We had two appointments today on our day off. I'm so glad that Bill came with me, we had a lot of waiting today. 

I had an ultrasound this morning. Both babies were very active. They currently weigh in at 2lbs 5 ounces which is in the 51 and 53% percentiles for their gestational age. No concerns with the anatomy or size. We had some discussions with the doctor there, I'll go back in three weeks then do a NST, non stress test in which they monitor my blood pressure and babies heart rates etc. I'll need to have those every week.

She said they generally shoot for a 38 week delivery with twins. Currently,the babies are in the transverse position which is horizontal, aka the wrong way for natural delivery. She said this càn change at anytime. 

Later in the afternoon, I had an ob appointment. I had white blood cells in my urine so they're doing a culture to the lab. I also did the 1 hour gestational diabetes test and CBC to the lab. I will not hear results unless its abnormal. She didn't talk much about delivery with me. I go back there in two weeks. 

27 weeks

Cauliflower!

I had an ultrasound this morning. Here are some pictures. 

Only the boy would cooperate for 3D imaging!

We got to see him yawning in utero, see how his mouth is open? Wish we had it on video. 

Profile of the boy

Profile of the girl

Their heads are so close! 

26 weeks

Hothouse Cucumber 

In double digits!!! Babybump says I have 99 days left. This is until my 40 week due date. Wow. 

Our bassinets have arrived! Thank you, Betsy! Bill set it up and immediately disassembled it for now as it takes up a lot of space. Not the easiest thing to set up and move but it is nice!! 

Also, Bruce and Nancy got us our carseats and extra carseat adapters!! So cute. 

We are so grateful for the help in preparing for the babies. We have our parenting multiples class today. We're so excited! 

Routine ob appointment yesterday. 

I explained my back pain which she thinks is actually rib pain. The uterus is growing so it puts pressure on my ribs and they separate? There wasn't much she recommended other than prenatal massage, Tylenol or thermacare pads.  Ugh... She said to let her know and she could "write me out of work". Probably has something to do with the fact that my uterus measures 34 weeks!!!!

Otherwise, she had trouble finding both babies heartbeats so she brought in a portable ultrasound machine and saw that they were very close together so the heartbeat she heard was from both of them at different times. I couldn't really see the ultrasound but she said they were side by side. 

I have another appointment in two weeks and that's when I'll have the gestational diabetes test done and some other bloodwork. For the diabetes test, I need to drink a prescribed sugar juice and see how my body responds in one hour. She also recommended the tdap vaccine for whooping cough (pertussis), tetanus and diphtheria. And said Bill should also get it. I have to go to my pcp for that. 

I also asked about the likelihood of a csection. She said it was too early to tell right now but the risk increases if I go into preterm labor. 

25 weeks

Babies are the size of rutabagas. I had to google what the heck a rutabaga was! Now I know!

 Nothing new to report right now. I have a doctors appointment this afternoon, maybe I'll have more to update later. 

I have the weekend off from work so I'm happy about that but we have our "parenting multiples" class on Sunday.. I'm afraid it'll be cancelled as were getting SNOW. I hope we get to go!!

This is my second time being sick in a month. Before this pregnancy, I hardly ever got sick. :-( sore throat, stuffiness, tired.. Whiny blog spot :-)

24 Weeks

24 weeks this week! 6 months!

Babies are the size of an ear of corn or a cantaloupe apparently! Not much has changed since last week. I still have a good amount of back pain, feel uncomfortable.. getting a little more tired now though, clothes are tighter... I can feel the kicking easily now everyday and Bill has been able to feel it a few times.

24 weeks is also considered the age of viability, which means that IF the babies were born at this time, they have potential of surviving.

We put up the wall decals this morning. It looks so cute! 

23 week ultrasound

We had our 23 week ultrasound today. Both babies are 1.3lbs and measuring at the same rate for a singleton. The doctor said that'll change around 32 weeks, where the growth slows down. My cervix is 3.9cm long which is great. It should be at least 2.5cm otherwise there is a risk of preterm labor. Both heart rates were in the 140s. Everything looked good! Still have a boy and a girl. :-) 

I also mentioned to him that I was having tightening (contractions) often and he said it may be normal for me but if it changes in intensity or quantity, to call and I will likely have to go in to have them evaluate me. My next ultrasound is 12/23 and next OB appointment is 12/13. We also scheduled a maternity unit tour for 1/4/14. 

