I am officially PUPO - pregnant until proven otherwise. Embryo transfer was yesterday and now in the dreaded 2 week wait.
To catch up, on day 4 we had 4 morulas and 2 8 cell embryos. We were very happy all 6 had made it to day 4. However, the transition from morula to blastocyst is a big one and we knew they might not all make it.
Yesterday we went to the clinic a little after 8 for my acupuncture before transfer. Then we were taken to a room and the embryologist came in to talk to us about our embryos. There was good news and bad news but from my perspective the good news outweighed the bad.
Two of our embryos stopped developing and never made it to blast :(. A third made it to blast but had no inner cell mass. At the blast stage, the embryo divides into two distinct groups of cells. The outer mass becomes the placenta and sac and the inner becomes the baby. With no inner cells, the embryo could never have developed into a baby - just an empty sac.
Which left us with the three other embryos and there's where the good - well really great - news comes in. Two of them were grade AA hatching blasts - the very best we could have to transfer! And the third is a grade AA expanded blast - that one is now frozen for a later visit, hopefully for a sibling!
Transferred the two hatching AA blasts, transfer went smoothly - lining at 11mm - had acupuncture again and headed back to the hotel to rest. The acupuncturist left these tiny needles in my ear and told me to leave them for like 3 weeks - not sure they're going to make it that long since they kind of bug me.
Spent the rest of yesterday resting at the hotel. Only got up to go to the bathroom and for one quick trip down to the hotel computers to watch the dvd of our embryos growing (amazing!). Today also taking it easy and praying! Last night woke up in the middle of the night in terrible pain - like every part of my digestive system was inflamed. Not sure what caused it but guessing drinking water lying down all day, eating potato chips and pineapple juice, and all the hormones on board conspired to make me a very unhappy camper for a bit. Feeling better now. Resting for the rest of the day and then tomorrow we're heading out for a little more sightseeing!
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Let the good times roll!
So yesterday's update was - all 6 embryos still kicking - 3 8 cell and 3 6 cell. Yay. Then this morning we got our update - 4 compacting morulas and the other 2 are at 8 cells so still potentially viable but lagging behind a bit. Overall we are very happy with this news! Embryo transfer on for tomorrow bright and early - acupuncture then transfer then acupuncture then back to our beautiful hotel (the Barcelo Brno Palace) to rest and relax and be pampered by my husband.
Couldn't be happier right now.
More tomorrow as I'm lying in bed - planning a post about our clinic and one about the things I love and hate here in Europe (hint: topping the list of loves = food; hates = hard beds)!
Couldn't be happier right now.
More tomorrow as I'm lying in bed - planning a post about our clinic and one about the things I love and hate here in Europe (hint: topping the list of loves = food; hates = hard beds)!
Saturday, September 7, 2013
A Quick Update
Hard to blog while over here - in our down time we are trying to see some sights and have some fun plus the husband has been hogging the computer for his blogging. Here's a quick rundown:
Egg retrieval was on the 4th - retrieved 11 oocytes.
Next day fertilization report - 9 were mature and 7 fertilized via PICSI/ICSI.
Yesterday's day 2 embryo report - 5 at 4 cells, 1 at 3 cells and 1 stopped developing.
Waiting for today's report.
As far as travel it's been ok - I feel a little under the weather here and there but making it through. After our ultrasound on Friday we were scheduled to stay in Brno through Monday. But our hotel room's beds sucked. We were at the Voronez I. Good price, good breakfast but the bed was hard as rock and the shower had the removable showerhead mounted at about knee height. Checked out a day early and headed to Bratislava for a night.
Loved Bratislava! Stayed at Marrol's, a small boutique hotel. Walked around and saw the castle, churches, and wandered into a local artisan fair where colorfully dressed Slovaks were selling pottery and hand painted eggs. And the food! I fell in love with what I'm calling Slovakian mac and cheese. Dumplings with sheep's cheese and bacon! Yum!!!
