We did it! Today on Valentines day we had our embryo transfer. What an emotional morning. We left the house not knowing if they moved the to Saturday or not. I wore my lucky socks today, a present from a dear friend who has been so helpful throughout our journey.

Public transport was horrendously busy and after standing for half an hour I felt really dizzy and needed to steal someones seat. Not sure if it was the nerves or just because I am not on top form after the collection on Monday. My ovaries were still quite painful in the last few days which is understandable after the nurse’s explanation today. I only learned today that they are leaving the follicles behind during egg collection, so after a day they fill up with fluids again and produce hormones. No wonder that I felt like before the collection again!

Anyway, we arrived at the hospital and got the go ahead for the transfer today. The embryologist decided that we would do a 3 day transfer. We were told we had 4 8 cell embryos, several 6 cell and one or two 3 cell embryos (I lost count and was too emotional at that point, I wish I had something in writing). By day 3, 6-8 cells are the normal growth rate. So our embryos did well.

Embryos are also graded from 1-4, where 4 is the best, based on other factors such as fragmentation of cells, speed of division, number of cells and if the number is even. One of our 8 cell embryos was graded a 4 and the others 3, almost 4. Here comes the tough part. We had to decide! Until now we always preferred 1 embryo for our first try thinking we had a second chance with the frozen cycle that is also paid by the NHS. However, the doctors couldn’t tell us yet, if there were any for freezing. They have to wait till Saturday until the blastocyst stage in order to determine if the remaining embryos are strong enough for the freezing and thawing process. That suddenly changed our perspective. 1 embryo is a 30% chance to conceive, 2 embryos 35%, only 5% more. It suddenly felt like a big poker game with not the best odds of winning. We asked for 2 minutes of privacy, discussed pros and cons and went for 2 in the end.

I think we are both happy with that decision, we know that there are many risks involved in twin pregnancy but neither of us was strong enough to say 1 embryo, without regretting it afterwards. So we shall see what happens!

I am quite positive at the moment. It is such a weird process. I am glad the nurse was so reassuring and calming throughout the whole procedure. The transfer itself was a piece of cake apart from the emotional side. I was flooded in tears and such a mix of emotions while they inserted the catheter and then we could see the 2 tiny spots on the ultrasound monitor. It is so overwhelming. I am glad we could witness this moment, it feels very precious and it’s a privilege to see those tiny dots – that hold the potential of a pregnancy and 1 or 2 children. Absolutely mind-blowing.

We didn’t rest for long. We were reassured that resting has no effect on the outcome and the walls of my uterus are very close together at the moment with very thick lining. I always think of them as fluffy and cosy, perfect for my tiny dots. We went to the local cafe and stayed on a comfy sofa for half an hour. I know they can’t fall out, but staying put for a while can’t hurt.

The husband went to work and I took a cab home. The weather is really odd at the moment. Snow on Monday and today sunshine and rain resulting in the most beautiful rainbow. I am glad I had my camera with me. I’ll be resting for the remaining day and now the dreaded 2 week wait begins. Wish us luck!