Tuesday 8 July 2014

The eve of transfer

First things first: an embryo update.  As of yesterday (Day 3) we were told that we had "8 high quality embryos".  Full stop.  I have no idea if the other three arrested or are just poor quality, nor do I know what cell division stage the remaining 8 are at.  That's all the information I got.  I'm starting to get used to the Czech brevity in delivering medical info, and in a way I'm kind of digging it.  They're not giving me enough to obsess over or Google, and the almost nonchalant way I get my updates makes me feel like they're pretty confident that we'll have lots of good blastocysts tomorrow.  They're already talking about freezing leftovers, so that's clearly a good sign.

In the meantime, we've been keeping ourselves so busy with sightseeing and activities that I've really hardly had time to worry.  I highly recommend this method of distraction!  Over the last couple of days we've walked over what feels like every square foot of Prague, and yet I know there's tons we've missed down all the crooked little streets.  Some of the cool stuff:

A gun concealed in a cigarette holder at the KGB Museum

Mock interrogation room at the Museum of Communism

One of the coolest things at the Museum of Communism was watching film footage of protesters and soldiers during the Velvet Revolution, the series of protests in 1989 that ultimately resulted in the overthrow of the Soviet-backed government and the institution of democracy in Czechoslovakia.  Wenceslas Square was the hub of the protests, and is now a huge tourist shopping destination lined with things like restaurants, casinos and clothing retailers.  We've walked through it several times already, but seeing it how it was in 1989 was a whole different story.  It's hard to believe I was just 13 years old back then, and didn't really know what has happening at the time.  So much change in just a few short decades.

Another day, we took a sweaty hike in the hot sun up to the top of Petrin Hill, which is a huge park complex overlooking the city.  It's gorgeous up there, and instead of being filled with tourists it also had a lot of locals just enjoying the sunshine or sitting in the shade under the trees eating ice cream.

Petrin Hill lookout tower

One of the many rose gardens on Petrin Hill

We've also paid a visit to Vysehrad, which is Prague's second smaller castle complex that is apparently often overlooked by tourists.  It's a 5-minute walk from our hotel, so today we hiked on up and took in some more amazing views of the city.  There's also another beautiful cathedral there and a very cool cemetery.

Cathedral as seen from cemetery at Vysehrad
 
Vltava River from the top of Vysehrad

Me being artsy with my camera at the cemetery

So now we just wait for tomorrow to find out how many blasts we have.  Thanks to everyone for your comments on my last post asking advice about how many to transfer.  Right now we're leaning towards one, based both on the assumption that they'll be of high quality as well as how difficult we think it would be for us to manage twins on our own without any family within screaming distance to help us out.  We'll see what the RE and embryologists have to say, though.

Yikes.  I can't believe this day is almost here.  And that I'm not looking at it with total pessimism like I have in my past cycles.  I wouldn't say I'm 100% planning on it working, but I'm definitely preparing for the possibility.  What's happening to me??  WHO AM I?? 

22 comments:

  1. Good luck on your transfer. This sounds SO promising to me! The city is absolutely breathtaking.

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  2. YES!!!! Awesome news! Keep up with the distraction and looking forward to even more pictures. Prague is gorgeous!

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  3. That's so awesome! great to hear you are enjoying the sights and scenes around Prague.

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  4. I will have everything crossed for you tomorrow. I'm glad you're feeling positive because this is it!

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  5. Good luck tomorrow! Sounds like you have some awesome embryos! And I'm so glad you've been able to distract yourself with some fantastic sightseeing. What a wonderful trip this has turned out to be!

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  6. Yay! I'm so glad you've been so distracted. That is awesome. Can't wait for this transfer. So exciting.

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  7. Stunning city! Must be nice to have a new city to take your mind off the stress of the transfer. Although I'm sure it's still on your mind. Wishing you a sucessful transfer!!

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  8. Love it!! You sound like you're in a really good place right now and everything is just lining up nicely. Obviously it's still very early in this whole game, but I'd say you have plenty of reason to be hopeful and optimistic. So let's see how well you can distract yourself during the post-transfer waiting period... that's gonna be the real challenge!

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  9. I'm so excited for you and for your transfer tomorrow!! And what better distraction than to be in such a beautiful city!! XO

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  10. This all sounds great! Good luck tomorrow...I'll be thinking of you!

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  11. Ok, I have been a TERRIBLE commenter, but trust me I've been reading and loving all these updates! Also, your photos are stunning, and I think it's awesome that you're making the most of sightseeing despite the fact that you have so much else going on. This will be a trip you'll never forget, that's for sure.

    There was a time when I would have recommended two... and even advocated for twins... but now that I have one, I'm like, damn, how do people even do it? I mean, I guess if it's your first you'd have nothing to compare it to... but I'll just say I'm glad we went for one on this last cycle. She's a full time job.

    I also realize that by now the decision has been made and the transfer is done. Eeep! Best of luck and sticky vibes all around. I'll be here following on pins and needles, even if my lazy ass is too lazy to comment. :)

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  12. By now you've likely had your transfer, so I hope that it went well! This is amazing news about the embryos--I'm so thrilled for you.

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  13. Great news!! Gorgeous pictures! Can't wait for the blast report!

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  14. How awesome that you've had such a great distraction, being able to do all that sight seeing. And how awesome that things have been going so freaking good so far!!

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