A boy and a girl?

Yesterday started dramatically for me. I woke at about 6.20am with a slightly uncomfortable tummy. By 6.40am it was the worst abdominal pain I'd ever experienced. It was worse than period pain. It felt like my insides were on fire. I did what I usually do when I have pain: I put a wheat bag in the microwave, then held it to myself and paced up and down the hallway, willing it to stop. Eventually the pain started to come in waves, easing off for a few seconds before returning, then it faded almost completely. By then it was 7am and I was completely exhausted. I took the day off work and spent much of the morning sleeping. I wasn't so sure about eating, but for lunch I had a couple of kiwifruit and some almonds. All seemed fine until the same thing happened again about 3pm and at 9pm. Each time, a dull ache grew into excruciating pain, which lasted for only about 20 minutes before gradually fading away.


It is only in hindsight that I can ask why I didn't call the clinic. The truth is that I thought this was a digestive complaint. I have experienced something like this in the past, years ago, and both times the doctor I saw told me that my gut had spasmed. Also, all the attacks had happened within about ten minutes of going to the toilet. It never occurred to me that the pain could have anything to do with the egg collection two days previously. Now I know!

So by this morning I was feeling quite beaten up. When we went to the clinic for our mid-morning appointment, I took my wheat bag with me. When we arrived at the clinic I told Nurse R all about the past day. She took my vital signs and gave me some paracetamol, and then went to talk to Dr P. He decided there was no reason not to go ahead. Although we'll never know for sure what the pain was, he did think it was related to the egg collection.

So then we were gowned up and taken into the little room with the stirrup chair. I'm even getting used to that now! The lab technician came in to speak to us and showed us a photo of the two embryos that were going to be transferred. One was at the eight-cell stage and the other was slightly further ahead. It was neat to see the photo. Then Dr P put the eggs up beyond my cervix using a long tube. It was completely painless and only took a minute or two. Before long, we were finished and dressed and on our way home.

I have felt very negative until now about this cycle. It just doesn't seem worth getting my hopes up after three failures already. But after this transfer, I feel quite different. Maybe it was joking about having one of each. Maybe it is the fact that there are two embryos this time and therefore two little chances. Only one of them has to make it - but wouldn't twins be wonderful? D isn't so sure! Whatever the reason, I am feeling more at peace this time. 1 October is the date for my pregnancy test.