A Change of Plans - 2DP3DT

I guess my RE calls me a "moving train" for a reason! We had a pretty dramatic change in plans on Friday that kind of flipped my little world upside down (or maybe, more positively, right side up?).

The original plan:

- Transfer my remaining frozen embryo on Day 5 post ER (assuming it would survive thaw)

- Send cell samples from new embryos for CGH testing and freeze viable blasts

The new plan:

- Transferred two un-tested embryos (7 cell & 8 cell) on day 3

- Continue to observe remaining 6 embryos to blastocyst stage, freeze

And of course the three letter word we all love, WHY?

If you've been following my story, you know that I've previously gone through one fresh IVF cycle with a Day 5 transfer of a single perfectly graded blast that resulted in a bfp, and ended at 6 weeks. We then did a natural FET cycle with one beautiful day 5 blast that resulted in a chemical pregnancy. Now on round three (our second fresh IVF cycle), we changed up the protocol and had planned on doing another FET on day five following my egg retrieval. Well, Friday that all changed.

I don't hear directly from my RE often, as at my clinic, I deal mostly with the nurse coordinator, so I was nervous to hear her voice on the line when I picked up the phone. She informed me that the embryology lab director had been monitoring my embryos and out of the 8 that fertilized, two were really standing out early on. In their professional opinion, they believed we should forego the CGH testing, and opt for a day three transfer of these two stunning embryos.

There are different schools of thought on Day 3 vs. Day 5 transfers. Some believe the sooner the embryo is back where it belongs, the better chance it may have at developing. Others believe if the embryo can successfully grow to blast stage on day 5 in the lab, it is proof of its quality and strength. Personally, I truly think it's luck of the draw. Having completed two cycles with Day 5 transfers of elective single (beautiful) embryos that did not result in a successful pregnancy, I am proof that regardless of how pretty the embryo appears, how highly it is graded, and how long it survived in the lab...sometimes it just doesn't work.

So, I decided to take their recommendation and go for the day three transfer of two embryos. Part of me was terrified and part of me was feeling like maybe this was just the change we needed. We are still awaiting results from our Karyotype and Thrombogenic blood work, which may provide some more answers, should this cycle fail (which it won't, right?). I'll be spending the next X amount of days thinking happy thoughts x 2.