Finally Pregnant Again!

18 weeks, 0 days

2010-01-04T12:56:00.001-08:00

Well, I know I didn't update right away last week when we found out the sex of the little baby brewing inside my belly... but I had to go home and watch the video a few times to really believe it!

We are having a boy!!!

Everett Roy will hopefully wait a while to grace us with his presence, but at this time, he is growing - and growing a lot! Seems like he will be a big boy before we know it!

I'm about 6 weeks and 6 days from when I delivered my son, Joey, in 2008. And I was in the hospital doing my best to keep him in about 6 weeks and 1 day from now, respectively. I'm not stressing, yet...but I am having some anxiety over the whole scenario. I feel unprepared this time, if something similar should happen. I don't have a replacement trained... our bills aren't all paid down... my bag isn't packed... in general, I have no back up plan. Last time I had the biggest "just in case" plan ready to roll - complete with mailing my mom a copy of my housekey and hard copy directions to the house and the hospital and airport, etc. Even the room was set up b/c my DH had to deploy at the beginning of week 24 of the pregnancy. This time? Nothing. No crib built, no room organized, no maps printed. Eck.

On a more positive note... Everett seems to like the Rolling Stones... he got all excited the other night when "Midnight Rambler" came on the radio... bounced around everywhere. (c;

Enjoy the ultrasounds... they're not the greatest pictures in the world, but I'm still the proud mommy.

17 weeks, 1 day

2009-12-29T10:19:00.001-08:00

This is worse than the night before Christmas! DH and I go tomorrow for an elective ultrasound to find out if this little growing bugger is a boy or a girl, and it is driving me nuts! I wish we could just go today and find out!

I'm of course betting that it's a wee little girl - an Allison Louise to be exact...

But, DH swears it is a little boy, a little Everett Roy...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I know that as long as he/she is happy and healthy it doesn't matter either way... the suspense is just killing me. It's like I am 8 years old and can't fall asleep on Christmas Eve... waiting for Santa all night. Only the jolly old fat one is bringing me either something pink or blue and a week late!

And I have so much to do at work, I just cannot for the life of me concentrate.

On to the baby... we were reading last night that while this week the baby is about 5 inches long and weighs about 5 ounces (the size of a sweet potato) -- over the next three weeks, the baby will more than double in size... for example, 5 days from now, the baby will weigh an average 8 ounces and measure about 6 inches... we'll have gone from a sweet potato to a mango in a work week! Insane. No wonder I am so flippin tired already.

So Ultrasound tomorrow -- 3D.
20 week ultrasound at hospital - 01/19
Next Doctor's Appointment - 01/20

16 weeks, 2 days

2009-12-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

I must admit that I am very excited to be 4 months along -- it sounds like such an accomplishment! However, that weight on my shoulders still hasn't lifted... maybe after I safely pass the 25 week mark... and then the 32 week mark... then I might breathe a bit easier.

I started have random contractions about a week ago, but didn't worry about it because I knew that I was starting progesterone injections this week. Last night, I had lower abdominal cramping that made it painful to walk starting around 5PM... so I relaxed, ate dinner, kept my butt in the chair, drank water, etc etc etc. Come 7PM it was worse, and accompanied by mild contractions. I fell asleep around 8:30PM, and then proceeded to be woken up every hour (except for midnight) throughout the night...with more mild contractions. Oh joy!

Needless to say, I had no form of discharge, which is the only thing that allowed me to wait through the night before going to the hospital. I had an unscheduled walk-in appointment to start my progesterone injections this morning, and I figured I would tell the nurse about my eventful night at that time. I received my shot (which still hurts, lol), and was sent down to see my regular OB. Gotta love that man. He is so thorough and worried about me.

Cervix length is good and thick. Visual exam showed that it was still closed. Manual exam confirmed the visual exam. Ultrasound showed an active little one - who is now to big to be completely viewed on a transvaginal ultrasound! Femur measured perfectly -- the little ones feet and toes are so cute! Apparently his/her butt was in the air, legs spread, but bent at the knees... couldn't see any "guaranteed" parts in between the spread-eagle position... which only convinces me more that it is a girl! We will find out at next week's 3D appointment, cannot wait!

