Our IVF Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)
We did it! Our transfer finally happened. We felt like we waited so long for this but honestly. our whole IVF journey took maybe only six month when we had our first IVF clinic new patient visit in November of 2023. Soon after that, we paid our fees and got scheduled for a February 2024 retrieval, and finally an April frozen embryo transfer or FET.
The month leading up to my FET or frozen embryo transfer was a stressful one. The state of Alabama had just declared embryos as children and sadly our clinic was at the pinnable of the lawsuit that sparked this wild ruling. Thankfully, the Governor Ivey filed a bill that was passed protecting IVF clinics around the entire state and their patients. Our clinic was shut down for a good month or so and we felt so hopeless as they stalled all IVF treatments. BUT! As you now know, it all worked out and we had our transfer.
Here is a video diary of how I felt, what I did, and how the transfer went if you want to watch it! Be sure to subscribe for news.
The process, to sum it all up, was alot easier than our IVF egg retrieval. I had to take only ONE shot called PIO or Progesterone in Oil and I had to put on two estrogen patches every other day-that is it! These two IVF medications prepped my body and uterus lining to be able to support implantation and pregnancy. The shot in the butt is not the most fun. Ive been taking it for almost two weeks now and my cheeks are soooo sore. And apparently if I am pregnant, I have to keep taking PIO through the first trimester most likely. But its okay! Its all worth it.
To prep for my transfer, I ate a lot of salmon, avocado, acai berry smoothies, pinepple, and took a ton of supplements to help + weekly accupuncture. I can blog about this all later!
The day of transfer was exciting. I felt a strange calm sense come over me. It was switch off day and we took the kids to breakfast (they were aware of the big day) and we dropped them off at school and said our goodbyes. I went to a two hour massage to relax and after that, we headed to Mobile Alabama to our clinic Center for Reproductive Medicine at Mobile Infirmary. We checked in and the nerves started to settle in. Thank God for the Valium they gave me. I took it 45 min before the procedure and I started feeling so good. So good that apparently I added a Hamilton breakfast sandwich maker to my Amazon cart for some reason.
When it was go time, they wheeled me back. My husband scrubbed up and got to come along as well! I laid on the table and saw the monitor where we would be able to actually SEE me getting pregnant. The doctor, Dr Emmi, who is amazing by the way, came in and got ready. She alerted the embryologist to load the syringe with the embryo. Side note: because it was frozen for the last month, they had to thaw it out that day. Science dude…. cannot even understand it all.
Also another side note if you did not read my egg retrieval blog, we ended up freezing 9 embryos. 15 were retrieved from me, 14 matured, and 13 fertilized but only 9 made it to day 5 blastocysts which is what they like to see before an embryo tranfer (fresh or frozen) can ever occur. Out of those 9 we PGT-A tested six and 3 came back abnormal and 3 came back normal. Out of those 3 normal, two were boys and one was a girl. 3 were left untested. It was like $2500 to test 6 embryos obly and I honestly did not think any would come back weird so we only did the 6, but glad I did! If needed, we can pull the extra 3 and test at anytime. All we want is one boy and one girl so we were lucky to get that our of the normal 3 we know about!
Ok back to transfer day…. they loaded my little embryo and handed it to Dr Emmi. By this time, I was in stirrups with my legs strapped in (this felt so weird). I vividly remember my left leg trembly profusely and I couldnt stop it. I dont know if it was nerves, the Valium, or that I was cold-who knows. She started the process which honestly felt less than 10 minutes long. On the screen, we watched as the catheter was placed inside of me. Then we saw it! The embryo started going down the tube and right at the tip of the tube she stopped… and waited… the embryo began to shake. Like literally it was shaking! Then it shot up to the top of my uterus by itself. Holy cow. My husband said it was the coolest thing he ever saw. I mean it is watching a possible conception happen and honestly it is conception… unless it does not take. Not all transfers are successful.
After it was over, I was given this cute photo of my hatching day 5 embryo.
Here is the photo of my uterus and if you look really close, you will see the embryo at the top of it. Its the little white ball. The line is the catheter so my legs are on the right side of this pic. the little peanut looking organ at the end of the white line (catheter) is my uterus. There’s a white ball at the top. That is it!
After my transfer they had me lay down for 30 minutes and we left! I grabbed some Mcdonalds fries on the way home (and IVF tradition that supposedly helps with success), I wore some nice warm socks (something else they say to do), and we made the 2 hour journey home. We went out to eat all you can eat crab that night and had high hopes that I could possibly be pregnant, but still in awe of what JUST had happened.
It was it… it was over…. now for the wait….
Did it work?
To be continued,…
Your trainer and friend,
