8w4d

This will be a quick update as I am leaving for South Dakota in about 15 minutes but didn't want to leave y'all hanging :)

This morning's US showed Baby T measuring a day ahead of schedule at 8w5d with a heartbeat of 175 bpm!! We saw a little tiny head, little arm/leg buds & the umbilical cord. The tech said everything is looking great thus far!

Sorry for the blurry pic. I can't seem to get a picture of the copy without it being blurry :(

7w4d

I have had lots of texts & emails asking how I have been doing/feeling so thought I would update y'all :) Thank you so much for caring enough to check in on me!!

The most common question I have been asked is how I am feeling.

Well, so far so good. I am 7w4d today & have all the normal symptoms of being pregnant: sore boobs (especially my nipples - which is weird), desperately needing a nap by late afternoon & nauseated. Not just in the morning but ALL day, every single day. I spend my days looking forward to 930pm when I can crawl into bed & not have nausea for 8 hours! Oh & I CRAVE carbs! Can't get enough of them!!

I was learning to just deal with the nausea & manage the unpleasantness of it at work (trying to keep anyone from knowing) but my sister told me there was no need to suffer & feel miserable & to call my Dr for some Zofran. I agreed with her & made the call. The nurse called me in the prescription for Zofran that afternoon & by 530pm the first dose was down. By the time I got home I was already feeling better. I took another dose the next morning & my nausea was SO much better. Not 100% gone but very manageable & I have felt pretty good these past few days. Zofran is a Godsend!!

While the nurse had me on the phone, she also told me that my OB wants me to have another US next Friday just to be sure that everything is going ok given my history. So I will go in at 9am next Friday where I will be 8w4d. This is how far I got in my last pregnancy so I know I will be a nervous wreck. 

As I mentioned before, I have access at work to an US machine that we use in the cardiac cath lab - score for HT :) So I think I will be doing an US on myself the day before just to verify that things either are or aren't ok.

With that said, before I left work today I decided to do a "HB check" just to make sure all was good & this is what I saw:

 
Now I know it isn't the best US you ever did see & the first video may or may not even be sideways but let me tell you, it was quite difficult sneaking into a closet with an US machine, while using my right hand to press the wand into my abdomen & use my left hand to record the image with my cell phone. 

But never mind that mental image. If you look closely, you will see the heart beating away - looks like a little cursor blinking. I counted it for 15 sec which was 38 blinks & multiplied it by 4 to get the heartbeat so it looks like it is around 152 bpm which is within the norm. 

Absolutely amazing! I just love that I have the ability to check for a HB whenever I want to help ease my fears when they arise.

We still haven't told our parents, co-workers & a majority of our friends don't know. I have only told a few "select" friends & plan on keeping it that way until we have our 12 week US - if we are so lucky. I am debating telling our parents after the US on Friday as I will be seeing them next weekend & would be fun to tell them in person. We will see though.

So for today, I am good & so very thankful. I will update again next week...unless something happens before then. Thank you again for all the warm thoughts, prayers & for checking in! I wish I could hug you all!!

US = HB

This afternoon I went in for an US to detect a heartbeat of "Baby T". I was saying many prayers on my way to the Dr's office that we see a strong, healthy heartbeat & guess what? God answered.

We have a heartbeat - 107 bpm :)

The tech said that the normal heart rate at 6 weeks is around 90-110 bpm so we are right within the normal range. She also said the sac looks very healthy as does the embryo & everything is measuring right on track.

She also pointed out something else amazing. If you look closely, you can see 2 black circles on the embryo which are the optic vessels & will later become the babies eyes. The heart is the darker white spot located right underneath. It was absolutely amazing watching a heart beat on a little blob that is only 5mm long. 

Unfortunately, I don't see my OB until July 9th when I will be 10 weeks. I was told I can come in any time to have an US done (out of pocket of course) just to ease any fears so I just might go back in 2 weeks. I do have access to US at work too so knowing me, I just might have to do some periodic "self-checks" just to make sure we still have a heartbeat.

As far as how I am feeling - my morning sickness really kicked in these past few days & carbs have become my new best friend. As long as I eat crackers before I get out of bed in the morning & eat every 2 hours I do pretty good but if I go past 2 hours I start to feel really ill. Not going to complain though. I am just so very thankful to have gotten to this point at all!

