22 Weeks and 5 Days: Nearly the length of a ruler

It's been a while because Blogspot's new blogging format makes it nearly impossible to post from my iPad. So, my intention is to write a few posts here and then at some point work out a way to post them. Or find a more stable blogging platform . . .

The very empty baby's room as of last weekend.

I'm nearly at 23 weeks now, and definitely nice and round. Turtle/Squirm is moving around quite a lot now, particularly in the morning and mid afternoon through to when I go to sleep. So, quite a lot really. Also, it turns out that She or He is quite the fan of musical theatre . . .

We've nearly finished getting the nursery basics down (ie. sanding and painting the floor) and then it will be major shopping and decorating time. We're sticking with our theme of an explorer style nursery, and just trying to think about what we'll put in there. There's also been clothes shopping, stuff shopping and a fair amount of crafting going on. (Photo post soon!)

I've been fortunate enough to get some baby cuddles recently. My friend's baby is 11 weeks old now, and is absolutely cuddleable. I also told him about the pharaohs last time we had cuddles - I figure he really should be learning his history as early as possible.

It's a pretty quiet update, all in all. But there'll be photos coming soon, which will make the whole thing much more exciting :)

Halfway through! 20 Weeks . . .

Today I'm officially at 20 weeks, which I suppose means I'm at Hump Day :)

Unfortunately it hasn't been the best 24 hours. For the past two days I've had gas pains, but as I went to go to bed, I just couldn't get comfortable. I told M. I needed to go to the toilet, where I started vomiting. So for the first time this pregnancy, I was horribly ill every 30 to 60 minutes until 4.30am. Along with the vomiting, I had an intense pain in my lower tummy (higher than the round ligament issues I've been having) which was making it very uncomfortable to sit down, lay down or even walk around.

M. rang through to the hospital, where a lovely person had a quick chat with me, reassured me it was probably just bad gas, and suggested panadol and heat, plus to come into emergency if it got worse. Well, the Panadol came back up again pretty quick, but the heat allowed me to at least lay down on the couch for the night, letting M. get some rest (though he woke up every time I made another toilet trip)

 This morning, I took the day off work, before managing to finish and keep down a cup off tea without milk and a bun. Then after some sleep, I went off to the doctor (who was on time for the first time ever!) He found the gas in my stomach pretty quickly - my upper stomach echoed - and then proceeded to put me on a strict, bland diet.

For at least the next week, I need to cut out fatty, fried and dairy foods, along with nuts, chocolate, caffeine (nooooooooooooooo!) and fizzy drinks, plus I need to look at 6 small meals a day. I'm drumming for a second breakfast, like a hobbit :) Hopefully this will do the job and cut out the painful part. Tomorrow I have my 20 week appointment, plus my Physio class, so it should be a full and fun day :)

19 weeks and 4 days - with bonus ultrasound :)

One thing I didn't expect. The suspicious that my due date might be a day out because none of us considered the leap year . . .

In other news, all is going well. I'm increasingly tired, but that's partly because I have a very heavy workload at work at the moment. I have moments of dizziness and racing heart, but nothing too bad. The heartburn and gas on the other hand . . . (seriously, I had a days worth of gas after eating an apple!)

Yesterday afternoon I went back to the Royal Women's Hospital for my ultrasound. Traffic was going my way, so I got in early and tried yet another doubtful product from their food place. An hour before the ultrasound, I went to the toilet, and then went about drinking a litre of water. About 25 minutes later, I made my way up to the Medical Imaging department.

You go into the main reception and hand over your form and then they send you on, depending on what you're there for. I was sent to the Women's waiting room, which was actually quite lovely - they had obviously put some thought into the decor in there. It was mostly baby related, though it's also the area for breast scans and gynecological scans. I'd been sitting there for abut five minutes, when they came to get me - half an hour early! Unfortunately M. hadn't made it from work yet, so I asked if we could just wait a bit, which was fine. Just after he arrived, they called me again, so we were able to go in.

