For fun

Just for fun... comparing 10 weeks and 17 weeks... Definitely easier to see a difference between these two. :)

17w update

Sunday night I went to the ER. I had some cramping off an on (seemed like every 30-40 minutes at some points) so off I went. I just had to put my mind at ease that nothing was wrong. They did an ultrasound and said everything looks good per that. He didn't do an internal exam. I called my Dr office Monday and told them (per ER doc's orders). The Dr on call (guess mine wasn't in) said to go on bedrest (modified) until my Dr appt on Jan 9th (or thereabouts). I was watching the screen during the ultrasound. My cervix measured 3.12 and 3.2 during the 2 times she measured (abdominally). I was really hoping it would be over 3.5 at least. But hopefully now at least my Dr and the Peri will agree to watch it.

Oh and did find out that one of the babies is 100% Of course the other baby was still shy. I keep saying "She".


We also got our 2nd Trimester screening results back regarding the Downs/T18. They came back Negative!! Woohoo!!!! I did not ask for specific odds so that is one less thing I can stress about.

I have been feeling ok since Sunday night... I've had some cramping off and on but It's not consistent like it was on Sunday. And sometimes my stomach feels really really heavy!!! I don't know if that's because I was overweight to begin with or if it's because I'm carrying twins. Maybe I will look into one of those prenatal belts or something.

I still try to nap everyday... I'm nauseous occasionally. Still have food adversions as well. Besides that I'm just getting really excited about our Anatomy scan. Hard to believe I am 17 1/2 weeks already!

17 weeks

Belly pictures.... comparing 15 weeks & 17 weeks.


Not a huge difference the last 2 weeks... I can see some difference, a little rounder maybe. It's hard to tell with the different clothes. Maybe I should start wearing the same thing! I'm up 2 more pounds since my 15 week appointment. So 10 pounds total.

Not a whole lot has been going on lately. Trying not to obsess over every little twinge/pull/cramp. I have had to start iron supplements due to my hematocrit going down a bit, they say that happens a lot with twins.

I talked to the nurses on the nurse line with my insurance company (they call me once a month). They said I should have all the car seats and stuff like that bought by 32 weeks. After doing the math I was shocked since that is only 15 weeks away! That's less time than I have been pregnant!

Other than that, I'm counting down the days until our Anatomy scan so I can see my little ones on ultrasound again. :)

More thoughts for the week

Ok just wanted to show a comparison between my 10wk belly pic and my 15wk belly pic.... I see a more noticeable change this time. :)



As for other things I'm feeling: I've been nauseous again 2 days this week, I've had the metallic taste in my mouth one day and I'm still really tired. I'm so hungry too!! (Totally craving meatball subs today but my fav sub shop doesn't sell them anymore).

I also asked my Dr where the top of my uterus was located right now... she said it's about a 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch below my belly button!

That's about it right now I think. Course today I thought, oooh is that them moving? I just have no idea if it is or not!!

15w OB appt

Had my 15week OB appt today at 15w1d. Dr seemed satisfied with everything. I've gained 8 pounds so far. She says I should gain between 25-30 pounds... so exactly what I lost this summer before the FET.

We tried to do an ultrasound. Course their machine sucks. So no pictures but we could see them moving. So that's a plus and puts my mind at ease!!! I can't wait till they start kicking the crap out of me so that I know everything is ok. :)

Anatomy scan is set for Jan 5th!

12 years ago today....

Exactly 12 years ago at 708pm AZ time I gave birth to a 8lb 6oz 20 1/2" bouncing baby girl I named Brianna. I have no idea where all the years have gone. She is definitely growing up in to a beautiful young lady. She is already 5'4" or there abouts. A little over 3" and she will be my height!!!

Happy Birthday Brianna!

Not a lot going on

As the title says, there really hasn't been a lot going on. This seems like a very long 2 weeks between appointments! Especially when you are used to going every week.

I am 14w1d today. I still get quesy every once in a while. I get extremely bloated and uncomfortable when I eat a lot of fried foods. I'm still congested but some days are better than others. Course today I feel like I have a slight earache in my left ear.

Other than that, my daughter keeps telling me my belly looks bigger! I guess that is a good thing since I'm carrying twins. I still haven't gained a lot of weight. I got on the scale last night and I was up 10 pounds and that was after eating all day. I'm always less in the morning. I'll ask the Dr next Monday how much weight I should be gaining!

Second NT scan today

Well Today was our 2nd NT scan... the babies did not cooperate again!! I guess the good thing is 1) I got to see the babies again, 2) I can't obsess over some NT number. I did go ahead and do the blood test though.

We had a fairly young technician. She agreed to take a guess on the gender's though. :) She thinks that Baby A is a boy and even though Baby B didn't want to give us a clear shot she is taking the guess of girl. I'm pretty sure my OB will be taking a peak on Dec 13th... then I'll probably have to wait till my anatomy scan on January 5th (wow that seems so far away)!!

Here are the u/s pics from today...




Oh and I guess I will be brave and show some belly shots too. No making fun of me since I'm fluffy to begin with! LOL. I've only gained about 6 pounds so far...
The light pink shirt is at 10 weeks..................................................dark pink shirt is at 13 weeks (yesterday)
























Oh and I bought the first baby stuff today! Crazy I know since we are only 13 weeks... but the Bright Start Biscotti bouncers were 40% off!! They are normally $50 and I got them for $30 each... I just figured it was a great deal and too hard to pass up! They are a neutral color so it can go with boys and girls.

Just for Fun

Well just for fun I decided to try the "ring test". I took a piece of string and my wedding ring... held it over my left hand and it said I would have a Girl, Boy and Girl... well of course Brianna is the first girl . I then held it over my belly... on the left side it said boy... on the right side it said Girl....

Can't wait to find out for sure on ultrasound some day!!! (f/x the tech will make a guess on Monday!)

Oh yea and today was the last PIO shot at 12w6d!!!!!

Stubborn already

Well today was our NT scan. Well what was supposed to be our NT Scan!! Both babies decided to be stubborn!! Neither one of them would get in the proper position to get measured! Course it was still great getting to see them moving around and their hearts beating! 12w2d today!!! Woo hoo!! They are both measuring about 12w6d.

We go back on Monday to get a repeat NT scan.

Sick Again

This is the 2nd time this pregnancy that I have had a cold! UGH! It started with sinus drainage the last 2 days. Now I just feel like crud. I keep taking my temperature to make sure I don't have a fever.

Ok I just had a preggo brain moment... I had a whole blog entry in my head and now it's gone!!

Not much has gone on this past week (or since my last update about the OB appt). I did have an appt with my hematologist on Friday. She was happy to hear about my pregnancy. She wants to see me more often now because of it... she wants to check all my blood levels on a monthly basis right now.

I have my NT scan on Tuesday. Course I think I might have posted that in my last post. Who knows with all this forgetfulness I am going through right now.

I will be 12 weeks tomorrow!!! Woohoo!! (and I looked at my little babies ticker, I'm under 200 days left!!)

