12 Weeks! Holy moly!

How far along? 12 weeks!!

Baby is the size of a: Large Plum

Total weight gain: About 3 pounds.

Stretch marks? Just the one on my boob!

Maternity clothes?  No, but my jeans are getting pretty snug around my waist. 

Sleep: Pretty decent this week, only waking up to go pee!

Best moment this week: Getting our doppler so we can listen to the baby's heartbeat whenever we want! 

Miss anything? Not this week.

Food cravings: Pickles, Cereal, Pepperocinis, Flaming Hot Cheetos with Limon (awful, I know!) Pretty much anything spicy, salty or sour is delicious right now. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Gender: No idea! I really want a boy, so it's probably a girl! 

Labor signs: Hopefully not for a very long time! 

Symptoms: Hungry, bloated, moody, and dizzy off and on. I've gotten some pretty bad gas pains this week and pulling pains on the inside of my hip bones. I assume it's due to things growing and expanding. The bloat has been insane this week. Last night I looked like I was 6 months pregnant! 

Belly button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: 

Definitely moody. 

Looking forward to: Being out of the 1st Trimester, our first pre-natal appointment with my OB-GYN and finding out the baby's gender! 

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have a great day spending it with family and friends! 

We have an appointment set for our 3D/4D gender ultrasound! January 23rd cannot come any sooner! I am so anxious to find out what we're having. I'll be 16 weeks then and should definitely be able to see the goods.... If baby cooperates! 

This week I got my first head cold since I've been pregnant. It's been awful and I've just felt so crummy. I tried really hard not to take anything, but needed some relief so I took some Sudafed (yes, it's safe).  I've also been using my Neti-Pot which has made a world of difference. I hope it goes away quickly because I absolutely hate being a mouth breather. 

Have a great day everyone!! 

Alissha 

11 Weeks

How far along? 11 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Lime (about 2 inches long)

Total weight gain: Not keeping track.

Stretch marks? Just the one on my boob!

Maternity clothes?  No, but my jeans are getting pretty snug around my waist. I've had to do the hair tie trick so they expand because I can't button them! 

Sleep: I've been tossing and turning more this week.  Sometimes when I wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, it's hard to go back to sleep.

Best moment this week: Being all done with the progesterone suppositories, having a little more energy at night and actually making it to the gym after work on Tuesday. I wanted to go on Wednesday, but I ended up working really late that night and didn't get home until 12:40 am! 

Miss anything? Not this week.

Food cravings: Pickles, lemon water, Cheerios, Cuties. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Gender: No idea! We will hopefully find out some time in January.

Labor signs: Hopefully not for a very long time! 

Symptoms: Hungry, bloated and moody. I'm getting pretty snappy these days.....

Belly button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: 

Definitely moody. 

Looking forward to: My belly popping out and being out of the 1st Trimester! 

My prenatal appointment with my OB-GYN is still scheduled for December 31st. Unfortunately Chris won't be able to go to the appointment with me, but I don't want to delay getting into my doctor any longer.  I will definitely schedule my next appointments so Chris can go.  We're planning on doing a gender reveal 3D/4D ultrasound when I'm 16 weeks, but we still have to schedule the appointment.  

I ordered a fetal heart doppler off e-bay on Monday and got it yesterday! I had to test it out right away and it took a minute to find the heart beat. Turns out baby is lower than I thought and still hasn't popped out of my pelvic cavity.  We had to keep moving the doppler to find the heartbeat, but didn't get a good reading to see how fast it was beating. Hopefully it'll get easier the next time we try! 

Alissha 

10 Weeks!

How far along? 10 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Prune

Total weight gain: 2 pounds? It fluctuates too much to really know. 

Stretch marks? None on my belly, but one decided to sneak up on my boob this week! 

Maternity clothes?  I purchased a few tops and maternity leggings from PinkBlushMaternity.com on Black Friday because they were having such a good sale, but I have yet to wear them. 

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty good. I get up once or twice during the night to go to the restroom. 

Best moment this week: Seeing our baby at our appointment yesterday and "graduating" from our fertility clinic.  I have officially been released to my Ob-Gyn.  My first appointment with my Ob-Gyn is tentatively scheduled for December 31st, but that might change when they get their January calendar so that Chris can go to the appointment with me.  