The lady doing the scan was a trainee, but she was really good. We said we'd had a couple of issues with the heart beat last time, so she tried to get straight in there. Unfortunately we have a real squirmer of a baby who was not cooperating, so we went to look at other bits. It was really cool looking at the brain and all the bones and thinking that this has all grown inside of me! Again, though, Turtle was not always the most cooperative with lots of kicking and arms flailing.

We finally got to the heart, which looks great and was beating very regularly. Our 'scanner' went to grab her supervisor to have a look, because she was having a few issues getting clear images. The supervisor obviously had a lot of experience and was a little lighter with the scanner, which was a relief on my rather full bladder.

The final verdict was one very active, but good looking baby (with incredibly cute hands and feet). My placenta is about 3mm lower than they like it, so they want me in for another scan at 34 weeks, but they're pretty confident it will move up out of the way. So about an hour after we went in, we were able to take our lovely images and head off (still none the wiser about whether Turtle is a boy or a girl!)

18 Weeks and One Day - About the length of a pickle . . .

I kind of suck at this regular updating thing. I blame being busy :)

What has happened since my last substantial post? Well . . .

-I've grown out of all my pre-pregnancy work pants and skirts. This came clear to me when I needed a hair band to fasten one pair of pants. I had two pairs of pants and a skirt, but I found a dress online, and then got two pairs of pants from Target (for about the same cost as regular pants! Score) I don't have any casual clothes yet, but I'll try to fix that this weekend. The two hardest things is 1) it's still hot here, but I have to buy warmer stuff since most of my pregnancy is in autumn and winter and 2) Why are so many pregnancy skirts, straight skirts? I didn't wear them before I got pregnant!

-I had the diabetes test last week because of the alert at the hospital. It was pretty easy - a couple of hours of sitting around, and the results came back all clear. The drink was like carbonated lime cordial and was quite yummy :)

-I've mastered the art of crocheting booties finally!

-I had a hospital visit today about the thyroid issue. The doctor answered a few of my other questions before I visited the vampires (pathology). Unfortunately I've just realised their Maths sucks, so I have to ring back to change the appointments that were made for me . . .

-My ultrasound is next week!

16 Weeks Booking In Appointment

Yesterday we had our first booking in appointment which was strange, lengthy and at times a little alarming.

We're having Turtle at the biggest hospital in Queensland, so the waiting room was packed with pregnant women when we got there. Another newbie was in front of us in the line with no idea what to do until a nice guy took pity on both of us and handed us a vibrating buzzer thing that they use to avoid big line ups near the door. When it buzzed (telling us our steak was ready, according to M) I was quickly checked in, then it was just a couple of minutes until I was called.

We started with a urine test. Like every other woman in the line up, (A Wee Lineup) I was dehydrated, but they also found glucose in my urine which means there's a possibility of gestational diabetes. I was weighed and found out I'm back to my most bloated post-egg pickup weight.

The midwife took me into the room on my own first to complete the confidential stuff. They obviously need to know if you've ever had a pregnancy, miscarriage or STD, and I suppose it's something that people might hide from their partners. They also check to see if there's any risk of domestic abuse and did a mental assessment. On the mental assessment I'm demonstrating my usual anxiety tendencies. I'm aware of them, and I'm aware it's been a particularly stressful week, so as long as I keep being aware, I should be fine.

M then came in to join us, and we went through all the paperwork, which I now keep with me all the time. We discussed that I'd like to use shared care with the GP, but due to my Thyroid condition I may not be able to do that, and that's alright too. We went through M's medical record (short) and mine (lengthy, particularly the family history section. We hit heart disease, blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and a few others for good measure).

Then we discussed the IVF. I must say, there's a disappointing lack of knowledge of IVF in the medical community. When we explained that they use a needle attached to the ultrasound wand and they pierce the walls to collect the eggs (30 times in my case), the two midwives in the room both winced. I suppose a lot of IVF patients go to private hospitals, which might explain that.

