Looks like this one is a go. 13 weeks and counting. 1st trimester screen went well. 1st OB appt went well too. Always strange to transition to the OB upon graduation from the clinic. What? No ultrasound every visit? What, no more hormones to take? It's a good feeling.....

I probably will have gestational diabetes again with this pregnancy. So, I'll have to pay attention to my diet, but that's not a problem. I failed the one hour, but not by much and they didn't require me to fast prior to taking the test.? So, already testing my blood sugar in lieu of taking the three hour test. Really didn't want to take the test - last time I got about 10 sticks instead of the usual 3 due to dehydration, etc. For the recent one hour that I failed - the nurse had a stick me 4 times. I don't give up blood very easily....

So, in a good place now - hoping and praying for a healthy baby to join the crew.

2nd Beta

Went in on Wednesday for the 2nd beta and here are the stats:

1st pregnancy - delivered:
Initial Beta 9dp5dt or 14dpo= 190
Follow on Beta at 16dp5dt or 21dpo = 3700
or approx 1 1/2 days doubling time; 38.52 hours

2nd - delivered:
Initial Beta 9dp5dt or 14dpo = 229
Follow on beta at 16dp5dt or 21dpo = 1700
or approx 2 1/2 days doubling time; 57.05 hours

3rd pregnancy - ongoing:
Initial Beta 9dp5dt or 14dpo = 83
Follow on beta at 16dp5dt or 21dpo = 2800
or approx 1 1/2 days doubling time; 32.5 hours

All in the correct range; now we wait for the sonogram.

This all seems so out of character for us. 1st pregnancy = 9 attempts; successful on fresh cycle. 2nd pregnancy = 3 attempts; successful on fresh cycle. 3rd pregnancy; successful on a frozen cycle?????WTF

Waiting to see what happens......

At it again.....

Since it has been such a long time, not sure if I still have any readers, but here goes it.....

We are at it again. Since my last post, I went on to deliver a healthy baby boy. I worked through the gestational diabetes and was able to control it very well throughout the remainder of the pregnancy. The second baby weighed less than the first (no diabetes the first time around) and I am now 10 lbs lighter than my pre-pregancy weight with the second baby. 20 lbs lighter than the 1st baby.

From the last fresh cycle, two embryos were frozen - since I am not getting any younger, we decided to go ahead and do the frozen cycle right away. Surprise - got an initial beta today of 83. Significantly less than either of my other initial betas......but apparently ok.

Guess we need to get ready for the roller coaster ride that is the next few weeks and hopefully months and years.

More updates to follow:

Tired

Long time, no post. Things are going ok here. Just wanted to post an update.....

31 weeks and have officially moved into high risk - gestational diabetes.....not so excited about this news, but have it under control.....

Baby Boy is measuring ahead by 3 weeks as of a couple of weeks ago. I am so tired, that I cannot even summon the energy to really even talk to anyone. Still working the usual 12 hour days....

Someone asked me yesterday when "I was going on break" - manspeak for maternity leave. Another woman in the room jumped in and gave him the lowdown on maternity leave. It was amusing. Wonder why some men (and women for that matter) think of maternity leave as just time off from work?

6w6d - no symptoms?

So, it's 6w6d and I basically have no symptoms. Sometimes I feel slightly nauseous but even then I think that it is related to my allergies and stress. I am giving all credit for my moodiness to the progesterone, but other than that nothing to speak of....

Holidays are coming - Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks and then the Christmas Holiday season. Looking forward to it, but less this year than before. Thinking that I will be the internet shopper this year and forget about the treks to the mall. Looks like most stores may ship for free (hopefully), so then I don't even have to feel guilty about not pulling out the all day shopping trips. I love free shipping! I also love free gift wrap - bring it on internet retail land.

