Rest and Relaxation… Kind of!!!

We have good news! 10 eggs fertilized! I started out with 35 follicles, they got 10 mature eggs and 10 fertilized! It amazes me how quickly the numbers go down. I keep getting asked, “What will you do with your extra embryos.” My answer is, “What extra embryos?” Even at this point, 10 fertilized eggs will probably only make it to 5 blastocytes (5day old embryos). 2 of those will be implanted and the other 3 will go on ice. If this IVF round does not work, we will use the 3 frozen embryos and have no embryos left.

I received a new calendar for my meds. Although I am not on as many drugs as I was previously, the regimen is more complicated because it changes daily so I have to pay very close attention. I was hoping to avoid injections for a little while, but I had to start them back up last night. This time they are all IM! Owe!

I remain on bed rest until next Wednesday morning, but in my typical Kerry fashion I am way too stir crazy for that! Being out of work for 3 weeks and having limited outtings is driving me up the wall! This past Wednesday, the day of the egg harvest, I stayed in bed the entire day. I felt lousy and really didn’t want to do anything. I am on “modified bed rest” to decrease my risk of hyperstim and because my ovaries are so big they could flip over and strangle themselves. I am keeping my activity very low and drinking tons of fluid. I pee every hour and waddle like a duck!

Thursday life resumed a little. I have clinicals pre-scheduled for every Thursday and I know my preceptor (Brooke the greatest PMHNP EVER!!!!) would have supported me 100% if I wanted to stay home, but I also know I have a limited amount of time to get my hours done and clinicals are not strenuous! It really amazes me how different working in a mental health office is different from hospital work. When I work the Peds floors I spend my day running from room to room, putting out little fires, hugging kidos and badgering doctors. In the clinic I mostly sit, listen and enjoy free lunches from drug reps. Everyday in clinicals I learn something new and I really love the clients. As different as they are I leave both of them exhausted, but in totally different ways!

Friday Don had school in the morning, but the afternoon free. We decided to head out to the Woodburn Tulip Festival. I have made it there the past 2 years and we really wanted to keep it a tradition. Woodburn is about 1 hour south of us and spectacularly beautiful. They have acres and acres of every tulip imaginable. Also, since I am on “bedrest” it really requires minimal activity to wander around tulips! Being in the tulip fields reminded me how much I love everything about Oregon. I love that each season has new festivals, flowers, weather and traditions.

Last night Don and I had a lazy night watching TV and today he is off to work. I will hang out around the house, read, snuggle with cats, ect. Tomorrow is another open house so I hope to clean a little but my mobility is still very restricted. My abdomen is so tender and distended that I can’t bend or lift anything. Going up the stairs is almost impossible. I can’t believe how much pain I am still in and I am a little resentful that ORM sent me home with “mild cramping.” This is in no way mild cramping! It doesn’t matter though. I will take all the “mild cramping” in the world for our little darlings!

Monday we go in for our implantation! We have our acupuncturist meeting us there for pre and post implant treatment. Dr. Hessla actually recommends acupuncture. There have been all sorts of studies that show increased success with it. Don and I have both been receiving treatments and we really like it. We will get to the office around 9:30 and hopefully be done by 11. The entire implant only takes a few minutes, but I have to lie flat for an hour afterwards. Then, the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday I am on strict, strict bed rest.

I am so excited! We have planned this for so long. Our time is finally here!