The ultrasound technician tried out a 3D ultrasound, only got the baby girl, the boy was head away for the probe. 

I can finally feel the babies kick from the outside now! It's light but I've had a few stronger ones. Yesterday I had some juice and there was kicking from all directions. I can't wait for Bill to feel it... If only they would cooperate. 

22 weeks

Ok.. This week my babies are the size of a spaghetti squash. WHAT?! Those things are huge. I also says they are about one pound. Last time I had my ultrasound, thy were larger than the app said they should be. Scary!!

Since last week, my back is absolutely killing! It's only after long periods of standing, of course this is what I do all day long at work. It is the area between my shoulders and my low back. It starts to twang then burns all the way across making it actually unbearable to stand to walk around. My chiropractor said its because of my center of gravity has changed and my back muscles are "firing", something something about lactic acid build up and burning. His suggestion is to sit more. Uhhh. Sometimes it hurts to even cook dinner after a day at work! I have chronic back issues and this is way different. 

Also, I'm sick. :-( 

My coworker posted this picture of me on facebook and I guess I realized I finally look pregnant! 

Cribs!!

Bill spent a few hours this weekend setting up the cribs. Here they are! 

21 weeks! Carrots :-)

I had a doctors appointment yesterday. I've gained 9lbs so far in the pregnancy which she was happy about. She said I should gain 25-30 pounds by the end. She went over my anatomy scan report and confirmed that all was well. My uterus measured 26 weeks. She listened to the heartbeats, which were about 131 and 143 I think. I return there in 4 weeks then every 2 weeks. Yikes.. Getting closer. I asked her when does it all feel real, because she has twins also and she said, when I'm holding them in my arms. :-) 

Santa stopped by today

The cribs have arrived :-) 

Paint!

Before

After 

The color doesn't quite match what it really looks like! Its much lighter and not as much "pea green" or electric green.. It's called "harvest grass". 

The nursery is finally cleared out. Thanks to Bill for that :-) 

He is going to paint the nursery today, a pastel green color. Right now it's purple. Betsy bought our cribs and they're being delivered on Wednesday. How exciting! The room is coming together slowly but surely. Once we get the cribs, we will see if there is any room for a changing table or dresser in there. I can't wait to get it all set up! I'll have to take a before and after photo.

20 weeks!!! HALFWAY

I can't believe it's already half over. In a way, it went by quickly but on the other hand, I can't believe I have so much longer to go! According to my app, the babies are the size of a small canteloupe but another website calls them as big as a banana! For this week, I'm going to go with bananas. :-D

I'm feeling well this week, but have a "full" feeling. Sometimes uncomfortable while I try to get up from sitting/lying down. I have been having some heartburn occasionally. Sometimes, I feel little flutters of kicking but sometimes I don't. I can't wait until it starts into full blown kicks!

I've received a mini collection of baby clothes so far from family, a small section of a clothes rack! It's nice to get clothes, they are SO CUTE. I can't wait to use them on my babies.

I've been going back and forth deciding between disposable and cloth diapers. The modern cloth diapers are so adorable, save a lot of money but can be messy. There are pros and cons to each. I've read that having twins, you can easily go through 5,000 diapers in the first year. Not only is that expensive but also it's troubling to imagine all of the diapers going to waste away for 500 years.

I have another appointment next Tuesday with my OB.

Posted this picture to one of my online support groups, might as well make it official. I finally have some kind of baby bump! 

19 weeks

Heirloom tomatoes. I don't know how accurate this app is but it's fun anyway. 

The ultrasound went great. We didn't know the gender going into the appointment and we were excited to find out!

We started the ultrasound with baby A, which is the baby closest to the cervix. They keep track of this to monitor the babies throughout the pregnancy. Right at the start, we saw that baby A was a boy! She finished most of the ultrasound and I really had to go to the bathroom so she quickly checked on baby B and saw it was a girl! Each baby took about 45 minutes to get all of the images she needed. Baby girl was being uncooperative, she said probably because she knew what was coming for her so she was very active, rolling around and moving. She is higher up over my belly button and the boy is right below. They're very close! Also, the boy is 10 ounces and girl is 9 ounces. The heartbeats were 146 and 140 which are pretty close. She said there is no evidence that heart rate tells the sex! But some nurses do believe it. It all depends on what they're doing, sleeping, moving, etc. In the ultrasound, we could see fluid in their stomachs and bladder which means they're peeing and drinking water from the amniotic sac. The nurse had trouble viewing the aortic arch on the ultrasound so the doctor came in and tried, he had trouble also but found it ok. I was getting nervous but I figured babies can't live without an aorta.. They also checked my cervical length to make sure it's not too short. Too short could lead to preterm labor. Mine measured normal. 

