Retrieval:

Retrieval day was yesterday and I'm so glad that part is over. DH and I got up at 4:30am (Skittle spent the night at a friends house so we wouldn't have to wake her) to leave for Birmingham.  My procedure was at 8:30 but they wanted me there at 7:30.  All the nurses were very kind, even when my IV had some trouble going in.  I wore my "IVF is a mutha" shirt from my sister, which I found very appropriate.  I warned everyone that I would need more meds to be sedated and for pain.  I wasn't wrong.  I remember and FELT every single needle poke the doc made in my ovaries.   The clue should have been when I started crying (and couldn't stop) when the RE was telling me how many eggs she got at the end.  I never went to sleep...the entire time.  I came out of the procedure room fully awake and fully crying.  DH was shocked to see me fully functional...yeah, good times.  They collected only 7 eggs (which I was predicting as I didn't stim long enough) but the RE could tell right away that only 4 were mature (EXACTLY what I had already known based on my u/s numbers).  This isn't ideal.

Thank you for praying. I ended up not having my RE as I had the other female RE in the practice.  She was patient with me and having her there helped me relax.

I was pretty miserable on the ride home as well as the entire rest of the evening.  I was given some pretty powerful pain and anti-nausea meds which helped me sleep well last night.

Birmingham called this morning to give me an update:
Of the seven eggs collected, four were mature. Of those four, three fertilized normally using ICSI. (Intracytoplasmic sperm injection) I ask now for your prayers once again. If you pray, pray for these three babies.  Pray that they would be strong enough to make it to day five when they can be frozen for future transfer.  We love them already and hope they can make it home with our family. 

I'll be honest, these numbers just aren't what we are used to hearing, so doubt and negativity has very much crept in. Last IVF, we had 11 mature eggs, 10 fertilize normally and four made it to day five. Between day three and five, a lot typically don't survive but I do believe in the power of prayer and that God CAN save our babies.

I know many of you are right along side us in this and I love you all for it.  Birmingham will call again on Monday to let me know if our babies survive the weekend and I will update again then.