This morning I had to get up and head to a lab for some more blood work. Shannon was there as I was leaving for the doctor's office and she gave me a sly smile. He heee. I was thrilled to have this place just do a finger prick for the blood work. That was easy and nice.
Mom arrived at the beach house today. It will be nice to have her join us for a few days. Otherwise it's much of the same - some evenings in the pool, lots of reading, afternoon naps. It's all the things vacation should be! Love it!
The doctor called Wednesday afternoon to say the blood work is still great. I'm to keep the same dosage on the blood thinner. She said I didn't have to go to the lab on Sat in NC, but I could wait and go again on Monday when I'm back in Denver. Perfect!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 24
Today Sean and Shannon found out our news. Shannon overheard Jackie talking about the baby. It's totally OK for the kids to know, so it was fine. It was cute and kinda funny. We were talking about what week we may do the beach vacation next year and I said the later the better. Jackie said - oh right cause the longer we wait the older the baby would be. Shannon asked Debbie about it later. He heee.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, June 23
The doctor called this afternoon with results from my weekend blood work. It all looks good. I asked why we weren't testing hCG again (while they were "in there") and they said at this point the numbers fluctuate up and down too much and it doesn't really give them a good indictator of good or bad things - so why bother?
Oh well - I was just hoping for some more promising news as I continue to be paranoid. So, I go again on Wednesday to test the blood thinning stuff for a second time.
Oh well - I was just hoping for some more promising news as I continue to be paranoid. So, I go again on Wednesday to test the blood thinning stuff for a second time.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sunday, June 22
Today was a great day! We woke up in Jenny's house to the sounds of two 5 year olds anxiously awaiting our company. It's always so nice to be wanted. ;) They're the cutest guys. It'd been a few years since I'd seen them, so it was nice to see how big they're growing! They start kindergarten in the fall. Time goes so fast!
Jenny and Tim made the best batch of fresh oatmeal, from a 50-pound bag of oats they get at a local food co-op. We added some brown sugar, cashew butter, and other tasty treats to a bowl Jeff and I shared. Then Jeff and I finally got to see the grounds and meet the goats. They were happy to see us as well (maybe because we were holding the oatmeal). It was hard to believe that I drank milk that came out of one of those guys just yesterday!
We all carpooled to Weaver Street Market in Carrboro where we met up with Suzanne and Markus. We had a great brunch, chatted, and watched the boys play in the dirt. Then we all split up. Jeff and I grabbed a few snacks from the market and then hit the road.
We had plans to meet up with Dad and Brenda in Warsaw, on our way to Emerald Isle. We were trying to synch up with George and Jackie as well. It worked out perfectly and we all enjoyed a late lunch and a little time together at Smithfield's Chicken and BBQ. Ohhh the chicken was good. But - the fun part - I got to tell them all together that we're expecting! The waitress overheard me and brought free hushpuppies for the table. YUM! ;)
We shopped at a little farmer's market stand in the parking lot - got some peaches, blueberries, and watermelon. Then we said goodbye to Dad and Brenda and finished the drive to Emerald Isle.
When we got there we were able to tell Jeff's sibblings our news as well. We decided not to tell the neices and nephews, but rather let the parents decide when they wanted to tell their kids. Everyone was very happy and there were plenty of handshakes and hugs to go around.
Jenny and Tim made the best batch of fresh oatmeal, from a 50-pound bag of oats they get at a local food co-op. We added some brown sugar, cashew butter, and other tasty treats to a bowl Jeff and I shared. Then Jeff and I finally got to see the grounds and meet the goats. They were happy to see us as well (maybe because we were holding the oatmeal). It was hard to believe that I drank milk that came out of one of those guys just yesterday!
We all carpooled to Weaver Street Market in Carrboro where we met up with Suzanne and Markus. We had a great brunch, chatted, and watched the boys play in the dirt. Then we all split up. Jeff and I grabbed a few snacks from the market and then hit the road.