We also talked about the possibility of diabetes. I need to do a fasting test because it's too early to do the drink test. If it comes back clear, we'll do another one in a few weeks.

We went through more paperwork, including giving consent for the midwife to visit and booking in our prenatal classes. I got some information on mental health and pregnancy. Then it was time to (finally) hear the heart beat.

When they found it, it was pretty awesome, but we soon found out it was a bit irregular. (Also, it moved a lot) Another midwife reached the same conclusion and they went out to get a doctor, which scared me quite a bit. The doctor came in, and took forever to find the heartbeat. He also decided it was a bit irregular, and though he wasn't terribly concerned, he grabbed a portable ultrasound machine for peace of mind. So we got to see Turtle again.

He or she has grown a lot in the last three weeks and was extremely active. There was kicking and waving arms around and turning around away from the ultrasound. The doctor had a good look at the heart and was happy with it, even though it is a little irregular, so that made us feel a lot better.

I'm glad we chose this hospital. The staff were all friendly, even though they were very busy and I never felt rushed or unimportant. I hope it stays that way :) And I got to see Turtle again!

15 weeks and 6 days: About the length of a mascara . .

Not a big update today, because things are not terribly busy around the baby front here:

- I've not been feeling the most comfortable. My feet are swelling just enough to make my shoes uncomfortable, so they've been off whenever I can. I can't get really comfortable at night, and the other day I was woken half a dozen times with terrible calf cramps. Also, I seem to have mega saliva at the moment.

- The bump continues to grow. When people see me front on, they tell me how small I am. When they see my side on, they tell me how big it is. I can see it, and I love it, so I don't really care what they think.

- M and I are really enjoying reading about Turtle's development. The amount he or she will grow over these next few weeks is just scary!

- We also made our first foray into a baby shop (after visiting the mower shop next door). I was thrilled to see the exact sort of things I was after, and at a really reasonable price. Think we'll be making some purchases there (the busy staff member was also hugely friendly even though we weren't buying yesterday)

-I'm becoming more aware of the possible risk of developing another hernia. I'm so glad I didn't vomit at all, because that would have out a lot of strain on the area. I need to assess things carefully over the next few months to make sure I don't do any damage.

- We have our booking in appointment at the hospital this week. Can't wait to tell them about the reflux, IVF and hernias!

14 Weeks and 3 Days: About the length of a small flip phone?

It's been a couple of weeks because I've just started a new job and I've been run off my feet. Pretty much everyone there knows about the baby, and there's a lovely feeling from them all, even though I'll be leaving in less than 6 months.

Other news:

- I have a lovely round belly. I'll try to post a picture of it today, because it looks really nice :) Strangely, it's not even - where my most recent scar is, my belly pokes in a little.

- We had a scan last week! Just for fun, as the fertility specialist said (since we didn't have the one to detect Downs Syndrome). Turtle's heart is still beating strong, but we got to see so much more - including baby feet and toes! Turtle was sitting with his or her knees folded up, either crossing his or her legs for a story or stretching for ballet (my story, anyway)

-The fertility doctor also said I have excellent blood pressure. Is it ok to be proud of that?

-And he changed my thyroid medicine up again.

-The nausea is completely gone, and now I'm starving all the time. I've been able to introduce more dairy into my diet which has to be a good thing. But my cravings are stranger. I still desperately want fruit, veggies (especially potato) and red meat, but I also want French Onion dip and sat and ate ice cream out of the tub because I desperately wanted it the other night (a month ago, I couldn't stand it)

-I bought a Belly Bean maternity pillow and I love it. It's like two round pillows joined by a wide strip of fabric. It supports my back and my front, and will only get more useful as I get bigger. I actually started sleeping through the night when I got it, so there's happiness :)

-I had anaphylaxis training yesterday through work and they actually gave us all training pens to use. I felt a real flashback to the injections, and the same flinching even though these pens had no needle in them. Of course, I was less squeamish about it then I might have been before IVF :)

- Oh! Edited to add that the paperwork from the hospital came in! Thanks to a kind neighbour it wasn't completely drenched in the rain, so today I'm going to be filling it all out and this will all start feeling real!