I go back for on other ultrasound in 4 weeks. The doctor said every 4 weeks until 32 weeks then every 2 weeks. Next OB appt on 11/12 and then 11/25 at South Shore Hospital. 

More ultrasound pictures

As you can see, clearly a boy!

Baby boy, baby A

Baby girl, baby B

Crossing his legs and feet, so cute! 

Baby boy kicking baby girl in the head.. Starting brotherly/sisterly love early on :-)

What we've all been waiting for!

Here is our gender reveal video. Bill made it into presentation mode so turn on your music and follow along :-) Enjoy!

***On the bottom right of the video screen, click the "auto play" button and select 10 seconds. This button looks like a play button combined with a stopwatch.***

http://prezi.com/tg3uzweoonwd/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Big appointment today!! So excited :-)

I couldn't resist. Saw these at kohls and had to buy them, only $5!

18 weeks

18 weeks=4 1/2 months! Babies are the size of sweet potatoes. We're making progress here. :-) not much to report, not feeling that fluttery feeling as much since my last post. Hopefully this means it will be turning into regular kicks soon. I think the first time it happens, I'll freak out. Other than feeling "full", I feel fine. My stomach is growing but slowly forming into one large bump, still just looks like I've gained a lot of weight instead of being pregnant. :-) I've actually only gained 3lbs since the beginning of the pregnancy. 

We have our ultrasound on Monday and will share the gender results with our families Monday night after I get out of work, as long as the babies cooperate! 

I had my doctors appointment yesterday. I also finally heard back from my pcps office.. A month later. My vitamin D level is really low. The insufficient range is 20-29 and normal, 30-100. Mine is 18! I saw on my paperwork, it was previously low. Thanks for telling me... She wants me to come in for a prescription. I took this info to my ob yesterday. She is not concerned. She wants to wait until after the pregnancy to address it. She suggested an OTC vitamin D for now, along with my prenatal vitamin. 

The harmony test was normal!! There is a 1/10,000 chance of a chromosomal abnormality. She said that's the highest ratio you can have. 

I heard the heartbeats, 151 and 130. Both were found in the right side, meaning the flutters I feel are probably from feet kicking. :-) 

I was told more than once today by my coworkers that I have a baby bump. Exciting or scary? I'm not sure.

Kicking?

I have definitely been feeling that same vibration/flutter in my left lower abdomen... A baby kicking? It's so light and usually happens while I'm moving so its hard to feel. 

17 weeks

The babies are the size of onions this week. :-) 

My stomach feels like its growing this past week! It feels harder and like its growing upwards. My jeans barely fit anymore. Woohoo. I've had a few days where I just don't feel "right" but overall, everything is fine. 

 I have a doctors appointment on Friday, not expecting too much from it, hopefully. 

Found some old pictures 

Learning how to give my injections 

 Day of the embryo transfer before we went in

+ pregnancy test! 

Where some of the magic happened 

Well the babies are the size of avocados this week, week 16!!! 

What a boring blog, nothing to report. 

Although, the past few days my stomach feels like its growing slightly. I feel it from the inside-out, pulling and overall full feeling. But it does seem slightly bigger to me! I have been getting charlie horses sometimes when I'm sleeping that are annoying. 

Oh and I thought that I felt an early kick on Monday, it felt like a weird flutter but I was driving so I could have gone over a bump ;-) 

15 weeks!!! The babies are the size of oranges this week. That seems pretty big to me but maybe they're referring to smaller oranges as next week is avocados :-)

I went for the Harmony test yesterday. The results take two weeks to get back. I was thinking about not having it done but my doctor recommended it after me asking, is it worth it, should I even bother? 

Nothing else new to report. I took the last of my medication for the ear issue. It is almost gone but I have some minor swelling still. And I'm still waiting for my lab results. 

My pregnancy app told me that today is my ONE HUNDRETH day of pregnancy. What?!

For a few days, around my left ear was bothering me. Yesterday, I woke up and I had painful swelling under my ear so I went to the doctor. It turns out I have a "rare" cold sore on the edge of my face near my ear. She put me on Valtrex. She said she hasn't seen these in many years but she has seen 3 people so far this week with them. Weird.

