One Quarter Done

today marks 10 weeks, 6 days pregnant so we are over one quarter of the way to getting our sweet pea!


my belly goes up and down depending on how bloated i am, but it is getting harder to stretch my stomach. i feel like my insides are all in my ribs when i stretch. oh and my skin feels really tight after i eat a normal size meal (i've been sticking to smaller meals since i'm hungry all the time, and full size meals usually make me feel to full and sick).


i still am getting just little waves of nausea here and there, water usually helps. brushing my teeth in the morning is getting harder. no matter whether i do it before i eat or afterwards, my stomach does NOT like it.


we had our first OB appointment last week and everything went great! our doctor is so good about explaining things in detail that we had NO questions at the end of our visit. everyone in the practice is so nice and the exam room was clean. their ultrasound machine isn't nearly as advance as the ones at our RE, but we still got to see the hulk again. here is the blurry picture:



our OB sends all of their patients for the 1st trimester screening, which includes a finger prick blood test and an ultrasound known as Nuchal Translucency Scan or Nuchal Fold Lucency. during this test they are checking for characteristics that are common in fetus' with Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 18 & Trisomy 21 (all chromosomal defects that cannot be cured).

i am really happy to be having this test, because it will be another sigh of relief to know our baby is ok (knock on wood). plus we get to see our baby in a new light, since he/she will look so much more like a baby by then and there will be more detail of the scan. then i will feel much more comfortable about telling the rest of our friends and family.

i know the test has a high false positive rate, but i am also prepared for this since i know in advance. i can't say for sure it won't upset me if we get a positive result, but at least i know that i can tell myself that we just need to do further testing to rule out the possibilities and try to remain calm.

truthfully, even if our baby had one of these defects we would NOT terminate our pregnancy. we would just like to know in advance if there were some characteristic of our child that would require us to change our plans in order to provide the care he/she would need.

We're Having a Puppy!

that's what my husband said when we saw our latest ultrasound this week. he said our baby looks like a newborn puppy the way it is all curled up with it's little arms, legs, and tail (my sister is weirded out by the tail and refuses to discuss it!)

baby-t is doing great, with a heart rate of 174.67 bpm and is measuring 8 weeks 4 days. the progesterone supplement is doing it's job because the baby is thriving wonderfully.

all of this means that WE GOT TO GRADUATE!!! we no longer are under the care of our wonderful reproductive endocrinologist's office. next week it's onto our obstetrician for normal prenatal care! we are so excited and grateful that our baby is doing well. hopefully my husband will agree to let some of our friends in our secret now!

until here are some more top secret photos of baby-t:

Updates Galore!

i know that i have been MIA for a REALLY long time. it's been with great cause, as you will find out the further you read:

Monday, February 11th:

this morning was my first beta (blood pregnancy test). i went in, got pricked in the arm, and made my home and then to work. i left my cell phone in my desk, realizing later on that i get absolutely no reception that way. so i took it out and left it on my desk. immediately, it started dancing (it was on vibrate) to let me know that i had a voicemail. it was really early for the doctor's office to call so i thought nothing of calling in to get my message. sure enough, it was my nurse. she was calling to give us the good news that WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!! she went on to say that my hcg level was at 407, then saying that they usually look for between 50 & 100. so that means that we could possibly be having twins! i go back in on wednesday morning (2/13/08) to have another beta test to see if my level has increased by at least 60%. if all goes well we will be getting ultrasounds weekly, that means we get to see our bean(s) on a weekly basis for right now! to say that we are ecstatic would be the understatement of the year!!!

so my reason for not posting in so long has alot to do with the fact that we want to be cautious, and also so that we can tell our family and friends before letting the world know. we will be telling our families in a few weeks and then make it to our friends. you are probably finding out around the 12-14 week mark. i am going to be updating this one entry the entire time so that you don't miss anything important. so read on to find out what we have been up to since i last wrote ;)

Wednesday, February 13th:

today we had our second beta. they were looking for our hcg level to raise at least 60%, which would mean around 650 or so. well it was actually 830! i believe there is definitely more than one growing in there! we will just have to wait and see on next wednesday (2/20/2008) to see them at our first ultrasound. they also tested for progesterone again and that number was at 19, also a very good number according to my nurse.