12 weeks and 1 day: Around the size of my pinkie finger . . .

My update is a bit late this week because I spent my weekend in Sydney :)

- I hit the magical 12 weeks yesterday. It's a nice feeling. I've also seen my local GP who's taking on my care now. He did a range of medical tests which all came back good. My blood pressure is also good.

- My nausea is pretty much gone. About one small wave a day now. I also seem to have more energy than I had last week.

- My belly seems more rounded and my pelvic area a little less crowded. Because of the bloating, it's hard to tell if I've 'popped' or not, but I'm kind of loving my new shape. This is a good thing because I'm starving most of the time - particularly for fruit.

- I bought my first maternity clothes this week - just a pair of work pants and a nice work skirt. They were about the same price I'd pay for regular clothes of that quality and they should last through the pregnancy. My new boss has stressed professional dressing, so these should definitely do the job.

- My best friend had her baby! He was five weeks early and is currently in the special care nursery, but the way he's going he'll probably be home soon. My friend is looking well, despite the very rushed birth (an emergency Caesarian with only an hours notice).

Ten weeks and six days: the length of an individual sugar packet

It's been a big week socially, and a small week baby related.

- Christmas was good. I rocked a green salad full of things I wanted to and could eat, but it was hard to find non cold-meat to eat.

- I turned 30 on Thursday and celebrated with a dinner with friends and family

- I slept for three hours through the day yesterday, so I was able to stay up to see in the new year.

- One of my best friends held her baby shower on Friday morning. It was very low key - just a morning tea and presents, but she loved the crocheted hat and monster booties I gave her :)

- I've been a bit crochet crazy, so far Turtle has a monkey hat, a big sunburst blanket and most of a cardigan. (I'll post photos soon, I promise!)

- My nausea seems to have died down a bit, though travel sickness isn't fun. I get the occasional headache, but nothing too serious. Turtle seems to be applying a bit of pressure in the pelvic region - I seem to have the world's smallest bladder at the moment :)

- I had to buy new bras this week. I'm up a cup size, which is kinda weird.

Nine weeks and five days: nearly the size of a Brazil nut

All in all, it's been a pretty uneventful week. I've got rolling nausea, and it has become worse, but I haven't been sick at all. My lower back hurts at times, and I'm having some trouble finding a comfortable way to sleep - which doesn't stop me from falling asleep all the time!

We've announced the news to my larger family - it's the first great-grandchild on this side, so everyone's excited. A couple of my aunts had fertility difficulties of their own, so they've been particularly understanding of my anxieties. Also, my grandmother and aunt (mum's sister) both said they had relatively mild morning sickness, which really seems to be my case as well.

However, my sensitivity to smell remains. I went into the city to do Christmas shopping and could smell every horrible smell around. Then when the across road neighbours decided no party was complete without burnouts, the smell of burning rubber was absolutely horrendous.

Monday makes ten weeks, which is the week where the embryo becomes a foetus. It's also the week I turn 30, so maybe we should have a joint party. It's amazing reading about the development and seeing how much building is going on in there.

I've started reading about what do do with infants. Some of the books have been great, but very hetero-normative, which irks me. Others have some good information, but go over the top on the ultra-natural thing.

I've begun crocheting for the baby now (well once I finished booties with monster claws for a friend). So far I've finished a monkey hat and I'm 3/4 way through a baby blanket. We're not finding out the sex of the baby, but I'm refusing to use just 'neutral' colours. I do take great delight in using pink and blue together, since I love both colours.

