tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52124226183740715432024-03-05T11:53:09.550-08:00My Football-Shaped HeartOur journey to start a football team of our own....Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-12690215496519170962011-12-15T19:44:00.000-08:002011-12-15T19:44:53.432-08:00I'm a horrible blogger. Fetal Echo follow up<div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">We had our fetal echo follow up today (Jackson wouldn't cooperate last time).</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Our son has a mild heart defect :*( Bicuspid aortic valve. It's not nearly anything like what I have and if it requires surgery it will be an outpatient catheter type, and hopefully not until he's older. I know he will be fine, but earlier today was rough. Knowing it's due to my genes just makes me feel like crap. Having been through what I have with my heart, the thought of him going through anything similar scares the crap out of me. We'll be monitoring it monthly before I give birth to see where it is and then we'll go from there. My 10 year old brother actually has the same defect, which I totally spaced at the appt. He's doing great and was told surgery may be an option at the age of 50. Hopefully our son gets the same prognosis. Good news is, our baby girl's heart is perfect.</span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; margin-bottom: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Other updates that have happened since last post:</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; margin-bottom: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">-Baby Girl's cysts have completely resolved. Yay.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; margin-bottom: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">-Everything still looks good with his umbilical cord and he's growing like he should. At the last u/s 2 weeks ago, they were both around a pound :)</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; margin-bottom: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">-My cervix started to shorten a bit so I'm resting more. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; margin-bottom: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">-We went on vacation, which was exhausting and probably the cause of the shortening. LOL We did A LOT of walking in New Orleans.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; margin-bottom: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">-We had our first baby shower with family and friends in Memphis and it was amazing. Our babies (and us) are very spoiled. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; margin-bottom: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">I think that's it. </span></span></div>Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-22795067314591269572011-10-31T15:09:00.000-07:002011-10-31T15:11:52.724-07:00Blood Results<div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 12px;">I realized I never did an update. Here is what we found out last week.</div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just got back from an awesome appointment!! We met with the genetic counselor, who told me that my b/w was the best it could possibly be!! Risk for Downs is 1:9,000 and risk for Trisomy 18 is 1:100,000! Spina bifida was also negative. So our girl's chances of having a defect are pretty slim. No amnio for me, which the counselor totally agreed with. She said it looks like the CPC is just an isolated marker and nothing we should be concerned with. She also told me the risk of my heart defect being carried on is 2.5%, but the echos have been normal so far; I'm not worried. </span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went in to check my cervix and we got a surprise detailed u/s too! So awesome. Babies were so active! Her cyst was still there (obv), but should clear up by 29 weeks. Everything else was totally normal. Our boy weighs 7 oz and our girl 8 oz. Cord is still in the membrane (which won't change), but looks fine. </span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; margin-bottom: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">This weekend, we finally got the nursery room all cleaned out. We set up our two cribs and the furniture too to get an idea of the space. We'll have to move it all when we paint, but oh well. It's going to be a little snug once we get a glider in there, but it'll work. It was really fun to hang their clothes in the closet too. </span></div><div style="background-color: #f4f9e3; margin-bottom: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">So I go back on 11/8 to see both my MFM and OB. I'm hoping everything looks great. We have a vacation to Memphis planned for Thanksgiving week and I would hate to need to stay home. </span></div>Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-14321725121299854542011-10-13T17:48:00.000-07:002011-10-13T19:24:01.714-07:00We're having....<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"></span><br />
