Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise

It is the day after my embryo transfer and I am in sitting in my bedroom watching Aladdin and trying to enjoy my time on bed rest.  On the nightstand next to me, I have some beautiful flowers sent by my mother-in-law and the picture of our embryos propped up against it.  Every time I look over, I imagine that they are snuggling in and making a home for the next nine months.

Yesterday was an exciting day in the Manning household.  We spent the morning preparing for the time I would spend on bed rest and took the dogs for a walk.  At 11:00 we headed to the Reproductive Endocrinologist's office for the procedure.  The first order of business upon arrival was our discussion with the doctor about the number of embryos to transfer.  We found out that both of the embryos that they attempted to thaw, thawed successfully and no cells were lost.  This was fantastic news.  After a short discussion, we decided to transfer both of the embryos.

After consents were signed, Ryan and I both got suited up and waited for the procedure to begin.

Waiting to go back into the treatment room.

Throughout this process, there have been multiple students and interns involved in my case.  For the procedure, they all wanted to come back, so I had quite the audience.  Including Ryan and myself, there were nine people crammed into the tiny procedure room.  It was nice to have so much support from the staff at Dr. Magarelli's office.  If a medical procedure can be fun, then I guess we all had a good time and a lot of laughs preparing for the procedure.  I have to say that I wasn't even the slightest bit nervous.  There was so much positivity in the room, I couldn't help but to feel good about it.

The transfer itself went off without a hitch.  It was as smooth as it could possibly be.  After it was all over, the whole staff yelled together, "Let's have a baby!"  and it made me cry happy tears.  Ryan was handed a picture of our two embryos, and we looked at it together while I laid down recovering from the procedure.  Honestly, the procedure itself was not very difficult.  We watched on an ultrasound as the doctor placed the embryos and there was very little discomfort.

So now I just sit and wait hoping that these embryos snuggle into place while I rest in bed.  I find myself analyzing every small stir in my body.  Every stomach gurgle or twinge makes me wonder if the  embryos are cuddling in.  I like to imagine that is exactly what is happening.  The worst part about this phase of IVF is waiting for a definitive answer.  I am scheduled on October 1st for my first blood test to determine whether or not I'm pregnant.  It will be a couple of weeks after that before I know how many implanted.

In the meantime, I greatly appreciate all the support, prayers, and thoughts that so many of you are sending our way.  Ryan and I are truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.  We will do our best to keep everyone updated.