11w3d

OOps sorry I forgot to update on Monday!

The OB appt went good. I did get to see the babies on u/s. She said she would take a peek every month.

Course it bothered me a little bit when I asked, which one are you looking at now: A or B?....
Dr: well I don't know if you can tell at this point....
me: well I was told Baby A is the one closest to the Cervix.
dr: well then I guess that is this one because it is lower.


Needless to say I'm hoping the Perinatologist agrees to take me on so the OB will be doing the monthly bloodwork and stuff and that's about it. Oh my. I might have to look for another OB too, we'll see. Maybe she just doesn't deal with twins that often.

NT Scan and consult with Peri is on Tuesday.

10w1d I think it's really our time

We had our 10w1d ultrasound today. I am happy to say the babies looked beautiful. I was so afraid going in... especially when they put me in the same room that I was in this past April when we found out baby Sarah's heart stopped beating.

Both babies are measuring ahead still (10w3d and 10w4d but I was so amazed at them moving I have forgotten which was which. Guess I need to get the pictures out and concentrate on the videos more). I am attaching a video... sorry they are sideways and may make you nauseous with the moving around. LOL.

This is Baby A and Baby B (we were looking at baby B primarily... I'll have to upload the ones of Baby A too.

10 weeks

I am 10 weeks today!! I know I haven't been posting a lot. In the afternoons I have just been exhausted and have been tired of being on the computer all day for work.

The quesiness still comes and goes. I get bloated quite a bit in the evenings and dinner is just not appealing.

I've been debating about doing a belly shot today. Course being overweight to begin with I don't feel like I have a "baby belly" yet. I do feel as if my fat belly is being pushed out a bit more though.

My 10w1d u/s is tomorrow. This is my milestone u/s so I am pretty nervous. Not because I "feel" a reason to be.... just because it's the milestone of when we lost Emily. I will be so glad when we see the 2 HB tomorrow and the proper growth!! Then to finish the last weeks of the first trimester!! (and the last remaining days of the PIO shots which I get to stop at 12w0d!). I have my first OB appt on 11w1d so I'm excited about that as well.

Until tomorrow.....

Scare yesterday

And it had nothing to do with Halloween! At 9w0d I had some pink/light red spotting. It was just on the TP... and only the one bathroom trip. thankfully it was gone by the next trip (which probably 20 minutes later if that since I was freaking out so bad). I started crying... I couldn't help it. All of the bad memories came flooding back. David kept saying everything is ok, the babies are ok. I actually yelled at him cause how in the world would he know?!

Thankfully I started feeling better when it didn't happen again. I was all prepared to wait until my Tuesday ultrasound. I called the Dr office this morning to let them know about it and to ask them if I needed a rogham shot since it was light red. They told me to come in for my ultrasound today instead of tomorrow.

Babies are measuring 9w1d (both of them) which is exactly where I'm at today. Baby A HB was 183 I think.... I kind of forgot the number because Baby A was wiggling around!! First time I have seen a baby move on u/s since I was pregnant with Brianna 12 years ago!! Baby B HB was 174.

Dr says they both look great. She also says that Baby A's placenta is really close to my cervix so that is what she thinks is causing my spotting.

I go back next Monday for my 10wk ultrasound and then I have an OB appt scheduled the following monday.

Stick babies stick! Please be healthy and strong!

8w2d

8W2D went great. Babies looked beautiful. Baby A is measuring bigger than Baby B now. Here are their stats.
Baby A - 20.49mm - measuring 8w4d, HB 174bpm
Baby B - 19.08mm - measuirng 8w3d, HB 163 bpm

Both Twins
Baby A - baby is standing on head!
Baby B - the black spot on the right side of baby is where the brain is forming... if you look closely you can see the armbuds forming too.

7w4d

Still really tired. I don't remember being this tired with the other pregnancies. I took a long nap yesterday (hour - hour 1/2) and I'm thinking of doing the same today. Course I make sure they wake me up by 6pm so I can still go to sleep at night. I'm getting up at least twice a night to use the restroom. Last night it was more than that. For some reason my alarms didn't go off on my phone this morning... luckily I woke up at 6am anyways and was able to get David off to work.

I felt quite quesy for a bit today. That doesn't happen every day. I guess I should count myself lucky. I've also been fighting a slight headache (mostly just pressure). It's definitely not as bad as I had the other day.

For the most part I feel better during the day than I do at night. In the evenings i don't even feel like eating... makes it so hard to cook dinner. It's not that I'm nauseous, it's just that nothing sounds good to me.

Oh.. I'm also still spotting off and on but that's to be expected with the SCH.

I guess that's it for now. Just passing the time and making sure I stay positive. :)

So in love already

Ok I've jumped in with both feet. I'm so in love with these babies already! I pray they are healthy and I don't lose them.
I had my 7w2d ultrasound today. They look beautiful. They are so much bigger than last week already! Baby A measures 12.28mm with a HB of 141 bpm and Baby B measures 12.46mm with a HB of 151 bpm.

There is a small SCH (Subchorionic Hematoma - blood clot) that is likely what is causing all my spotting. The Dr says its small enough that she isn't worried about it right now. I am continuing all my meds as usual. I go back in a week for another ultrasound!

Ultrasound picture

Here is a picture of the babies. Baby A on the left and Baby B on the right :)

6W2D ultrasound

Thank goodness I had an ultrasound today too... I started spotting brown last night. I have been trying my best not to freak out.

Doctor says that is normal for.......


TWINS!!!

Yup we have 2 sacs and 2 heartbeats!! Both heartbeats were 119 bpm. I'll have pictures up as soon as I scan them!

Beta #3 19dpo

Beta number 3 is 2544!! Doubling time is 38.86 hours. Woohoo!!!! I also got to schedule my 6w2d ultrasound! It will be in the afternoon of October 12th. I wanted to schedule it in the morning but I think I will have a work meeting that morning.

I am done with the beta's now! I'm very happy about that. I've been ok until several hours after the beta. At that point I start getting nervous as to what the number is going to be. I feel good about this pregnancy right now. But I think about what happened previously and I get a little scared. I don't want to go through that again. I want this to work this time.

As for symptoms, I've had one day of nausea. Other than that I'm still tired! I'm fighting a cold right now (the nurse said to make sure not to run a fever!) I still have some cramping off and on. My bbs have felt kind of sore today. I feel like I'm hungry and thirsty all the time!

TGIF - hopefully I can sleep in this weekend.

Beta #2 17dpo

My 2nd beta is in... the HCG doubled in 38.85 hours!! 17dpo beta = 1120. I'm really starting to think there might be more than one in there....

15dpo Beta is in.........

Can I just say WOOHOO and OMG!! :) yes it's a good number! I'm very pleasantly surprised, excited, overjoyed, you name it!!

My beta came in at 459!!!

During the last pregnancy my 15dpo beta was 251. I was pregnant with a singleton at that point. None of my other 15dpo beta's have ever been that high.

