Retrieval Day

The weekend of the egg retrieval was very uplifting. I was really excited to be spending my Mother's Day in this most special way. The day before the retrieval I had some extra good luck come my way! They always say babies are good luck so I made sure to hold Evie extra long when she came and visited!

The night before the retrieval I was so excited I almost couldn't sleep- but did. Bryan went and got us Wendy's as a last meal around 9pm before my "No food or drink" rule went into affect at midnight.

The next morning I was full of joy when I woke up and saw the sun shining. After visiting my mom we headed over to the hospital! We were early and eager! Even though we were early, they still made us wait till our appointment time. Getting there early allowed me to see other girls going through the different phases. I was handed a card to give to Bryan so he could "track" me throughout the process.




Card to "track" me
 



Before

When it was time, my name was called. Here's a summary of how the rest played out.

1.  Went with nurse into pre-op area where she had me strip down and put on the standard hospital attire but it included a comfy robe and socks with grips on the bottom (which I totally wanted to  keep).
2. Sat down in a mini-area and had blood pressure checked and she went over my name and information again.
3. Bryan and my dad were allowed to come sit with me after this while I waited.
4. Met the anesthesiologist and dr came to check on me. Loved that the anesthesiologist was from London! He was such a chipper guy, made me feel comfortable (for a brief time).    
5. Took a "Before Picture: : (see side)
6. Bryan and my dad had to leave and after kisses goodbye I was walked into the operating room. I was cool, calm, and collected up until this point. Walking in and seeing everything sent my nerves flying.
7. Had a bunch of people hooking me up to IV lines, putting my arms into place, strapping them down, all while being asked questions about myself. I think I might have even spelled my name wrong.
8. The last thing I remember was them putting a tube-thingy in my nose. From there on- I WAS OUT.
9. I remember someone saying my name and I remember, half asleep still saying "is it over" and they said "Yup, you are all finished" as I felt myself rolling in the bed.
10. Next thing I remember was me fighting to open my eyes to see what was going on. Took me a while to be able to do so.
11. After waking up, I was put into a different post-op recovery room where I was given crackers and ginger ale. Bryan was able to come visit me.
12. Once I was fully functioning I was able to leave. They told me they would call me the next day with my results but had retrieved 7 eggs :)

After "7" Eggs were retrieved



Afterwards when I got home I slept for a few hours. I woke up and Bryan had made chili lime chicken burgers and I was STARVING. After eating I felt like myself again, but felt some cramping and some pain. I took an easy the rest of the night and felt very happy about my Mother's Day.

Had to get my first PIO shot. Although this was only 1 needle vs 3 I was used to doing a day, the fact that it was intermuscular and the size was a lot bigger- it was hard to think of the good when looking at the needle. Bryan was a pro and did it perfectly! Using the advice from my favorite blog to read, I numbed the area first for about 2.5 mintues with 3 ice cubes in a bag. Then I laid on a pillow, with another to squeeze (much like the trigger). Last I had a warm rag to massage over it once it was over. Not too bad at all after all.