After so much waiting, the time for our Day 5 Transfer had finally arrived. As I walked into Seattle Reproductive Medicine, I don’t think I was able to really process everything that was happening; it felt pretty surreal. Because of the pandemic I had to go alone, and was asked to have a full bladder so they could more easily see my cervix while the catheter was guided to my uterus. Turns out my bladder was TOO full (I agreed) and I had to empty cup fulls at a time until they had a good view with the ultrasound. The care team presented me with the two selected embryos for transfer and even still, it was hard to accept that those little round blobs could potentially be the children my husband and I so dearly hoped for.
2 embryos, aka “squish and bloop”
Turns out my cervix was not a straight shot and had some curves, so the catheter kept getting stuck along the way to the uterus (fortunately, they do a practice run before they transfer the actual embryos). After about forty-five minutes, the procedure was over and I walked out of the clinic more pregnant than I’ve ever been, ever. It felt amazing!
Over the next several weeks they check your Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) level with a blood test, the first test being 9 days post transfer. We were thrilled to find out that mine was rising rapidly. With my own Google sleuthing, I discovered that my levels most likely indicated both embryos had been successfully implanted, but it was still to early to put on our party hats.
After about five weeks, we had our first ultrasound, and this is what we saw:
Baby “A” and “B”
Two babies!
It was so exciting! I should mention between the blood draw and the ultrasound I married the man of my dreams. We had a small church wedding and a beautiful backyard reception which my pro chef husband personally catered with all my favorite foods. While we missed friends and family who couldn’t join us due to the pandemic, we were thankful for those who could safely celebrate with us, and although it was early, we could help but share our little surprise!
So here we are in October. I am happy to announce that we are five months pregnant and expecting a baby boy and girl in February 2021.
Our dreams are coming true, and now more than ever we here at The Beltane Guild want to help others with the same dream. In fact, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to provide financial assistance to three families so far this year seeking fertility treatment. Stay tuned for our next big fundraiser (coming very soon!!!), and please consider sharing us on social media @beltaneguild, and making The Beltane Guild your chosen Amazon Smile charity (smile.amazon.com) where a portion of every purchase you make benefits a firefighter family hoping to have a child.