So yes I could be pregnant with 1, 2 or even 3 babies. Looking up information on Betabase.info I am above the average for singletons, twins and triplets. I have a repeat beta on Wed (and more than likely on Friday too). Then it's wait and see.

I will have an ultrasound around 6w2d which will put it around October 12th! Oh and I took another test today while I was waiting on the blood test results.

4 Weeks!

Today I am 4 weeks prego!! And believe it or not I have NOT tested since 10dpo. There was 2x when I went grocery shopping and almost broke down and bought more tests. Even went so far as to have them in the cart. Then decided to put them away before checking out! I'm pregnant and I'm going to stay that way!

I should have my first beta tomorrow morning. I say should because I tried calling the fill in coordinator twice on Thursday and again on Friday to make sure she had the lab request faxed down to the lab by my house. I finally talked to a receptionist on Friday and she said she would talk to her. If it's not there in the morning, I will call my primary Dr or my OB and see if they can run the stat order.

As for symptoms... I have had lots of cramping/ stretching type pulling sensations around my uterine area. Sometimes it has been pretty uncomfortable. No morning sickness yet. Although there was one split second today I though, ooh am I nauseous? My boobs don't hurt to touch but every once in a while I feel "something". Tingling, pin prick type sensation I guess you could say. And I'm tired. I thought during the week it was because of getting up at 530am in order for David to give me my PIO shots. But I'm still tired this weekend. I keep dozing off on the couch while watching TV.

I had a dream last night I was looking for Cribs! (yes plural!) Possibly because David and I were talking about if we do have to get more than 1 crib I would be checking out craigslist or something.

I can't wait till our ultrasound.

BFP

WOOHOO!!! BFP!! I'm so happy to know that we have implantation! I was so worried about the baby aspirin! Now please stick stick stick!!! I am praying hard this is a healthy pregnancy! Course we won't know how many implanted until our ultrasound which will likely be around 6 weeks.

I actually started getting a line yesterday at 9dpo. It was very faint though!! Today's at 10dpo is definitely noticeable.

Sunday 7dpo

I'm still fighting a head that decided to make an appearance yesterday. I took tylenol last night and today. Plus it was so bad during the night that is actually kept waking me up. I hate those type of headaches. When I went to take my shower today, I realized I forgot to change the estrogen patches yesterday. Course I changed them right away. I then called the on Call Dr to find out if I totally messed everything up. She said no I didn't and just call my coordinator tomorrow to let her know. I wouldn't know what I would do if I found out I just screwed the whole thing up.

Other than the headache. I've had a couple of twinges and a couple cramps but nothing like yesterday and Friday. I've had a metallic taste in my mouth last night and today, but I know I had it a day before transfer also so it must be the progesterone.

I almost bought more pregnancy tests today too... decided to put them back at the last minute.

6DPO - Yesterday was Transfer day

Yesterday we had our transfer at 3pm! I got the call around 11am that all 3 blasts thawed and all were surviving! I was so happy and pleasantly surprised! Of course having a transfer at 3pm made the day go by really slowly!! So I had my shower (with non-scented soaps and shampoos for the most part), ate lunch and started drinking water a little before 2pm. I took my valium at 2pm like I was supposed to as well. You are supposed to drink 1 1/2 L of water but by the time we were half way to Seattle I knew that wouldn't be possible. I basically had to clench my legs together and walking to the office from the car was fun! I really had to pee! LOL.

They took me in the transfer room and one of the embryologists came in. She gave me a picture of my babies. :) We also talked about them a bit. She said that since they dehydrate embryo's when they freeze them and have to rehydrate upon thawing that it normally is a 4 hour process. She said my little ones rehydrated within 2 hours! Said they are quite the over achievers. They performed the assisted hatching (the shells on the embryo's are typically tougher after freezing) so that it would help them hatch. By the time we got there 1 had already hatched all the way out of the shell and the other 2 were halfway done!!

Before we could transfer they had to let me use the restroom because my bladder was TOO full!! Have you ever had an extremely full bladder and had to stop mid stream. So hard!!! She almost made me go back and do more but instead went and got the Dr and said ok we have to transfer now! My Dr. came in and gave me a hug. We talked a bit... I told her how I've been worried about the baby aspirin, she said she was actually happy about me being on it.

Well transfer went well... they transferred all 3 Blasts. Of course you have to lay there for 20 minutes afterwards. Then you are allowed to get up and relieve your bladder! Woohoo! LOL

About an hour or so after the transfer I started having cramping. I can't remember if I had that with the first IVF cycle. I am just praying that it was the hatched embryo already implanting. It let up for a little bit and then was even stronger around 5 hours after transfer.

I have been sitting around watching TV and such all day. I have had cramping off and on all day today too. I guess technically I'm around 6dpo... Beta will be on 15dpo so 9 more days. wish us luck!! come on babies implant!

1 more day

Wow time sure has flown by lately. That can be both a good and bad thing I guess depending on what it's for. Course Brianna has a sore throat this morning... I'm taking her to the Dr to make sure it's not Strep. Just what we would need right at transfer. At least I'm on antibiotics right now. If it is strep, hopefully those will protect me.

Thankfully the PIO shots have been better yesterday and today. I barely felt the needle going in this time. I made sure he moved over a little more to the right than where he was sticking before. I also took a hot wash cloth and warmed the site a few minutes before hand too. I also made sure to bend over the counter vs standing straight up! I keep saying ok inject it slow (I think this is irritating him, LOL). Then I have him massage it really hard for a minute or so since he can put different pressure than I can. I also have not sat or laid down right away afterwards. I make sure I stand/walk around for at least 5 or 10 minutes. Yesterday I just stayed up and started work early. This morning I was so tired I had to go back to bed.

Other than that I'm still on all the different vitamins, antibiotics, dexamethasone (steroid), acid reflux meds, PIO (of course) and Estrogen patches. I'm down to 2 patches every 2 days (that reminds me, I need to change them today). I haven't seen the movie yet, but on the previews for Sex in the City 2... where she is taking a palm full of pills. Yea that's me right now. The day of transfer will be the last day for the antibiotics.. but other than that I will be continuing the rest. I believe I stay on Estrogen patches until we see a heartbeat... and the PIO until 10-12 weeks.

I am so excited for tomorrow. To finally be PUPO again! I keep thinking positive. Not just telling myself positive things either. I actually FEEL positive now. Not sure what has changed but it's nice. I'll sometimes say things like, when we see their heartbeats... after 6 weeks I'll at least walk on the treadmill. Things like that. And they just come out... I don't force myself to talk that way. Kind of like it's a gut feeling. I hope it's accurate.

On a different note, I'm thinking of one of my friends today. She just went through IVF and unfortunately the baby implanted in her Tube. Not as common with IVF but it does happen. She had the Methotrexate shot last week to dissolve it... but unfortunately it didn't work. Her beta went from 4000 to 16000 so they did an ultrasound and saw the baby, heartbeat and all in her left tube. So I am praying for her today as she goes through Emergency surgery to remove both her tubes (they can't get pregnant without IVF so at least removing the tubes will prevent future ectopics). I really do feel for her... seeing the heartbeat makes it so much worse because you know the baby is actually alive. The miscarriages I had where we didn't get to the heartbeat stage, weren't nearly as bad (don't get me wrong, they were still really bad) as the ones where our baby had a heartbeat.