i'm feeling pretty good so far. i'm VERY bloated and already look 3 or 4 months pregnant, but i know that will go down soon. i'm getting slight waves of nausea here and there but it seems that eating little snacks constantly and drinking lots of water are all helping. i'm peeing every hour. oh yeah and my nose starting working yesterday and was in full force this morning! i almost died when the smell of skunk came through my car's air vents!

we have scheduled our first OB appointment for March 19th so we will get to meet and discuss our plan with the doctor who will be delivering our baby or babies! this is all so exciting!

i also want to say a few words to those people who have been an endless source of support during the last few months. the ladies of the nest: if it wasn't for you i would have waited much longer to decided to see and endocrinologist and most likely would not be pregnant right now. my best friend, Melissa: you are the only person who is was able to speak about EVERYTHING with, thank you for objectivity and caring, kind words. and finally my husband, Mike: without him i would never have had the strength to go through all of this, he truly is my soulmate.

Wednesday, February 20th:

today we got our first look at our little sweet pea. we saw the gestational sac and yolk sac. the dr. said that the sac measured at 10.97 mm. depending on what website you look at that's either twice as big as it should be or right on track for one baby. the dr. said we are right on track for one baby, but she did say that sometimes you see a second baby in the following ultrasound. we are very happy to see that at least one baby is doing well. can't wait until next week, when we get to see the heartbeat!


i'm feeling pretty good. besides the constant exhaustion and slight waves of nausea that are in creasing in strength, this experience is wonderful. i'm still VERY bloated and have gained a little weight (probably mostly water weight). but i'm happy to be feeling nauseous, considering that my friend told me an old wivestale: the sicker the mommy, the healthier the baby. it's a little early for nausea, but i hope that means my baby(babies) are doing great!


Wednesday, February 27th:

today we saw our bean's heartbeat! it was amazing, to say the least. we still only see one baby so we are planning on that unless anyone pops out from the shadows somehow. the baby is measuring 4.03 mm = 6 weeks, 1 day so that puts our edd (expected due date) at October 21st, 2008. the heart rate was at 117.65 bpm (beats per minute). if you ask mike he says is goes, "swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" he also thinks that my high hormone levels are due to the fact that we are having "the hulk" instead of a normal baby (his dream by the way). Here's the bean!

Wednesday, March 5th:

our pumpkin is measuring right on target at 10.34 mm = 7 weeks, 1 day, with a heart rate of 152.97 bpm - nice and strong. just a few more weeks until we graduate to our OB! we also found out this week that my progesterone level was on the low side so i have had to supplement with suppositories. those are not fun, but worth every annoyance to ensure our baby's health and viability. wish us luck!

we have also now told our families: my mom, my uncle, my sisters, mike's mom, and mike's grandma. we also decided to tell our best friends just so they know what is going on with us because they have been asking. everyone is thrilled for us and one of our best friends is expecting their first baby a few weeks before us, so we get to share the experience together!

Reality Check

eventhough i said i wasn't going to test on my own this cycle, i completely gave in this morning. i know it's early (9 dpiui) but having a test in the house was making me crazy!

so i tested and left it on the bathroom counter, walked away and came back 5 minutes later. when i came back it was blank! so i came back again in 5minutes...STILL BLANK! it was a DUD!

that'll teach me not to test too early...now if i can only wait another 6 days before breaking down and buying more tests!

I Hate Black Ice!

i'm such a wreck! i woke up late, left my purse at home that has my keys for my desk in it, AND i fell! there was black ice everywhere outside my house and because of the rain, i didn't see it. i fell HARD on my right hip, banged my elbow and the ball of my hand. i'm hurting but still had to go to work (first week). if i don't feel any better soon i'll be going home.

this is not good, considering that last week i threw out my back and that still twinges every now and then. my main concern is that if i am pg, that this may cause a problem. i am such a clutz but i usually just bang my hips and knees into everything. this was BAD, and now i'm hysterical thinking that i may have ruined our chances for this IUI. i don't have beta until 2/11 so i have no idea if i am pg, but i was already worried last night because i felt crampy.

after asking some of my IF friends, i now know it's an irrational fear but it's still real.