Miss anything? Not this week! 

Food cravings: Salty, sour and spicy foods.  Claussen pickles in the morning? Yes please! Cheerios and Cuties are still pretty tasty. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope! I haven't gotten nauseous at all this week.  Thank you baby! 

Gender: No idea! 

Labor signs: Hopefully not for a very long time! 

Symptoms: Hungry and emotional.  When i'm hungry, I have to eat or I get super crabby.  If I get up too fast or move a certain way, I get sharp pains in my hips.  It's really strange, but Dr. Norian said it's probably just growing/stretching pains. 

Belly button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: I asked Chris if he thought i've been moody lately and he immediately answered "Yeeeeeeeessssssssss"....... so true. 

Looking forward to: My belly popping out and actually looking pregnant, not like I ate one too many donuts!

Yesterday was bittersweet as we graduated from our fertility clinic.  Dr. Norian told me I could resume all normal activity and stop my estrogen supplements immediately.  Unfortunately, I have to wean off of the progesterone, but I will be all done with it by Monday! Hallelujah! I got all of my medical records from the very beginning of our IVF journey to give to my Ob-Gyn and they gave us a sweet gender neutral baby blanket.  

We will definitely be keeping in touch with Dr. Norian and his staff throughout the rest of the pregnancy and when our baby arrives.  We can't say enough good things about the staff at HRC Fertility.  They really took the time with us and it meant so much to always see Dr. Norian at every appointment.  At our previous fertility clinic, we saw someone different each time and it got really annoying.  We felt like there was no consistency and we were just a number.  Dr. Norian performed all of my ultrasounds, the egg retrieval, embryo transfers and was available by phone any time we needed him.  Our nurse, Saba, was always available by phone or e-mail, as well, to answer any questions and put my mind at ease.  If you or anyone  you know are looking for a fertility doctor, I highly recommend HRC Fertility Rancho Cucamonga.  We will definitely be going back for baby number two when we're ready (and if we don't conceive naturally the next go around).

Our baby has grown so much since our last ultrasound.  It is absolutely amazing.  It has little arms and legs that are already starting to kick and flail around in my belly.  I can't wait to actually feel it move and then when Chris can feel it too.  The heartbeat was strong at 165 bpm and it measured 3 days ahead of schedule.  In the picture below, the baby is upside down. You can see it's little arms!!

Alissha

9 week Bumpdate

How far along? 9 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Grape (about an inch long)

Total weight gain: 2 pounds? It fluctuates too much to really know. 

Stretch marks? No. 

Maternity clothes?  I bought a couple belly bands earlier this week to help with my expanding waist.

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty good. I get up once or twice during the night to go to the restroom. 

Best moment this week: I actually went to the gym last Saturday.... Have I been back since? No, but I want to make it a part of my normal routine again. 

Miss anything? My normal appetite. 

Food cravings: I've definitely noticed I like more salty foods lately. I haven't been a fan of fresh vegetables, but Cuties and Cheerios have been a favorite this week. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nothing in particular. Just different smells at weird times. 

Gender: No idea! 

Labor signs: Hopefully not for a very long time! 

Symptoms: Tired, HUNGRY, boobs are tender/sore off and on, bloated and emotional. Crying because I'm hungry is the norm lately! 

Belly button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: 

A mixture of both! These pregnancy hormones are craaaaazy! 

Looking forward to: Seeing our little bean at our 10 week ultrasound next Thursday!

Sorry for the late update! Not much happened this week, but our baby is officially a fetus now! I still haven't gotten too sick, but my appetite has been a little off this week. Nothing will sound good, but I'll be soooooo hungry. It's really frustrating! 

Alissha 

8 Weeks!

How far along? 8 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Raspberry!

Total weight gain: 2 pounds

Stretch marks? No. 

Maternity clothes?  Nope!

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty good. I can't get enough sleep.

Best moment this week: Seeing our baby again and hearing it's strong little heart! 

Miss anything? Going to the gym. It's really starting to wear on me not going and I need to get back into it. I'm just soooo tired when I get home from work : /

Food cravings: I've definitely noticed I like more salty foods lately. When I think of something I want, I have to have it and then once I get it, I'm good and don't want it again. Chicken noodle soup with fresh squeezed lemon was a must this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nothing in particular.