Well, I think that's all for this very disjointed update. Hope everyone has a great Christmas/holiday :)

Eight week and six days: About the size of a martini olive . . .

-The biggest news of this week is that we've seen the baby! We went in on Wednesday morning to our fertility specialist and I had yet another internal ultrasound. M. came in (he declares that he could pick the baby straight away). The doctor quickly showed us the baby's (massive) head, and then pointed out a wonderful sight - a tiny, beating heart. We also got to see the arm, and the spine of the baby and we have our own print out picture that I like to stare at for hours.

-The doctor also told me to finish my pack of progesterone and that would be it for IVF medication. I had the last one on Friday! So happy to be done with all those unnatural hormones. He also said my ovaries were as normal as expected from an IVF conception.

-General consensus seems to be calling the baby 'junior' or 'turtle' because of the number of eggs we got during the egg pickup.

-The nausea has well and truly kicked in. Some days are worse than others, but the lists of smells I can no longer stand seems endless! Other than that, I think I might almost graze a b cup with my breasts, now; and I am incredibly, bone weary tired.

7 weeks and 6 days. Around the size of the diamond on Nicole Richie's engagement ring . . .

Long time, no post. Mostly because I've been finishing up at one job, plus going away on a retreat for another. The retreat was interesting because no one knows I'm pregnant there yet (waiting for the second trimester), so I couldn't explain things away when I felt off. Also, making sure I could eat the food was kind of special. Luckily the nausea was kind to me, as long as I kept away from the cooked mushrooms.

Most of my nausea is smell related. Mushrooms, coffee, chocolate and cheese toast from Sizzlers (darn) are out. Mashed potatoes, Gouda cheese, jelly lollies and almost any red meat are in. I can handle tea, but that's it for hot drinks, cold drinks are fine as long as they aren't too fizzy or milk based. So, world's most boring diet. (Also, if you're going to serve me tomatoes, they'd better be fresh because I can taste when they're not)

Tiredness is my life at the moment. M. regularly wakes me up when I fall asleep on the couch, and some tasks leave me zombie like. Probably because this week the embryo has (hopefully) doubled in size. Then there's the time spent staring at my now noticeable breasts (exciting when you start with a small A cup)

Wednesday is the day for our first scan, and therefore the first hurdle for my anxiety to get over ( well after the anxiety of going for fertility treatment, choosing ivf, giving myself injections and going through the egg retrieval). If all is well then, we may be able to look at telling less immediate family for Christmas.

Meanwhile, my baby stash grows. Mostly because I'm leaving my job and people want to give me a gift while they can. I look at them as gifts of love, and know that even if something goes wrong, I'll out them aside for later, knowing they were given with love and will be used with love eventually.

Week Six: the search for a size comparison that isn't fruit . . .

A lot has happened since the last time I updated with our good news. (Well not that much, but it makes me feel like I'm more productive)

- I went to see the nurse at my fertility clinic. She moved me onto progesterone pessaries (1/3 the cost of crinone), told me that the horrific pain I was having (not to mention the five month pregnant bloating) was hyperstimlation rearing up again (yay!), and let me know how far along I was (5 weeks and 2 days at the time - it's now a week later so I'm 6 weeks and 2 days)

- The pessaries are . . . Different. (TMI alert) They're inserted like a tampon, twice daily, then I have to lie down for half an hour. In that time they melt and the progesterone gets in my system. The side effects seem less extreme then the crinone, but in combination with the heat, they're not the most comfortable things in the world.

-the hyperatimulation is more under control now I understand that I have it again. It's controlled through drinking water and Gatorade, and while it's still a problem, it's significantly improved.

-Nausea kicked in over the weekend. At first I thought it might be the tummy bug doing the rounds, but that was a 24 hour thing, and this has been 5 days, so not so much. No vomiting, but relatively strong nausea, particularly in relation to food. And it sticks around until early evening.