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A boy and a girl!!! So so excited. Obviously we would have been happy no matter what, but we can't pretend we weren't secretly hoping for one of each. Our OB told us yesterday and said all my first trimester screening came back normal. Yay. Then we went in to see our MFM. He confirmed the news, but gave us some not so fantastic news too.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">First the great.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">-Definitely a girl and a boy :)<br />
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-Cervix is nice and closed<br />
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-Babies weigh approx. 5 oz. each<br />
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-Baby A's heart issue seems to have resolved and looks normal. <br />
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-Risk for Downs 1:23,000, risk for Trisomy 18 1:100,000-This was from the b/w...I looked on the computer screen, they didn't actually tell me!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">The not so great:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">-Baby A has a Choroid Plexus Cyst in her brain, which can be associated with Trisomy 18. BUT she has not other characteristics so far, heart looks great, her hands were nice and open, not clenched. We did the 2nd Tri b/w screening today and go back on the 25th to go over the results and meet with a genetic counselor. Depending on that we would decide on whether or not to do an amnio.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">-Baby B has a Velamentous insertion of the umbilical cord. Umm what? Basically the cord goes into the membrane that is separating the two babies and then into the placenta, instead of going straight into the placenta. We'll have to monitor his growth rate and watch it closely. It also means I will have a c-section no matter what (guess no more back and forth on what I wanted). We may have to deliver early if it becomes to dangerous for them in there. I also may be on bed rest sooner than anticipated, but right now I don't have to change a thing. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">Other than that everything looks good. He told me not to worry/stress about anything right now and that he'd be taking care of us and watching them closely. I still cried the way home, the way to work, and at work, but I'm feeling ok about it. It's just not fun to get any less than perfect news. I feel like we already went through 2+ years of crappy news. I was hoping this pregnancy would be the end of that and all would be perfect. My husband still thinks everything is and will be. I do too, but I worry more. I can't help it. It's in my nature, plus I'm a mom! Aren't we supposed to worry?!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">Hopefully the next 12 days fly by!</div>Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-57838799244845268812011-10-03T11:50:00.000-07:002011-10-03T11:50:01.571-07:00Haven't updated in forever!I'm 14 weeks, 4 days today :) And I haven't updated my blog in forever.<br />
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So they day after we met the OB, we went and saw our MFM (high-risk OB). I really liked him and we got to see the babies for over 30 minutes. We went ahead and did the NT scan as well. The measurements came back good, but I haven't heard on the blood work. We see him next week so I'll ask then. Hopefully no news is good news.<br />
Baby A did have some reversed blood flow in the heart, but he told us it's way too early to let it worry us. We'll take a closer look next time. I'm really optimistic that it's nothing, but having gone through all the heart issues myself, it's one of my biggest fears for my babies. Dr. B also told me he was 85% sure Baby A is a girl. Baby B, however, wouldn't cooperate at all. Very typical for him/her. Hopefully we'll find out for sure next week.<br />
The week after that I had my appointment with my cardiologist. That went excellent as far as my heart, but it was quite eventful. The night before I started having some red spotting, which started getting slightly heavier that morning....almost to a light period. I called my OB, who told me not to be concerned unless it got heavier. Being the nervous nelly that I am, I checked into the ER at the hospital by my cardiologist. I had almost a 5 hour wait between appointments anyways so I figured I might as well. After about 3-3 1/2 hours in the ER, tons of blood tests, a catheter for a urine sample, and lots of babies, they finally did an u/s. My babies were moving around like crazy and had strong heartbeats! Thank God!! So the doctor thinks that my blood clot finally passed, causing the bleeding. Here I am almost two weeks later and I'm still spotting a tiny bit. It's so annoying, but knowing my babies are ok, makes it ok. I'm thinking it'll be over with in the next few days.<br />
