IVF

13 Weeks Bumpdate

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Hello second trimester!

We should be getting our Harmony results back any day. Gender wise, we both think it’s a boy but I may or may not be secretly wishing for a girl. In the end, healthy is all I really want.

(Rolls eyes), she has to say that.

Anthem Blue Cross has been nothing but a nightmare. We finally received our insurance cards and it seems that all will be OK in the end, meaning I should  be able to keep all my doctors. Otherwise I may have a complete breakdown. I am crossing my fingers that the Perinatologist I saw with Kaili accepts our new insurance so I can go to her for my amnio. The doctor group I saw last week left something to be desired.

Morning sickness has decreased to an almost non existence..almost. I have started working out and it feels amazing but it zaps all of my energy and afterwards I could crawl in bed and go to sleep. Cravings are the strangest thing, I didn’t have them like this with K. Sometimes a food pops into my head and I have to have it. HAVE to. This week it was bananas with peanut butter and chicken piccata. Gawd, the chicken piccata was so so good, best I am ever made.

Sleep isn’t the greatest, I toss and turn, the slightest noise wakes me up and I hit the bathroom countless times a night.

I think I have felt some flutters in my stomach but not sure if it was the baby or something else. I had a lot of round ligament pain yesterday and my belling has gotten bigger in the past few days. Hopefully the working out will help the other body parts stay the same size.

I am not missing much of anything now that I am up and moving around. I have one cup of coffee a day. I eat deli meat when I want it and I am not worried about soft cheeses, we aren’t in France people. I’d like to say I miss my wine but I actually don’t…yet. I have had a bad run with allergies the past few months, maybe I am allergic to being pregnant…wouldn’t doubt it. I take Claritin when I absolutely have to and it helps SO much.

I am looking forward to that phone call from our genetic counselor with our results (taps fingers on desk). And I am looking forward to this month to end, it seems there are 100 days in January this year.

 

 

12 Weeks

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My Nuchal scan was uneventful. I was sent to a different specialist this time and I wasn’t impressed but it got the job done. The results came back and my percentage of having a baby with down syndrome is 1 in 540 and Trisomy 18 was 1 in 52,000. Those also go down since the embryo was from my former 34 year old self, boo ya! But then they go back up since it is an IVF pregnancy, confusing huh? It took awhile for the tech to get the measurements since baby wasn’t cooperating, must have been that delicious coffee I had that morning. I am 12 weeks today but the estimated due date based on yesterdays scan shows me at 12 weeks 5 days. No doctors ran in telling me about a hematoma so I am going to take it that it’s healed and I am good to go. I am going to start upping my activity level, cautiously of course, and see how that goes.

After a long genetic counseling session, which in my opinion is a waste of time, I went ahead and had my blood drawn for  the Harmony genetic test. Overkill? Nope, not for me and I will most likely opt for the amnio in 6 weeks too, we will see. I should get the results back in 8-10 days, then we will know whether we keep the baby clothes we have or switch them out for more masculine attire.

I have to go back next week for a high risk consult, not exactly sure what that means but hey, I am game.

In the meantime I have decided to start a culinary bucket list for 2014. I will make 2 recipes I have never tried each month and post a review and a picture to hold myself accountable. Kristi, will also be joining in on the fun so be sure to check out her recipes. I will start with 2 Chinese recipes for our dinner party {themed} Chinese New Year.  It’s the year of the horse which of course means it will be a great year. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

The One With An Ultrasound Photo

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Kaili is starting to grasp the concept that there is a baby in my belly, well when she wants to that is. She started talking to to my stomach, “hello baby”. I told her that when the baby gets bigger she can talk to it all the time and maybe sometimes she will see it move. She then said, “open tummy”, in due time kid.

1.2.410.200001.1104.20140104043346250.1.2.2043643.83d923670f4.0000000000

The nausea pills seemed to make a lot of difference yesterday, in a good way. Now if it just goes away on its own here in a couple weeks, oh who am I kidding a couple weeks is TOO LONG to want to puke all day. I would rather not have to take anything at all but whatever works, am I right?

With my moms help I was able to do some purging around the house aka make room for baby and since the weather has been just lovely we spent some time at the park. Speaking of purging, did you ever see that movie The Purge? Creepy!

I have a first trimester blood screen test Friday, still have to find out if the MaterniT21 blood test is covered by our insurance, need to make an appointment with my Perinatologist and maybe take a trip to “Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.” See what I did there?

