On Friday May 17th, I woke up and went to the restroom. Its so regular for me now to have to go pee about 3 times a night. I hate nothing more than having to get up in the middle of my sleep for something so trivial as to pee. This part bugs me, why can't it wait, lol.
Well when I was wiping, I saw light pink blood. Eric came into the bathroom a few minutes later and I told him. My heart was broken. I didn't want to see blood, I didn't want to loose this baby, this is not fair!
I called my RE's office and the nurse I don't like was there - There was no way I wanted to talk to her and be left on a horrible bad note for another weekend! However one of my good nurses was due to come in at noon so I waited and called back. By then I had some more blood that was a dark red, almost brown, which I had read is not a bad sign. I was still worried and the nurse did tell me that with IVF, spotting is common and as long as I was not having heavy bleeding or clots or cramping, that I should be ok and to take it easy. She was so nice and I felt so good and comfortable with a little spotting. By the end of the day it stopped.
I decided to take it easy all weekend. I was almost afraid to move and disrupt anything. On Saturday I was walking in the kitchen and felt a gush and found that I was now bleeding. It slowed down to just spotting, the then the same thing happened again on Sunday. This time I was very lightly bleeding for the rest of the night and the next day I was spotting. I still didn't have cramps or clots, I felt good about that, but what if I missed something or what if I was bleeding too much? Where is this blood coming from, what's going on? What did I do wrong.
I called the office on Monday morning and the nurse said that even bleeding can be ok and normal in an IVF pregnancy. I read tons of stories on-line where lots of women went through this and had good pregnancies, but they were also able to go in and be checked to make sure everything was okay. The soonest I was able to get an appointment and make that 2.5 hour drive was over a week away! I didn't know if I could stand the unknown that long!!
I called my local OBGYN and him and his staff was so wonderful to fit me in for a very quick appointment that day, right after I go off work! I was so excited and very nervous. I was still expecting bad news, so I went alone to be able to deal with it.
The wait was killing me! It was so hard and I was so worried.
Finally Im laying on the table and he starts the sonogram. Right away he was able to find our baby and I could clearly see the little fluttering of his heart beating! It was like Christmas! I was so relieved to see his or her heart just beating away. The doctor started moving the probe around and we saw another sac come onto the screen and he said "Oh you have two". I saw something and he said he saw the heartbeat, but I didn't so he pointed it out and I started to clearly see our twin baby's heart beat too! I really was expecting bad news and we found double good news. Two little growing babies with hearts beating.
I read tons of posts earlier that morning about bleeding at 6 weeks, most of the girls were saying that they had lots of bleeding and they had twins. I didn't think that was possible for me because my HCG levels didn't grow properly at first so I was told that only one embryo made it, which was great for me. Having twins was the farthest from my mind.
Here I sit 24 hours later and my own heart is still beating fast, I am a ball of nerves for a whole new reason. How can we afford two babies? I have to keep two growing babies in me for 9 months, I have to eat better and focus on their health twice as much. Where are we going to put two? What is the next few months, next few years going to be like? Am I ready? This is crazy, and exciting all at the same time. Im sure me and my family will be happy as can be in 8-9 months when these little new people come into the world.
Keep growing my little ones. Mommy, daddy. brother and sister love you. (And we better work on getting ready for you both!)
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
HCG counts driving me crazy!
HCG tests:
5/1/13 Beta #1 =165
5/3/13 Beta #2 = 265
5/5/13 Beta #3 = 530!
Because I live far away from the RE's office I was given lab slips to get my blood work done in my hometown without having to make a long drive to the office.
I chose to go directly to the hospital, because after some research I found out that not only were the tests cheaper, but all the blood from the other clinics are analyzed at the hospital and about 45 minutes after each test I could go into the records department and get my results. I thought waiting 3 minutes to see a pink line was a long wait, waiting for the blood work results made me near-crazy!
