Retrieval Time!

Here we go! So nervous & excited for the egg retrieval!

What a day!  I had yesterday off from medicines, shots, and monitoring appointments so I was sure to relax and enjoy it! I relaxed so much that as I went to bed last night I got a bit worried that I was not stressed about my surgery in the morning.  I made sure to not eat or drink after midnight and to remove my nail polish.  I got a good 6 hours of sleep and woke up this morning at 6am feeling tired but still not too nervous........
I took a nice long shower (even shaved my legs, in preparation to prize myself with a pedicure this week!) then dried my hair (didn't even style it!) put on comfy loose clothes and warm socks and we headed out the door around 7am.  I really tried to tell myself to stay calm that this was another step in our journey that could lead to the most amazing miracle we will ever know.  It helped to stay calm by me driving and us even stopping to return rented movies.  This may all sound silly but if I am in control and driving and making "every day" stops then it makes me feel better! I don't know, call me crazy! We pulled in to Christiana Hospital and walked in to Medical Pavilion 2 where RAD is.  As soon as I walked into the building, my belly WENT! It hit me, I was so nervous and (TMI) had to use the bathroom!!! Andy checked us in and I went to the potty. When I was done, Andy and a nurse were waiting for me to take me back to the recovery room to get prepped.  As I walked through the office I said hello to 4 nurses that I have gotten to know through this process and they all had huge smiles on their faces, said good morning and hyped me up and asked if I was ready for fun!  They are all so nice at this practice which is beyond helpful when stress is high.
The nurse explained the entire procedure step-by-step to Andy and I and what would happen. She also went over post-op directions so I would understand them since after surgery I would be out of it and not remember. I then changed into my beautiful gown and waited very nervously.  The anesthesiologist came in and explained that I would be put into a "twilight sedation" which is a conscious sedation-he explained that I would be in lala land but still be able to hear them and answer questions, however, when I woke up I most likely would not remember the surgery.....um, ok......remember this!
I gave Andy a kiss goodbye and told him I loved him and the nurse and anesthesiologist walked with me into the OR. It was so chilly, thats why they let me keep my warm sockies on for surgery! They lowered the table and told me to scoot up through the huge stirrups onto the table and lay down.  There were 2 nurses, 1 med student, 1 "new girl" and the anesthesiologist around the bed setting everything up and talking to me about how much IV's suck because they stay inside you and its not just a prick and I was saying how ridiculous I was that I could put 3 shots into my belly every day with no problem and have my blood drawn every morning for the last 10 days and have my husband put a huge needle in my butt every night, yet I get so nervous for an IV. I asked the anesthesiologist to be nice to my hand and the nice guy he was joked back and said "oh yes, I got the comfort IV's just for you, they'll be so comfortable they'll put you right to sleep!" haha, funny guy!  I tried talking about anything and everything with the nurses while the anesthesiologist kept instructing me to make a fist and pump my hand in and out and I was really trying to ignore him but I really just wanted him to hurry up and make me fall asleep!!! IV was in and he said to me "lift up your head so I can put this mask on you, I'm going to put you to slee.....I'm going to give you oxygen," I was like yes! Here we go, i'm going to be out soon! I'm breathing in.....out.....in......out ok.......still breathing, still just looking around.....still hearing everything.  Ok, I told myself, relax Lindsey, close your eyes and just take a little nappy poo.......I closed my eyes for a minute, then I heard them say "Ok, shes ready, go ahead and get the doctor."  I of course was now a bit sleepy but still felt pretty much with it but it felt so good to close my eyes.
The doctor came in and said "Hi Lindsey! This is going to be nice and quick and you shouldn't feel much."  I apparently was very excited and said "Awesome, lets do this!"  Right away the anesthesiologist said "Ok Lindsey, breathe deep and close your eyes." He then began rubbing my head and cheeks, so sweet and kind of weird because many anesthesiologists don't always have the best bed side manner. 
