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