Sleep regression...

In terms of cycling, I finally was given the all clear that my hCG level was down to less than 5 about two weeks ago, so now we’re just taking a bit of a break. It seems that this break -- in which I can consume as much caffeine as needed -- came at just the right time in terms of parenting challenges as we've hit a nasty stage of toddler sleep regression. Am I the only clueless one out there? I had absolutely no idea this was even a thing until I was discussing Ian’s sudden waking during the nights and difficulty going down for naps & bedtime with a friend, and she sent me this article from Ask Moxie about the 18 month sleep regression. Here is another good article I read regarding this last night. Apparently between the ages of 18-20 months (or for Ian 22 months which makes sense given his 2 month developmental delay) toddlers often go through this phase of sleep regression. Lack of sleep with a newborn? Totally expected. But lack of sleep with a 22 month old that you then have to keep up with during the day?… Totally blindsided us! Would be interested to hear your experiences with this.

Some of you who have followed me for a while know I love to read, and with our frequent trips to the library I’m always looking for new authors and books! I just finished Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed by Glennon Melton. She is one of my favorite bloggers and writes over at Momastery, and her book was fantastic! It’s one I honestly think I’ll read over and over. Another incredibly inspiring read that I cannot recommend enough is Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival and my Journey from Homeless to Harvard  by Liz Murray. I also just started reading Momma Zen by Karen Maezen Miller and really like it thus far. She had a very similar experience with delivering preterm due to preeclampsia and offers great insight into the unpredictable and unexpected challenges of parenthood. I’m attending a reading and book signing tonight for Cheryl Strayed, the author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things, both of which are great reads! Would love to hear what great books you all have been reading lately. Also, if you’re on goodreads.com, I’d love to see what you’re reading and would recommend.

Also, just a little side note…stop by and check out my new cooking blog if you get a chance! One of my passions is sharing delicious food & recipes with others. I try to post meals that appeal to everyone from vegetarian dishes, to comfort food, to sweet treats; hope you’ll find something that you and your family can enjoy!

Discussing next steps...

The last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind, but thankfully things seem to be settling now and we’re able to focus on our next steps. My hCG level had increased slightly on Monday to 192 which had me a bit worried, but then my cycle started that evening and the hCG level yesterday was down to 45.

We had a phone consult with our RE in the northeast earlier today which left both of us feeling optimistic and hopeful. She’s going to have me return to my clinic here for another hCG check next week, and I’ll continue these until the number is down to five or less signaling that everything is clear. Hopefully this will happen in the next 2 weeks.

The RE said that essentially this was a chemical pregnancy in which the embryo implanted but then stopped dividing and growing. It’s such an early miscarriage that in cases like this she said it typically signifies there was a problem with the embryo and nothing that we could have done differently. She mentioned that this is common even in the healthiest looking embryos. The human body is actually fairly inefficient in this manner and chromosomal/DNA abnormalities account for a large percentage of chemical pregnancies. She also said since it was such an early loss I won’t have to repeat a saline sono before our next transfer.

We discussed our current frozen embryos which consist of 4 blastocysts, 2 of which are day 5 and 2 which are day 6 embryos. She said they are all good quality and would initially use the day 5 embryos before transferring the day 6 embryos because the day 5's have a very slightly higher probability of success. She told us she feels very optimistic about future transfers since each time they've done a transfer the embryo has implanted and my uterine lining has been in optimal condition. She continues to feel a single embryo transfer is best for us considering my history. We definitely agree with this recommendation and feel most comfortable continuing with single embryo transfers in the future.

As for when we’ll do our next transfer, she said we’ll wait until my hCG level is back to zero, and then if I haven’t had another cycle start within 4wks of that they’ll get things moving and I can start back on birth control pills. Then we’ll map out when we’d like to move forward with the next transfer.

For now we’re focusing on all the many things we have to be thankful for, especially Ian, and are feeling hopeful about a future transfer. And yes…I’m thoroughly enjoying partaking in wine and caffeinated coffee and tea while I can!