Sorry its been so long

I am sorry it has been so long since I last posted. I am now 32 weeks along in my pregnancy and everything is still going well. I do get a sore back every now and then but I am sure that is due to the weight distribution. It is difficult getting things like grocery shopping done and Spencer hates to do it. Oh well!

The OB said that they would like to see me make it to 36/37 weeks at minimum. At my 36 week appointment I will be tested for GBS and they will plan an induction date for the 38 week. If that's the case then most likely I would be induced on Jan 25th. I am praying that we won't need to be induced and that the babies will come on their own time prior to that.

I have been feeling the babies move and sometimes it really makes me wonder what they're doing in there. At our last ultrasound appointment Baby A (Joshua) was breech and Baby B (Emma) was still transverse. We are praying that at least Joshua manages to get his directions right and turns head down by the next ultrasound. It would be better if both babies were head down by then. The OB stated that regardless of baby positioning we will still have the option of a C-section which is nice to know.

Otherwise we just keep waiting.......

The Twins

I am now 24 weeks pregnant and the twins seem to be doing fine. We are definately having a boy and a girl. Their names are Joshua Spencer and Emma Michelle.

We had a Pediatric Cardiology appointment to check their hearts. The Dr. said that there is a 5% chance of an issue with their hearts due to the fact that they were conceived via IVF. We didn't know how their hearts were going to be checked but it turned out it was another ultrasound.

Both babies looked great. The ultrasound tech was hoping that they would sit still during the appointment but of course they would not. The Dr. said that both hearts looked great and that he didn't see any major issues. He couldn't rule out 100% that there wouldn't be minor deformities but that there definitely weren't any major ones. This of course is great news. He also gave us a brief anatomy lesson about the heart and said that everything looks great.

We are traveling up to NY next weekend for a baby shower with my family. It should be a fun trip. We are also planning on having a baby shower here in VA on November 18th. I am hoping we get everything we need for the babies or at least close enough.

So here's the scoop!

I haven't been on in awhile as life has been a little crazy. We currently have a 9 month old that we are taking care of for a little while, maybe permanently. We are unsure yet what the future holds for her.

We had our 20 week ultrasound last week and so far everything looks good. I will be going back for another ultrasound on October 31st for another ultrasound. I was told that I couldn't have one until after 24/25 weeks because that is when the baby is viable. I was also informed that I would need to go to Pediatric Cardiology to check our babies heartbeats to ensure that all is well. The fetal medicine doctor said that the reason for this was that in about 5% of IVF babies have heart defects. He didn't notice anything on the ultrasound but its just to make sure. The appointment for this is Oct 13th.

Here are some ultrasound images from our 20 week appt:

Baby Registry Items

I wanted to go ahead and let you guys know some of the final decisions we've made towards our baby registry. It's still early but I know people's budgets are tight. I will be sending out an official registry later (probably September).

Here are some items we need:
1) DaVinci Kalani 4 in 1 Convertible Crib in Espresso

2) My Brest Friend Twins Plus Deluxe Green nursing pillow

3) Extra Firm crib mattress

4) Rumparooz One Size Pocket Diapers - any color
OR
     Fuzzibunz One Size Pocket Diapers - any color

I have found a store near us where we can purchase the diapers called Diaper Junction. It is possible to buy gift certificates so if you would prefer to help with the diapers but don't want to buy them, you can get us a gift certificate.

I hope this helps those that are just itching to go shopping!

Update on me: I am feeling very tired lately with headaches popping up here and there. I still get bouts of nausea but otherwise the symptoms are pretty mild. My next appointment is on Aug 16th. 

10.5 Weeks

We had our appointment today where we got to see the babies on ultrasound. They have grown so much in 3 weeks. The OB didn't take measurements of the babies but said that they are on track. He said that their heartbeats are about 160 and sound healthy. We could actually see the chambers of the heart. It even looked like one of the babies was sucking their thumbs. The second baby was moving around a lot. Our next appointment should be on Aug 16th.

What's Going On?

Sorry for being MIA but not much new has occurred lately. Our next OB appointment is scheduled for July 15 at 3pm. It's a new OB so I am hoping for another ultrasound instead of just a Doppler. We will see.

I still don't have very many symptoms. The ones that I do have are very slight. There also haven't been any more bouts of vomiting, thank goodness. Sometimes I do feel nauseous (mainly at the thought of eating food). For the most part I have been feeling good.