Abdominal ultrasound was able to get a better picture of the whole baby, and head measurements were absolutely perfect. (Nothing any clearer on the sex of the little one, though the doctor did try!)

Doc says everything is fine, looks good, and baby looks safe and healthy. GREAT NEWS.

My prescription --

Blood pressure medication, twice daily, to help control the swings of my blood pressure and hopefully forego a preeclampsia diagnosis.

Walk slower, stop taking the stairs.

Pay attention to what triggers contractions and stop doing it -- for example, vacuuming or bending over to clean, etc.

At this point, I'll do anything to avoid bed rest for as long as possible!

Starting weight= 260lbs
Last weight= 265lbs
Today's weight= 262lbs (woot-woot!)

15 weeks, 2 days (12/16/09)

2009-12-16T11:23:00.000-08:00

I was reading my little update on the app on my iPhone and it mentioned that the little sweet pea can now hear me if I'm talking out loud, etc. Time to start turning the music up in the car!!! woot-woot.

Needless to say, the child that normally sleeps through my work day, has now decided to play during my work day. Very distracting, and very tiring, to say the least. I still don't know what the little bugger is doing, I can just feel him/her swooshing from side to side, or what feels like rolling underneath my belly button.

That's the other thing. My DS loved to sit super low -- hide in my pelvic region all day and night. Was hard to find his heartbeat on a little doppler machine, etc. THIS little one sits under my belly button and pushes whenever he/she feels like it. And when I feel that goin on on the inside, I can touch that area on the outside and it's hard as a rock. Not like a contraction - but like a baby butt or head or something. And that's where he/she hangs out.

One more reason to think it's a girl! (c;

FYI!!!! Not that we know yet... just my bet!!!

14 weeks, 5 days (12/12/09)

2009-12-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's dentist appointment was a disaster! I have had a few fillings in the past, but nothing compared to this one! A small surface filling that should've taken 15 minutes max turned into a 1 hour debaucle! The novacain wouldn't work correctly, and when it finally did numb my tooth, I could still feel a shooting pain in my jaw bone - but at that point I had given up and just held onto my jaw for dear life while the doc finished.

He then warned me that my jaw would be quite sore for a few hours once the meds wore off. My face was numb until 1PM and my jaw started hurting in the morning at work -- it was hard to talk, etc. I wound up leaving when the meds wore off, went home, took some tylenol and a nap and called it a day. NOTE TO SELF - no fillings when I am with child. (c;

The next morning, my jaw felt mostly better, still sore... but I had picked up Mike's head cold from the previous weekend. FUN. Could not breathe! Bought a humidifier for at night, and that is a wonderful invention, I tell you what! Between that, Robitussin for the cough, Sudafed for the congestion and Tylenol for the sinus headache, I am good to go!

Had small itty bitty contraction at night while climbing into bed. Very distinct feeling -- like an alien pushing up on your stomach to pop out and then going back into your stomach just before it does burst through the skin... lol. They weren't painful, just worried me. Probably those Braxton Hicks things I've heard about but never had... since my first contractions the last time were REAL ones!

14 weeks, 0 days (12/07/09)

2009-12-07T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hello Complicated OB Clinic! The last time I was in this office was the day before I went into labor with my DH -- and they had no clue anything was even going on then. Here we go!

So, as I expected, I am not a candidate for a cerclage due to the type of labor/contractions I had the last time. No surprise.

My intramuscular (IM) progesterone injections will begin between weeks 16 and 20, once a week, until week 36. Thankfully the nurse is willing to give me a supply for at-home injections after my first injection. I guess the experience of infertility drug injections and insulin injections has finally paid off! (Parking at the hospital is such a pain most of the time.)

My cervical length was good - 3.75cm. It was neat to learn how they test the competency of the cervix... and I always love to learn something new, rather than just lying there like a specimen on a table. The doctor was awesome - very intelligent and to the point, a no-nonsense kind of woman. Loved her! Except, she wouldn't move the ultrasound from the cervix to the baby... who's foot you could see kicking into the picture every couple of seconds! Such a tease to see five little toes on a high-tech ultrasound and not see the rest!

