The deed is done!

Well, its all over but the waiting. This morning we went to the clinic and transferred our babies! We met with the embryologist, who is very nice. She rattled of tons of info about our embryos, and suggested that we transfer 2 Grade 1 Morulas. She said that they looked very good. So overall, we had 26 eggs, 22 fertilized, 5 frozen, and only 2 were grade 1 morulas on the 4th day. I was really surprised that that was all we had left. She said that there were around 8 that were 12 cell (which day 4 numbers are supposed to be between 10-30 cells). The 2 best ones were already compacting (over 32 cells, very good for 4 days embryos). We decided to transfer the best two, but after we left the room, I was still very uneasy about the decision. I haven't been uneasy about any other decision we have made on this trip. We had decided last night that if we had the 4 day transfer, we would do 3 as they are underdeveloped...and only 2 if we had a 5-6 day transfer. Well, when she said we only had 2 great ones, we decided to transfer today (what if they hadn't made it to day 5 or 6). When we were in the transfer room, we decided last minute to transfer 3 instead. I feel really good about it. Now, if we end up like Jon & Kate Plus 8...my good feeling may change to panic. But, chances of that are highly unlikely. So, back to the room. We were in the same waiting room (in a bed) with Cori and Heath...so we had great moral support! Cori went first and was back in about 10-15 minutes...and she said it did not hurt. So, I went in and the position that you have to get into was very uncomfortable for my legs (I am not flexible at ALL! You lay edge of the bed with your heels touching your butt. They showed us the embryos on the screen and Jeremy got to take a picture of our babies! Then, they put in the catheter (no biggie) and the embryologist puts the embryos in a syringe and then in the catheter. She checks under the microscope afterwards to make sure they are not left in there. Overall, it was really easy and not painful. The most uncomfortable part was my legs cramping up. Then, we just rested in our cheerful room, paid, got our protocol and left. Now I am laying in the bed and trying to relax. Only 14 days until we know!!!

5 minutes

How much of a difference can 5 minutes make??? A LOT!!!! Jeremy and I missed the first bus to the train station by 5 minutes, which arrived at the train station 5 minutes after the train left. After we sat for one hour, we took a longer train route to get to Otrokovice (only one available), and arrive 5 minutes after our bus left to go to Litovel. So, we left at 9:20 and our 2 hour +/- trip took almost 5 hours. Thankfully, when we got to Bouzov Castle, we were able to catch the last tour of the day. It is a very cool castle, with 3 drawbridges and 2 (no longer in use) moats. Apparently this castle has been around since the 13th century...we got some great pictures. Maybe after my transfer I will learn how to post pictures to my blog. Speaking of transfers, we were told on Tuesday that our transfer would have to be on Friday (a 4 day transfer) because the clinic is closed this weekend. Needless to say, this really ticked me off, because the doctor told me on Monday that my eggs looked great and he recommended a 5-6 day transfer (Saturday or Sunday). Jeremy and I called Craig (ivfvacation.com), and he called the clinic for us. Apparently the head doctor is having a conference this weekend that everyone from the clinic is supposed to attend. Craig did call me back and say that we would go on Friday, planning for the transfer, and we could talk to the embryologist and doctor to discuss either Friday or Sunday for transfer. I am glad that we have someone to work for us on that end, as this is when a language barrier could be a problem. I understand that in the US, most clinics do 3 day transfers, and that most Czech women have 3 day transfers...but I also know that your chances for putting the best back in are greater with a 5 -6 day transfer. It seems to me that is I have these "great eggs", we would want to see which are really the BEST. We are also trying to nail down how many we are going to transfer. If is is on Friday, we will do 3. If it is on Sunday, we are still leaning towards 3, but are not as solid on that decision. Please pray that we have the best transfer possible and that I will be able to stay in the bed afterwards .

longest walk in the world

Yesterday, Jeremy and I went on the longest walk EVER!!!! We decided to go up this super steep hill because there were cute, quaint houses on it. Well, we walked past the cute houses, up a super steep hill, up some stairs, and then halfway around town. We went left and kept thinking we would find a cutthrough somewhere.....NOPE!!! Never did. We walked for about 1 1/2 hours before we ended up down by the train station. Needless to say, we were tired. We did a little souvenir shopping and then met Cori and Heath at the Sunflower for dinner. They really have such great food here. The only thing I have had that was terrible was the hotdog in the Krakow train station (it was a giant, mushy Vienna sausage on a chewy bun---YUCK!!!!). After dinner, we went to Tesco, which is like a Walmart...Jeremy and I realized that we had no money once we got there, and we had no debit card. When we left the room before our hike around the world, we planned to go back before dinner...so we didn't need our debit card. Well, thank goodness we could bum some cash off of Heath and Cori. It really is helpful to have others here who are so helpful and friendly. Hopefully we won't end up shorting anyone on cash, as we are all always bumming cash off of each other.

