The Retrieval

I prefer the term "egg harvesting." It sounds more dramatic, in a strange, Handmaid's Tale kind of way. But the more clinical term is "egg retrieval."

And today is the day!

It's 10 AM. Wednesday, August 13, 2025. My step dad will be here soon to pick me up. Check-in is at 11:30 and the retrieval is at 12:15 PM.

What I had to do to prepare:

I did the trigger shot Monday night, at 12:15 AM. They tell you precisely when to do it so they can schedule the retrieval for exactly 36 hours later. The trigger shots were easier than the stimulant injections because there was nothing to mix, and because I'm a pro by now. You may as well call me Dr. Ellingson, like my dad. But they were relatively painful, and I had to do two of them. I think maybe my body is just getting tired of being stabbed. And I'm starting to bruise along my belly so I'm running out of spots to inject.

I also had to stop eating and drinking 8 hours before the procedure since I'll be under anesthesia. I feel hungry.

How I'm feeling going into it:

• Excited. I feel incredible about the fact that I have SEVENTEEN follicles, and fifteen are mature. I've always been an overachiever.

• Emotional. These hormones from all the drugs are really getting to me. Is this how it will be when I'm pregnant? Or worse? I know a lot of it is due to my estrogen levels. An update on those below.

  • Day 0 (baseline): 23

  • Day 6: 358

  • Day 9:1279

  • Day 11: 2780

  • Day 12 (Monday): 3915

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Now I'm writing this the following day, August 14, 2025. They were able to retrieve TWENTY eggs! Out of the 20, 9 were mature, and 7 fertilized. Now I wait 5 or 6 days to see how many develop into blastocysts (early stage embryos). Then, they'll test the embryos and tell me how many left are healthy and what genders. :-)