Ok I will update after our gender u/s next week! EEK!Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-21109516324524133562011-09-14T19:37:00.000-07:002011-09-14T19:38:34.360-07:00I met our new OB today :)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">I'm pretty sure this ones a keeper :) Unless my cardiologist wants me at UCLA, but we'll worry about that later. He was very nice and thorough. He's for a vag delivery if it's possible so I was happy to hear that. Not sure what I want to do yet, but I'm glad I have the option. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">Baby A was laying there like a sweet little angel, with a hb of 165. Baby B was moving around like a maniac, punching and kicking nonstop with a hb of 158. My OB said he's 80% sure what Baby A's gender is, but since Mr. DF wasn't able to come I asked him not to tell me. Hardest.thing.ever. I feel like it's gotta be a boy since he was so quick with it, but what do I know. We do see the high-risk OB tomorrow and Mr. will be there for that. Maybe we'll get lucky and find out. Hopefully we get clearer pics too.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">For now, here are our little ones:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxnO9FHdCDSGHdSFAoK5rHJU8WaRnL3PrO4eS2ESPUOXjFv9zc2-l_QmDlduOte4lThgG_0Xw3ZGZcn7wspSms98htqlh4-AvajsFjbyx11nH4RGMxpi00fnGL-9VsqTo-uySdRd4MZ7o/s1600/Babies9.14..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxnO9FHdCDSGHdSFAoK5rHJU8WaRnL3PrO4eS2ESPUOXjFv9zc2-l_QmDlduOte4lThgG_0Xw3ZGZcn7wspSms98htqlh4-AvajsFjbyx11nH4RGMxpi00fnGL-9VsqTo-uySdRd4MZ7o/s320/Babies9.14..jpg" width="193" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">I have been a pretty lame blogger. I received a versatile blogger award and still haven't done my duties and returned the favor. I will try my hardest to do this soon!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">As far as an update goes....We had our last appointment with the RE today! Our babies look great. Baby A is at 9w5d w/ a hb of 175 and Baby B is at 9w6d w/ a hb of 174. My blood clot has gotten half the size (28mm to 14mm). Woo hoo. I still have to take it easy though. I'm also stopping the progesterone now....That makes me nervous!! I'm tempted to take the last few, but Mr. DF says to listen to the doc. ;) </div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">My due date has been changed back to 3/29, which puts me at 9w6d. So tomorrow will be 10 weeks! 1/4 of the way there!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 12px;">My RE gave me a huge hug and told me he wanted me to update him every trimester and that he'd be expecting pictures around March/April. It was sweet and I really will miss him. That office was just amazing and I wish every doctors office ran the way they do. I won't miss the out-of-pocket bills we've been accruing <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">though!</span><br />
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I got a little emotional on the way home and cried a bit. I was thinking of our journey, all the ups and downs. I thought of how Dr. G promised us when we met that he would get us pregnant. Here was are expecting two little miracles! It feels surreal at times and so amazing. I am so thankful that Dr. G was put into our path.<br />
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Here are the latest pictures:</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f4f9e3; color: #5f423c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 15px;"></span><br />
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</span></div>Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-66229662231447408662011-08-18T11:49:00.000-07:002011-08-18T15:58:31.168-07:00Ultrasound 2 was yesterday!I can't believe how much they've changed in a week! They both measured at 8 weeks yesterday so that's great! The heartbeats both looked strong. We will get to hear them next week! My blood clot hasn't changed in size at all so I am on total couch potato rest. :( My family is visiting and all went to the beach while I'm resting. A bummer, but obviously my babies come first.<br />