The lack of pregnancy feelings has caused me worry more than necessary. It is something I am working on and I am constantly reminding myself that it is in God's hands. To ease some of my worry I did purchase an at home pocket fetal doppler. Last Friday I checked on the babies and was able to find two different heartbeats. One was 155bpm and the other was 175bpm. I will find out offically on Friday though.

It has been really tempting to start preparing for the babies but it is still very early. Spencer and I have started making some decisions regarding the babies though such as cloth diapers. We have been researching several brands to determine which ones we like the best. So far I think we have settled on Fuzzibunz. They are adjustable from 0-2yrs old. Other than that everything seems to be going really well and I will update on Friday.

It's TWINS!

Our first ultrasound was today and we found out that we are pregnant with twins. Baby A had a heartbeat of 145 and baby B had a heartbeat of 135. Both are measuring about 6w5d and the doctor said that everything looked good. We are very excited and pray that everything continues to go well.

Beta #2

My second beta came back at 849! Our first ultrasound is scheduled for June 22. At that time we should hear the heartbeats or heartbeat and see how many babies there are.

Beta #1

First beta is in and it's 411. Yay! I am officially pregnant. I do have to go for another beta on Friday to ensure that it continues to double. As long as it doubles we should be doing good.

Tomorrow is the Big Results Day

Tomorrow I go in for my first beta test. Since I have been getting positives since 4dp5dt I am hoping for a big number. I will update with the result as soon as I get home from work.

6dp5dt

I took two more hpt's this morning. One was a regular First Response Early Result and the other was E.P.T digital. Both came up positive. Yay! I am happy and hope they stay positive and I get a great beta on Wednesday.

Ok, I am an addict!

I wanted to let everyone know that I am being cautiously optimistic. I took a Clearblue easy hpt this morning and it was clearly positive. If I can find a way to post it online I will. It had a nice thick blue line. I took it with a grain of salt because I know that that brand can give false positives. Plus, I am only 5dp5dt or 11 days past ovulation. So to ease my mind I took a First Reponse Early Result tonight and it was clearly positive. No need to tilt the test or squint, it was positive. Yay! I plan on taking a digital tomorrow and I am hoping for a clear positive.

Embryo Transfer

We had our embryo transfer today! Out of the 8 embryos, 3 were blastocysts, 4 early blastocysts, and 1 arrested. We were able to transfer 2 blastocysts after much trepedation from the Dr's. They transferred a BB and BC embryo. The one other blastocyst can be frozen and if the 4 early ones look good tomorrow they can be frozen as well. My first beta is June 1st.

Day 3 Fertilization Results

We found out today how our embryo's we doing. They are doing great. Out of the 8 embryo's, 1 is a Grade 1 and 7 are a Grade 2. Walter Reed grades embryo's as 1 being the best and 4 being the worst. They hardly ever give out 1's. We will be doing our transfer on Sunday!

Fertilization Report

The nurse called today with the fertization report. Out of the 17 eggs retrieved, 9 were mature, and 8 fertilized. We did not have to use ICSI this time. Yay! We have one more fertilized than last time. We will find out on Friday how they are doing and we may have the transfer that day or on Sunday.

Retrieval tomorrow

We have to be at Walter Reed at 6am tomorrow for retrieval. Our retrieval will probably be around 8am. I was thinking about staying up there afterwards but it will depend on how I feel after the surgery. Personally I would like to come straight home like last time so I am praying that everything goes smoothly and I don't have any issues.

Triggering!

I got the call to trigger tonight at 9:30pm. I am excited to finally move on to the next stage. We had about 33 follicles ranging from 7-22mm. My lining is thick though and I still don't know how that will affect things. They like it to be between 8-15mm but mine is currently at 17mm. I am praying for good quality eggs and embryos as well as a Big Fat Postive (BFP).

Ultrasound/Bloodwork Update

Our ultrasound on Thursday showed that we had 33 follicles ranging in size from 7-13mm. I was very happy with that considering my symptoms have been quite minimal this time around. My main symptom is abdominal discomfort. We have another ultrasound tomorrow so I am hoping that they are continuing to grow as expected.

We did get a call from the nurse though changing the med dose. They took me off of the Menopur completely for now which I can't say I mind considering that one burns. They increased the Gonal-F to 112.5 though.

Another day another trip

We leave again early tomorrow morning (2:30am) to travel to Walter Reed. I really hate having to drive so far but it is so much more relaxing being home during this cycle. I did start to see an acupuncturist as well to help with my stress and nerves. I will keep everyone posted on how that goes. It was definately very strange having needles everywhere.

