12!

So here we were...stuck in a holding pattern...impatiently waiting for a plan of action to de-cyst me!  Fortunately, it didn't take long to come up with that plan and within a few days we were scheduled to have it drained so that we can move forward.  The process of draining it really wasn't a big deal and the fact that it would mean that we could check that off the list made it even easier.  We were back on track with shots, shots, and more shots and 7:30am drives to New Haven as we prepared and monitored my body for the retrieval. 

As you go through the preparation you become very familiar with your doctors.  Once we were back on track we were driving to New Haven every other day or so for bloodwork and ultrasounds to see how many follicles had developed.  As I said earlier there is a fine line between having the right amount of eggs and too many and the ultrasounds help to figure that out.  Each visit to the doctor was followed by an afternoon phone call with further instructions.  Sometimes those instructions meant continuing with the shots and coming in for another ultrasound in a few days.  But, finally the call came that we were scheduled for the retrieval!  FINALLY!

So, on Sunday, January 18 we made the drive to Yale that would change our lives forever.  Out of that visit came 12 eggs!  12!  That's a great number!  We had every single reason in the world to count our blessings...and we did!  Now it was left to the doctor's to do their work in the lab and it was left to us to rest until day 3---the transfer day!

Those three days seemed like an eternity...and I'm not gonna' lie...I felt like crap!  The retrieval process is not an easy one.  I developed Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) and made an already uncomfortable body even more so.  It also made me fearful of what day 3 would be like.  This was supposed to be a joyful process and I was feeling terrible.  But once again, it was one more obstacle that we had to overcome if we wanted to have a baby.  We were willing to do just about anything...and we did.