Update!

Hey all,

Sorry for the long silence since my last post! Have had a lot going on, and these last few weeks have just flown by! So the last time I updated, I was considered 4 weeks and a few days. I am 8 weeks today!!! I have had a few more blood draws and 2 ultrasounds since the initial blood test. The blood draw after the first one was just a few days after to make sure the levels of HCG are increasing at a steady rate. Since HCG is supposed to double every 48 hours in the beginning, we were expecting a decent number. That blood draw gave me a HCG of 327, and so the clinic in Connecticut just told me to keep doing the same thing I've been doing, which is to continue all the shots and pills. Yay! (sense the sarcasm?) Hey, it's all part of the process! The couple requested a third blood draw, just to ease their worries and reassure them a little bit, so I went back a week after the last one. That HCG level was 5,384! Yikes, I'll be honest, I was freaking out a little bit! If it's supposed to double every 48 hours, we would've been looking at a number closer to 2,000. So to get that number, I secretly googled HCG levels for women carrying twins at 5 weeks. Let's just say it was not comforting! :) Since we transferred one embryo in, that would mean identical twins in the oven. Again, the clinic told me just to keep doing what I'm doing and we will see at Week 6 for the first ultrasound and confirmation of a heartbeat!

The ultrasound was on August 17th! The couple was waiting on FaceTime, and since I had to go to a different clinic than the one I have been going to in Olathe, I was unsure about whether they would allow FaceTime. Got all checked in, got my blood drawn again, and then waited for the ultrasound. Thankfully, after asking as nicely as I could and trying to explain the situation as much as I could, the nurse practitioner (NP) performing the ultrasound agreed to let me FaceTime the intended parents. So, at the same time, we all saw the little heartbeat, just a beating away! Yep, just ONE heartbeat!! PHEW!!! The NP wouldn't let us hear it, but we could all see it on the screen. The couple was very excited, happy, and over the moon! And I think, a little in shock! They have waited so long for this! When it actually happens, it's almost like an out of body experience! The NP did a few other measurements, checked my ovaries, and saw that I had a subchorionic hemorrhage. If you followed my last journey with the couple from France, I had one during the first trimester as well. I did have some bleeding with that, but I was told then that it is very common for patients who have undergone IVF to experience this, and not to worry, that I may have some bleeding, but most of it should absorb on its own over time. The NP asked me if I had had any bleeding, to which I replied no, and so she just said that I have the hemorrhage and that I may bleed or it'll probably just absorb by itself over time. That was two weeks ago, and I haven't had any bleeding or spotting! So glad, because I don't want the intended parents to worry about anything extra like this! The baby is measuring exactly to the day, which is great and the heartbeat was strong! Same word from the clinic, my HCG was over 15,000 and to keep doing what I'm doing!

I think I might just be a person with high HCG levels and that it may not necessarily reflect the presence of twins! I have had some pretty intense nausea during all of my pregnancies and it always starts at 6 weeks, to the day. I am currently 8 weeks, and I am only nauseous when I eat! Go figure! Nothing really sounds good to eat, but I have to eat every 3 hours, or I start feeling shaky and sick! Hey, I'll take it! This is so much better than constant nausea, morning and night! I'm hoping it continues!

I had a second ultrasound on Wednesday of last week. Went in for another blood draw, and then the ultrasound. I think the baby looks like a little gummy bear at this point, and there it was, just floating around, growing! We saw some growth from a week before, and saw the heartbeat again, and they didn't mention anything about the subchorionic hemorrhage, and the clinic didn't mention it either, so I have just told myself that it absorbed and is gone! The clinic would like one last ultrasound before they discharge me as their patient and leave me free to see my own OB for prenatal care. So, I have one last ultrasound scheduled for next week, which will put me at a little over 9 weeks, and as long as everything looks good, that'll be it for the ultrasounds and blood draws for a while! I'll be able to start weening from the shots and the estrogen pills at 10 weeks, which I am so excited for! If I'm honest, sitting is getting pretty painful!

I have talked to the intended parents, mostly the mother, via text messages, and I appreciate our conversations! She is a lot like me, in some ways, so it's nice that we can relate to each other!

For those of you praying, please pray the nausea stays at bay, and that the last ultrasound with the IVF clinic is a good one! We are thinking strong heartbeat and a bigger gummy bear! Will update after the last ultrasound!

Thanks for reading! I appreciate it more than you know!

Sarah