FET Transfer Day
May 16, 2023
It was an exciting day today. I had my frozen embryo transfer (FET) for Baby Pearson #2, lovingly referred to as BP2. We have been preparing for nearly 4 months and today was finally the day.
I wanted to share with you what you might expect on the day of your FET, especially for anyone who already has another child. This whole process was much easier when we didn’t have any children yet!
In the days prior to the transfer we went to Palm Springs for Mother’s Day. This may not have been the brightest idea and I’d advise for anyone about to undergo their own FET - don’t go out of town the few days beforehand.
On the Saturday morning, I went for a final ultrasound and bloodwork. Although my lining was beautiful, I had a strange scenario with my ovulation and although I was developing lots of follicles, they had gone stagnant and it didn’t appear that I was going to ovulate. My doctor prescribed that I use a Trigger shot on Thursday, which i did and the results of my Saturday appointment reflected that all was good but that they wanted me to add in some estrogen just to ensure the hormone levels stayed where they wanted them. They also advised I would do my first Progesterone in Oil (PIO) shot the morning of the transfer. Of course, PIO shots only come from the specialty pharmacy so we had to organize for it to be delivered to us the evening we returned from Palm Springs (the night before the transfer).
When we returned from Palm Springs there was the usual 1,000,000 things to do, along with dealing with a needy toddler and as well as prepping everything I needed for transfer day. I had two messages in my patient portal that I had yet to read. I finally read them that Monday afternoon only to discover my appointment time was now 30 minutes earlier (“arrive 30 minutes before your appointment time”) and a laundry list of the medications I would need to take over the course of the next 2 weeks. The change in timing had completely thrown me for a loop because we needed to get our Toddler to school and I had an acupuncture appointment scheduled! I frantically texted my acupuncturist as I began mapping out a schedule for the day. After plenty of readjusting, it went like this:
5:00am - Jenna wake up and get ready
5:30am - Prep for PIO shot / shot
5:45am - Johny start getting ready
6:00am - Mila wakes up
6:20am - Jenna out the door to acupuncture
6:30am - Johny out the door w/ Mila to school
7:20am - Johny & Jenna meet @ home - head to clinic
8:30am - Check in at clinic
9:00am - Transfer
10:00am - Head home
11:30am - Johny drive to drop off Jenna for acupuncture
11:45am - Acupuncture
12:45pm - Johny pickup Jenna from acupuncture
2:30pm - Johny leave to pickup Mila from school
What really happened (it was pretty on target):
4:15am - I was awoken because some suction cup bath toy fell from the wall and woke me up and that was it!
4:30am - Started looking at my phone
4:50am - Decided to get up. I didn’t want to feel like a slob that day. My husband always says, “You look good, you feel good. You feel good, you play good. You play good, you win!” And today, I was ready to win!
5:30am - Started prepping for my PIO. I got my ice pack to numb the area and started prepping the needle. It had been a few years since we had done this for our first pregnancy and I needed a refresher so I watched a quick video.
5:40am - Johny joined me and we walked through the process together and then administered the shot. Ouch. Forgot how much PIO shots suck.
6:00am - Like clockwork, Mila woke up so I went and got her up. We normally have over an hour to get her ready for school but today was 30 minutes so I needed to jam. I got her up, let her ease into the day for a few minutes then on to the diaper change, outfit for the day, and getting her lunch bag ready!
6:20 - I was out the door and off to see my acupuncturist. If you don’t know anything about the benefits of acupuncture with IVF (or any fertility issue) I’ll be sharing more in other posts.
6:30am - Arrived at the clinic. She wasn’t there yet as she doesn’t typically start her day for several more hours but she does what she has to for her fertility patients so she was there within 5 minutes.
6:40am - Acupuncture needles were in and it was time for me to relax.
7:10am - My acupuncturist came in and removed the needles and wished me good luck! I was out the door!
7:20am - My husband and I met at home. I ensured my 32oz water bottle was filled to the top and I emptied my bladder. I needed to get 32oz down before my appointment as a full bladder is necessary for the transfer.
