Tuesday, December 16, 2008

12 Week Update

This post is going to be a bit happy of an update. If you're in a bad place, you may want to skip this one. I'll understand.

I had my nuchal scan yesterday. The neck folds were 1.0mm and 1.6mm, both very far under the 3mm risk level. Both are measuring on schedule, a day or 2 ahead as they were at the first scan. Baby A is 5.77cm and Baby B is 6cm. For those not into metric, these translate to just over 2 1/4 inches.

It was so wonderful to watch them wiggle and kick and wave. Baby A cooperated perfectly. Baby B must have felt put out or something for not being scanned first, since when the tech finished with A and moved onto B, B rolled over and presented the butt side out. The tech tried to jiggle to get the babe to roll over. No luck. Then the Dr came in and tried the same thing. Still refusing to turn. So I got to go to the bathroom (again) and was told to jump up and down a bit and jiggle my belly while standing up. That must have done the trick. The Dr was able to measure B right away when I got back.

Sorry about the size of the picture. I scanned it in with higher rez but can seem to edit that one, so you get this one.



I rented a Doppler last week. Its been hard to find the heartbeats. I can sometimes find one, but don't seem to be able to find both and can't even find the one regularly. The U/S yesterday reassured me. Hopefully I can get the wav file loaded. It sounds alot like a train. 174 beats per minute.

http://members.shaw.ca/homedoll/IMGP5150.WAV

There is not much difference between my 8 wk and 12 wk belly shot. I haven't gained weight, but the babes are growing on schedule so all is good. The lower belly has gotten a bit harder and pushed the fat to the upper belly. Ah well. I always carried my weight in my stomach and have been mistaken as pregnant when I wasn't (get offered seats on buses etc). I didn't like looking pregnant when I wasn't, I don't mind it now.



I cut my progesterone in half today. Same for tomorrow. Half again for the next two days then off it completely. The plancentas should have started to produce progesterone starting a couple of weeks ago. I really hope so.

That's it for now. One more week and I'm done my first trimester.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Not about me

This post is not about me. It's a bittersweet posting.

One of my first transfer buddies just had a m/c. The hurt I'm feeling over this is nothing compared to what I know her and her husband are feeling. This was so close, the furthest she's gotten I think and to have it ripped away like that is very hard.

That is the bitter part.

The sweet part is that my other first transfer buddy is doing okay with her pregnancy so far. I can only hope that it continues for her. She's been in the battle for a great many years, with more IVF and DE processes than can be counted on two hands.

My emotions are torn now. But my thoughts are with both of these ladies who in a short two week period became part of my family.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

I'll give my update in a bit. First I want to say how overly happy I am that two friends just had + beta tests!!!!
When I went for my first try, M and her DH were one of the first ones I met when I walked into my pension. They made me feel welcome from the start. As arranged in advance, I also hooked up with P and her DH who were staying at another hotel. The three of us had the same transfer date and many of the same lead up appointment dates. When M and DH went for a quick European tour, I spent my days with P and DH. We had a blast. We went to all the neighboring towns, shopped, ate together, toured the zoo for hours. It was wonderful. While I met many more people during my stay (my pension was full of those for IVF or DE) my transfer buddies remained the closest.
Unfortunately, that cycle was not the one for any of us. I had a big fat 0 for my beta. M was about the same. P had an initial positive beta, but it didn't double and unfortunately didn't make it very far.
These were my transfer buddies and I am happier than you can imagine that all of us are now pregnant. I cried when I read P's email and it wasn't just the hormones.

Weehee. There is hope after all. I see a European reunion when our kids are old enough to appreciate it.

The Dr appointment last week was very uneventful. I got to pick my hospital for delivery. The one I picked has a good reputation and has the added bonus of being within a few blocks of home and two blocks from work. She will be referring me to an OB group at that hospital, likely in the early new year. I'm not quite high risk, but I am 42 pregnant for the first time with twins. I was also sent off for a whole whack of blood tests. Then an appointment was made for this week.

Fast forward to this week. My blood work is back. TSH is good. I apparently have amazing immunity to measles and chickpocks. My uterus is up above the pelvic bone, where it should be for twins and why I had to buy new clothes. Despite the donor being so young, because of my age, I qualify for the covered Nuchal Screening. This is the only screening I'd consider because it's non-invasive and carries no risk. You can read more about it here The biggest issue I may have with this is getting the appointment in time. It has to be between weeks 11 and 14. So between next week and the end of the year, including all the holiday closures. I'm waiting to hear back on when/if I get the appointment. Then it will be tricky to get the code that determines the overall risk to use the donors age, not mine. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Since my uterus was up, we tried to hear the heartbeats but all we could hear was the very loud whooshing of blood through the placenta. There might have been one small point where we heard something, but the blood pumping drowned it out so they are likely hiding behind their placentas. My uterus is up, but not out very far. My next appointment will be the first week of Jan and the heartbeats should be very clear then!