9/14/10

Not a very catchy title I know...

Well we have been doing the PIO shots since Sunday. I should take a picture of the needle one of these days. It's a 22 gauge 1 1/2" long needle. And Yes... it does have to go ALL the way in your bum!! My backside hurts already and it's only been 3 injections. The muscles are in knots. Might explain why it hurt so friggin bad this morning when David jabbed the needle in!!! Yes I did cuss out loud. Didn't mean to but it just flew out of my mouth.

Other than the sore bum I guess things are going along fine. I was so emotional yesterday (poor David got the brunt of it). Today wasn't so bad (thank goodness). I'm still working out, at least until Thursday! I'm down almost 30 pounds (it fluctuates 28-30 pounds every couple of days). I feel so much better, I hope it helps with the pregnancy.

I'm trying to stay as positive as possible. I keep talking (to myself and others) as yes I will be pregnant as of Friday and I will stay pregnant. Wow Friday... that is so close!!

Date is set

Friday 9/17/2010 at 3pm!!! That's the day and time I will be PUPO (pregnant until proven otherwise!). I'm starting to get excited now. Yes and a little hopeful too. I had an ultrasound today, my lining looks good. It measured 9.49 (mm I believe) and it was Triple Stripe. They like for it to be triple stripe. :)

Please let my little embryo's live and be healthy through the thaw!

9 days

Transfer should be 9 days away!! That will be confirmed on Friday the 10th.

One of these meds is messing with my stomach. I also think I'm getting an eye infection, lovely! Besides that I'm ok. Just got back from VA last night from surprising my mom for her 60th bday. Got to see my Sister and her kids, 1 of my brothers, and 1 of my other brother's sons. Of course dad was there too. :) It was great to finally get to see everyone again. I wish we all lived closer so we could see each other more often. Definitely need to start planning yearly family get togethers.

9 more days till transfer, 9 more days to lose weight.

All set for GO....

Ultrasound was clear this morning! No cysts!! I got the ok to start my estrogen patches today! I also met the new Dr at the practice, she seems really nice and I mentioned the steroid to her. She thinks it will be ok to stay on it. Hope she is right!

Countdown begins....
Next ultrasound 9/10/2010
Tentative transfer date is 9/15/10 - 19 days away!!!!

Only 3 more...

BCP pills I have to take that is!!! I'm so happy to be so close to being done with them. Baseline ultrasound is on Friday!

Frustrating....

Tell me... why is it so hard to have a consultation with someone to help share your experience?

I went to see my Hematologist yesterday for my Mastocytosis (excess mast cells). We were talking about the previous miscarriages and the up coming FET. I told her about my elevated CRP level and that a cardiologist has checked out my heart and that my heart is fine. So now my Primary things it's something to do with the immune system which means it could be my Masto. I talked about how we are trying the low dose steroid this time but that the RE wants me to stop it the day of transfer. Well she said she wanted me to go talk to a High Risk OB. Ok no problem! I agree. So I get my Referral and I called them this morning. Well the Perinatologist refuse to consult with me until AFTER I have a first Trimester Viable Pregnancy.

Well DUH this is my problem!!! I am trying everything I can to get OUT of the first Trimester! So why can't they just see me, say yeah you've obviously have had issues and I agree that continuing the steroid might help. I'm not asking for a guarantee... just help me figure out what I can try to get out of the first trimester!

Well I decided to call my OB and consult with her. I at least have an appt with her on Aug 30th. Someone just needs to be able to tell me how to keep these stupid mast cells under control during the first trimester. Can I take a low dose steroid? Can I even take an allergy med ? Something!!

Ok that's my vent for the day. Other than that I'm still on BCP.... Last day of these should be 8/24. Then I have my baseline u/s on 8/27. FET is less than a month away now!!

today

Found out my Dr will be back in town (Hooray!)... and they did approve for us to transfer all 3 embryo's! Please pray that we have a successful thaw and our embryo's are healthy.

Are we there yet?

Nothing much going on... These 5 weeks of BCP seem to be lasting forever!! I did talk to my IVF nurse the other day... I wanted to find out whether they were going to up my schedule 2 days since AF had arrived 2 days early. Nope, no go. So that just prolongs everything by 2 days! I know 2 days is normally nothing...

I also found out my RE is out of the office!! UGH! They said she should be back the 2nd or 3rd week of September. Considering my transfer is set for 9/15 I'm really hoping she is back by then. I know all the other Dr's are qualified... I just love my Dr's bedside manner. She always makes me feel comfortable. Plus she knows me. Part of me actually wants to delay it until she gets back. The other part is just like, well anyone can stick the catheter in and transfer the embryo's.

Good news is I've lost 2 1/2 inches in my waist from all the working out! I don't remember all the other reductions for the other body areas.

It's so quiet today...Bri is at a sleepover and has another one tonight. She is trying to get them all in before school starts. :)

Some of my dreams....

I guess I have really been thinking about the FET lately even though I have TRIED not to. I had a dream last night that tells me I am still really worried about another loss too.
First off in the dream... one of my sister's was pregnant (as far as I know all the husbands have that prevention covered). In my dream I was jealous and saying how I wished it was me. Next thing I knew I was prepping for the FET... low and behold they do a beta for some reason and it comes back at 36 so the FET is cancelled. My alarm went off then so I could wake up DH and get him off to work. I told him about the dream and then went back to sleep. It pretty much picked up where it left off. In the dream I had a m/c (chemical pregnancy). So we got to start prepping for the FET again.

Now if I end up pregnant before the FET there is something wrong with these BCP!! I am definitely taking them faithfully!

I have had a lot of dreams while TTC. I've had a lot of dreams where I saw a positive pregnancy test (and ended up pregnant that cycle). I've had dreams of baby girls... of twins, of baby boy, of miscarriages. You name it I have probably had a dream about it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they didn't seem so real.

My life, My only living daughter

Just wanting to share some photos of my 11 1/2 year old daughter. I'm so lucky to have her. I don't know what I would do without her in my life. I took these yesterday when we were visiting some friends on an Army base. She loves playing on their climbing ropes, walls etc.
(She is the one who name our last little girl we lost, Sarah).

Slowly passing by....

Time that is. Currently I think I am on CD 15 of the BCP. I try not to watch the days too much because I don't want to make the time drag on and on and on .....
But at least 2 weeks of the 5 weeks of BCP are done. I really hate the pills. I always seem to be a little bitchier on them. Never in a cuddly mood either. At least I am still working out. I always seem to gain weight after a miscarriage. I got up to my highest weight ever after this last miscarriage. As of right now I am down 14 pounds since the beginning of June. So at least I am back to the point where I started when we started the fresh IVF process. Now if I can only keep losing until Mid September when we have the FET.

