And the number is?

Egg retrieval. The dreaded day that you wait for weeks to come. You fear the event, the outcome, and whether or not you'll have any eggs to retrieve or any that will grow. Something I should not be afraid of seeing as the first round gave us 13 eggs. But I still was.

And of course, they were running an hour behind. Not being able to eat after midnight the night before, my stomach was growling. At some point it passed, and I was being wheeled into the procedure room. A lovely white, sterile room complete with massive stirrups and a crowd of nurses and doctors at the end. Thankfully they begin the anesthesia almost immediately to help you forget that all of these people are about to investigate your lady parts.

I wake up 30 mins later to my handsome husband rubbing my arm. Soon after the doctor comes out. "We retrieved 6 eggs" she says happily. 6? That's it?! That's all I can think. I know I should be happy, I should be thrilled that they retrieved any at all. But going from 13 to 6 in a matter of 2 years was quite depressing. What's wrong with me? Did the cyst hinder growth? Am I going through premature menopause? Are my eggs dying?

I try to calm myself down. My husband helps. 6. It's something. It's a start. After all, you only need one good one. In our case, 2. That's what we've decided on. 2 Embryos. (I may have been keeping this from you. My apologies.) Yes, our chance of twins increases, 30-40% to be exact. But after you've been trying to conceive for 4 years, twins is a welcome thought.

Yesterday, we got home, I devoured some Chinese take out, and passed out for a good 3 hours. Hubby had a conference call so I was on my own for a bit. After he finished up, he headed to the store for some extra strength Tylenol and gatorade. 2 things they recommended post retrieval. That and about 30g of protein each day. Oh, and I'm not allowed to do any Bikram or working out for the next week or so. Lovely. Only low impact yoga 3 days post retrieval. And no heavy lifting.

Today I woke up, still in pain. Achy ovaries, and absolutely exhausted. I knew sitting a desk all day long would probably make things worse. So I stayed home. Thankfully I did, because I've been sleeping all day. Tylenol. Gatorade. Sleep. Repeat.

Around 1pm, my phone rings. It's RSC. The nurse is checking up on me to see how I'm feeling, how my IV site is healing. She then updates me that I'll be getting a call around 3:30 today to let us know how our embryos are doing. I was originally told we wouldn't be getting a call until Thur morning to let us know when transfer would be. I plum forgot that they first call to let you know how ICSI went, and whether or not we have any growers.

Cross your fingers that our 6 little eggs are healthy and thriving!