Ultrasound results are in…heartbeat confirmed!!!

We had our first ultrasound today & heard one perfect heartbeat!!! The doctor said the baby is measuring at 0.47cm which is right where it should be. He said that the second embryo did implant, but for whatever reason no baby developed. He felt everything looked very healthy right now & said he wants to see me back one last time in 2 weeks for another ultrasound before he refers me back to my OB/GYN. I’m continuing on the progesterone injections for another couple of weeks, small price to pay to ensure everything is okay. We were correct with our estimated due date, it is October 25th!

Here is a picture of the baby in my uterus (click to enlarge).  The large dark blob is the gestational sac, and the baby is measured between the dots in the picture below.

The baby’s heartbeat rhythm in the lower part of the picture… 

The best news besides the heartbeat that the doctor gave us…we asked what our chances of carrying the baby to term at this point were; he replied 97%!!! How we’re feeling right now…just about perfect, although I am feeling the need for a nap right about now :) 

Support & new connections...

Well, first off Krissi at Stress Free Infertility completely made my day when she stopped by my little corner of the blogosphere & said she’d like to feature me as her Sunday success story! I of course was thrilled & completely honored she’d chosen our story…so please follow this link to visit her fantastic blog (she has an incredible story regarding her own journey to motherhood) & check out her little feature on our success story of TTC.

A rather new blogger that I’ve started to follow & really enjoy is Jade at Putting the Fun in Infertility; she & her husband have overcome so much together (he fought & won stage 4 cancer at the age of 26!). They have shared an incredible journey & I find her faith & courage so inspiring. She also has a great sense of humor & I got such a laugh out of her recent post about J-Lo’s unsolicited advice regarding infertility treatments…stop by & visit her blog, trust me I’m sure it will both make you laugh with her humor & inspire you with their story!

I’ve been experiencing a bit of nausea these past few days, so I went out in search of some things to help when this worsens, because I’m pretty certain it will & I want to be prepared. I love tea so I was so excited to find this Morning Wellness Tea by Earth Momma Angel Baby… we’ll see if it works its magic! I also picked up some Preggie Pop Drops, figured these might come in handy too.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I love to read & as I get a little farther along in this pregnancy, I’d like to start reading some books on pregnancy, parenting, etc so feel free to suggest any that you all would recommend. I already have The Belated Baby on my “to read” list, but welcome anymore of your recommendations. Counting down the days until our ultrasound Wednesday afternoon where we will hopefully hear one or possibly two strong heartbeats!!!

Baby...or babies?

I’m thrilled to say we got more good news today… my third beta level came back at 9,267 which as you can see from the chart below is just about perfect right now! My little one(s) are already overachievers it seems :)

Also in yet another first for us, my first sonogram is scheduled for next Wednesday at which time we will hopefully find out if we have a baby or babies!!!! With today’s news I think we’re finally starting to feel that this is real & we may just become parents after all! We feel incredibly blessed & are so thankful to be passing another milestone. That being said I know I’ve been a bit of a shiny, happy blogger lately & I just want all of you ladies in infertility (IF) land to know I haven’t forgotten about you. I know that there are many of you who are still struggling & if it’s too painful to be following me during this time I understand. I feel I cannot even begin to give sufficient words to the support that you all have surrounded me with during our struggles & I will never forget the pain and difficulties experienced on the path of IF. I guess I just want you all to know that I feel a bit torn, I’m so happy to be in this moment & to have received such positive reports following our first round of IVF/ICSI, & on the other hand I know there are so many of you, my sisters in IF land, who have received negative reports after incredibly long, hard roads. IF is such an intense, emotional path; it is without a doubt one of those experiences in life in which I feel that I am forever changed. It is a battle scar I carry proudly though, knowing that I pushed myself both emotionally & physically to endure. It is a struggle without which I would never have gained the compassion & understanding I now have in knowing that parenthood does not come easy for some & for which some have to fight intense circumstances to accomplish their dream. I know it’s a bit early in this pregnancy, and don’t get me wrong, I’m still worried about all that can go wrong, but I feel a bit like I’ve come full circle today. I was looking back at my first post, Hope & Acceptance, and at the quote I posted that means so much to me about what God meant when He gave me infertility. While I always have loved it, today I really felt every piece of it. And as the author wrote, while IF is a road I never would have chosen in the past it is one in which I now feel is such an integral part of who I am.