I took the 1st one and I was pretty excited, because anything over 5 HCG is pregnant, but the doctor wants to see the count over 50, so I was feeling good and made Eric call his mom that night to let her know that there is a bun in the oven. Part of me is still in shock that this IVF worked the 1st time! Its amazing that we got such great results!
I took the 2nd test and the goal is to see the HCG level double in 2 days. My heart sunk when I saw that my count only went up by 100. I was worried and waiting for my nurse to call. Meanwhile I hopped on the Internet to quickly search the details of HCG levels rising. I found that most women have a rise in 48 hours but HCG should double in 48-72 hours and the pregnancy is still on track. Right as I read that, the nurse called. She was not my regular nurse that I always talk to and she said that she was concerned. She gave me a possible scenario: because we transferred 2 embryos that it was possible that they both implanted and then I got the 1st high count, and then right after that one stopped progressing which is why my count continued to raise, but not with-in 48 hours.
This news came to me on Friday. The nurse suggested another blood test on Sunday to double check. She said "We will wait and see" ..... Easy for her to say! I now have to wait 2 days to see if my baby is growing right :( If one stopped progressing, what if the other stops too? I was freaking out!
I went to the hospital on Sunday and waited 45 minutes to go down and get my results, but because it was the weekend they didn't have them. I had to wait another day to call my nurse. I talked with her at 8am on Monday and she said that she didn't get my blood work yet and she had been on the phone with the hospital and they lost my results! LOST THEM??? Are you kidding me?? What about my count, what about my baby, am I still pregnant, how will I know what my count is now?
I was happy that the nurse dealing with this was my regular one, whom I love. She was dealing with the hospital while I was freaking out and wishing that I could get off work to kick some ass at the hospital!. The nurse called a few hours later to tell me that they had to re-run my sample to get my count again and it was at 530. It doubled in 24 hours! Great! She also said it was possible that one of the embryos that implanted had stopped progressing, she said that sometimes counts don't always double every 48 hours, she also explained that because I have OHSS that my counts could be off. Why couldn't I hear all these things on Friday, instead of having to stress all weekend?
Long story short is that I am pregnant, everything so far is good and we are a happy family who is ready for a little baby in 9 months :)
My 1st ultrasound where I will be able to see the baby's heartbeat is on the 28th. Another 3 long week wait!
Meanwhile, I have a hard time eating because I feel so full from the bloating. However at times I feel starving and could eat the house. I am also the most tired person in America. I am in bed by 8pm, although I wish it was earlier.
I'm pretty sure the kiddos are ready for this and as excited as I am. Last night Bash and Eric had fun tormenting me with every silly name they could think of!
5/1/13 Beta #1 =165
5/3/13 Beta #2 = 265
5/5/13 Beta #3 = 530!
Because I live far away from the RE's office I was given lab slips to get my blood work done in my hometown without having to make a long drive to the office.
I chose to go directly to the hospital, because after some research I found out that not only were the tests cheaper, but all the blood from the other clinics are analyzed at the hospital and about 45 minutes after each test I could go into the records department and get my results. I thought waiting 3 minutes to see a pink line was a long wait, waiting for the blood work results made me near-crazy!
I took the 1st one and I was pretty excited, because anything over 5 HCG is pregnant, but the doctor wants to see the count over 50, so I was feeling good and made Eric call his mom that night to let her know that there is a bun in the oven. Part of me is still in shock that this IVF worked the 1st time! Its amazing that we got such great results!
I took the 2nd test and the goal is to see the HCG level double in 2 days. My heart sunk when I saw that my count only went up by 100. I was worried and waiting for my nurse to call. Meanwhile I hopped on the Internet to quickly search the details of HCG levels rising. I found that most women have a rise in 48 hours but HCG should double in 48-72 hours and the pregnancy is still on track. Right as I read that, the nurse called. She was not my regular nurse that I always talk to and she said that she was concerned. She gave me a possible scenario: because we transferred 2 embryos that it was possible that they both implanted and then I got the 1st high count, and then right after that one stopped progressing which is why my count continued to raise, but not with-in 48 hours.
