The Not-So-Sexy Infertility Adventures of a Girl in the Big Apple

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

And Then There Were Two

I got back to New York last night and was too tired to blog, so I have a lot to catch up on.

The most important update is that we got a call from the embryologist yesterday morning stating that two out of the three eggs had fertilized normally.  Hence we will be doing polar body testing on the embryos as opposed to CCS.

I can only pray that one of these embryos turns out to be normal and is healthy enough to implant, but I know the chances are slim.  It's going to be an agonizing month-long wait.

On a brighter note, H and I had a lovely time in Denver.  It was so nice having him there, and the weather was beautiful.  I picked him up from the airport on Saturday night and drove into Denver for dinner.  We had intended to go to Sushiden, which looked great, but it was totally packed.  So instead we went next door to a place called Ototo, and had a great meal there - I liked it better than Rjoja.  Both restaurants are on Pearl Street, which seems to be the food mecca in Denver.  I also found this great list of Denver restaurants - next time we go I am going to try some of these, they all look pretty good.

That evening at 1:30am we triggered (a day earlier than I thought), and the next morning we went into C.CRM for bloodwork.  We then went to Whole Foods and picked up a few supplies, and bought some sunglasses for H who had forgotten to bring his.  For anyone who has never been to Denver - bring sunglasses!  It's always pretty bright there.

We went to Izakaya Den for lunch, which is a sister restaurant of Sushiden and the only restaurant on the list open for lunch on Sunday.  Following that, we went to the Botanical Gardens and had a leisurely walk through the grounds.  Then we saw the new Martin Scorcese film "Hugo," which was beautifully filmed and well-acted but ultimately just an okay movie.  And we finished off the evening with dinner at Olivea, which is number 15 on the top 25 restaurants list (and was the only one open on Sunday evening).  It was quite tasty, although not quite as good as Ototo.  A full day!

We went in the next morning to C.CRM and met with the genetic counselor.  She explained to us that they would likely be recommending polar body testing given my low numbers of eggs.  I was disappointed to learn that the success rate for transfer of a single, normal, polar-body tested embryo is only 11%.  That's pretty low.  So it really speaks to the fact that it's important to have more than one if you want better odds.

My retrieval was pretty easy and pleasant.  Dr. Su.rrey performed the retrieval and was very nice - he told us afterwards that they had "hit the bullseye" in terms of getting 3 eggs, which was their target.  I had very little side effects afterwards, and aside from a mild soreness in my ovaries, I'm pretty much back to normal.

Oh, and I also need to thank MyFertilityBlog for giving me the Liebster Blog award!  It's the first one I've gotten and it means so much to me - so thank you!  I would turn around and give this award right back to you because I love your blog, and have found it incredibly helpful.  But since I know you've already gotten it a couple of times now, I'll send this on to some others!


Here are the five blogs I want to give this award to (I could name like 10 more, but I won't!):
1) TurtleMama at TortoiseBaby
2) Jen at Jelly's Bean
3) Jay at Stuck in a Baby Drought
4) Libby at Something Happened on the Way to Baby
5) Mo at Life and Love in the Petri Dish

All of these ladies have given so much help and support to others while sharing their own stories in an open and honest way.  I wish all of you the very best!

That's it for now.  I am expecting an update call tomorrow from C.CRM with what I PRAY is good news about our embryos.  Fingers crossed!!

13 comments:

  1. OK. Two is not none. Repeat this to yourself. And hang in there. I know this is so, so tough.

    Mo

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  2. Two eggs can still make a healthy baby! Hang in there...I know the waiting is tough. I'll be thinking of you!

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  3. Yay! 2 embryos is good! The lab at CCRM will take good care of your them. I pray that you have two to transfer. It is so stressful waiting on those phonecalls. Thank you for the liebster! Glad you enjoyed your weekend in Denver before the retrieval.

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  4. Crossing my fingers that both come back normal - I know how stressful the wait is but hang in there. We're all here for you and rooting you on!! And I'm so glad you had a nice time in Denver. K and I really enjoyed our time there too. And last, but not least, thank you so much for the award newbie - it means so much to me!!

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  5. If it makes you feel any better, our last retrieval yielded 9 eggs but only 1 fertilized the day they did ICSI. It's clearly quality over quantity, so I'm holding out hope for you 2 embies! P.S. Thank you for the award :)

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  6. oops - also wanted to say thank you for the award! : )

    seriously, am hoping so hard for you.

    Mo

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  7. I had 16 eggs and only 4 fertilized so your 2 fertilizing is great results! It sounds like everything is fine with your husbands sperm and that stuff kicks in on day 3 of fertilization. The CCRM labs are amazing and I think you will be fine. I know it hard not to worry, believe me I was a crazy hot mess. Hang in there, you are on you way!

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  8. Hang on there girl!! Hoping for some great news!!

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  9. Go two!! Two definitely is better than none. Praying for good news for you.

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  10. Just recently discovered your blog, and have my fingers crossed for you guys. I feel like, over my years of following blogs, I have seen some very impressive successes with folks who travel to CCRM. Hoping it's the magic ticket for you as well.

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  11. Thanks for the shout out :) I hope today brings you good news regarding your two embryos. I know how stressful this time is when you are waiting. Know that we are all waiting with you :)

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  12. 2 out of 3 is great!!! Congratulations! I just googled Ototo, it looks great, not much for us to eat (vegetarians), I'm going to want your restaurant list if we end up again in CO :-)
    Thank you so much for your support on my blog and the award. So glad to be of help in anyway, hopefully you will get your baby soon and won't be interested in any more info ;-) Good luck with the month long wait, I know it's torture!

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  13. Yay! I finally found your blog and I am now "on board"! :)

    Glad you enjoyed your time here and got out before the snow that arrived today. Hope you got to see some of the incredible sunrises and sunsets we've been having this week

    I know lots of women who had only one egg and found success at CCRM. In fact, I remember reading that one of them had her egg split and she's pregnant with twins (unfortunately, we lost touch after she was several months along, so I don't know the "final outcome."

    Stay strong and have faith...

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