Here they are:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39E8bPHAzp8ZrfaBd1e_uvp9DMrXd79aoyWaQiimZMsaWkv0AlQtv4L_RnUPBquTcWZo3TeWdit3xyYYwIWIgFqjtAh-gVsCNn50GMP5aYE0NEgi2HW3oIm-5fU47i8lThBsUK5r_pY7T/s1600/img004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39E8bPHAzp8ZrfaBd1e_uvp9DMrXd79aoyWaQiimZMsaWkv0AlQtv4L_RnUPBquTcWZo3TeWdit3xyYYwIWIgFqjtAh-gVsCNn50GMP5aYE0NEgi2HW3oIm-5fU47i8lThBsUK5r_pY7T/s320/img004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>That sac looking thing above the babies is the clot! Almost looks like triplets, huh?Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-91751212663450786142011-08-10T19:06:00.000-07:002011-08-10T19:08:09.240-07:00Double Trouble!We had our first ultrasound today and it was quite a surprise. We are having twins!!! As soon as I heard the technician ask my RE if this was an IVF cycle, I knew something was up! At first they couldn't decide if they saw 3 sacs or 2, but we're pretty sure it's only 2! The RE said we'll have to keep an eye on it. Ummm what?! I'm pretty confident there are only 2 though. We saw 2 clear sacs, 2 little babies, and 2 heartbeats! They didn't measure the beats per minute. My RE doesn't do that until about 9 weeks, but he said they looked really strong.<br />
I do have a blood clot in my uterus. He wants me to be really careful with that to make sure it doesn't cause any issues. For now I'm not allowed to have sex, no exercise, no heavy lifting. Basically I go to work and come home and relax on the couch.<br />
He also said my ovaries are about the size of grapefruits! No wonder I have cramps so often still. Those suckers are huge. Gotta love fertility drugs!<br />
I will be going in for weekly ultrasounds for the next few weeks so we get to see our babies again on the 17th. <br />
Here's a pic of our babies. I don't have a scanner at the moment so it's just a camera photo, but...:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGLdkcFKUF9QEfBVw2tOZ-TvPTn1WLAV0E3iTnSz1o-UL51hvvrdEXhCoGD7DLBgRatuc09mLh29rXA_YY1zuX3a5Z3F_hMhK6st6yckQCt3fDaKDSXq_1sUVh5f2rpVLOMRUBrIS0dm6/s1600/babies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGLdkcFKUF9QEfBVw2tOZ-TvPTn1WLAV0E3iTnSz1o-UL51hvvrdEXhCoGD7DLBgRatuc09mLh29rXA_YY1zuX3a5Z3F_hMhK6st6yckQCt3fDaKDSXq_1sUVh5f2rpVLOMRUBrIS0dm6/s320/babies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-70028471760965082682011-08-03T16:00:00.000-07:002011-08-03T16:00:29.456-07:00One week until we see our baby!I cannot wait. I think about it constantly. I took another pregnancy test on Sunday just to be sure. I still can't believe it sometimes. We've gotten a bunch of books to read and I read them everyday. Even Mr. DF has one that he is reading. I think he's given me some sort of advice on what I should be doing or eating every day this week. We're both just so excited.<br />
A couple of our patients have kinda caught on, one by my boss clearly telling her! Grrr. I am trying to be optimistic and hopeful that nothing will go wrong so I'm trying not to let them knowing scare me. I really didn't want anyone other than family and close friends to know until the end of the first trimester, but it is what it is now. One of the things that infertility does is scare you from being totally sure. With all the research I've done about infertility, I've read about all the bad stuff afterwards too.<br />
Infertility doesn't just go away when you find out your pregnant. I still think about our journey and struggles every day and I worry that all this happiness will be taken away from us.<br />
I'm trying to just focus on the best though! It's all I can really do :)Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-16371605486528419092011-07-22T15:46:00.000-07:002011-07-22T15:46:38.463-07:00Beta #2 is inWe just got our second levels....We wanted to see the 193 double and it came back 462!!! Our first ultrasound is scheduled for August 10th! So only 2 1/2 weeks until we see our little Deutschebaby!! I cannot wait!Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-44670883554438281322011-07-21T14:11:00.000-07:002011-07-21T14:11:49.381-07:00And the results are in!<div style="color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The third time's a charm!! We are having a baby. I can't believe it, this really feels real and unreal at the same time. We took two cheapie tests and a digital. All pregnant! Mr. DF asked that I wake him before so we could see the result together. When I walked into the bathroom, I fully expected to see one line only. I saw the second line and dropped to the floor, crying. I couldn't even get out the words. I was in total disbelief. DH kept asking "what does that mean, what does that mean?" I nodded my head and he picked me up and held me and told me how much he loved me. Then I dipped the digital test and Mr. DF watched the timer (I couldn't) and all of the sudden, he yelled "woohoo!"<br />
<br />
We spent a lot of time crying and hugging. It was so hard for me to get ready. I just couldn't even focus. I called my mother-in-law and she was crying and super excited. The my sister, who couldn't believe it. Then I went to my mom's so I could tell her in person. She was crying and just couldn't believe it. My boss, who has known every step, gave me the day off to celebrate. So we did with dinner. It was awesome.<br />
<br />
I called my dad that evening and he was jumping up and down yelling "I'm going to be a grandpa". My 10 year old brother can't believe he's going to be a 10 year old uncle. Haha!<br />