I am still afraid to hope and expect anything at this point. I don't know if it's because I'm afraid of being on the 81mg of baby aspirin. Or if it's due to all of the prior losses. What will be.... will be I guess. Hmmm wonder if I can still do Zumba when I get pregnant?

7/17/2010 CD1

Starting BCP today for our FET! Seems like such a long time ago now that we lost Sarah, really it was only about 3 months ago. I feel so much older now. I worry about what if the FET doesn't take... we did say this was our last shot at TTC. What if it DOES take and all of the embryo's implant? What if the same scenario happens as last time, 1 implants and we m/c again? So many what if's. If only I had a crystal ball to help me make all my decisions.

The decision I'm trying to make right now, is do I stay on the Baby aspirin? Every time I have been on a baby aspirin regime I have never gotten pregnant. And for someone who gets pregnant just about every time trying... makes me really wonder if the baby aspirin is waking up my mast cells and causing issues. I have a couple weeks to make up my mind I guess. .. Maybe go off for a little bit, let the baby implant and then start the baby aspirin again to prevent clots? Maybe a suggestion I can bring up.

Wow, a little less than 2 months and I will have embryo's in my uterus again.

I feel this way too

I was reading a blog of a girl I know online... she, unfortunately, has had to deal with miscarriages as well. She posted this today and I know how she feels. I feel exactly the same way.

"My experience with conception has gone from passionate nights of emotional and physical intimacy with the man of my dreams to simply viewing my reproductive system as a laboratory test tube. It belongs to doctors who poke, prod, measure and calculate me constantly. My days are measured by what doctor needs to examine me, which pills I will be inserting into which part of my body, or what dose of stinging medication I will be plunging into my abused belly fat. My chances of motherhood do not lie in the dreams of a night of lovemaking, they are measured by dark burgundy blood that is drawn by sterilized needles in sterilized labs, by bruises and band-aids and phone calls. "

It would be so nice to go back to the innocence of 3-4 years ago... thinking that the moment I saw 2 lines I had a good chance of bringing home a baby. ( I say a good chance only because of the 2 miscarriages I had before Brianna). 3 1/2 years ago I was thinking it was unlikely another miscarriage would happen again.

Plugging along.....

Not much going on lately... explains the lack of posting I guess. I'm currently on CD17 of my June cycle. I'm supposed to start BCP with my next AF for our FET.

In the meantime I have been working out. I've started going to Zumba at least 3 days a week. I'm also doing sessions with a personal trainer occasionally. I'm tracking what I eat and so far I have lost 10 pounds. Granted I gained 15 from the start of the Fresh IVF cycle till after we lost Sarah. I would love to lose about 35 pounds total before mid September (when we would have the FET).

Course that all sounds well and good... course knowing my body I hit a roadblock. About 2 weeks ago now I had my first ever Asthma attack while doing Zumba. I didn't even realize that what it was (it was a mild one). My chest felt tight and I was short of breath... it was after hours of course so the next Day I went to the Dr. She said I was definitely wheezing. Well from that point on I just felt like crap up until July 5th. Part of me is wondering if I ended up with pneumonia or something because I got a cold and it felt like it went into my chest. Oh and there was a slight change in my EKG since my physical in January so now I have to have a stress test done on the 14th. I'm supposed to be taking it easy and not doing anything strenuous.... but I have started putting more effort in Zumba again now that I am feeling better. ( I was just walking through the moves for the 2 weeks I didn't feel good).

So that's where I'm at... just working, working out and trying to watch what I eat.

We have a plan....

Today is CD10 (6/2/2010) - I had a saline ultrasound today. They fill the uterus up with saline so they can determine if there are any polyps or fibroids that are causing the miscarriages. The Nurse practitioner doing the ultrasound said things looked good. I thought I saw a little bump on the ultrasound but she said it could be the catheter they used to put the saline in... the Dr will make the final call.

We also talked to our IVF Nurse today and have a schedule for our FET. I will start BCP in July ... The embryo transfer should be around September 16th....

So until then I concentrate on losing weight... I start a Zumba challenge at the gym on June 13th and it goes for 90 days. I plan to work my butt off!! Literally!!!

You would think any day now

UGH. When you don't want AF to visit she always seems to come. BUT when you want her to visit she takes her sweet time!!! I'm on CD41 right now... that's longer than the cycle I had after my D&C with Emily. Not sure why this cycle is different. Wish they could just do the saline u/s now!!

Oh and I let Brianna name this baby girl... she decided to name her Sarah. :)

So as of right now there is NOTHING going on. Just waiting, waiting, waiting.

I can't believe it....

Well I had a follow up appt today with Dr. S. First thing she tells me?!!! The lab screwed up. Dr S had put the baby in Saline solution and sent her to the lab. Well it HAS to be in a saline solution so they can grow the tissue out in order to test ALL the chromosomes! Get where I'm going yet? The technician at the lab put our baby in a Different solution which prevents the tissue from growing!! Therefore instead of 23 sets of chromosomes being tested... only 5 sets were tested!!! Those 5 sets were normal which is the results we got. However we have NO idea if the other 18 sets are normal or not. In her Gut, Dr S feels the baby still had genetic issues.

We had quite a long discussion as to what we should do next. Basically I think it's going to come down to what insurance says. Will they count a FET (Frozen embryo transfer as a IVF cyle... we are allowed 4). If they do count the FET as one of our 4 cycles, then we will likely just do another Fresh cycle first. I asked if we would change the protocol at all (meds, timing etc). She said she is hesitant to do so since we KNOW the protocol we used worked for me.

Other option, FET. We have 3 embryo's frozen. We called the lab and had them pull up the report... they are PERFECT embryo's. They graded them 5AA (all 3 of them, not just 1). 5 means that they were just about ready to hatch when they froze them. The first A is the highest grade they give to the cells that will make up the baby. The 2nd A is the highest grade they give to the remaining cells which become the placenta and such. I asked if we would be able to transfer all 3. She said it wasn't likely. She feels safe doing 2, but not 3. She said she would discuss it with the other Dr's in the practice but usually it's just 2. Of course even though they look perfect, there is still no guarantee that they are normal. There are 2 types of FET. 1) start with birth control pills for about 5 weeks. Then you have to have a trigger shot, estrogen patches and progesterone patches. The 2) is more of a natural cycle. I would go in a few days before I am supposed to ovulate and they would do an u/s to make sure... then they would do the transfer about 5-6 days after O and I would only have to do estrogen and progesterone supplements (no shots). The 2nd option is a little faster process. (I told her I prefer it because of not having to take the Birth control pills).

D's Karyotype came back normal. That is good news. I have to have a saline ultrasound about a week after Aunt Flow decides to show. We want to make sure I don't have any scarring or polyps that could cause m/c.

Oh I'm also going to try to take Metforim (spelling probably wrong).. but it would help control insulin levels just in case they are going out of wack when I get pregnant. Plus it can't hurt anything. I'm also going to take a low dose steroid.. this would help any immune issues I may be having due to the mastocytosis.

