8 Week Update

The week 8 doctor's appointment is not as critical as the previous ones have been.  At this appointment we just checked the heart rates again and took measurements to make sure the babies were still growing.

Baby A

Baby A measured 7 weeks and 6 days.  There is no reason to be concerned, when they are this small, the margin of error on the ultrasound machine is 4 days.  The baby was super active.  You could actually see it moving on the monitor.  The heart rate was 185. I asked if it was normal to go from 150 to 180.  His response was, just like if we go to the gym, our heart rate goes up.  Your baby is moving a lot so it's normal to have a higher heart rate.  He said anything between 120 and 220 is considered in normal range.  He said it was great news to have the baby moving but that it made it tough to get good photos.

Baby B was also a mover and a shaker and having a good time.  Its heart rate was also above 180 although I wasn't able to see it move on the monitor.  I was able to clearly see the head and the yolk sac which was pretty exciting.  This was the first time it looked more identifiable to me and less blob like.  Baby B also measured 7 weeks and 6 days, right on schedule.   You can still see how irregular the gestational sac is.  He again said that he was concerned about it. The good news though is that both gestational sacs are starting to be about the same size.  Up until now, Baby B was twice as big and that was also cause for concern.  So again we get good news and bad news at each appointment.  At this point though, we are so excited and feel so blessed that the babies keep growing and have strong hearts, that the most important thing and about the only thing we can test at this point.

Baby B

As for me, I'm still on bed rest and still having bleeding issues even though it has diminished a lot.  I still have some serious cramping that again the doctor says he is concerned about, so bed rest continues.  Right now I'm on day 58 of bed rest.  Its getting old but trying to keep everything in perspective and not complain too much.  

Thanks for Reading,

HEATHER

7 Week Update

This week was our 7 week check.  We were extremely nervous going into this appointment. With all the complications I've had, we just weren't confident in the outcome of today.  The point of the appointment was this was going to be the first appointment where we would be able to measure our progress and make sure that everything is developing as it should be and on schedule and healthy.

In the waiting room, trying to pass the time
and not think about how nervous we were.

We brought our good luck egg with us and I wore a new bracelet my Mom bought me for good luck.  I also had on my fertility charm necklace.  With crazy anxiety we headed off to our appointment.  Luckily we never wait too long at our clinic, but still the time passed so slowly.




I am very happy to report that we received wonderful news, every number came in perfect!  And drumroll please......, there are lots of numbers to report because we have two babies, we are having twins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meet our babies

Baby A measured 7 weeks exactly, right on schedule.  The heart rate was 153 bpm.  Baby B measured 7 weeks and 1 day and had a heart rate of 146 bpm.  These numbers are great.  At this stage we were looking for anything over 120 bpm to show a strong heart so we were just elated with our numbers.  The ultrasound machine can actually play the heart rate so we heard it for the first time.  It was all I could do to hold back the tears but I just didn't want to miss a thing he was saying.  It was such a blessing to finally hear our little miracles and see that they were both doing well.

Now for the other news, I'm still bleeding a lot but the good news is that he thinks he found the source of it.  I have a hairline tear in my cervix.  He believes that it is the result of the large amount of progesterone that I am on and exasperated by the blood thinners.  I still have the blood clot in my uterus too, but he really thinks the bleed is from the cervix.  So I still have to remain on bed rest.  He said that he will let me off of bed rest when I don't bleed for 5 days in a row but he cautioned that this probably won't happen until I'm off the progesterone and that isn't happening for another month.  So he told me to get comfy on the couch.

Our other reason to remain cautious is the irregular shape of Baby B's (on the right) gestational sac.  The gestational sac should be circular, just like Baby A (on the left).  This irregular shape is cause for concern.  I asked him when we will be able to be a little more confident in Baby B and his response was that if the babies make it to week 9, we can feel much better that they will make it to the end.

So while it is too early to really celebrate, we are over the moon that we passed the first big hurdle and at this point, both babies are doing great.  I will continue to see the doctor every week and get new measurements to track their growth.  According to my pregnancy app, that babies aren't really human looking yet and still have tails.  It showed a picture of a 7 week old and it looks more lizard like to me.  They are about 1/2" big and the size of blueberries.  Here's hoping and praying that our little blueberries keep growing and keep fighting!

Thanks for Reading,
HEATHER

Welcome To My New Blog

Welcome to my new blog and a new chapter in our journey.  As I write this post, I am officially 6 weeks pregnant (it's crazy to even type that!), which is way too soon to be official and there are many hurdles and many things that can go wrong, but in the interest of full disclosure, something we felt we wanted to share.  There is a reason that people traditionally don't tell anyone until 12 weeks because so much can go wrong between now and then, but this journey has been far from traditional.  And if God forbid, something does go wrong, we are going to need all the support we can get.

As the name of my blog suggests, I will always be a part of the infertility community, just getting a positive test results doesn't mean that we have overcome the emotional toll that infertility places on us.  We are still dealing with infertility even though I am pregnant, which sounds like such a conflicting statements.  Because this pregnancy was created through ART, we have different challenges, both mental and physical, than a spontaneous and traditional pregnancy.  I will explore those issues as we progress.

Parker is glued to my side.  I wonder if she knows...

Right now I am on bed rest, I've had complications and my doctor is concerned, so living on the couch it is.  I've had a lot of bleeding, coupled with severe cramping.  On my last ultrasound he found a blood clot in my uterus.  So couch life it is.

Huge shout out to my family!  They have been awesome and take turns coming over.  I am so thankful to be home in San Diego and to have their help.  I'm rotating through my Mom, Dad, Brother and Grandmother. And of course Ryan is here too and Parker.  Every time I take a few steps, the pain gets much worse so having them around has been great.

Our last ultrasounds was too early to take measurements of anything so all we have really been able to see is the gestational sac and the yolk sac.  We go back in a week and at 7 weeks things should be big enough to get accurate measurements and be able to tell how viable this pregnancy really is.  I asked my doctor when I can get excited and feel like this is actually something real and his answer was at 9 weeks, so we have 3 very long weeks to go.

At this point, we both go back and forth from happy to scared to death.  I am trying to stay positive but have been sucked into dark thoughts and have had several bad days. Every time I go to the doctor, we get some good news and some bad news.  Plus being so involved in the infertility community, I have heard so many awful stories.  For the last 5 years, every time I have felt a glimmer of hope, it has been a hard awful crash back down. Mentally just trying to protect myself and not get too excited just yet.  I will say though that making it to this point has been a giant relief on one very significant level.  Up until now, I had no idea if my body would ever make it to implantation.  Now at least we know that I can which is amazing in and of itself.

Thanks for Reading,
HEATHER