<br />
I also heard from both my nurse and RE, who both congratulated me. I got my blood draw done yesterday as well. First beta level was 193. I go tomorrow to make sure they're doubling. This is really happening!!!</div><div style="color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div>Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-74168218680299134382011-07-07T20:07:00.000-07:002011-07-07T20:07:27.606-07:00B2B IUIs done!We went for the second IUI this morning. Everything went well. After the wash we had 37 million sperm. Crazy how 40mil get lost in the wash! So now we wait. With today as O day, our due date would be 3/29/12. Assuming I still have to be induced 2 weeks early due to my heart condition, we would be having our little one right around our 3rd anniversary. That would be amazing. I feel pretty calm and as good as I can about all of this. The only thing that scares me if where we go if this doesn't work. I know we will have to stop treatments for a while and that makes me sad. Hopefully we won't have to worry about it! At this point, I'm just thankful all the driving is over for at least 2 weeks. Just smooth sailing for 2 weeks....well that and the lovely progesterone suppositories...Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-68417634227212520412011-07-06T18:19:00.000-07:002011-07-06T18:20:15.243-07:00Well, we had a crazy morning!Drove down to see my RE this morning for a CD11 monitoring u/s. They called me into the room so fast I didn't get a chance to call Mr. in, which he was less than thrilled about. He thinks I don't pay enough attention and don't ask the right questions. Sure dude. They had a new girl in training to my u/s. Boy was that fun! She really didn't know what she was doing and was just jabbing around in there, taking forever to measure and re-measure my follicles. The regular tech finally took over when it got to be too many. I had an 18mm, 17mm, 16mm, and more smaller. I was laying there thinking "what the heck happened to the 18mm I had two days ago?" I figured I'd speak with my nurse about it.<br />
The tech said that I had some fluid in there so they were going to test my urine to see if I was getting ready to ovulate. So after several minutes waiting for the results, my nurse came up and gave me the bombshell of news: I was ovulating right then and we'd need to do IUI now. Holy Shizz! All I thought was thank goodness I made sure Mr. DF came with me. We asked about my follie sizes and she confirmed what I had and told me the 18mm from the other day had already dropped and was headed down my tubes! I also started getting really nervous because we had had intercourse the night before, so I was worried about our sperm count numbers. She told me not to worry, timing was perfect, and everything would be ok.<br />
So we went and ate while they were cleaning Mr.'s sample. We were a total nervous wreck, just from the shock of it all and the fear that his count wouldn't be great. We got back and our count was still 49 million post wash!!! <br />
My RE did the IUI himself. He said everything looked great and just to be safe to come back in the morning for another IUI. Ok fine....He also told me to talk to my uterus/follicles because I have a lot going on in there and we only want one baby. Haha! I am secretly talking to two follies....I wouldn't mind twins at this point. I guess it does make me really nervous due to my heart condition, but after all we've gone through, twins would be an awesome surprise! :)<br />
I'll keep you updated on what happens next.Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-72695599315761529372011-07-04T13:05:00.000-07:002011-07-04T13:05:29.277-07:00CD9 UpdateI'm exhausted so this is going to be quick :)<br />
Right side: 18mm, 13mm, two 11mm, 10mm. <br />
Left side: four 12mm.<br />
My RE is reducing the Gonal-F to 75iu for the next two nights and I go back Wednesday for another u/s. Hopefully I'll be looking good and ready to trigger.Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-33113495520642938962011-07-03T12:59:00.000-07:002011-07-03T12:59:38.452-07:00CD6 update, 2 days lateI don't want to forget anything so I thought I'd pop on with my CD6 update from 2 days ago. Everything looked great and I was able to lower my Gonal-F dosage to 112.5iu for the following 3 nights. I had a 14mm, 10mm, and six under 10mm on the right and ten under 10mm on the left. Looks like I'm responding pretty well. <br />
The shots have actually been really easy. Mr. DF had to give me the first one, but I've been doing them ever since. I go back tomorrow morning, yes on 4th of July, to see how it's going. I have much more cramping on these meds, along with headaches, nausea, and fatigue. I'll update again with my CD9 results.<br />
