Heartbeat ultrasound 11/30/20

Today we went in to see our little star up on the big screen and he did not disappoint... and neither did his brother! We have a splitter! 

We had quite the shock almost instantly when two little sacks went up on the monitor. The room went quiet, and we just stared in shock and awe. Two? Two!! Both looked good with nice, solid heart rates for this gestation.

Baby A had a heart rate of 110 and is measuring a day behind and baby B had a heart rate of 128 measuring right on track. 

Next appointment: 12/14/20 for second ultrasound 

Feeling: excited to watch these little stars grow and munching on carrots to keep the nausea away!

Weight: 158

6 weeks and counting 11/29/20

 Today our little Star is 6 weeks old! 

Next appointment: 11/30/20 first ultrasound 

Feeling: exhausted! The fatigue kicks in later in the day and the nausea is throughout the day bet definitely bearable and should decrease in the next few weeks. 

Weight: 158

What’s new with baby?

The tiny baby already has the beginnings of a brain, eyes, ears, lungs and heart. In fact, their heart has even begun to beat to its own rhythm! While the little one is no longer than a grain of rice, his tiny arm and leg buds have already started to form.

Third times a charm! Beta #3 11/20/20

Third and final beta came in at 3776!! That is a 164% increase so we know he is working hard in there to grow for us. With numbers like that I’m surprised I’m not feeling more symptoms, not that I am complaining. I’ve heard that symptoms can kick in more around 7 weeks so I will take advantage of feeling great while I can. 

We will have an ultrasound on 11/30, which will be 6 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Just over a week and we get to see the little shooting star back up on the big screen and watch his little heart flutter. 

Next appointment: 11/30 first ultrasound 

Gestation: 4 weeks 5 days

Feeling: a little nauseous here and there but doing really well. Fatigue sets in later in the day and encourages me to get my rest!

Weight: 158

Beta #2, 11/18/20

We had a second blood test on 11/18 to make sure the hcg level was rising appropriately, ideally you want to see the level double ever 48 hours. Since our first level was 543, anything over 1100 would be great sign that the little star of the show was growing right on track. 

Well, drumroll please... our second level was 1428!! The nurse said it was an exceptional rise. It is such a relief to see the number rising so well. We go back for one last blood draw tomorrow and should be well over 2000.

Luckily the nausea has settled a bit, as long as I snack throughout the day. The times I see the nausea creeping in is when I start to get hungry so I guess it’s time to start carrying a little bag of carrots with me. The perfect crunchy snack, that I can treat the puppies with too, win win! 

Beta Day! 11/16/20

It has been 10 days since the transfer and we are officially at test day! We had a blood test, often referred to as a beta, to measure the concentration of hCG in my blood. At this point, a good number would be at least 100. I was hoping that we would have a good hefty number over 100 to put us all at ease, and the number 268 popped into my head. Well our little shooting star turned out to be quite the over achiever, not surprising as both of his parents are in Education, and surprised us by producing an hCG level of 543!!! We danced, smiled, cried, laughed, and shared so much joy after waiting 8 hours for the results. 

Now we will check the hCG levels until we hit 2000, which could very well happen by Friday. Then we would have an ultrasound at 6 weeks. By 6 weeks gestation we should be able to see a heart beat. And since a 5 day blast is considered 2.5 weeks old at transfer, November 30th would be 6 weeks and 1 day and we may actually get to see this little guy by the end of the month!! Such an beautiful thought. And come July, this little man could be in his parents arms! I may be getting a little ahead of myself here, but after being on this journey since March, it feels amazing to finally be at this point.

Happy to say we are all over the moon that our little Star has stuck around!

Grow, baby, grow.

Next step: Blood work on 11/18 and 11/20

Transfer Day, and a shooting star

 Transfer day is here!! 

As I got in the car to drive over the clinic, a whole 2 minutes, the butterflies in my stomach finally started getting a little rowdy. Check in was quick and easy, I was brought into a little room to change and then we were in the transfer room and four people were taking at once and moving around like a well oiled machine. L and D were able to join on FaceTime to watch they confirm who we are, get the embryo into the tube and watch the transfer. It was quick, amazing and such a beautiful experience. The nurse pointed to the ultrasound screen and and said "watch right here, it will look like a shooting star". I absolutely loved that visual, out little star! When an embryo is transferred, it is too small to see on the ultrasound, but when it is pulled into the tube for transfer it is attached to an air bubble, and that is what you can see on the ultrasound when the embryo is placed in the uterus. The little air bubble with the embryo looks like a tiny white spot in a sea of grey, and really did look like a little shooting star frozen in the middle of a night sky.

We all teared up, smiled and laughed and have such hope that it feels amazing to have this part of our journey be complete. Next up is the beta (blood test) on November 16th to see what our hcg (pregnancy hormones) levels are, then a follow up test a few days later to make sure the levels are rising appropriately.

Medications daily until 10 weeks pregnant: 

    *2 esterase tablets

    *3 progesterone suppositories

    *1 IM progesterone shot