old?! She said our embryo couldn’t look any better.
In the room there were 2 TV screens. The first one allowed us to watch the embryologist back in the lab place our embryo into the “straw” that would be be placed through the catheter into our uterus. Once the embryologist had our embryo, she came into our room and our doctor told us to watch the second TV screen. With a quick countdown, we saw Baby Hippo make its way into my uterus.
The whole process looked like we were watching a shooting star on the screen. I couldn’t have been happier in that moment! So after acupuncture we went home officially PUPO - pregnant until proven otherwise. From here we would wait 10 days to complete our first beta pregnancy blood test to see if Baby Hippo was able to implant. But until then, I kept my feet nice and warm & drank lots of warm beverages (this helps to keep your uterus warm and you know what they say “A warm uterus is an inviting uterus”). Stick Baby Hippo Stick!
**This is not meant to be medical advice. Be sure to consult your doctor with any medical concerns. This is the account of my personal journey through infertility**
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