2017-18 Pregnancy Weeks 11-19

I was pretty terrible once I hit 10 weeks about taking belly pictures. So I have a large gap between 10 weeks and 14 weeks where I didn't take any photos. During that time my morning sickness slowly got better to where I was only throwing up every other day or so. I still was extremely tired and I was still pretty nauseous all the time.

We announced to everyone else that didn't know already that we were expecting when I was about 12 weeks. Here's the photos we used!

You can kinda see my little belly! 

I was in the brown shirt for those who can't tell!

We had to use our fur babies!

Once I hit 14 weeks I was really starting to show and realized that I needed to be better about taking weekly pictures. It helped that I had family that started asking me to send them each week and if I didn't they would bug me until I did lol. So here I am at 14 weeks!

By 15 weeks I was starting to regain my energy little by little. It probably helped that I wasn't throwing up as often!

We had an ultrasound at 16 weeks. We were hoping to possibly find out the genders but our babies did not cooperate and both had their little bums pressed up against my uterine wall and they would not budge! So we were going to have to wait until the anatomy scan at 20 weeks. Our doctor said that they would for sure be able to see them then because they would be double the size.

By 17 weeks I was starting to feel so much better. I rarely puked and had almost all of my energy back! My belly also started to really pop out and I felt like I was huge! (Though I definitely wasn't.)

My morning sickness completely disappeared by the time I was 18 weeks! I was starting to be able to feel little baby kicks on the outside and every so often one side of my belly would be larger than the other because one of the babies would stretch out and just sit there! My energy levels were back to almost normal and I told Randy he needed to take advantage because I didn't know how long they would last.

When I was 19 weeks Randy felt the babies kick for the first time! I also got sick with a cold which is no fun while pregnant. You can't take anything hardly at all for it! And so you just have to pretty much suffer through it.

Sometime during these weeks I started to use a pregnancy pillow. This was a lifesaver for me in some ways. Though there were definitely times that I hated it because all I wanted to do was sleep on my back and this forced me to sleep on my side. I think our dog Leo loved it the most though. There were many times when he'd disappear and I'd find him curled up on the bed using the pillow lol!

Our next big step was finding out the genders! It was getting so close and we could not wait!

Til next time!
Becca

2017-18 Pregnancy Weeks 4-10

Prepare for a long post! So much happened in this time span. First symptoms, ultrasounds, a bleeding scare, Disneyland, and graduating from our fertility center!

One of the first things I did besides taking a pregnancy test after finding out that I actually was pregnant, was take my first "bump" picture. So I decided how I wanted to take them and had Randy take it.

First Official Bump Picture!

At 4 weeks I was still extremely bloated from my egg retrieval, as you can see in the photo, and my first symptoms started to kick in. I was extremely nauseous all the time and was extra tired and all I wanted to do was drink lots of fluids. I also got my first craving, chips and salsa! Which never went away. We also had our second blood test. My HCG levels had risen! This was great news!!

I didn't take a belly picture for this week. 

At 5 weeks I puked for the first time. And then 2 more times after that. This was a relief to me because it let me know that my pregnancy was most likely progressing. I also started to have aversions to any type of sweet food.

At 6 weeks my bloating had finally started to go down only to just bloat right back up again. I only puked 3 times during the 5-6 week time period. I continued to be tired and nauseous constantly.

By 7 weeks my symptoms had increased! I puked almost every day totaling 5 times. I was bloated and added gassiness to the mix. I added a new craving, it was a very specific craving, Mac and Cheese great value brand but it had to be the spiral noodles. I also caved and bought a pair of maternity pants. I don't know why I didn't do that sooner! So much more comfortable than the rubber band around my pants button trick.

This week we also had our first ultrasound! We were so excited and nervous! We had no idea if both embryos had taken or just one and we also had the fear that there would be no heartbeat. It was also going to be the kickoff to our trip to Disneyland.  We traveled down to our fertility center for our appointment. We got checked in and they called us back. I got ready and then we waited for the doctor who was going to be performing the ultrasound. I was so nervous (and cold) I was literally shaking on the table. She finally came in and began the ultrasound. When she found the baby I immediately looked for the heartbeat and once I saw one it was such a huge relief that I actually said "there's the heartbeat!"

Heartbeat was measuring at 142 BPM!

The doctor after taking the picture said that she was going to continue to look around for a minute. I had the thought, why? What is she looking for? And then she found the second baby! I was so excited that the first had a heartbeat that I'd totally forgotten that it was possible there could be 2! This baby also had a heartbeat!!

Heartbeat for this baby was also measuring at 142 BPM!

Here's both babies on one screen!