Needless to say... I don't have a confirmed plan yet. I need to talk to the insurance company first and then look at the timing for everything.

Results are in...

Our baby was a little girl. And to top that, she was chromosomally normal. What?! Basically was my response. I guess I had just settled on the fact that there was something chromosomally wrong. so now what? Why did I lose her? We may never know. Everyone is telling me not to... but right now I feel like it is all my fault. Why did she die? Was it my body that killed her?

I keep trying to tell myself there is good news in there too.... we can have a chromosomally normal baby! I need to try and hold on to that. So maybe there is hope that our FET (frozen embryo transfer) will be successful.

I have an appointment next week (5/5//10) with Dr S. to discuss next steps and all that good stuff. I'm praying she thinks we have a shot still.

I'm still here....

I know I haven't been posting... honestly I really haven't done much talking on the phone either. Friday was rough... Saturday and Sunday I think I was just numb. I tried not to think much.

Monday the 12th was the D&C. Everything went like it was supposed to. They said I didn't have any problems with the anethesia (which is always a good thing when you have Mastocytosis (excess mast cells which can cause allergic reactions basically).

I asked how long the pathology report will take to get back... a very long 6-8 weeks. In the meantime I am going to call the insurance company to see if they will cover a Karyotype test on David. That is just a blood test to see if he has any obvious genetic issues. That only takes 2 weeks to come back... course he won't be home from his business trip until next Wednesday.

After the karyotype results come back then we will have a visit with the Dr to discuss FET (frozen embryo transfer). It definitely is not as big an ordeal as a fresh IVF. Basically I just have to take estrogen and progesterone to make sure my lining is ready for implantation.

Right now I am planning on the FET being the last time we try to conceive. I can't keep going through all of this. 10 losses in 3 years has just brought me to my breaking point. (12 losses total).

I also will not put any expectations out there for the FET... why should I. They weren't sure about our 3 precious embryo's on day 3 when they were fresh (these were the 10, 13 & 14 cell embies). They normally only see an embryo up to 10 cells max on day 3... I have even tried looking online and can't really find anything about 13 and 14 cell embies on day 3. So even though they did make it to blast stage on day 5 (which for a normal embryo is a really good thing)... we honestly don't know the true health of these embryo's. Only time will tell. So while I am hoping these 3 little embryo's will finally give us a healthy baby we can bring home and hold in our arms. Right now I'm too scared to expect too much...

Sad Day

I went for my 8w3d ultrasound today. Unfortunately our baby's heartbeat stopped sometime this last week. Hard to say when of course. There was barely any growth in the last week. The plan is to do a d&c on Monday and they will test the tissue to see if they can come up with an answer as to why this has happened.

I wish I was as resilient as Brianna is. She was in the room at the beginning of the ultrasound... the tech seemed to be having a hard time getting a good picture. I could tell something wasn't quite right. Plus I didn't see the little flickering of a heartbeat. I sent Brianna out to the waiting room as the tech went to get a different "probe". Course she came back with my Dr who tried again. When I had Brianna come in so I could tell her the baby had passed, I asked her how she felt about it. She just plainly said, "well it happens all the time". No tears, nothing. I wish I could respond that way.

I came home and rested for a couple of hours. I feel so empty now. David keeps saying well we still have hope, we have our 3 frozen embies. I can't even think about that right now. Granted I know I will transfer them... how could I not. But will I have hope? I don't know. I know I probably will have very little expectations. And after the 3 frozen embryo's... at this point I am willing to say that will be our last chance. I do not think I can put myself through another Fresh IVF cycle again. I guess time will tell.

Thank you to all my friends for all the wonderful comments I have received on FB and text message today. They really mean a lot to me and let me know that I have friends who truly care.

7w3d

Had our 7w3d ultrasound today! Baby has grown and has a stronger heartbeat. The heartbeat is measuring 131 beats per minute. course it wasn't the normal tech so the girl that was doing it wasn't sure how to measure it on the new machine. She had to go get 2 other girls to help her! Then she freaked me out because the first time she measured the baby she did it when the pic was tiny... she came up with 6w3d. The next time, she blew the pic up a bit and remeasured... she got 6w7d ( or 7 weeks!). 7 weeks is only 3 days off so I am happy (my Dr is telling me to be!! )

They are also letting me come back every week until I see my OB. :) So I'm definitely going back next Friday. I just dont' know if I could go 2 weeks now without seeing the little peanut. I will be so happy when the first Trimester is over!!

Other than that, I'm still tired. Some days are definitely worse than others. The nausea comes in waves as well. Some days are really bad and other's like today aren't. I think I was just too preoccupied to think about it today.

6w3d

We had our 6w3d ultrasound today. We saw a heartbeat!!!! The heartbeat measured 110 bpm. It was so tiny but I was able to see it flickering away on the screen. According to the tech's measurements the baby is measuring 5w6d. I was concerned about the difference in the dates... but my Dr isn't. She said she isn't worried at all. We have growth and a heartbeat so she is ecstatic. I asked her if my risk of miscarriage goes down now and she said most definitely yes. She said before seeing a heartbeat a normal person's risk of miscarriage is 30%. After seeing the heartbeat it drops to 5%. So please please please let me be in the 95% group and have a healthy baby!!


And now the pictures...

Less than 2 days to go!

Title says it all.... less than 2 days until I go for my ultrasound. I have had a very hard time keeping my eyes open today. At least I get to sleep in a little bit on Friday.

Other than that I have just been passing the time. Brianna had dance last night so that kept me busy (their costumes arrived for tap class for the annual recital! so cute!). I was going to go to the HOA meeting tonight but I forgot to buy some Black dress shoes for Brianna Monday night when we went shopping (for her Orchestra concert tomorrow night) so now we have to go shopping again. Hmmm maybe that's prego brain kicking in!!

So see not much to blog about lately. LOL. Oh I have had 2 baby girl dreams the last 2 nights! The first one was about twin baby girls. I had named them Georgia and Dehlila. Last night it was one baby girl and I had named her Leigha. Wonder if my subconscious will throw any more name suggestions out there!!

5w5d

Just a quick update to say everything seems ok. The spotting stopped Friday night. Thankfully!! I was so scared on Friday. I've been trying to take it easy all weekend and have been drinking lots of water! I am definitely looking forward to my ultrasound on Friday! I am praying hard we see the heartbeat and that this little one has grown by leaps and bounds!

Scare today

Well I had a scare that freaked me out this morning. I had some brown spotting (course brown is the best to have if you are going to have any). With my history I immediately got upset.

I did go into the Dr office today for an early ultrasound. We saw only 1 Gestational sac. The sac was measuring about 5w1d (I am 5w3d) but she said not to worry about that because if you move it a hair it can show that you are 5w5d. The tech said she might have seen the start of the yolk sac but she wouldn't swear to it. (I was really hoping to see the yolk sac).

So basically we know there is 1 Gestational sac. Cervix is closed so spotting wasn't coming from that. Other than that.... we have to wait till next Friday.

