Everything went smoothly aside from the fact that my bladder was about to BURST! The nurse actually let me pee a *little* bit because I was overly full. There was a "difficult transfer" ahead of us that backed our time up a bit. Any other appointment, no biggie. But when you've got to maintain a full bladder, well... NOT fun! But of course we made it through fine. All is good!
Here are a couple of pics of the ultrasound screen...
The reason for the full bladder is that it allows them to differentiate between the bladder and uterus on screen so the doctor can direct the catheter (carrying the embryos) to the money spot. This isn't the greatest pic, but this is an actual screen shot from the ultrasound where you can see the embryos going in! The bright white spot the arrow is pointing to is the fluid containing the embryos, so we get to watch it as they go in. How COOL is that?!
And here's a look back into the lab. This is where all our sweet babes are sleepin' on ice! That's actually Graham back there, not Peter. Peter was sick the day of our transfer. He was in the lab, but was staying away from patients. Aw, we missed you Peter! But Graham was very cool too. All the embryologists have excellent accents.
The lab is literally right next to the transfer room. When we first get into the transfer room and set up on the exam table, the embryologist comes in and shows us our embryos on screen and tells about their quality, etc. Then he loads the catheter in the lab and brings it out as soon as Dr. T gives him the go-ahead. The lights are off (which is why all our pics are so dark) so the little babes aren't disturbed. Once Dr. T transfers the embryos, he gives the catheter back to the embryologist to verify that no embryos were left in the catheter. All clear! And it's done.
And that, my friends, is where the magic happens.
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