We had plans to meet up with Dad and Brenda in Warsaw, on our way to Emerald Isle. We were trying to synch up with George and Jackie as well. It worked out perfectly and we all enjoyed a late lunch and a little time together at Smithfield's Chicken and BBQ. Ohhh the chicken was good. But - the fun part - I got to tell them all together that we're expecting! The waitress overheard me and brought free hushpuppies for the table. YUM! ;)
We shopped at a little farmer's market stand in the parking lot - got some peaches, blueberries, and watermelon. Then we said goodbye to Dad and Brenda and finished the drive to Emerald Isle.
When we got there we were able to tell Jeff's sibblings our news as well. We decided not to tell the neices and nephews, but rather let the parents decide when they wanted to tell their kids. Everyone was very happy and there were plenty of handshakes and hugs to go around.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Saturday, June 21
I started my day with a pedicure and smoothie. Afterwards I needed to hit a LabCorp for some blood work. We're testing the dosage of the blood thinner, so my doctor had pre-ordered a CBC. I found a lab with Saturday hours and headed there. It was a bit sketchy. The line was long and it was a mix of clientele. I got in and out of there in about an hour, so it could have been worse. The doctor will call on Monday with those results. I've gotta go again on Wednesday while in NC.
After the lab work I headed to the Fort Lauderdale airport for a flight to Atlanta. I met Jeff there during a layover and we flew together to Raleigh/Durham. After picking up a rental car we headed to my friend Jenny's house in Chapel Hill. In the midst of a major metropolitan area, Jenny is luck to live on 10 acres with her husband and twin 5 year old sons. They have a barn with goats and chickens, bee hives and a huge farm filled with promising vegetables. While our time with Jenny would be brief it was a lot of fun.
She welcomed us with a fruit and cheese plate and offered a glass of FRESH (unpasteurized) milk from their goats. I had to have some - pasteurized or not. It was tasty. After some chatting we went to bed early, looking forward to our tour of the grounds in the morning.
After the lab work I headed to the Fort Lauderdale airport for a flight to Atlanta. I met Jeff there during a layover and we flew together to Raleigh/Durham. After picking up a rental car we headed to my friend Jenny's house in Chapel Hill. In the midst of a major metropolitan area, Jenny is luck to live on 10 acres with her husband and twin 5 year old sons. They have a barn with goats and chickens, bee hives and a huge farm filled with promising vegetables. While our time with Jenny would be brief it was a lot of fun.
She welcomed us with a fruit and cheese plate and offered a glass of FRESH (unpasteurized) milk from their goats. I had to have some - pasteurized or not. It was tasty. After some chatting we went to bed early, looking forward to our tour of the grounds in the morning.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Friday, June 20
TGIF! Today was more work meetings. After work I met a good friend for cocktails and sushi. HA! Sabrina is a really good friend, so I was just straight with her. I told her what was going on. She was excited for me - of course. I tried a Thai Iced Tea and stuck with stir fried veggies instead of sushi. We had a lovely dinner and then it was early to bed for me.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Thursday, June 19
Today I asked Kristine to be my back-up spouse. I’ll pay for her to get a sitter if she can be ready to go with me to the doctor on 7/7. Hey – wait – that’s lucky number 7 x 2. I like my odds. Oh, if only I were a betting woman. Anyway, Kristine is very excited about going with me. She wants to see the ultrasound and it will be fun for her to be back at the doctor’s office now that she’s a successful case study for them.
Tonight was dinner with colleagues. These are people I dine with often when I’m in Florida. They know me and they know how I like wine. One person in particular, Eileen D’Ippolito, is a good friend. She knows about my past troubles. She gave me some funny looks when I turned down the vino. Oh well - it's bound to happen.
Tonight was dinner with colleagues. These are people I dine with often when I’m in Florida. They know me and they know how I like wine. One person in particular, Eileen D’Ippolito, is a good friend. She knows about my past troubles. She gave me some funny looks when I turned down the vino. Oh well - it's bound to happen.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wednesday, June 18
Busy day today. I got up early and finished packing for the twelve days I’ll be out of town. Jeff and I left the house shortly after 7 am and headed to the Dr’s office. They got me in quickly for my blood draw. Then I picked up the prescription for Lovenox (blood thinning injections) as well as three lab orders. Then Jeff drove me straight to the airport. I flew to Florida where I’ll be until Saturday morning.
