Slow heartbeat

I have been so negligent with the blog over the past week.  With fatigue and nausea pretty much every day, I can barely keep up with my household!  We went to my OB a little over a week ago when I was 7 weeks.  I had a bunch of questions for them and I wanted to put my mind at rest and know that we had 2 heartbeats.  Well, we had an ultrasound done and we had 2 heartbeats, but Baby A was at 129 and measuring on track and Baby B was measuring super small and had a heartbeat only in the 70s or 80s.  It was so faint and slow that they had a hard time capturing it on doppler.  We are really doubting that Baby B is going to make it.  Although Jeff and I weren't exactly hoping and praying for twins from the beginning, it was still really bittersweet to see one of our babies struggling.  At this point, we are praying that Baby A continues to grow and thrive and do well as our midwife wasn't giving us much hope for Baby B.  God has them both in His hands, we know, and I have had a lot of peace throughout this journey.  I haven't had any bleeding, which my midwife had me looking out for, so not sure exactly what is going on in there.  We go back this Monday for another ultrasound.  We will keep you posted!

6 week U/S

Thanks for praying for us! We are pregnant with TWINS! Oh my goodness - 4 children under the age of 5! Jeff is about to have a heart attack. Ha! : ) Both babies were measuring right on track and we got a heartbeat on one, but not the other. The doctor there said that they never do 6 week ultrasounds for this reason. So often they get the heartbeat the next week. Also, their genetic siblings born to Jennifer and Aaron went through the same thing - no heartbeat at 6 weeks and then boom! several days later there they were! Katie, our nurse, said the same thing and that we didn't even need to go back next week. We can just wait for the 9 week u/s. Yay!

Everything else looked good, so we are happy! So very grateful to God for His abundant blessings : )

An Old Familiar Friend

Welcome home, morning sickness (aka all day sickness in waves). Right now you are a very welcomed addition!

Beta #2

Our beta #2 is 821!  Nurse Katie was very happy with that number, but I know it only doubled in like 65 hours.  Ugh!  Maybe we lost one baby?  Not sure.  Funny thing is that now that my brain has wrapped around having twins, I would be really disappointed if it isn't : (  I am so crazy, aren't I?!  I will really just be happy with one healthy baby.  Of course, we still may have twins.  Katie said I am definitely in twins range.  I would just think my numbers would have gone up more, if so, but we shall see.

My 6 week u/s is next Friday morning.  It is going to be a LONG time to wait!!!

Thanks for praying!
Tracey

Beta #1....

After getting my blood drawn this morning at 7:30am, Katie (the IVF coordinator) called me to tell me that the Tennessee office would be closed this morning due to the ice storm!  I am so grateful that she took my number home with her last night just in case.  So, the lab here in Atlanta had to give Katie a verbal at her home and then she turned around and called me.  It was really so considerate of them to think of me.  They could have just let me wait out the weekend and give me both numbers on Monday, but Katie said that she didn't want to do that to me.  Thank you, Katie!!!

Anyway... the number is 381!!!

Oh, so very scary fabulous : )  I am THRILLED to be pregnant with a good strong number!  But, I can't lie - having multiples with 2 more small kids in the house overwhelms me a little bit.  Whenever I am nervous and worried though and start going down the "what ifs" (like what if this is triplets? How will we afford 4 or 5 kids with me as a SAHM?, Will they be in the NICU and how will I manage that with 2 girls at home?  etc... See how ahead of God I get??), I remember a quote out of the Jesus Calling devotional that says that worry is envisioning a future apart from Jesus.  I love that!  So very true.  So, I am claiming my life verse and resting in it today "I am the Lord's servant..... May it be to me as you have said." Luke 1:38.  I know that God is able to meet every one of our needs no matter what He decides for us in the future.  I am glad He gives us 9 months to adjust and get on board with whatever His plan is!  Ha!

