We have a heartbeat!!

Yesterday we had our 3rd u/s. We saw what the doc believed to be the heartbeat last week, but he wasn't able to get a measurement. Yesterday it was very clear and beating away at 155! The little monkey is growing like a weed, too! AWESOME!! I've really come to enjoy this special treatment with an u/s every week. I really don't know how I'll function once I graduate to the obgyn! That will be soon...I have to go in for b/w next week to see how my hormones are looking (no u/s bc Dr. L will be OOT) and I go back for another u/s in 2 weeks...then I'm done with the RE!



And, referring to my Boy or Girl? post below, I think boy & Jordan thinks girl. Haha! We'll be thrilled with either, but this means that someone is wrong. Who will it be?!

Boy or Girl??

Obviously it is way too early to tell on this one, but I'm finding it really funny to read Old Wive's Tales or look at IVF statistics to try and guess what it will be! Here are a few fun ones:

The Chinese Gender Prediction chart says: Girl!
The online psychic that one of my virtual friends posted says: Boy! (born on a rainy morning...)

Supposedly if you crave:
Sweets=Girl
Salty=Boy
All I want is goldfish or Bagel Bites...followed by ice cream!

I have heard that some statistics say that
IVF with 5 day transfers=more boys
IVF with ICSI=more girls
We did BOTH!

So, here's the deal: There is a 50% chance we're having a girl, and there is a 50% chance we're having a boy! Only time will tell :)

2nd U/S-Success!

Everything looked good! We saw the fetal pole and yolk sac and good growth! We saw what the doc believed to be the heartbeat, but he was seeing lots of flickers around the sac, so he wasn't 100% that it wasn't me. (Although he did say if it was me, it was very fast, and I would probably be sweating!) Whatev. We go again next Wed...YAY!

Nauseau and Bloating and Exhaustion, Oh My!

So, the good news is that all signs point to I am still pregnant! Starting last Friday, I have felt so gross...morning, noon, and night. It's not fun! BUT, I did pray and beg God for such thrilling signs of pregnancy for almost 3 years (I didn't for the first few months, but then I got desperate!), so I really can't complain. I haven't actually gotten sick yet, thank goodness, but it has just been an overwhelming feeling of yuckiness all.day.long. Mom suggested that I put graham crackers on my bedside table and eat one or two before getting going in the morning. That seems to help a little. She said that dad fixed her a cup of hot chocolate everyday when she was pregnant and brought it to her before she got up. Lucky for Jordan, hot chocolate does NOT sound good to me! Goldfish and Bagel Bites seem to do the trick for me right now :)

Tomorrow is my 2nd u/s! I'm very excited with a hint of nervous. Like I said, all signs point to still pregnant, but every once in a while, a tiny voice in the back of my head says "What if?". Not cool, little voice, not cool! I'll update tomorrow when I get back from the RE!

1st Ultrasound!

I didn't think I was going to be able to sleep last night, but, thanks to the exhaustion of being pregnant, that wasn't an issue. I woke up a nervous wreck. Call it morning sickness. Call it nerves. Call it what you want-I thought I was going to lose it a few times. (And by "it" I mean my breakfast.). 12:45 was too late to have to wait for a first u/s. Seriously. All scenarios of what could happen ran through my head-multiple times! When we finally got to the doctor's office, I was trembling (yeah, yeah, I know I shake on a regular basis, but it was worse!). It took F-O-R-E-V-E-R for my doc to finally come in the room. I came close to passing out, and Jordan was freaking! I was really hot and just concentrated on breathing deeply. I was fine. Oh the drama! Dr. L finally came in, and got straight to the point. Right away we were able to see a little blob, a.k.a. our little monkey :) I'm so in love already! I think everyone was pleased to only see one. I've said it was 1 since the first day I got a BFP, but no one listens to me!! Call it my motherly intuition-haha! Needless to say, we are thrilled!!

When we got back from the u/s, Jordan gave me a gift he has picked out for the baby. It is a red onesie with black trim and a little bulldog on the hip. It has a matching bib and black and red booties! It is so cute! Goooo Dawgs :)

Please keep our little one in your prayers. It is still so early, but I'm trying to stay as positive as I can. After so much heartache, it's hard to look at things through rose colored glasses. I'm praying everyday for that to change! I'll have another u/s next Wednesday. At that point we should be able to see a fetal pole and possibly the heartbeat. How exciting! I'm glad we get to have another u/s so soon. I wonder if it's possible to have one every week? ;)

I leave you with the picture of our monkey. Isn't he/she cute??

I'm Baaaack!

& I'm knocked up!!! I can barely believe that I can say that! We are so incredibly excited and would love to shout it from the rooftops, but we know we need to be cautious, especially during these first few weeks.

I tried to keep track of what was going on with my body post transfer, not only to remember, but maybe to help others in the dreaded 2ww in the future. I am considering it a 6 day transfer, but I'm not 100% sure that's true. But since our embryos were frozen as 5 day blasts, I'm assuming I add on one more day for the thaw day. Who really knows? :)

Saturday 1/24 (1dp6dt)-Intense cramp first thing in the morning, lasted about 4-5 minutes
Sunday 1/25 thru Tuesday 1/27 (2-4dp6dt)-Felt a few twinges here and there, increasingly sore boobs
Wednesday 1/28 (5dp6dt)-Nothing, starting to think this didn't work
Thursday 1/29 (6dp6dt)-Tested first thing, a pretty strong 2nd line showed up after less than a minute, still not really feeling anything
Friday 1/30 (7dp6dt)-A few pinches in my lower abdomen, sore boobs come and go, noticed the beginnings of a rash on feet and hands
Saturday 1/31 thru Sunday 2/1 (8-9dp6dt)-Pinches in lower abdomen, sore boobs come and go, increased bloat, rash/itchiness continues
Monday 2/2 (10dp6dt)-First beta=382, rash/itchiness continues (okayed to start Benadryl, nurse believes it is a reaction from PIO shots-boo), bloated-much more in the evening, exhausted, sore/enlarged boobs
Tuesday 2/3 (11dp6dt)-Same as Monday, feel a little yucky toward the end of the day
Wednesday 2/4 (12dp6dt)-Second beta=624, definite cramps in lower abdomen, exhausted, rash/itchiness (I think I'm allergic to pregnancy!)
Thursday 2/5 (13dp6dt)-Same, cramps, bloat, rash, desperately in need of sleep
Friday 2/6 (14dp6dt)-Third beta=1100, cramps, bloat, rash, exhausted, hungry (but when I eat, I'm full quickly!)

That's it! Boring, I know, but pregnant!! We go in for our first u/s on Wednesday! It is still really early, so we probably will only see a sac (or 2 or 3!!). I don't think the heartbeat can be seen until at least 6 weeks. I'll be about 5 weeks 3 days Wed, so I'm not getting my hopes up. So, here we go!!!