On a side note....my car was starting to act funny last night. I don't think it's happy about driving almost 100 miles every three days. I'm hoping it just needs a tune-up or something since it's only 3 years old.Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-79643231308493166812011-06-28T18:09:00.000-07:002011-06-28T18:09:02.930-07:00CD3 UpdateI had my CD3 work up today, which included my injections training. No biggie. I picked up my Gonal-F perscription....A 900iu pen for $690! Plus my trigger shot for $70 so I'd have it ready. So the original plan was 75iu a day....I was thinking ok, I can handle that price. One pen may be enough. Then my nurse called with my bloodwork results. My FSH and E2 levels were elevated so they want to start me at 225iu!! I'm kinda freaking out about that. Basically 225iu will last 4 days. $690 for 4 days!?!<br />
It is what it is and I will do what I need to, but wow. Can't I for once just catch a break and have my body play nice? This is all so frustrating.Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-47952379458875625492011-06-21T09:16:00.000-07:002011-06-21T09:16:24.106-07:00And another BFNI have tested the last 3 days and all negatives. Not even a glimmer of a line. POOP. I am really angry this time around. Mostly just at the why. Everything looked great this month, our timing couldn't have been better, and still no dice. I was hoping to surprise Mr. DF on Father's Day and of course when I saw the BFN, I couldn't keep it from him. I cried for about an hour and a half. How to you pretend you didn't just see a BFN then?? He took it really hard this time. He cried, repeatedly asked me why this was happening to us, and threw things. Now that we've digested it, all we can do is move forward.<br />
I spoke with my RE yesterday, who was totally bummed to here the news. I can tell he's really rooting for us. He wanted to try another round of Clomid, but after I spoke with him about our financial concerns and explained to him that we were emotionally ready to try the next step, he agreed to a low-dose of injectables.<br />
Mr. DF and I talked about it last night and part of us wants to take a cycle off. Mr. told me it was in the end my decision since I do the majority of the work (lol). I slept on it and I think I want to go ahead and move forward. I don't want to wait. I think a cycle off will throw me out of the loop. I do think, however, that if this one doesn't work, I will need that break. Lets stay hopeful for now though, right?!<br />
So I have put a call in to my nurse to hear about which meds so I can price them out and to see how exactly an inject cycle works as far as visits, etc. I just want to budget out next cycle as best as possible. The details could be the only thing that sways me into taking a break. I'll keep my everyone updated :)Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-47542361571081112152011-06-13T12:08:00.000-07:002011-06-14T08:45:22.516-07:00Having a really bad day!We had a little comment made to us this weekend that I can't get out of my brain. Mr. DF and a friend's dad were talking trash like guys do and our friends dad said to my husband "Your balls ain't sh!t, you can't even make any kids with them!" Long story short, I stormed out and we left. I just keep replaying it in my mind and am so hurt. I can't believe someone who is supposed to care about us would say something like that.<br />
My boss basically told me I looked like crap today. He said I forgot to finish my hair this morning. Um no I scrunched it curly, it was meant to look like this.<br />
Patients are bothering me with all their BS today.<br />
The world is continuing to get pregnant without me, including girls who aren't trying.<br />
I'm just having a poor me day. I really wish I could punch someone with no ramifications. Hopefully I can find a way to snap out of it.Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-79202755320686356692011-06-07T16:23:00.000-07:002011-06-07T16:23:55.568-07:00Oh man! Back from Maui with my updates!Man I haven't been on here forever!!<br />
Maui was fantastic. Too short like every other vacation, but I was ready to see my puppies! :)<br />
Let me tell you how my last 4 days went. My CD3 stuff all came back good so I was able to start meds in time. We came home the night of CD11 at about 11 p.m. Had to wake up at 6 the next morning to go to my monitoring u/s. Home by 9 and then I played in a 4 hour softball tournament. Everything was good to go so they triggered me that morning. I think my follies were 21, 14, and something else....sigh. I was tired! Ok so I went yesterday for IUI....Got up at 7 am, they were running way late so we didn't leave their office until about 11:30. He did an u/s after the IUI which showed that I was getting ready to O, but I wasn't quite there. Follies were at 22, 16, and 14. So they had me come back this morning for round two and did another IUI. Pretty sure I had already O'd by then, but this gives us the best chance.<br />