WOW----Where do I start

Well, needless to say, Krakow was quite a trip. I will try to keep it somewhat brief, but it will be hard, as this is my favorite city. We left the Uno very early to get to the train on Monday night. We had to catch the train at Otrokovice at 12:48am. When we were riding on the bus, the bus patrol? got on to make sure everyone had tickets. It was funny, because he got on, showed his keychain to Heath, and then looked at us. We had no idea if he was trying to sell keychains or what?! We finally figured it out, but we also figured out that ALL the wierdos travel at night around here. When we got off at Otrokovice, "buttcrack" guy was showing us almost the entire crack, then he started peeing in the grass right outside the bus stop. Apparently, that is no biggie around here...YUCK!! At the train station, we also saw "Betsy Wetsie---the lady from the last bug ride who peed on herself. So, we all stayed in our little group away from all of the night people. We got on the train with no problem, and had very nice sleeper cars to ride in. Well, almost immediately after the train started moving, the conductor said that we had reservations for sleeper cars, but not tickets...WHAT!!!!!!! Apparently, that was all we bought. We called Marcella from ivfvacation.com, and had her tell us what he was saying. So, at the next long stop, Jeremy and Heath had to get off and get money to pay for the tickets. So our tickets that we thought were only $45 each, ended up being $75 each...still not too bad, but quite headache. We got to Krakow with no problem, but the train station is SOOOO much bigger than I remembered from 11 years ago. We were lucky that the bus station was right there, and that a LOT of Poles speak English. We easily got our bus tickets to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and got there at about 8:30am. We toured the entire thing, which is quite a bit to soak in quickly, before 1pm. It was extremely crowded compared to last time I was there. I definitely preferred to tour the concentration camp without all the people. It amazed me how people did not follow the rules or even the signs asking for silence in certain areas out of respect. It really made me mad...this is not just another photo-op!!!! Anyway, enough about that. We decided to spend the afternoon in Krakow's square, as it would be much happier that the morning trip. We visited the Wawel Castle, which has been there since before recorded history. Needless to say, the square did not disappoint. It was also much more crowded that last time I was there, but the cathedral was beautiful, the Cloth Hall was full of all kinds of goodies and souvenirs, and the outdoor cafes were intriguing. We bought great souvenirs here, took fabulous pictures, and just soaked up the culture. I had my first perogi in a little courtyard cafe off the square. It as interesting, but probably not my favorite thing I have had so far. Jeremy at keilbasa and roasted garlic potatoes in the square...his meal was the best by far. After dinner, we sat around and listened to a few great street musicians in the square before we had to leave for the train station. Trains are always interesting, as we thought we had our return tickets down pat too...but apparently the station that sold our tickets sold us seat tickets, but our train only has sleepers or couchettes available, so we had to upgrade again. Jeremy had to do 2 40 yard dashes to the ATM to get enough zlote to pay the conductor. The first run was for the number he wrote on the paper, but apparently that was only for one person, so he had to make another run. We all couldn't help but feel a little scalped about the entire situation, but what could we do...we have to get back to Zlin. All in all, the roundtrip tickets for sleeper cars there and couchettes back (over 6 hours each way) was about $125 a person...not too bad, but definitely more than we expected. Thankfully, everyone said that Krakow was their favorite city that we have visited yet. We got back to Zlin around 5:00 this morning, and went immediately to bed. Today is Joy's transfer, and we are hoping and praying for the best for her. We found out that one of our friends, from Alaska, that was here earlier got a BFN yesterday...that's a big, fat negative. That really brings everything back into perspective. Science can do everything right (her donor gave her 26 eggs with 6 grade 1 eggs...the best you can get), but it is ultimately up to God on whether or not it takes. We can only control so much. Today, we will find out more about our little eggs, so I will blog more later.

addendum to egg retrieval

So the egg retrieval was today. 26 eggs, which is great. Well, when we were leaving the Uno to go to see Indiana Jones on the theatre (complete with Czech subtitles), Zuska called us. She said that all 26 looked really good, and they wanted to know if we were planning on freezing, because we had so many good eggs. I was a little confused by this, because we already signed paperwork telling them to freeze extras. But anyway, focusing on the positive....26 good eggs!!! That is more than Marcella from ivfvacation had in her early 20s according to her husband. That is amazing to me. She had twin girls now, so hopefully my eggs will stick too. I shouldn't have been shocked by the number. Apparently they haven't been doing anything worthwhile for the last 28 years....so they owe me now!!! Well, off to Poland now. Will not be blogging until Wednesday!

