Gatorade and Popsicles

It has come down to Gatorade and Popsicles.  I can't keep ANYTHING down!  It makes it nearly impossible to work, as I spend most of my time running back and forth to the bathroom.  So since I can't seem to keep food down, Troy and I decided that I should just try to keep down liquids.  Hence the Gatorade and Popsicles.  We'll see how this goes.

Morning Sickness (and noon, and night).....

I've been telling myself that I need to keep an extra toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste in my purse so when morning sickness hits, I can freshen up a bit!  Wouldn't you know that I still haven't done that.....and I am at work and could definitely use it right about now.  Just got out of the lovely staff bathroom, puking my guts out.  I haven't really eaten anything that would be too hard on my stomach.  I drank a ginger ale on my way into work and ate some crackers....guess my stomach didn't like what food I did eat.  Now I'm sitting here with a disgusting tasting mouth - even after I have rinsed it out. 

I have food on my desk, and I swear it's just looking at me, giving me the evil eye.  It's taunting me!  Dang morning sickness!  :)

That queasy feeling in my stomach hasn't gone away yet, so I predict another trip to the bathroom at any minute.

Update on Beta # 3

I just got the phone call regarding my beta results.  My number is now at 12,025!  My number increased by 2 1/2 times!  Next step, the ultrasound at 6 1/2 weeks.  This is where we check for a heartbeat and to see how many gestational sacs there are!  Exciting!  :)

Re Cap:
Beta # 1 = 2,364 (6/7/12)
Beta # 2 = 4,717 (6/9/12)
Beta # 3 = 12,025 (6/11/12)

Beta # 3

Today I have my beta # 3.  This should be the final beta before I have an ultrasound.  As usual, the nerves are going crazy!  I just keep praying that everything goes well.

Today is also the first day I returned to work.  I've been off for this entire IVF cycle, which has been fantastic!  It's pretty difficult trying to get back into the groove of things.  The day is passing so slowly.  I wish it would go a bit faster!  Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to wait for my blood work results?!

My appointment was at 9:45 this morning.  While I was sitting in the waiting room, my stomach started to rumble.  I started to feel queasy.  I obviously didn't get enough food in my belly this morning.  I need to make sure I have breakfast foods readily available at home so I can just grab and go.  So after my appointment, I decided that I needed something to eat....PRONTO!!  I stopped at McDonald's and got a bagel with cream cheese and an orange juice.  That definitely helped!  Now I feel like I am ready for a nap!

I had a new symptom today.....that metal feeling in my mouth.  It sure does taste great (sarcasm!!).  Well, guess it's back to getting some work done!

Beta # 2

Yesterday (June 9th) I had my second beta test (that's just blood work).  They do the betas two days apart, and want to see the number go up at a steady rate (basically double).  My number jumped from 2,364 on Thursday to 4,717 on Saturday.  I will have my third beta tomorrow (Monday).  My numbers should be around 8,000 something. 

I am still incredibly nervous, as I'm sure all newly pregnant women are!  You never know what to expect!  You get extremely worried when you have cramping and queasiness for several days in a row, then one day you don't have any of it.  Apparently that is normal though.  I just need to take the "good" days as just that!  I have been hit with several symptoms already though, and they of course come and go.  One thing that never seems to go away is the bloating!  The bloating seems to be 24/7.  Gas, queasiness, lightheaded (at times), constipation (fun, huh?), swelling, fatigue, extremely tender boobs, etc.  The next 7+ months should be rather interesting if I continue at this rate.  Oh yeah, can't forget being hot!  Last night we went to my brother in laws house.  I was rather warm.  As I was laying on the couch falling asleep....my eyes started to tear up.  I was crying because I was hot.  SERIOUSLY???!!!!  Lol!

Hey, I'm not complaining at all!  I find it to be rather amusing!  I will take every single thing that comes with pregnancy, and will take it with a smile!  I have fought so hard to get to this point....that these symptoms are a walk in the park compared to what I have already endured!  :O

It WORKED!!!!!!!

I just found out a couple of hours ago that our 3rd try at IVF worked!  I am ecstatic....over the moon....over-joyed!  There aren't words that can describe accurately how I feel.  My beta numbers were great!  Basically, it's a quantitative measurement of the amount of HcG in your blood!  My number is 2,364!!  The nurse said this was such a great number!

I'm still nervous....as I'm sure all newly pregnant women are!  I just have to continue to pray for the best.  In about 1 1/2 weeks, we will have an ultrasound to check out the embryonic sac and fetal heartbeat!

Wish us luck....and keep those prayers coming!

The Agonizing WAIT!!

I don't know what's worse....the two week wait after the embryo transfer, or the several hour wait for the results of your blood test to come back!!  I had an appointment this morning at 8:45 for my blood pregnancy test.  This is the test that determines our fate!  You would think that after taking 4 (yes, I said 4) home pregnancy tests over the past couple of days (including one this morning before I went in for my appointment) and getting positives on each one that I would be a little more confident going into this.  Well, I'm not!  My nerves are shot!  I'm trying to keep busy, but time is going nowhere!  I guess the only thing left to do is go back to bed and take a nap.  I will fall asleep for what feels like forever....but it will wind up to only be 1 hour.  Then what? 

