We're seeing double . . .

Meet Baby A and Baby B, it's twins!!!

While the shock is still settling in, we are so thrilled that both embryos implanted and are doing great!  Our first ultrasound this morning had us all on pins and needles.  My mister said he could see my heart pounding though my shirt as we waited for my doctor to come in.  We were so nervous that something was going to be wrong.  The babies actually look perfect and were well synchronized with their heart rates and size.  Synchronization is a very good thing for twins especially this early on.  I'm about 6 1/2 weeks along, so we actually are only telling family and my select blog readers for now.;)  We have another ultrasound in 3 weeks and at that point I plan to shout it from the rooftops!  This explains why I'm so sick and starving . . . I'm eating for three!;)  While the due date is now around Valentine's Day, it sounds like these two will likely make their debut in January 2013.  That actually feels really close, and I feel like I have a lot to do between now and then!  For now though, I'm just going to get another snack and have a nap.;)

Update

My medications remain unchanged and I'm doing acupuncture once a week for pregnancy support now.  We are anxiously anticipating our first ultrasound on Monday!  This has been the longest week ever!;)  In a few weeks I will begin to wean off my steroids and hormones, which will be so nice!  My days still have to be planned around my medications being administered on time.  Pregnancy after IVF is definitely nothing like a natural pregnancy.  As my doctor said, they don't want to "rock the boat" once we get to this point so the first trimester includes a continuation of several of the IVF medications.  My morning blood thinner injection is making me so tired!  My mister does it before he leaves for work, and I'm usually dead to the world when he leaves.  I'm also feeling yucky in the mornings, so most mornings I try to go back to bed.  It looks like I will not get to wean off the blood thinner any time soon, but I'm hoping I can start giving it to myself and gradually make the time later.  Sleeping in will help a lot too as my morning sickness gets worse.  I still can't believe I'm pregnant and even took another pregnancy test on Monday just for reassurance.  Still positive!;)  Hopefully, Monday will come quickly and we can finally officially celebrate and start to relax.  

It's official . . . we're pregnant!

So today I went in to have my second beta hcg drawn.  It's a big deal, because increasing hcg indicates a healthy pregnancy.  While we were excited to have a positive test three days ago, we really needed to see an increase today.  Our last IVF cycle this is when my hcg dropped and things got ugly.  Today's results were 810, which is triple from our first test!  I spoke briefly with the embryologist while I was there and he said that 9 out 10 patients with my hcg levels this early on are carrying twins.  That would mean that both of our embryos implanted!  I got a little lightheaded when he said that, because I know that twins are high risk pregnancies and that our our lives would be drastically changed.  For now, our focus is getting to the ultrasound in two and a half weeks, which is the only way to determine how many embryos there are.  We would be thrilled with one and even more excited for two!  After so many years, it's still pretty surreal to actually be pregnant.  Neither my mister or myself have quite wrapped our minds around it yet, so hopefully the ultrasound will also help things sink in a little.  I'm between 4 and 5 weeks and the baby would be due the beginning of February or babies around the end of January.  Here's hoping the next few weeks and months go by quickly!  

First Beta HCG Results

Today was a big day!  We received my first beta hcg results.  I was up bright and early, and I'm pretty sure I was the first one at the lab.  Less than three hours later, my doctor called me herself to tell me that my beta was 269 . . . positive!  This is a little high for this early on, but there is no way to know if it is twins until my ultrasound in 2 1/2 weeks.  This is a huge milestone for us, but with our track record we are still not fully celebrating yet.  We will recheck my beta on Saturday to make sure that it is rapidly increasing, indicating a strong pregnancy.  Then, we need to make it to our first ultrasound to make sure our little embryo(s) are doing okay.  We choose not to do any genetic screening of the embryos this time, but are feeling good since they looked so great on day 5 (the blastocyst stage).  We are trying not to dwell on the past, but after three losses it's hard not to worry.  For now, we are thrilled beyond belief.  I keep thinking how glad I'm that we never gave up during this roller coaster process that has been going on for years!  I think after so many years of disappointment, we can't even wrap our minds around being pregnant!  There will be a 6 year gap between my daughter and this baby, so we are more than ready to enter the baby world again!

Another Day Out

I had an acupuncture appointment today and was told that I was doing "too much" and had to have an extended treatment. Then, I was sent back home to bed. I still haven't even left my house other than for lab work but apparently I shouldn't be going up and down my stairs so much. After being down for 5 days I need to take 5 days to more gradually get back to normal. Hopefully, my new normal will include morning sickness and I'm certain I'll run to the toilet with a smile on my face after all of this to get to that point!

First Day Out

Today was the first day I left my nest since the embryos were transferred. While I would have rather gone to church, I had an appointment at the IVF clinic for blood work. It was just to make sure all of my pregnancy support hormones were at appropriate levels and they were. The clinic reminds me a little of Walmart because they are always open! It was weird to pull up early on a Sunday and their parking lot was full. No long lines though, they have that part figured out. When it comes to IVF there are no "business hours."

Still keeping the bed warm!

My mom left today. Sad for me, good for her, I'm sure she needed a break! My mister is off the next four days so he will resume her duties. Let's just say the house might not sparkle and the food won't be like grandma's but the kids will still have fun and no one will go hungry. I have had a few friends ask me, so what now? After this weekend, I will gradually increase to light-normal activity. I still need to keep my heart rate below 140 to insure adequate uterine blood flow, no heavy lifting, no caffeine, etc. I'm still being followed by my doctor very closely with frequent lab work. Because I've lost my last three pregnancies, I'm on a slew of pregnancy "support" medicines. My doctor isn't taking any chances! I start each day with a Lovenox (blood thinner) injection as well as a baby aspirin at night to prevent placental micro-clots. I take steroids morning and night as well as mega-vitamins three times a day. My hormone support includes progesterone three times a day and estrogen in the mornings. I have 8 med alarms on my iPhone and there is no way I could keep track of things otherwise. If I'm pregnant (I mean after I find out that I'm pregnant), some of the meds will continue the entire pregnancy and some I will gradually be weaned off after the first trimester. I will also "graduate" to a regular ob/gyn after the first trimester. I can't wait for that thumbs up!