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July 26th

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I had a long and thorough Dr. appointment Friday. 10 weeks, baby looks good, heartbeat is strong, morning sickness has gotten worse and spotting has stopped…for now.

My Dr. wasn’t too concerned with the bleed, she told me to keep doing what I have been doing and she thinks it will heal itself as the baby grows. She was more concerned with going over all my genetic testing options. Being over 35 and high risk I am now given an option for a safe, non invasive blood test that tests for certain chromosome conditions. I am leaning towards doing this if our insurance covers it, this test can be done after 10 weeks. I think I will still opt for an amnio for my own piece of mind but that doesn’t happen until the second trimester.

She gave me a prescription for the nausea that is kicking my butt. I am still waiting for it to be filled but I sure hope it helps because I have felt so bad. The nausea starts around 11:00 am and lasts until 5:00 pm. and I feel better after eating dinner. I have been staying up a lot later these past few days because that is the time I feel the best and I am addicted to The Walking Dead. We have been watching 4 episodes a night, it’s so good.

My due date is July 26th as long as Pre-E doesn’t screw with me this time. Once I get ahold of my insurance company which I have been on hold with for almost 2 hours with I will make an appointment to have my routine blood panel test taken. They are going to start monitoring the Pre-E early on this pregnancy. Let’s hope the next few months are a breeze.

 

The New Year

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

2013 has come and gone, just like my youth. I fell asleep on the couch before 9:00 pm on New Years eve. What can I say, growing a human being is exhausting. I woke up feeling awful, nauseous, headache…basically a hangover without the fun. I felt like crud the entire day. Happy new year.

Luckily with Shane’s help we were able to get a meal in the crockpot. We tried Jimmy Fallon’s Crock-Pot Chili and I’d say we all gave it 2 thumbs up. I think it’s safe to use the entire habanero chili but I kept to the recipe for K’s sake. Slowly she will be able to tolerate the spicy like her mom and dad.

Chili + cornbread for the kid
Chili + cornbread for the kid

It’s hard to get excited for the new year, it’s basically an extension of 2013. If this subchorionic bleed continues to be a problem then I don’t have much to look forward to other than watching life go by from my couch. If this pregnancy mimics my last one then I can’t really plan on doing much at all. I know save the sob story until we know the facts. It’s just hard to get excited about much, I am envious of all those pregnant ladies out there doing stuff. No resolution, no plans at all, bring it on 2014.

9 Weeks

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9 weeks, wasn’t that a racy movie with Kim Basinger? A lifetime  ago I was meant to watch that movie on a very unsuccessful first date. Hashtag awkward.

I haven’t had much to write about since I have been housebound for what seems like forever. Christmas was nice but it always seems overwhelming, maybe it’s because I haven’t been doing much other than sitting at home. I think a quiet Christmas in Hawaii or Mexico sounds pretty good, although getting there with a 3 year old and a baby doesn’t seem so great. Somehow I think sitting with my feet in the water with an adult beverage may help ease that pain. Shane’s birthday always gets lost in the holiday so it would be nice to have a low key Christmas and focus more on his birthday, although he says he doesn’t really care. Anyhow we have 363 days to plan something or nothing.

Kaili seemed to enjoy herself and is getting good use out of her new toys.

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My Tuesday ultrasound was rescheduled twice. I have still been spotting/lightly bleeding on and off, I finally head to the Dr. in a few hours where hopefully they can assure me that everything looks fine. I will also have my blood drawn and if my levels look good I can stop all my meds, hell to the yes! 

Just Words

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I am not sure if the B6 is actually helping with the nausea but it is giving me some much needed energy. I cheated and had a small cup of coffee the other day and oh boy did it taste good and I felt like a champ most of the day, in between the moments of wanting to barf. Tea has been hard to drink so I am counting down the days until I allow myself a morning cup of joe.

I thought things were beginning to look up, emotionally I have been feeling a lot better and physically I hadn’t had any cramping or spotting but unfortunately it started up again this morning. I didn’t think I was doing too much but I guess I was…aggravating, depressing, I can think of a lot of words to describe my feelings. My transfer was November 13th so basically I have been on moderate bed rest for over a month. Who saw this coming?

