Egg Retrieval: Mission Accomplished

Got up at the crack of dawn today for egg retrieval. We arrived at the office around 7:30. RE popped his head in and gave us a little pep talk. He said my response to the meds was a nice surprise. He was very pleased I had 12-13 follicles. The nurse came in and gave me a gown, told me the only thing I could leave on was my socks. Anticipating this, I made sure to wear my most comfy, fuzzy, pink socks. Then, the waiting began. We sat in our recovery room from 8am to 10am waiting for my turn with the needle. During this time, both DH and I got a bit testy now and again, however, we were buddies by the time they took me away for the procedure.

For those not familiar with the egg retrieval process here are the steps:
1. Enter procedure room and get an IV in the hand
2. Scooch down on the table until your bottom is in a hole and you feel like you're about to fall through
3. Put legs in "leg holders" similar to the stirrups, but a bit more involved so legs remain in the air while unconscious
4. RE inserts u/s probe with needle attached into the vaginal canal, as each follicle comes into view, the needle is advanced and the egg is sucked out of the follicle and goes through a tube directly to the embryology lab
5. Patient is helped off the table and wheeled in a wheelchair back to recovery room
6. Patient is hooked up to machines to monitor vital signs for about 15 minutes and given juice and crackers
7. *warning, gross alert* Patient escorted to the bathroom where she must empty her bladder or bowels and show the nurse the contents of the commode before flushing (a very elementary way for the nurse to check that bodily functions have returned)
8. Homeward bound via DH
9. Lie on the couch all day trying to ignore the painful bloated cramps emitting from parts of your abdomen you never felt before

When I got wheeled back to the recovery room the RE told DH we got 9 eggs from the procedure. We will get daily updates on their maturation and growth. If they grow appropriately, we will transfer embryos on Friday or Sunday. It's a nail-biter from here on out.

*A funny side note as reported to me by DH: When I got wheeled back into the recovery room, DH said something like, "you don't look so bad," my response, "I want a divorce." I have no memory of this and am not sure what I was thinking. DH chalked it up to being on narcotics. (He was very attentive the rest of the day.)