TWINS

Okay, so the ultrasound was today and within seconds our RE said "You've got twins!" DH and I couldn't stop smiling. Both of the sacs looked so perfect. So he measured Baby A at 6.5 mm. He said it was measuring at 6 weeks and 4 days. We were able to see the flickering heart beat. By the way this made my heart melt! It was so sweet. He measured Baby B at 3.5 mm and couldn't see a heart beat. He didn't tell me the weeks and days Baby B was measuring. He said my uterus was turned backwards or something and my ovaries were huge and squishing everything. He said he thought it was a technical issue and he was unable to get an accurate measurement of Baby B. Our RE told us we have a 90% chance of bringing home twins and a 95% chance of bringing home one baby. DH thought that was reassuring but I started to get worried about Baby B and I'm still worried about him or her. My nurse told me not to worry because it's still early. She said if I were 7 weeks and they couldn't see a heart beat that she would be worried.

My next ultrasound is scheduled for Saturday, August 16th. We'll know for sure by then if we've got one healthy baby or two healthy babies. My ob/gyn told me in March that if I wanted to come in early and have an ultrasound before I was released back to her I could just come in. I called her today and set up an ultrasound for this coming Thursday. I just can't wait until August 16th to find out about Baby B.

Has this happened to anyone before? Or anyone you know? I'm really stressed about Baby B. I need to relax and be patient but it's just hard to do that right now! Say a prayer!

I'm going to post the ultrasound picture soon!

MIA

Keeping baby cool and hydrated in the shade!

I'm so sorry I've been MIA (missing in action)! DH and I are on vacation with my family. We left our laptop at home. We'll be back home on Sunday. I'm still alive and still pregnant though! I can't wait to update and share the 6 weeks pictures. By the way, I think the 6 weeks pictures are going to be cute. We took them on the sand dunes. I'll update my blog and share the big ultrasound news as soon as I can: one or two! The ultrasound is tomorrow at noon. I can't believe this time tomorrow we will have already seen the baby or babies. Ah, life is good! I love being pregnant.

5 Weeks RETAKE

Okay, so the shadows bothered me. DH and I decided to retake my bump pictures at 5 weeks. We took the pictures in our backyard. I think we're going to change up the spot we take the pictures each week!

5 Weeks

We are going to document my bump with pictures each week. Here's my non-exsistant, but very bloated bump at 5 weeks.

We took these two pictures with my new Canon Rebel. We don't want the shadows in these pictures. Any advice for next week? Do we need to turn off the flash?

Baby's first blabla doll from Q! We love it!

We're going to document my symptoms as well. This week I've been completely exhausted at all times. I think I've got extreme fatigue because I can't get motivated to do anything. I've had AF like cramps and abdominal cramps. I've been a little dizzy at times and felt a couple heart palpatations. I've had a couple bad headaches but I think they were due to hunger which I took care of right away. I'm craving salty foods and have no desire to eat anything sweet. I've had very vivid dreams.

Oh and enjoy these fun illustrations and facts:

5 weeks from babycenter.com

5 weeks from thebump.com

Third Beta

My third beta was 3,987 at 17dp5dt or 22dpo. We are so excited that everything is moving along as expected. My numbers are doubling at 112% every two days! My first ultrasound has been set for Friday, July 31st at 12 PM. We are counting down days!

New Look

My blog has had a face lift from the wrinkles of infertility. It's officially a pregnancy blog but will always have its roots in the community of infertility blogs. If you ever have any suggestions, let me know. I'm all about making it better for my readers!

So guess what? DH and I visited a hospital birthing center last night. It was exciting! One of the reasons we're shopping around so early is because we've got to pick an ob/gyn that delivers at the hospital of our choice. We'll be scheduling our first appointment with our ob/gyn in a couple weeks. Hospitals only give birthing center tours once or twice each month. We've got three hospitals to choose from: Beaufort, Hilton Head and Savannah. They are each 20 - 30 minutes away. I've heard that Beaufort and Hilton Head have really high c-section rates. I do not want to be induced or have a c-section unless it's absolutely necessary. I'm also a huge breastfeeding fanatic. I want to have the nursing support I need during those first couple days of breastfeeding. I've considered a midwife but DH doesn't like that idea. He thinks we should be in a hospital just in case something goes wrong. Supposedly there's a great midwife birthing center in Savannah but I think we're just not going to consider it.

So yesterday we visited Beaufort. It's the hospital my ob/gyn uses for deliveries. If we like Hilton Head or Savannah better then we'll be changing to a new ob/gyn. Beaufort's an older hospital but is in the process of renovating. I LOVE that they are transitioning to the Mother/Baby Couplet Care Program. The nurse told us as soon as the baby is born he or she will stay with the mother in the room. All cleaning, testing and etc. will be done by a transitional nurse in the room. She said right now they remove the baby for a couple hours after birth but that will no longer happen. They also have one nurse that is certified as a lactation consultant. I asked about the c-section rates and she said it's with the national average: around 30%. I was surprised.

I think we're checking out Hilton Head tonight. Savannah's next tour is August 2nd or September 13th. If we can't make the 2nd then I won't get to see that hospital before we have to go to an ob/gyn. Oh well.