Gender: No idea! My initial intuition was saying boy, but now I really don't know what to think with that strong heartbeat at 161 bpm! 

Labor signs: Hopefully not for a very long time! 

Symptoms: Tired, HUNGRY, boobs are starting to get a little tender and feeling a little off in the mornings like my blood sugar is low. 

Belly button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: 

A mixture of both! These pregnancy hormones are craaaaazy! 

Looking forward to: Eating Thanksgiving dinner! 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This year we have so much to be thankful for and I feel so blessed to be 8 weeks pregnant. Every week is such a huge milestone and it's amazing to know there's a little healthy baby growing inside.  

Food has definitely taken center stage this week. When I'm hungry, I'm HUNGRY and need to eat RIGHT NOW. This morning when I woke up, I was already hungry. I decided I wanted French Toast for breakfast and Chris was going to make it for me, but he had to go to the store first. Fast forward one hour and I was STARVING. I was getting things ready for Thanksgiving dinner and I was not a happy camper about not eating yet. Chris came up to me to let me know everything was okay and I just started sobbing and saying, "I'm just so hungry you don't understand!" It was pretty ridiculous and hilarious at the same time. Thank you, little nugget of mine, for making me a crazy hormonal pregnant woman. Momma loves you! 

Alissha 

A Scare and 2nd Ultrasound

Today we had our second ultrasound and it couldn't have come sooner. On Saturday I was getting ready so we could go to our friend's house warming party that evening when I went to the bathroom and noticed bright red blood on my panty liner. I immediately freaked out. I wiped, there was more blood. Wiped again and it was still there. I started thinking the worst and told Chris what was going on. I didn't have any cramping and decided to call my fertility doctor for some direction/advice. After talking to him, he basically told me bleeding/spotting in early pregnancy is pretty normal and unless I was having cramps and bleeding excessively I didn't need to rush to the Emergency Room. He told me to take it easy, keep my feet up and increased my progesterone suppositories to 4 times a day (yaaaay 👎). So, our plans got cancelled and we spent the rest of our day and evening hanging out in bed watching home make over shows. Within 30 minutes the bleeding stopped and changed to dark spotting. After about 24 hours, it completely stopped. Why I started bleeding/spotting, I have no idea and neither does the doctor, but it freaked me out. 

This morning my stomach was in knots. Since Saturday I was questioning all of my pregnancy symptoms and wondering if maybe we lost the baby before Saturday. I didn't want to see that our baby hasn't grown or that it didn't have a heart beat. Much to my surprise and relief, our baby is just fine! On our ultrasound it was measuring 2 days ahead (8 weeks) and had a very strong heart beat at 161 beats per minute. I was so relieved to see that little nugget and could have listened to the heart beat all day. We saw the baby's little T-Rex arms and little stubby legs that are already starting to form. It was amazing. 

The doctor told us everything looked great and to continue taking my medication as directed. I'll be all done with my progesterone lozenges tomorrow and don't need to get those refilled. I'll continue using the progesterone suppositories 4 times a day until Friday when I can go back down to 3 times a day. Our next appointment is December 11th when I'll be 10 weeks and hopefully our nugget will look more like a baby and not a blob! That'll also be when we 'graduate' from our fertility clinic and the rest of my pre-natal appointments will be with my OB-GYN. 

Alissha

7 Weeks!

How far along? 7 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Blueberry!

Total weight gain: I've lost a few more ounces this week : /

Stretch marks? No. 

Maternity clothes?  Nope!

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty good. I can't get enough sleep.

Best moment this week: Seeing our baby and hearing the little heartbeat.

Miss anything? Going to the gym. It's really starting to wear on me not going and I need to get back into it. I'm just soooo tired when I get home from work : /

Food cravings: None. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not this week.

Gender: My intuition says boy.

Labor signs: Hopefully not for a very long time! 

Symptoms: Tired, bloated, tired, and feeling a little off in the mornings like my blood sugar is low. 

Belly button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: 

This week I've been crabby, mostly because the bloat is making me pretty uncomfortable and I just feel fluffy. 

Looking forward to: Our ultrasound on the 25th! 