It's okay though.... we scheduled a 3d/4d ultrasound for December 30th -- and I think we'll get such a good luck then that we'll know if this little sweet pea is a boy or a girl!

My blood pressure was astronomically high... and we forgot to have it taken after the appointment...so my OB is going to flip when he sees that!

13 weeks, 0 days (11/30/09)

2009-11-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

The baby's heart beat was super easy to find on the left side at home last night -- ranged from 130bpm - 150bpm. We could also hear all the swooshes as the little bugger moved around inside my tummy. DH loved that, it made him crack up. He obviously can't feel the rolling I can feel when the baby is awake (which is every night by 8PM by the way...right when I'm climbing into bed it seems.) -- and so watching his face light up as he got to listen to his baby moving around was super cute. He is already such a good daddy -- I can't wait to see him hold this little one for the first time. (Or feel him/her kick from the outside!)

Had an appointment today with my OB again. He gave me my 3hour GTT results, which were surprisingly, not completely horrible. Needless to say, I'll be retested in a few weeks.

Fasting = 94 (less than 95 is good)
1 hour = 184 (which is high, but I forget what the threshold was)
2 hour = 143 (less than 145 is good)
3 hour = 97 (which is good, but again, I forget the threshold)

So, two good, one borderline high and one high.

I measured 12w5d, instead of 13w0d -- which is fine. This is the point where babies start to grow at their own pace and as long as they are within a certain range, which this one is, there are no worries. My due date has shifted a little bit to June 9th... but I don't put much truck in due dates any more, for obvious reasons.

My blood pressure has been higher, which could account for all of my headaches. However, I also have "white coat" syndrome, so my blood pressure sky rockets before an appointment anyway... so they always take it twice, and my "exit" reading is always perfect. But, still, my wonderful doctor worries and doesn't want to leave any stone unturned, so now I will do a 24 hour urine test.

A what? Yup... for 24 hours, I have to pee into a cup every single time that I go potty... and I have to dump it in this huge orange container... and it must be stored in the refrigerator until I bring it back to the lab. Seriously. Gross. Poor DH hated seeing that thing in the fridge that day! (And my cup in the bathroom for that matter!)

None the less, no news is good news, and so since I haven't heard back from the doctor, there must not have been note-worthy results. Next appointment with regular OB is Jnuary 7th, 2010, so we'll find out then.

Enjoy the ultrasound and the notes!

12 weeks, 0 days (11/23/09)

2009-11-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

Made it to Seattle - the drive wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it would be! But, in conjunction with the drive, my headaches started. I have about one or two of them per day, and I become very light sensitive. The only thing I can really take for it is Tylenol, so 1 - 500mg pill per 4 hours I pop. Almost simultaneously, my sinuses start to spread again (even without the progesterone suppositories) and my post nasal drip starts acting up again. Oh joy.

Wyatt now thinks the little one is a boy instead of a girl... and randomly brought up one of the boy names that we have picked out -- without having told him or his mom the names! Crazy. Let the kids listen to the heartbeat on the doppler -- they loved it. Of course Wyatt wanted to know why the baby was in there and if it would come out soon. So cute, gotta love kids - they really are so innocent.

Week 10 - New Allergy???

2009-11-16T10:06:00.000-08:00

10w1d (11/10/09) -- Hello allergic rash! Nice to meet you. My name is Virginia. What are you and where did you come from??? I like to know the thing that is wrapped around my neck and slinking down into my chest.

10w3d (11/12/09) -- Okay Mister Rash. We still have not been properly introduced. Apparently you are not familiar with the concept of benadryl and hydrocoritsone cream and the effects that they have had on your predecessors. Went to the hospital since the rash seemed to worsen and spread and become itchy. They only prescribed me the same meds I was on and sent me on my way. They agree, you are an allergy - but to what, they have no clue. And I can't be tested until I am no longer growing a baby. And at that point, you will no longer be visiting me, so we may never know.

