Bring on the Babies!!

First off I want to apologize to all you dedicated readers out there, I know you all have been patiently waiting for an update. I've been waiting to make sure all is well before I posted the latest update. But I promise this blog post will be worth the wait.

Five days post transfer, and after much discussion the daddies and I decided that I would go ahead and take a home pregnancy test. The clinic doesn't typically recommend carriers to do this because it can often give false results. But the three of us couldn't wait another a week for the blood tests, so we decided to just give it try. The first test I took, the results seemed to take forever, but then I saw a very faint positive line. I was so excited that I immediately sent a picture of the test to Emilio and Sergio. Unfortunately neither one of them saw the very faint positive line and became disappointed. When I realized they didn't see it, I told them to look a little closer. Their reactions once they realized what they saw were priceless. They were both over the moon excited! This made my heart so happy for them! Over the next two days, I took two more home pregnancy tests, both of which had the same results, and the positive line was darker each time I took a test. We all now had to wait for the upcoming blood tests to confirm the pregnancy.

On November 21st, I went into the clinic for my first blood test. This blood test is to determine the level of the HCG hormone in my body. The HCG hormone is only detected once an embryo has implanted into the uterus. The first test (which is referred to in the IVF world as a Beta) the clinic wants to see the levels at anywhere above a 5, seems doable right? The first test came back and my Beta numbers were 121!!! The clinic was very pleased with these numbers. I was instructed to come back another blood draw in 3 days. By then the clinic wants to see the first numbers at least double. My next blood draw was on a Monday. This test for some reason was a little more nerve wracking for all of us. And I am not exactly sure why. I went into the clinic first thing that morning, and after waiting for what seemed like forever, we finally got the results. I received this text from Emilio and Sergio and then shortly after, I received a text from Linda at the clinic. My numbers had more than doubled! My beta numbers were at a 628!!! This confirmed I was pregnant.

My next blood test was the 20 day beta check which was on December 4th.  This clinic likes to see this number at anything above a 1,000. My results came in at whopping 16,044!!! The numbers were amazing! I was instructed to continue all medications and schedule an ultrasound for December 15th. I have to say the next couple weeks waiting for the ultrasound was agonizing! I could not wait to see the little baby (babies) on the screen, I could not wait to have my pregnancy officially confirmed. I could not wait to witness the excitement from Emilio and Sergio. The weekend before the ultrasound, I remember thinking that I have never wanted a weekend to go by that fast.

Monday, December 15, finally rolled around. I purposely scheduled the ultrasound for early in the morning, so none of us had to wait all day. When my husband and I arrived at the clinic, we were both very nervous. I was grateful that Linda would be conducting the ultrasound, which helped put both of us at ease. When Linda called us back I remember her telling us she was twitterpated and excited! Once in the room, we were ready to go! And what did we did.....not one but TWO perfect little embryos, each with very strong heartbeats! I could not believe it, I had two little babies in my tummy. I could not wait to tell the daddies the news. I sent them a picture of the ultrasound screen and a special video of their babies heartbeats. As you can imagine, they were ecstatic, and in a little shock. Feeling their excitement and happiness is exactly why I chose to do this. This was one of the happiest and most memorable days of my life.

Perfect little embryos 

Look closely, you can see the little heartbeats. 

So far I am feeling pretty good. I am battling the typical first trimester issues, such as fatigue and morning sickness, which thankfully hasn't been too bad. I am considering myself very lucky. What has surprised me though this time around is how fast my body is already changing. My jeans are very snug and are almost too uncomfortable to wear and I am already starting to get a little baby bump.

Baby bump at 8 weeks! 

Our next ultrasound is scheduled for December 29th. If all goes well at that appointment, the clinic will start weaning me from all medications, which means no more shots....YAY!!! I will keep you all posted. I promise I will give you all an update on Monday, with another picture of the adorable babies I am cooking. Thanks again for all your continued love and support!!

Transfer Day!!

On November 14th, 2014 the long awaited day had finally arrived. It was day we had all been anxiously waiting for many months, it was transfer day! I woke up that morning incredibly nervous. I got up, got ready, and got my kids ready to go spend the weekend with their grandparents. It seemed like the morning was just dragging by. Throughout the morning Emilio, Sergio, and myself exchanged several text messages. They were both so encouraging and such a great support, although I knew they were just as nervous as I was, if not more. I could tell that they both wished they could be here for the transfer. I decided to I was going to do my best to make them as involved as I possibly could. My best friend volunteered to join us, so that she could Skype Emilio and Sergio during the entire transfer process. Next best thing to being there in person.

The transfer was scheduled for 10:30 AM. I was instructed to arrive at the clinic 30 minutes prior to the procedure. My husband and I had to leave our house an hour early because we got seven inches of snow overnight and knew the roads were going to be awful. This is unusual for Idaho, especially for so early in the year. The daddies and I agreed, that the snow was a good sign!

When we arrived at the clinic I was given a Valium, which is used to relax my uterus and to prevent any cramping during the procedure. I was instructed to lay down and wait for the medication to kick in. Linda, the beloved nurse from the clinic who has been one of my greatest supports during this process came in to give me a hug and say hi. Then Dr. Slater came in to talk about the procedure. Dr. Slater stated that they will placing two Grade A embryos into my uterus. She explained that Grade A. is the best level an embryo can be. She stated I had a 65% chance of becoming pregnant with one baby, 40% chance of twins, and then a 1% chance of the eggs splitting in half, and either having triplets or quadruplets.

Perfect little embryos 

When it was time to begin the actual transfer, we were able to connect with Emilio and Sergio on Facetime. It was so awesome to have the daddies involved, epecially from all the way in Brazil. The procedure only last about 10 minutes. Dr. Slater stated that everything went perfectly.

Once the procedure was complete, I was instructed to go home and rest for the next two days which the clinic referred to as the "Princess Days." This was only the beginning of the dreaded two week wait to see if the transfer was a success.

Let's just  say the next week went by very slowly for all of us.