So far I am on day 5 of stims and we will find out tomorrow how many follicles there are as well as what size they are. I am really trying hard to not worry about anything but it can be difficult when I can't see what is going on. I can feel some heaviness and twinges so we'll see. We should be back by the afternoon tomorrow (it's going to be a long day) so I will post the results as soon as I can.

Stimming

Ok we started stimming last night, again! I was hoping that this time around would go much smoother and without mistakes but alas I was wrong. We messed up the Gonal-F shot again this time, different mistake but yet again. So instead of getting 75iu I probably got 112.5iu. Oopps. It's probably not an issue though. I do, however, already have two bruises (battle wounds) from the Lupron shots. I go in for blood work on Tuesday. I am also starting acupuncture tomorrow. If I like it I may do it again although it is pricey. We shall see.

I Can Start!

AF did show so I was able to start bcp's and lupron. I stop bcp's on April 28 and wait for another AF to arrive. My baseline is scheduled for May 3rd. Tentative egg retrieval is scheduled for May 19th. Yay, I am excited.

Good news

We were worried that we wouldn't be able to make the May cycle because my period hadn't come. Apparently it is very normal after an early miscarriage to have a wacky cycle. I was informed by the nurse that if it didn't come by the end fo this week then we would have to wait and do the July cycle. It came so yay! I started bcp's today and I am just waiting to talk to the nurse tomorrow.

It's been a long time...

Sorry for being MIA for awhile but I have been extremely busy. I have been working two jobs trying to come up with the funds for our next cycle. We are medically cleared to do another cycle in May and will be financially cleared on Friday (payday). I can't wait to be all cleared and ready to go.

We decided to do another fresh cycle for a couple of reasons. First I am still only working weekends in May so I will have the week off. Second we will be able to freeze extra day 5 embryos with our other embryo for future use. This is what we are planning on doing. I will keep everyone posted on what is happening and when.

13dp3dt Beta #2

Well I wish I had better news but I don't. The nurse finally called today to tell me that my beta on Saturday was only 37. She said that some beta's take some time to get moving but that I need to go back in tomorrow for another beta. We are praying that it's at least over 100. This is so hard on us especially me.

11dp3dt Beta #1

Sorry I have been MIA but I had my first beta drawn on 11dp3dt. Actually it was still 10dp by 3 hours. Anyways the result came back at 27 which is positive for pregnancy but it is low. I went in again today 13dp (16dpo) for another beta. The HCG beta is supposed to double every 48-72 hours so we're praying that it at least doubled. We won't find out the result until Monday. Ugh! Such a long wait.

4dp3dt

Now I am sure most of you don't understand the title of this but basically it means that I am 4 days past a 3 day transfer. I have had cramps since 5am the day after the transfer which had me worried. I am still unsure how to feel about them. I am worried if I don't have them and worried if I do. It's out of my hands though. This 2 week wait is torture.

We still don't know if we were able to have any frozen embryos. I tried to call but no one picked up. They are supposed to send us something in the mail regarding our embryos. If we don't have any then we will have to do the full blown IVF again the next time. We would much rather prefer to do a FET. We'll just have to wait and see.

Meeting w/ the Doctor

We met with the doctor today regarding our embryos. They grade the embryos 1-5 with 1 being the best. Out of the 7 embryos 5 were grade 2 and 2 were grade 4. She stated that the grade 4's probably wouldn't make it to day 5 but she was hopeful that the grade 2's would. We weren't willing to take that chance so we had two day 3 grade 2 embryos put back in today. As long as the other embryos make it to day 5 then they will be frozen which is what we're praying for. We would really like to be able to do IVF again without having to do all the injections.

So today I am officially PUPO (Pregnant until proven otherwise). My first beta is March 3rd. Yay! We are very excited.

A little bummed

We received the call today to tell us how our eggs fertilized. I have to say I am a little bummed. It only takes one but I was hoping for a lot of good embryos. Anyways, there were 19 eggs, 16 mature, and 7 that fertilized. We are praying that all 7 are excellent embryo's because we would like to have some left over to freeze for future use. Otherwise we will have to go through this whole procedure again. We will be heading back to Walter Reed on Sunday (appt at 9am) which is when we will find out if we will be doing a day 3 or a day 5 transfer.

Egg Retrieval

Egg retrieval went well today. They retrieved 19 eggs which was a shock considering there were 29 follicles at my last ultrasound. I can't complain though. Unfortunately we found out that we will need to do ICSI because the motility was low which has never happened before. We were both completely shocked with this but we are praying that it's all under God's control. We should get a call tomorrow about our fertilization report.