Right now... you seem to get "happier" whenever I eat bananas... so I will curb my appetite for the potassium rich fruit that I love until you go away.

(This lasted for the remainder of the week and then went away as a ceased to eat bananas. Whooda thunk it?)

10 weeks, 0 days (11/09/09)

2009-11-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

So the good news -- I felt baby flutters throughout the day while I was at work! No, not gas -- not just my stomach processing. It felt like someone had a ball in my stomach and would just roll it so that my tummy seemed like it was being flipped. Like going over a bump in the road too fast, or on a roller coaster ride... only without the increase in your heart rate, lol. It was awesome. I felt my DS early last time too -- but not for about another 3 or 4 weeks if I remember correctly. People have told me that your second one is easier to feel earlier because now you are aware of what you are feeling.

The bad news is that I was up all night with painful cramps. They were quick, thank goodness, and intermittent... but holy grasshopper did they hurt! lol It felt like I was in a torturing device and there were clamps on each of my hips, and they were being pulled out in opposite directions. Eck. Growing pains.

Not that I don't love the reason for all of the pain - so no complaints here. Just, wow. Making more room early on I suppose.

9 weeks, 5 days (11/07/09)

2009-11-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

Had my initial Neonatal blood work up done today... including my 1 hour GTT (Glucose Tolerance Test).

Everything else looks fine, except for my 1hr GTT. It was 172! Looks like I might have Gestational Diabetes already -- I go in for a 3 hour GTT on 11/14. Fun fun. I hate the little orange drink... it's not even carbonated anymore like last time -- it tastes like I'm drinking straight orange soda syrup. Yuck.

None the less, while I've been *mostly* following a diabetic diet from the get go, it's time to tighten down a little bit more on it.

Se la vie.

9 weeks, 3 days (11/05/09)

2009-11-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

Had both the swine flu shot and seasonal flu shot yesterday morning... was fine and dandy until about half way through the day when I thought I was going to hurl in my office! Horrid, horrid, horrid side effect of the swine flu shot is nausea -- which I didn't realize until I read my information sheet from my bed today! I have had no morning sickness this entire pregnancy.... and now this??? WTH?

Oh and the fun part that makes me nervous because most vaccines that I didn't receive as a child make me nervous... this one vaccinatess this little baby for up to 6 months!! Insanity. I hope nothing bad springs from these vaccines.

On the plus side, no swine flu for me.

9 Weeks, 1 Day (11/03/09)

2009-11-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

Had my first ultrasound with the OB today -- gotta love my doctor! I think he was more excited just to see me pregnant and get a look at the baby than I was! He delivered my DS last year and has been waiting for me to show up "gestational" again. He didn't take a measurement of the heartbeat, but he measured the little sweet pea twice. The first measurement waws 8w6d and the second one was 9w2d -- so he averaged them and I am right on point!

More good news -- I can stop taking the progesterone suppositories finally! I'll be able to breathe in a few days without stuffed up sinuses, I can't wait! Progesterone is a funny thing... it's used to sustain a pregnancy early on because without it, a woman will miscarry. And then later on, it is used in a different form to help prevent contractions/pre-term labor. Obviously nothing is 100%, but anything that lengthens the amount of time the baby stays inside brewing is okay by me! So my OB is putting in a request for me to be seen by the Complicated OB Clinic for progesterone injections and to see if I qualify for a cerclage.

(Cerclage=stitching the cervix closed so that it doesn't just open on it's own. I am more than likely not a candidate because I went into labor with contractions, my cervix didn't just decide to open up without contractions.)

Here's the ultrasound picture... kind of looks like a blob... but if you look at the dotted measurement line... in the upper left corner, it runs right over the little one's nose - and you can see an eye socket on either side of the line. He/She is completely facing us, knees bent, elbows bent, hands over his/her ears. Enjoy!