Please send tons of Prayers my way that our baby continues to grow and sticks around!!

5w1d

As the title says... I am 5w1d today. Nothing much going on at all... just trying to pass the time until my ultrasound at 6w3d. I keep telling myself everyday too that I am pregnant!! Sometime my symptoms get so light that I almost can't tell they are there and I start to worry! Course I am pretty tired most of the time. I just have to remember I didn't have symptoms every single day when I was pregnant with Brianna all those years ago either!!

Any suggestions for how to pass the time?!

3rd Beta 19dpo

According to the nurse... my 3rd beta is great! Today's number is 1038. Doubling time is right at 48.5 hours. She said no more beta's and they will see me on the 26th for my first ultrasound! I am going to have to find something to keep myself busy for the next 12 days!!!!

I have to admit, I am really excited now! How can I not be? I've haven't seen numbers like these before!

2nd Beta

IS GOOD!!!!

My second beta today came in at 523. That means that since the first one it took 45.32 hrs to double. They like to see it under 48 hours so mine is good!!! I'm quite relieved!

Oh and I scheduled my first ultrasound! I will be 6w3d and it's on 3/26/2010 at 11am!!!

I wasn't nervous about the beta at first... course when she didn't call back at 1pm like she did Wednesday THEN I started getting nervous! LOL Just goes to show me doesn't it!

I do have to go back on Sunday but I expect good numbers!

1st Beta

I went for my first beta draw today. I just got the call back a little while ago. At 15dpo my beta is 251! Nice strong number so I am happy!!! I go back on Friday and Sunday for my other draws.

According to beta base these are the averages for a singleton pregnancy. You can see my number is higher than the median 15dpo number.

DPO	Median HCG Level	Lowest HCG Level Reported	Highest HCG Level Reported	Number of women reporting a number for this day
10	16	1	245	64
11	24	2	196	258
12	37	2	294	568
13	62	3	575	1075
14	101	2	2088	2201
15	136	2	2088	2825
16	201	4	9000	3061
17	292	5	9000	3151
18	406	7	10529	2997
19	602	16	12318	2842

For Twin pregnancies: I'm just below the Median for 15dpo

DPO	Median HCG Level	Lowest HCG Level Reported	Highest HCG Level Reported	Number of women reporting a number for this day
10	30	1	309	38
11	40	3	309	159
12	66	5	679	284
13	124	10	1823	527
14	207	17	1823	1130
15	266	19	2550	1457
16	396	33	3567	1530
17	582	54	6983	1502
18	803	67	6983	1396
19	1173	86	12979	1284

I was thinking at first it was a singleton... but it still could be twins. Guess we will have to wait and see at the first ultrasound!!!

4w0d

I am exactly 4 weeks 0 days today. And no, I didn't test. I'm happy with the line from Monday so I don't think I will test anymore. I'm trying to stay as relaxed as possibly this time. No need to obsess right? LOL. Besides, tomorrow morning I go in for my blood test and I should have my HCG number by afternoon. That is more important than a line on a test anyways! I know they are probably going to want me to have another one done on Friday. Honestly I don't know if I want to... I start stressing out about the numbers than. Maybe if my numbers are high enough tomorrow she will let me forgo it (doubtful though with my prior history but I can dream).

I will say this... I am so tired today!! I had a slight bought of queasiness throughout the day but I don't mind that at all at this point!

Just passing time

Well I stuck to my guns. I tested on Saturday and then waited till today to test again. I don't think I'm going to test again unless it's just for fun.

Here is Saturday's test

Here is Today's (Monday's test)
I can see a definite difference in the lines so I feel a lot more comfortable. My blood test is on Wednesday (10th) so I am praying for a nice large number.

Other than that not a whole lot going on. We went to the park on Saturday since it was a beautiful sunny day. I took a few pictures...

The 2WW (2 week wait)

Ok in a normal month the 2ww (2 week wait) is pretty agonizing for a women that has been trying to get pregnant for a long time. See we tend to know exactly when we ovulate and exactly when our period is supposed to come. Some of even love to torture ourselves more and will test early; sometimes ever day and other sometimes every other day. Yes HPTs (home pregnancy tests) can detect very small amounts of HCG. I've had some pick up when my blood test came back at 13. I am definitely one of those women who have a POAS habit (pee on a stick). With all of the miscarriages I've had I like to compare the lines on the test from one day to the next. If it was dark one day and got a lot lighter in following days, I knew it was over. We like to see them continually get darker!!! Ideally one should only test every other day because the Dr's like to see the hormone (HCG) double every 48 hours. If you test daily and your doubling rate isn't 24 hours then you won't see much of a change... that only leads to stress (Trust me!!!).

Ok I'm rambling... I know I haven't even updated in the last couple days. Honestly there wasn't a whole lot to talk about. I was obsessing though in my own kind of way. I decided to test out my trigger... I started with a faint line at 5dpo and watched it get lighter. Well yesterday (9dpo - which is 9 days past ovulation... which in my case is also 6 days past a 3day transfer)... I decided to test again... this is what I got.




If you don't have POAS goggles it might be hard to see the really faint line on the 9dpo test... Here is one I took a little closer...
See it's really faint... Now you know why we obsess! Could this really be real? Is it an Evap (a false +)... I didn't want to publish yesterday until I had confirmed what I was really seeing. yes that means I tested again today (10dpo now).

I would say this is quite a bit darker than yesterday. I didn't even have to turn the test different ways in order to make sure it showed up on the camer. So yes I am Pregnant!!! My beta test
is scheduled for Wednesday March 10th. (Beta test = blood test to detect the amount of HCG or pregnancy hormone that is in the blood). I am praying for a large number!! I am also praying very hard that the embryologist picked 2 very healthy embryo's and that my body allows this pregnancy to continue full term. The thought of actually being able to hold our baby in my arms is bringing tears to my eyes!!

I will probably test again tomorrow. After that I will TRY to do it only every other day until the test line is darker than the control line. LOL.

Frosties

I got the call this morning... all 3 of our embies that were still growing made it to freeze!! Wow I'm shocked. Especially with the just OK one's. They won't freeze an OK embryo so it must have decided to fight!!

My official 2 day rest is over. I was so tired of sitting on the couch doing nothing!! Amazing how you have days where you just love to do that. But it is totally different when you are forced to do it!! I will still take it easy the next few days but at least I can sit at the computer and type.

Just thought I would post the info below to show what will be happening the next few days.

**this is what happens in a 3dt :

1dpt ..embryo is growing and developing (Saturday)
2dpt... Embryo is now a blastocyst (Sunday)
3dpt....Blastocyst hatches out of shell on this day
4dpt.. Blastocyst attaches to a site on the uterine lining
5dpt.. Implantation begins,as the blastocyst begins to bury in the lining
6dpt.. Implantation process continues and morula buries deeper in the lining
7dpt.. Morula is completely inmplanted in the lining and has placenta cells &
fetal cells
8dpt...Placenta cells begin to secret HCG in the blood
9dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops
10dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops
11dpt...HCG levels are now high enough to be immediately detected on
HPT

3dt

Here is a picture of my babies to be. We had our 3 day transfer today and these were 2 perfect 8 cell embryo's for day 3. We are praying hard they are healthy and end up being our babies.