As soon as we landed I turned my phone on. Had the Dr called with the results? Nope. Not yet. I drove around aimlessly for a while waiting for their call. At one point I saw I had a new voice mail. HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THEIR CALL!! I called the office immediately and pulled over to talk to Amber, a nurse there.
We were hoping my hCG number would be between 120 and 140. Today’s count was 195!! Yippie!! That’s VERY good news. Tonight I need to start taking the Lovenox injections. Then on days 4, 8, and 12 I need to get some lab work done so they can monitor my platelet levels. If everything looks good on these lab results they’ll just test me once a month going forward.
The scary part – these labs aren’t checking the pregnancy. I won’t know anything else about how the pregnancy is coming along until my first ultrasound which we scheduled for July 7 at 3 pm. At that point I will be 6 weeks and 2 days pregnant and we should be able to see/hear that long anticipated heartbeat!
The sad part about this appointment – July 7 is Jeff’s first day at a brand new job. He’s not yet sure if he’ll be able to go with me. We’ll just have to play that by ear. Perhaps I’ll get one of my girlfriends on standby just in case he can’t go.
So I head to a Fort Lauderdale Walgreens to get my prescription for Lovenox filled. They didn’t have a month’s worth, but they gave me a few to tide me over. I need to go back tomorrow to pick up the rest. Ahhh – injections. I’m fine with needles, so I don’t think this will be an issue. I soon will learn different.
I get to my hotel and order some room service and ultimately start my bedtime routine. I take my other pills and then it’s time for the injection.
As soon as we landed I turned my phone on. Had the Dr called with the results? Nope. Not yet. I drove around aimlessly for a while waiting for their call. At one point I saw I had a new voice mail. HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THEIR CALL!! I called the office immediately and pulled over to talk to Amber, a nurse there.
We were hoping my hCG number would be between 120 and 140. Today’s count was 195!! Yippie!! That’s VERY good news. Tonight I need to start taking the Lovenox injections. Then on days 4, 8, and 12 I need to get some lab work done so they can monitor my platelet levels. If everything looks good on these lab results they’ll just test me once a month going forward.
The scary part – these labs aren’t checking the pregnancy. I won’t know anything else about how the pregnancy is coming along until my first ultrasound which we scheduled for July 7 at 3 pm. At that point I will be 6 weeks and 2 days pregnant and we should be able to see/hear that long anticipated heartbeat!
The sad part about this appointment – July 7 is Jeff’s first day at a brand new job. He’s not yet sure if he’ll be able to go with me. We’ll just have to play that by ear. Perhaps I’ll get one of my girlfriends on standby just in case he can’t go.
So I head to a Fort Lauderdale Walgreens to get my prescription for Lovenox filled. They didn’t have a month’s worth, but they gave me a few to tide me over. I need to go back tomorrow to pick up the rest. Ahhh – injections. I’m fine with needles, so I don’t think this will be an issue. I soon will learn different.
I get to my hotel and order some room service and ultimately start my bedtime routine. I take my other pills and then it’s time for the injection.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday, June 17
I wish I could have that second blood test today. Nothing really happens today except another dinner with friends where I can’t drink wine. ;) I did pick up my Calcium supplements today and went ahead and started that. I figure whether the pregnancy is good or not, calcium is never a bad thing to have too much of.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Monday, June 16
I might feel a little better if the plus sign on this pee stick were darker. I’ve never seen a dark vertical line before. I will call the Dr’s office when they open and see what they recommend. ANY signs of a plus means you’re pregnant. I just worry it’s not viable – much like my others. I hate the worrying.
The last two times I was pregnant – even if just for a week – I knew it. I didn’t feel good the whole time. I was exhausted. My boobs ached a little. And I constantly felt nauseous. While this time I’ve had some waves of nausea and I have certainly partaken of a few power naps this weekend, it doesn’t even compare. I am starting to wonder if this will ever happen for me. And if not, then what? Do we adopt? Do we never have kids?