What more can I do though?  I have taken all the necessary steps to make everything turn out as successful as possible.  I took off work for the entire IVF cycle so my body could be stress free and relaxed.  I stayed calm during my time off.  I didn't overdo anything.  I prayed every day and I put my trust and faith in God's hands.  He knows what's best for me.  He has a plan for me.  Although I can't always say that it's easy to understand this, I know that I have to accept it!  There's no use trying to justify what happens.  Things happen for a reason.  If this is meant to be....it WILL happen!

Are You Positive????

So....my blood pregnancy test is this Thursday at 8:45 a.m.  My nerves are totally shot!  I just want to know already!  Because I am so impatient with stuff like this, I decided to take a HPT (home pregnancy test).  I went to Target, bought a 1st Response (Early Result) test, came home, and RAN to the bathroom.  I have NEVER gone to the bathroom that quickly!  I did the test, then covered the tip as directed....and then let it sit.  Not even a minute later the first line appeared....then here comes the second line.  This second line wasn't a faint line either, it was as clear as day!  The two lines means the test is positive.

All I can do right now is continue to pray that it stays positive for the test on Thursday and that it is a viable pregnancy!

Fingers crossed!

OUCH!!

I have six more days until my Beta test (blood pregnancy test).  It has been pure torture having to wait!  Trying to think positive, and send sticky vibes my way!  That's kind of hard though when you are rather uncomfortable!

Around Saturday or Sunday of last week (26th/27th) I began getting a little crampy.  The cramps have intensified since then, but they don't show up very often.  The thing that really gets me is this sharp stabbing pain in my lower abdomen, I'd say right above the pelvic bone.  If I'm laying down, and I stretch out, I get that sharp pain.  Or if I'm sitting down, and I stand up, I get that sharp pain.  The pain is very brief, and only lasts for about 30 seconds....but it's frequent, and painful!  Sometimes the pain is on my left side, sometimes it's on the right, and sometimes it's right smack dab in the middle!  I have no idea if this is a good sign or not.  Of course I've read a billion posts and articles about this type of pain to try to find an answer, but I remain answer-less!

Let's just hope for a good test on the 7th!

The Transfer

So the "transfer" occurred last week, on Thursday May 24th.  We arrived at Shady Grove Fertility in Rockville at 1:47 p.m. for a 2:15 p.m. appointment.  As we were sitting in the waiting room, I was sitting there thinking about how this was all too familiar.  We had been in the same waiting room several times before.....and had left that waiting room feeling hopeful every single time.  Yet, we were back here once again.  I tried not to think about it too much because I didn't want to get all worked up right before the transfer.  I was able to calm myself down, and somehow, I think my husband knew I was getting nervous.  Right when I was on the verge of tears from reflecting on the past, he put his arm around me, and held me a little tighter then he normally does.  That arm was magical!  I felt relaxed again, and wasn't as stressed.

Right about 2:00, the nurse called us back into another area.  This area was behind closed doors.....another place we had been twice before.  In this area, we show our photo I.D.'s and put blue booties on our feet.  I took my shoes off and put the booties on, Troy put them on over his shoes.  Then about 3 minutes later, they called us back into the "transfer" room.  They took my blood pressure, and asked a few questions.  The nurse then left the room and said the doctor would be in shortly.  The doctor came in about 5 minutes after the nurse left.  She went over a few things with us.  She explained to us that they thawed two embryos.  Both embryos survived the thaw so no additional embryos needed to be thawed.  One of the embryos had 100% of its cells survive, the other had 90% of its cells survive.  You can't get any better than 100%!  The doctor then told us that she had one more transfer ahead of us, and that she would be back in about 5 minutes to do our transfer.

About 7 minutes later, the doctor returned.  I "assumed the position", and using ultrasound guidance the doctor inserted the speculum and catheter.  She then called in the embryologist as we were now ready for the transfer.  The embryologist entered the room with a tube which contained our possible babies.  He made the transfer through the catheter that had been inserted through my cervix.  The embryologist then left the room to check the tube under the microscope to make sure the embryos both made it into my uterus.  It was a no go.  We had one that decided to hang back....so we did the entire procedure again....inserted the speculum and catheter again (fun). The embryologist redid his thing....and this time all was clear.  After the transfer, I had to lay there for about 5 minutes before I could go home.  Five minutes went by and I got dressed, put my shoes back on, used the restroom (I had to pee like nobodies business because I had to drink about 32 ounces of water before the procedure), then we went to the elevator, took it to the first floor, and headed to the car to go home.

Once we got home, I had to be on bed rest for 24 hours with light activity for the next 2-3 days.  The 24 hour period wasn't too bad.  I did get a little ancy though as I wanted to get out of the bed!  I managed to stay in bed though for the 24 hour duration (except to use the bathroom).  During these 24 hours, my hubby took really good care of me.  He checked on me to make sure I was ok.  He brought me stuff to drink without me even having to ask.  He even went to 7-11 at 11 at night to get me my favorite ice cream...Breyers Oreo Overload!!  I couldn't ask for a better husband!

Five days have gone by since the transfer.  I think I have taken it pretty easy for the most part.  I did some swimming on Saturday and Sunday with my step-kids (yes, swimming was allowed).  We also took them to Rehoboth Beach on Monday (Memorial Day).  Overall, it was a pretty relaxing weekend.  And other than being extremely sensitive both emotionally and physically from the del estrogen and progesterone injections, being bloated enough to look like I'm about 4 months pregnant, and having some serious cramping, sometimes sharp stabbing cramping......I'm doing just great!  I'm not even really craving diet coke!!  :)