26 Weeks + Dr.'s Appointment #5/6 + Ultrasound Results

I'm sorry for the delay in updating...I haven't been able to motivate myself to type out an entry...and the longer I put it off the more I want to put it off. It's a vicious cycle.

Not a whole lot has happened the past few weeks (I feel I say that every time!). I'm already over 2/3 of the way which is crazy!

I had my last appointment with Dr. Wagner two weeks ago, and then my first appointment with Dr. Huckell a couple days later. Both said the exact same things:

1. Babies are growing well so far. Here are the results from the latest ultrasound:

DATA	BABY A	BABY B
Heart Rate	141	165
Lie/Position	Cephalic	Frank Breech
MEASUREMENTS
Head Circ.	215 mm	211 mm
BPD	63 mm	58 mm
Abdominal Circ.	191 mm	197 mm
Femur	40 mm	40 mm
Gestational Age	23 weeks + 5 days	23 weeks + 5 days

They will be closely monitoring their growth because as soon as (if) one starts growing more than the other then they will have to put me on bed rest. I've trained practically all of my senior duties away at work so I'm left with just the basics again, so if I leave all of a sudden it will be okay.

2. I need to do my glucose test between Christmas and New Year's. I'm not too concerned about that. I like sugary drinks :)

3. Because I have a negative Rh factor I'll have to have an injection at my next appointment. Not too concerned about this either...I'm pretty used to needles by now!

4. My blood pressure is (was) still perfect.

5. If the babies stay in a head down/head up position then it will be up to me if I want to give birth vaginally or via c-section. Dr. Huckell said that most women with head down/head up twins opt for a c-section because there is no guarantee that the head up baby can be flipped around once the head down baby is delivered. If they can't flip the baby, then I would still have to have a c-section (in addition to a vaginal birth for the first one). That's a tough decision! It will definitely require some thought and I'll have to ask her what she thinks the chance of flipping the second baby is.

Jon set up the cribs & glider chair the first weekend he was off of school...we had fun :) Here are some pictures:

He then tested the chair to see how it would work if (when!) we had two crying babies:

I have also been quite blessed in receiving a lot of baby clothes from family, so my Mom and I have spent a lot of time washing and sorting and folding. Baby clothes are so cute!

The girls at work surprised me with a baby shower two weeks ago as it was one of the last days that we were all in the office before Christmas holidays began. They wanted to make sure that they had a shower for me before I got put on bed rest. I got spoiled by them :)

I've started to feel light-headed every now and then, so I've starting trying to pay attention to when I'm eating so that I'm eating on a regular basis. Hoping that it's just a low blood sugar level or a low blood pressure level. Either way, it's something that I need to be careful with.

The babies are moving like crazy. Some nights I just lay on the couch or bed and watch my stomach bounce up and down all over. One day, one of the babies was kicking/punching my pelvis. It was a little annoying...but funny at the same time. There are times when they are moving around that I can sort of make out whether I'm feeling a head or a butt. It's pretty cool. Weird, but cool.

Here's my 26 week picture:

My next appointment isn't until January 13th, so I probably won't update before then. Enjoy your holidays!

Ultrasound #5

And it's confirmed...one boy and one girl! Pretty exciting.

The ultrasound went really well. I had it done at MedRay this time and was very impressed. The building/equipment looks really new and I had a really young female technician. I would definitely request to go there again!
I had only drunk about 600 mLs of water this time, and even then the technician said that I could go pee before we started if I wanted to. I was fine, so we proceeded. She had a really hard time getting the Baby A's head measurement (the boy, on my left side, head-down), so she asked me if I would go pee and then she would try again. Eventually she got it, but she did call the boy stubborn. My reply was, "I wish I could say that he gets that from his father...but it's likely more from me." lol. She said the girl was very cooperative. The girl, Baby B, is still on my right, head-up.
This was the first ultrasound where I nearly passed out a couple times. I guess the pressure of her pushing down on my stomach while I was laying on my back was a little much for my lungs now. She let me lay on my side after that so that was a huge relief.

And for those who are curious, Baby A (the boy's) heart rate was 141 bpm and Baby B (the girl's) heart rate was 165 bpm.

Here are a couple pictures...looks like they saved really small when I scanned them. I'll have to try to rescan them...enjoy looking at them with a magnifying glass for now! The top picture is looking directly at Baby A's face and the bottom picture is a side profile of Baby B's head.

22 Weeks

Not much has happened over the past two weeks...

Jon felt the babies kick on Friday, November 19. It's pretty neat to see his reaction. I put his hand on my stomach and then you can see his eyes light up when he feels them. My mom felt them a couple nights ago and kind of gave a little shriek when they kicked. It was pretty funny. I feel them all the time now, and they're slowly getting stronger and stronger.

My stomach continues to grow and grow and grow. Most nights it feels pretty tight. The stretching is less annoying if I'm sitting down because then my body isn't stretched out. I've gained about 20 pounds so far. It's crazy! I'm starting to notice that I can't be on my feet for as long as before because my shins start to get sore...I guess from carrying the extra weight. I definitely don't do any window-shopping anymore! I get what I need and then I'm gone!

One thing I should have done at the beginning of my pregnancy was take a picture of my belly button. The change in it is absolutely crazy! I never would have imagined it. I've always been quite proud of my belly button (LOL I bet no one has ever said that before!)...it was a nice and deep innie. Now, I call it an Asian belly button...it looks like a slit in my stomach...there's no way you can even attempt to find the bottom because it's all squished together. I'm hoping it stays that way and doesn't pop out. Probably wishful thinking!

Jon and I have now purchased all of the major essentials for the babies. I don't think we paid full-price for anything; they have all been on sale. We did struggle with the car seats. I didn't like a lot of the fabric patterns, and then the ones I originally purchased didn't even fit into the backseat of the Jetta! If we were both shorter than it would have been fine because we could have moved our seats forward, but being 'taller' and driving a standard there wasn't much room for movement. We returned them and actually found two that I ended up liking better and were $20 cheaper each...and they only require Jon to pull the driver's seat about an inch closer. I never would have thought that we would have space issues with the Jetta! I guess it should only be for the first year max until they outgrow the car seats.

Hmm...I think that's it. I haven't looked at the 22-week picture Jon took of me yesterday, but if it's good enough, I'll add it to this post.

Our next appointment is an ultrasound on December 7th and then an appointment with Dr. Wagner on December 10th so I'll update again after both of those are done.

One Year Ago

I was thinking of doing a "reflections of the past year" entry for new year's, but for Jon and I, it just seems much more appropriate to reflect over this past year. One year ago yesterday we met with Dr. Hitkari at Genesis Fertility Clinic for the first time...frustrated and confused over why we weren't getting pregnant. Many doctor's appointments, injections, blood tests, and ultrasounds later, here we are, over halfway done our first pregnancy. It's crazy. It feels like just yesterday when we began this journey. It's amazing what God can do in your life in the span of one year! We are definitely looking forward to this next year...one that will have brand new challenges for us to face...but at least we know we always have God to rely on!

We're keeping busy...the basketball season at the high school has started again so that keeps me busy for a couple afternoons a week. I'm hoping to be able to be around for the whole season! It's a great group of girls again which is exciting. And for you worriers out there...I'm not overdoing it. Jon only has two weeks left of this semester and then he has a month off. YAY! Although I'm sure the month will go by quickly and before we know it he will be back in school again. C'est la vie.

Anyways, my lunch break is over (I'm at work) so I should get going...don't want to be driving home in too much snow!

20 Weeks + Dr.'s Appointment #4 + Ultrasound Results

So I have to apologize in advance for this posting. Not because it's a day late, but because I can't get the formatting correct. I wanted to add a table to this post but Blogger doesn't have a feature that will allow me to do that (at least, not that I found), so I had to recall my Grade 10 computers class HTML coding and do it manually. And for some reason, I can't figure out why it's putting a HUGE gap between my writing and the table.

I have to admit that I wasn't 100% truthful about what all happened at my last ultrasound. I didn't lie, but I didn't tell you everything I knew. For those of you that don't know me really well, I am a curious, likes to know everything about everyone, kind of person. As the technician was performing the ultrasound last week, I was paying very close attention to every measurement he took and what he was typing into the computer. For the most part, it was all in codes and abbreviations I could not understand. However, there came a moment when he was taking the cutest butt shot of Baby B. And when I say cute, I mean cute. I don't think I've ever seen a cuter butt before lol. Anyways, he started to scan up and down, up and down, up and down. My thoughts were "oh man, he's totally checking for gender right now." Do you think I looked away? No. I figured he's been typing in code all along so far, why wouldn't he now? Especially since I know that they aren't allowed to release information about the gender to patients. As I was watching the computer screen the technician typed in the chromosomes of Baby B. Either they think that people aren't very smart, or they don't really care if their patients see what they are typing. Because I saw the first set of chromosomes, I had to watch him scan Baby A and enter in the chromosomes. I was hoping to confirm what I saw with Dr. Wagner at my appointment yesterday, but the ultrasound place didn't even give her that information. That was going to be my big news, telling you what I saw. I've been going back and forth trying to decide whether or not I still want to tell people what I think they are, and so that was the reason for the delay of this entry. My final decision is to tell everyone, BUT, keep in mind, this is NOT confirmed. Dr. Wagner is scheduling my next ultrasound at MedRay Imaging in Coquitlam because she's heard from patients that they are still releasing gender information. So...drum roll please...the gender(s) of the babies are...