She also made me get the flu shot. I wasn't planning on it but hopefully the benefits outweigh the risks. 

She also ran some thyroid tests due to my "enlarged thyroid" earlier this year, and B12 level.  

14 weeks today. The babies are the size of lemons! 

I feel fine, hardly any nausea but still waves of fatigue. 

I've started my baby registry. What a nightmare trying to figure out what I need!! And then, to figure out what things I need two of! I have spent hours and hours looking things up online. It's very overwhelming thinking I need all these items and that I have no clue about anything! I'll figure it out but it'll just take time, I suppose. 

I did get approved for the Harmony test but the lab at South Shore Hospital isn't covered by my insurance. How would the average person know or think to check that? The lab is outsourced. This also happened to me at Newton Welleslley Hospital at my hysteroscopy... The anesthesiologist was a third party contractor and was "out of network" so we got a bill for her portion. That is crazy!! How would I ever know that the doctor on that day during that time was not covered by my insurance. They ended up covering it but still. Bill had to call and argue with them. The hassle shouldn't have to happen . Anyway, I'm waiting on my doctors office to arrange the lab test for me. 

Not much else to report. 

Peaches at 13 weeks

I had my first ob appointment yesterday. I met my doctor. Turns out that she has IVF twins also but she had to go through 6 cycles before getting pregnant. I felt bad telling her it only took us once, but at the same time, our insurance woudn't cover a second cycle if we needed it. Anyway, she listened to the babies heartbeats and not much else. It was pretty uneventful. I have to return in 4 weeks. I also have a big anatomy ultrasound at the hospital on 10/28. 

Yay

Officially in the second trimester!!! I've read it really begins around 13 weeks, 3 days! No doubt about it, I made it! My stomach has been feeling larger than usual so, I think it's coming!!! :-) bring it on! 

Our "facebook" announcement

Just one ultrasound picture to post from yesterday, the rest aren't the greatest views! 

Enjoy!

We had the NT scan this morning. We opted for just the ultrasound at this time as we need preapproval for the Harmony test, it is tentatively scheduled on next Monday. All the measurements were great. The  babies are measuring at 13 weeks and 5 days and 13 weeks and 1 day. Today I'm 12 weeks and 5 days. The heart rates were 161 and 153. The nuchal fold thickness was normal. All is well and I was happy to see them jiggling around inside. I have an anatomy scan scheduled on 10/28 at the hospital as well. They were super friendly today. My next appointment is on Friday with my OB. 

I guess this is REAL. 

We were able to have fun with my Doppler yesterday and Bill was able to add it to YouTube. I'm not 100% sure if the heartbeats are the two babies or the same baby and they're definitely NOT named Jethro and Tull.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgEPW5XY0-k&feature=youtu.be

12 weeks!

Today marks the beginning of the 12th week! Wow. I'm still counting down the days until my appointments!! I'm trying to decide on what we will do for the gender reveal. Ooh lala. I can't wait to find out! :-)

In good news, I'm a lot less nauseous these days and less tired which is awesome! I still have waves of both but overall, I feel much better! 

By the way, the babies are the size of plums. :-)

I bought a fetal doppler online, the Sonoline B. I was warned its not easy to use before 12 weeks and sometimes overweight women  have issues with it. For the first few days, I couldn't get it to work, I was so frustrated! Then yesterday morning, I looked up some tips on YouTube and was able to find it within 5 minutes. Amazing! Someone described it as sounding like a dog panting and about 140-160 beats per minute. It definitely sounds like a dog panting! I was able to do it again and show Bill. Very cool to be able to use in between appointments! 

My fans have been awaiting an update! Sorry! Last week, the little babies were the size or prunes and today mark the eleventh week which means they are the size of limes!! 

Things have been going pretty well. I'm getting anxious awaiting my appointment which isn't for another 12 days for the genetic testing but 16 days until my first ob appointment. It seems so far away. 

I'm starting to feel less tired and less nauseous which is nice. I'm still having a hard time eating healthier foods, especially salad. 

That's about it! No news is good news, I suppose! 

I've been having a nice time at work playing the pregnant girl. I haven't been lifting too much and so in turn I haven't been breaking my back! :-) although I come home from work and plop on the couch which doesn't help either. 