The next day (the 2nd) we drove to Poland where we stayed at a pyramid shaped hotel (yes, a pyramid shaped hotel, called Piramida, in the middle of Poland - so weird). This hotel was apparently based on this "healing power of the pyramid", which I don't buy into but it was still interesting. The room was a suite with a huge outer room and a tiny bedroom with a tiny bed. The shower was amazing though - lights, music, jets all over. The reason for that side trip was to visit Auschwitz, which we did the next day. At first the husband thought going to Auschwitz would be morbid/depressing/inappropriate for a medical trip. But both our grandfathers were in the war and I thought we might never have this chance again. It was a way to pay our respects to the dead and at the same time remember that history forgotten repeats itself. It made us talk about the heroes of that time who risked their lives to save others and stand up for what was right and reaffirmed our commitment to raise our children to stand up for the truth and for human life. I won't say it was "fun" but it was a good visit.
After Auschwitz we headed back to Brno for the egg retrieval. Egg retrieval on Wednesday and I took it easy the rest of the day in the hotel. This time we stayed in the Holiday Inn and it was pretty fantastic. Best beds so far - got great rest. Shower was normal. Only complaint was the internet sucked and breakfast wasn't included. A bit pricey but husband was having serious insomnia so getting him a couple nights' sleep was key.
The next day we headed up to Berlin. We originally booked at the Holiday Inn near the airport, thinking we would continue the fantastic bed theme. And the beds were nice after we checked in. The problem: our room stank like raw sewage and the a/c and tv didn't work. We asked them to change our room but they wouldn't. So we checked right back out and struck out to find a new hotel. We were able to find one just a bit out of town - very nice, although the a/c still doesn't work (what is up with no a/c in Europe?). Here we've been seeing the sights and planning to head back to Brno yet again on Sunday for our embryo transfer.
That's the quick update!
Egg retrieval was on the 4th - retrieved 11 oocytes.
Next day fertilization report - 9 were mature and 7 fertilized via PICSI/ICSI.
Yesterday's day 2 embryo report - 5 at 4 cells, 1 at 3 cells and 1 stopped developing.
Waiting for today's report.
As far as travel it's been ok - I feel a little under the weather here and there but making it through. After our ultrasound on Friday we were scheduled to stay in Brno through Monday. But our hotel room's beds sucked. We were at the Voronez I. Good price, good breakfast but the bed was hard as rock and the shower had the removable showerhead mounted at about knee height. Checked out a day early and headed to Bratislava for a night.
Loved Bratislava! Stayed at Marrol's, a small boutique hotel. Walked around and saw the castle, churches, and wandered into a local artisan fair where colorfully dressed Slovaks were selling pottery and hand painted eggs. And the food! I fell in love with what I'm calling Slovakian mac and cheese. Dumplings with sheep's cheese and bacon! Yum!!!
The next day (the 2nd) we drove to Poland where we stayed at a pyramid shaped hotel (yes, a pyramid shaped hotel, called Piramida, in the middle of Poland - so weird). This hotel was apparently based on this "healing power of the pyramid", which I don't buy into but it was still interesting. The room was a suite with a huge outer room and a tiny bedroom with a tiny bed. The shower was amazing though - lights, music, jets all over. The reason for that side trip was to visit Auschwitz, which we did the next day. At first the husband thought going to Auschwitz would be morbid/depressing/inappropriate for a medical trip. But both our grandfathers were in the war and I thought we might never have this chance again. It was a way to pay our respects to the dead and at the same time remember that history forgotten repeats itself. It made us talk about the heroes of that time who risked their lives to save others and stand up for what was right and reaffirmed our commitment to raise our children to stand up for the truth and for human life. I won't say it was "fun" but it was a good visit.
After Auschwitz we headed back to Brno for the egg retrieval. Egg retrieval on Wednesday and I took it easy the rest of the day in the hotel. This time we stayed in the Holiday Inn and it was pretty fantastic. Best beds so far - got great rest. Shower was normal. Only complaint was the internet sucked and breakfast wasn't included. A bit pricey but husband was having serious insomnia so getting him a couple nights' sleep was key.
The next day we headed up to Berlin. We originally booked at the Holiday Inn near the airport, thinking we would continue the fantastic bed theme. And the beds were nice after we checked in. The problem: our room stank like raw sewage and the a/c and tv didn't work. We asked them to change our room but they wouldn't. So we checked right back out and struck out to find a new hotel. We were able to find one just a bit out of town - very nice, although the a/c still doesn't work (what is up with no a/c in Europe?). Here we've been seeing the sights and planning to head back to Brno yet again on Sunday for our embryo transfer.
That's the quick update!
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