Transfer Day!

I'd like to begin this entry with a small tribute to our first fur baby, Tiger, our sweet Tabby kitty. Exactly one year ago today, we had to lay our precious Tiger to rest. We enjoyed 8 wonderful years with him and he is missed more than ever. Anyone that had the privilege of meeting our Tiger Lily would attest to his sweet disposition. He loved people and never missed a chance to snuggle and purr in someone's lap. Just weeks before Tiger was put to rest, our other fur baby, Olaf, disappeared the same evening we found out one of our transfers was negative last April. Olaf (Ollie) was our fluffy snuggler. Both of our cats brought so much joy to us. They truly were faithful companions and we hope to see them again someday.

Once again, the timing of all of this is rather sweet. Somehow, the Lord orchestrated our embryos to come to life the same day we said goodbye to our furry friend, Tiger last year. The Lord gives and takes away...His ways are perfect.

Last night, Paul and my sister and I also went to "Build A Bear" to make a stuffed animal for our precious embryos. Our hope is that we will be able to give the bunny we made to our child someday. If our transfer does not result in a pregnancy, our bunny that we named "Hope" will be a memento for us to keep in honor of them.

Picking out our bunny

The heart ceremony--giving them a kiss

Making a wish (saying a prayer for our babies)

A kiss for luck...

sister and I with Hope

We arrived at ORM at 12:30 and were promptly taken back to our "suite," aka, our room with a hospital bed and curtain. Once adorned in my fashionable hospital gown and booties, my acupuncturist began my before the transfer treatment. Mid way through, my embryologist, Allison (with the amazing English accent) came in with our embryo report...AH, the moment we have been waiting for!! She told us that she was glad they thawed all 8 so she could assess each one and choose the very best. Right away, we had 3 that did not survive the thaw :( However, there were definitely 2 that were showing signs of life by taking in fluid from their environment and expanding, YAY!! We also had another that was beginning to do the same, but didn't look quite as good. The last 2 were not showing much improvement, but she will continue monitoring them through tomorrow and freeze them if they look healthy. Her recommendation was to transfer the two best embryos, but she gave us the choice on whether or not we wanted to transfer the third. Dr M's recommendation was to transfer 2 as well, to decrease the chance of triplets since I am young and they looked pretty good. So, we decided to transfer 2 and feel good about our decision! After all, we were praying for at least one and the Lord blessed us with 2! Thank you Lord, for these precious lives and exceeding our expectations.

in the waiting room with Hope :)

just had acupuncture, pre-transfer

We were told we could bring a CD with music for before and after the transfer. I made a special mix (no, not a mix tape, it was a mix CD) for us to reflect on our journey and I'd love to share one of the song lyrics with you. The song itself is a little old school, but the words were just perfect:

Great Expectations

The morning finds me here at heaven's door

A place I've been so many times before

Familiar thougths and phrases start to flow

And carry me to places that I know so well

But dare I go where I don't understand

And do I dare remember where I am

I stand before the great eternal throne

The one that God Himself is seated on

And I, I've been invited as a son

Oh I, I've been invited to come and...

Believe the unbelievable

Receive the inconceivable

And see beyond my wildest imagination

Lord, I come with great expectations

So wake the hope that slumbers in my soul

Stir the fire inside and make it glow

I'm trusting in a love that has no end

The Savior of this world has called me friend

And I, I've been invited with the Son

Oh I, I've been invited to come and...

We've been invited with the Son

And we've been invited to come and...

Believe the unbelievable

Receive the inconceivable

And see beyond our wildest imagination

Lord, we come with great expectations

~Steven Curtis Chapman

The transfer went very smoothly, I hardly felt a thing. As I lied there, I continuously prayed for relaxation and for the Holy Spirit to guide our embryos to their new home. Just before transferring them, they put a picture of our sweet little embryos up on the screen for me to see. This is by far one of the very best blessings of IVF~the incredible photos we have of our babies. They aren't quite as "pretty" compared to a fresh embryo, but they will continue expanding and filling out after being transferred to their home and hopefully will burrow into my lining in the next couple days. Paul also pointed out upon seeing the photo of our embies that the one on the right appears to possibly be just starting to hatch out of it's shell! We are not for sure, but that is encouraging. It still does not guarantee a pregnancy, but we have never had an embryo hatch that we are aware of! We have also included a photo of an embryo that is just starting to hatch for comparison--keep in mind that this photo is of a fresh embryo, so it looks different.

post transfer, I'm PUPO!!!!

our first pic of our family of 4

So in love, it's ridiculous :)

Our babies!! righty might be just beginning to hatch

Photo of a fresh blastocyst just starting to hatch

For now, please PRAY, PRAY, PRAY that our embies will implant and for peace as we wait!

Lots of love and gratitude for all your support! Man, we are blown away by how blessed we are with such incredible friends and family.