I am definitely feeling pregnant.  I have been FAMISHED.  I never had that this early with either of my  other pregnancies.  But, seriously, my stomach growls like 3-4 times a day.  It is crazy!!  I also already get winded a lot.  And lastly, I have some serious nasal congestion with no cold.  Supposedly, this could be pregnancy rhinitus where all the hormones make your nasal passages swell and cause hay fever like symptoms.  Katie did tell me that my progesterone level was like 65 and they just want to see it over 15!  I am hormonal, people : )

Because the first beta is high, they just want it to double by Monday.  I will let you all know!  Thanks again for praying!

Lots of Good News!

So, I know that I said that I would be waiting until Friday morning to take a pregnancy test, but today a friend gave me a leftover First Response (to be used on said such Friday) and I was then ARMED and very DANGEROUS!  Ha.  After having that one little lone test sitting in my passenger carseat the whole morning, it was like it was calling out to me to be used. : )  And, really, I felt SO pregnant!  I have had the usual cramping and added a couple of new symptoms from the previous transfers - famished often and big time nasal congestion with no cold.  So, I decided to go ahead and test.  Here is what it looked like....

Woo hoo!!  I am 6 days post 5 day transfer, so I think I am on track this time.  During our last transfer, I didn't test positive until 7 days after transfer and it was with a SUPER faint line.  And, as many of you know, my beta came back at 17.  So, here's to hoping for a strong beta on Friday!!

I held off calling Jeff when I saw the news (explanation below), but went ahead and called my parents and, of course, Jennifer, to let them know the good news.  My parents told me that they had bets on whether or not I could hold out and not test until Friday.  They know me better than I think!

Since I tested earlier, Jeff had no idea.  This left me with an opportunity to surprise him a bit.  So, I had Keller wear a "big sister" shirt and then taped the test onto his mirror with "Surprise!" written above it.  When he came home, he saw Keller, but the shirt didn't register for him.  After seeing the pregnancy test he said, "OMG!  We have never had a line that dark this early!!!"  We are a tad nervous about having twins.  On the one hand, we would get genetic siblings!  Yay!!  But, this 44 year old is already a bit tired with her 2 young ones and can't imagine adding twins to the mix.  But, we will rejoice either way.  Just happy to be preggo right now!!

The other good news is that a couple of days ago I found out that our new insurance plan that started January 1st covers infertility treatments at 80%!!!!!  With a $1000 deductible!  So, the NEDC is going to refile with our insurance and refund us some money.  I can't believe it!  Plus, they are covering all of my meds with co-pays - 60 for both Estrace and PIO.  I really am in total shock about the whole thing.  I never would have even checked if it hadn't been for the fact that my PIO was covered with a copay, which has never happened before.  Good news all around!!

Here are a couple of pictures to cover Jeff's surprise.  The picture of him in shock has been recreated for your viewing amusement!

That's it for now!  Will let you know the beta on Friday : )  Thanks for all of your prayers!

Our Last Transfer

Thanks so much for praying for us yesterday!  We are grateful.  After arriving at the NEDC, Carol, the embryologist, came and told us that they thawed all 5 of our embryos.  Two of the embryos did not survive (they were ushered straight into heaven!), and the remaining three were transferred.  They were graded a 6CC, 6AB, and 5AA.  I have to say that I am a little nervous having 3 on board as I cannot imagine being 44, already having 2 small kids, and then having triplets!  Whew, that's scary! : )  But, I am sure the chances of that are very slim.  Here is a picture of our sweet babies : )

Jeff and I left early this morning so that he could go back to work.  I am lounging around as the girls are at my parent's house.  Jeff will pick them up tonight and bring them back here tomorrow to give me some extra rest time.  Grateful as I am feeling really crampy today, typical of my previous two transfers.  Hope that's a good sign!

We have our beta on 1/25, which also happens to be my birthday!  It could be a really nice birthday gift : ) But, we will celebrate God's goodness either way.

This transfer is definitely our last.  We already felt that way before we knew that all 5 embryos had been thawed and used, but this really confirms it for us.  I am praying that we become pregnant this time.  For us and for Jennifer and Aaron.  As many of you already know, their twins are these embryos' genetic siblings.  How great it would be to have a genetic sibling connection and have the opportunity to build a relationship with them!

We don't think we will be taking any home pregnancy tests until maybe the day of the beta.  Maybe.  So, I will let you know what happens!!  Thanks for praying!