On the Bright Side, a Day-6 Transfer Means We Only Have to Wait 8 Days for the Pregnancy Test...

I woke up this morning feeling a little anxious about the transfer. Would we get a call saying not to come in at all because none of the embryos had survived the night? Would we show up to find out we had four thriving blastocysts and be forced to argue with our doctor that we were willing to take on the risks of high order multiples in order to be just to the all of the lives that we had created? We had plenty of time before we had to be at the clinic, so Aaron and I decided to head to Starbucks (coffee for him, steamed milk for me!) for breakfast and Bible-reading. I read Philippians 4, and it eased my nerves to be reoriented to God's truth. The Lord is at hand, so I do not need to worry. I took some time to thank God for our embryos and for the chance to do IVF. I prayed for our transfer to go well and for the peace of Christ to guard my mind and my heart.

After breakfast, we headed into the city. We had to wait for a while at the clinic, and then we had to wait some more in the room where the transfer would be done. Finally, the doctor came to tell us the status of our embryos. Of the four that fertilized, one had arrested at 10-cells and two had degenerated and were dying. Only one - an early blastocyst - was in good condition to be transferred. What a mix of emotions at that announcement! We felt sorrow for the embryos that had died, but we felt relief that we weren't going to be potentially faced with a high-risk situation. It was definitely a time to take refuge in God's sovereignty and goodness. So we transferred the one, and now we wait...