-Almost everyone knows. Which both comforts me and terrifies me in equal amounts. Some people picked it up through the massive, swollen belly I had last week.

-I am pretty terrified of something going wrong and I probably will be until we a) hear a heart beat, b) see a scan, c) get through the first trimester d) are holding the baby. Part of the problem is that symptom are changed by the progesterone, so I don't feel like I'm controlling my body, so I don't feel like I can trust it. I keep holding on to all the positives though - it was a strong positive result, I've had no spotting at all, I'm healthy . . .

-we have our first baby things. A cute singlet with planes on it (we're both plane enthusiasts, M. More than me, though I do intend to impart my love of Spitfires), two winter onesies, a pair of tiny red sneakers and two board books (including Where is the Green Sheep!) I also got a present of a bib and a singlet from a co worker who promises to hold a baby shower, even though I'm changing jobs at the end of the year.

- And our current due date is . . . 22 of July :)

The Verdict

The phone call came at 1.14pm

My doctor was on the end of the line and he said the magic word . . . Congratulations.

I'm pregnant.

It's still really early days. I still need to take the crinone to make everything hospitable in there. And we won't get our scan for a few weeks due to a whole bunch of real life stuff going on. But for now, we're just enjoying it (well M. is. I'm really bloated and achy, so not so much)

A pregnancy and I didn't even pee on a stick once!

A different kind of two week wait

Well, only three more sleeps until my pregnancy test and I can honestly say that this has been a very different two week wait.

Some of the differences:

- I know almost all my symptoms can be attributed to the progesterone. Which actually stops a lot of fretting. Instead of worrying whether it's pms or pregnancy I just blame it on the progesterone.

- My breasts are definitely bigger. As in, my bra is getting rather small and hurting me. So, I need to go bra shopping or get a crop top of some sort.

- I know that the first part was already done.

-I'm very, very, very tired. Like fall asleep at work tired.

-I seem to get progressively sorer during the day. Especially in the stomach.

All in all, it's gone much quicker than I thought it would. Just a few more days and we might know something, one way or another . . .

Cycle one: Egg Transfer

With the doctor's ok, we were able to go ahead with the egg transfer yesterday ( must have been all those crossed fingers you guys had). Because it was a weekend, we had to go to a different hospital (just a specialist one) in a suburb near the city. We were, of course, really early, so we went for a short walk around the block before heading in.

Once in, I signed the million pieces of paperwork, and then M. and I were taken to get changed. This time I got to keep my top half on, adding a beautiful gingham hospital gown and a nice fluffy robe to the mix, along with feet covers and hat. M. got hospital scrubs, plus feet covers and hat. We were then taken into the lounge to wait with a few other people. Luckily it was just a short wait before we were taken through.

The embryologist came and saw us first. He let us know that they'd frozen four embryos early, 2 had gone through to blastocyst (one of these was put back in) and another four looked like going to blastocyst yesterday or today. Which makes 10 altogether, which is a very good number.

Then I got to lay back and put my legs up on these bars. The doctor put the speculum in, which was the only painful part of the whole process. (I found relaxing made it a lot easier). Then the embryologist came out with a catheter with the embryo in it, the doctor placed it in, the embryologist checked it had left the catheter (Those tiny cells. Always playing hide and seek, you know). Then I was good to sit up and go.

M. And I got back into our regular gear, then made our way back to the patient lounge. The nurse made us both a cup of tea and we had some cheese and crackers. About 30 minutes later we were good to get on with our day (the nurse suggested no bungee jumping though).

So in less than two weeks we'll know something. I still need to take it relatively easy because of how close I was to serious illness. But one thing I am doing is taking a quiet walk every day, which is good on many levels.

Don't fret, I have plenty of posts planned to keep us all busy during the two week wait! Just hold on until I tell you about the wonders of Crinone . . .

