7 weeks

I am 7 weeks and 2 days pregnant today. Just shy of 2 months and still a pretty uneventful pregnancy so far. Yesterday I did wake up with some cramping but the nurse assured me it was just my uterus stretching. The morning sickness comes and goes but it really hasn’t been that bad, nothing like some of the stories I have heard. My sense of smell is out of control, I have the nose of a dog.
Next week Shane will be gone a few nights and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get my daily injection of progesterone. I asked my nurse and she said that at my next appt. she will show my how to inject myself, complete with a drawn on circle for the target. This seems easier to me than having someone new do it.. At least I think it will be! I am hoping we will have a good picture of nubs to show you after Tuesday mornings appointment!!

Lilypie Maternity tickers

It may be starting

Today is the first day I can actually say I feel like crud!! Tired and nauseous all day, except when I am napping. Maybe my theory about the progesterone levels and side effects was way off. I can’t imagine feeling like this all day everyday for another month…EW!

 I have been having a love-hate relationship with food and cooking lately. Sometimes I feel like cooking a feast but mostly I don’t want anything to do with it. I am craving foods I shouldn’t be like Spaghetti carbonara, chocolate souffles, burritos, and bread! I definitely don’t want anything to do with poultry. unless it’s fried or has a delicious crispy skin on it. God help me! Part of the reason may be due to Friday’s dinner. Shane and I went downtown to Searsucker the baby of Brian Malarkey. We ordered short ribs braised in red wine as an appetizer, mmmm. The most delicious caesar salad with anchovies which I couldn’t eat because of the stupid pregnancy rules. Shane ordered the Sea Bass in a cherry reduction with almonds which was very good and I went with the Duck with an apricot gastrique, which was raw. Well very very very rare. By the time I was able to tell the waiter I was so over ever eating anything more. They apologized, of course and re-cooked it but it really put a bad taste in our mouths. I should have ordered the scallops.

Lilypie Maternity tickers

One Baby and a Heartbeat!

Today I am 6 weeks! This morning was our first ultrasound and we were able to see the little “nubs’ along with the heartbeat! Such a great feeling! Dr. Garzo said all the measurements were perfect and to come back in 2 weeks. That will be my last appointment with Reproductive Partners. Kind of sad! I am “graduating” to my OBGYN. Kind of exciting!

I am still lucky enough to say I haven’t had any morning sickness so far, just drowsiness and dizziness. I heard somewhere that when a women get’s bad morning sickness and sore breasts it’s because the Progesterone  and Estrogen levels are low. Who knows if that true or not but if my levels stay good then maybe I will soar through without any bad “side effects”. I hope I didn’t just jinx myself!

Tomorrow is Shane and my 4th Anniversary…What a great gift we have been given! We are headed downtown to try chef Brian Malarkey’s new restaurant Friday. Very eager for that!

5 weeks

Well we have made it to 5 weeks which is longer than our last pregnancy so that’s a good thing 🙂 On the IVF forum I visited a lot during that past month I noticed that most women  agreed that  the worrying doesn’t stop once you get your BFP. Boy, aint that the truth. The days seem to go by so slow in anticipation for  next weeks ultrasound. The nurse said we may be able to see a heartbeat but if we don’t it just means it’s too early. Wowza! “How will we know it’s viable and everything ok?” I asked, and she replied with something or other about measuring and size and yada yada yada. It didn’t ease my worry at all. I am sure everything is ok but I just can’t wait to get past that first hurdle. Besides IVF websites I haven’t been on any pregnancy/baby sites since long before we started this. I used to browse baby stuff and nursery ideas but it all led to heartbreak in the end. So I vowed to stay far away until I knew I was PG. Yesterday I bookmarked some favorite sites and actually ordered some books, I am being optimistic.

So far so good with the early PG symptoms. I have been tired and my appetite is all out of whack but no nausea so far! A little part of me is actually hoping for  some morning sickness so I know something is going on in there. I am sure I will regret it as soon as it happens but not feeling “anything” just adds to my worry.

One thing I have come to realize is that everyone has their “2 cents” on do’s and don’ts during pregnancy. I sometimes find it hard to hear my own instincts as they are muffled by others opinions. The internet is no help either, one website will tell you one thing and another will tell you the exact opposite with a horror story along with it. I have a list of “can I’s” to bring to the Dr. next week and that’s the opinion I will listen to!

Be back next Wednesday for the update of the ultrasound 🙂

The most beautiful number ever!!!!!!!!!

My nurse called me today with my blood test results and…. I am PREGNANT!! YAY!!!!!!!! The first question I asked was “what was my beta?” The Beta Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)  is a hormone excreted during the development of an embryo or fetus. She  said ” well, we like to see a Beta of 50 of higher and yours is 307! Thank god…I am definitely pregnant. Then I asked her if I as having twins based on the high number but she said they couldn’t tell by that quite yet. So my next appointment is on September 8  where we will get to hear the hearbeat..and then celebrate our anniversary the next day!

