Second beta

My second beta was 1688, so things are definitely looking good, and there is still a possibility of twins.

My progesterone levels looked good too so I am able to get off the injections. In a way, I am relieved, but in another, I am not looking forward to the suppositories. Still, I will be happy to no longer look like a victim of domestic abuse from all of the bruises on my butt.

My first ultrasound is on August 7th. Can't wait!

Confirmed!

I went today for my beta and my hCG levels came back positive! While I wasn't too surprised by that, it was still a huge relief to hear. There is also a possibility that there may be two babies in there because my hCG level was 630 (higher than average for a singleton). I go back on Wednesday morning for a second beta and if that looks good, I will be thrilled!

It will also be a good thing, considering that my mom has already blabbed to half of my extended family that I am with child.

Well, I'm off to break out my fat clothes!

The line...

is MUCH darker today! Woo hoo!!!

Drumroll, please!

There is definitely a second line on the HPT! Faint, but there, just like when I was pregnant with J!

I am officially unofficially pregnant! Let's hope that baby stays in there for the next 9'ish months!

Beach Vacay, Day 2

Today was a good day. Subdued, but good. I woke up at around 6:30, which is definitely not characteristic, but it gave me some solitude so that I could enjoy breakfast on the deck peacefully.

In the late morning, we all headed down to the beach. I stayed under the canopy the entire time,1qwa but still ended up getting sun somehow. J was being a terror for part of the morning, but behaved better once Zach joined him for play. My husband dug out what equated to a fox hole and the kids had a blast playing in it.

Later, we hung out by the pool for a bit and then took a nap. This is the life! Then, off to the store for groceries and back to enjoy taco night.

Now, to try and calm J down enough to get him ready for bed. He goes to bed late as it is, but he is all keyed up from playing with Zach and is jumping around like a monkey.

In other news, if I am not pregnant, I will be shocked. Current daily occurrences include nausea and fatigue, and today began the frequent urination. Also, I am craving cheese and almonds like it's nobody's business and am repulsed by sweets. Me, repulsed by sweets?!? WTF?!? I ate a Good N' Fruity today because I LOVE them, and it tasted like wax to me.

I think I am going to test tomorrow. But, don't worry - if it comes up negative, I will not assume I am not pregnant (nor will I assume I am). I know it is early. Last time I was pregnant though, the HPTs I used (I buy the cheap ones from eBay - 50 for $15) showed a very faint line several days before I was supposed to test, which got progressively darker each day. I was checking out some other charts on Fertility Friend and those who tested on CD28 and were pregnant got a positive result. Tomorrow is CD28 for me, so I am going to go for it. I just can't stand it!

And so, we wait

Well now, there isn't much else left to do but wait. I went to the acupuncturist today, and won't go back to see her until the 20th, which is the day of my beta.

In the meantime, I get to wait, and relax. The good thing is that we leave in a few days for a week-long vacay. We rented a house on the beach in North Carolina with my husband's family. I am looking forward to doing nothing but relaxing!

Overall, I feel pretty good. I have more energy today than I did yesterday, but that's probably because I am allowed to remain in an upright, seated position vs. on my back. I've had some cramping, but they say that is normal. After the acupuncture, the cramping stopped because she did some points in my ears that are supposed to calm things down (and that, by the way, is what I was doing at exactly 12:34:56 on 7/8/09). ;)

Transfer accomplished!

The transfer went off today without a hitch. The RE tried to talk me into only transferring one vs. two blastocysts, but there is no way I would have agreed to that. I have to say though, I am very happy that he has that much confidence in my ability to get pregnant.

I was a little disappointed that they didn't have a screen available for me to watch the transfer, and that they didn't give me pics of my embryos, but I will get over it.

When we got home, I got into bed and have been vegging out all day watching television. I'm supposed to remain on my back until tomorrow, when I can resume moderate activity. This is much harder than I thought, I have to admit, but it is most certainly for a good cause.

Say a prayer that all goes well. I go back on the 20th for my beta.

Progester-groan

I started taking progesterone shots yesterday and was like, "this isn't so bad!" Certainly not as bad as I had been dreading for the past 2 months!

The key is to warm it up under your arm for a few minutes before administering. It also helps to ice the area both before and after.

The thing though, is that you have to take it at the exact same time every day.

This became a problem this morning, when I woke up at 9:03 and was supposed to take the shot at 9:00. I couldn't give it much time to warm, or to ice the area. It also didn't help that my hubby stuck me in a blood vessel.

That's going to leave a mark!

The sucky thing is that I have to do this every day for at least 6 weeks, if I am pregnant or until my body begins producing progesterone on its own.

My mantra: It's a small price to pay, it's worth it. It's a small price to pay, it's worth it. It's a small price to pay, it's worth it.

Conceived on the 4th of July

The RE just called - we have 17 embryos!!!

They are going to freeze half and let the other ones go to blastocyst stage. We will have a Day 5 transfer of 2 embryos on Tuesday.

Words cannot even begin to express how excited and happy I am!!!

Waiting...

And now, we wait. Until tomorrow, when the RE calls to let us know how our embryos are developing.

I'm happy to report that I have been resting. So much so, that it's almost not legal. Yesterday, I watched The Changeling on DVD (made me cry, and even made me like Angelina just a little) and then passed out at around 6. Woke back up briefly at 10 and then again at 5. Slept in until 11. Today, I've been on the computer a bit and watched Seven Pounds, but think I am heading back to bed because, believe it or not, I am still tired.

