Implanted

Having travelled to Christchurch yesterday in preparation for our appointment, today we went to the Fertility Associates clinic. I was told to arrive with a full bladder, and was previously advised by the nurse that a good way to ensure this was to empty my bladder approximately one hour before my appointment, and then have two large glasses of water. A full bladder is easy to find via ultrasound, and helps position your uterus for viewing.

On arrival, the receptionist issued us each with a face mask (covid-19 level 2 precautions) and took us to the waiting area for the laboratory. After a couple of minutes the nurse called us through into a separate private room, went through the usual identity checks (full name, date of birth, address) and then gave us a run down on what we needed to know for the appointment, and for the days following. They said that of our two unaffected embryos, the five-day old one (the best one) had been thawed ready to be used. They also gave us a USB card with footage of the development of each of the two unaffected embryos from the TiMI (Time lapse Morphometry Imaging) incubator we used. They then gave us space for me to change into a gown, before we were taken through to the theatre whether another nurse and the specialist were waiting. One nurse was assisting the specialist, the other was on standby ready to pass the embryo from the lab, and Dave was seated next to me. They used an ultrasound probe (on my stomach this time) to try and visualise my bladder as a reference point, and then my uterus. Despite drinking water and feeling full, apparently my bladder was still so small it barely registered on the screen. They tried inserting the speculum, and tried threading the catheter through my cervix, which can sometimes help improve visibility and also help them 'feel' what they're doing. This felt a little uncomfortable, but not too bad. After a few minutes, the specialist decided they weren't confident enough they were in the right place, so they asked me to go back to the private room and drink some more water in the hope that a bigger bladder might improve visibility on the ultrasound.

The card given to us containing footage of our embryos. If you look closely, you can see embryonic development depicted on the card.

Around one litre of water and 10 minutes later, they took me back through to try again. My bladder was bigger, but my uterus still wasn't clearly visible, though the speculum and catheter showed up better on the ultrasound this time. The specialist explained that sometimes the position or the angle of the uterus can make it harder to see, or even some days it can be easier to see than others, depending on what your bowel and bladder are doing. They were satisfied that the catheter threaded through my cervix into the right place, and decided to implant the embryo 'by feel', which they explained was how they always used to do it before ultrasound technology was good enough to assist. They'd prefer to see via ultrasound as well, but it isn't imperative. The embryo was passed from the lab in a small (1ml) syringe that the specialist attached to the catheter, which was used to transfer and implant it into my endometrium (uterine lining). The nurse then double-checked the syringe to make sure the embryo had been transferred.

A stock photo of a blastocyst embyro similar to the one implanted in me today. For privacy reasons, we have decided not to post a picture of our actual embryos. You know, in case one of them is a person one day.

So now we wait. I am to have a blood test in approximately two weeks time to check to see if this implantation results in a pregnancy. In the meantime, I can go about my normal activities, though I will be making mindful choices about consuming pregnancy safe food and drink, just in case. Cautious optimism from here on.