Surrogacy Diaries 11... 5 day hatched blastocyst transfer!

Well, I already know the results of the transfer, which I will be making another post on!

I was not able to do a blog post/videos this past week as I had planned b/c my computer charger went to sh*t and I couldn't charge my computer. Luckily my hubby had a secret savings stash (he always does this so i dont touch it lol) and got me a new one!!! Bless him.

Ok so I finally got all the arrangements made for my trip to the clinic in NYC for the transfer. My sister in law was going to stay at our home at night for the two nights, while tyler worked, and during the day he would sleep when they sleep and watch them. The train however, was cancelled right when i got to the train station due to the crazy floods that swept across PA. I almost panicked when the man at the front desk said that if i hurried, i could catch the bus to NYC. I made it to the bus in time thank goodness. On my way to NY, there was a young man sitting next to me and we just chatted (he had a thick NY accent lol) the whole way and it made time pass quickly.

I arrived at the station about 5:15 pm . I was meeting the IPs in the hotel lobby to go to dinner at 7pm. I stood out front trying to catch a cab, but the ppl who are used to doing in dominated that sporting event, and a half hour later I mapped it on my phone and realized (oops) it was only two blocks to my hotel. so with my luggage, off I went. I got to my room on the 14th floor and was kind of suprised. It definitely was not one of their renovated rooms for sure haha. Very plain and simple...which is fine...with some things i tried to overlook. so I settled in. Then the toilet wouldnt flush and the ac wasnt working. I called about it and they said they would come up while I went to dinner.

I went down to the lobby and waited for a while, kicking myself because in all the madness of trying to prepare my family for me being gone- I had never picked up a gift for them! (so mad at myself for that).
But it was what it was. They finally came in all smiles and everything I imagined them to be :) They were an adorable couple too. They had made reservations at a local fancy restaurant we walked to. It was french mostly, and I had no idea what the menu said so I chose my 4 courses, and whispered to the waiter "was any of that raw food?" he smiled and said no, so i figured i was good lol. I ate a salad of seaweed with strange caviar looking berries and blue cheese with a vinegar sauce. I also had a pork tenderloin over butternut squash puree and cooked raisin sauce and then an apricot cheesecake (omg). They then presented me with multiple gifts (so freaking sweet!) including an umbrella, a coach purse, and a bunch of Chinese goodies for the boys and Tyler. We said our goodbyes after a great meal, and great conversation. I went to my room.

My toilet was still clogged, so I used the lobby bathroom, and went to bed. I woke up at 8, and was to be at the clinic at 930 for a ten o clock transfer. I called again about my toilet and they said they would fix it so a man came in and unclogged it and replaced parts. I assumed it was working again. It was about a 20 minute walk (since getting a cab intimidates me now lol) so I headed out around 845 in case I got lost. My feet got kind of blistered b/c i had flip flops on lol. I finally got to the area and didnt see the clinic anywhere. I finally called the front desk and it turns out i was practically on their front step to the building they are in. Nothing in NYC ever has signs!!! they are just buildings standing proud, assuming you will know what is inside lol.

I went up and the elevator opened up to this posh/modern/sleek waiting room, where I electronically signed in. I felt like I was in a movie. I waited for about 25 minutes, and they finally called me back. I signed a bunch of papers stating that they were transferring one 5 day male thawed blastocyst hatchling. They showed me a picture of an amoeba shaped glob with irregular edges...and immediately i was like...is that what its supposed to look like? lol. What I actually said out loud was "Is this considered a good quality embryo?" She hesitated a bit, and said well, yeah, its already hatched....and then changed the subject...

She showed me to my locker and had me change into a cap gown and booties for the transfer, with nothing on from the waist down. I took some photos of myself cuz it was fun, and locked all my things away. I waited for about 15 minutes, a nurse came out and took me back to the procedure room. She had me lay in this reclined chair, with leg stirrups, and put my legs up. I was then exposed "down there" completely. I was hoping they would put a drape over me but didnt. People were bustling in and out of the room...luckily paying no mind to my girl parts that were lifted into the air. they confirmed my name and birthdate, and then the Dr. came in.

He told me I was young! Which I already knew. haha. And asked me how I felt.
Nervous.

Dont be nervous! no needle! no shot! no knife!

Ok.

They loaded the embryo into the catheter and into the syringe. and I watched this on the lcd they had on the wall. The Dr meanwhile put a speculum inside me, opened me up, and rinsed out that area and my cervix. he Then inserted a catheter to open up my cervix. For none of this process was my bladder full, and there was no ultrasound used. He placed the embryo into my womb, looking at the ceiling in a thoughtful manner...i suppose since he didnt have an ultrasound to guide him, just his experience and the hopes that my uterus was shaped and tilted like every one else's ? At that point I wondered if I should mention my tilted uterus. But with the amount of testing they have done, I figured they already knew, and I kept my mouth shut. He handed the tech the syringe and catheter and the tech cleared it out into the petri dish and confirmed that the embryo was in fact placed. They left, and the nurse had me walk to the recovery area.

I was laying there thinking...how long am I going to wait in this dark cubicle with no magazines?? But just then the nurse comes in with a syringe/needle and I defensively asked what that was lol. She said an HCG shot of 600 mg to aid in implantation. I was like oh how long will that be in my system for? She said one to two days.

She told me to continue on my prometrium 200mg 4 times a day and my estrogen 2mg 3 times a day until otherwise instructed. After 20 minutes of laying down, they escorted me to my things, and I got dressed, went to the bathroom, and came out to ask if I should be on bedrest. They said that I can lay down and rest if I want, but that I can go about my normal activity after the transfer since for some women the stress of bedrest is counterproductive- and to improve circulation. I like bedrest though lol. Oh well. So I compromised and went back to my hotel room (my IF picked me up from the transfer and took me on a tour of manhattan.) and layed down for 2 hrs and decided to go across the street to eat some pasta. But first, I had to pee. My toilet was still clogged. So I went down to the front desk and asked for the manager.  He said they will try to fix it one more time and that if it didnt work they would give me another room.

I went and got food and came back and only then someone else came in to try and unclog the toilet. they said it was fixed. so later TMI!!!!!!! I had to poop. And ill be damned if i was gonna poop and it be clogged and watch someone stair at my poop :0!! so I peed, tested the toilet and it was clogged again. OMG! this isnt so relaxing...

So I went through this huge deal to get switched to another room so I could poop in peace (dammit). This room was a lot cleaner appearing and nicer, but still pretty plain....like i said- im totally cool with that. But this time it was on the street side of the building. I unpacked, and settled in. My IPs brought me some pineapple juice (said to help with implanting) some fresh blueberries and grapes, and 2 monster slices of pizza. My kind of ppl lol! I looove italian food! They eventually left, and decided very kindly that since the flooding in pa was still a mess, that he would personally drive me home! HOW SWEET?!

I hung out in my room the rest of the evening/night and went to sleep. I woke up, packed up, and checked out...and went across the street to a grill for breakfast (which was awesome, btw) and waited for my IF to pick me up. We left and made good time to our home. two rest stops along the way. My IF gushed about how beautiful our town was and "high end"...I laughed and said thank you, but for "this area" this is NOT high end. It is a good starter town though. He met Tyler and gave us two toys for our boys (they were napping) and we all said our goodbyes and good lucks, and he left. And I crashed. Traveling is tiring!!!

More to come....