13 weeks!

I never did get around to my official 12 week post, but the 13 week post will be more than enough, I'm sure! We had our NT scan at the Maternal Fetal Medicine office on Friday. It went great. The ultrasound tech got all the measurements (which the doctor said looked normal, putting us at low risk for Downs or Trisomy 18) and she printed out about 15 pictures for us to keep! It was great, as we didn't know that we would get to have any pics from this ultrasound. The tech was great and did some awesome 3-D pics, too! I'll post the link to them at the end! And by the way, if those pics don't scream "boy" to you, I don't know what will...especially the 3-D frontal view.

The sickness has faded for the most part, except on the occasional morning while brushing my teeth. I've been eating more regularly again & I'm still loving the dill pickles and pickle juice.

That's about all for this update! I go for my follow-up bloodwork on the 28th of June, my next OB appointment is on the 8th and our "BIG" ultrasound is on the 19th of July!

Click here to view our baby's pics!

11w5d

I suppose an 11 week update would be appropriate before I hit 12 weeks, huh? I am doing well - still getting sick here and there, a couple times a week, however I've noticed that the whole toothbrush-gag thing is become more prominent this week (therefore my evening sickness is definitely becoming morning sickness). One of the moms of my preschoolers called "girl" yesterday when she heard I was throwing up bile, but then I told her about the whole drinking pickle juice straight from the jar thing...she was sooooo grossed out - LOL! She's the only mom of my students to know & I only told her because she was feeling so much remorse (and thinking I would take it personally) that she's most likely moving her younger son to her own church's preschool next year. She was literally bawling to me about it because she thought I would be upset with her - so I told her about me not being here the whole year next year so that she wouldn't feel so bad. I trust her - most moms I wouldn't! And I love her - she's so sweet!

My pastor came down to my classroom yesterday to see me (I had written him a note after I had gone to see him twice and he wasn't there) - I told him that we were expecting and his first question was, "An adopted baby?" He was in complete shock but so happy for us! He sat and prayed with me and asked lots of questions & told me that he would have to congratulate G on Sunday when/if he saw him at the church softball game...I just hope I'm not being over-zealous in telling people now - It's so exciting!

I'm starting to show just a little bit now & I love, love, love it! I just bought a bella band (lace trimmed, black) on ebay for $10.45 including shipping! Yay! Pic of my belly coming soon!

We're going to a wedding in North Carolina this weekend (college roommate of G's) - I still have to decide tonight which dress to wear. The one I had planned on wearing definitely gives me a baby bump, so I'm afraid it might not be the most comfortable throughout the day/night. The other is less formal, but since it is an outdoor, afternoon wedding, I don't think it will be inappropriate either.

10 week update!

I had a great appointment on Tuesday! I'm still measuring 2 days ahead and they confirmed my due date at 12/3/10! The HB was great at 170bpm & the little sucker was in there moving all over the place - it even looked like it was waving at us!!!! Best feeling in the world!

We told G's parents over the weekend and his mom was a little confused at first (or we were just confused at what she was asking us)! G's dad is a radiologist, so he looked at the date at the top & saw my name & knew right away what was going on & hugged me immediately. His mom started sobbing and couldn't figure out how we'd been keeping it a secret for so long! We told G's 2 younger sisters and they FLIPPED, then he called his oldest sister and her kids told her that she said Oh My God 21 times! LOL! We emailed the rest of G's brothers and sisters to tell them & we heard back from every single one of them within 12 hours!

I go back in about 2.5 weeks for my sequential screen & then again on the 8th for my 2nd regular OB appt. The doctor said everything looks GREAT! We couldn't be more excited!


As for me, eating has slowly been getting better. I haven't thrown up since Sunday (after I had a huge breakfast out to eat for Mother's Day - and they even gave me a flower at the restaurant for my first Mother's Day ever!!). I had a big (for me lately) supper last night & I'm always starving at lunch time. My pants are starting to get a bit snug (mostly in the afternoon/evening) and I'm still really tired (can't wait for that to go away!). Overall, everything is great!

(almost) 10 week update!

Things are so-far, so-good. I have another u/s on Tuesday and I'm really anxious for it since I haven't had one since the 26th.

