The Bad with the Good

Today we went for our second sonogram with the RE. The good news is that we had a visible / detectable heartbeat and that the gestational sac, yolk sac, and fetal pole had all grown just as they should over a one week period. The not so good news is that I am measuring a full week behind (I am 7 weeks and 2 days pregnant but am only measuring 6 weeks 2 days pregnant). The crown to rump measurement today was 5mm, up from 2mm a week ago (apparently at our first sonogram one week ago we were only measuring at 5 weeks 2 days pregnant instead of 6 weeks 2 days pregnant). The RE stated that she has seen plenty of women measure behind and still have a viable pregnancy and deliver healthy babies. Right now it is a positive sign that the growth over a one week period was typical growth. However, we must be cautiously optimistic at this time as things could also go the other way, in that the pregnancy could just stop progressing.

We will be back at the RE's office next Monday for a third sonogram. It is all of our hopes that the growth will continue just as it should, or, even more optimistically, bridge the gap. We also hope that the heartbeat continues to get stronger. If these things do happen for us, we will be released to the OB for the rest of the pregnancy. If not, we will have to deal with the situation that presents itself and move forward.

ONE M&M mini in the Oven!

Well, we are back from our first sonogram, and we are elated to share with everyone that there is only ONE M&M mini in this oven! In the above photograph, the darkened (black) oval is the "sac" that holds the mini. The little blob at the bottom of the sac is the yolk sac which will feed the mini until the placenta is fully formed. The tiny little rice shaped blob above the yolk sac is the fetal pole. The fetal pole is what will become our baby. So - for now we have all of the right parts! We were not able to see the heartbeat today, but it is still a bit early for that. Generally the heartbeat is visible by 7 weeks. I am scheduled for my next sonogram a week from today, and hopefully there will be a heartbeat at that point in time. We will keep you posted.

I am happy to announce that I will be done receiving Progesterone in oil intramuscular injections as of August 11th. At that time I will be switched over to Prometrium, which is NOT a shot! I will continue the Prometrium until August 25th, and then no more hormone replacements at all! The only thing that I will have to continue after the 25th is my prenatal vitamin...I can handle that! I am scheduled for my first OB appointment on August 25th, so we hope that all continues to progress well until then.

Third and Final Beta Test Results!

Today was my final beta test. My previous beta HCG number was 1650. After your number passes 1200 it is supposed to take between 3 and 4 days for it to double. It has only been three days since my last beta, and my number has increased to 3657...which is more than double. Everything is still progressing just as it should, if not better. Our number is still above average, so there is a chance that more than one of the minis decided to call my belly home. We will find out officially one week from today when we have our first sonogram. That appointment is scheduled for 9:30am.

(if anyone is interested in learning more about beta HCG numbers, or would like to see how ours have compared to the averages, feel free to check out this informative website: http://www.ivfer.com/hcg.htm)

I am doing well. The stim drugs in combination with my pregnancy hormones has caused my lower abdomen to become a bit distended. I feel fine, though. I am more tired than normal but am functioning well overall. I have not had any sickness as of yet, but that can creep up at any time. I don't mind any of my symptoms, though, as I am just happy to be in a situation to have the symptoms in the first place. No complaints here!

We will let everyone know the results of our sonogram sometime by Monday afternoon. If all goes well at that appointment, hopefully we will be able to start relaxing and enjoying the pregnancy even more.

Beta Results #2

Well, today was the second beta test to see how our HCG number was increasing. My nurse informed me that they like to see a 60% increase over the first number. (Our first number was 945, so a 60% increase would have been 1512.) Well, we aren't messing around here, so we threw up a big ole' 1650...almost a 75% increase. The pregnancy at this point is progressing quite well. The average beta number at this stage is around 1200, so we are beating the averages all around.

Monday will be the third and final beta test. If things are still going as well as they have been, then we will be ready to schedule our first ultrasound for around the six week mark (when we will find out if just one or both of the minis dug in). We'll continue to keep you all posted!

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

This is a picture of a home pregnancy test that I did this morning. We have had positive results going back about seven days, so we have been cautiously optimistic. We were looking forward to the beta test today to get confirmation and to find out how strong our "number" was. Well, it was great news. At 13 days past a 5 day embryo transfer, our HCG number was 945! According to one website, the average number for a positive test 13 days past transfer is 522. Anything over 100 is considered a decent number, so we blew both of these numbers away. This is a very good sign that this is a strong and viable pregnancy. Today I am officially 4 weeks and 4 days pregnant. If everything goes well, our estimated due date (according to one online calculator) would be March 16, 2007.

I need to go back on Friday and again on Monday to have additional blood work done. Per standard procedure, the doctor wants to make sure that the HCG numbers double every two days. Once I have my beta completed on Monday, and if everything is still on track, we will be able to schedule an ultrasound for about my six week mark. At that time the RE would look to see how many sacs are in the uterus (one or two) and if we have a heartbeat(s) yet.

We wanted to use this site to congratulate all of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends to be! Just to let you in on a little secret, we have come up with some potential names for our baby (or babies). These are the number one choices for a girl or a boy...I'm sure you will agree that they are just splendid!

• Girl: Judith Joanne Ritter
• Boy: Jerome Robert Ritter

Runners up for the list are as follows:

• Girl: Woodrina Hayes Ritter
• Boy: Santa Pizza Ritter

Of course we would welcome any input regarding our short list, but we are fairly certain that these are the best options....aren't they all just beautiful?

(disclaimer: for those of you who don't know our senses of humor all that well, we have to admit that these names are a joke! As lovely as they are, we will not actually be using them for our child (children). Thank you.)

Stay Tuned!

Only two more days until the beta test! Wednesday afternoon will be the big announcement (one way or the other) on this blog. Wish us luck!

The Waiting Game

Well, as you all know, we are still waiting for our upcoming beta test on July 12th. Only six more days to go, so it isn't too bad. I am feeling much better these days. My hips and butt only mildly ache, and the shots seem to be getting more comfortable. I hope things stay this way. Matt is traveling this week and driving race cars down in Alabama, so I have to have a friend (who is also a nurse) come over and shoot up my behind. I am lucky to have a back-up for when Matt is not here. I am fairly tired at various parts of the day, and I am a bit short of breath. These things are both quite out of the ordinary for me. The progesterone injections can cause fatigue, so I am blaming them for the moment. Not much else worthy of mention right now...so, onto the 12th already!

Frozen M&M Minis

Good news! Of the nine "leftover" embryos that we had on Thursday, five made it to the cryopreservation stage! If this cycle does not work for some reason, at least we have these five frozen minis left that we can use for a frozen embryo transfer (FET) some time down the road.

tick tock...Tick Tock...TICK TOCK

We are three days post transfer, and all we are doing is waiting. Tick tock.... I am feeling much better these days. Tick tock.... My bloating has mostly subsided, and my abdominal area feels almost back to normal. Tick tock... My only complaint is still the soreness in my hips / butt due to the daily IM injections. Tick tock... I am dealing with it better, though, and am just pushing forward. Tick tock... Only ten more days until the beta test and then we can celebrate or move forward to our next steps. TICK TOCK...