I went to the doctor at 8:45 this morning. Keep in mind this is an infertility specialist. They deal with women like me all the time – meaning they’re used to people who have trouble with this stuff. I’ve been down this road twice already, so I clearly have my doubts and hesitations. I don’t know if this is going to work out and I’m afraid to get too excited about it yet. After they took some blood I got a solid round of “congratulations” and “aren’t you thrilled?” from the staff. Well, that’s hard for me. My answer was a simple, “Not yet. We’ve been down this road a few times before.” I think their average patient has a hard time GETTING pregnant, while I have a hard time KEEPING it!
As I type this I am awaiting a call with the status of my hCG levels. I can’t tell you what I’m hoping for, as it’s really more about the difference between today’s test and Wednesday’s test, but we’ll see what they say.
Alright, so the doctor sounds optimistic. I’m still hesitant to get excited. As of this morning my hCG was at 74. She said that was good – they like it to be over 50. My progesterone was REALLY great at 59. On Wednesday we’ll do this all over again and look for that hCG number to at least double. If that looks good then I’ll start blood thinning shots on Wednesday evening and I’ll also need to find labs in Florida and North Carolina so they can check my numbers over the next week or so.
Tonight for dinner we went to Gwen and Dave Klebba’s house. Gwen and I live these weird parallel lives, except for the fact that she’s a skinny Vietnamese young thing. We were married to our husbands on the exact same day (same year). Our birthdays are one day apart (different years), so we’re both Virgos. Our husbands used to work together, but they’re in the same line of work. We live in the same neighborhood. We both have dogs and no kids. We share a love for many of the same things – food, wine, entertaining, etc. Sooooo – this was BOUND to happen. We get over there and she offers me a glass of wine. I say no thanks. She gives me a look; finally asks if I’m pregnant. I sheepishly said I may be and would know more next week. She’s still looking at me funny. Then she says, “I have a secret.” So I say, “I do too!” How funny. They’re pregnant!! It’s their first pregnancy so she’s paranoid and worried. I told her it was my third pregnancy and I’m STILL paranoid and worried. Her first doctor’s appointment isn’t until July 11, but we both had looked up expected due dates and we’d be about a week apart. Too funny. I really want this to work this time.
On the way home from dinner last night Jeff and I started talking about the concept of parenthood. I told him while it’s great that our closest friends all have kids and can share their experience and wisdom, but I’m excited at the idea that we could go through this with the Klebbas. It would be fun to experience this new thing with someone else who was new at it too. Also, it would give Jeff someone else to talk to about being a new dad, an idea I know he’s worried about. We started talking about this and he’s in fact very worried. He’s never the guy that wants to hold other people’s babies. He doesn’t mind playing with older kids, but he’s really worried about how he’ll be with an infant. I told him I felt this was not only very normal, but I’m convinced there are millions of men who have the same concern. I personally feel like there’s nothing to do but get thrown into it. Then he’ll handle it fine. It will be different when it’s your own kid. That sounds cliché, but I believe it to be true. The concept of children – of having a family of our own – is very exciting to us. The everyday practicality of it is a scary concept.
The last two times I was pregnant – even if just for a week – I knew it. I didn’t feel good the whole time. I was exhausted. My boobs ached a little. And I constantly felt nauseous. While this time I’ve had some waves of nausea and I have certainly partaken of a few power naps this weekend, it doesn’t even compare. I am starting to wonder if this will ever happen for me. And if not, then what? Do we adopt? Do we never have kids?
I went to the doctor at 8:45 this morning. Keep in mind this is an infertility specialist. They deal with women like me all the time – meaning they’re used to people who have trouble with this stuff. I’ve been down this road twice already, so I clearly have my doubts and hesitations. I don’t know if this is going to work out and I’m afraid to get too excited about it yet. After they took some blood I got a solid round of “congratulations” and “aren’t you thrilled?” from the staff. Well, that’s hard for me. My answer was a simple, “Not yet. We’ve been down this road a few times before.” I think their average patient has a hard time GETTING pregnant, while I have a hard time KEEPING it!