We told my parents the good news last weekend and it was CRAZY. Oh MY GOSH - it was the best reaction ever! My mom & dad were busy getting things ready for the picnic that they were having for my bday. They were both finally in the house at the same time and I told my mom that I wanted her to open her Mother's Day gift before she was up to her elbows in something else...my dad almost left but I told him he had to stay. Mom opened the card and started crying (nothing in the card but a sappy little verse) and then she opened the frame and SCREAMED, CRIED & she and my dad made a Teri-Sandwich out of me. My dad cried (this is only the 3rd time in my life I ever saw him cry) and my mom sobbed, "This is the BEST MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT EVER"...it was awesome
Then we told my little cousin Jenna (19) because she's our bud - she and Gregg always "pretend" they are Ron & Hermione from Harry Potter when we go camping (mainly just finding sticks & pretending they are stupifying each other, or quoting the movie, etc). Gregg asked Jenna if she wanted to be Aunt Jenna or Aunt Hermione - and her eyes got wide and she looked at me & I smiled and she got SO excited & screamed - she had to compose herself before we went back to the rest of the family.

Then, after we were done eating, my mom took the frame & gave it to my Grammy saying she wanted to show her what we gave her for mother's day. My Grammy opened it and just stared at it for what seemed like an hour - my cousin Michelle was sitting right beside me (she's studying to be an u/s tech, so she knew exactly what she was looking at) turned to me and said, "Nuh-uh, seriously?" so she got it before everyone else did. Then of course the frame was passed around and the congratulations came out & everyone said how I was glowing, etc.

My evening sickness has turned into morning sickness, at least for Saturday/Sunday. I've been feeling fine since! I went for my last b/w (progesterone check) at the RE on Thursday & I went to the OB yesterday - I really wish I were getting an u/s before we told G's parents this weekend....although I have no reason to worry - no spotting, just normal stretching-cramping (probably from dehydration, too, since I'm still always thirsty).

And I'm putting it all out there to show you my 9w belly shot (all bloat, once again, although G said I have a hard belly today)...this was after a long day of partying for my 30th!

8w update!

We had our 8w (and final) ultrasound with the RE on Monday. The baby measured 2 days ahead (8w4d) & HB was 164bpm! The RE's office "released" me with a really cute ultrasound pic baby card & a stack of pregnancy magazines, though they can't officially release me while I'm still on progesterone (though they probably will be releasing me unknowingly while I'm still doing PIOs since I REFUSE to go cold-turkey at this point). They did decrease my dosage, so I have to go back tomorrow to see how my p4 is holding. I will absolutely be telling them if I am not comfortable (if it has dipped too low by my standards, since the highest it has been this whole time is 20). I refuse to play the "what if" game should something happen, you know?

My TSH is back down to normal levels at 1.86, so that is reassuring. We are excited for this weekend because we're heading up to central PA! My parents are throwing me a 30th birthday party on Saturday & we're giving my mom her early Mother's Day gift. It's a frame with the picture and poem shown below! G's mom is getting the same thing the following weekend for Mother's Day. We're still very nervous to tell anyone, though...I can't wait until 12w for a little more security.

Isn't the pic so cute? The head is on the bottom left and the little feet are on the bottom right. The yolk sac is on the top!

7w update

I'm nearing the end of my 7th week! I can hardly believe it. I go through days where I feel miserable (like Tuesday) and then days like today where I feel GREAT & that actually scares me a bit. I'll take feeling miserable at this point, just for a bit of reassurance.

I had a bit of cramping on Wednesday & that scared me, but there was no spotting, so I know it's not cause for alarm - I know there's lots of stretching going on in there. Monday is our last scan with the RE and then we're released to the OB - I'm terrified about that simply because I've been so spoiled with weekly scans. I've contemplated buying a dopplar around week 10-12 just to give myself some peace of mind.

As you can see from the picture below, the 2nd sac that they discovered last week has gotten bigger. Even though we know it's empty, the pregnancy hormones seem to be feeding it and causing it to grow. I hope it goes away soon, even though the PA didn't seem to think it could cause any complications! Everything else looked good. The baby measured right on target at 7w2d & the heart rate was 136bpm! Hopefully more good news is coming!

Belly pic @ 6w

This pic is from about 6w2d, I think, but it's all bloat - that little belly you see goes back and forth from being there and not being there depending on the time of day. Is that normal??

Houston - we have a heartbeat!

Well, G never did get around to taking that belly pic, but I took one yesterday since we...

SAW AND HEARD A HEARTBEAT!!

We also saw another mass in there which we've determined was likely a 2nd sac that just never developed (considering how high my betas were, this would make perfect sense, since I was right in the average range for twins). Trust me, I'm perfectly fine with one, healthy baby. We also got u/s pics yesterday & saw our little bean - not much to see yet at 1/8 of an inch, but we're so in love already! Progesterone was holding steady at 20 & hcg rose steadily to 30,896. The doubling time has slowed, but I'm not worried at this point since A) we saw a 2nd sac that had previously been contributing to the huge betas most likely and B) now's about the time for slowing betas anyway.