I'm 5 weeks today!

(belly picture will be posted soon)

I'm counting down the days until my first ultrasound. I'm still not sure what day it will be but I'll know tomorrow. I've got my third beta tomorrow morning. I'll post with results and my first ultrasound date. Let's pray everything is growing as expected!

Our Journey to Stella

Prior to starting IVF we...

-tried naturally for several months
-tried 2 cycles of Clomid with our ob/gyn
-were referred to our RE
-had normal blood work, SA and HSG
-tried 3 injectable IUI cycles with our RE
-were diagnosed with unexplained infertility

During our IVF consult we...

-were given 1% - 2% chance of conceiving naturally
-were given 5% - 10% chance of conceiving with another IUI cycle
-were given a 60% - 65% chance of conceiving with an IVF/ISCI cycle

We chose to move forward with an IVF/ISCI cycle during the summer of 2009!

May 19 - Hallelujah! It's CD 1!
May 22 - Start BC Pills
June 3 - SonoHSG and Trial Transfer
June 7 - Start Lupron in AM (10 units)
June 11 - Finish BC Pills
June 15 - AF Arrives
June 19 - Continue Lupron in AM (10 units), Start Micro HCG in AM (10 units) and Start Follistim in PM (250 IU)
June 24 - Lower Follistim in PM (200 IU)June 26 - Lower Follistim in PM (175 IU)
June 28 - Trigger with HCG
June 30 - ER (30 eggs)
June 31 - Fertilization Report (12 fertilized naturally and 6 fertilized with ICSI)
July 1 - Start Prometrium Suppositories
July 5 - Five Day Transfer (two embryos, both are 4BB)
July 6 - Five Embryos are Frozen
July 9 - Start Vivelle Patches and First BFP (4dp5dt)
July 14 - First Beta is 208 (9dp5dt)
July 16 - Second Beta is 399 (11dp5dt)
July 22 - Third Beta is 3,987 (17dp5dt)
July 31 - First Ultrasound at 6 weeks and 3 days (two sacs, one heartbeat)
August 6 - Second Ultrasound at 7 weeks and 2 days (two sacs, one heartbeat)
August 15 - Third and Last Ultrasound with RE at 8 weeks and 4 days (one healthy twin, one vanishing twin)
August 24 - First Ultrasound with ob/gyn at 10 weeks

So finally after 15 months of heartache, negative pregnancy tests, too many doctors' appointments, shots and pills to count and prayers galore we are pregnant with our miracle. Thank God!

If you have any questions about our infertility journey or our treatment experiences please comment on one of my posts or send me an email at allilatt@gmail.com. I would love to offer the same support I received from infertility bloggers.

Oh and we highly recommend So.utheastern Fertility Center in Charleston, SC.

Second Beta

So far, so good! My second beta came back at 399. It was taken at 11dp5dt or 16 days past ovulation. My first beta was 209 so my second beta revealed a 91% increase in 48 hours. I think it's just one baby but DH thinks it's two. What do you think?

According to this web site it could be twins:

http://www.betabase.info/showBasicChart.php?type=Twin

According to this web site it could be high levels for a singleton:

http://babymed.com/Tools/Pregnancy/hCG/Default.aspx

My next beta is scheduled for Thursday, July 23rd. It will be 18dp5dt or 23 days past ovulation. My first ultrasound will be scheduled three weeks from my first beta which was July 14th. So it will be around the first week in August. I can't wait! I hope it makes all my worries go away. I wish I wasn't worried about anything but I am and I can't help it. I guess that's what infertility does to you. It's like I'm waiting to wake up from a really good dream. It all still seems too good to be true.

First Beta

Sister, sister!

Celebrating together in TN!

Thank you for all of your precious comments. Your kindness means so much to me. I'm so thankful for all of your love and support! I'm visiting family in Nashville, TN so sorry for the late beta update. I haven't had any time to get online. I'll be back home in a couple days and posting more often. Anyway, we're having a wonderful time celebrating my pregnancy.

So here's a quick update on my first beta. It was 208 at 9dp5dt or 14 days past ER. I'm going in for my second beta tomorrow morning which is 11dp5dt or 16 days past ER. My nurse said I'm definitely pregnant and my first beta is a good number. I haven't had much time to google my number. I wonder if it's normal or high. I wonder if we've got one or two. I asked my nurse and she said there is no way to tell because some women have high numbers and only have one AND some women have low numbers and have two. So who knows?!?!

I feel so happy and complete -- almost like a hole has been filled in my heart. Infertility definitely put that hole in my heart but thank goodness it's been filled. I just want to smile all the time and tell everyone I'm pregnant. I feel excited. I feel a sense of peace. It's great to be 4 weeks and 1 day pregnant!

Oh and a symptom update: emotional, sensitive bbs, stomach issues (cramps and constipated), cramps like AF is going to arrive (no spotting though), some sharp pains and/or twinges, dizzy throughout day (probably due to Prometrium) and very tired/exhausted/sleepy.

BFP at 7dp5dt