The most significant change this week has been the bloat. It is absolutely ridiculous. After I eat a meal I look like I'm 6 months pregnant and just feel so uncomfortable. I've continued drinking a ton of water and trying to make healthy food choices. My go to snacks have been Greek yogurt with raw almonds, apples with peanut butter, cherry tomatoes, celery, raw mini bell peppers, broccoli and cottage cheese.  In the mornings when I feel a little off, I'll eat a few saltine crackers and I'm usually okay. I got these ginger candies last weekend called Gin-Gins from World Market and they have also helped. I am so excited to see our little nugget next week and see how much it's grown. 

Alissha 

First Ultrasound

Yesterday we had our first ultrasound to see how many babies we're expecting.  We were both pretty anxious to find out and while my gut instinct told me there was only one in my belly, Chris was positive there were two.  We got to our fertility clinic 10 minutes early and were taken back pretty quickly.  After a few minutes for me to get undressed (they did a transvaginal ultrasound), Dr. Norian came in, congratulated us again and asked how I was feeling.  He started doing the ultrasound and this is what we saw....

One perfect little bean with a heart rate of 109 beats per minute.  Dr. Norian was impressed that we were able to see the heart flicker and hear it because I was only 6 weeks, 1 day pregnant.  He said the heart probably started beating the day or night before.  Maybe that's why I was so exhausted the night before and went to bed at 7:30! We were ecstatic to see the heart beating and hear it.  It's such an amazing sound.  We got some video of it, but it's a little hard to hear and then Dr. Norian chimes in and says, "Baby Benson, coming to you soon" so it cuts down how much we can hear.  Hopefully at the next ultrasound, which is scheduled for November 25th, we'll get a better video of the heart.  Dr Norian was pleased with the size and shape of the gestational sack (the black blob around the baby) and the yolk sack next to the baby.

Seeing our baby made me feel so much more at ease. Knowing there's a heartbeat and hearing it made it seem so much more real.  Dr. Norian told me I could finish my current prescription for progesterone lozenges and then be done with them, but i'll need to continue my other medication (estrogen patch, estrogen pills and progesterone suppositories) until I'm 10 weeks.  I can do "light" activity which basically means walking and then as things progress i'll be able to do more.  He advised us to keep the pregnancy between the two of us until I'm 10 weeks.  Oops.  I really disagree with people who say you shouldn't announce your pregnancy until the end of the 1st trimester.  Why should it be kept such a secret just because there's a "what if".  I would want as much support as possible if the "what if" became a reality and why is there such taboo with it? So many couples go through loss and feel isolated when it happens to them because no one talks about it.  And with so many people knowing the struggle we've had over the last 3 years and 10 months, our journey through fertility treatments and IVF, it's kind of hard to keep it a secret.  I know we could have kept it all between us, but that wasn't what we chose.  Struggling with infertility is very hard and opening up to others has helped me with the process.

So there it is! Baby Benson is due July 9, 2015!

Alissha

6 Week Bumpdate

How far along? 6 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Sweet Pea

Total weight gain: According to my scale I lost 3.5 pounds this week...pretty sure that's incorrect, so I'll probably stick to whatever the doctor's scale says.

Maternity clothes?  Nope!

Stretch marks? Nope! 

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty good. No complaints! 

Best moment this week: Date night with Chris : ) 

Miss anything? Not really.

Food cravings: Burritos with homemade tortillas.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nothing in particular, but I got nauseous for the first time yesterday! 

Gender: My intuition says boy, if we have one little nugget in there : )

Labor signs: Hopefully not for a very long time! 

Symptoms: Tired, lower backache, mild cramps and nausea. Still no sore boobs! 

Belly button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: 

So happy! 

Looking forward to: Our ultrasound tomorrow! 

This week was pretty uneventful, except for the nausea that decided to kick in yesterday. I tried making my first prenatal appointment with my OB GYN and when I told them I conceived via IVF I was told they needed all documents related to my pregnancy before they would schedule my first appointment. I was a little annoyed by that. So my fertility clinic will continue to see me until I'm 10 weeks and then give me all my documents so I can see my OB GYN. 

Tomorrow we have our first ultrasound and I'm so anxious to see our little baby(s). I've had different dreams where we find out we're having twins and then my next dream we're only having one baby. I think there's just one little bean in there, but we'll see! 

Sorry, no picture this week. Still no noticeable bump! 