6w2d according to my calculations, but 6w0d according to the measurements. Heartbeat was great at 120 bpm, which is above the normal for 6w (90-110). They haven't given us a due date yet, but if you go by the conception date, it would come out to December 5th. If you go by their measurements of 6w0d, then it would be December 7th...I don't think G would mind sharing his birthday week at all, do you?

I caught him last night researching what the baby looks like at 6 weeks. It was so stinkin' cute. He even called me in and showed me the website. Then he of course got ahead of himself & started looking at what we'll see in upcoming weeks...though, I'm still having a hard time making it from one day to the next.

I have no real symptoms other than being really tired (which to be honest isn't much different from my norm, though I could usually push through without a nap & I can't do that as easily anymore). My bbs are pretty sore, too. I did get my TSH results back from yesterday & it did come back still slightly elevated, so they upped me to 100mcg & we'll retest & hope that it goes down. It wasn't too high (3.8) but still something to def. keep an eye one since they like it to be between 1 & 2.

Becki was just over the moon for us! She sounded like she was crying on the phone when I called her yesterday - I just hope the little bean hangs in there for the long haul. We want to tell our families so badly, but of course we want to do it in person & G is adamant that my family know first (since his family gets so many other experiences with us), so we're holding out to my birthday weekend (April 30) since we're going up for a visit & bday party for me (since it's my 30th). And then we'll tell his parents the following weekend, for Mother's Day.

And more good news just keeps a'coming! G's friend from work (aka his Bro-mance & friend that he coaches with) just shared today that he and his wife are 11w pregnant & just saw the heartbeat yesterday, as well! How cool is that? So the little beans can be buds!

Nervous

I think this will be the point each week when I start to get nervous again. Ultrasound is coming up Monday, and once again, I'm freaking out because I have no symptoms other than the larger bbs (and hey, I'm NOT complaining about that!).

No spotting at all anymore due to the progesterone supplements, so that is good, since the spotting always freaked me out. Dr. Google has not been my friend, though, as I've constantly been searching crazy things like "do progesterone supplements mask pregnancy symptoms?" Ugh - I think I've gone crazy. I'm sure everything is fine. I'm even going to get G to take a belly pic tonight...5w4d!

Starting Anew...

I never thought I would be typing this out again, but I need to get it down so that I don't forget what has happened. We've been pretty hush-hush about our frozen embryo transfer cycle just because we didn't want to make the same mistakes we made last time...we didn't want the "is everything ok?" and "when is this happening? when is that happenings?" As much as we are truly grateful for the support of our family and friends, it just made it that much harder to have to eat our words last time and say that we had miscarried.

So we started out not telling a soul. I told my boss just so that she didn't get upset when I took a couple days off of work & I told one of my co-workers because she was helping me with my shots and that is it. No parents, no other friends, no one. In fact, when we went up to my parents' house this weekend for Easter and two weekends prior for a family dinner, I learned to do my own shots rather than spill the beans.

On March 18th, we transferred 2 beautiful blastocysts. Seeing as how this is pretty much our last effort, we put all our eggs in one basket (pun intended, I guess!) and sprung for the laser acupuncture that they were offering. They boast that it improves implantation rates 5-6% in their study group, so we figured for the extra $200 it cost, it would be worth it.

In the time since our original donor cycle, we also had repeated pregnancy loss bloodwork done on me, which revealed one mutation of MTHFR which inhibits my absorption of folic acid, so we added a folic acid supplement to my protocol. I also self-added one baby aspirin to my medicine chart, which is to help with any clotting disorders I may or may not have (to prevent miscarriage).

On the morning of our beta, March 27th, I took a pregnancy test, which came back negative. Actually there was the faintest of faint lines, but seeing as how I had some spotting and cramping the night before, I took it as a BFN.

Lo & behold, I got the phone call several hours later that, not only was I pregnant, but my 1st beta at 14dpo was a SUPER number at 163. We were both in shock, but not excited like we should have been. We had been to that place before & we knew better than to get our hopes up prematurely. But we hoped, and we prayed, and we prayed some more.