BABY A = Boy

BABY B = Girl

We're pretty excited! Although, because we couldn't confirm it yesterday I find myself a little more hesitant to get excited.

There's nothing else really to share. I definitely feel them moving around more and more each day. It's pretty cool! Dr. Wagner took my fundal measurement and I measured 25 cm. If I were having a singleton than I would be measuring approximately 20 cm. She said I was doing good in weight gain, but would like to see my gain 5 to 6 more pounds in the next month. It's such a strange concept to stand on the weigh scale hoping to have gained weight lol.

Dr. Wagner is also going to refer me to Dr. Caitlin Huckell for the remainder of my pregnancy and for the delivery, but if she can't see me in the next month then Dr. Wagner will do my next appointment too.

I think that's it. I've included the results from my last ultrasound below. I know that they may not be of interest to most of you, but I'm using this blog to help me keep record of everything. The more I include in here, the less I have to remember! (I should note that I don't agree with the heart rates below. Baby A has always been lower than Baby B, so maybe the technician reversed them?) I'm also going to add the results from my previous ultrasound in the approriate post too, in case you're interested in seeing the change over 6 weeks.

Have a great weekend everyone!

DATA	BABY A	BABY B
Heart Rate	152	142
Lie/Position	Cephalic	Frank Breech
Placenta Position	Posterior	Right Lateral Wall
Est. Fetal Weight	288 g	321 g
FETAL ANATOMY
Heart	Normal	Normal
Stomach	Normal	Normal
Kidneys	Normal	Normal
Bladder	Normal	Normal
Spine	Normal	Normal
3 Vessel Cord	Normal	Normal
Diaphragm	Normal	Normal
MEASUREMENTS
Head Circ.	170 mm	169 mm
BPD	46.3 mm	45 mm
Abdominal Circ.	143 mm	144 mm
Femur	28.7 mm	32.7 mm
Cerebellum	19 mm	19 mm
Cisterna Magna	5.2 mm	5 mm
Lateral Ventricle	7.6 mm	8.9 mm
Gestational Age	19 weeks + 1 day	19 weeks + 3 days

19 Weeks (Halfway!) + Ultrasound #4

I cannot believe that I'm halfway already...and that's counting on making it all the way to 38 weeks! Crazy. It seems like I'm running out of time to get ready!

It's been a while since I've posted last because not much has changed. My pregnancy still continues to be easy...at least that's what I'm told! I had a couple days where one of the babies must have been pinching one of my nerves because every time my movement involved my butt (ie. walking, sitting down, standing up, etc) it hurt lol. Glad to say that's gone now! My skin feels very tight at night...almost to the point where if I keep standing up I think I'm going to split open lol. Laying down helps because I can curl up. I've also started trying to weigh myself at home weekly to somewhat track my weight gain. I think I've probably gained about 15 lbs so far...it's hard to say because I don't know what I weighed when I started the in vitro process. 15 lbs is probably pretty close though. Maybe I'm halfway with the weight gain too?


We had another ultrasound today which went great. Well, except for the part that I didn't re-read the ultrasound instructions in the morning so when I came hope from work at 12pm (for a 1 o'clock appointment) I went pee and then started drinking my water. The instructions said to have your last pee 2 hours before and to be done drinking by 1 hour before. Oops. I chugged the full 1 L of water this time in hopes that enough would work its way through my system before my appointment. The technician didn't say anything so I must have been fine.


This experience was better than the last one. It was in a nicer facility, the technician was nicer, they had a better ultrasound machine, and I could see the screen better. He also only took 20 minutes, even though I was scheduled for a one-hour twin ultrasound! He said everything is looking good! He took the time to show us each baby and showed us the membrane that's separating the two of them. Baby A (top two pictures) is on my left side, laying head down, and was sucking its thumb at one point. Baby B (bottom two pictures) is on my right side and is now laying head up.


Here are the pictures from today's ultrasound:



I'm definitely feeling them now. My first feeling/kick was a week ago Thursday, but was first thing in the morning so I wasn't even paying attention. I thought I felt something, but being a newbie to the experience I thought I would wait to say anything until I felt it again...that way I would know for sure I wasn't just imagining things. Sure enough, on Sunday morning, I felt the kick in the same spot again. Since then, I've felt more pokes...usually a few times a day.


As promised a long time ago, here is a picture of me (taken today!):



Tummy is starting to get there! I love feeling it...I think I could be pregnant permanently. There is something pretty cool about a nice hard, round stomach. I'm thinking it might get pretty annoying once it's bigger though? lol. For now, I'm enjoying every moment of this!

16 Weeks + Dr.'s Apointment #3 + Ultrasound Results

Once again, sorry for the delay in posting. I wanted to wait to do the '16 week' post until after my doctor's appointment yesterday.

I had to wait over an hour in the waiting room for my appointment, which the receptionist said was not normal when I asked about it. I had read on the internet that Dr. Wagner is known to be behind schedule because she gives her patients as much time as they need, so I wasn't upset or anything.

I had a full physical, which I ended up not being nervous for at all. It helps that she's a very comfortable person to be around. It also helps that I'm getting used to doctors.

We discussed the results from my ultrasound last week, and so far everything is looking good.

DATA	BABY A	BABY B
Head Circ.	113 mm	112 mm
BPD	30 mm	29 mm
Abdominal Circ.	90 mm	93 mm
Femur	14 mm	15 mm
Gestational Age	14 weeks + 4 days	14 weeks + 5 days

Based on the above measurements, my due date would be April 1 and April 2, but they won't let me go longer than 2 weeks before that, which is March 18. Jon's last day of school before spring break is March 18! Hopefully I can last to the very end because it would be perfect! Jon would have a whole week off to help out...couldn't ask for better! Fingers crossed!

I got to hear the babies' heart beats yesterday as well: Baby 1 (on my left) had a heart rate of 154 bpm, and Baby 2 (on my right) had a heart rate of 163. Pretty much the same as last time. The longer Dr. Wagner listened to them, the closer in rate they got, around 157 bpm.

They also had some of the results from my blood work back (I had gone on Tuesday). My 'blood count' (?) was measuring low at 113 (don't know what that's a measure of), so I have to go on vitamins in addition to my prenatal vitamins. She said it was pretty normal for people having twins because you have to provide twice as many vitamins to the babies. No big deal.

I haven't taken my 16 week picture yet, so I promise I'll post an 18 week picture.

Other than that, nothing else is new. Jon and I are both still fighting our colds...Jon's had his for 9 days and me for a week. It's so unusual for me to have this hard of a time fighting a cold (thanks a lot babies!). It's really taken a toll on me. I think I'll be missing church AGAIN tomorrow. I had a 2.5 hour nap this afternoon, and hopefully I'll have a good sleep tonight so that might help fight it. I'd rather go to work feeling 100% this week. Last week dragged on and it was only a short week.

Anyways, my family is waiting for me to watch a movie with them and they've told me to stop typing so much.

'Til next time!

Ultrasound #3

Yesterday we had our 3rd ultrasound appointment, at 2:00pm by Oakridge Mall. Jon had classes at UBC that morning so he bussed there from UBC and my Mom and I drove. Parking is A PAIN in Vancouver. So glad I don't have to go there more often. I was a little rebelious and didn't drink the full 1 L...I drank about 500-750 mL.

When we got there, the receptionist freaked out when she saw that my requisition form said I was having twins because I was only booked for one time slot (if you recall in my prior entry, the receptionist at SMH Prenatal Clinic booked me for the first available ultrasound and knew that I needed two time slots rather than just the one that she had me booked for...and asked that I play dumb) but I needed two slots. She said she might not be able to see me. I complained and said that it was not my fault that the doctor's office didn't schedule me in for the correct number of time slots, and she said that I should have called to double-check. I played dumb and said that I didn't know I needed two time slots and assumed that the doctor's office had done it correctly. She ended up saying I was lucky that I had shown up a little early so hopefully the technician would finish the appointment before mine early so that there would be extra time for me. Luckily, it worked out. I ended up going in the room at 1:50pm and quickly learned that I was not going to get the same "ask all of the questions you want" treatment as I had received during my first two ultrasounds with Genesis Fertility Clinic. I asked the technician when I first saw the screen "oh, is that the two of them?" and she responded with a frown on her face so I told her I wouldn't ask anymore questions. She took measurements for about 40 minutes. During that time I could barely see the screen. I started getting really warm from lying in one position the whole time, and I started getting clausterphobic because we were in a tiny room in the basement of a building. Thank goodness she finished shortly after that because I thought I was going to pass out! She then called my Mom and Jon in and very quickly showed us the monitor, took a few quick pictures and sent us on our way. Oh well, at least I got to see two heads, four arms, four legs, and two heart beats...a few waves of arms/hands and a couple kicks! Oh, she also said that they are both laying breech right now, and I think they are both facing my stomach because of the angle of the pictures. I'm assuming the doctor will discuss the results with me when I go for my next appointment next friday afternoon.