God bless my husband for letting me get all of this sleep in. And bless the RE for telling him to do it. ;)

22 eggs!!!! That's like, almost 2 dozen!!!!

When I went in the other day and my RE said I had about 7 mature follicles, I was glad, but also a little bummed because it didn't seem like a whole lot. I'm very happy to report that they retrieved 22 eggs!!!

This means there is a really good chance of a day 5 transfer, which is ideal.

I am feeling so much better about things!!!

This is it! (okay, now that Kenny Loggins song is stuck in my head)

I'll be leaving in a bit to take J to the babysitter's and then have to pick up hubby because he is working a case today and won't have time to meet me at home. Then it's off to retrieve some eggs!

I keep going back and forth between being calm and being anxious. This has been a very stressful week, which is certainly not ideal. I made the mistake of looking at some IVF blogs last night and couldn't seem to find any with happy endings, which is not a good thing right before bed. Realistically, I know my chances are good. But some doubt is to be expected, right?

It was so much easier trying to conceive when we didn't have J. I love him more than my own life and am so very grateful for him, so let me explain. I mean, there is not much opportunity to truly relax. I love my husband dearly, but instead of taking J. in the other room when I am trying to rest because I don't feel well, he will continually say, "J., stop that!," which just adds to my stress levels.

He was in the room when the IVF nurse explained that this afternoon I am to rest and cannot operate machinery, yet last night, he felt it was perfectly reasonable to assume that I could drive my car back after he picked up his car this afternoon. Um, no. No, I cannot drive. I need to sleep, or at the very least, vegetate. Everything I am doing right now will be in vain if I cannot relax at least a little bit. And I swear, he was A LOT more sensitive to these things when we were trying the first time.

But I digress...

Anyhow, I feel better now that I have vented. Off to get the little one ready so we can start our exciting day!

hCG time!

Went in for my final monitoring appointment today. I have about 7 mature follicles and a good number more that are close. I will be taking the hCG shot at midnight tonight and then go in on Thursday at 10am for my retrieval.

Please, dear God, let this work!!!

Home stretch (I hope)

I went for my appointment today and everything is looking good, though to me it seems like it is slow going. Some follicles have grown to 15 mm and some new ones have popped up. I have another appointment tomorrow and then hopefully we will be at the point where I can take the hCG shot.

Almost there!

I went in for monitoring today and everything is looking good - MUCH better than last time, that's for sure! My follicles are growing, but the RE said that he doesn't anticipate that all of them will mature. There are about 5 standouts and those are the ones he is concentrating on.

I'll go back Monday and we'll see where we are then. Hopefully by the end of this coming week, they will do the retrieval.

On knees, saying prayers.

So far, so good

I went today for monitoring and after 3 days on the stims, I have 8 follicles in one ovary and at least 5 in the other. Not bad for being on such a low dose. Nurse Susan called this afternoon to let me know that I should remain on the 1 Bravelle and 1 Menopur through Wednesday and come back in for monitoring on Thursday.

I am feeling better about things this time around. I am happy that I am responding well without being on such a high dose of the stims - hopefully this time things will go off without a hitch.

The only major problem this time around: headaches. Awful headaches. I feel like I am existing on Tylenol.

Day 1 of IVF Cycle #1.5

I started my IVF stimulation drugs this evening. Just one Bravelle and one Menopur, so my theory is that maybe the side effects (e.g. weight gain, etc.) won't be as severe. Of course, part of me is worried that I won't produce enough eggs this time because the dose is so much lower.

I do hope I am wrong. Positive thinking and all that.

IVF Cycle #2 (or is it 1.5?)

Yesterday, I had my IVF appointment for my new cycle. First, I broke down when they asked me how I was doing because of Cosmo. When they weighed me, I asked them why they would want to ruin my day even more when my dog had just died! I have gained 22 pounds since this time last year. Seriously. Let's not even talk about that.

Anyhow, I spent some time talking to the IVF nurse (known from this point forward as Nurse Susan) about my last cycle and how we could ensure that wouldn't happen again. She said that they had given me the standard dose they give all 35 year olds and that I just responded to it much better than normal. Last time around, I was taking 3 Bravelle vials and 2 Menopur vials from the beginning. This time around, they are starting me on one of each.

I also requested better monitoring...every 3-4 days just wasn't enough. So they are having me come in every 2 days, which is good. I was supposed to start my cycle today, but won't be starting until tomorrow so that they can monitor me more closely.

I am hopeful that this time everything will go smoothly and will work. A person can only take so much, you know!

Here we go (again)!

I started Lupron back today. Looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I pray it all works out this time!

Great, just...great

Sorry if this is TMI.

I started the pill last week and am on CD11. I've had my period since CD1 (CD = cycle day, for those not in the know). I called the IVF nurse to let her know that this was not normal and that I was concerned and she told me to call her back on Monday of next week (yes, a week later) if I was still bleeding.

Last night before bed, I started getting heart palpitations. I had a terrible night's sleep (see the time?), with an awful headache. I feel very weak and it's pretty much a given that I now have anemia.

I'm going to call them this morning as soon as I can to get in. I am just hoping it is a mild case that will not push back my IVF cycle.

What's nearly as bad, we have tickets to go see No Doubt tonight and I am going to be upset if I feel like crap for it! Especially since my mother-in-law is taking J. for the night and we are staying in a hotel!