Sleepy, but thankful...

So it seems that the “sleepy days” of pregnancy have made their way into my life. In the past couple of days it’s as if I’ve hit a brick wall & require an exorbitant amount of sleep to function. I went to bed at an embarrassingly early time last night (8:30pm) & still took a long nap this afternoon. We’re going to a dinner party tonight & I don’t want to be a total loser needing to go to bed so early, so hopefully the nap does its job. This is also the first time we have to take our injections on the road with us since we’ll likely still be at our friends when it’s time for my progesterone injection. Ah, the awkwardness of excusing ourselves for injection time, thank God we have wonderful, understanding friends! Through my sleep haziness though I want to ensure you know I’m intensely thankful to be in this moment, experiencing these early days of pregnancy. I am trying to soak up every single magical, fabulous moment. I’m so thankful to have made it this far & look forward to living every moment of this journey towards motherhood.

Lastly, I want to shine the spotlight tonight on a blogger I find particularly inspiring & am thankful is out there in IF land. A little background first, as I’ve mentioned previously we had to pay out of pocket for ALL of our infertility treatments, as do a majority of couples facing IF, since the bastards who run insurance companies feel that having a child & the desire to be parents is not a necessity in life. We are so incredibly thankful that we were able to afford our one round of IVF/ICSI, but we definitely had to make some changes to get there. Also we know there are countless other couples in our situation who aren’t lucky enough to have the money to pursue the infertility treatments or adoption process they need to grow their family. Then, in walks Ms. Inspiration…Erica, who by the way is celebrating her B-day, go give her some love! She also has a website you can check out at http://www.parenthoodforme.org/. I am so thankful that there are people like her who understand that all people should have the opportunity to become parents & through her own pain & challenges created this organization to help those couples who cannot afford infertility treatments & adoption. If only there were more amazing, compassionate people like her in the world! Thank you Erica for making this world a little brighter & for those of you who are also inspired by her please stop by her website & donate to this worthwhile cause!

Due date!!!

Thankfully another great report from the RE’s….my 2^nd beta level is 418!!! They want to see at least a 60% increase, but doubling after two days is ideal, and that’s just what it did! See the below graph for an idea of how things should be increasing, what’s a good level, etc.

I’ll return for my 3^rd & final beta level next Wednesday & then we have our first sonogram to hear the baby(s) heartbeat the first week in March!!! We’re thinking our due date will be October 25^th!!!

It's official!!!!

I am officially pregnant!!!! I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to say those words & now that I have I must say damn that feels good! My first beta level is 205, which is awesome!!! The IVF coordinator said she likes to see this first number at least above 60. I go back again Wednesday morning for another blood draw to ensure the beta level is increasing which signifies a healthy pregnancy. The level should be increasing by about 60% every 2 days.

Thank you all for your encouragement, support, & prayers throughout this process, there have been so many ups & downs, but they are all worth this moment. I know we are far from out of the woods & have many, many milestones yet to pass, but for now I am savoring this moment & relishing the fact that for the first & possibly only time I am actually pregnant.  I’m completely & totally falling into hopes hands…praying that things continue to progress smoothly.

Lastly, check out the amazing flowers my boss gave me today in celebration of my news! I LOVE them; she is so fabulous & has been such an awesome support through all of this…I have so much to be thankful for right now!

Early prediction teaser

We couldn’t resist & decided to do a home pregnancy test this morning & although that second line is light, there is no denying it is there! According to the instructions, it doesn’t matter how dark it is as long as there is a line and it’s blue. Hoping & praying the blood test tomorrow confirms a positive result!!!