Once the appointment was over we called Randy's parents to let them know that it was twins (my parents had to wait until we were back from Disneyland). They were so excited! That night we were staying with Randy's Grandma and so we traveled to her house. Once there I had to go to the bathroom. I ended up having some blood when I wiped which scared me a little! Since I had just had a transvaginal ultrasound I kept note but didn't worry too much. I told Randy and said I'd keep an eye on it and if it got worse we would call or go in. (luckily it didn't) 

The next day we traveled down to meet Randy's family at his brother's house where we were going to caravan from to there to Disneyland. This is where we told 2 of Randy's siblings and their families that our IVF had worked and that we were expecting twins! Then we went to Disneyland!

While traveling I did not get sick while in the car (thank goodness!) as long as I was constantly snacking on something I was just fine! Chips were my best friend lol. While driving down to Disneyland we met up with Randy's last sibling and his family. We told them we were expecting twins and they were super excited because they also have a set of IVF twins! Those twins were also super excited because they would get twin cousins.

While at Disneyland I mainly puked in the morning and once it was in the afternoon after a long day. I luckily did not get sick in the actual park. I fell asleep most nights by 8 pm (I felt bad but I knew I needed the sleep). We had lots of fun while there though I was sad I couldn't ride a few of the rides.

Picture of us at Disneyland!

While traveling back home we stopped at my parents house where all of my siblings were waiting anxiously for news. Then we told them all that we were expecting twins and they all were so excited saying, we knew it!

I didn't end up taking an 8 week photo since we were in Disneyland so my next photo wasn't until 9 weeks. At this point I decided that it was easier for me to take pictures in a different way than wait for Randy to take them for me. This is the new format I chose and I actually liked it better because I felt like it showed my belly a little better as it was a closer shot.

 By this point I had stopped keeping track of how often I puked. I do know I was puking at least once a day if not more. I still was super tired and was always nauseous unless I was snacking on something. I was still spotting off and on and we had our second set of ultrasounds during this week. We mentioned it to my doctor and they decided to give me my Rhogam shot just as a precaution. The ultrasound went great! Both babies were healthy and growing. Baby A's heart rate was at 175 and Baby B's heart rate was at 188. Both good and strong! Because everything was going so well they gave me instructions to stop taking the progesterone suppositories at the 10 week mark! And we were able to officially graduate from their clinic to my actual OBGYN!

Between 9 and 10 weeks my belly started to show a little bit more! It was noticeable to me at least lol. Once I stopped the suppositories and after the Rhogam shot my spotting that I was having completely stopped! After some research I discovered that it was fairly common for the suppositories to irritate the cervix and cause bleeding. So I am pretty sure that this was what was causing the spotting I was having. My morning sickness was starting to recede a little bit to where it was every day to every other day that I was puking. During this time I also began to feel little flutters of movement! It wasn't very often but often enough it gave my mind some ease. This was way earlier than I expected but I loved it!

We were so excited to make it this far with 2 healthy babies! And we were relieved that my spotting had stopped and we couldn't wait to see what the next few weeks would bring us!

Til next time!
Becca

The Results: Embryo Transfer September 22, 2017

It was finally time to make the trip down for my blood pregnancy test. I have to be honest in saying that it was so so tempting to take an at home test before we went but I resisted. Mostly because I was so afraid of what the results would say. And I wanted to find out at the same time as Randy with a doctor confirming those results. Whether they were negative, or positive.

We made the long drive down and waited for my appointment. This appointment we knew was going to be super quick since it was only a blood draw. Randy took a picture for me because I wanted to document it. It is the picture shown below.

We were both super nervous but hopeful! We knew that we'd get the results that day sometime and it was so hard to wait. Once the appointment was over we went to get our "just in case we are" pregnancy announcement stuff for telling our families who were also anxiously awaiting the news, good or bad. Then we began our drive back to Randy's parents house which was where our dogs were staying and the first official stop on our way home. We were hoping to get the phone call before we got there so we could just tell them. We ended up stopping for lunch on the drive there and we checked our phone for messages since we'd had no service. No call.

We finally made it to Randy's parents house and we checked our phones. Still no call. So we went in and just chatted for a while, knowing we'd have to head home soon so it wasn't too late when we got home. While chatting I just happened to look at my phone and noticed that I had a voicemail. So I convinced Randy to go outside and play with the dogs with me. He didn't know that I had a voicemail and I didn't tell him until we were outside where we could have some privacy while listening to it. Here is the transcription of what that voicemail said names of the nurse and dr have been edited out:

Hi Becca, this is -- from Dr --'s office.

 I was just calling to go over some blood work with you. 

If you can just give me a call at -- Thank you.

