Recovery and Preparation

I decided to take off both Monday and Tuesday from work, even though my original plan was to only take off the day of the transfer and retrieval. Well, that got screwed up as soon as the ambulance was called. Sitting in the hospital bed, I decided it would be silly for me to return on Monday only to be gone again on Tuesday and I would like need the extra day for ongoing recovery. And that has been what I've been up to.

Yesterday was all about regulating my GI system again, which sounds a little ridiculous but it was a full day process that involved a lot of crampyness and discomfort. That's what happens when you take lots of narcotics and don't eat for two days, I suppose. I also decided to document my "war wounds". Given that my bleeding was all internal, I don't have much to show for that pain, but I do have some lovely puncture wounds.

(I briefly contemplated having people scroll down like you do for u/s or baby pics, because this might turn people off, but in a totally different way of course!)

My left hand/wrist with four different IV punctures that are beginning to bruise 

My right inner elbow, which was the primary location for taking blood the past week as my other veins are all more difficult to locate (see above). By the end, they weren't able to use this location either because the vein had too much scar tissue. 

I do want to mention again that the internal bleeding is one of the rare complications that happens to an estimated 1 of 800 IVF retrieval procedures. If you're about to go through this, rest easy knowing that I took one for the team and you should be complication free. :)

Today was all about preparation for tomorrow and returning to work. I actually started to be more mobile and accomplish a few things. And by few, I mean that I did two loads of laundry and logged into my work account to do paperwork for about an hour. Mostly, I continued to prepare for tomorrow, which means being well rested and as fully recovered as possible, so I spent a lot of time relaxing. I had some help of course...

Marv is the best at relaxing. Pay no attention to the socks that were placed on his paws. I'm bored.

Hamlet, formerly my parents car, has officially adopted us and is also great at helping me relax. He's got a really deep purr and enjoys claiming any article of clothing within seconds of it being placed on the bed, in this case a belt. 

I am still getting random cramps and a pinching sensation in my lower abdomen and it still feels like I lost all the strength in my abdominal muscles overnight, but otherwise I am feeling pretty good. I am trying not to be nervous that these pains and irritability will make my body less cozy and hospitable for some embryo(s) to implant. This and the fear that tomorrow will send my body back into attack mode and bring on the spasming pain are my only real worries right now. The rest I'm letting go, keeping my zen state. 

I actually picked up the phone this morning when the lab called with my update. Up until this point I had purposefully let it roll to voicemail as the phone sat right next to me. 1) I hate talking on the phone and it gives me anxiety. 2) I was nervous that I was too drugged to remember what they told me and that I would have no record. 3) I thought I might want to listen to the  message over and over for comfort. 4) I was nervous that I'd begin asking too many questions about exactly how many cells and the rates of the division and the grades and then give myself more anxiety. I wanted to be ok with whatever information they chose as important for me to know. 

Today I was wide awake and sitting next to C. Today I had faith in myself not to ask too many questions and knew that I wouldn't have a need to listen to message again because I never really did that. Plus, I wanted to make sure that I completely understood the instructions for tomorrow. So I answered the phone without any expectation. 

I have 9 embryos that are growing exactly on track and two more that are straggling a little behind but they're hopeful might catch up. There are two additional embryos, putting us at the 13 number I was given yesterday, that are very far behind and they are doubtful will catch up. So the number is between 9 and 13, but more likely between 9 and 11. I very happy with this, despite the fact that I generally hate odd numbers. 

Tomorrow is the day that I fill my bladder, get another blood draw, and then remain calm during another medical procedure. Tomorrow is the day I become pregnant unless proven otherwise.