We have embryos!

AAAAAH!!!!!

I just got a call from Dr. Tran and we officially have made embryos! 

Of the 21 eggs retrieved, 18 eggs were mature.

Of the 18 mature eggs....

18 fertilized!!!

This is the closest we have ever been to making a baby and I feel a lot better knowing that my eggs can be fertilized with Hubby's sperm (by ICSI).

Now we wait.

Day 3, Saturday, is when we will reevaluate the plan based on how well they are growing. 

Not one hour after I wrote my last post about how well I was feeling, I started having some pain. It was very, very manageable, but it was definitely uncomfortable. Mostly when I sat down or stood up or any time I made drastic changes in position.
I took a couple extra strength Tylenol and the Hubs and I trekked to Target to stock up on Gatorade and picked up a yummy burger and fries (I'm supposed to have sodium and protein to ward off the OHSS, right?) :)

Last night I was completely comfortable while sleeping, but woke up several times to pee due to all those fluids I consumed. This morning I am feeling mostly great. I'm a little sore, but haven't had to take anything yet and I have been able to go about my day as normal. I'm going to lay low and try to relax for the most part but I do plan to take the pooch out for a stroll around the neighborhood. I feel like for me, moving makes me feel better and I'm hoping it will get all those fluids moving and out of my body.

How long until you felt 100% yourself after the retrieval?

Done and Done!

Retrieval day!!!

This was a loooong time coming, but when I woke up today I had no nerves, not really and crazy excitement. I just was. I don't know, this whole thing is quite surreal to me. Part of the "problem" is that I don't really feel different. Stims were very uneventful for me. I felt my ovaries for sure, but they weren't necessarily uncomfortable, I was just more aware of them. (Probably partly because the thought of ovarian torsion freaks me out and I didn't want to do anything that would potentially flip those babies around on themselves.) Yesterday I almost wondered if I could have ovulated some of my eggs early or something because the heavy, full ovary feeling was basically gone. 

Anyway...I'll move on. I'm lucky and did not have discomfort.

Today my retrieval was scheduled for 9:30 am with a 9:00am check in for preparation. 

I arrived and was led to a changing room where I donned a gown and paper hat and booties (over my knee high cozy socks). I was then led to a pre-warmed chair and covered in warm blankets. When I win the lottery I will have a blanket warmer in my bedroom. The Nurses went through the pre-op checklist of "have you ever had -...-?" questions and started my IV. By the way, the IV was a monster. I didn't catch the gauge, but I'm pretty sure it was a hose. She popped it in on the first try, but my hand still hurts from that thing. I then was started on IV fluids and got an IV antibiotic. 

The anesthesiologist came over, ran through a series of basically the same "have you ever had -...-?" questions and then gave me my drug cocktail. By the time I walked back to the retrieval room I was definitely feeling the effects of it!

I put my legs (yes, pretty much the whole leg goes in) into the massive stirrups and the rest is anesthesia history! The next thing I knew, I was waking up for quite a delightful nap in the recovery area. Mr Hubby was brought back and we chatted for a while as I woke up and then The REs came back to check in and tell us that we got 21 eggs. 

I was a little surprised that it wasn't more based upon how they kept going on about how I was such an egg machine, but I am 100% happy with the 21! After some cranberry juice and some graham crackers, we were on our way! A quick stop at Whole Foods for a snack and some Gatorade, and now back at home. 

I am feeling really good right now, pretty rested from my power nap :) and not having pain. I'm spotting a little bit and am trying to lay low for the day despite feeling like I could do something productive. Later today I will start my methilpredisolone and progesterone just in case the transfer does happen on day 3, but otherwise I will just be anxiously awaiting the fertilization report tomorrow afternoon and watching crappy daytime TV. 

Now, for all of you that have traveled this journey before me, any awesome tips for warding off OHSS or for general recovery? It's hard for me to imagine that I could blow up like a big balloon now since I haven't had any bloating so far, but I've heard it's worse after retrieval. Always something to look forward to ;)