Transfer day!

Have you ever seen the Friends episode where Phoebe becomes a surrogate for her brother?  If you have, you probably remember this moment; her pep talk to the embryos and her plea for them to stick.  Of course, television is grossly inaccurate and there is no way a reputable fertility clinic would allow you to be alone in the room like this, but the feeling, the pleading to work?  That is the real deal.
After what seemed like so much waiting, the transfer day came at me like a freight train.  I went to bed  as cool as a cucumber and woke up feeling as if all the hormones I had been putting into my body hit me at once.  I was a wreck!  What scared me the most was that up to that point, I had been in charge.  I took my meds routinely, ate well, avoided all the things I was supposed to, and followed every instruction I was given.  Once the transfer took place, it was up to nature and science, and I had no control over any of it.  I wanted it to work so badly, and was afraid of letting my intended parents down.  I texted them and they were not only supportive, but grateful for my honesty in sharing my feelings.  Its important to be able to openly share the bad as well as the good and work through it as a team.  I consider myself incredibly lucky to have IP's who are caring and involved in everything I'm doing.  They reminded me that we are in this together, and that made all the difference.  Once we met up with them at the clinic, all my worries vanished.
This is a time when its also important to have a reliable support system.  I put out a call to rally my closest supporters, asking for positive thoughts and boy, they sure delivered!  I received so many reassuring texts, photos and calls that I was again overwhelmed with emotion, but this time, calming and happy!
The waiting room was packed when we arrived at the fertility clinic and it was fun to watch the interactions around us.  I could tell which women were there for transfers, as they were all chugging water as vigorously as I was.  (I was instructed to ingest a large bottle of water upon arrival)  It seemed that they were all surrounded by groups of people, so I assumed that most of them were surrogates as well.  That thought made my heart so happy!

Baby's first photo

The transfer procedure was an indescribable experience.  There was a slight buzz about the room, as we were all a bit nervous, but also excited and optimistic.  We observed as the 5BB+ embryo (you can learn more about the grading scale in the post titled "Blastocyst Grading") was transferred into a catheter, and then on a separate monitor, saw it placed into my uterus.  It was so quick that it literally flashed on the screen and was done.  It was quicker than getting a routine pap, and much less uncomfortable, so much less in fact that I didn't feel a thing.
Now that it's over, we have what is commonly referred to as the two week wait (2ww) before my first blood test to check my HGC (pregnancy hormone) levels.  Never has two weeks seemed like such a long time!