As I type this I am awaiting a call with the status of my hCG levels. I can’t tell you what I’m hoping for, as it’s really more about the difference between today’s test and Wednesday’s test, but we’ll see what they say.
Alright, so the doctor sounds optimistic. I’m still hesitant to get excited. As of this morning my hCG was at 74. She said that was good – they like it to be over 50. My progesterone was REALLY great at 59. On Wednesday we’ll do this all over again and look for that hCG number to at least double. If that looks good then I’ll start blood thinning shots on Wednesday evening and I’ll also need to find labs in Florida and North Carolina so they can check my numbers over the next week or so.
Tonight for dinner we went to Gwen and Dave Klebba’s house. Gwen and I live these weird parallel lives, except for the fact that she’s a skinny Vietnamese young thing. We were married to our husbands on the exact same day (same year). Our birthdays are one day apart (different years), so we’re both Virgos. Our husbands used to work together, but they’re in the same line of work. We live in the same neighborhood. We both have dogs and no kids. We share a love for many of the same things – food, wine, entertaining, etc. Sooooo – this was BOUND to happen. We get over there and she offers me a glass of wine. I say no thanks. She gives me a look; finally asks if I’m pregnant. I sheepishly said I may be and would know more next week. She’s still looking at me funny. Then she says, “I have a secret.” So I say, “I do too!” How funny. They’re pregnant!! It’s their first pregnancy so she’s paranoid and worried. I told her it was my third pregnancy and I’m STILL paranoid and worried. Her first doctor’s appointment isn’t until July 11, but we both had looked up expected due dates and we’d be about a week apart. Too funny. I really want this to work this time.
On the way home from dinner last night Jeff and I started talking about the concept of parenthood. I told him while it’s great that our closest friends all have kids and can share their experience and wisdom, but I’m excited at the idea that we could go through this with the Klebbas. It would be fun to experience this new thing with someone else who was new at it too. Also, it would give Jeff someone else to talk to about being a new dad, an idea I know he’s worried about. We started talking about this and he’s in fact very worried. He’s never the guy that wants to hold other people’s babies. He doesn’t mind playing with older kids, but he’s really worried about how he’ll be with an infant. I told him I felt this was not only very normal, but I’m convinced there are millions of men who have the same concern. I personally feel like there’s nothing to do but get thrown into it. Then he’ll handle it fine. It will be different when it’s your own kid. That sounds cliché, but I believe it to be true. The concept of children – of having a family of our own – is very exciting to us. The everyday practicality of it is a scary concept.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Sunday, June 15
I didn’t take another test today. I decided it would do me no good and I only had one left. Tomorrow morning I will take it and then hopefully I can call the Dr with some good news. I’d REALLY like to see another little line – even darker this time. Then, I am thinking the doctor will give me a blood test tomorrow. I am heading out of town on Wednesday morning, so I want to try to get a second blood test on Wednesday, to look for the right change in hormone levels. Then I am out of town for eleven days!
I travel a lot for work. I have for a few years now and it doesn’t show signs of slowing. On Wednesday I am scheduled to go to our company headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, FL for a few days of training. Then on Saturday I am meeting Jeff at a layover in Atlanta on our way to NC for a week’s vacation with his family. It’s an annual trip me take with them every June to Emerald Isle, NC. Along the way I usually get to see a few friends and my parents as well.
My mom already knows about the news, but so far she’s the only one we’ve told. I want to tell my girlfriends. There are three girls I’m very close with – Kristine Thomas, Tanna Rae Manthe and Sarah Meskimen. Kristine recommended my infertility doctor. After issues of her own she’s finally got two gorgeous, healthy kids. Tanna Rae is the youngest of all of us, but has three kids already. They’re all done. Sarah had a miscarriage before having her son, Sam, and now she’s pregnant with their second child. We find out this week whether it’s a boy or girl. So, when we all get together there are currently 8 adults and 6 kids with 1 on the way. Soon the kids will outnumber the adults. Jeff and I are the last to go there.