Here are the pictures...

First picture is of Baby 1, which is laying on my left side. You can see him/her (honestly, I always call it a 'him'...or...'the alien' lol) laying on their right hand, and the left hand is up by their chin. You can tell because you can see both forearms. You an also see the baby's right thigh/knee/shin...it's laying in a fetal position.

Second picture is of Baby 2, laying on my right side. This picture isn't as clear, but you can make out the arms, stomach area, knee caps, and right leg/foot. I think at the bottom right in the the separate sac (?) you can see Baby 1.

Anyways, nothing else new to report. Jon's fighting a really bad cold right now so he didn't even go to school. He opted to sleep on the couch last night so that hopefully I don't get sick. I must admit, it was nice to have the whole bed to myself :)

Oh, I should mention that I finally caved in last weekend and bought some maternity clothes. It's definitely MUCH more comfortable wearing dress pants now...now I don't have to worry about cutting off the circulation to my lower body when I'm sitting at my desk. The pants are almost TOO comfortable to be dress pants lol. I might not ever stop wearing them :)

14 Weeks + Doctor's Appointment #1

I contemplated postponing writing this blog for another day, but I can hear my mom's voice telling me to just do it because some people are waiting for an update. So, here I am, typing this at 10:30pm when I should probably be heading to bed.

Yes, it's 10:30pm. I've definitely noticed over the last two weeks that I've gained a lot of my energy back. I still try to be in bed by 9:00/9:30pm, but when I'm up, I'm alert and actually able to get some stuff done (SIGH...it was nice not being "able" to do anything!). It's nice being the 'me' I'm used to.

I should apologize for my last post as I've received some negative reactions to it. I don't want people to think I was/am ungrateful or unhappy...I think I was just really struggling with exhaustion and learning to deal with Jon being at school for so many hours a week. After having him home and able to cook/clean it was definitely an adjustment getting used to his new schedule (Mondays 6:30am-8pm, Tuesdays 7am-8pm, Wednesdays 6:30am-6pm, Thursdays 7am-6pm, Fridays 6:30am-12:30pm). But I'm dealing. I spend a lot of time (and a few dinners) at my parents' house so I can at least have some company.

Let's see, what else is new? Nothing much, I don't think.

I received a phone call from a nurse at Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) yesterday letting me know that they hadn't received any medical records for me at all. I explained that Dr. Shah should have sent them over, and that the most informative ones about the pregnancy would be at Genesis (which should have been sent to Dr. Shah). I asked her if she knew we were having twins, and she said she didn't. She said she was going to try to get a copy of my records sent over before my appointment today (11am).

When we got to SMH this morning we met with a nurse who showed me where to weigh myself when I got there and how to test my own urine and record the results. Once that was done, we went over my (and our families') medical history because the only document they ended up receiving from Dr. Shah stated "pregnant" (strike 1 for Dr. Shah's office). She was shocked at how healthy I was and how boring my history was.

Dr. Wagner then joined us and reviewed some of the history, and then went over what was going to happen over the next month or two. Because I'm having twins, she will only see me as a patient until I'm about 20 weeks, and then I'll get referred to a multiples specialist. Apparently I should have been referred to the multiples specialist right away (strike 2 for Dr. Shah's office).

Anyways, because they don't have any records for me they scheduled me for the first available ultrasound they could, which is on October 5 at 2:00 by Oakridge Mall. They've asked me to 'play dumb' about having twins because they only could get me an appointment block that is normally for singletons. Ultrasound appointments for twins are usually twice as long because they have to do twice the number of measurements/tests.

On October 15 I have an appointment with Dr. Wagner for a complete physical. Umm...awkward? Never had a COMPLETE physical before. Guess I have to start getting used to being some-what naked in front of strangers. Awkward.

Dr. Wagner took my blood pressure and said it was perfect, 123/80. Jon was jealous. Can't get much more perfect than that.

We ended the appointment by an attempt to listen to the heart beats with two Dopplers...which was successful! They warned us that they might not be able to find/hear both because of their positioning and/or the rate. If they were both on top of each other and the rates were the same they probably couldn't hear both. They started on my right side and found the first heart beat really quickly...it measured at 163 bpm. They found the second heart beat on my left side, measuring 149 bpm. PHEW! Two good heart rates! Kinda crazy to think that there are two living babies in me.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the ultrasound pictures on Wednesday! It will have been 5.5 weeks since our last ultrasound so I'm sure they're going to look SO MUCH DIFFERENT. They'll actually look like babies. And not just blobs. Exciting.

Anyways, I should head to bed. Luckily tomorrow is Saturday and I can laze around as much as I want to.

Definitely thankful for such a smooth pregnancy so far. It almost seems too good to be true. God is good.

12 Weeks

Not much change, so this won't be much of a blog. Sorry!

We finally got an appointment with an OB/GYN...for October 1. Her name is Dr. Christine Wegner (or Wagner, can't remember) and she's at the prenatal clinic is Surrey Memorial. I guess that's where we'll be delivering!

It's been hard to work this past week. I find that around 9am/10am I hit a 'wall' and am super tired and often have a headache. On Monday I went home...but when it happened again Tuesday I realized that I'm just going to have to suck it up. Go away 1st trimester symptoms!

I've also found that the past 2 weeks I've had very intense pains whenever my bowels are doing their thing (sorry if that's too much info...I just don't want to forget this in the future!). I'm not sure if it's a normal pregnancy thing or if maybe my ovaries are still enlarged and thus have started getting squished when things move around in there, especially because my uterus is bigger now? I'm going to google it, but I don't think I'll find much because it is only sometimes a side effect of getting pregnancy by in vitro. It worries Jon every time because I start wincing in pain. Definitely cannot be normal. I'm hoping to just tough it out until my appointment and then I'll discuss it with her. We'll see if it gets worse otherwise I just might have to visit my family doctor and get a requisition for an ultrasound to check out my ovaries.

Time to do some quick googling and then head off to bed. Night!

10 Weeks

Sorry for not updating last week. By the time I remembered I hadn't done it yet it was already a few days later so I figured I would just skip that week. Not much happened anyways.

I'm not posting pictures yet (sorry!) just because there's nothing overly exciting happening. Those who know me best can tell that I'm pregnant, but it's not substantial enough to post. Maybe next week?

I had an appointment with my family doctor this past Monday (to get referred to an OBGYN), although when I got there I was told that he himself was in the hospital so they had a substitute doctor. I was not impressed when I met her. She seemed to know NOTHING about the whole in vitro process. She asked me how far along I was and when I had found out and practically got mad at me when I said I had known for 5 weeks already:
"And you're just seeing a doctor now?"
"Actually, I've been seeing my doctors at Genesis and have already had two blood tests and two ultrasounds."
"I guess we should send you for some blood work so we can determine your blood type."
"I'm A-...I've already had a few blood tests"
"How come you haven't come in for a pap smear for the past two years?"
"Umm...because I was never told to and I've been to see my family doctor quite often within that time frame and he didn't seem too concerned about it." What does that have to do with getting a referral anyways?!?!?
"Oh."
"So can I get a referral?"
"The receptionist will do it. You're done."

Thank goodness. I was NOT impressed. I went back to work and had to vent to them all. The receptionist told me (when I called her the next day for my appointment time with an OBGYN) that she has "7 to 10 days to get me an appointment so she'll call me when she has one" in her sassy tone. Sigh. Time for a new doctor. Any suggestions?

On a different note. We have to start dressing in our business casual wear again on Tuesday, so I tried on my dress pants. They don't close. I'm going to try a pair of Candice's older ones are that are a size bigger to keep me going for a few weeks, but I'm going to have to cave sooner or later and buy maternity pants. I might trying making my own belly band out of an old (but looks brand new) tank top that's quite tight. I'm so dutch lol. Any other suggestions? At least I haven't grown out of my tops yet.


Week 8-9 Symptoms
HUNGRY? I don't seem to be quite as hungry as last week, although I do make sure that I'm eating frequently. My portions at breakfast, lunch, and dinner have decreased, probably due to the fact that I'm eating more often.

CRAVINGS? Nope, not really. Although I could really go for some bacon right now.

POOR SLEEPS AT NIGHT? Better. I still wake up every night..sometimes at 1:00am, sometimes at 3:30am.

TIRED? Yes, almost all of the time. I try to make sure I'm in bed by 9:15pm (one hour earlier than I used to) and then I don't get up until 6:15am (one hour later than I used to) which gives me roughly 9 hours of sleep a night. I used to survive perfectly off of 7 hours of sleep...but now 9 doesn't even seem like enough. The other morning I woke up perfectly rested, but by 10:00am I was already yawning. I haven't napped during the day, so I must be getting a decent enough amount of sleep otherwise I'm sure I would sleep on the couch after dinner, which I don't.

MORNING SICKNESS? Nope...same as always. I eat 2 graham crackers before getting up and I'm good to go for a bit.

WEIGHT GAIN? Not much. I weighed myself last week maybe, and I was only up about 2.5 pounds since my last 'weigh in'. Too bad I can't remember when that was...maybe a month ago? I figure I've gained about 9 pounds since May (I did a lot of 'eating in May to fill my lonely afternoons, and then couldn't go on my daily walks anymore starting in July). At least I don't have to feel guilty about gaining weight.