I have been trying to figure out information about the genetic testing I have scheduled at South Shore Hospital on 9/16. I have an ultrasound and blood test (Harmony test) scheduled. It doesn't appear the Harmony test will be covered without a purpose so I need to look into this. It's all very confusing! And the insurance company can't give me an answer of course. 

In other news, we've come to the realization that our house isn't big enough for a baby, nevermind two babies! Not many options for that one but we're working on it. 

So there's some other information other than cute ultrasound pictures! And I've finally come around to being excited rather than in disbelief!! Bring on the babies! 

9 weeks - green olives

I had to go to the doctors this afternoon. I had some minor bleeding and called the  nurse at my doctors office freaking out. All I had been doing is washing my friends dog. She had me come in for an ultrasound just to check. Everything was normal and doing fine. The twins are still there. Part of me was really wondering were they both still there all this time? But they are doing well. I go back on 9/20. Until then I'm on "pelvic rest" and no lifting over 15lbs. The good part of all of this was that I was getting anxious having to wait over a month for my appointment and now I got to see the babies sooner. Not like I wanted it this way! Here's some new pictures! 

My mother in law was thinking of me and bought me all these healthy goods! She wanted to make sure I was eating well. I will be now :-) 

By the way, I fixed the blog so that anyone can post a comment! 

8

I'm 8 weeks pregnant today! 

According to my pregnancy phone app, the babies are the size of raspberries! 

I have an appointment today at my ob/gyn to register with a maternity specialist type person to discuss pregnancy, nutrition, etc. I tried to get out of it but its required. My next doctors appointment isn't until September 20. It seems so far away but she said they want to see me at 13 weeks. 

I feel ok but have waves of nausea and a lot of times while I'm eating something, I have to stop. Last night we had salad and soup and I could only eat half of each before I felt ill. 

I'm not "showing" yet but I feel like some of my clothes are tighter overall even though I haven't really gone up in weight on the scale. 

Twins!

It's official. We are having TWINS!

 As we started the ultrasound, my doctor said with concern, "how many did we put IN?!?" And I said two.. She didn't respond for what seemed like hours, leaving me to see all sorts of black blogs on the screen. She finally said that there were two. I was so nervous there were three or more!! 

The babies are measuring on schedule, with heart rates on 140 and 133 in which 120-160 is normal and measuring at 7 weeks old, which I am technically 7 weeks and 1 day. My due date is March 26 but twins can come 3-4 weeks early. She believes they are not identical and they have their own amniotic sacs which is good. 

I have been officially released from the fertility office and have to find a ob/gyn. I have one but I don't know if I should get a different one or not. 

BABY A

BABY B

 

           

     

BOTH BABIES 

                                 

I have my first ultrasound today! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. I hope we get to see what we've been waiting for so that it will all finally feel real. The only part that feels real right now is me being nauseous all day long. :-)

Today I'm officially 6 weeks gestationally pregnant. I don't quite understand how that is different from being 6 weeks pregnant? Is it?

Nothing new to report. Dawn did give me two little baby blanket/toys. A blue one for a boy and a pink one for a girl! Our first baby presents. :-)

I can't wait until next week when I have the ultrasound so things will start to feel a little more real. 8 more days!

Feeling very queasy today. As I type this, I'm wondering if I'm going to get sick! Guess I am feeling pregnant unlike I previously mentioned. :-)

I got my blood results back. Guess what, I'm still pregnant :-) My hcg level is over 3900 and my progesterone is high so I only have to take it once daily starting tomorrow.

I return back on 8/8 for an ultrasound!! All is good. 

Everything has been going well. I had another recheck hcg level on Friday and it was 652. Which is a good number according to my doctor. I don't know much about the numbers other than they should be increasing at almost a doubling rate around 48-72 hours.

I went in this morning for another hcg level and progesterone level, I'll get the results back later this afternoon. I will be happy when I don't have to go back to that office for a while. Hopefully I will have my first ultrasound appointment next week and then I will be transferred to my Ob/Gyn.

I feel fine though. I have some occasional  cramps and some times of mild nausea.

I guess it hasn't hit me yet. I don't feel pregnant really! Very weird to get used to.

Success!!!

Drum roll.... The moment we all have been waiting for. 

I did do home pregnancy tests but since this blog isn't private, I didn't want to give anything away to my trusty followers too soon. 

I tested positive way early morning on 7/13/13 and subsequent days until my blood test. 

I started having symptoms but thought they were in my head. Cramps, mild nausea, soreness, tired. I am also on progesterone supplements and apparently these signs can be side effects of the medication. 