After hearing that we began to expect the worst. Because in our experience they leave good news on voicemail and bad news they want to talk to you so they can break it gently. After gathering our composure we made the call to get the results.

The phone call went something along these lines. (We don't have a transcript of this unfortunately just some poor memories lol) They confirmed it was me and then they said something like, so yes, we wanted to go over your blood test results. Randy and I were both saying yes, and uh huh, and super nervous! Then she said, Congratulations! It's positive! I literally lost all speech. I couldn't even say anything I was so shocked. Both Randy and I were in tears! She asked if we were still there and Randy at least was able to reply, Yes, I don't think she can speak. She then told us that my HCG levels were above 300 which was very good because they want them at about 100 at this point. She told me to continue with my progesterone suppositories 3 times a day. When I finally could say something we both thanked her and hung up.

We both hugged and kissed and cried a lot and then Randy went to the car to grab what we had bought in order to tell our families. We had bought a pink and a blue pacifier to attach to our dogs collars. So we attached them and went in. It took Randy's parents a minute before seeing them and then we were all in tears again!

When it was time to go we made our way to my parent's house, which is along our long drive home. We attached the pacifiers again and it took my parents a little longer to spot them but once they did we were all in tears again! Then after they knew and we had chatted for a while we continued on home.

The next morning I wanted to have solid proof that, Yes, I was actually pregnant. And so I took a pregnancy test. It came up positive almost immediately!! This was definitely more positive than the trigger shot gave me. I finally believed it, at least a little bit. I was still in complete shock!

Looking back at those 8 days of waiting once I got home, I did have a couple of clues that made me think and hope that I was pregnant. First, I had some pretty intense cramping pains, all localized to one side of my uterus. I now know that this was most likely implantation cramping. I had written it off because I always start cramping about a week before my expected period. Another clue was when we went to the store Murdochs. I love the equine section and all the smells there. But that time we went I literally had to race through it and hold my breath because it smelled SO BAD! I was hopeful that this was a sign at the time but I was trying not to raise my hopes too high. So I wrote it off as just my imagination.

We were now in the waiting game again. I had another blood test the next week. A whole week before we would know if my HCG had increased or if it had decreased!

Til next time!
Becca

Embryo Transfer September 12, 2017

The day for our transfer was finally here!! We were so excited and so nervous! My appointment was scheduled for 1:30 and it seemed like it would be forever until it was time to go. After 2 weeks of constant appointments all early in the morning this would be how you felt too.

 I got everything packed since I was no longer going to be staying with Randy's Grandma and into my car and then traveled to my aunt's house who lived only a few miles from where the transfer was going to take place. My mom met me there as she was who was going to be accompanying me to my transfer appointment since Randy was unable to make it due to work obligations.

About an hour before my appointment I took a Valium per my doctors orders (prescription she'd given for just the 1 pill). This is to help relax you and keep your uterus calm during the transfer so they can get the best placement.

It was finally time for my appointment and we got all checked in. They took us back to another room and had me get undressed from the waist down. My doctor came in and talked to me and told me the Day 5 Fertilization Report. We had 14 surviving embryos! With 5 more possibly if they met the criteria the next day. (They did not and were not frozen.) So she wanted to know how many we were wanting to transfer. Randy and I had discussed this and had decided that we wanted to transfer 2. My doctor tried to talk me down to just 1 since I was young but with my mom's help I held firm. We just had a feeling we needed to transfer 2. So the embryologist got the 2 embryos ready for transfer.

The top 2 were the ones transferred!

An embryo transfer is fairly similar to how an IUI is done. Though they use an ultrasound at the same time while doing the transfer. They use a really long syringe type thing and stick it up into the uterus and place it in a predetermined area (based off of your water ultrasound). So we got to see the exact moment the 2 embryos were released. That was pretty cool and super exciting! The embryologist checked the syringe to make sure that neither embryo got stuck to it and didn't make it in. Luckily they both had successfully been placed. They then tipped the table so my hips were elevated and I had to stay like that for 20-30 minutes. Once the time was up I was able to get dressed and we were able to leave.

A picture of the ultrasound. You can kinda see the "flash"

 of the embryos being deposited.

I was now PUPO (pregnant until proven otherwise) and the waiting game began. I was instructed to begin my progesterone suppositories starting that night and then to use them morning noon and night until instructed otherwise. I was put on strict bed rest for 2 days after the transfer. I spent those 2 days at my aunts house watching The Office with her and crime shows and chick flicks when she was gone. Then I was finally allowed to drive the 7 hours home.

