Babies on Board!

Yesterday our appointment went well. We arrived at the clinic at 3:15. I had a few papers to sign and then we waited. When it was our turn to go in, Steve and I went through the door, down a long hallway to a treatment room at the end. There was a chair for Steve, a treatment bed and gown for me, an ultrasound machine and a tiny window to the lab where our embryos would be passed through.
The nurse gave us the aftercare instructions; basically to keep taking the hormone injections until the pregnancy test and then if it is positive, to keep taking them for a few months. I am also to be on bed rest for 2 days, no baths for a week, no sex until preg test and no pushing, pulling or heavy lifting. Dr. Kumar came by to meet us while we waited for the Embryologist.
Next, the Embryologist came in with pictures of the Embryos. They are 5 day Embryos (as opposed to 3 day; which are also commonly transferred) which means that they are more developed and have a higher rate of attachment to the uterine wall. She showed us in the photos how one of the Embryos was just exactly how they would like to see it. She described it as 100%. The other one she said was only 50% and explained how the cells were not responding as well. She suggested though the one didn't appear to be strong, we still had one Embryo that showed promise. I looked at Steve, then told the Embryologist that we would be transferring both Embryos to my womb, because they would both have every chance of life that we could give them. She changed the 1 to a 2 on our paperwork, and I signed it, initialling the spot that said there was a chance of twins!
Steve and I prayed for our Embryos again. We prayed that both Embryos would thrive, but that above all, God's will would be done. As I lay there waiting for the Doctor to come in for the transfer, I reflected back on the process that had gotten us to this point. I thought about the Legal Adoption papers that had gotten lost in the mail then found at the last minute. I remembered that my ultrasounds almost didn't take place and I had to travel so far to get them. I thought about my medication stuck at the border and how I was told that customs would not clear it for me and yet they did! I thought about my last week at home, trying desperately to track down my blood test results so we could go ahead with the transfer and how they were elusive  even till 9:30 pm on Friday night before we were scheduled to fly! I considered all of these things and they greatly increased my faith for our second little Embryo that was showing weak signs of life. Maybe I needed all those trials along the way to remind me that my God is AWESOME and nothing is to big or to small for Him!
When Dr. Kumar came in for the transfer, he explained the steps of the procedure to us. The nurse used the abdominal ultrasound so we could all see when was happening. The Dr. rinsed the cervix and cleared away the mucous plug to access the uterus. Then when he was ready, he had the Embryologist pass the Embryos in though the little window from the lab. The Embryos were in a long syringe which he passed up into my uterus. When he had it in the top portion of my uterus, he placed the Embryos in my womb. The syringe was passed back to the lab to be sure that neither of the embryos were retained and when the Embryologist said "clear" the transfer was complete!
Dr. Kumar gave Steve an ultrasound picture of the Embryos in my womb, though you can only see the carrier fluid that they are in. I was instructed to remain completely relaxed, which wasn't a problem because they had given me Valium earlier. They tucked me in with a nice warm blanket and we waited there for 20 minutes. Then the nurse cam back to take me to the bathroom, which was a relief because my bladder was incredibly full! Dr. Kumar came and told us that he was extremely happy with the way everything had gone. He said that the rules for my next few weeks are; No mental or emotional stress, no physical stress, no decreases in caloric intake/no dieting. I got wheelchair treatment all the way out and Steve bought the car around to the front door. I slept all the way back to Altadena. We stopped at The Cheesecake Factory and bought a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake to make sure that I had enough calories for the day!