Layla's Dark and Foreboding Weblog

They were all consumed in our bed yesterday.

At 6:45 am I arrived at the Presbyterian Hospital ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) Center for my egg retrieval. Since I was going under general anesthesia, I couldn't eat or drink anything since the night before. My procedure was going to be at 7:45am, so I spent an hour in pre-op answering questions and getting vitals taken. Then the anesthesiologist hooked me up to an IV (fucking OW) and they brought me into the operating room. 8 minutes later, 13 viable eggs were retrieved from my plump and ready ovaries.

After I started coming out of my sleep, they came to get M to give his part of our baby makin'. Instructions for retrograde ejaculation: Urinate, ejaculate, urinate. Well, after the first urination, which gets tossed, he couldn't pee again. No biggie. Wait. Ok, done. Nothing. Not one single viable sperm to fertilize my eggs with. Fucking hell. Do it again. Nothing. Shit.

Dr. Lee, our reproductive endocrinologist and new best friend, came in to tell us the news: they were bringing in a urologist to get the sperm out. Wha? Yep. They were going to use a needle to aspirate M's epididymis to drag those tadpoles out. The OR is a window away from the lab, so each time they collect, they bring it into the lab for the embryologists to inspect. The embryologists will give a thumbs up or down for the doc to keep going. After a series of thumbs downs, the doctor said the words no man on earth wants to hear: "We're going to have to go into your testicle."

After 3 biopsies into his left nut, M produced the mother load, pardon the pun. A big thumbs up from the lab and we were on our way. After a bit of recovery for him, we left with about 30 vicodin each, his balls in a gauze thong and me clutching my abdomen. 9 hours for what should have been a 2 hour thing. Then we went home and rested in bed for the rest of the day and into the night with evil food and giggles. And to wait.

This morning we paced around the house. Me hunched over from cramps, him holding his poor nuts. Call already!!! We were waiting to hear if the sperm and egg fell in love and any of our eggs became fertilized.

At about 8:45am we got the call. 11 of the 13 eggs were good enough to use. 7 fertilized. 7. Holy shit. So now we wait some more. We may transfer them into me on Friday or Sunday, depending on their cell division and growth. We're going crazy, but we knew that would happen. Pregnancy test on the 24th.

Send all your good prayers/mojo/vibes this way. We're waiting.

And waiting.