Graduating to the OB

2009-10-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

I've always had a hard time understanding the how-pregnant-are-you concept. I've got it dialed in, but it's still hard to explain. I'm 7w2d today, which means I am in my 8th week of pregnancy... so weird. Why wouldn't I just be 8 weeks 2 days then? Don't get me wrong, I get it now, but still, it's just weird. (c;

Had another ultrasound on Tuesday. Heartbeat looked amazing, ringing in at 146bpm. The little sweet pea was measuring a bit small from the initial measurement last week. Last week, he was on cue at 6w1d, but this week, at 7w1d he was measuring anywhere between 6w3d and 6w6d. Frustrating and a little scary, but the doctor didn't see anything wrong with the measurements since they are so hard to accurately measure this early on. Now I just keep focusing on the phenomenal heart beat.

I've graduated to my OB, and have my first appointment at 9w1d. The whole graduation process is a little scary - I remember being nervous last time, too. You go from years of working with the same doctor and the same nurses and everyone knows everyones ins and outs (literally) -- and then boom, one day you just cross over. Luckily, I am going to see the same doctor that I saw the last time I crossed to the dark side (lol), so there is some positivity to that at least. It's not entirely uncharted territory. BUT, I am sure that you other ttc'ers can understand what I mean -- when you spend years doing something, you know what to expect around the next corner. You know what works and what doesn't. This whole OB graduation thing is new and uncharted, for most of us at least. And for those of us who have graduated, only to have poor outcomes, well, frankly, that's all we know -- the poor outcomes! It kills me when people tell me to relax and that every pregnancy is different. Well, if you've got four healthy kids, and all of yours were different, then you can say that. But for me, I've been pregnant only twice now, and my first situation wasn't anything great to compare to -- so how can I know it will be different???? And for those of us who have been pregnant 7 or 8 times, and never had a child, it's got to be even harder to know that this time will be different -- come on!!!!

Okay, so I'm nervous and feeling a little venty, especially with my DH unaccessible due to work for the next week and a half. I just put in some old-school Bon Jovi to release some frustrations, and relax a bit. If you've read this far or follow this blog, thanks for the patience with my rants and raves!

6th Week + Ultrasound

2009-10-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

First Ultrasound -- and there is our little sweet pea, complete with a heartbeat! 113bpm sounded kind of low to me, but the doc said that it was fine this early on, and in a few more days it would be up to normal. We scheduled a follow up ultrasound for next week (10/20), and since DH will be out of town for a few weeks, one of my close friends is going to the appointment with me.

6w1d (10/13/09)

I had some light pink/brown spotting throughout the day... could have been from the probe or the excited BD with DH the other night... gave me room for worry, but it wasn't bright red and it went away, so nothing to fret over just yet. I hear it's normal the first trimester! I can only hope so...

5th Week and still Pregnant!

2009-10-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

5w2d
Strong stabbing pains on the right side

5w3d
Cramping in the evening; sleepless night (preparing me??? lol)

5w4d
I asked the doctor if he wouldn't mind running more bloodwork for me before the ultrasound next week -- and of course he put it in the system for me. Needless to say, with an HCG level of 4793miu, it's safe to say that I'm still pregnant! I started having chest pains, and increased my iron levels and that seemed to help.

4 Weeks and counting...

2009-10-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

15DPO / 4w1d
exhaustion has officially set in... why can't adults get nap time at work instead of lunch time???

17DPO / 4w3d
light cramping before lunch; cramping and backache at 230PM -- i feel a little constipated and am hoping that is all it is.

HCG = 228... definately still pregnant!!!

Increased appetite; up at 3am with cramps and the urge to pee; badddd post nasal drip and phlem in the back of throat - almost couldn't breathe!

HAPPY 4th ANNIVERSARY!!!!

14DPO - 4w0d

2009-09-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

14DPO - no temp taken
4w0d -- I'm one month pregnant today!!! (counting from LMP)

Bloodwork done at 7AM

STILL PREGNANT!!! HCG=88

Walked around work too quickly, overheated and crampy -- need to learn to slow down! Talked to doctor and scheduled an ultrasound in two weeks (10/13) to check for heartbeat. GREAT -- that's going to be even harder than the two week wait to find out if I was pregnant! It feels like I'm pregnant, but I'm not. All the tests say that I am, but we still need that heartbeat.

For now, I'll continue the progesterone suppositories and may switch to progesterone injections later in the pregnancy.