Bloodwork #5 & 6 and ultrasound

On Tuesday we had another ultrasound and bloodwork to see how things were progressing. They counted 29 follicles ranging from 14mm-19mm. It appears as if they have been growing about 2mm a day. The doctor said that we may trigger tues night or wed night, but it was dependent on my E2 levels. I got a call around 1pm stating that we were triggering that night. No more meds and we triggered on Tuesday at midnight.

The HCG shot really wasn't that bad and I made sure to numb the area before hand. I haven't had any pain today either so I am happy. God is good! We went in this morning for more bloodwork to make sure that the shot was given correctly.

Our Egg retrieval is scheduled for Thursday so we are a day ahead of schedule. We will be arriving at the hospital around 7am and will have the retrieval between 10am-1pm. I am excited and a little nervous. Personally, I dread surgery but it will be worth it in the end. I will keep everyone posted. We will be driving home after the retrieval which will also be nice.

Bloodwork #3 & 4 and Ultrasound

We had to go in yesterday for bloodwork because my E2 (estradiol) level was getting too high. They took me off of the menopur which helps the ovaries develop more follicles and increased the gonal-f which helps the follicles to mature. Today I had 25 follicles ranging from 9-14mm. The doctor said that everything is looking good and that I had a heart shaped follicle. So the image is now Spence's bookmark. She said that we don't have to go in tomorrow for anything unless we get a call which we didn't. We will have to do something fun for Valentine's day.

We are praying that we are not behind schedule and that my follicles continue growing about 2mm a day.

2/11 Bloodwork #2, Sonogram, Pre-op

Today we had to go in for our second bloodwork. We arrived around 5:50 but ended up being #4. Oh well! During the sonogram the tech was looking to see what my ovaries are doing. It appears as though I still have 29 maturing follicles ranging in size from 7-10mm. Unfortunately I need to go in again tomorrow morning for more bloodwork. I am praying that everything is ok. There are no med changes as of now but it is a little nerve wracking. I guess I will have to ask tomorrow why.

2/9 Bloodwork #1

We drove up to Walter Reed again really early this morning (2am) and arrived about 5:30am which meant that we were #1 in line for bloodwork. Yay! In and out in no time. We drove home after the appointment so I have been chilling out most of today. The nurse said that if there are going to be any med changes that they will call by 2pm. No call! I am ecstatic because that means I should be responding well and doses don't have to be increased.

Personally I don't like taking medication and the Menopur really stings (its mixed with sodium carbonate). I have Spence inject it but he has to go really slowly. Praise the Lord for everything so far. I go in again on Friday for a sonogram, bloodwork, and pre-op.

Injections

I started injections this weekend. The lupron injection isn't bad although I still don't like poking myself. It takes several countdowns to finally suck up enough courage to do it.

Anyways I started Gonal-F and Menopur on Sunday. Needless to say I messed up already. Hopefully its no big deal. The Menopur stings and bled which was a first. The one I messed up was the Gonal-F. I set it and when I took the cap off the needle somehow bent it. Ugh! Stupid me forgot that I could just put on another needle so I tried to straighten it out. So I set the dose, injected, and heard a click so I figured the medicine was done and pulled out. Wrong! There was still medicine coming out. Then I panicked. I don't think I gave myself the correct dose.

I did some research on the pen and found out that I am supposed to hear a click for every 37.5iu. I only heard one and I should have heard two because I am on 75iu. They also stated that you should leave it in the injection site for about 5 seconds as the medicine is still coming out. I sure wish that would have been discussed at the injections class. I am praying that tonight goes much better and that my mistake won't be too costly! 

What?

My baseline appointment was today in which I had bloodwork drawn and a vaginal sonogram. Even though those feel invasive they aren't as bad as some of the other things women have to go through. The small fibroid is still there. It didn't look very small to me but the tech pointed it out to me on the screen. It is on the outside of the uterus and about an inch away from the uterine lining which is great. It shouldn't impact an embryo attaching. He counted 14 follicles on my right ovary and 15 on my left. He also noticed a small cyst on my left ovary which stinks. So I needed to get more bloodwork to determine if it is producing any hormones. So far I have not received a call back.

Here we go....