MILD CRAMPING? This past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were the worst yet. Today is much better. I was starting to get concerned that either I was miscarrying or my ovary ruptured or something (is that possible?) but it has definitely subsided. It's not painful cramping...more like a constant reminder that I have two babies in my uterus. I guess they had a growth spurt!

SHORTNESS OF BREATH? Yes! I have definitely noticed this the past couple of weeks. Climbing up the two flights of stairs to work makes my heart race and my breathing heavier.

Church this past Sunday was a struggle for me physically. By the end of the service I had to sit down during the song because I felt I was going to pass out. My mom said she had the same thing when she was pregnant. I wasn't even warm or anything. I think it must be because of the energy required to stand and sing? Who knows.

Anyways, I think that's it. Getting closer to be doing with the first trimester. I cannot wait! As each week passes I get less nervous and more excited. Although it was mentioned to me that you never stop worrying with kids. I just hope I can get to that point :) Things are looking good though!

Oh, and I should mention that you're free to tell whomever you would like now. We're not keeping it a secret anymore.

Ultrasound #2

I was a little nervous on the drive over to Genesis today because anything could have happened over the past week and a half (since our last ultrasound). It didn't help that I had to wait in the change/waiting room for approximately 30 minutes wearing my paper skirt around my waist until the doctor was ready for me. I was getting pretty frustrated. And we didn't have our own doctor, we had the newest one to join Genesis, which I was also a little disappointed about.

The ultrasound went really well! Both babies (yes, they're still both alive and kicking...well, not quite, but you know what I mean) are doing really well! Baby A (the second picture...also is not necessarily Baby A from last time) is 16mm long (which makes its gestational age 7 weeks 6 days) and has a heart rate of 178 bpm. Baby B (the first picture) is 17mm long (gestational age is 8 weeks) and has a heart rate of 176 bpm. I googled the average length (CRL, or crown rump length) for a baby between 8 and 9 weeks and the site I found said it should be between 15mm and 21mm. So we're doing good! If you look at the ultrasound pictures you can see the yolk sack 'above' each of the babies, and you can see Baby A's arms/legs. Pretty crazy.

We're officially done with Genesis now (or in their words we've 'graduated') and so now I have to make an appointment with my family doctor and get a referral or recommendation for an OB/GYN. Yikes. Just another new phase in this all that I have to learn. I'm assuming I won't have another ultrasound for a while now which I'm going to miss.

Oh, also, my ovaries are both still quite enlarged (my left one is 6cm in diameter and my right one is 4cm) which is still the OHSS. This means that I have to take it easy still (and no sex) until they're back to normal size, otherwise I could risk twisting one (or both). I once again googled it and most people's ovaries seem to be back to normal size after their first trimester. 4 more weeks!

Anyways, I'm trying to type this quickly so that I can get to bed...I was in bed and asleep by 9:15pm last night so that I could have a good 9 hours of sleep. And I was still tired today, as if I had only gotten 7. C'est la vie.

I'll write up another post on Thursday when I'm 9 weeks.

8 Weeks

Today marks 8 weeks. YAY! I think we've known for 3.5 weeks now that I'm pregnant, so luckily time is passing pretty quickly. I found that this past week I was thinking ahead more...boys? girls? both? layout of room? stroller?...which kind of scares me because I'm starting to bank on everything working out perfectly...so I don't have to remind myself that there still are 4/5 weeks before things are more 'safe'. Luckily we have another ultrasound on Tuesday so we'll be able to see the progress of their growth and measure their heartbeats. Hopefully both are still doing great!

I think I'll start taking the classic 'belly shots' for week 9. I'm hoping to always take the picture in the same place in the house so we couldn't take it today anyways because we're not home. There's not much to see (unless you want to see my fat?). lol.


Week 7 Symptoms

HUNGRY? I don't seem to be quite as hungry as last week, although I do make sure that I'm eating frequently. My portions at breakfast, lunch, and dinner have decreased, probably due to the fact that I'm eating more often.

CRAVINGS? Nope, not really.

POOR SLEEPS AT NIGHT? YES. I guess it doesn't help that we're camping so when I wake up it's boiling hot in the tent. Thank goodness we brough along a bedside fan so that I can stay in the tent a little longer in the morning to try to sleep before I die of heat.

MORNING SICKNESS? Not at all. I started a new type of prenatal vitamin on Sunday (given to my by Genesis) and the directions say to take the morning pill on an empty stomach for optimal absorption. I did that...and felt quite naucious that morning until I ate a meal and allowed for that to digest. I didn't throw up though! Since then, I've been taking it after I've eaten a few graham crackers. I think I've been quite fortunate...although maybe it could start yet? What's the latest that anyone's had it start?

WEIGHT GAIN? Not quite sure, it's been a while since I've been on a weigh scale and I haven't had to wear pants at all this week. It's been a bathing suit for the majority of the day...and I've gotten used to my slightly larger midsection.

MILD CRAMPING? Yes, on and off all day long. Not overly painful, just a bit annoying. At least I know my uterus is growing! It's been my one constant symptom and so it's been comforting because it's a reminder that yes, I am pregnant.

SHORTNESS OF BREATH? Yes, but I think that's because of the extreme heat here in Penticton (it's been upper 30s every day). I spend about half of the afternoon in my parents' trailer, enjoying the a/c. If I'm outside for too long I absolutely die.

I think that's it for now...if I think of something I'll add it in later, but I wanted to get the basics down before I forgot.

I'll update again with our ultrasound results/pictures on Tuesday.

Ultrasound #1 - TWINS!

Ya, you read that right...we're having twins! CRAZY.

It hasn't even really sunk in yet.

Twins.

Two of everything.

Wow.

We had to wait quite a while for the doctor to come to do the ultrasound, and so I was getting nervous.

Finally, he came. We started the ultrasound (an internal one) and I saw the first baby instantly. Dr. Hitkari commented that my one ovary is still massive (I suspect about 4 cm in diameter?) while looking at my uterus from different angles. An then he said, "Just as I suspected...you guys are going to be busy." The first thought that popped into my mind was "HOW busy? Is it triplets?"...and then he confirmed that it was twins. Both Baby A and Baby B were measured to be 10mm long which was exactly where they need to be. We also saw both of their heart beats flashing on the screen, which was cool. When we went to listen to the heart beats you could faintly hear Baby A's, but Baby B's was clear as day, measuring 128 beats per minute.

Here are the pictures we got:

BABY A:
BABY B:

Because we're still quite early in the pregnancy (according to my calculations we're 6 weeks 5 days but the doctor said he has put us at 7 weeks...I'll take the extra two days!), we asked what the chance of miscarrying both babies is. Dr. Hitkari said that for all women, the chance of losing both is 10%, but because we're both young and healthy he said it would be less than 5% for us. That's good news...that means I can start to get excited (and scared?).

We have another ultrasound booked for August 24th so that both heart rates can be measured, and then I would suspect that we would be done with Genesis and would be sent back to our own family doctor.

Week 6 Symptoms

HUNGRY? YES. I'm ALWAYS hungry. If I don't eat every two hours I feel like I'm going to throw up. I'm also starting to dislike eating; it's becoming a chore. And I used to LOVE food.

CRAVINGS? Umm...a little...Salty Food. Give me a pepperoni pizza, some bacon, and some McDonald fries any day. Have I had much of that? No...just bacon once and pizza once. I'm trying to be healthy!

POOR SLEEPS AT NIGHT? YES. Every night, without fail, I wake up at least once. And not even because I have to pee...although I do just so that I can fall asleep quicker again. If it's early in the night then I try to eat a little to make my morning a little easier.

MORNING SICKNESS? Umm...some mornings. It depends on how full my stomach is just before I go to bed and during the night...and it depends on how tired I am. The fewer the hours of sleep I get, the more nauseous I feel during the day.

WEIGHT GAIN? Yes. Sigh. And it's purely because of eating lol. Can't blame it on no babies yet (but the hunger is because of them!)! I can barely close the button of my jeans, so most of the time I just use an elastic through the button hole.

I think that's it. Oh...as promised a few weeks ago I added a picture of the embryos on the day of transfer. Take a look below (WAY below...under the original entry called "Embryo Transfer"! They've come so far already!

Jon and I leave to spend a week in Penticton with my family on Saturday, so there won't be an update for a while. This is my last vacation wearing a bikini!

Twins. Crazy.

Oh - I didn't get an official due date from the doctor, but it will be at the very end of March. Even sooner because it's twins. And Jon is in school full-time...from this September until NEXT August. Oh man. Single-parenting here I come! Thank goodness for family that lives right next door!

And one more thing (sorry this is SO all over the place!)...we aren't telling people yet, so please keep all of this to yourselves for now. I would like another week or two under our belts before we start telling those that don't know yet. I will let you all know when you have the 'okay'. Thank you!

Blood Test #2 - August 3 - Results

I had my second blood test yesterday and received the results this afternoon: my hcG level was (is?) at 12560 mIU/ml. That's really good! The numbers have nicely doubled (and then some) as they are supposed to so that's comforting!

