This week has been the longest and most agonizing of my life. Longer than than the wait to do an IVF cycle and longer than the beta wait when I suspected a BFP. During my acupuncture session this morning, when I was in between wakefulness and sleep, I asked God to give us only what we could handle. Nothing more, nothing less.
Then we had our first prenatal ultrasound and it was spectacular.
The nurse practitioner scanned left to right and I counted the yolk sacs... 1...2... oh my gosh... what was that?! ...3? Did I see three? Wait! I wasn't sure what I had seen, and the nurse practitioner was silent at this point, scanning back and forth. It was impossible to know whether I had double counted or not. Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Then she counted out loud, with my husband sitting right next to me. He seemed totally calm and serene, but he was no doubt holding his breath. This was the moment of truth we had waited for. She pointed to the screen: "I see one... two... sacs." I waited for her to catch on and point out the third. "And there might be another one. Yes, there are definitely three sacs. Look!"
(Deafening silence from the peanut gallery)
"Here's one little guy hanging out all by himself, and here are the other two," she said more confidently, showing the sacs in detail as she measured them.
My husband and I exchanged holy sh!t looks and laughed. Elated, shocked, terrified, but mostly elated.
We go back next weekend for the second ultrasound at 6w5d and hope to see three strong, healthy heartbeats.
In the meantime, the hCG continued to double at breakneck speed.
14dpo: 193
16dpo: 531 (32 hour doubling time)
23dpo: 9706 (40 hour doubling time)
We are grateful that it's not ectopic, or a blighted ovum, or a molar pregnancy, or any of the other devastating things that it could have been.
The NP answered all of our questions, and then said, "Just enjoy today, enjoy this week. We see a lot of nausea around week 7 and 8, and there will be lots of time to talk about all of the other questions you will have. Just relish today's good news."
Showing posts with label beta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beta. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
13dp3dt: 2nd Beta
14dpo: 193
16dpo: 531
That's a doubling time of 32 hours. Everything is looking promising so far. The nurses and secretaries at the clinic were literally jumping up and down today for my sake. It was such a great moment after all the heartache and uncertainty. After doing two back-to-back cycles, most of the nurses know me by name. It's such a welcoming feeling.
My first prenatal u/s is scheduled for next week (5wks). I can't wait to hear whether we're expecting a singleton or twins... or dare I even say it: triplets. It will be another two weeks (6wk4days) before we can expect to see a heartbeat. My clinic does weekly ultrasounds, and releases their patients to an OBGYN at 8-10 weeks.
We won't be out of the woods for many months, but so far so good. In fact, I don't think I'll relax about this pregnancy until after the baby/babies is/are safely in our arms. Then a lifetime's worth of worries will start. I'm not quite believing that I'm pregnant yet, but I am ready for it to feel real. I realize now I've been ready for many years.
16dpo: 531
That's a doubling time of 32 hours. Everything is looking promising so far. The nurses and secretaries at the clinic were literally jumping up and down today for my sake. It was such a great moment after all the heartache and uncertainty. After doing two back-to-back cycles, most of the nurses know me by name. It's such a welcoming feeling.
My first prenatal u/s is scheduled for next week (5wks). I can't wait to hear whether we're expecting a singleton or twins... or dare I even say it: triplets. It will be another two weeks (6wk4days) before we can expect to see a heartbeat. My clinic does weekly ultrasounds, and releases their patients to an OBGYN at 8-10 weeks.
We won't be out of the woods for many months, but so far so good. In fact, I don't think I'll relax about this pregnancy until after the baby/babies is/are safely in our arms. Then a lifetime's worth of worries will start. I'm not quite believing that I'm pregnant yet, but I am ready for it to feel real. I realize now I've been ready for many years.
Monday, April 06, 2009
11dp3dt: Big fat positive beta day
The hCG level is 193.5. I predicted a level of around 200 just for fun. I don't know why; the number just came to me. We are most definitely pregnant and overjoyed!
Thank you all for your wonderful comments - and for sharing in our excitement. It truly hasn't sunk in yet. I keep staring at the pregnancy sticks thinking the lines will fade, or the outcome will change. For now, even the digital is still shining a brightly positive "Yes+" every time I look. It's completely surreal to think I am four weeks pregnant today.
The beta doubling test is Wednesday, and if all is well, then they schedule the first ultrasound when I'm 5 weeks along. I am so happy to be joining my amazing "pregnant-despite-infertility" bloggie friends, Chelle, InVitroVeritas, Kate and many others on the next phase of this crazy journey.
It's too early to tell our family, but my closest IRL girl friends who have been following our IVF journey already know. If your family lived far away and you couldn't tell them in person, how would you break the news? We have a few weeks to come up with a cool plan to tell the grandparents. If you've heard any memorable pregnancy announcements or surprises, please leave a comment. Thanks!
Thank you all for your wonderful comments - and for sharing in our excitement. It truly hasn't sunk in yet. I keep staring at the pregnancy sticks thinking the lines will fade, or the outcome will change. For now, even the digital is still shining a brightly positive "Yes+" every time I look. It's completely surreal to think I am four weeks pregnant today.
The beta doubling test is Wednesday, and if all is well, then they schedule the first ultrasound when I'm 5 weeks along. I am so happy to be joining my amazing "pregnant-despite-infertility" bloggie friends, Chelle, InVitroVeritas, Kate and many others on the next phase of this crazy journey.
It's too early to tell our family, but my closest IRL girl friends who have been following our IVF journey already know. If your family lived far away and you couldn't tell them in person, how would you break the news? We have a few weeks to come up with a cool plan to tell the grandparents. If you've heard any memorable pregnancy announcements or surprises, please leave a comment. Thanks!
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