We will be leaving at around 2am to travel to Washington D.C. for our baseline appointment. We had the option to stay at a friends house in Maryland but decided we didn't want to leave the dogs longer than necessary. We will meet the doctor tomorrow as well as have a sonogram to check out my uterus and ovaries. As long as everything looks nice and quiet I will advance to Microdose Lupron on Saturday. I received some of my meds in the mail today and should receive the rest tomorrow as well as a schedule. We also have an injections class on Friday and then we will head home. We should be home sometime in the late afternoon. Please keep tomorrows appointment in your prayers as we would like this cycle to go as smoothly as possible. Thank you!

Still going....

I am still plugging away at those bcp's and the side effects I am experiencing are not pleasant. The headaches have improved but my breasts have been so tender its annoying. Plus I have been pretty bloated which I think is causing me to gain weight. I really need to watch my salt intake. That's easier said than does, as there is salt in EVERYTHING! Ok not everything but it sure seems like it. My baseline appointment is this coming Thursday and I am praying that my ovaries are quiet and that my uterus looks great. I am also praying that my small fibroid goes away. That would be an awesome blessing.

Another update...

I talked to the nurse today to see when I am supposed to stop bcp's and she said Feb 2nd as long as everything goes well on Feb 3rd. Basically that means that when they do the ultrasound everything should be nice and quiet. As long as my ovaries are silent, and there are no other issues we should be good to proceed. This appointment is so the doctors have a baseline to compare my ovaries on the stims. This way they know how much medicine I should be getting and if my doses will need to be changed.

I am praying that everything is good and we get the green light to continue on Feb 3rd so please keep that day in your prayers. Thank you!

Still a go...

It has been quite a stressful weekend full of worrying about whether or not we would still be able to do the cycle in February. AF finally started today, yay! I think this is the first time in my life that I have been excited for it to start. Usually it's a dreaded occurance. I called the IVF nurse and she said that Feb 3rd should still work as my baseline date. I am very excited. I can start bcp's tomorrow, although now I have to pick a time where I won't forget to take them.

Ugh...

Being sick is definately not fun. I thought it was finally going away but for the past 2 days I have had a seriously sore throat. Still no AF which is frustrating and I am afraid that we may not be able to cycle in Feb after all. If that is the case then we will have to wait until April. I guess I wouldn't mind because its not like we haven't had to wait before. Plus that would give me time to do everything I should be doing. Like taking prenatal vitamins, and eating a high protein diet. Please keep everything in your prayers as life seems to always be full of chaos for us.

TMI Warning!

Ah! Talk about frustrating. Still no AF. I am thinking my calculation was off a little and it doesn't help that I didn't chart it last month. So still waiting. Hopefully by tomorrow. Maybe I am thinking about it too much, but it's hard not to.

Anyways, I was doing some research and it turns out a high protein (at least 60mg/day) and high healthy fat diet is supposed to help IVF. Soooo.... I am going to try that. It is not easy ensuring that you have that much protein considering its supposed to come from vegetable sources. I went to the grocery store and tried to stock up on some healthy vegetables. I am also supposed to avoid caffeine, preprocessed foods, and high sugar foods. No more chocolate. That is difficult for me but I am hoping I can do it.

If anyone has a good recipe for Lentil soup or other high protein meals that feature vegetables please let me know.

Update!

Call from Nurse D today about my cycle. As long as AF comes on time and we can start bcp's.


My tentative cycle:
Feb 3rd - baseline, bloodwork, sonogram, dr review
Feb 4th - injections class
Feb 9th - blood test
Feb 11th - blood test, sonogram, pre-op


The blood testing will continue about every other day.


Feb 17 or 18 - Egg Retrieval (ER)


Egg transfer would be 3 to 5 days after retrieval depending on quality of embryos.

All Clear

Today we got a call from Nurse D the head IVF nurse and she stated that our chart has been medically cleared. She wanted to know if we wanted to do the Jan/Feb cycle which of course we do but it is dependent on when AF (Aunt Flo) arrives next week. Otherwise we might have to wait until the April/May cycle. We are trying not to rush things and to just put them in God's hands so if he wants us to cycle now, everything will work out. We also were able to get financially cleared today. That takes a lot of pressure off of us. We were quoted under $5000 which means that we don't need ICSI. Yay! Keep us in your prayers as we head down this adventure.

Orientation

We attended orientation at Walter Reed for IVF. We turned in all the required paperwork and even asked if it was too late to get into the Jan/Feb cycle. The IVF nurse stated that we would be cutting it close so she gave us our prescription for birth control pills (BCP). Most people would think that BCP's are counterintuitative but they actually serve a medical purpose in IVF besides preventing pregnancy. We are still waiting to get medically and financially cleared so fingers crossed and lots of prayers.