These two IUIs were not as quick as the last. It took the Dr. forever to get the catheter into my uterus. I'm thinking 8 minutes of uncomfortable and awkward poking, rearranging, etc...I hope this is it. I'm tired. I'm drained. But after 20 hours of sleep in the last 4 days, of course I am. It might change once I'm rested.<br />
So here we go again for another long 2 week wait. I feel much calmer this round, hopefully I remain that way until test day.<br />
This whole post was probably a mess. I'm so tired, I don't even know if I'm making sense. Just wanted to update :)Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-64848127922187913452011-05-26T11:01:00.000-07:002011-05-26T11:01:30.692-07:00A new start!Well here we go again. Cycle day one. Our 19th cycle actually being able to try and like our 27th since starting TTC. Crappers. I am trying to be very optimistic this cycle. My body played nice last month and it now gave me AF when I needed it to. I was really stressing about it yesterday since we leave for Maui in two days. I did not want to take a cycle off now that we're finally getting somewhere. I started late last night and I know it's still not 100% until I have my baseline u/s tomorrow and everything looks good, but I am hopeful that we are on our IUI #2 cycle. Now that I know what to expect, I am hoping I am calmer this cycle. I really thought I was last cycle, but Mr. doesn't agree. Looking back, I suppose I could have been a little calmer or relaxed, but every symptom from the meds made me think, Oh maybe this is it! Now I know not to stress on every twinge, sore boob, nauseous moment....I spoke with my nurse yesterday and she made me feel better about it all. She told me not to give up and that it will happen...Ok she just called as I was typing this! Because I was spotting pretty heavily yesterday and started flowing in the evening yesterday, they're going to consider yesterday CD1. So assuming all looks good tomorrow, I will start my Clomid again tomorrow! She's also going to call in the trigger shot so I can pick that up tomorrow since my monitoring u/s will be on a Sunday and they may want to trigger then. Yay! I hope everything tomorrow looks great so we can go on.Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-19101189612820335002011-05-22T07:30:00.000-07:002011-05-22T18:12:00.085-07:00BFN :(Well IUI #1 didn't work. I didn't sleep at all last night and I had two dreams about getting negative tests. When I finally had the nerve to get up and test, I still let myself believe that it might have worked. I took two different tests, different brands, and both screamed negative. Knife to the heart. I lost it in the bathroom...then came to tell Mr. DF and lost it some more.<br />
So here goes another $1,500 or so, another round of meds, and another 2ww from hell. I don't want to necessarily do it, but I will. Let me take that back, I want to do it, I'm just not looking forward to it. On the upside, we have Maui in 6 days and I'll be able to enjoy sushi and alcoholic tropical drinks.<br />
Today, I am going to let myself cry. Tomorrow, I will pick myself up, dust off my ovaries, and prepare to battle cycle #19 and IUI #2.Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-79794430107271108772011-05-16T19:39:00.000-07:002011-05-16T19:59:11.796-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">I'm too lazy to type it all out so here is a copy and paste of my results: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">"Your holter monitor showed a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1305599472_0">normal heart rate</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">and rhythm with frequent extra beats from the bottom chambers of the heart, called</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1305599472_1">premature ventricular contractions</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">, or PVCs. This is what Dr. A suspected based on your description of the palpitations when we last saw you in clinic. PVCs can occur for many reasons--stress, fatigue, illness, too much caffiene or other stimulants, etc. They can also be a reflection of a change in heart function; however, since your last echo looked good this is not likely to be the case. PVCs can be bothersome, but they are not dangerous. They can sometimes cause mild dizziness and/or</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1305599472_2">shortness of breath</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">. Some people say their chest sometimes aches after having alot of PVCs. The medications that we spoke of in clinic--beta blockers--are generally used very effectively to control these extra beats. However, at this point I would not consider it mandatory to start you on medication as long as you feel things are stable and/or improving.....</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">try to reduce stress, watch your caffiene intake and try to get enough rest.