This news came to me on Friday. The nurse suggested another blood test on Sunday to double check. She said "We will wait and see" ..... Easy for her to say! I now have to wait 2 days to see if my baby is growing right :( If one stopped progressing, what if the other stops too? I was freaking out!
I went to the hospital on Sunday and waited 45 minutes to go down and get my results, but because it was the weekend they didn't have them. I had to wait another day to call my nurse. I talked with her at 8am on Monday and she said that she didn't get my blood work yet and she had been on the phone with the hospital and they lost my results! LOST THEM??? Are you kidding me?? What about my count, what about my baby, am I still pregnant, how will I know what my count is now?
I was happy that the nurse dealing with this was my regular one, whom I love. She was dealing with the hospital while I was freaking out and wishing that I could get off work to kick some ass at the hospital!. The nurse called a few hours later to tell me that they had to re-run my sample to get my count again and it was at 530. It doubled in 24 hours! Great! She also said it was possible that one of the embryos that implanted had stopped progressing, she said that sometimes counts don't always double every 48 hours, she also explained that because I have OHSS that my counts could be off. Why couldn't I hear all these things on Friday, instead of having to stress all weekend?
Long story short is that I am pregnant, everything so far is good and we are a happy family who is ready for a little baby in 9 months :)
My 1st ultrasound where I will be able to see the baby's heartbeat is on the 28th. Another 3 long week wait!
Meanwhile, I have a hard time eating because I feel so full from the bloating. However at times I feel starving and could eat the house. I am also the most tired person in America. I am in bed by 8pm, although I wish it was earlier.
I'm pretty sure the kiddos are ready for this and as excited as I am. Last night Bash and Eric had fun tormenting me with every silly name they could think of!
6 Days Past 5 Day Transfer
I took my home pregnancy test..... I swear waiting 3 minutes can take FOREVER!
There is a faint pink line. I had to go into the front room where the sun was shining brighter.
Two days later I took another test and the little pink line was a little darker and easier to read.
There is a faint pink line. I had to go into the front room where the sun was shining brighter.
Two days later I took another test and the little pink line was a little darker and easier to read.
Monday, April 29, 2013
5 Days Past the Transfer
The bed rest made me feel awesome! I really needed that to get over the pain. If I ever have to do an egg retrieval again, I will take a day off afterwards! What was I thinking?
Here I am though, 5 days after the transfer and about noon I started to feel like a blimp again. It seemed worse than last time. The rest of the day I am wondering, does this mean that I am pregnant and HCG is running through my body, because this is what I was told would make the OHSS come back.
After work I went to the store and got a home pregnancy test. I bought an E.P.T. one. I was reading the boxes and the EPT said it was good for 5 days before your missed period, and there was a First Response test that said it would work 6 days before your missed period. In my tired state I thought 5 sounded better so I got that one. Then I was reading the box at home and realized that the First Response give results one day EARLIER.... I went back to the store to get that one!
I went to bed that night and I was totally uncomfortable. My stomach was an over-inflated balloon and it was hard to move, hard to sleep and I work up sore and still bloated. I did dream of seeing two lines :)
I woke up and its time for my test!!
Here I am though, 5 days after the transfer and about noon I started to feel like a blimp again. It seemed worse than last time. The rest of the day I am wondering, does this mean that I am pregnant and HCG is running through my body, because this is what I was told would make the OHSS come back.
After work I went to the store and got a home pregnancy test. I bought an E.P.T. one. I was reading the boxes and the EPT said it was good for 5 days before your missed period, and there was a First Response test that said it would work 6 days before your missed period. In my tired state I thought 5 sounded better so I got that one. Then I was reading the box at home and realized that the First Response give results one day EARLIER.... I went back to the store to get that one!
