Thursday, June 18, 2009

K's PUPO

Just as I had hoped the ET was perfect. K and I wore the cute surrogacy t-shirts I made us, which everyone seemed to get a kick out of, and we had fun! K's penthouse uterus was fluffy and readily accepted the new tenants--two Grade A+ blasts (i.e., Grade 1.1 at my clinic, which is the highest score they give). One of the embryos was hatching (pictured below on the top right) when the photo was taken an hour before the transfer. The embryologist expected the other embryo to be hatching by the time of the transfer. Both of my embabies are absolutely beautiful and although I'm biased K, Dr. S, and the entire embryology team at our clinic agreed.

Much to my surprise all 10 embryos were still growing today. The clinic froze one blast today and is watching the other 7 blasts until tomorrow. They anticipate freezing at least one of those embryos, but aren't sure about the others. My clinic has very high standards for the embryo cryopreservation--only embryos graded 2.2 or higher with 1.1 being the highest are frozen. This means that they only freeze embryos graded A's and B's. I have to admit that this is hard for me to stomach given that many women get pregnant with lesser quality embryos, but there's not much I can do about it. Honestly I just try not to think about them throwing out my embryos graded below a 2.2.

I felt completely calm today, which is pretty unusual for me, so I'm taking this as a positive sign. I am nervous to say it, but I'll whisper it ... I'm feeling very good about our prospects this cycle. Both K and I are full of hope! Dr. S was optimistic about our chances of a pregnancy with our first transfer and is even more confident that this transfer will result in a pregnancy. Our betas are 6/29 and 7/1, but K will POAS well before the betas (I stocked her with 8 tests)! We are both anxious to see a + hpt!

Me and K in the lobby of the clinic sporting our t-shirts.
K waiting to accept her new tenants.

Me, K (with embryos inside), and Dr. S after the transfer.

Me, K, two of the embryologists, Allison and Will, after the transfer.

Me, K, and the embryology team after the transfer.

K doing the post-transfer acupuncture session.



Right now K is at home resting--they give Val.ium, which made her a bit sleepy on the ride home. My clinic requires 48hrs of bedrest following the transfer, so I made a fun bedrest basket of goodies (e.g., snacks, magazines, novels, DVDs, aromatherapy lotion, candle, comfy pj's and slippers) to keep K occupied over the next 2 days. I also made meals for supper for K and her her family, so they wouldn't have to worry about what to eat. K's oldest boy wants to stay home from day care tomorrow to help take care of his mommy and I plan to take them lunch. So, between me, her wonderful hubby, T, and her vibrant boys, K and K, K and our little ones will be well taken care of. (I think K might do a post from her bed tomorrow, so look forward to that!)

21 comments:

Jaymee said...

these stories never make me cry and i am bawling at the moment. those are beautiful and overachieving embies you have there. i want this so badly for you. sending you all the best of luck and a million good wishes.

Kristen said...

Nikki,
I have been following your blog for a long time but have never commented. I just want you to know that I wish you nothing but the best, you deserve it. I am so sorry for all you've had to endure. You have shown that you really are a fighter and I admire you so much for that. I have also lost a child. I did IVF and succeeded with two day 3 embryos which resulted in a twin pg. I had an incompetent cervix and delivered them at 26 weeks. My little boy passed away 3 days later and my sweet daughter is thriving and doing wonderfully 3 yrs later. I know I'm so lucky to have a living child but I miss my son like crazy and it hurts because so many people dismiss his loss because I have my daugher. I have since tried 4 FET and succeeded with the first only to discover it was a tubal, the other 3 were all BFN. Anyway, I guess I just wanted you to know that I'm cheering for you and I feel such a connection to you and I really really admire you. So I am sending all the positive thoughts I can...GOOD LUCK!

N said...

Whoohoo! Go go, K, and go go, little embryos!

GeekByMarriage said...

YIPPIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maddy said...

I've got all 10 of my fingers and all 10 of my toes crossed for you and K. Let's hope both of those little ones stick around! You certainly have enough love for both. Good luck!!!

Caroline said...

Those embies look beautiful! I can't wait to hear how the POAS test goes.

Heather said...

Congratulations on such a good start!! Keeping everything crossed for you and K!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you're feeling much better!

Those are great pix, and I'm very excited for you! Sounds like you're definitely PUPO! :-) Yahoo!!!!

Awesome blasts, and I'm praying that you have AT LEAST one healthy, and happy baby growing.

Btw, I love those t-shirts! :-)

Dora said...

Those are a couple of gorgeous embryos!! So happy for you. Now the hard part ... THE WAIT!

Anonymous said...

Yay!!!! Congratulations Nikki! K - you are amazing and you are just so awesome and I am in awe of you.

The blasts looked incredible and I hope they are busy implanting and getting ready to be born to an amazing mother.

Nikki - I am so pulling for you, you know that. Pick up the phone or email me - anytime, day or night. ((HUGS))

Nadine said...

I am so excited for you guys! This is such a great day, for the both of you! i look forward to your journey together, always here to cheer you both on.
This is it.

Meg. said...

Oh man. I have goose bumps!

Like you, I have *such* a great feeling about this!

I'm so glad that everything went textbook-smooth.

Can't wait for K to POAS!

Heather said...

:) Lots and lots of positive thoughts and prayers that those gorgeous little guys dig in for the long haul!

Wewurtskihit said...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those are all the positiv vipes we can send you!!!

Mark

SMK said...

Niki!

I am soo excited for you! That is great news that you had 2 grade A+ transferred! I am keeping both you and K in my thoughts and prayers!! Take care of yourself and each other... not to sound too much like Jerry Springer! LOL!
Great lookin embryos are snuggling in for the long haul now. Looking forward to hearing the updates :)

The Hendrickson's said...

This is looking like a perfect start to your little one(s) baby book! I'm so excited for what's coming! GOOD LUCK to you, J & K! I am sending all the positive energy I have your way!! So happy everything is looking great so far! Also, can't wait for K to POAS!!

Bluebird said...

YAYY!!!! Thank you so much for sharing the great pics. Everything - *everything*! is crossed for you guys, I wish you all the best in the world.

Shantay said...

Stopping by to say... Sticky Vibes to K!!! and Calming Vibes to YOU!

Amy and Angela said...

I'm dreaming about what next summer will be like for you. Good thing you have those closets cleaned out because next year....boy oh boy...you will have your hands and your heart filled to the brim!!

Amy

Baby Smiling In Back Seat said...

Here from LFCA...


Those are such beautiful blasts!

Good luck to all of you!

Baby Smiling In Back Seat said...

Forgot to mention...

My clinic also has very high standards for freezing. As a result, none of my embryos ever made it to freeze. The rationale is that there's no point in putting you through extra FETs with embryos that will never become babies. I was sad each time that I didn't have any to freeze, but in the end glad that they didn't put me through unnecessary failed cycles. I've seen people whose clinics went the other way and froze even the worst embryos, which often resulted in many pointless cycles.

In case that helps...

Take care!