We had 10 days from the transfer day before my blood pregnancy test. By the time I was able to get home we had about a week before we would have to drive back down for the test. This time seemed to drag on forever!! After having a very strict schedule now I had nothing to do but sit and wait and pray.

Til next time!
Becca

Egg Retrieval

I am so far behind on these updates! But better late than never! I started this blog so that I could remember my thoughts and feelings as we were going through it all and be able to look back on it later. If it helps someone else going through the same thing then all the better. So because I'm so far behind I'm going to be a writing fiend the next little while to get all caught up!

September 7, 2017
My egg retrieval was scheduled for 7:40 am. The drive there was not comfortable at all. Any way I sat hurt. When we finally arrived it was such a relief to stand up! At least for a second. Then I was uncomfortable and in pain again in a whole different way. We got inside and got all checked in and then the waiting for my appointment began.

This picture shows the way I had to sit in order to be comfortable, to some it may look uncomfortable but it was the only way I could find relief!

 For those who do not know what they do during an egg retrieval, here's a very good picture showing exactly what they do. They basically stick this big long needle through the walls of your vagina over and over into the ovary and into an egg sack. They then agitate the egg so it releases from the egg sack and they suck it out. I was lucky in that my doctor chooses to do general anesthesia while doing the retrieval. Other doctors do not and just have their patients take pain medication beforehand and then do the procedure. Props to those ladies because I can barely handle the pap, I couldn't even imagine having this big long needle stuck into me over and over and over to collect eggs!

It finally was time for me to go back. Randy was there with me and was able to help me stay calm. Unfortunately he couldn't stay once they began the procedure. Another good reason why I was happy to be knocked out! I vaguely remember my doctor asking me to get into position before I was out!

When they were done they walked me to the recovery room where Randy was waiting. This room is basically just a small room with a couple reclining chairs.They sat me down in the chair and got me comfortable with a heating pad. Then they gave me my clothes along with a pad because spotting was expected afterwards. (Duh, you can't be poked with a needle and not bleed lol). They then told us how many eggs they had been able to retrieve, 32! 32 eggs retrieved!! Needless to say I was shocked. I hadn't wanted to get my hopes up too high and thought that we'd MAYBE get 10. So 32 was amazing!! For those who did not know, a possible side effect of Endometriosis is poor egg quality or low egg count. So to have this number was a huge blessing. They then gave us my after care instructions and what to watch for. Once I was dressed we were allowed to leave.

Once back to where I was staying I got settled in with a protein shake. They told me to drink this along with lots of fruit nectar to help flush my body of the fluid that would collect in the empty egg sacks. They also encouraged me to eat fast food as the salt would help soak up the extra fluids as well. Mainly they were trying to help me prevent OHSS which is Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. This is potentially dangerous and in some cases can become life threatening. OHSS can be mild, moderate, or severe. I did not develop this or if I did it was extremely mild. Though others do develop it and it can cause you to have to wait and do a frozen transfer instead of a fresh transfer. Because a fresh transfer when you have OHSS symptoms can actually cause those symptoms to worsen.

Now we were in the waiting game. They told us they would call with the results of the fertilization report the next day. We chose to do ICSI due to Randy's low count. This basically just means that instead of putting all the eggs in one petri dish with the sperm they would pick out the strongest sperm and inject them into each egg individually. It did cost us a little more but we believe it was worth it.

September 8, 2017
Day 1 Fertilization Report
Of the 32 eggs retrieved, 29 were mature enough to fertilize. 21 made it to day 1.

This was a little scary for us! To see the number drop from 32 to 21 overnight!! But we still held on to our faith and our hope that that number would not drop to 0. Still a fear due to my endometriosis. Since we had lost 11 overnight we feared that we would lose them all by day 3.

September 10, 2017
Day 3 Fertilization Report
On day 3 they look to see which embryos have 6 or more cells.
We had 20!

We were so excited that 20 had made it this far! Some people choose to transfer or freeze their embryos at this point. Our fertility clinic does not offer this option. Partially because studies have shown that day 5 transfers are more successful because embryos that make it to that point are more likely to keep growing into a full term baby.

My recovery at this point was going fairly well. I could sit and sleep better though I still had to use a rubber band on my pants. I blame this on the fact that I was SO SO SO bloated. I'm going to be a little TMI here, I had not yet pooped since the retrieval and it was taking it's toll! So a little tip if you're reading this as you're preparing for your retrieval, start taking colace or some form of stool softener beforehand!!

I was also given my Embryo Transfer time for Day 5. They would give me the Fertilization Report that day while there. I was scheduled for September 12, at 1:30pm.

Stay tuned for the Embryo Transfer! Trying to get these all caught up as quick as I can!

Til next time!
Becca