So, yesterday was the egg retrieval. Jacob had to work the night before, so he only got maybe an hour of sleep before he had to wake up and get ready for our appointment. I was all intent on documenting every part of our day, but when I woke up it felt like my ovaries were about to explode, so I ended up not taking any pictures of our drive to the clinic and concentrated on not gasping in pain every time we drove over a bump in the road. These eggs were definitely ready to come out!

When we arrived at the clinic, we didn’t have to wait very long before I was escorted to a room to change into a lovely gown and fashionable brown socks. A nurse came in to place the IV in the top of my hand, which was a little more painful than I was expecting. After she left, Jacob took a few pictures while we were waiting for Dr. Johnstone. He wanted to take a picture of her as soon as she walked in the door, but I managed to persuade him that she might not be the most appreciative of an unexpected photo flash.

When Dr. Johnstone came in, I signed the consent form (which, looking back, I probably should have read), and then we moved to the retrieval room. I sat in a reclining chair with wide-spread foot pedals next to an ultrasound monitor. Two nurses were in there to help, Janine and Vanessa. I think. I was placed under conscious sedation, which is similar to the anesthesia used for wisdom teeth extraction. The nurse told me when she started the medication through the IV line, but I don’t even really remember getting sleepy. I think I heard voices and felt them washing out my nether regions, but I don’t exactly remember.

Beforehand, three different people told us that after I woke up from the procedure, I was likely to ask the same questions over and over.  I was determined that I wasn’t going to do that! When I first woke up, I heard music playing and the room was empty. I tried to sit up to look at the ultrasound monitor to see if there was a clock on it to tell what time it was, but that was not happening. My body felt very heavy. As I drifted in and out, some nurses came by and soon Jacob was able to join me. I asked what time it was and how many eggs they were able to retrieve. Jacob told me they got 12 eggs. (I’m not sure how many time I asked and he answered, but he later said I was repeating myself.)

I had a blood pressure cuff on my right arm. I was aware of it constricting my arm every so often to check my blood pressure, but some time later I asked Jacob why my right arm was heavy. Guess my short term memory really was shot after all.

The nurses asked if I wanted some crackers and juice, and I agreed. They had to move the chair from its reclining position to a more vertical position, and as they moved me apparently I started crying because the pain hit me all of a sudden. How embarrassing. I heard the nurse suggest to Jacob that he comfort me, and I think he stroked my face and said some reassuring things. The nurse said she could give me a Lortab for the pain, but that I had to eat something first.  Jacob fed me some crackers and held up a straw so I could drink apple juice. I was pretty thirsty because I had to fast since the night previous, so I ended up drinking three of those small cups of juice. While Jacob was feeding me, I asked him if I had fed him after his surgery last year. I can’t remember if I put the food in his mouth or if he fed himself.

I was given the pain medication, and before long I was told that I could go home to recover. I was given a ride in a wheelchair to the car. We had driven maybe three streets when I started feeling nauseated and told Jacob that we needed to find a bag or something in case I was sick. He pulled over the side of the road and I ended up vomiting twice on the sidewalk. Fortunately, it was mostly apple juice, but how embarrassing. Jacob called the IVF nurses and left a message asking if we should be concerned. We drove home without further incident, but I asked Jacob to drop me off at the apartment before picking up the pain medication prescription in case I was sick again. Good thing, too, because I threw up another three to five times once we got home.

When Jacob picked up the medication, he told the pharmacist what had happened and the pharmacist said to make sure I had a full stomach before taking any more Lortab. When he came back, I was lying on the couch, feeling very groggy. He brought a water bottle and a granola bar to the side of the couch in case I got hungry, and then he brought our plastic pitcher in case I needed to throw up again. How thoughtful. He staggered off to bed, because at this point he had been awake for close to 20 hours. A few minutes later he came back and reminded me that I needed to get the progesterone shot in my bum. We did that and then we both went to sleep. I woke up maybe two hours later, when the nurses finally called back and said basically the same thing the pharmacist did. I was wary of taking another Lortab, but once it wore off I ate a decently sized lunch and took another one, with no bad side effects, thankfully.

I spent the rest of the day mostly on the couch watching Lost on Netflix, though by the time Jacob woke up to get ready for work I was alert enough to make his dinner for work (which really, was leftovers and sandwiches, so it wasn’t terribly difficult). My sister-in-law Carly ended up texting me later asking for restaurant recommendations for a date, so I gave her a few options. I didn’t think anything of it, because she and her husband are in Utah for a little while visiting her family. Maybe an hour later, they knocked on our door! They bought a movie (The Devil Wears Prada) and a gift card to Olive Garden to help out when I’m on bed rest after the embryo transfer. They didn’t know I had the retrieval that morning until they came by and I told them, so it was good timing! Carly had wanted to make me a meal when I was on bed rest, but she’ll be back in Arizona when that happens, so this was her way of helping out. It was very thoughtful of them.

Tomorrow we’re expecting a phone call telling us how many of the eggs fertilized and whether we’ll do the transfer on Monday or Wednesday. I’m hoping it’ll be Wednesday, because it seems like the later it is, the better chance you have of getting pregnant. Fingers crossed!