I'm starting to sleep quite poorly at night - ever since we came home from Kelowna. Without fail, I wake up in the middle of the night and have the hardest time falling back to sleep. I find this is really starting to drain my energy, and the mugginess of today is not helping. I just want to sleep!

I've felt a few cramps over yesterday and today (they come and go ever few hours), so I'm hoping it's just my uterus growing (hopefully to accommodate two!).

Because I have A- blood the nurse did tell me that if I start to experience bleeding at all I have to call them immediately.

Our next appointment with Genesis is for August 12th, where we'll have our first ultrasound done (internal, thank goodness!). They should be able to see the heartbeat(s) then. That will be exciting!

Anyways, Jon is home from work and I need to think about dinner...augh.

Blood Test #1 - July 26 - Results

With all of the excitement of last week I forgot to post what our results were! I'm sorry!

Our hcG level for our first blood test was 1112 mIU/ml. This number is supposed to double approximately every 48-72 hours if the pregnancy is going smoothly.

There is such a wide range in what is considered the "normal" hcG level that it's not even worth looking at or comparing to see if we have a singleton or twins right now. We are just hoping and praying that the level continues to double as it's supposed to.

We went to Fintry Provincial Park in Kelowna on Wednesday morning (July 28th) to camp with Jon's family for a few days. We had a great time! I missed being able to run around and play with the kids (like a kid!), but I guess that's a part of 'growing up'? I'm definitely starting to miss that aspect already! But, I shouldn't complain. I had a lot more months to play with the kids than Jon and I had ever imagined I would.

I felt really good camping. I took my last progesterone on Thursday evening and I noticed that my cramping subsided (coincidence? or was that a side effect that I was experiencing?). I did nap every afternoon, but I was also staying up way later and getting up earlier than I was used to. It was also very warm which would drain the energy out of anyone! All in all, it was a good time.

We're Pregnant!

YAHOO!

So...last night I went to bed around 10:30pm (after beating Jon in a game of crib!). I woke up around 2:00am/2:30am wide awake. I decided to use the expired home pregnancy test I had (it said it expires July 2010) as it was our last opportunity to use it and I figured it might allow me to 'rest' more because my mind wouldn't be racing. I did it, and it was positive, although I kept in mind that it could be a false positive due to the expiration date. I woke Jon up to show him and he smiled and went back to sleep. I, on the other hand, did NOT go back to sleep. I couldn't, no matter what I tried! My stomach was growling at one point so I got out and had a few crackers, and got out another time to go on the computer to tire myself out, but nothing worked. I eventually got up at 5:00am and played piano for 20 minutes before getting ready to leave for my blood test.

I got to LifeLabs just as they opened at 6:30am so I was out of there and at work by 7:00am. I only worked until 1:00pm because I didn't want to get "the call" from Genesis while I was at work. Jon only worked until 2:30pm so that he would hopefully be home for the phone call.

We both sat on the couch (dying of heat) waiting for the phone to ring, but it never did. At 3:15pm I called them and left a message for the nurses to ask when I would hear the results (I had initially been told that if I did the blood test first thing in the morning they should have the results by the end of the day). A nurse called back at 3:50pm and said the results weren't in yet so we wouldn't find out until the next afternoon. Oh well. We went to my parents' to tell my Mom so that they wouldn't still be waiting for the results (and so that the celebratory steak dinner she had taken out would have to be saved for possibly the next day). Little did we know that while we were gone, Genesis called and left a message to say that they did receive the results after all, and that "congratulations, it's very good news!" They'll call us tomorrow with more details (I would assume that means my beta number and date for my first ultrasound). As soon as we heard the message we went back to my parents' and Jon asked my mom if "she still had the steaks out for dinner?" At least we were kinda able to surprise our family after everyone had already been told that we had to wait one more day to find out.

So ya, that's our good news! Thank you, God! Here's hoping (and praying) for a smooth next 8 weeks until I'm in the second trimester!

1 More Day

I wish it were easy to describe our emotions at this point. Maybe "scared shitless" for a negative result tomorrow would sum it up? I don't know how I'm going to be able to handle a negative result.

I wish I had the "I know I'm pregnant" instinct, but I don't...so maybe I'm not? I have symptoms of pregnancy...but those are also the same symptoms that you get when you're on progesterone, like I am. My OHSS is better...although I still get bloated if I do too much. I have also started experiencing cramping on and off all day...which could be good or bad! I think that's the hard part...have symptoms that could go either way.

AHHHH

I'll go for the blood test first thing tomorrow morning and then will go to work. I'm expecting Genesis to call me in the early afternoon with the results, so I think I'll probably only stay at work until noon so that I can get the results when I'm at home. Jon doesn't want me to tell him the results until he is home after 5pm.

Please think and pray for us tomorrow! We're going to need a lot of strength if it's a negative result!

OHSS

OHSS = Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
The cause of OHSS is that superovulated ovaries contain many follicles which are loaded with estrogen. After ovulation, a huge amount of estrogen-rich fluid is poured directly out of the enlarged and fragile ovaries into the abdominal cavity. This fluid also contains chemicals like kallikrein-kinin and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), which then coat the lining of the abdominal cavity (called the peritoneum) and cause it to become very permeable (leaky). Fluid (serum) literally pours out of bloodstream into the peritoneal cavity because of the "leakiness" of the abdominal cavity’s lining. The ovaries balloon in size, the abdomen swells, and some women may get lightheaded with relatively low blood pressure, or dizzy because of the decreased blood volume.
(Stolen from a website and NOT cited...tsk tsk)


I definitely knew that I would have to be less of a "try to do everything" type person during our IVF cycle...but apparently I've still been overdoing it. I knew OHSS is quite common in young, thin women, but I thought you could only get it around the time of the egg retrieval. I was wrong.

I started feeling more bloated than usual starting at the end of last week. I was noticing that my jeans were tighter than normal around my waist and that my abdomen was starting to feel quite hard to the touch (and no, those aren't my abs lol). Saturday was fine, I managed to take it pretty easy while hanging out with Jon's family (although it killed me not to be able to play with my nieces and nephews!!) and Sunday was good too. I noticed my abdomen was larger and a I had a little more abdominal pain on Monday night, but I just attributed that to the fact that I was a tad constipated (sorry if that's too much info). I went to work on Tuesday but noticed that I was quite uncomfortable...and then when I went to laugh at a joke and ended up wincing in pain I knew it wasn't quite right. When I got home from work I cooked dinner (although I felt faint a few times...but I attributed that to being hungry) and then I plopped myself on the couch. By that point my abdomen was quite swollen...it was awful.
I started reading up on the internet to find out what other people who are/were 9 days post three-day transfer (9dp3dt) were feeling at that point. I found out that some of them started developing OHSS right around that time.

At that point I realized it was a little more serious than I realized, so Jon put me on "couch-rest" for the rest of the night and told me that I absolutely could not go to work the next day (today). He even went to my parents and told my mom she would need to babysit me to make sure I wasn't doing stuff around the house. What a brat. lol.

Sleeping last night was very uncomfortable because I could only lay flat on my back. I couldn't lay on my stomach because I would put pressure on my abdomen, and I couldn't lay on my side because my abdomen/stomach would be pulled down with gravity and put pressure on my sides internally. Sleeping proved to be quite difficult because I ALWAYS lay half on my front/half on my side. I woke up a few times and had to try to shift positions, but I couldn't really.

So, today, I spent the day at home...BORING! My back was getting sore from sitting/laying down all day. I hope I never need to be put on bed rest. I filled my day with watching a lot of TLC (A Baby Story, Bringing Home Baby, I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, What Not to Wear) and by working from home (I managed to put in 6 hours today still!). My mom cut up lettuce for salad for us and made us a potato salad so that Jon would only have to cook a 'meat' for dinner tonight. She also baked us a zucchini bread because she knew I had planned on doing it today and she didn't want Jon to not have it. Aww.

After doing more research (aka forum and fertility site reading) I realized that this might be a good sign (that I'm experiencing OHSS). Most people get OHSS around the time of egg retrieval because the hCG shot triggers it (somehow...). Apparently if you're pregnant you start producing more hCG naturally which can cause the OHSS to flair up. If I am pregnant, then I'll probably be 'suffering' with OHSS for a few weeks, until the placenta develops. If I'm not pregnant, then it will stop when I get my period.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but everything is looking good so far (i think?). I do have the occasional cramp (some are quite strong) which kinda freaks me out...but it could be a sign that my uterus is starting to grow...or it could be a sign that my period is just around the corner. I'm trying to not to think about the end result of this and am just taking it one day at a time. 5 days until we find out!

I think I'm going to head to work tomorrow, at least for a partial day. There is only so much work one can do from home! I have a desk job, luckily, so I know I won't be running around too much. I think I'll go in and see how I feel...I can easily leave early if I feel like it. We'll have leftovers for dinner so I won't feel tempted (who am I kidding....pressured) to cook and can rest as soon as I get home.