I went to bed that night and I was totally uncomfortable. My stomach was an over-inflated balloon and it was hard to move, hard to sleep and I work up sore and still bloated. I did dream of seeing two lines :)
I woke up and its time for my test!!
5th day Egg Transfer
April 22nd
Oh what a painful week. I still was very sore from the surgery.
I also ended up get OHSS (ovary hyper stimulation syndrome). Because of all the shots to over grow my eggs, which caused my ovaries to be large and then water collects in them and in my stomach for a wonderful (not) big fat tummy. I felt like I was pregnant at about 9 months. I actually wobbled and had to ease myself to a sitting and standing position. I was really uncomfortable. On top of that, I couldn't poop because of the pain medications. I was a blimp!
Come to find out there is really nothing I could do about it. Just drink fluids to make it not get worse. Eventually I pooped and that helped me to feel a little better.
We got to the office and I started out with 30 minutes of acupuncture. I'm still not really liking needles, and please tell me why she must stick them in the top of my head?? LOL
Right after I was done Eric and I changed into our hospital clothes. He got to look like a doctor and I had to look like a mental patient. The doctor came in and told us that our embryos grew very nice and there were two that were graded at a perfect AA and those were the two he would transfer today, depending on how many we wanted to transfer.
Oh The Gamble.....
Its really hard to decide on one or two embryos. I don't really want to be pregnant with twins, however what if this is our only chance and the rest of the eggs don't freeze. I don't want to go through another fresh IVF. Our RE explained that the chance of implantation is greater with 2 eggs. I did read something about this, there are some studies that claim that two embryos help to implant one or each other. What the heck, I was all about getting success out of this, so we went with two.
We went into the same little surgery room that I had my egg retrieval in. I got to be awake for this whole thing. Let me tell you, I almost wish I was asleep, not because there was any pain, but I had to let down all my walls. 1st there was this little "drive-thru" window as Eric called it, it led to the embryologist. At 1st he wasn't there, but he arrived to hand over our little embryos to the RE for the transfer. Before that could happen the RE had to clean my vagina out. My thighs are up in stilts so my legs are VERY spread open, and he had to shoot water up there. I am used to douching, but Ive never had anyone do it for me! I also didn't need the guy at the drive-thru window right in front of my open vagina too! I got to rest for a few minutes after the transfer and then I had to pee and go into my other room.
In the other room, I had a good laugh about the guy at the drive-thru window. I don't order burgers with my legs spread!
My wonderful Arial did another 30 minutes of acupuncture with me. I didn't really rest though, because my mind was racing. I ended up calling my nurse in to talk to me about all the things that I was worried about, like what I could and couldn't do, what I should eat, and on and on. I knew most of this stuff, I really just needed to be reassured, and I did feel better when she left.
I got dressed and we left. Off to two days of bed rest. After all the pain from the retrieval and having to work all the days after that, I was really looking forward to bed rest!
Oh what a painful week. I still was very sore from the surgery.
I also ended up get OHSS (ovary hyper stimulation syndrome). Because of all the shots to over grow my eggs, which caused my ovaries to be large and then water collects in them and in my stomach for a wonderful (not) big fat tummy. I felt like I was pregnant at about 9 months. I actually wobbled and had to ease myself to a sitting and standing position. I was really uncomfortable. On top of that, I couldn't poop because of the pain medications. I was a blimp!
Come to find out there is really nothing I could do about it. Just drink fluids to make it not get worse. Eventually I pooped and that helped me to feel a little better.
We got to the office and I started out with 30 minutes of acupuncture. I'm still not really liking needles, and please tell me why she must stick them in the top of my head?? LOL
Right after I was done Eric and I changed into our hospital clothes. He got to look like a doctor and I had to look like a mental patient. The doctor came in and told us that our embryos grew very nice and there were two that were graded at a perfect AA and those were the two he would transfer today, depending on how many we wanted to transfer.
Oh The Gamble.....