Alissha 

5 Week Update

I wanted to start documenting my pregnancy through 'bump dates' and posting pictures of my growing belly. I don't have much of any belly this week, so I'll start posting those pictures next week, maybe. 

How far along? 5 weeks

Baby is the size of an: Appleseed 

Total weight gain: I just weighed myself this morning for the first time since starting our frozen cycle, so I have no idea if I've gained anything yet. 

Stretch marks? No. 

Maternity clothes?  Nope! But, my pants are getting a little snug around the waist. I think I'll only have another week or so before I need to get a belly band/maternity pants.

Stretch marks? Nope! 

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty good. I wake up 1-2 times at night to go pee and then I'm wide awake usually around 5:30. 

Best moment this week: Finding out our second beta came in at 4,362! 

Miss anything? Not really.

Food cravings: Nothing yet. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope and I hope it stays that way!

Gender: My intuition says boy, if we have one little nugget in there : )

Labor signs: Hopefully not for a very long time! 

Symptoms: Constantly thirsty, tired, mild headaches every so often and I've definitely been going to the bathroom, #1 & #2, more frequently. Sorry, TMI ; ) 

Belly button in or out?  In.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: 

So happy! 

Looking forward to: Our ultrasound next week to see how many babies were expecting! 

So far things have been going really well. Besides the constant thirst and getting tired earlier in the evening, I don't have anything else going on. I'm going to be increasing my estrogen patches to two every 3 days because my estrogen has actually gone down since increasing the pills to 4 times a day. So weird. My nurse said it wasn't too concerning though so that's good. I've been eating pretty well and making sure I'm eating plenty of fruits and vegetables for our growing baby(s). I have no cravings or aversions to any foods yet! 

Alissha 

Baby Benson(s) due July 2015!!

We're pregnant! I AM PREGNANT! I am so shocked! I'm like super pregnant! 

The last two weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions for me, hence why I haven't updated my blog. So here's what's been going on....

After the transfer, I felt so positive. For the first 48 hours I stayed on bed rest. I had cramping during that time, which was to be expected after the transfer but nothing unbearable. 3-4dp5dt (3-4 days past 5 day transfer) I felt occasional cramping, but nothing like the first two days. It was very mild and this was when my roller coaster started to go down. I started doubting this cycle and thinking I should have felt more by that time and I wasn't. 

On 5dp5dt, my lower back ached all day. It was as if I moved heavy boxes the day before, which I didn't. At about 5:30 that evening, I went to the restroom and noticed light spotting. I kinda freaked out. I thought either my cervix was getting irritated from the awesome progesterone suppositories I have to use 3 times a day or my period was coming. I thought it was too late in the cycle for implantation bleeding and that didn't really cross my mind as an option. 

The next day, on 6dp5dt I went back to work and sent an e-mail to my nurse about my backache, spotting and getting my blood test moved to October 31st instead of November 3rd. A few hours later, I got a call from my nurse. She told me the spotting and backache could be a pregnancy symptom or my period on its way. I don't get a back ache before starting my period, ever. She told me to just take it easy and they weren't too worried about the spotting since it wasn't heavy and it only happened the one time. The doctor was okay with me doing the pregnancy blood test on the 31st, but if the results were negative he still wanted me to test the next week. That evening, I fell asleep on the couch around 8. I was exhausted. 

On 7 and 8dp5dt, I had a little spotting again. It was very very light, but enough for this neurotic chick to notice it. I also started becoming really thirsty, despite drinking a ton of water. I've been drinking nearly 3 liters of water a day and still can't get enough. My mouth isn't dry, but I just feel thirsty. So with drinking a lot of water, comes more frequent trips to the bathroom. I also lost my appetite around this time. I'm hungry, but nothing sounds good to eat. I've basically just been eating foods I know I like rather than things that sound good to eat, if that makes sense. I did get tired during the day and wanted to nap, but of course I couldn't at work. 

9dp5dt, the same continued. I had aching cramps, very similar to starting my period. I've had little pinching sensations in my uterus and almost tugging sensations from my belly button since 7dp5dt. It's very strange. 