Update on Our Embryos

Here is a summary of what has happened with the follicles that were retrieved:

Of the 13 follicles that were retrieved:
11 had eggs
2 did not have eggs

Of the 11 that had eggs:
10 eggs fertilized
1 egg did not (too immature)

Of the 10 eggs that fertilized:
1 was chosen to be frozen as a Day 3 embryo
2 were transferred into my uterus as Day 3 embryos
7 were left to grow in culture (their lab)

Of the 7 that were left to grow in culture:
1 survived to make it to Day 5 and was frozen
6 died :(

So ya, we have two frozen embryos now: 1 x Day 3 and 1 x Day 5. Kinda disappointing...we were hoping for more! I think only about 50% of frozen embryos survive the thawing process so that would leave us with only one embryo for our next round. My feelings right now, IF we have to do this again would be to do a full IVF cycle again and then freeze those extra embryos, and then IF we have to do it again we would use the frozen embryos. Hopefully we'll be successful this round and won't have to think about this for a while. Hopefully.

We've already had 3 days since the transfer so the embryos should have started implanting, or will be shortly. HOPEFULLY. We're doing really well right now, but I think it's easy because we know that it's not possible to know whether or not this round was a success or not. I think we'll be deathly nervous once it starts getting closer to the blood test.

I actually thought about everything a lot less today then I did yesterday. I'm feeling better each day and so there are fewer reminders from my body about what I just went through. I made the mistake of weighing myself this morning though...not good. I think I've gained about 5 pounds this past month, which I attribute to the water retention I have now as well as not being being allowed to be active. Not that I was overly active before, but a walk every other day does wonders! Oh well, so long as this works!

Embryo Transfer

Yes, the title says it all. Today was embryo transfer day. We got the call at exactly 8:30am, just as I was finishing my shower. Candice came to the washroom to tell me, so I quickly got changed and hustled back to the trailer. We had to be at Genesis by 10:30am! My family had already emptied our tent and quickly cleaned it all up so we could get on the road as quickly as possible.

We were on the road by 8:35am. Our gas tank was pretty empty because we had wanted to tank up in Cultus ($1.02 rather than $1.17 a litre), so Jon did that while I bought a 1 L bottle of water. I had to go pee at 9:30am and then drink the 1 L of water before 10:30am. We left the gas station at 8:47am...and then made it home by 9:35am. I quickly did pee and then Jon had to (excuse my language) shit.

We left at 9:45am and made to to Genesis by 10:30am. I had no problem drinking the 1 L of water...but once we got to Genesis they made us wait in the waiting room. I started dying! I think we had been waiting for like 10 minutes (felt like an hour!) before the nurse came to get us. I got changed into the standard grey wrap-around skirt that they use for the retrieval as well and was brought into the procedure room. The nurse let us know that they were going to transfer 2 day three embryos (yay!), and they would leave the other 7 in culture for a few days to see how they progress, and then they would call us to know how many of those they were going to freeze. The freezing costs us $700 the first year, and then $200 each year after that. The benefit of freezing embryos is that if (when?) we have to do this again I wouldn't have to do any injections before to make me super-ovulate, we could pretty much jump right to the embryo transfer stage. The thing to keep in mind is that only about 50% of the frozen embryos survive the thawing process.

Anyways, we had to sign a few more consent forms while I was waiting in the procedure room. I don't even know what I was signing because I was in so much pain from having such a full bladder. Once the nurse had given us all of the instructions we needed she said the doctor was going to come. But she didn't. After a few minutes she went to find the doctor...meanwhile, I was dying. I have to admit, I let a few tears slip. I felt like screaming! The doctor finally came after a few more minutes. The nurse performed the ultrasound while the doctor transferred the embryos directly into my uterus. We could see the catheter on the ultrasound screen, and then we saw her inject the embryos. They aren't visible to the human eye, but they put an air bubble on either side of the embryos so that they doctor can see that they've been injected. On the screen, it looked like a grain of rice. We also got to take home a picture they had taken of the two embryos in the culture. It's neat because you can see the cells inside of them:



For today, I'm trying to take it super easy (I'm laying on the couch right now). The nurse said that so long as I'm not running and lifting heavy things I'll be fine...but also that I shouldn't do anything that would cause me to have regrets *if* this doesn't work.

During the drive home from Genesis I got really scared. Not scared of a positive outcome (although that will bring big changes to our lives!), but scared of a negative outcome and how I would be able to even handle it. I prayed to God for comfort and strength for the next two weeks and so far it's been okay, but I'm trying not to think about it too much. One of the articles Jon was reading in the waiting room today said something like "people with religious beliefs have less fertility distress". That was cool to read...cool that there might be others reading that article some time. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have the knowledge and comfort that this is not in my control at all, that it's up to "the man up there and mother nature" as the nurse said in the procedure room today.

Our blood test is going to be on July 26, so this is going to be a long 15 days!

Egg Fertilization Results

I am feeling SO much better this morning. I took my last extra strength Tylenol last night at 10:00pm and haven't taken any since. I have minor pains every now and then (every couple hours), but it's nothing worth taking medication for. I'm just concentrating on taking it easy and not moving around too much (*sigh* I can't vacuum OR clean the bathroom now lol).

A nurse from Genesis Fertility Clinic called me with an update on our eggs.

Of the 13 eggs they retrieved yesterday, 11 were mature. That means that the 2 immature eggs would never fertilize. Of the 11 "fertilizable" eggs, 10 had fertilized! Yahoo! It's comforting to know that there is nothing genetically wrong with Jon or I that would prevent fertilization.

We won't hear from Genesis tomorrow, but they will call us around 8:30am on Sunday morning to let us know whether they are going to transfer the embryos that day (day 3) or on Tuesday (day 5). I believe there are pros and cons to transferring on either day, so the doctors make the best decision they can. We're pretty excited.

I didn't go to work today (but have been working from home *so nice!*. I worked 4.5 hours yesterday and 2.25 hours today), so that's two days in a row that I've called in "sick" (my boss and one of my colleagues are in on everything that's happening, so they're helping keep my sick story believable). Apparently those that don't know are quite concerned because I NEVER take ANY sick time. I think last year I took 0.5 days off because I had bad cramps lol. If the transfer is on Sunday then I won't be able to go to work on Monday for sure (maybe Tuesday?). If the transfer is on Tuesday then I'll go to work on Monday and then be "sick" again on Tuesday and Wednesday? Man, I have to think of a better story next time lol. I just don't really want people to know yet because if/when it doesn't work...hmm...let's not go there.

Jon and I will be in Cultus Lake this weekend so we'll get the phone call there on Sunday. I'm glad it's nice weather finally!

Egg Retrieval

This morning was our egg retrieval.

We had to be there by 8:00am so that they could get me hooked up to an IV, and to give me some tylenol, gravol (kids cherry flavoured!), and a calming pill (it dissolved under my tongue). They also only give you a tiny bit of water because they want your bladder empty for the procedure. Luckily I don't have any problems taking pills. They had trouble making the vein in my left hand big enough to insert the IV, but they finally got it. We sat there for about 45 minutes to an hour (not quite sure). Jon and I had both brought Sudoko books to keep us busy!

The actual egg retrieval process was really quick; it only took 15-20 minutes. They did inject a fast acting pain relief medication into my IV and I could definitely feel it. I kinda felt like I was walking on air...it was actually quite annoying.

Jon and I got to watch them insert the probe into my ovaries and then you could see them drain each of the follicles. For the most part, the draining process was not very painful, but there were a few where she had to really jab into me to get it.

The doctor told us that they got 13 eggs (keep in mind that not all follicles have eggs). I asked how that was compared to the average and they say for all patients (old, young, medical issues, etc) the average is 5 to 15 eggs. 13 is good then.

Once they had drained all of the follicles we were sent back to our waiting room and I was told to rest. I got to sit in a leather recliner with a heating pad and super comfy blanker, and Jon got a classic waiting room chair. Needless to say, he was jealous of me. I dozed off and on and had my blood pressure and resting heart rate measured a few times. When those numbers were good I was allowed to leave.

Tomorrow they we will get a phone call from them to let us know how many of the eggs fertilized (hopefully most of them!). After that, they'll call us when they are going to transfer the embryos. The transfer should be on Sunday (day 3 embryos) or Tuesday (day 5 embryos). I think it depends on how well they are growing.

Since we got home, I have been in a moderate amount of pain. It feels like there are knives poking in and out of my ovaries, and so I am trying to do as little walking as possible. When I do walk, I hunch over so that I'm not stretching out my abdomen. Luckily I'm able to work from home so I've put in a few hours already (in between naps!) and then Big Brother is on tv tonight. I also have a bunch of Super Nanny episodes PVRd that I could watch.

Jon's been good (so far!) at catering to my every needs.
"Jon, can you get me a glass of water please?"
"Jon, can you get a bucket of water to soak my feet in please?"
"Can you pass me the remote control"
etc etc
It's been nice.

I'm hoping to go to work for a little bit tomorrow, but if I'm not feeling up to it then I'll do some work from home again. The nurse told me I would not feel like going...but she doesn't know how determined I am! I just have to be careful that I don't get a severe case of OHSS. Mild symptoms include abdominal bloating, nausea, diarrhea, weight gain. I think I'm doing pretty good so far at resting. It's hard, especially when it's sunny outside and I want to tan!

Every morning and evening I now have to insert 1 tablet of Endometrin into me (vaginally). The Endometrin is a progresterone supplement that will encourage the growth of the lining of my uterus which will aid in implantation. I have to do this until we have the results of the pregnancy test (which I believe is in 17 days from today).