11DPO, 12DPO, 13DPO

2009-09-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

11DPO - 97.77
(Temp taken over an hour earlier than usual.)
POSITIVE HPT with a darker line at FMU.
Ordered bloodwork thourgh the doctor, but when I got to the lab after work, and after dinner, it had already closed. Silly military time... it closed at 1800, not 8PM. Mild cramps, coupled with gas and gas pains.

12DPO - no temp taken
Bloodwork done at 6AM --- PREGNANT, HCG=36.9

Told family and a few close friends at this time, letting them know that we were reallly early testers.

13DPO - no temp taken
Winded after cleaning (dusting) for a few minutes and had to take a break; light cramps in the PM.

Keep in mind, I've been doing this for so long and I am so in tune with my body, that I notice even the slightest changes and discomforts. I started to get a heavy feeling in my abdomen late in the evening this day.

10DPO

2009-09-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

10DPO - 98.59
woohoo, there is the higher temp! must be pregnant!

But of course, I'm not. BFN.

Woken up at 1AM previous night with bad AF cramps that only lasted a few minutes.

STRANGE, very colorful vivid dream last night... witha cruise ship, and swimming with sharks and someone doing my hair upside down, climbing ladders, the inside of the ship set-up like an airplane with with all the seats facing the left like a movie theater; sat next to an old friend's kid and all of his family was on the "plane" with us; his step dad tried to clean my ear for some reason.

Hot and cold all day; exhausted; so bloated that I had to wear pants with an elastic waist band.

Bad AF cramps at 2PM for about 5 minutes; verrrrrryyyyyy irritable (my poor husband!)

POSITIVE HPT AT 6PM!!!!!!!!!

More cramps around 7PM....

8DPO & 9DPO

2009-09-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

8DPO - 97.85
Oh great, a temperature dip, just what I always wanted! Only if it goes back up though...
I cried watching a thing on the news about football... go figure; starving all day - ate tomatoes like they were going out of style.

9DPO - 97.94
Okay, so it's up, but not nearly as high as I would like to see it! Where are my 98+ temps???
Woke up early to pee and had some mild cramping, nevera good sign; more mild cramps at work; ate at 9AM and was hungry again at 10AM; pms-type backache kicks in; This is where I start to think that I'm out this cycle, yet again; on and off headache all day; still taking Mucinex (have taken it the whole past few weeks while fighting a cold I got from traveling that refuses to go away); cough is way better than the rest of the week; weird pain below and to the left of my belly button -- never had that before -- can feel where it hurts when I press up from my c-section incision...and it doesn't really hurt, it's just uncomfortable.

5DPO, 6DPO, 7 DPO

2009-09-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

5DPO - 97.83
More severe cramping; broke out in a sweat in the evening; weird dream last night about twin-beans in utero, and one consumed the other in a slow-mode black and white film in my head; 2nd dream about a giant baby boy being cracked out of a large white plaster shell (shaped like an egg); WEIRD; Skin starting to break out; bad cramps; diarrhea; irritability; swollen boobs.

6DPO - 98.17
This is getting fun now!
Severe cramps throughout the day, but not as frequent as previous days; weird flutter in late afternoon on the right side; exhausted - had to take a nap in the afternoon; gassy -- I had a burping fit in the evening that made my husband laugh out loud; strong craving for tomatoes!

7DPO - 98.12
Woke up feeling nothing -- which is a great feeling, and then a depressing feeling at the same time. No cramping until 11AM-ish; nausea waves after eating fruit in the morning; exhaustion set in around 11AM, too; by the afternoon, I couldn't tell if I was hunbry or if I wanted to puke; diarrhea; boobs swollen all of a sudden in the afternoon; hungry in the evening -- craving a salty snack and tomatoes, wound up having a caprese, yum!

1DPO, 2DPO, 3DPO, 4!

2009-09-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, nothing better to do but search the internet and write down my non-existant symptoms. I have such a compilation of them now from over the years that it's kind of amusing to read through them. I've learned to be more descriptive --- a few years ago, with my first pregnancy, I wrote down "cramping" but didn't write down what kind of cramping -- so of course I can't remember now, and wish I had been more specific then!

