Embryo Transfer

So in a last minute call from my clinic, the embryologist decided that he DID want to transfer the embryos today instead of Wednesday. We made the two-hour drive in about an hour and a half (we would have loved a police escort) but we arrived safely.

The procedure was done adjacent to the cryogenics lab. We even got to peek inside. It's so amazing; the floors around the cryo-tanks peel (even concrete) because it's so cold! The doctor doing the transfer told the embryologist to prepare the embryos and then the embryologist just popped out of the cryo lab and handed them to him. The transfer took just seconds and we were able to see the two "embryos," well actually just the tiny bubble they were riding on, as they entered my uterus through the tubing. Truly incredible. I can't say enough about how insane it was to watch. After that the embryologist checked the catheter to make sure that the embryos weren't still in it and that was it! Other than the ridiculously full bladder I had (necessary for the procedure) it was an enjoyable day at the clinic.

OH! And I actually have a picture of the two embryos that were transferred today. I'm hoping to be able to say to my kid(s) one day, "hey, this is you three days after conception when you were only eight cells big." Who gets to have a picture of their eight-celled children?? I do! I do! I'll have to make Jonathan scan it so that everyone can see our amazing little Strunk babies.

Embryos are graded like students: A=excellent, B=good, C=not so good (but passing), D=boo for you. So out of our ten embryos, we have three grade A (two of which were transferred today), two grade B, and five grade C.

The two B's and one A left over will be frozen today for potential use if this cycle fails of if we want more kids. The other five will be given a couple more days to grow to see if they would be strong enough to make it through a thaw. If there are any of those five strong enough after two more days, they will be frozen along with the three from today. It gets confusing even to me so if you're lost you aren't alone.