Progesterone Looks Good

my levels were at 9.4 this morning. the nurse said they like to see 7 or higher. i'm excited because this means no supplements for me!

now, the wait until february 11th for our pregnancy test.

i think i'm gonna take a yoga class to keep me calm until then!

I Have Officially Been Inseminated!!!

we had back to back IUI’s yesterday and today. i am so tired from getting up so early on both days, and my but is sore from the trigger shot they gave me to bring on ovulation. but it will all be worth it in the end if we get pregnant this cycle. good news is that we had several follicles that were a good size, so hopefully we get at least one good egg out of those. mike said his guys are ready to attack with guns, knives, and brass knuckles!

now i go back for progesterone testing on thursday (1/31/08) to see if my levels are high enough to support a pregnancy. if not they may give me supplements to take. then it’s back again for our beta test (pregnancy blood test) on February 11th. i hope we have good news by Valentine’s Day!

hubby and i are going to lounge around for the rest of the day.

Onto IUI #1

yesterday i had my CD3 BW and U/S. everything looks good: my hormone levels are nice and low, and my lining is thin, also i have 10 follicles on each ovary. i'm really hoping that this all means that THIS is OUR cycle. i started clomid last night and will continue with it until saturday night. then it's those dreaded OPK's from next tuesday on. if i see too many positives by next friday, they will test again on that saturday or sunday. hopefully we will be triggering on the 26 or 27th and our first IUI will be the 28 & 29th (my doc likes to do two back to back to increase our chances). keep us in mind this month!

oh, my aching back: i strained a muscle in my back on monday carrying a case of water. it is NOT FUN!!! it hurts to breathe! i saw my PCP who didn't want to give me any anti-inflamatories or pain meds since i'm undergoing IF treatments. he did give me some pain patches, which helped me to sleep last night. but i can only take them at night so i was in pain again this morning. now i'm home hoping that tylenol will help along with a heating pad. :(

Clarification on OPK's & A Doctor Switch

today my lovely nurse called to see how i was doing. everything was so wacky this cycle, so i explained it in detail to her. i was looking for the answer to why i get 5-7 positive OPK's each cycle. she tells me that with PCOS there is a chance of elevated Luteinizing Hormone (the hormone that triggers the positive in an OPK) so i could get several false positives.

now my question was, if this is the case how can we gauge when we need to come in for testing? she explained that without taking a blood test and performing an ultrasound there is no other way to tell. so for next cycle i will need to be tested several times to see when i actually ovulate. i am to use the opk's and then let her know if there is no change after a few days of positives so that they can monitor me closely and not miss ovulation.

after that was settled, i asked her if my GYN's office finally sent over the paperwork i've been asking for two months plus to send...they hadn't. this is my last straw with them. i don't trust the midwife (since she basically called me crazy for thinking i have PCOS), i don't trust the hospital where they sent me for testing (since the ultrasound showed NO cysts-clearly inaccurate), and they can't even handle a simple request for copies of records (the girl even got snippy with me and said she sent it herself-i don't care if you pasted it on their door, just send it again and CONFIRM they received it!)

luckily, i have a wonderful network of ladies from all over the state to direct a recommendation question to. several of them attend a practice that uses a wonderful hospital in the area (not in the next town over like the last, but hey as long as they are GOOD) that has a NICU-which is better to have than not to have. and somehow it works out that they participate with my insurance (so not my luck at all!).

i'm happy to have a plan for our next cycle and for when we get pregnant for prenatal care. hopefully, this means that things are looking up for us in the baby department.

i wish i could say the same for my job search. i spent the whole day driving all over creation, and STILL didn't come home with a job. i don't even have the energy to get into it right now.

what an emotionally draining day!

No Such Thing As Trying Too Hard

this article was posted on the nest's Trouble Trying To Conceive message board today:

Trying Too Hard?

it's something i would like to tell everyone who thinks that i am working too hard at becoming pregnant.