We still have the other 3 embryo's growing. They are currently rated ok to good and are 10, 13 & 14 cells. They aren't quite sure why they have so many cells already but they will wait to look at them again on day 5 to see if they have reached Blastocyst stage. If they have and IF they are of good quality, then they will freeze them.

Please send us tons of sticky, healthy implant vibes!!!!

Fertilization

I got the ferlization call this morning! Of the 9 eggs retrieved, 7 of them were mature eggs. Why didn't I have 9 to fertilize you ask? Eggs can be categorized as follows:

• Immature
• Mature
• Normal, healthy appearing
• Abnormal appearing
• Degenerated
• Fractured

Next step, the embryologist took a single sperm and inserted it into each of the 7 mature eggs. This process is called ICSI.

So this morning, the day after retrieval, we have 5 fertilized. 5 little embryo's growing right now. It's amazing. Here is a picture of what a fertilized egg looks like the day after Retrieval (no this is not one of mine).

Male and female genetic material (DNA) are contained in the 2 pronuclei seen in the center of the photo







The Dr and I started to talk about how many to transfer back. We both agreed 2 or 3 as of right now. We will discuss it further Friday morning when they call me back with an update on our embies. As of right now we are planning a 3 day transfer, which means at 1pm on Friday they will be putting 2 (or 3) of my embies back in my uterus and then the praying for implantation begins!! You may be asking, well what about the remaining embryo's since you aren't putting back 5? Well that totally depends on the embryo's themselves. We have to continue letting them grow until blastocyst stage (normally day 5). They will only freeze good quality embryo's at that stage. It's a wait and see game.

Egg Retrieval

Today was Egg Retrieval day! I have to say I thought I did a pretty good job keeping my nerves under control. Well at least until I walked into the procedure room. I'm getting ahead of myself though. I woke up at 600am in order to take a shower (with unscented soaps etc because the eggs/embryo's don't like the fragrances and stuff!). We left about 635am and got to the office a little early. I wanted to make sure we weren't late though! I was the 2nd egg retrieval set for today.

The worst part of today was actually trying to get the IV in me!! The first nurse used my good vein up by my elbow (where they draw blood). I didn't hurt at all. She thinks it was too close to a valve though because the fluids just wouldn't flow. So she decided to let the anethesiologists try again versus letting her stick me again. So they walked me into the procedure room (looks like an operating room). They tried an additional 2 times on my left arm and another on my right hand. My right hand is the location that finally worked!! You should see the bruise on my left arm from the 2nd attempt!! It's awful and actually made my arm hurt. I had to ice it down.

Once the IV was in my arm everything went quickly. I remember Dr S coming in and saying hello. Then they started the drugs... it burned a little going in a first like they said it would. Then after 5-10 seconds (well what I think was that long anyways)... I don't remember anything until I woke up. I thought I told someone I liked their engagement ring but honestly I don't know if that really happened! Once I woke up they said they retrieved 9 eggs!!! Woo hoo!! I am happy with that number. I knew I wouldn't get 20-30 eggs like some 20 yr olds do. They are younger and have 2 ovaries... I'm older and working with one ovary.

Now I just have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out how many fertilized and how my little embies are doing!!! We are letting the embryologist, Dr's, and embies tell us whether to do a 3 or 5 day transfer! So time to rest! I hope this post made since as I'm still on pain killers. :)

Trigger!!

Ok I have to say tonight was one of the injections I was really dreading. I had David give me my Trigger of HCG tonight (it had to be an IM (intra muscular) injection). You should have seen the size of that needle!! (25 gauge and looked 2-3 inches long)!!!! Ok I'm exaggerating, it was only 1 1/2 inches long. I about chickened out and was ready to say I couldn't do it!! I just kept reminding myself of the goal.

Believe it or not I really didn't feel the needle going in. I tried to make sure I was taking a deep breath in when he was going to stick me! That seemed to help. Course the meds burned a bit but I do have to say it was way worse in my head than it was in real life.

Hmmm should I test out my trigger?? For those that don't know, the trigger shot will give you a positive pregnancy test. A lot of us POAS addicts (pee on a stick addicts) like to test early. If I test out my trigger than I will know when the real deal happens!

Egg retrieval is set for 845am Tuesday February 23rd.

Every see an ultrasound of your follicles? If not this is one where they are stimulated!! Dr S couldn't get a picture of all the follies in one shot... but I just wanted to have something to say... hey this is where you started out! (yes I am being positive this will work and result in a healthy baby)

The appointment went good today. My follies are all still growing. They are ranging from about 11 - 17 which is good for day 8. My Estrogen level is 549.

Dr S says it looks like I will trigger Sunday night for a Tuesday morning retrieval. She wants me to come in tomorrow morning though just to make sure that nothing sky rockets overnight.

Interest in a little more information regarding the stimulation procedure? (Per advancedfertility.com)

How is the monitoring of the IVF stimulation done?
- Try to stimulate the woman to get at least 4 follicles with sizes of 14-20mm diameter.
- Ideally there would be at least 8 follicles between 13-20 for IVF
- The goal is to get a good number (about 8-15) quality eggs.
-Blood Hormone levels and developing follicle sizes are monitored.
- Ultrasound is used to measure the follicles.
- Estrogen hormone blood levels are important. Estrogen levels are usually under 60pg/ml at cycle baseline and rise significantly as multiple follices develop.
-Peak Estradiol levels in IVF at the time of HCG are usually between 1000-4000 pg/ml.
- The stimulating process usually takes about 8-10 days.
- The HCG injection is given when the estrogen level and the follicle measurements look best for successful IVF outcome. The HCG shot is needed to induce final egg maturation.
- The egg retrieval is planned for 35 hours after HCG injection - shortly before the woman's body might start to release the eggs (ovulate).

Day 6 still Stimming

Another monitoring appointment today. My E2 is up to 259 and my lining is 8 so everything is going in the right direction. I have 8 good follies right now measuring: 13.65; 11.95; 11.9; 10.36; 10.34; 10.26; 9.94; 9.85 and 2 smaller ones around 6. Course Dr S. had to remind me again that not all follies have eggs. I need to keep telling myself this too. Course as long as we have 3 good embies to put back I will be happy!

I have another appointment on Friday. They said the earliest I would Trigger is Saturday night (for a Monday Retrieval) or possibly Sunday Night for a Tuesday retrieval. I'm getting both nervous and excited!

Oh and they said the Insurance company denied the PGD!! They said since I am not testing for 1 specific genetic item they wouldn't cover it. Basically saying that 8 documented miscarriages in 3 years is not a good enough reason to have PGD! (1 of the m/c was undocumented). UGH! So now I have to call and talk to them. So it appears we will definitely be doing a fresh transfer this time around without PGD.