Saturday, November 28, 2009

Why I missed the Macy's parade

Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions for excuses for being late to Thanksgiving dinner.  I ended up faking a migraine  (I had a migraine once in college and now my mother thinks it's a regular problem for me) and added a car accident blocking traffic for good measure. 

The nurses at my retrieval were incredibly sweet.  One made small talk as she got me prepped for surgery.  She was the first person at the clinic to ask me if my family had any idea where I was at the moment.  I told her no, and explained our plan of faking a migraine as a way to explain our lateness.  It would also get me out of drinking.  She thought it was brilliant.  

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful that the doctor known for being quick was preforming the retrievals.  I'm also thankful that I'm pretty quick to come around from the anesthesia.  As soon as I was aware of my surroundings, I made every effort to prove that I was alert and ready to go.  I sat up straight in the recovery bed rather than lying down and relaxing.  I tried to be a bit louder when I spoke to Elizabeth, so the nurses would hear that I was awake.  My nurse came in a few minutes later to ask the standard questions-  "how are you feeling?", "on a scale of 1-0, what is your pain level right now?",  "can I get you anything to drink, we have...".  The nurse only got to "how are you feeling?".  I replied with a big smile, "I feel great, no pain at all, and I'd like a cranberry juice and some shortbread cookies please".  She laughed at my eagerness to prove I was ready to go, and did her best to hurry things along.  As I was leaving, she called out "I hope your migraine feels better!"

There was miraculously very little traffic as we sped off to my aunt's house.  Although we didn't get there until 1:45, I sorta wasn't the last to arrive because one of my cousins was sleeping upstairs and didn't show her face until 2:30. My family bought the story, and seemed genuinely concerned that I was feeling okay.  To top it all off, there was a big bowl of fresh cut pineapple sitting on the kitchen counter when we walked in.  Maybe it's not a sign, but it sure made me happy.

So now I begin TWW #12.  Half to occur outside my body, and (hopefully) half to occur inside my body.  The total number of eggs retrieved was 26.  Of the 26 eggs, 16 fertilized.  They did ICSI this time, so I'm not sure if that means the egg quality was poor.  Has anyone else out there gotten pregnant when ICSI was done?  I hope I can produce quality and not just quantity!  

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

GREAT excuse and congrats on that high number. I know of a few couples who used ICSI and got pregnant... I don't think it's a knock on your egg quality at all!

Good luck, and I'll be thinking about you as the eggs keep doing their thing and you prepare for transfer.

Anonymous said...

YAY!!! SOunds perfect! My clinic really only does ICSI. They only do the other way if your insurance won't cover ICSI or if you are paying out of pocket and can't afford it. I think it will increase your odds but you don't need any help this time because you are going to be knocked up all on your own. I think the pineapple was a sign! And holp crap woman, that's a lot of eggs! BIG congrats, I'm thrilled it has gone so well thus far. xo

Anonymous said...

Yay for 16 fertilized eggs!! That is great. We are rooting hard for you.
Violet, who does not interact with the blog too much, told me the other day... "I like that Gayby girl" :-)

Pufferfish said...

16 is great! I'm so glad you were able to come up with an excuse that made sense and no one was the wiser.
ICSI is perfectly fine and many women get pregnant doing it.
*Multiply* *Divide* Go Eggs!

Lisa said...

Glad everything went well.

justine said...

hey! way to go! i am so happy that everything worked out so perfectly! and that you have 16 beautiful eggs working away. and that things with your family went so well. the pineapple is clearly a sign!!

everything's crossed for you here.

can't wait for these next to weeks to bring you such great news.

GIsen said...

Way to go fertile Myrtle! 26/16 girl those are awesome numbers.ICSI is really helpful and is just one of many tools to help fertilization occur. No biggie.

You don't need luck this one is in the bag.Hope you have a mini stressless stayca scheduled for transfer day.

Hanen said...

Woo hoo! Sounds like your STFU policy is working a treat.

Wishing lots of happy growing & dividing wishes for each of those fabulous 16 eggs (and thanks for participating for the other 10).

I have no idea what the pineapple means, but why not enjoy all possible good omens!

Anonymous said...

Hooray! So glad it went so well! Was it really painless? I am terrified of the retrieval process... And 16 eggs? AMAZING! My clinic only does ICSI unless you insist otherwise, because the RE says the chances of creating a good embryo are much better that way. And you even made it to T-giving in time. Amazing.

I am so excited for you! Can't wait to hear the fert report! Ooooohhh I so hope this is IT!

P said...

"16" thats great. Best of luck. Sounds like all is going good. Good excuse for being late.

J and D said...

16 is a great number!! Congrats! My understanding of ICSI is that it helps the frozen sperm not the egg. I know that my bank says right on their website that they suggest ICSI for use in IVF for better results.
I was very happy to read your last psot. Good for you for standing your ground and delaying your retrieval!! That may be what makes all the difference for you. I have my fingers and toes crossed for you!!

mama bea, bao in the oven said...

Wow 16!!! Sweet, sweet 16. What a great number!
Glad to hear the retrieval went well and that your little white lie worked.
I'm so excited to hear your fabulous news in just a couple of weeks!
xoxo

Schroedinger said...

Oh my goodness! I don't know how I missed this! I'm so excited for you! 16 is amazing! When is the transfer?

Anonymous said...

I am so happy you got so many eggs to fertilize! I'm hoping for the BFP post in 2 weeks or less!