While I find it therapeutic to talk to the girls about what’s going on, Jeff thinks it’s more difficult to tell them and then have to tell them it didn’t work out. So, he’d rather wait and make sure things are looking good before telling our friends. Normally we’re all drinking wine together so it’s pretty obvious why we wouldn’t be drinking. With the travels coming up soon, we may get away with waiting to tell them. As for Jeff’s family, I hope we’ll have some good news to tell them when we see them in a week.
There are so many things to do and not do while you’re pregnant. I am glad I ate REALLY good sushi last week, since it may be the last time I have it for a while. I also had a nice run of drinking lately, culminated by a gorgeous bottle of wine last Sunday night at an outdoor concert. It was a bottle of Paraduxx at the Cake concert at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Today I was sad when I couldn’t have a cocktail with Jeff while we watched the US Open. Then, after a VERY nice nap I went out for some shopping. On the way home I stopped at Sonic for a Diet Cherry Limeade. Halfway through drinking it I remembered I really shouldn’t be drinking diet things either. There’s so many “rules” to remember. Hopefully I can start reading up on all this again soon, but not quite yet.
Ahhh – the naps. This may be the best part so far. This weekend I have managed to squeeze in two REALLY nice afternoon naps. To top it off they’ve been really deep sleeps too. I wake up having had the most distinct and bizarre dreams. That’s kinda fun sometimes.
I travel a lot for work. I have for a few years now and it doesn’t show signs of slowing. On Wednesday I am scheduled to go to our company headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, FL for a few days of training. Then on Saturday I am meeting Jeff at a layover in Atlanta on our way to NC for a week’s vacation with his family. It’s an annual trip me take with them every June to Emerald Isle, NC. Along the way I usually get to see a few friends and my parents as well.
My mom already knows about the news, but so far she’s the only one we’ve told. I want to tell my girlfriends. There are three girls I’m very close with – Kristine Thomas, Tanna Rae Manthe and Sarah Meskimen. Kristine recommended my infertility doctor. After issues of her own she’s finally got two gorgeous, healthy kids. Tanna Rae is the youngest of all of us, but has three kids already. They’re all done. Sarah had a miscarriage before having her son, Sam, and now she’s pregnant with their second child. We find out this week whether it’s a boy or girl. So, when we all get together there are currently 8 adults and 6 kids with 1 on the way. Soon the kids will outnumber the adults. Jeff and I are the last to go there.
While I find it therapeutic to talk to the girls about what’s going on, Jeff thinks it’s more difficult to tell them and then have to tell them it didn’t work out. So, he’d rather wait and make sure things are looking good before telling our friends. Normally we’re all drinking wine together so it’s pretty obvious why we wouldn’t be drinking. With the travels coming up soon, we may get away with waiting to tell them. As for Jeff’s family, I hope we’ll have some good news to tell them when we see them in a week.
There are so many things to do and not do while you’re pregnant. I am glad I ate REALLY good sushi last week, since it may be the last time I have it for a while. I also had a nice run of drinking lately, culminated by a gorgeous bottle of wine last Sunday night at an outdoor concert. It was a bottle of Paraduxx at the Cake concert at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Today I was sad when I couldn’t have a cocktail with Jeff while we watched the US Open. Then, after a VERY nice nap I went out for some shopping. On the way home I stopped at Sonic for a Diet Cherry Limeade. Halfway through drinking it I remembered I really shouldn’t be drinking diet things either. There’s so many “rules” to remember. Hopefully I can start reading up on all this again soon, but not quite yet.
Ahhh – the naps. This may be the best part so far. This weekend I have managed to squeeze in two REALLY nice afternoon naps. To top it off they’ve been really deep sleeps too. I wake up having had the most distinct and bizarre dreams. That’s kinda fun sometimes.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Today I took a test. It was early and the result was barely visible, but I swear I saw a line. After a few minutes – still in the bathroom – of careful consideration of the line, I carefully picked through the bathroom trash, where I’d thrown away the test I had taken yesterday. Yesterday I saw nothing. Very visibly nothing. Today, 24 hours later, there was a line. Two vertical lines; one on each test; two positives. It’s 6 am and I wake up Jeff. “I think I’m pregnant.” He smiles. For Jeff, at 6 am, that’s a very good thing.