My doctor called me with my results yesterday by leading the conversation with, "who is your favorite Reproductive Endocrinologist??"  

My hcg level is 353 which she told me that any result over 80 is considered good. My progesterone level is 89 which appears to be high looking at the normal range. I don't think it means anything. 

I made a special dinner to celebrate and Bill brought me home beautiful flowers. We got a lot of congratulations. In a normal pregnancy, you're not supposed to share the news until 12 weeks along but in our case, our close friends and family all knew we were going through IVF so they were also anxiously waiting the result. 

It's been a long few months (and years leading up to) of poking and proding but it appears to all be worth it!! 

We are very happy and excited. 

Well I had my blood test this morning. I know that they are going to make me wait all day long for the results. I have the day off so I need to find something to do to occupy my time!! 

How am I supposed to sleep tonight? :-) I'm excited and nervous to hear the results tomorrow. 

Two more days until my test. Two. Two! Bring it on... It could be in my head but I have been feeling some possible early symptoms. This two week wait has been tough! It has made me go crazy! 

I got the final letter from the embryologist this morning. It turns out none of the embryos were able to be frozen. :-( That is disappointing. Now we need to repeat the IVF cycle if this transfer didn't work. But I'm not going to think negatively! POSITIVE only! Only a few more days until I find out.. 6 days until the blood test.

Tick tock

This waiting game is terrible! 

I still have 7 days until my blood test. I'm hoping to find out sooner at home but the days just aren't going by very quickly. I wish I could just hit fast forward. I have tested negative for the trigger shot though. 

I feel fine otherwise, general cramping since the transfer, and tired but probably... more so from thinking. 

What happens after an embryo transfer

3 Day Transfer: In days posts transfer 

1dpt... Embryo is growing and developing 
2dpt... Embryo is now a blastocyst 
3dpt... Blastocyst hatches out of shell on this day 
4dpt... Blastocyst attaches to a site on the uterine lining 
5dpt... Implantation begins,as the blastocyst begins to bury in the lining 
6dpt... Implantation process continues and morula buries deeper in the lining 
7dpt... Morula is completely inmplanted in the lining and has placenta cells & fetal cells 
8dpt... Placenta cells begin to secret HCG in the blood today!
9dpt... More HCG is produced as fetus develops 
10dpt... More HCG is produced as fetus develops 
11dpt... HCG levels are now high enough to be immediately detected on HPT

From http://www.nyufertilitycenter.org/ivf/embryo_transfer

Embryo pictures

These are the two that we transferred ! 

Transfer!!

I had my transfer this morning. I was offered a Valium and I gladly took it! I met with the embryologist and Dr Huang. The embryos looked "great"! I had 1 8 cell, grade A and 1 8 cell grade A-B embryos. The others ranged from 4-6 cell and those will continue on to day 5 and 6 for hopefully cyropreservation for another IVF if needed. I had been trying to decide between one or two embryos to be placed but my plan was written up when I got there as two embryos to be transferred. We discussed this and she felt it acceptable and preferable to transfer 2. To transfer 1, decreased our odds of success by 10%. There is a 25-30% chance of twins with transferring 2 embryos. I'm glad that we decided to try for two anyway, hoping at least one will stick! 

The transfer process was pretty cool. I had to have a full bladder because on ultrasound, the uterus lies right under it and it is visible when it is full of liquid. I was able to see the catheter in my uterus on the ultrasound. Then the embryologist came in with the embryos and they were injected through the catheter into my uterus. I was able to see the small blob which were the embryos. Then the catheter was checked under the microscope to make sure it was empty. I had to lie flat for 10 minutes which Dr Huang said was mainly for tradition. Then I was free to go!!

I am now in the "two week wait". I go back 7/17 for a pregnancy test. I am so glad to be moving on!! 

Waiting

I am waiting for the doctors office to call me today to let me know how my embryos are doing so I figured I'd do an update from yesterday. 

Dr Huang called me yesterday morning. Out of the 14 eggs, only 11 were mature. Out of the 11, only 5 successfully fertilized with ICSI. I was initially bummed out about this but after reading other stories online, this isn't very unusual? And the doctor didn't seem concerned. She told me that I'll find out today if I need a 3 or 5 day transfer. And I should still be resting. This is difficult because I feel fine!! I am on alert for hyperstimulation for 14 days. 