On 10dp5dt, October 31st I woke up hungry. I went and had my blood drawn at 9:15, then Chris and I went to breakfast at one of our favorite places. Afterwards, we went to the outlets to shop and help pass the time before we got the phone call. At 2pm, my nurse called me. My heart instantly started to race and I put the phone on speaker so we could both hear the results. The nurse said she was calling to let me know the lab hadn't received my samples to do the test! Despite going in first thing in the morning and the test being ordered STAT. She let me know the office closed at 4 that day and they may or may not get the results in time. She said if they do come in after 4, the doctor may or may not call me. I was not happy and did not want to wait until Monday for the results. I told Chris I wanted to stop at the store and get a pregnancy test. He agreed since I would have found out the results that day anyways. 

After an hour or so, we left the outlets and stopped at the store on our way home. At about 3:30, I took the test cause I was so anxious. I was seriously expecting it to be negative. My boobs didn't hurt at all and so many women experience that as their first symptom. I dipped the test and set it on the counter as Chris and I watched it. The 'pregnant' line came up instantly and so much darker than I expected. I was shocked and said a few curse words. I cried and so did Chris. We were and are ecstatic. I kept looking at the test and thinking I didn't "feel" pregnant at all. I was in complete shock. 

I never got a phone call on Friday. I took another pregnancy test Saturday morning to make sure the line was just as dark, If not darker, and it was a tad darker than the control line. At about 10 am, our doctor called me and we talked about how frustrated we were with the lab and how nothing goes as planned. He told me my progesterone and HcG (pregnancy hormone) came back "outstanding" and I am in fact pregnant! He said my estrogen was a little low, but he wasn't too concerned about it. I just have to increase my estrogen medication a little. My first beta HcG at 10dp5dt came back at 229! Anything over 100 is amazing. 

I go back on Thursday for my next HcG test to make sure the numbers are increasing.  By that time, my HcG should be around 900 or higher.  If all comes back good, then I'll have an ultrasound the following week to see how many babies were expecting! 

We are ecstatic and over the moon. We feel so blessed that we are finally pregnant! After nearly 4 years of actively trying, our prayers have been answered. Thank you all for your kind words, thoughts, support and prayers. They mean more than you know! 

Alissha 

Sticky thoughts!

This morning we had our second embryo transfer, but first frozen embryo transfer. We left the house at about 5:20 so we could be in Pasadena by 7 and although traffic was horrible, we were only about 5 minutes late. By the time we got to the clinic I had to pee.... Bad. For embryo transfers they like you to have a full bladder and since my bladder is the size of a walnut and gets full after a sip of water, I was ready to burst. 

They didn't call us back until a little after 7:30 and the nurse checked my bladder via ultrasound to make sure it was full, despite me telling her I was ready to pee my pants. When she checked, she thought my bladder may have been too full and asked me if I would be able to release a little bit and then stop. I told her that was a negative, but if needed I would do whatever the doctor wanted. She decided to let Dr. Norian make the final decision. 

When Dr. Norian came in, he told us both embryos survived the thaw. They are both graded 4AB. I'm not exactly sure what that means other than the quality of the inner cells is A and the outer layer is B... I think. Anyway, they're good quality embryos and that's all I care about. We still have 3 frozen embryos that we can use at a later date and although they're not as good of quality, I'm still happy we have 3. 

Our two beautiful embryos ☺️ 

Despite my bladder being pushed on by the ultrasound and trying not to pee everywhere, the transfer was easy. Dr. Norian decided my bladder wasn't too full and said it would make it a bit easier. It was just like our fresh transfer back in July, except I decided to hold my bladder for the full 30 minutes afterwards so I could stay laying down. I think I asked Chris what time it was every few minutes cause I could not wait to go to the bathroom! 

Our babies are right where the arrow is. The black area above is my bursting bladder. It's so amazing to watch the transfer on the ultrasound. We could see the embryos, surrounded in the fluid they were kept in, shoot out of the catheter. Dr. Norian told me to think "sticky thoughts" and be on bed rest for the next 48 hours. After that, I can do light activity but nothing strenuous. I'm off work the rest of the week and won't go back until Monday. I have plenty of time to rest so our babies can get nice and comfy! I've spent the majority of the day in bed or in the recliner and not doing too much. 

We're praying these little babies decide to stick around and we get to see their beautiful faces in 9 months. Thank you all for your continued support, well wishes and prayers!!

Alissha 

In two weeks...

