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
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Monday, August 3, 2015
Results Day
Hi there,
Here we are again, made it to results day! I have to admit, I have been a little distracted with the waiting game this time around since we were getting ready to come back to Kansas, with packing and road tripping it took my mind off of it a little bit! But once the weekend hit, and we were home, I was getting pretty antsy!
So, when I got the call today, I was more than ready! The nurse on the phone said: "Hi Sarah, I have some great news this time! You're pregnant! Your levels look great! Good job, you did it!" Alright, I'm not exactly sure what I did, but who the heck cares! I'm pregnant, peeps! That is all that matters! The nurse said they want the HCG to be above 50 and my level was 137. They want the progesterone level to be above 12 and my level was 19. And while she didn't say what they want my level to be at for the estrogen, it was in the 800's, which she said was great! I will have another blood draw on Wednesday, just to check to make sure the levels are going up, and then if everything is good there, we will schedule the first ultrasound by mid August! That should give enough time for this little bun to get a strong heartbeat we can hear! Right now, I am considered to be 4 weeks and 1 day!
Now, for the confession: I cheated and took a pregnancy test on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Both were positive! By the end of the day on Saturday, I just wanted to know already! Ever since the transfer, I have had this gut feeling that I am pregnant. With the way the doctor and staff reacted to the transfer itself, and how pleased they seem to be, it gave me some courage to take a test. I also had noticed a few symptoms like a heightened gag reflex, sharp pains that only last a quick second in my uterus that continued even after the transfer day, a heightened sense of smell, and just getting clumsy, dropping things mostly. I also was talking to the intended mother via texts messages early on Saturday, and she told me that her and the intended father weren't going to be together today, due to work, and that sort of sealed the deal for me. So, I went and took the test, and Troy told me not to peak and he said he wouldn't either. The test said to give it 2-10 minutes to view the results, and so I went about my business. About 5 minutes in, I went back upstairs and waited for Troy. He said: "Ok, here we go. I already peaked, and it's negative, except for it's positive!" Little stinker, right?! Pretty sure I had a small heart attack, and for a brief second, I went through going through another cycle in my head. Then when he said it was positive: relief, excitement, happiness, and cue the disconnect between my brain and my body. I gave it about 20 minutes to sink in slightly, and then I called the intended parents! They definitely weren't expecting my call, but were glad to talk! The conversation went like this:
Me: "Hey guys, I just took a pregnancy test, and it was positive!!!"
Them: "Oh. MY. GOD! Wait, what? Are you sure? Take another one!"
Me: "Yes, I'm pretty sure! Let's FaceTime, and I'll show you the test!"
Them: "OH MY GOD!!!"
They were so surprised and excited! They are being really cautious with their excitement but no one can blame them! They've been through a lot to get to this point, and it's only natural for them to feel this way!
For those of you who followed me through my last surrogacy, I talked about feeling as though my brain wasn't connected to my body a lot because I wasn't really registering all that my body was doing with growing a baby with the plans to give it back to the parents. The only thing I can think of for why I feel this way is because when you find out you're expecting one of your own, you immediately start thinking about what life will be like with another baby in the house, another sibling, making room for the baby, and all of that! As a surrogate, I don't have to put thought into any of those things! The pressure is off, for those things and it's the same thing this time around! I'm in a little denial most of the time, except for when I feel those little sharp pains! I'm also really not looking forward to the months of nausea ahead of me! With all three of my last pregnancies, as a surrogate or not, I am usually really nauseous by week 6. I'm just gonna take it as it comes at this point, and do what I can to feel good and keep this baby healthy!
So for those of you that are praying and sending good thoughts and vibes out this way, THANK YOU!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time, even just for a minute! At this point, I would ask for all of your prayers, thought and good vibes to be directed towards another great blood draw on Wednesday, and for a good strong heartbeat after that! This little bun has some plans, I can tell!! :)
Sarah
Here we are again, made it to results day! I have to admit, I have been a little distracted with the waiting game this time around since we were getting ready to come back to Kansas, with packing and road tripping it took my mind off of it a little bit! But once the weekend hit, and we were home, I was getting pretty antsy!
So, when I got the call today, I was more than ready! The nurse on the phone said: "Hi Sarah, I have some great news this time! You're pregnant! Your levels look great! Good job, you did it!" Alright, I'm not exactly sure what I did, but who the heck cares! I'm pregnant, peeps! That is all that matters! The nurse said they want the HCG to be above 50 and my level was 137. They want the progesterone level to be above 12 and my level was 19. And while she didn't say what they want my level to be at for the estrogen, it was in the 800's, which she said was great! I will have another blood draw on Wednesday, just to check to make sure the levels are going up, and then if everything is good there, we will schedule the first ultrasound by mid August! That should give enough time for this little bun to get a strong heartbeat we can hear! Right now, I am considered to be 4 weeks and 1 day!
Now, for the confession: I cheated and took a pregnancy test on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Both were positive! By the end of the day on Saturday, I just wanted to know already! Ever since the transfer, I have had this gut feeling that I am pregnant. With the way the doctor and staff reacted to the transfer itself, and how pleased they seem to be, it gave me some courage to take a test. I also had noticed a few symptoms like a heightened gag reflex, sharp pains that only last a quick second in my uterus that continued even after the transfer day, a heightened sense of smell, and just getting clumsy, dropping things mostly. I also was talking to the intended mother via texts messages early on Saturday, and she told me that her and the intended father weren't going to be together today, due to work, and that sort of sealed the deal for me. So, I went and took the test, and Troy told me not to peak and he said he wouldn't either. The test said to give it 2-10 minutes to view the results, and so I went about my business. About 5 minutes in, I went back upstairs and waited for Troy. He said: "Ok, here we go. I already peaked, and it's negative, except for it's positive!" Little stinker, right?! Pretty sure I had a small heart attack, and for a brief second, I went through going through another cycle in my head. Then when he said it was positive: relief, excitement, happiness, and cue the disconnect between my brain and my body. I gave it about 20 minutes to sink in slightly, and then I called the intended parents! They definitely weren't expecting my call, but were glad to talk! The conversation went like this:
Me: "Hey guys, I just took a pregnancy test, and it was positive!!!"
Them: "Oh. MY. GOD! Wait, what? Are you sure? Take another one!"
Me: "Yes, I'm pretty sure! Let's FaceTime, and I'll show you the test!"
Them: "OH MY GOD!!!"
They were so surprised and excited! They are being really cautious with their excitement but no one can blame them! They've been through a lot to get to this point, and it's only natural for them to feel this way!
For those of you who followed me through my last surrogacy, I talked about feeling as though my brain wasn't connected to my body a lot because I wasn't really registering all that my body was doing with growing a baby with the plans to give it back to the parents. The only thing I can think of for why I feel this way is because when you find out you're expecting one of your own, you immediately start thinking about what life will be like with another baby in the house, another sibling, making room for the baby, and all of that! As a surrogate, I don't have to put thought into any of those things! The pressure is off, for those things and it's the same thing this time around! I'm in a little denial most of the time, except for when I feel those little sharp pains! I'm also really not looking forward to the months of nausea ahead of me! With all three of my last pregnancies, as a surrogate or not, I am usually really nauseous by week 6. I'm just gonna take it as it comes at this point, and do what I can to feel good and keep this baby healthy!
So for those of you that are praying and sending good thoughts and vibes out this way, THANK YOU!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time, even just for a minute! At this point, I would ask for all of your prayers, thought and good vibes to be directed towards another great blood draw on Wednesday, and for a good strong heartbeat after that! This little bun has some plans, I can tell!! :)
Sarah
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