I will leave you with a few Kaili pictures because I’ve got a date with Top Chef.

photo photo

No Fun At 7 Weeks

~ Girlmom ~ 5 Comments

The past few days have been rough for me. Not only have I had morning sickness most of the day but the cramping and spotting comes back when I am on my feet too much. And I am not talking longs walks, or an hour at the gym, I am talking just getting up and down waiting on Kaili. Everyday errands and what not seem to be too much for my body to handle. The nurse said I have to put myself on bed rest once this happens. Pity party for one please.  I was really hoping to be able to work out through this pregnancy, it makes me feel low, anxious and irritable that I can’t do much and I am only 7 weeks. When does this get better?

Saturday was a hard one, I couldn’t stop dwelling on the fact that maybe my body isn’t meant for this whole pregnancy thing. I can’t keep up with Kaili who wants to go to SeaWorld and the park and that makes me feel so guilty. I have to get myself through the next week without Shane then he is home for 2 weeks, thankfully.

After feeling sorry for myself, I got up and made these Korean BBQ lettuce wraps. Then we drove down the street to check out some super duper Christmas lights, Kaili really got a kick out of it.

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On a positive note, I’ve read that B6 can help with nausea so I will be heading out to grab a bottle of vitamins and the weather is supposed to be gorgeous for a few days. Maybe I can come out of this week with a tan?

What A Difference

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What a difference 5 days makes. Here is my ultrasound picture from Friday.

6 weeks
6 weeks

Here is my ultrasound picture from yesterday.

6 weeks 5 days
6 weeks 5 days

We have a fetus and it has a heartbeat.

You can all rest easy now.

Phew is all I have to say. Now I just have to get past the first trimester right? I am still on restrictions with no end date, probably until my OB gives me the O.K.

I continue all my meds until 9 weeks and I know there is no way that I have enough here at home to get me through the next 3 weeks so you know what that means… $$$ Cha-Ching!!

My next and probably last appointment with Reproductive Partners is on Christmas Eve and unfortunately it won’t be with Dr. Garzo, sigh. But on the up side so far there is no sign of a subchorionic tear and hopefully there will be no sign of one. Can I get an AMEN?

Alright friends we did it. Thank you for all your support, only 34 weeks and 1 day to go. Well probably not even that long since I will be having a C-section. Hmm that makes her <—-{see what I did there? It just came out that way} August due date a July due date. What star sign would that be?

Thoughts at 6 Weeks

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Did I tell you that someone called me a “fertile myrtle” after I told them the FET worked? That stuck with me all day. 6 years of trying to get pregnant the “old fashioned” way and I have never even had a hint of a late period. I think it’s funny how peoples views can be so skewed if they don’t know the whole story.

Last week I started having some cramping along with spotting. I called the nurse and she assured me it was completely normal, I won’t lie it was scary. This continued for a few days, Thursday night being the worst but knowing I had my ultrasound Friday was keeping me sane.

Since I blogged through my pregnancy with Kaili I have been able to go back and compare dates and symptoms. I thought this would be a good thing but maybe it’s not.

I forgot when I made my ultrasound and blood draw for Friday that it was going to be with another doctor, Garzo was out of town. The first thing he asked me was how I was feeling and I told him about the cramping and spotting. Once he was preforming the ultrasound he asked me if I have ever miscarried before. That question put a bad tone to my whole day. He showed us the gestational sac but said it was a few days too early to see the fetus. I know it’s not too early because at my 6 week appt. with Kaili we saw the fetus and her heartbeat. I was in a fog the rest of the morning. Thinking back on everything, questioning why, and quite honestly freaking out. They scheduled my next ultrasound for Friday aka 7 weeks. I called the office back a few hours later asking if I could come in earlier, since the doctor said a heartbeat should be detected at 6 weeks 3 days, I didn’t want to drive myself crazy for another week.

I do know 6 weeks can be too early and I do know cramping and spotting can be normal and that my progesterone level being low can also be normal but it can also not be normal. I went into this expecting the worst, hoping for the best. After having a serious one on one talk with myself, I do think everything is fine. My pregnancy symptoms are strong, I have the nose of a bloodhound that can sniff out last nights meal on a stranger walking past me, I have days where I feel like I have narcolepsy and could fall asleep standing up and I have been nauseous  at the strangest of times mostly at 1-3 A.m. I am sure everything is just fine . This process is hard, emotional, frustrating and stressful.
I have been put on modified bed rest until a heartbeat is detected, my next ultrasound is Wednesday. 

Until then, go Hawks! #louder