Its really hard to decide on one or two embryos. I don't really want to be pregnant with twins, however what if this is our only chance and the rest of the eggs don't freeze. I don't want to go through another fresh IVF. Our RE explained that the chance of implantation is greater with 2 eggs. I did read something about this, there are some studies that claim that two embryos help to implant one or each other. What the heck, I was all about getting success out of this, so we went with two.
We went into the same little surgery room that I had my egg retrieval in. I got to be awake for this whole thing. Let me tell you, I almost wish I was asleep, not because there was any pain, but I had to let down all my walls. 1st there was this little "drive-thru" window as Eric called it, it led to the embryologist. At 1st he wasn't there, but he arrived to hand over our little embryos to the RE for the transfer. Before that could happen the RE had to clean my vagina out. My thighs are up in stilts so my legs are VERY spread open, and he had to shoot water up there. I am used to douching, but Ive never had anyone do it for me! I also didn't need the guy at the drive-thru window right in front of my open vagina too! I got to rest for a few minutes after the transfer and then I had to pee and go into my other room.
In the other room, I had a good laugh about the guy at the drive-thru window. I don't order burgers with my legs spread!
My wonderful Arial did another 30 minutes of acupuncture with me. I didn't really rest though, because my mind was racing. I ended up calling my nurse in to talk to me about all the things that I was worried about, like what I could and couldn't do, what I should eat, and on and on. I knew most of this stuff, I really just needed to be reassured, and I did feel better when she left.
I got dressed and we left. Off to two days of bed rest. After all the pain from the retrieval and having to work all the days after that, I was really looking forward to bed rest!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Egg Retival
April 17th <--- Also my birthday :)
We got to the office and had to sit in the waiting room. Out of all my visits this was the longest time I have ever had to be in the waiting room. Eric needed to use the restroom so he went into the back area, then I heard him talking to someone which sounded like they were asking for him to give a sample. He didn't come back into the waiting room so I had to figure that he was indeed back there doing his thing and making the little sperms that will meet up with my eggs soon. As I sat there (knowing what he was doing), it made me a little sad that I didn't get the chance to do something special for him or to at least kiss him and excite him just a little. I was angry at the lady for not letting us see each other first so we could be special together. Again, this part is the only part of the whole IVF process that bothers me for being too clinical (not that there is anything different they could do). I wanted to make it a tiny bit more loving for us. Oh well, buy the time I felt that I should say something, I figured he was in the middle and I didn't want to ruin it.
He came out and sat in the waiting room with me for a few more minutes then we went in the back so I could dress up in my sexy hospital clothes. I was then hooked up to an IV and taken into a small operating room. It was very small and there were about 4 nurses in there and my RE would be there soon too. The nurse put another tube in my IV and before I knew it I was back in the recovery room. Wow that was fast, or so it seemed. I later heard that he retrieved 25 eggs from me.
We went to my mother-in-laws home to rest for a bit. The pain hit me! I was begging for pills. The ride home was a bit painful, I couldn't eat and I was majorly uncomfortable. I was hoping for a birthday dinner, but all I wanted was more pills and my bed!
Due to all my appointments, I had no choice to work the next day, as a matter of fact I didn't have a day off for 5 days until my egg transfer. I would NOT recommend this!
I got a call the next day, 16 eggs and 16 sperms came together to start 16 wonderful little embryos. They looked like they were dividing at the right pace so we were scheduled for a five day transfer.
We got to the office and had to sit in the waiting room. Out of all my visits this was the longest time I have ever had to be in the waiting room. Eric needed to use the restroom so he went into the back area, then I heard him talking to someone which sounded like they were asking for him to give a sample. He didn't come back into the waiting room so I had to figure that he was indeed back there doing his thing and making the little sperms that will meet up with my eggs soon. As I sat there (knowing what he was doing), it made me a little sad that I didn't get the chance to do something special for him or to at least kiss him and excite him just a little. I was angry at the lady for not letting us see each other first so we could be special together. Again, this part is the only part of the whole IVF process that bothers me for being too clinical (not that there is anything different they could do). I wanted to make it a tiny bit more loving for us. Oh well, buy the time I felt that I should say something, I figured he was in the middle and I didn't want to ruin it.