They lifted my legs up (which felt like a thousand pounds) into the stirrups and the doctor said he now going to do....something? I felt a cold burst, not sure what it was because I was sleepy but still feel like I was more awake than I was supposed to be.  He then said ok, lets get those eggs from the left ovary, I said "yea!" and right away, the anesthesiologist rubbed my head and told me to close my eyes and take slow deep breaths, I think he was surprised that I was so awake!
I felt a lot of pressure in my lower back and a big pinch then burning pressure, I began to wiggle my toes and scrunch my face, the doctor and anesthesiologist told me to try and relax. I told him it hurt and the anesthesiologist began lightly tapping my cheeks....I thought, is he trying to cause some pain in my cheeks so it takes my mind off of my ovaries??? haha  The pressure stopped and it felt awesome! I then felt another burst of coldness and the doctor said, "Alright, to the right ovary we go!" I laughed and the anesthesiologist AGAIN told me to relax and close my eyes......what is going on???? Why in the world am I awake still??? And why is he telling me to relax and close my eyes.....isn't it his job to make me do this through my IV and huge mask on my face???  I felt the same thing again, back pressure, a big pinch and then burning pressure. I heard the doctor say "lets make sure to get every little bit out," and then a big rush of pressure again. Next thing I know, the doctor said I was all done and it went well! I relaxed and closed my eyes and then they turned on the bright light! What the heck!!! I want to sleep now!
They cleaned me up, took my legs out of the stirrups and brought the stretcher over.  They had me (I guess because I was WIDE AWAKE) climb onto the stretcher myself and then they wheeled me out of the OR and into the recovery room.  They took my vitals and told me that before the surgery my blood pressure was very high but now it was pretty darn low, but it was normal.  They went and got my husband to come back with me and I closed my eyes, ahhhhhh I was not in any pain and felt so relaxed.
Andy came back with a big smile on his face (not sure if it was because he got to see me or because he just gave a sperm specimen, haha) but it was so nice to see him.  The doctor came in a few minutes later to let us know everything went great and out of the 13 follicles I had in my ovaries, they had 10 mature eggs.  I asked why there was not 13 eggs if I had 13 follicles and he explained that some of the follicles did not have mature eggs in them, which is normal.  I then told him I wondered how my fatty follicle was doing and that I was eager to see if that one would survive-he explained that sometimes the bigger follicles are ones that do not survive because they are too mature, boo......my little chumba wumba might have been too much of an overachiever......the nurse said, "you had a big one huh?" She looked at my print out from surgery and said "oh yes you did! 25mm! that is a bigger one!"  25mm....that one little follicle was 1 inch in diameter!! Holy cow......no wonder I'm so bloated, round and having trouble moving! (This is what I tell myself!)  The nurse went over all instructions again and explained that I will feel crampy, sore and bloated. Andy asked about my ovaries and how long it takes for them to go back to normal size, the nurse explained that it could take 2-3 MONTHS!!! What?? Holy moly!!! We had no idea! But this makes sense as to why I still have so many restrictions because the ovaries are now even more likely to move around or get twisted with exercising, stair use etc. because they're huge and empty.
They asked if I would be returning to work tomorrow and I said yes, she told me that I need to be very careful and to try and limit everything. She asked if I was able to teach from a seated position, I told her I didn't think it would be a problem.  We were instructed on what to do tonight (meds and shots) and that my TRANSFER was scheduled right now for Saturday, December 8th at 9am.....wow-crazy how quickly this all seems to go.  At this time they will implant a strong embryo into my uterus, give us a picture of the embryo and a potential "due date." Holy crap............
They put me in a wheel chair, wheeled me downstairs and helped me into our car.
Andy stopped at WaWa to get me some yummy cheese quesadillas (they said to go home and have some toast, but I opted out of the healthy/bland diet, i'm a fat girl) and we relaxed, ate and fell asleep.  I took a nice 3 hour nap then woke up to PAIN!!! Not unbearable, but it was painful! I am very crampy and uncomfortable.  Every time I move or stand up, I feel like my pelvic area does not want to come with me and it pulls.....owwwwwy!  I got to sit and watch Andy put the Christmas tree lights on and just fall in love with the possibility of this amazing journey......so surreal.....so wonderful.....so scary.....so confusing.......so testing.....technology is unreal, and we hope and pray that technology works for us.

What a hottie! Eggs have been retrieved!