I am getting stressed out waiting... And the fact that on my patient portal, they have changed it from Mondy to Saturday and it currently says Saturday and Monday.  I have called my nurse and I'm waiting for a call back..

2 hours have passed. Bill has also called. No response yet! This is very frustrating. 

Update: my nurse called back finally! There are 3 good embryos, 1 fair and 1 poor. I have to go in tomorrow for a 3 day transfer. I had a feeling that it'd be tomorrow. I'm glad though because it is Dr Huang doing the procedure and not another random doctor. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about this all. It's very stressful! 

Egg Retrieval

I had my egg retrieval this morning. I was brought out back to the surgical area where I changed into a Johnny, had an IV placed, vital signs checked. I met with a nurse, Dr Huang and the anesthesiologist. I was inducted with propofol in the operating room. Dr Huang tried to make me feel less nervous by telling me it was like an ultrasound but with anesthesia... Was it? I don't know :-). The procedure took about 20-30 minutes. I felt fine after, a lot better than after general anesthesia! 

I had 14 mature eggs removed! She said the normal amount is 8-10.  Bill had to deliver a specimen in the office. She is going to call me tomorrow to let me know how many fertilized with ICSI.  Crossing my fingers that this works!!!!!

The day is almost here

I went for the ultrasound this morning and Bill was able to come with me for the first time! Good news, the follicles are at about 18mm, some even close to 19. There are some less but they are good averages. The egg retrieval will be WEDNESDAY! I will get a call later today with blood results and further instructions for the trigger injection, this will be tonight! They will also tell me what time the retrieval will be. Transfer will be Saturday or Monday.

Update : 

My nurse called. My estrogen is over 1300. I need to give the HCG aka trigger shot tonight at 10:30pm   And I don't need to give any further injections! I have my retrieval scheduled for Wednesday at 9:30am. Just waiting until then!

What is IVF?

The basic run down went like this: 

*Consultation

*Baseline ultrasound and bloodwork prior to medications

*Starting of birth control pills to control the menstrual cycle

*Hydro Saline Sonogram - Saline infusion into the uterus to view the walls of the uterus (which was positive for polyps)

*Hysteroscopy - A scope of the uterus with removal and biopsy of polyps, multiple per doctor. This was done under general anesthesia 

*Stop birth control. Start cycle. Day 3 bloodwork and ultrasound, another baseline

*Start follicle stimulation drug injection (Gonal F) to produce multiple follicles to produce multiple eggs. A normal menstrual cycle produces one mature egg per month

*Start Ganirelex (Delays ovulation), Injection 

*Stop other drugs and Give trigger shot of HcG, human chorionic gonadotropin which is a pregnancy hormone to initiate ovulation

*Egg retrieval, light anesthesia to remove the extra follicles that have been produced is a long syringe that goes through the uterus wall

*ICSI, intracytoplasmic sperm injection where one sperm is literally injected into the egg with a needle to help fertilization 

*3-5 day embryo transfer depending on progress of fertilization in a Petri dish at lab

*Supplement with Progesterone into pregnancy

*Two week wait for pregnancy test 

Here is a good website from a fertility clinic in Chicago that explains IVF and also ICSI very well. There are some good pictures also. 

http://www.advancedfertility.com/ivfprocedures.htm

next...

I had another ultrasound this morning, this time with Dr Huang. It turns out that my doctor is on vacation for a few weeks. Thanks for letting me know....grrr. So Dr Huang will be taking care of me for the rest of the cycle. She is super bubbly and friendly. I really like her actually. So maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Awaiting my blood results as usual but I need to return on Monday morning. She said egg retrieval is Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. The follicles are about 12mm now and she said they won't do the retrieval until the largest follicle is 18mm. All is well otherwise!

Doctor called, estrogen level is currently 743, up from 415 on Thursday. I am to continue on the Gonal F 225 units in the evening and Ganirelex in the morning until Monday when I will return again for another ultrasound and bloodwork.

I started Ganirelex tonight. OUCH, it stings!!  Other ladies have posted how the needle is dull and it stings, some people even get a rash. TRUE. I do have a large welt at the injection site.. Hoping it goes away! I go in to the office tomorrow morning for ultrasound and bloodwork. Hoping for some growing follicles! 

Recheck

I had another recheck this morning. The doctor was able to visualize the right ovary which she couldn't see last time. There are still many follicles but they're still not very large yet. I did see one measure over 10mm just by snooping at the machine. I have to wait and see what my bloodwork results are this afternoon and will have to return sometime this weekend I'm sure.