I wasn’t really given any other advice other than to keep my excercise low impact and to stay away from sushi! Sounds easy enough 😉 I was also given the option to switch to Progesterone suppositories instead of the injections but I decided to stick with the injections, I have made it this far so why not? At least for a  few more weeks! I will keep this blog going throughout my pregnancy….ahh I can’t believe it’s real!

One more day

I have decided to write down all the different “things” I have been feeling and the changes I have felt in my body since the ET. Whether they are Progesterone side effects or early PG symptoms, at least I will have an idea for next time…if or when there is a next time.

2 dpt- anxiety and an increase in thirst

5 dpt- headaches on and off all day/Thirsty all day/ Get drowsy after PIO injection

6 dpt- headaches on and off all day /Thirsty all day/ Drowsy in the evening

7 dpt- AF like cramps on and off all day with light brown spotting/water intake is up to 50-60 oz by 2pm.

8, 9 , 10 dpt- light-headed on and off/ still drinking a lot of water all day/ anxious/ notice I haven’t had any desire for sweets or chocolate after dinner/ Seem  more tired than “normal” after PIO injection, can barely keep my eyes open after 7:00

The Waiting Game

This waiting game is so hard! I started out optimistic but the closer we get the more anxious I feel. I know there aren’t always symptoms this early on but come on. Can’t I just have one little hint of maybe getting a big fat positive? Yesterday I had cramping on and off and I thought for sure AF was on her way..even though I’m pretty sure she wont show as long as I am on progesterone but still. I called my nurse and she said…of course…”That’s normal” They have to say that!  I wish I had a pop up thermometer like they have on turkeys. As soon has the HCG is detected it pops out of the womans belly button! How great would that be? Oh well only 3 more days left!

I got my Progesterone level back yesterday and it was at 18.9. They like to see it at 30 at least. She assured me that they can not tell whether or not I am PG from the test and even though the numbers are low one can still have a viable pregnancy. I am now doubling my progesterone dose to 2ccs.  Shane is getting really good at giving me the shots…bless his heart! It used to hurt but the last few shots have been painless. Good thing because if this sticky bean stays around we will most likely continue with the shots for a while.

My nurse also told me I can start low impact exercise, meaning walking and swimming. No incline, stairs, hiking ect. I can’t lift weights either so I need to get myself into a exercise routine where I can still burn some calories while taking it easy. This morning we woke up and took a walk to the market for some coffee and stopped by a Mediterranean market for a quick browse.  All that did was make me think of how good a Gyro would be for lunch 😉

I am feeling a lot better mentally. Getting out of the house and working yesterday helped A LOT! The kids were so full of love and that will make anyone feel good.  I got some big plans to sit in the sun today and maybe try to talk Shane into grabbing a greek salad or a gyro for lunch…Mmmm.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock….

It’s 4 days post embryo transfer and I have been on an emotional roller coaster. All the  wondering and what ifs are getting to me. I am doing my best to clear my head and remember it’s all the hormones in me but it’s hard to do. Tomorrow is my progesterone level test and I can’t stop thinking about what the results will be and what they will mean.  I don’t want to be around anyone other than a  few friends and family that know what we are going through. I feel like hiding out! That sort of concerns me, I don’t want to sink into a depression but that is sort of what it feels like.

I managed to get outside for a bit to read in the sun today , although it is HOT out there…would be a great day for a pool. In a few hours I am headed to acupuncture which is a very relaxing place to be.  I am looking forward to the Dr. giving me the OK for some walking. I think I would like to walk out by the water or even on the treadmill, I am hoping that will lift my mood. Don’t have much more to write about today. Going to work after my appointment tomorrow, maybe that will help take my mind off things!

A little bit pregnant…after egg transfer

We had the egg transfer yesterday and it’s pretty exciting to know there is an embryo inside me trying to bury itself into my uterine lining!

Yesterday we got to the Dr. at 10:00 and met with the embryologist. She showed us all the fertilized embryos and how they graded them. That whole process is over my head . The bottom line was we have 6 blastocysts and 2 that were ready for transfer. So she asked us the question of the day…” how many embryos do you want to transfer?”  What a surreal experience, sitting in a Dr. office deciding how many babies we want. Our ultimate decision was to transfer just one. Just one baby for us…for now!  We are freezing the rest, total of 9!

The Transfer itself was pretty easy. The Doc did a practice trial first to map out exactly where he wanted to put nubs ( Shane’s nickname for our lil embryo) The whole process didn’t last long, no more than 10 minutes. They had me continue to lay down for 30 minutes before I was wheeled down to the car.

I find myself antsy and having a little anxiety during this time of bed rest. I want to get up and take a shower, sit in the sun but I am laying down on the couch and the bed trying to keep myself entertained. My parents came down and it’s nice to have them here. You don’t realize all the things you get up for during the day until you can’t get up anymore.  This 2 weeks is going to be a long wait I am sure and I need serious willpower to not take a HPT before the 2 weeks are up…Give me strength 😉