Scrambled eggs, with a little semen on the side

      I eventually got used to all the needles.  Heck, I'd gouge myself in the eyeballs twice a day if it meant I could get pregnant.  It just became my new normal.  Thank God, I got used to them since I started seeing an acupuncturist the week of my egg retrieval.  I wish I had a picture of that.  I laid in a quiet room with chinese music and had needles from the tips of my toes to my ear lobes.  I was told to relax and "become one" with the table I was laying on in nothing but my panties.  Steve, my acupuncturist told me, very confidently that I WOULD become pregnant.  I loved that statement.  I think that's why I continued to fork out what little was left in our bank account to continue our sessions throughout my IVF treatments.  To be honest, it was a little uncomfortable, but very relaxing.  It helped me find my center and helped me to channel my inner fertility goddess.  Ok, girls, I'm totally kidding.  But it was relaxing.  I'll never forget when I was casually telling my friend about my acupuncture session that week, she told me I had lost my mind.  She said I was completely nuts for going to him, I just laughed.  But I cried the whole way home from our lunch date.  Mostly because I was hormonal I guess.  She never would have made that comment if she knew it would hurt my feelings so much.  I was already aware that all the measures I was going to to become a mom, were extreme and considered crazy to many.  I think what broke my heart was that she actually said what I'm sure everyone else was thinking.  Maybe I was nuts, but I'd go to any length for my future babies.  And I was gearing up for a big week.  My egg retrieval surgery...

       It was harvest time. And I'm not talking about all those beautiful fall colors either, ladies.  I'm talking about the gathering and harvesting of my eggs.  If you read last week's blog, I'm sure you remember me talking about my husband getting an orgasm while I was getting prepped for surgery.  Long story short, he put his stuff in a cup and took it to the doctor.  She used it to inject inside each of my eggs...all 33 of them that they retrieved.  You know, the process of conception that typically happens within a bedroom.  Sometimes romantically with candles and music.  Ours happened a little more untraditional.  I was still knocked out from the anesthesia,  their were half a dozen doctors present, and get this...Cody wasn't even in the room.  Can you believe that? Pretty crazy, huh?  When  I finally woke up from surgery they told me they had retrieved 33 eggs.  That is a crazy high number!  Most of the time, successful IVF patients get 12-15.  Little did I know at the time, I had hyper stimulated.  This happened because my body went into overdrive due to the injections and produced a very high number of eggs.  This can sometimes be very dangerous to your body.  I was still a little droggy from the anesthesia.  But I was aware of one thing...my ovaries were pissed off.
        My doctor told me before I was released to go home that most patients recovered within 48-72 hours.  Ok, stop right there.  Let's take the term "most patients" and throw it out the window.  I call bullsh*t.  Most patients are in their mid thirties and produce the "typical" number of eggs, around 12-15.  I felt fierce pains in my abdomen and looked 4-5 months pregnant, due to my ovaries being so swollen.  Those poor girls were angry and had been through the ringer.  But let's be honest, I was a little upset at them too for not being functional and doing their job in the first place ;).   I also wanted to hold my pee for hours each time, because it hurt so badly each time I went.  Luckily, we decided to spend the next week at my lovely Aunt Becky's house.  She was such a blessing during that time.  Since I had to stay close to a hospital, she helped take care of me while Cody went to work. Thank God for her and her huge, lovely bathtub with jets....and a flat screen.  She has always spoiled me too, so that didn't hurt anything.  I was able to rest really well there.  So that made the pain and inconvenient bloating a little more bareable.  And the fact that my transfer was only a few days away.  Yay!  We had waited so long for that day and couldn't hardly wait for the moment we could transfer 2 of our sweet little embryos.
      The day after the transfer we got the call we had been waiting for.  The call to inform us how many of our fertilized eggs had turned into viable embryos.  12!  We got a dozen embryos.  My IVF nurse must have thought I would be upset by the news, because they'd initially told us the "typical" number per cycle was 3-5.  "But don't freak out," she said.  "You won't have to use all of them."  My heart sunk when she said that.  It sounded like she was comparing my embryos, my babies, to some extra condiments they threw in the bag at Taco Bell.  We didn't have to use them.  We could just toss them when we were done.  Why isn't everyone born with morals?  I hoped and prayed that my husband and family would understand the reality that I would plan to use each and every one.  I know that's a crazy reality to grasp, but God wouldn't have allowed that many to take, if he didn't plan on us using them. But that wasn't all, they had the results of my bloodwork... and it wasn't good.  Due to me hyperstimualting, my Estaraidol levels were over 10,000, which is scary high.  They told me once again, not to freak out, but I would likely be hospitalized.  She told me to stay somewhere close to their ER and to drink as much as possible.  And get this girls, my transfer would probably be cancelled.  Shut the front door...you've gotta be kidding me.  I have just put my body through all of this to get my transfer cancelled.  I was overwhelmed by all this news.  So I did what any woman would do.  Prayed for a miracle and...I googled.
      Anyone that knows my family, knows that they are pretty popular in the drama department.  As soon as Aunt Becky began to read the scary stuff we pulled up on google, she freaked out a little too. She began scouring her cabinets and fridge to find every grain of salt she could possibly find.  Salt was supposed to help for some reason I cannot remember.  The fear was that my blood was too thin and I could throw a blood clot with little to no warning, which could be fatal.  So sitting at the bar in her kitchen, she forced a rather large bowl of olives and pickles at me while Cody was pouring the gatorades.   "Eat these right now, sister. You don't wanna die, do you?"   I laughed and agreed to eat them until my face swelled up from all the salt.  Another wonderful family trait ;).  Then Becky did the unthinkable, what she was told not to do...she called my momma to spill the beans.  That little hooch can never, ever keep a secret ;). Did I mention my momma is dramatic?  She is wonderful, supportive, loving, and concerned.  But, oh...so dramatic.  And she loves google too.  If you could imagine, she freaked out as well.  I talked her off the edge and assured her that I'd be just fine.   But I'll never forget how worried I actually was.  The only person that knew that was Cody.  I didn't break down in front of anyone else, because I didn't want them to worry more or know how weak I really was.  What would I do if I died and left all of these babies behind without a momma.  I just prayed and cried, and yet again, God gave me a peace to just be still and trust him, so that's just what I did...

      Once again, I want to thank all of you fabulous ladies for you support and feedback for my blog! I appreciate all the sweet emails and fertility stories I have had the honor of reading.  I am so glad God is using this to be an inspiration to others.  Just a quick update on our current cycle.  I went for bloodwork this week and we are hopefully roughly 5 weeks away from our next transfer.  My estrogen levels are dropping lower every day.  Though, they don't make me feel the best, I am very anxious and excited to be transferring 2 more of our 7 precious remaining embryos.  As we get closer, I will be talking about it more and sharing photos and videos of the process! As always, please SHARE! And tune in next Monday to see where our story continues...