My doctor called me this afternoon. My estrogen level is up to 400. I start the Ganirelex tomorrow night along with Gonal F. Ganirelex is the injection to delay ovulation. Saturday morning, I give another Ganirelex then have another ultrasound and bloodwork that morning.

What's next? I only have 5 injections of Ganirelex at my house so I imagine I only am taking those for a few days. And my Gonal F is almost gone. After that, I will take the trigger injection of HCG when they tell me to. Once I take that, the egg retrieval is 36 hours later. I've asked her when to expect the retrieval but she won't give me a date yet, just says "next week". Tick tock.

I can't believe that I'm  moving on to the next step. This is all so crazy and pretty much all that I can think about. 

First follow up after starting follicle stimulation injections

I had my first follow up ultrasound and bloodwork. The ultrasound revealed 7 follicles on my left ovary and my right ovary wasn't visible because I had a full bladder (whoops). She said a normal amount would be 5-7 follicles. She said that they start measuring the size of the follicles when they are greater than 10mm and the largest one today was 9.1mm. The bloodwork is testing my estrogen level and I will find out later on today the result. I will most likely have to adjust my dose of Gonal F.

I spoke to the nurse about what restrictions I should be having. She basically told me to act like I was pregnant. To limit caffeine to 1 to 2 cups per day, only take tylenol for pain but otherwise try to eat and act naturally.

My estrogen level was 208 today. I return Thursday for another ultrasound and estrogen level. Until then, I'll continue on the same dose of Gonal F. 

Here we go....

This is my third blog. I have never kept up with any of them. I don't know if this one will be any better. I'm not a writer but want to document our story.

My husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2009. He had surgery to remove one testicle. And was scheduled for chemotherapy immediately. At age 24, he was asked, do you want to have children? Shocked, he quickly decided that he would want to someday and was told he needed to freeze a sperm sample before starting chemo. He did this... After a fight with his insurance company to cover the cost of storing the sample. It would have cost us thousands of dollars without insurance coverage which was NOT in place at that moment. He fought them hard to get coverage and he actually changed Blue Cross's policy on cancer patients. But this fight and lack of possible coverage caused him to only get ONE sample because time was running out. He needed to start chemo. He finished his treatment successfully, only missed a few days of work because he is a dedicated employee. Looking back now, he wishes he took a leave of absence. 

Years passed, I stopped birth control pills eventually.. thinking that I would get pregnant naturally, I wouldn't mind having a baby if it happened. Could it even happen? We eventually met with a fertility specialist in 2010 to find out what our options were. We didn't really plan on starting trying to conceive at this point. Speaking with the specialist, she determined we did have options. His sperm count was low, medically infertile, poor morphology. But with in-vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection, we would have success. We left the office with paperwork and possibilities. 

We went back in 2012 to talk. Is it the right time now? When is the right time when you have to PLAN your pregnancy? Why can't it happen naturally, by accident like normal people? 

A year passed, and we finally returned again May 2013. What are we waiting for? Let's do it! 

I went in for baseline bloodwork and an ultrasound and was started on birth control pills (?!?) to regulate my cycle. We were started with an antagonist IVF cycle. My ultrasound showed some small polyps on my uterus walls. I needed a hysteroscopy to have these further looked at and removed. It's was a surgical procedure that I had done at Newton Wellesley Hospital. I was under general anesthesia for this and absolutely terrified as I hadn't ever had surgery before this, other than wisdom tooth removal. It went well and I returned to work the next day, very groggy. My doctor informed me the polyps were removed and I was clear to start the cycle. 

I stopped the birth control pills on Sunday and went in for another ultrasound and baseline bloodwork last Wednesday. I was set to start injections on Friday (!!!!) but didn't have the medications yet. Of course, insurance didn't approve them without a prior authorization. It all worked out and I got my medications on Saturday. I gave myself my first injection of Gonal F on Friday night in my left upper thigh. The Gonal F is in pen form and has dial settings with different doses. I was absolutely terrified and irritable leading up to this. Turns out, this is very stressful! I have to give Gonal F every night subcutaneously, either in my stomach area or upper thigh. Tonight is night 4. So far, I haven't had any side effects other than being a little more tired. 

Tomorrow, I return for a follow up ultrasound and bloodwork and we will go from there. 

To be continued.