We’ve had a rough go of things in this department. If the line tells me what I think it does, this will be my third pregnancy. The first two ended quickly although they did drag on. I’ve never seen a heartbeat. All I am thinking about now is a heartbeat.
My first pregnancy was technically over around 6 weeks. At 8 weeks I still hadn’t taken care of things naturally so we had to go to the hospital to end things. With some complications I ended up having to back eight weeks later for another procedure. I like to think Jeff and I handle all of life’s bumps with grace. We’re pretty laid back people – not easily upset. The stress and drama of all this took a toll and we decided to take a break from it all.
About a year later we were ready to give it another go. Once again we got pregnant very fast. Given my history, my doctor got me in for a blood test that week and saw my hormones weren’t at the right levels. I have the most wonderful, compassionate doctor in the world and she tried to let me down easy. Within just a few days I had started a new cycle. It was still tough though. What’s wrong with me? Actually those were my mother’s first words to me, “What’s wrong with you?” Nice Mom! My doctor said we could keep trying or we could go ahead and have things checked out. The very practical side of us led us to see an infertility specialist.
I’ve had a few friends see this doctor and my regular OB/GYN went to school with her as well, so she came highly recommended, personally and professionally. In one month we went through a whole series of tests – both me and Jeff. Jeff had no issues. In fact he was told his swimmers were “excellent.” It was my pool. Lots of minor things seemed to be going on; and lots of things that seemed borderline, although maybe not totally bad/wrong. But all this was good to know before we tried again and again.
Some of my issues:
We’ve had a rough go of things in this department. If the line tells me what I think it does, this will be my third pregnancy. The first two ended quickly although they did drag on. I’ve never seen a heartbeat. All I am thinking about now is a heartbeat.
My first pregnancy was technically over around 6 weeks. At 8 weeks I still hadn’t taken care of things naturally so we had to go to the hospital to end things. With some complications I ended up having to back eight weeks later for another procedure. I like to think Jeff and I handle all of life’s bumps with grace. We’re pretty laid back people – not easily upset. The stress and drama of all this took a toll and we decided to take a break from it all.
About a year later we were ready to give it another go. Once again we got pregnant very fast. Given my history, my doctor got me in for a blood test that week and saw my hormones weren’t at the right levels. I have the most wonderful, compassionate doctor in the world and she tried to let me down easy. Within just a few days I had started a new cycle. It was still tough though. What’s wrong with me? Actually those were my mother’s first words to me, “What’s wrong with you?” Nice Mom! My doctor said we could keep trying or we could go ahead and have things checked out. The very practical side of us led us to see an infertility specialist.
I’ve had a few friends see this doctor and my regular OB/GYN went to school with her as well, so she came highly recommended, personally and professionally. In one month we went through a whole series of tests – both me and Jeff. Jeff had no issues. In fact he was told his swimmers were “excellent.” It was my pool. Lots of minor things seemed to be going on; and lots of things that seemed borderline, although maybe not totally bad/wrong. But all this was good to know before we tried again and again.
Some of my issues:
- MTHFR mutation – about 10% of the world’s population has this mutation; it stands for methylene-tetrahydrofolate-reductase.
- Elevated homocysteine levels – this is caused by a deficiency in folic acid and is related a bit to the MTHFR mutation.
- Blood clotting – apparently I tend to easily clot; so I am taking a aspirin every day now and will eventually have to go on a blood thinning shot once I’m pregnant.
- Progesterone – my progesterone count was borderline low so I am supplementing progesterone
So, I started quite the prescription cocktail. In the morning I take two different folic acid supplements. Before bed I take a prenatal multivitamin (2 pills), another folic acid pill, an aspirin, and a progesterone suppository. That’s seven pills a day. Fun stuff. With the new strategy in place the infertility doctor gave us the green light to try again. In usual form for Jeff and me, I saw that faint little line within two months. Now, we wait for the heartbeat.
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