2 days later (16dpo), I went back for repeat bloodwork & discovered that not only had my number doubled, it had almost tripled to 412! I was beginning to get more excited at this point. However, when I inquired about my progesterone level, which they said looked "good," I discovered that it was low by most RE's standards at 13. So I did what any desperate girl would do. I first called and got my PIO dosage increased (only by a 1/2 mL). I also pleaded for a prescription for progesterone suppositories, but to no avail. You see, some REs don't give much thought to p4 levels (or apparently to their patients' sanity!!!!). So again, I did what any desperate girl would do...please don't tell...I self-medicated. You see, I had some expired progesterone suppositories in my refrigerator & with the help of my enablers (aka my online infertility girls), I started taking my p4 supplements.

I also begged for a 2nd repeat beta for some peace of mind (especially since we were traveling to my parents' house for Easter). Again, I got the call with good news! My beta needed to be at least 1648 to meet the standard 48 doubling time (now at 20dpo) & it came back with a SUPER STAR number of 2379 & my p4 went up to a comfortable (for me) number of 20. Not sure if it is the extra p4 supplementation, but I'll take it. Many of my online girls were thinking twins at this point because my betas are so high.

I went back today for more bloodwork and our first ultrasound. I was terrified. This was the point last time when we discovered there was nothing there. No gestational sac, no yolk sac, just an "indeterminate mass" & we were crushed...
BUT NOT THIS TIME!!! This time we saw ONE beautiful gestational sac with a yolk sac inside! Just what we wanted to see. The PA said it was too early to measure for a due date, but that everything looked just like it was supposed to look today (5w2d according to my calculations). My bloodwork also came back stellar with my p4 holding steady at 20 & my beta shooting up to 8067!! That's an awesome number!

SO now we wait for next Monday's ultrasound & bloodwork to check on the progress! I'm not sure at what point I'll be able to relax and get really excited, but I'm sure the day will come. Right now, I'm just happy to have made it this far...farther than we've ever made it before!

Torturing myself

This week has, in my opinion, been far more torturous than all the previous weeks in this IVF cycle combined. The week after the retrieval was kind of aggravating, but I knew the wait was worth it so that we could transfer the embryos that were the "best of the best." The week after transfer was annoying as I analyzed every little twist and turn I made with my body, wondering "Did I just lift something too heavy or make a turn that could harm a possible baby, or (fill in the blank)?"

This week, however is just plain torturous. Knowing that I'm pregnant, but not experiencing any symptoms has been absolutely driving me insane. Every time I feel the slightest bit of wetness in my underwear, I'm rushing to the bathroom to make sure it's not blood. Every time my bbs stop hurting for part of the day, I convince myself that I'm no longer pregnant (like I'm doing right now). To be perfectly honest, I had been feeling more symptoms (maybe they were all psychosomatic?) early on than I do now. I swore I was having indigestion, bloatiness, crampiness, sore bbs & mild nausea, but honestly I'm feeling fine. No fatigue. No morning sickness. No ANYTHING...

What will I do tomorrow if we get to the u/s and there's NOTHING there? THIS is what infertility has done to me...

4w6d

Today, I'm officially 4w6d & anxiously awaiting Tuesday (5w1d) when we have our first ultrasound. Hopefully we'll see one or two beautiful yolk sacs & maybe even a heartbeat or two!

In the week since we've learned we were FINALLY pregnant, we've only told Becki, our parents, my brother, 4 of G's sisters and one of his friends. It's been REALLY hard keeping it a secret, but we really don't want to tell anyone anything that we'll have to retract later, so we're at least trying to hold out until after Tuesday anyway. After then, I'll feel a little more assured about this whole pregnancy thing, especially if we see a heartbeat.

As far as symptoms are concerned, I've basically had none. I've been downing water like there's no tomorrow (probably at least 5 bottles a day, if not more), but that's more of a self-imposed thing because I know that I don't normally drink enough. I had some slight cramping earlier in the week (around 4w3d) & the ever-so-slightest peach tinge on the TP the next day, but it was just once & after I downed some water, both went away. I haven't had any morning sickness yet & just the slightest tenderness in my bbs (TMI, I know). I know that this is like a double-edged sword, but I'd almost welcome some morning sickness just to make me feel like I really am pregnant.

Right now, according to "What to Expect When You're Expecting" (WTEWYE), the baby(ies) is now the size of a sesame seed! It has a head & a heart & the extremities are starting to form! According to G, it basically looks like a little shrimp! Click here to read what BabyCenter has to say about the 4w milestone!

My favorite part of being PG so far is having G take such good care of me. Not that he didn't take good care of me before, but it's just the little things, like insisting that I not carry in the groceries or the little hugs and kisses he steals and whispers "mama" in my ear :) LOVE IT! I especially loved when he started reading to our little one(s)...Harry Potter, his favorite!