Thank you God for a relatively painless day! Here's to hoping that the "little eggies" hook up with Jon's "little spermies" tonight!

Day of Nothing

Today we don't have to do anything. No injections, no appointments, nothing!

Injection Day 9 - Last One!

Injections (PM):
hCG

This injection had to be taken at 11:00pm SHARP.

BUT...funny (or not so funny) story.

We purchased the hCG this morning when we were at Genesis and they put it on an icepack for in our car "because it was hot outside". I assumed that they didn't want the medication to be in a car above room temperature. When Jon got home, he put the bag on the counter and I left for work. When I came home from work I moved the bag to the kitchen table.

At 9:00pm, Jon decided to read the instructions for the medication. The very first instruction read, "Medication must be kept in fridge." I called the emergency phone number for the nurse at Genesis to see if it mattered that it had been on the counter all day (on the ice pack). She called back to say that yes, it did matter. By this time it was 9:15pm. She had some at her house, in Tsawassen. She asked if we would be able to make it to the McDonald's in Tsawassen for 10:00pm. We drove there (FAST) and picked up the new vial of medication and made it home for 10:30pm. Phew! We almost ruined everything we had done so far!

The syringe came with a super thick and super long needle attached, and so Jon assumed that I would have to use that one. I was freaking out inside! When we met the nurse she explained that there was a smaller needled in the bag that we were supposed to replace with the larger one. Phew! I also was able to ask if it was normal to feel the symptoms of ovulation, and she said "yes". Another phew! My body is reacting to the fact that I have mature follicles, but it won't actually release an egg.

I'm starting to really get worried about the waiting period. I don't know if I'll be able to handle it if it doesn't work. We would have to wait a month before we could try again...which seems like a long time right now, but it also seems like a short amount of time. Sigh. Can't wait for this to all be over!

Check-Up #3

These early morning check-ups are killing me! Luckily this was the last one! That's right, the last one! The female doctor that measured by follicles was quite impressed. I quote, "we would have been happy with just your right ovary, but we still your left one too!" and "Beautiful!" :)

My follicle measurements (in mm) this visit were:
Right: 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 16, 15.5, 15, 14, <10 (x3)
Left: 20, 16, 15, 14, 13, <10 (x2)

Our egg retrieval is scheduled for 9:00am Thursday morning. We have to check in at 8:00am, get me prepped, and then Jon has to give his semen sample at 8:30am (no pressure! lol). The procedure itself usually only takes about 15 minutes, and they said I should be out of there before noon.

Here's praying that everything goes smoothly and that I have no side effects from the retrieval!

I find I do most of my praying while driving to work, along Harvie Road. This morning I was telling God that "it's all in his Hands" (or was I telling myself that, trying to settle my nerves?). It's going to be a rough few weeks until we find out the results of the blood test (pregnant or not) and then (hopefully?) a nervous couple of months after that until we're in the 2nd trimester. I'm trying to think only one day at a time but it difficult not to get excited and skip ahead.

Injection Days 7 & 8

Injections (PM):
Repronex 75 IU
Bravelle 112 IU
Orgalutran

Nothing new. My mom watched my injections last night (day 7). I was nervous! When she asked what it felt like I said it compared to an ongoing bee-sting as the medication was going in...although the last time I was stung by a bee was in first grade (knock on wood).

Today's injection of repronex and bravelle was 100% painless. I didn't feel a thing.
Unfortunately, my skin was resistant to the needle of the orgalutran and I honestly wondered whether or not it was even going to break through my skin. That one hurt once it did.

We have another check-up tomorrow morning (7:30 am). This will be the first check-up where we have to drive to Vancouver in full rush hour traffic. We're hoping to leave by 6:15am. Jon's dreading having to wake up early, but for me, it's a little bit of a sleep-in :)

I will try to update before I head off to work tomorrow, but that will depend on how long it takes us to get back home. I'm hoping to be at work by 9:00am!

Check-Up #2

Once again, we just got back from our second check-up. The blood test went smoothly; they were able to get enough blood from the first poke into my arm.

Dr. Hitkari performed the internal ultrasound today. He's so nice! He said everything is looking good and we are continuing with the same dosage of drugs. That itself was music to my ears!

My follicle measurements (in mm) for today are:

Right: 15, 14.5, 14, 14, 13.5, 13.5, 13
Left: 16.5, 14, 13.5, 12, 10

I'm thinking that because the follicle count is lower he didn't measure anything smaller than 10 (the doctor last time did).

I'm not allowed to do physical exercise anymore because my ovaries are quite large. It will be hard, but hopefully it's worth it in the end.

With each positive check-up I'm finding myself getting more and more hopeful that this will work. I feel like I'm the Bachelorette...scared to give my whole heart away for fear of it being rejected. By getting hopeful that this will work I'm exposing my emotions to the possibility of being hugely disappointed. Scary stuff. Like I said to Jon on the drive home this morning, "It's in God's hands, there's nothing we can do but pray."

Injection Day 6

Injections (PM):
Repronex 75 IU
Bravelle 112 IU
Orgalutran

We are going to Genesis again tomorrow morning for another blood test and ultrasound. Hopefully they can get enough blood from me on one poke! Hopefully my follicles are still growing nicely.

I can definitely feel that my ovaries are swollen. My midsection looks bloated and is quite firm to the touch.

Injection Day 5

Injections (PM):
Repronex 75 IU
Bravelle 112 IU
Orgalutran

Tonight was my first night of two injections. The new addition was Orgalutran, which prevents premature release of the hormone 'LH' which starts ovulation. We weren't sure if the injection had to be in my stomach or thigh (the instruction booklet that came with the Orgalutran said to do it in the thigh, so we did it there to be safe. I've googled it now and some sites say in the stomach and some say the thigh, so I don't really think it matters. We are going to call Genesis tomorrow to confirm.

I just checking my thigh now and my skin has definitely reacted to the Orgalutran - there's a large red circle around the site of injection. I think it's supposed to be gone within 4 hours though.

Check-Up #1

We just got back from our first check-up.

I first had to give some blood. The nurse tried to take it from my right arm but they could only get a few drops. She checked my left arm but my vein didn't look good there either, so she asked if it was okay if she took it from the top of my hand. I told her to do what she needed to do.

After the blood 'donation' I had to have an ultrasound. Turns out that it wasn't a full bladder ultrasound (it was so nice to go pee!). They counted and measured the follicles in my ovaries (in mm):

Right: 13.5, 12.5, 11, 10 (x5), <10 (x2)
Left: 15, 10.5, 10.5, <10 (x3)

I think they want as many to be as close to 20 as possible before they retrieve them. Not quite sure, I'll have to google it.

The doctor said it was looking good. Our medication amounts stay the same (yay! I didn't want them to increase because then it would cost us more $), and I start my Orgalutran injections tonight. That means every night I have two injections. Grr.

While I was giving blood another husband was talking to Jon and he asked Jon if I fainted every time I had to give myself an injection. Jon replied, "no, she's actually pretty good about it". The husband said, "well that makes things easier then!" Poor them!

My stomach is itchy right now, and is a little tender if I lean against it. I also think I'm looking a bit more bloated, or I've gained a little more weight and haven't noticed until this week. Let's hope for the former!

Our next appointment is Sunday morning at 7:30. Traffic was good today because most people took it off so that they could have a long weekend. It's nice that our next appointment is on a Sunday because traffic shouldn't be too bad then. It will be interesting to compare the sizes of the follicles.

Injection Days 3 & 4

Injections (PM):
Repronex 75 IU
Bravelle 112 IU

No change from the other days. The redness around the site of injection is usually gone before the next evening, and I've started holding a plastic ice cube to the site of injection right away, and seems to ease the redness and swelling. I've started to feel the side effects of the medication; every now and then throughout the day I have a little bit of cramping. It's super mild and is only there for a few seconds. I have to be careful not to lean against anything with my stomach because it is a bit sore. I'm trying to be optimistic and am telling myself that I am 1/3 of the way done injections...hopefully I don't have to do this for longer than 12 days! I find it's more painful each time. Jon tried to tell me today that I need to inject the medication quicker and I got mad. I was doing it as quick as I could! The most painful part is the actually injection of the medication...sticking the needle in is fine.

Tomorrow morning we have our first appointment since we've started the injections. I'll have a blood test and ultrasound done. I can't remember if it was a full bladder ultrasound being done or an empty bladder...and I was too lazy to call today to find out. I think that it's full bladder, so that they can use my bladder as a reference on the ultrasound screen in finding my ovaries. I'll play it safe and go full bladder. They are going to count how many follicles I have and also measure them to determine if my medication doses are okay. I'm hoping I don't have to go to two shots a day! Wish us luck!

Injection Day 2

Injections (PM):
Repronex 75 IU
Bravelle 112 IU

As predicted by our orientation nurse, my skin has reacted to the first injection shot. It's red and slightly swollen around the area of injection, about the side to side nickels side-by-side (yes, I did put two nickels on my stomach to measure it...boy, did the coolness of the coins ever feel good!). It looks like a mosquito stung me there. Luckily my injection later tonight is on the other side of my belly button so I can even out the swelling. If it doesn't go away quickly I'm going to have a pretty nasty midsection. Once again, thank goodness I don't have to wear a bikini out in public.