Epilogue...part 2

First off, thank you ALL for your sweet, wonderful comments you left on my last post. (((HUGS))) to each & every one of you :)

So upon seeing that 2nd line pop up, I did what any crazy infertile woman does. I ran out the next day & bought another box of pregnancy tests & pee'd on them for the next 3 days to see if the "line" was getting darker & holy hell, it was. I also had a bunch of leftover meds from my last FET cycle so I immediately started taking baby ASA, doing my daily Lovenox injections, one progesterone suppository at night, additional folic acid & my prescription prenatal vitamins. Just in case... 

A couple of days later, I made an appointment with my favorite OB/GYN & was sad when the scheduler told me at the end of the year she would no longer be practicing Obstetrics but will be focusing on research instead - boo :( I went ahead & saw her this past Friday & she was SO happy to be seeing me for a "prenatal" visit. Unfortunately, I am now going to have to find a new OB to go to which is a bummer.

At my appointment she did the usual...pelvic exam, went over all the "do's & don'ts", did a urine test & got my labs drawn. We went over all my meds & she said to stay on everything until further notice. I also mentioned that I had been having right sided ovarian pain & she immediately ordered an US to be done before I left to rule out an ectopic pregnancy. I was so relieved because in the back of my mind I was a bit worried about that & with all I have been through it would just be nice to know there was an embryo growing in the right place.

So the US showed this:

One gestational sac & yolk sac growing in the correct spot (the little black circle above the Baby "T") along with a 3mm cyst on my right ovary which is the cause of my pain. 

SO THANKFUL :)

I am to return this Friday for another scan to check for a HB & my Dr. said she wants me to have an US every single week until I am 12 weeks due to my history, for peace of mind & that it will cause me less stress knowing every week that everything is or isn't ok. Have I mentioned that I LOVE my OB???

So for today, I am 6w0d. I'm still not sure what to think about all of this & can't help but feel that it will all be over any day now. I think of how this little blessing is truly a miracle & that there has to be a reason I got pregnant naturally. I also think that God can't possibly allow me the loss of another little one & in that next second I am thinking "or can he?"

Only time will tell & for now...I am taking it one second, one minute, one hour, one day at a time.

So if this all works out, Baby "T" will be due around Feb 4th, 2013.

Epilogue

So you know how with every good book, there is always an epilogue after the ending of the main story?! It is usually written to provide "closure" to the story you have just read.

Well this my friends, is my epilogue....

Those of you who follow my other blog know that the 1st week of May I went on a 9 day vacation (without the hubby) to FL with my girlfriends & then to WI to see my sister & her family. I came back relaxed, refreshed, mentally recharged & it was just the break that I had needed. I returned emotionally ready to settle into this life of ours without children. 

Shortly after I had returned, I had felt the all to familiar sharp, stabbing pain in my right side which meant that I would soon be ovulating. I feel it every. single. month. & it is not a pleasant feeling. I just so happened to have a box of Clear.blue O.P.K tests under my sink left over from previous attempts & since I have an obsession with peeing on sticks I went ahead & tested - just to be sure....because you never know, right!?

The first day was negative & the 2nd day was this:

No surprise there since I know my body pretty well!

Well, needless to say it was the weekend....I had been gone 9 days....the hubby missed me....I had missed the hubby....so you get how the weekend played out!!

Fast forward 2 weeks later.

My cycle is a 29 day cycle - like clockwork. I am about as regular as you can get & I can usually predict within 24 hours when Aunt Flo will be making her appearance. So imagine my surprise when 29 days come & go with no period. I knew it was well on its way though because for the last 3 days I had cramps & lower back pain like I always get right before my period.

Well, 2 days later & still nothing. 

It is now Sunday evening & we were having a cul-de-sac gathering with the neighbors & I was looking forward to opening a great bottle of red wine I had bought earlier in the day. But since I was "late" & since I had one left over PG test under my sink & again, the fact that I have an addiction to peeing on sticks I figured what the hell - might as well test & get it over with so I can open that red wine! 

I just knew it would be negative...

Um - as you can clearly see the test was not negative.

IUI's x 5 = $7300

IVF x 2 = $28,000

Acupuncture = $1365

FET x 2 = $6800

Taking a random PG test after being 2 days late & seeing a BFP with no medical intervention = f-ing priceless!!!

To be continued.....