7:25am - We began the 1 hour drive to the clinic in Los Angeles rush hour traffic. Fun!
8:30am - We arrived and checked in at the IVF clinic.
8:40am - I was brought into the transfer room with Johny, instructed to put on the gown and take my valium (they have you bring it with you). I had also brought some crystals with me that my acupuncturist had given me the morning of my first FET 3 years prior with Mila. I had held them in my hand that day so I wanted to have them with me again today. Note: I am not a crystals person but when it comes to IVF and wanting your baby - you do any good juju possible! As I lay there, a cried for a moment. Not because I was scared or sad or anything like that. I was crying because I felt a sense of relief and happiness. That the months of eating right, not drinking, exercising properly, going to endless acupuncture and doctor appointments, undergoing surgery, and following all the instructions I was given, we were finally here in this moment. I had done all that I could and now could potentially be the day that BP2 became a part of me. Johny cried for a moment as well as we held hands and embraced the moment.
9:00am - the Doctor entered and walked us through what was about to happen. She then had me lie in position and placed the speculum in place and cleaned the area thoroughly. They did an abdominal ultrasound to ensure the lining looked good and my bladder was at an appropriate level. All was good. A screen on the wall would show us a petri dish under a microscope with our name to confirm it was ours. Then we saw the embryo in the dish, ready to go. Our little future baby. They then pulled the embryo up into the catheter and walked it straight through the adjacent door into our room. The catheter was carefully handed to the doctor and she asked me to remain very still. We watched on the ultrasound monitor as the catheter was placed into my uterus and the embryo was let go and injected. The small white spec sitting on the screen was our baby! They finished up and left the room as they advised my husband to go and get the car while I got ready. I was wheeled out in a wheel chair and straight down to my car.
10:00am (I think) - We drove back home. The valium had hit me hard and I was a sleepy, floppy gumby version of myself.
10:30am - We got home within 30 minutes and I went straight to sleep with an alarm set so I could head back out to acupuncture.
11:30am - My alarm went off and I woke up. I picked myself out of bed and came out of the room to my husband. He walked me to the car and we headed back off to acupuncture.
11:45am - I lay down on the bed for acupuncture and she got me all needled-up. She left the room and I went straight back to sleep.
12:30 - After a peaceful rest in the acupuncture room, my acupuncturist returned and removed all my needles and had me get ready again. I came out and she gave me an after transfer bag of chinese herbs, which I am to take twice daily in water.
12:45am - My husband arrived to pick me up and we drove to one of my favorite fish restaurants to pickup my lunch order - 2 grilled mahi tacos, brown rice w/ quinoa, and braised chickpeas.
1:00pm - I sat quietly in the kitchen and ate my lunch as my husband went back to work. Then I headed right back to the bedroom and slept again.
4:45pm - My husband and daughter arrived back home. I stayed locked in my room and my husband was kind enough to pretend I wasn’t there. She is a mama’s girl and if I’m around, she does’t let me relax. The doctor had put me on bed rest (or at least minimal moving around and no heavy lifting) for 2 days and the best thing for a successful FET is reducing stress. It’s certainly best to keep my distance for these 2 days!
5:10pm - They left again to go out for dinner together and watch the Laker game so I came out from hiding and headed upstairs. To my surprise, they had left me flowers, chocolate, and a yummy package of trail mix. It filled my heart up even more.
It’s hard for someone not going through it to really understand what it takes to undergo IVF and FET’s. It takes work, daily. You have to be dedicated, focused, diligent, and have that burning desire for your baby to get through it all. Now I sit and I wait. Waiting is the hardest part of all. But hopefully in two weeks we’ll be seeing a sonogram of our new child-to-be. I can’t wait.
If you are going through fertility issues of your own, I am always happy to connect and provide any guidance or support that I can to help you on your journey. Please don’t hesitate to connect with me on Instagram or using the form on the Contact page.