He came out and sat in the waiting room with me for a few more minutes then we went in the back so I could dress up in my sexy hospital clothes. I was then hooked up to an IV and taken into a small operating room. It was very small and there were about 4 nurses in there and my RE would be there soon too. The nurse put another tube in my IV and before I knew it I was back in the recovery room. Wow that was fast, or so it seemed. I later heard that he retrieved 25 eggs from me.
We went to my mother-in-laws home to rest for a bit. The pain hit me! I was begging for pills. The ride home was a bit painful, I couldn't eat and I was majorly uncomfortable. I was hoping for a birthday dinner, but all I wanted was more pills and my bed!
Due to all my appointments, I had no choice to work the next day, as a matter of fact I didn't have a day off for 5 days until my egg transfer. I would NOT recommend this!
I got a call the next day, 16 eggs and 16 sperms came together to start 16 wonderful little embryos. They looked like they were dividing at the right pace so we were scheduled for a five day transfer.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Trigger shot!
April 15th
I got home from work, did some stuff and then sat down and went over the schedule for the next week that the nurse gave me with Eric. It was 8pm and at midnight we had to do the HCG trigger shot.
This is timed shot that has to be done at a specific time to start the finial maturing and releasing of my eggs for my egg retrieval appointment.
So we were reading the instructions, and its funny that will all my other shots the nurse gave me visual instructions, but with this shot she went over the whole weeks schedule and where to do the shot but she didn't give me a visual. Ive done many shots at this point so I didn't think it was a big deal. Draw up liquid, shoot it in powder, mix, draw it back up and inject.
So the HCG box comes with 2 bottles. One liquid and one powder. The liquid bottle was big and the instructions said to draw up 1cc. The needle however had measurements in "ML". Eric wanted to draw up all the liquid - that would have been one massive shot and it wouldn't have all fit in one needle. I was freaking out, this is so important and has to be done right. I felt there was no choice but to call my RE after hours and find out. I left a message and he called back in a few minutes. I felt dumb but he was very understanding. He even said they should change the wording on the form I was given. It turns out the 1cc and 1ml are the same. Yay.
I was asleep at midnight and Eric woke me up. I was totally grumpy with him, poor guy. Then he said he couldn't find the HCG box and I was irritated and mean. But he found it and we completed the shot.
After a poke I was back to sleep :)
Next day was shot free for me!
I got home from work, did some stuff and then sat down and went over the schedule for the next week that the nurse gave me with Eric. It was 8pm and at midnight we had to do the HCG trigger shot.
This is timed shot that has to be done at a specific time to start the finial maturing and releasing of my eggs for my egg retrieval appointment.
So we were reading the instructions, and its funny that will all my other shots the nurse gave me visual instructions, but with this shot she went over the whole weeks schedule and where to do the shot but she didn't give me a visual. Ive done many shots at this point so I didn't think it was a big deal. Draw up liquid, shoot it in powder, mix, draw it back up and inject.
So the HCG box comes with 2 bottles. One liquid and one powder. The liquid bottle was big and the instructions said to draw up 1cc. The needle however had measurements in "ML". Eric wanted to draw up all the liquid - that would have been one massive shot and it wouldn't have all fit in one needle. I was freaking out, this is so important and has to be done right. I felt there was no choice but to call my RE after hours and find out. I left a message and he called back in a few minutes. I felt dumb but he was very understanding. He even said they should change the wording on the form I was given. It turns out the 1cc and 1ml are the same. Yay.
I was asleep at midnight and Eric woke me up. I was totally grumpy with him, poor guy. Then he said he couldn't find the HCG box and I was irritated and mean. But he found it and we completed the shot.
After a poke I was back to sleep :)
Next day was shot free for me!
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