5 on Friday - FET Edition

It's been a while since of done a link up, so today I'm linking up with Darci, April, Christina and Natasha for their Five on Friday link up.

One • We have less than a week until our FET. I can't believe we're only 6 days away. We won't know until Tuesday what time our transfer will take place on Thursday. While our RE has an office here, their main facility is in Indianapolis so we have to drive two hours to get there in the morning. Assuming we have a morning transfer time like we did with our fresh cycle, the kids will be having their first slumber party at Grandma's. While I know they'll be fine, I'm a little anxious, and excited. Their first night away from mom and dad is a big deal. Of course if it goes well, there may be nights away from us in the near future which means I may be able to sleep in once and a while.

Two • After waiting forever for our new insurance to get their act together, we finally have policy and group numbers. This means I finally have all of my prescriptions. I start progesterone on Saturday and begin taking a steroid and antibiotic on Sunday. This is in addition to the estrogen, baby aspirin and prenatal I'm already taking. I'll be taking 11 pills a day for the 4 days leading up to transfer. I'm pretty sure I need three days of the week pill boxes to keep track of everything.

Three • I've been fortunate so far not to have too many side effects from the medication. I know estrogen supplements give lots of women a laundry list of side effects. I thankfully haven't had any headaches. I have been extra tired, thank goodness H and B are great nappers, and my skin is a hot mess. While I've never had clear skin, my skin hasn't been broken out like this since I had *NSYNC posters on my bedroom walls.

Four • Fertility clinics have to report their success rates to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. You can go to their website to find the numbers from previous years. The most recent year of data is for 2012. Our clinic has a live birth rate of 36.8% on fresh cycles for women under 35, the twins and I are included in that data, and a 30% live birth rate for frozen cycles. While fresh cycles are proven more successful than frozen cycles, the success rates are very similar now as you can see by the numbers listed. You can view our clinic's full success report here.

Five • I had my last appointment before the transfer on Monday. They did a lining check via ultrasound and checked some hormone levels through blood work. My lining was measuring 11mm, and they like to see anything over 8mm. Since my lining is looking good, there's no need for any more appointments before transfer. A lot of people think that they implant the embryo(s) during an IVF procedure, however that isn't the case. During the transfer they place the embryos(s) in the uterus, not in the lining. The doctor guides a catheter into the perfect position while watching placement via an ultrasound. Once the catheter is in position, they release the embryo(s) into the uterus. After that it's up to the God. To help give the embryo(s) a better chance of implantation, restricted activity is prescribed for the day of and day after the transfer. If you need me, I'll be laying in bed watch The Veronica Mars Movie for the 10th time.