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">Not bad :) How am I supposed to reduce my stress and get more rest though?! LOL. The caffeine thing I might be able to do....Although I couldn't resist the urge for a soda tonight so maybe not. It's kind of weird because I feel less stressed now than I have in a while and I still got these results. Plus they day I wore the monitor, I had an easy day. Today, my heart was jumping around like crazy. I wonder if I would have gotten the same results...of course today was a stressful day for me, so I suppose that is the culprit and I really need to adhere to me doc's advice. ::sigh::</span>Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-38364912467918299892011-05-15T13:18:00.000-07:002011-05-15T13:18:04.508-07:00One week until we test!This has been the longest week no joke. I don't know how I am going to get through another. So far everything has been fine. I feel like I do every 2ww. The Prometrium is giving me some side effects, but nothing major. I will say the evening of the IUI and the day after was pretty miserable. I had severe cramping and felt like crap. There were moments where I couldn't even move. Since then barely any cramping. I was going to test a day early, but I'm pretty sure I've decided against it. <div>I also got our first bill from the RE. Holy crap! The bill was for $1690 and that isn't even covering the two monitoring u/s' and the IUI. So I'm expecting another$1300 or so. So far we have spent nearly $4000 and we're not even pregnant. I don't know how we can keep doing it over and over. Right now I'm just hoping we won't have to worry about it. And as much as this will all be worth it and money is just money, it also doesn't grow on trees. We will run out. </div><div>Just keeping our fingers crossed for now!</div>Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-32679392723292044612011-05-08T18:29:00.000-07:002011-05-08T18:29:18.023-07:00IUI is behind us!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">We did our IUI this morning. I think it went really well and I am feeling positive. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">We had 60 million sperm post wash, 80% motility, and morphology of 3. She said it was excellent. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It was different than I expected. Just so relaxed. The nurse did our IUI, not a RE, which whatever, that didn't bother me. She is obviously pregnant so as we were walking in I wished her a Happy Mother's Day. She held up Mr.'s goods and said "You too, this is going to be your day!" She was really excited for us. It was sweet. </div><div style="color: #5f423c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So tomorrow will begin the longest 2 week wait ever! They want me to test in 2 weeks and we'll only confirm with a beta blood test if it's a positive. I was surprised they wouldn't do it either way, but honestly I could do without the $100 and 3 hours drive for the confirmation of a negative, so I'm cool with that. I hope this wait goes stress free for us and it ends with great news!</div>Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212422618374071543.post-88779858136331692322011-05-07T18:53:00.000-07:002011-05-07T18:53:43.249-07:00IUI is tomorrow!!The day has finally come :)<br />
I went for my second monitoring appointment today. Lining was still not great in my opinion (7.4). I keep taking the estrogen for that. My right side had three follicles: 2 at 19mm and a 14mm. My left side had a 21mm and a 14mm. I took a urine sample and waited for the nurse to call me. I went alone. Mr. DF was meeting with the landscaper (we got a way expensive quote so that won't be happening). Anyways....she called me back and told me that my urine tested positive for an LH surge and that I would be triggering today and IUI will be tomorrow! On Mother's Day!! She was really excited for me over that. She wanted to confirm with Dr. G. So I made the long drive home, awaiting the call.<br />
I got super antsy and even called her once. Dr. G was in surgery all morning so I didn't get a call from one of the nurses until noon. She told me to trigger and all the small info. She also told me she was excited for me. Having complete strangers tell you that is nice! I love that office.<br />
My sister, who weeks ago called dibs on being the one to give me the shot was already at my house, waiting! lol So we got the shot ready, which was nerve-wrecking. I was shaking so bad and had to have Mr. DF finish. Then my sister injected me. No pain, the solution just stung a little going in. We were all super excited after. I think my sister enjoyed it a little too much!<br />
We go in the morning, Jason gives his sample and then we do the IUI about an hour later. Lets hope we get our Mother's Day miracle!Deutschefairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257144867367518357noreply@blogger.com0