Egg retrieval is over!!

Well, this morning I woke up feeling like I needed to lay these eggs!! Jeremy and I went to the clinic to the 3rd floor (never been there before), and I got changed. I waited in this super cheery room with 2 other women (who did not speak English). It was really uncomfortable to sit on the bed, so I kept on changing positions about 100 times. I didn't know if I should lay down, because the other women were sitting up. Anyways, they finally took me to the operating room, wrapped my legs up in the stirrups, and started my IV. Or, I should say, tried to start my IV. It's interesting how even when they don't speak English, you can tell that the anesthesiologist hates your veins. So, I got stuck twice...not so bad, considering the last surgery in the states, I was stuck 5 times to start the IV. Dr. Anna came in and asked how I was feeling, and then they started the meds. I felt like my throat was getting all warm and tingly, and then I was out. Apparently it is a very short procedure (like 10 minutes), but I am glad that I was knocked out for it. So, then I rested in the cheery room with the two other women (boring...no one to talk to) until they brought Jeremy back there. I really had some bad cramping in my back, so he massaged it for a while. Dr Anna came in and said that I had 26 EGGS...holy moly!!! Then, they told me how to use the progesterone inserts, and we went back to the Uno. I really didn't feel very good when we got back here, so I took a couple Tylenol and fell back to sleep. Really, the pains that I am having are no where near as back as period pains, just annoying because they are consistent today. Tomorrow after 1pm, Zuska will call us and let us know how many eggs are fertilized and whether we will be 3-5 day transfer. Ideally, we want a 5 day transfer, as the eggs will have many cells on their own by then. Our friends found out their results today. Joy and Doug had 9 eggs retrieved, and 7 fertilized. Apparently, the #8 is the cut off for Dr. Anna with a 5 day transfer, so Joy is having her transfer on Wednesday (3 days). She is really nervous, and really wants this to work (as we all do). I just really hope that we all get pregnant with happy, healthy babies on this trip. Thanks for the comments, it made me laugh to see that some people (who shall remain nameless) actually fell for the zebra stripe joke!!

time for Mama Husa to lay her eggs

Tomorrow is the day. 8am is when this Mama Husa (Mother Goose in Czech) lays her eggs. I am hoping for very good results! Joy and Cori had their retrievals today. Cori said that the meds made it the best part of the whole experience so far. Apparently it is a really good anesthesia, as she is the 3rd person to tell me that. Cori had 21 eggs, so hopefully her husband is rethinking his "all in" motto! Joy was pleasantly surprised by 9 good, plump eggs (she thought she was only going to have 8). Our motto is "It only takes one." I still don't really have any symptoms. One of the other girls summed it up best. It feels like you are constipated, but not really in pain. I guess that is probably the best way to describe my symptoms (or lack thereof). Today we went to Cori and Heath to the Husa restaurant for lunch----we are all in LOVE with their spinach mashed potatoes...YUMMY!!!! Then, we all chilled for another BORING lazy day. Ok, so I am the only one that is bored. I do not do "nothing" well. Tonight for dinner, I decided to kick it up a notch. I had zebra ribs for dinner. It was really good, except for they were black and white striped (a little to true to life for my taste). Ok, so they weren't black and white striped, and they tasted like pork ribs. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to freak some people out while they are reading this. HEE HEE!! We watched Newspring from May 18th online. Awesome sermon! It really makes me miss our church. I will say though, that throwing open our windows makes me feel close to God and his plan for us. Our view from our room makes me want to sing, "The hills are alive, with the sound of music...ahh, ahh, ah, ah." It is a fantastic view of the mountains and forests. I know that God has given us this opportunity, and I am so glad that we listened and followed. I know that this was the right decision for us, and we have been daily encouraged by our new friends here, as well as our friends and family at home. Well, enough about today. I have to leave the Uno at 7:20 tomorrow for my retrieval. I will try to get some pictures in the recovery room. If I can ever figure out how to post them online, you all can see them:)