Injection Day 1

Injections (PM):
Repronex 75 IU
Bravelle 112 IU

Ahh...first day of injections. I don't know how to feel right now. Sometimes I'm excited, sometimes I'm scared. I try not to think about it too much, and just try to live my every day life. The last thing I want is to be super excited and optimistic and then for it to not work. I feel I would come crashing down from a super high to a super low. At the same time, I don't want to be down about it because it's not good for my overall health. So I guess I'm trying to find a happy medium - pessimistically optimistic? optimistically pessimistic? lol.

Jon was pretty excited to mix all of the medications together tonight for the injection. I don't think he's ever gotten off of the couch so quickly at the sound of me getting ready for bed! We think we mixed it all correctly :) I haven't passed out yet so that's a good sign lol.

Giving the injection was fine. It hurts more after the needle is already out than when I am inserting it or injecting the medication. Even still, it doesn't really hurt. It will be interesting to see if I develop any skin reactions around the site of injection. The doctors say it's common for red patches to appear. Thank goodness I'm not camping and wearing a bikini while I'm doing the injections!

Anyways, off to bed. Tomorrow is Jason's graduation and then another round of injections. Night!

From the Beginning...

I have no idea where to begin, so I figure let's start from the very beginning of our journey. I'll try to get everyone caught up with the different appointments and tests we've undergone since we started trying to conceive (I knew there was a reason I've been keeping old calendars and appointment papers!):

December 2007
Stopped taking birth control right after Christmas. We casually started trying to conceive, although preferred for my body to have a couple months rest from birth control first.

February 4, 2008
Appointment with Dr. Shah. Told him we had just begun trying to conceive.
Laura - Was prescribed Folic Acid 5mg to take daily, starting right away.

July 21, 2009
Appointment with Dr. Shah to discuss infertility. Was given laboratory requisitions forms.

July 27, 2009
Laura - Laboratory tests done through BC Biomedical: Day 3 FSH, EDS - Estradiol.

To read more about this test: http://genesis-fertility.com/diagnostics-and-testing/fertility-evaluation-for-women#3

July 28, 2009
Laboratory results from July 27 are normal.

August 13, 2009
Laura - Laboratory tests done through BC Biomedical: TSH, Prolactin, Hematology Panel, HBSAG, Hepatitis C, HIV, Rubella, Varicella, VDRL.

To read more about this test: http://genesis-fertility.com/diagnostics-and-testing/fertility-evaluation-for-women#3

August 22, 2009
Laura - Full-bladder ultrasound done to see if my uterus is an irregular shape.

September 5, 2009
Jon - Semen Analysis through BC Biomedical. Results = "Normal semen analysis. The parameters for sperm motility, concentration, and morphology are within the 'fertile' ranges."

September 14, 2009
Appointment with Dr. Shah to discuss results (all came back as 'normal' and to decide what the next step is. He referred our names to Genesis Fertility Clinic and said they would contact us to make an appointment.

October 14, 2009
Received package of laboratory requisition forms from Genesis Fertility Clinic.

October 29, 2009
Laura - Laboratory tests done through Lifelabs: Day 3 FSH, EDS - Estradiol.

To read more about this test: http://genesis-fertility.com/diagnostics-and-testing/fertility-evaluation-for-women#3

November 7, 2009
Laura - Laboratory tests done through Lifelabs: TSH, Prolactin, Hematology Panel, HBSAG, Hepatitis C, HIV, Rubella, Varicella, VDRL.

To read more about this test: http://genesis-fertility.com/diagnostics-and-testing/fertility-evaluation-for-women#3

November 18, 2009
Appointment with Dr. Hitkari at Genesis Fertility Clinic (Surrey). Was prescribed Clomid (clomophene citrate) 100 mg daily to be taken on days 3 to 7 of my cycle to cause super-ovulation. Was given enough for 4 months.

November 19, 2009
Jon - Semen Analysis through Lifelabs. Results = "Normal, but increased abnormal forms."

December 14, 2009
Laura - Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) done. This is an x-ray to determine if fallopian tubes are open and uterus is of normal shape. X-Ray dye is injected through cervix in order to fill the cavity inside uterus and tubes. The dye can be seen on the x-ray video screen and pictures are taken.

To read more about this test: http://genesis-fertility.com/diagnostics-and-testing/fertility-evaluation-for-women

April 16, 2010
Laura - Appointment with Dr. Shah to inquire about 'pain' between breast bone and ribs. Dr. Shah figures it is Costochondritis (chest pain due to inflammation of the cartilage and bones in the chest wall). Was told that it is quite comment in women in their mid-twenties due to high number of hormones during most fertile years. Suspected I never had it before because I've now been on Clomid.

May 31, 2010
Appointment with Dr. Hitkari at Genesis Fertility Clinic (Surrey). All of our testing came back 'normal'.

Told us we had two options:
1) Super-Ovulation (aka. Artificial Insemination)
- will cost approximately $750 per month
- Dr. Hitkari figures we would have a 20% success rate

To read more about this procedure: http://genesis-fertility.com/fertility-services/ovulation-induction-superovulation

2) In Vitro Fertilization
- will cost approximately $8000-$9000 per month
- Dr. Hitkari figures we would have a 60% success rate

To read more about this procedure: http://genesis-fertility.com/fertility-services/in-vitro-fertilization-ivf

Both procedures start out the same with a super-ovulation of my ovaries (even more than the Clomid did). If we chose artificial insemination and I produced too many eggs then they will not allow for us to continue to do artificial insemination for that month, due to the chance that multiple eggs could be fertilized. At that point, we could choose to switch to In Vitro Fertilization or we would have to stop for the month.

Failing to conceive under either procedure will require us to wait one cycle before trying again.

*Jon and I have decided to try I.V.F. Dispite the higher cost, we feel that it is the best option for us because of the success rate. We will do (almost!) anything to conceive quicker now. It's the waiting that takes an emotional toll on us.

June 11, 2010
Appointment with Dr. Hitkari at Genesis Fertility Clinic (Vancouver).

Laura - Antral Follicle Count (Internal ultrasound) to count current number of immatures follicles in ovaries (11 in right, 10 in left) to determine levels of medication for I.V.F.

Met with nurse to go over the I.V.F. process, to practice self-injection of medication, and to purchase required medications. Will start I.V.F. procedure with my next cycle.

Laura - Prescribed Estrace 2mg to be taken twice daily the week before my next cycle. Is supposed to increase my estrogen levels to balance out the number of follicles in ovaries.

June 16, 2010
Laura - Started taking Estrace.

* * * * * * * * * * *
What a journey so far! It's seems like we've done so many tests already, but really, we have just gotten started! As I look back it seems like time has gone quite quickly, but as I live my life from day to day it tends to drag on.

I remember thinking that it would only take us 3-4 months to get pregnant. When we hit 6 months (June 2008) I started googling how long it takes the average person to get pregnant. When we hit 12 months (December 2008) Jon and I discussed making a doctor's appointment. We decided that since my cycles are not super-regular (varying between 30-35 days) that we should give it a few more months (July 2009). Since then, we've been completing the tests as quickly as we can. It's frustrating when certain bloodwork tests can only be done on certain days of your cycle! I'm very appreciative that I have a job that is very accommodating to doctor's appointments, no matter what time of day! I'm also thankful that I've been able to pick up a couple extra jobs (in the greenhouses helping with Spring orders in the spring of 2009 and 2010, helping in the office in the summer of 2010, and doing income tax preparation for the spring of 2010) on the side and volunteer work (coaching basketball) so that it fills my time. I find that if I am home alone for the afternoon I quickly fall into a state of self-pity, so keeping myself busy (distracted?) has, for the most part, kept my outlook on our situation a lot more positive.

My hope for this blog is to keep a record of all of our trying-to-conceive (TTC) timeline, as well as our (well, mostly my) emotional ups and downs through this process. Thank you for all of your prayers and support so far! We are quite optimistic about beginning our first round of I.V.F., although we know that many couples do not conceive the first time. The more hopeful I get, the more upset I will be if it does not work. It's about finding the right balance in thought - maybe "hopefully pessimistic"?

All in all, I've found this journey so far to be a real test of faith. I remember in September 2009 telling a fellow youth leader at my church that I had (so far) everything in life that I've wanted, and that I'd never had a spiritual struggle before; that my spiritual life was like a straight line before, neither up nor down. I said I didn't have a 'story' at all. I don't think the thought of my infertility had really hit me at that point. The 10 months since then have really been an up-and-down roller coaster with God. There are times where I'm just so angry and confused with Him. Why me? What's His purpose for this? What is the purpose of my life? Am I supposed to go back to school so I can climb the corporate ladder and never have kids? Or does he just want to test my faith? One day can be completely different than the next, so Jon never knows what to expect (poor him!). I've been at a good spot with God since our last appointment, although I think that's because I have hope for this next step in our journey. We will have to see where God takes us. He knows what's best for us, even when we may disagree.

Let me know if you have ANY questions at all. It's hard to know what people are interested in knowing, so unless I'm told or asked of otherwise, I hope to continue to blog about both the logistical (is that the right word?) and emotional sides of our journey.