One of those kinds of weeks

After the egg pick-up we weren't sure if we'd go ahead or wait a cycle for the transfer. Because of the huge number of eggs they got, I was in serious risk of hyper-stimulation, and I actually got very bloated and put on 2 kilos, which is not a good sign.

Luckily over yesterday and today, I've regained some equilibrium. The pain is gone, most of the bloating is gone and I've actually lost 3 kilos in two days, which is relatively remarkable. So the embryo transfer is on for tomorrow morning.

I've got 'lush' lining in there, and I'm on crinone (progesterone - more on that later) to make everything nice in there, so we've just got to wish and pray and hope that the embryo likes it all. So, in two weeks time we'll find out if we're pregnant or not.

Update from the Embryologist

30 eggs removed.

20 mature enough to fertilise. (the scientists ended up using ICSI)

13 embryos at the moment. This could obviously change if some of them fail.

Keeping everything crossed.

Egg-pickup: The Long Version

The pick up was set for 2.30pm which meant we had to get a few things sorted in the morning. I had to fast from 8.30, so I had to have my thyroid tablet and some breakfast in the morning, along with a tonne of water. Of course the minute I started fasting, I was immediately hungry and thirsty.

We had to be at the hospital by 12.30, but it's me, so we were there by 12. They pretty much took me straight through after I paid a huge amount that my shoddy health insurance doesn't cover. When they got the right file (take 2) we went through all the blood pressure, pulse, go through medical files stuff. Then I waited. And waited (I finished a book)

Fnally it was time to get changed. The joy of a private hospital is that they gave we the regular hospital robe (yuck) plus a fluffy hotel room robe to wear over the top. Since there was no way I could do up the straps, this was excellent.

I waited a little longer and then they took me to a cubicle on an extremely uncomfortable hospital bed. Unfortunately Question Time was on tv. Fortunately Tony Abbot didn't speak. There were some small mix ups with them asking me if I was someone else, which raised my anxiety levels, but when I mentioned the anxiety the nurses were wonderful, making sure to comfort and stay with me. They let M. in briefly to sit with me and to give me his 'sample' (the males get all the euphemisms) which I had to tuck between my legs to keep warm. I'm sure there's a joke in there, but I can't think of it right now.

Finally they took me through to the surgery area. They put the observation gear on, including a child blood pressure cuff (for my tiny arm). Then I waited a bit more. Finally the anesthetist came in and promised to try and avoid the reactions I've had in the past. Then the embryologist came in for a quick chat and to collect the 'sample'. Finally they took me through to the operating theatre. My doctor caught me on the way in and let me know that he'd catch up with me after.

The anesthetist knocked me out pretty quickly with talk about a tropical island, and before I knew it they were waking me up. The best part was that they let me keep my glasses right up until knocking me out and when I woke, I had them on again. This helped with the anxiety so much. The first question I asked, of course, was how many. When she said 30 she wasn't really sure, which is why I've asked M. to verify it over and over again :) They gave me some pain killers and a wonderful hot blanket.

There was a bit of a backlog, so even though I was quite alert I had to wait there a little before moving into the next area. There they gave me some water (yay)and my own clothes (more yay) before the doctor came in to confirm the 30. However, he's very worried about the hyperstimlation risk, so the transfer may have to be put off for a month, which sucks.

Then into the sit up recovery room where I discovered that M. hadn't left the book I wanted to read in my bag. So I was left with the wonderful magazine collection and the tv until they discharged me.

I'm on panadol forte at the moment, but there's still a little discomfort even with that. I'm drinking a tonne of liquid and resting. I need to check in with the doctor later today to let them know how I'm feeling and I should hear soon about the number of embryos we got. So keep the fingers crossed.

Egg pickup - quick post

I'm home, feeling relatively good after today's egg pickup. I'll post more tomorrow, but wanted to share the magic number.

30 eggs.

I've checked several times now, thinking I was in some sort of anesthetic dream. Still 30 eggs.

No wonder I was sore.

More tomorrow.