In my post from Friday, I discussed how our egg donor, Marie, had her first transvaginal ultrasound to check on the growth of her follicles. We saw 17 quickly-growing follicles — a great response — prompting our clinic in Belgium to request another ultrasound on Monday. For this one, we had to come to Belgium, as they also needed a blood test that we’d been unable to get locally in Holland. Additionally, the last ultrasound before the retrieval must be done at their clinic, and they thought she might almost be ready.
We thought it would be nicer to arrive the night before rather than get up at the crack of dawn, and we’d already booked a room near the hospital for the whole week just in case. Fortunately, Marie’s husband also arrived from the US on Friday to help care for their two kids while we’re busy with all this. So Sunday night, Marie and I borrowed a friend’s little red car and made the 2+ hour trip to Belgium.
Joint Ultrasounds
Marie and I both needed ultrasounds, which were scheduled back-to-back. Marie’s was needed to check her follicular growth, and mine was needed to check my uterine lining. You know how some friends hang out by going to the movies, or getting their nails done together? Well we hang out by going to a foreign country and having wands shoved up our hoo-has.
Marie went first, and we were thrilled to see that the 17 follicles were all still there and growing. The largest are already 2cm in diameter, so they’re starting to look quite crowded. Here you see two different views of Marie’s left ovary.
My ultrasound was much quicker, as the technician didn’t need to search for and measure any follicles. She just checked that my uterine lining had the right thickness and structure. It’s currently measuring at ~11mm, which means the estrogen pills I’m taking are working.
We then had to go down to the lab to get a blood test for Marie. It showed that the follicles aren’t quite ready yet. This means we need to go back for another ultrasound and blood test tomorrow.
How is Marie feeling?
Several friends/family members were curious about how Marie is feeling while taking the hormone injections, and the answer is: completely normal. It doesn’t seem to be affecting her mood at all, and until recently, she didn’t have any physical side effects either. Only in the last couple of days has she started to feel a ‘fullness’ in her abdomen, or a slight twinge if she leans over to one side to grab her phone. This makes sense, as each follicle is the size of a large grape — and there are 17 of them in total — so she essentially has a bunch of grapes in each ovary. In her words: “I knew generally where my ovaries were before, but now I can tell you they are [pointing] here and here.”
xx
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The Bunless Oven 