I'll be pregnant until proven otherwise (PUPO) with twins or possibly triplets! Not sure if I mentioned it in a previous post, but we are planning on thawing 3 of our embryos for this cycle and Dr. Norian is on board with our plans. If all three survive the thaw, we'll be transferring all three. So exciting!  Unfortunately, we won't find out how many survived the thaw until the day of the transfer because they start thawing them the day before. Dr. Norian told us last week that the embryologists have been having great success rates with the number of embryos surving the thaw, so fingers crossed! Even if only one makes it through the thaw we will be totally ecstatic. We are staying positive this cycle and know that we will have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! 

And we won't need to have assisted hatching done! Assisted hatching is where the embryologist does the slightest cut in the outer shell of the embryo to assist it from breaking out of the shell and implanting into the uterus. All of our embryos were frozen on day 5 or 6 after being fertilized and were already starting to hatch. So that's great news and less money out of our pocket because yes, assisted hatching is indeed an additional cost in the thousands. 

At today's appointment Dr. Norian said I'm right on track for the transfer to be done on 2 weeks. My uterine lining is thickening, it's at 8mm now, and my ovaries are nice and "quiet". I'm up to three estrogen pills a day and still changing one estrogen patch every three days. So, I'm responding well to the estrogen and unfortunately becoming a little moodier/irritable as the days go by. All just a small price to pay for such an amazing blessing : ) 

Alissha 

So we meet again....

This morning I met this guy again.... 

I think he was more excited than I was. The ultrasound went great. My uterus and ovaries look good and right where they should be at this point. Tomorrow I'll start estrogen pills twice a day and the estrogen patch that I'll change every 3 days. Our next appointment is October 7th : ) 

Alissha 

What Infertility Has Cost Us

Lately I've been wondering how much we've spent on fertility treatments, tests and medications over the last year and a half. I decided to go through all our receipts and add up what we had and that's the number I got.... $21,383.51. That doesn't include the hundreds I've probably spent on pregnancy or ovulation predictor tests over the last 3 years and 9 months or what we will still be spending over the next month or so. 

I'm not surprised by how much we've spent. We've definitely felt the impact and even more so lately with the cost of IVF. Our health insurance doesn't cover any fertility treatments or any of the fertility medications, so pretty much everything has been spent out of pocket. We've paid for everything ourselves with the help of credit cards and try to pay cash as much as possible so we don't have to charge anything. It's hard. 

I know there are other couples out there that have spent way more than we have and for that, I feel blessed. I've seen some couples set up Go Fund Me accounts to get help paying for IVF and I really have mixed emotions about that. It's something I wouldn't do, but to each their own. 

We would spend ten times what we have already to have a baby of our own. We get asked if we've considered adoption and I get a little annoyed with that. People think it's so easy to adopt and if we can't have children of our own that's a logical alternative. What most don't understand is that it can be very expensive to adopt and it's a lengthy process. Until we've exhausted all efforts to have our own biological children, we won't be looking into adoption. 

Alissha 

Plans for our FET cycle

This go around I want to do things a little differently. First and foremost, I want to some how not be so stressed or overwhelmed by it all. I think going through it before will help since I'll know what to expect this time. I'm going to try my hardest to steer clear from Google and over-analyzing everything that's going on with my body. My goal is to take it one day at a time. 

I really want to wean myself off of caffeine by the time we do our transfer, so I've switched to half-caff coffee for starters. So far so good! 

Of course I won't be drinking heavily or drinking at all after our transfer, but I think it's okay to have a drink here and there on the weekends or special occasions. 

As far as the gym goes.... I really didn't get back into it like I thought I would after finding out we had a chemical pregnancy. I'm not going to make excuses because they're all pretty lame, but I have been trying to go to the gym or stay active atleast 3 days a week. I think it's important to listen to your body and eat healthy. Hopefully over the next week or so I can get back into my routine, just not as hardcore. 

Yesterday I started my first dose of birth control and we got our treatment calendar for the cycle. There's less ultrasounds and blood work and I won't have any injections this go around. We have our first ultrasound and blood work scheduled for September 30th (my birthday!) and then I'll start estrogen the day after.  If everything goes as planned, our embryo transfer should be October 21st : ) Finally having a date gives me some relief and something to look forward to. I know it's going to be here before we know it and then the two weeks we have to wait for our pregnancy test will take fooooorrreeeeevvvver! 

Alissha