The best holidays are Thanksgiving and 4th of July - no presents and you can prepare for them the day before! Love it. I am a super procrastinator - remember, crisis mode... and with other holidays you just can't wait that long. Halloween? Not so much, costumes go quickly people (found that out the hard way :) )

This Thanksgiving I don't even have to cook! Just show up with one super easy dish- I love it! The day before TM and I will be attending a great sporting event and then maybe, just maybe we'll get to sleep in the next morning....if my MIL will help out. I can hardly wait!!!

Friday the 13th - A Good Day

Well, good news today from the scan - we have a heartbeat! All in all that should make for a great day! Had a nice lunch with TM afterwards and for a little while got to enjoy in the moment.

Work continues to be challenging - lots of people are very angry right now due to new processes and I am stuck in the middle - the proverbial punching bag. I am going to try and hang in there, but am feeling pretty raw right now. Want to give up and that is not like me. Wondering if managing people and multiple department priorities is my bag. Twice today I told myself to hang in there for a little over 8 months and then go on leave........not good.

I am vowing now that I will not let work dictate my leave this time - I will not work during my leave and as of right now I am also vowing not to let work get to me. I will take it all with a grain of salt because I need to focus in on what is important - FAMILY and not let any other distractors get in the way. Now - I hope that I remember this in 5 minutes - HA. Too bad that I have to work this weekend.....

Yes? Or Maybe?

Well, its been a whirlwind few months. Greenlight to try again in April, BFN in late June for a fresh cycle (two embyos transferred) and then a low and declining beta result in August with a frozen cycle (three frozen embryos transferred). So we went ahead and did another fresh in Sept/Oct and have a positive. The initial beta was higher than the first pregnancy, but the doubling rate was lower - so not really sure how to read those results. Here they are:

1st pregnancy - delivered:
Initial Beta 9dp5dt or 14dpo= 190
Follow on Beta at 16dp5dt or 21dpo = 3700
or approx 1 1/2 days doubling time

2nd - current results:
Initial Beta 9dp5dt or 14dpo = 229
Follow on beta at 16dp5dt or 21dpo = 1700
or approx 2 1/2 days doubling time

My cycle coordinator stated that the second set of numbers is as consistent as the first. She is basing this on the fact that the doubling time should be between 2 - 3 days. Looked on betabase.info and most people do fit into the 36 - 63 hour range for a singleton doubling values, but the hours factor above just appears so different to me, so not sure what to think.

Anyway, the first scan is schedule for 6 weeks 3 days (next week), so we'll see what happens.

Right now - noticing that this time is really different than last time as in no symptoms at all! Don't know if this is because I literally have no time to notice anything different about myself or if this is because there is nothing to notice????

I have had quite a bit of outside the home and inside the home stress the last few weeks, so when I say that I have had no time to focus on myself - I really mean it. My work schedule is so crazy that the usual is a 50 - 60 hour work week. I truly am looking back at the last few months (really the last few years) and now am beginning to wonder if I am a crisis person. You know, one of those people that isn't happy unless there is some sort of crisis or drama going on? For example:

The last 5 years = 9 IVF transfers (5 fresh and 4 frozen); one pregnancy; becoming a foster mom, becoming a mom, working through maternity leave due to work requirements, steadily working 50 - 60 hour weeks for the last couple years, 3 additional IVF transfers (2 fresh and 1 frozen), continuing to work 50 - 60 hour weeks.......WTF.

The previous 6 years = get engaged, cross country move, change jobs, commuting miles of over 150/day rt, local move to reduce commuting miles, build house, get married, husband diagnosed with cancer (2 surgeries, 3 hospital admissions, and chemo following), move again, change job, another cross country move, another local move, build house, another local move

You get the idea.

So - I am one of those people. Not sure how not to be in crisis mode at this point. But I am really willing to try :). For the sake of staying positive, I will refer to this type of personality as determined, hard-working, and persevering. Hey, whatever gets me through the day!

I think that anyone willing to go through any type of infertility treatment must also be this type of personality, because we all know that it is anything but easy. $, Tests, shots, waiting, waiting....everyone knows the drill.

All for now.........