1DPO - 97.54
Yellow CM; start progesterone in evening; bloated; dull backache and dull cramps.

2DPO - 97.56
Yellow CM; begin taking (2) progesterone suppositories per day, one in AM & one in PM, until instructed by doctor to stop them; Dull backache and cramps; diarrhea; fatigue; swollen breasts. (Gotta love that HCG trigger shot producing pregnancy symptoms!)

3DPO - 97.78
Temperature starting to climb nicely; woke up around 3AM with really bad AF like cramps; cramping continued throughout the morning, coupled with strong lower back pain; urinating seemed to bring on cramps; I'm no wuss -- but I had to stay home from work today and finally got in to see the doctor in the afternoon to rule out infection -- when I got to the doctor's office, I was running a fever of over 100 degrees and my blood pressure was off the charts (proving my level of pain) -- doc did a thorough exam to make sure everything was where it should be, and he noted two corpus luteum cysts between 27-30mm in diameter each.

4DPO - 97.88
Bloodwork came back clear, no infection; severe cramping throughout the night again -- hourly, with dull cramping in between.

Round #3 - Quick Update

2009-09-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

This whole scenario started again on September 3rd with our baseline ultrasound. I love my doctor -- he looked right at me after the sonogram and said "okay, let's not mess around this time -- let's start you at 250 units of Follistim and get your blood drawn in three days."

Sounds good to me! In the past it has taken a week of less than 250 and then a few days of 250 to actually get me ready to ovulate.

My estradiol levels were slow growing still... see below if you're interested...

Day 1 - Baseline U/S -- 250miu
Day 2 - 250miu
Day 3 - 250miu
Day 4 - E2 (Estradiol)=57 -- 250miu
Day 5 - 250miu
Day 6 - 250miu
Day 7 - E2=287 -- 250miu
Day 8 - Follow up ultrasound showeed multiple follies between 9-11mm each --- 150miu
Day 9 - E2=585 -- 150miu
Day 10 - 150miu

Day 11 - Follow up ultrasound showed an 18mm and a 16mm on the right and a 14.4mm and a 13.6mm on the Left. Doctor recommended that we go ahead with the HCG trigger shot today because if we wait any longer, we run the risk of having 4 fully developed follicles produced and this cycle would be a bust for an IUI -- or I could ovulate on my own and the timing would be off. He also discussed the risk that all 4 may still mature and release, allowing for all 4 to possibly be fertilized. We've had 3 eligible follicles in the past, had 2 of them release, and only 1 of them take... so we were okay with the odds and went ahead with the HCG trigger shot in the morning of the 11th day of meds.

Day 12 - Temp=97.28 - IUI at 3pm - had to use a tenaculum (ouch!) -- Had ovulation cramping.

Here we go again!!!

Blog Catch-Up Time!

2009-05-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

So, naturally, I had a BFN last month, otherwise I probably would have posted every little detail of being pregnant again. Se la vie!

Basically, tests were negative even though symptoms were present. Gotta love taking Progesterone suppositories -- built in pregnancy symptoms with every dose!

My husband is in the military, and any of your familiar with the healthcare associated knows that while it is great, it is limited. I guess infertility is on the rise and the ONLY clinic in the area has gotten swamped. Not to mention, with the economy the way it is, and all of our meds for free, there of course had to be cut-backs somewhere. They have all of the infertility patients on monthly rotation for stim cycles and IUI. Since my last cycle was stim/iui in April, I can't have another one done until June. I understand the concerns, etc, so it's no biggie to me. I'll get there eventually.

The only part that sucks about the whole ordeal and hold-pattern is that I had an AF from hell. Hell, I tell you, is an understatement. (Again, gotta love progesterone!) So now that I am basically finished with that hell, I have to take provera and time my next AF to be before the appointment that I already scheduled. Which only means another AF from hell towards the end of the month. Great. Just great.

On a lighter note --- the husband and I survived the 1 year anniversary of our son's death. And I tell you what, it wasn't that bad. The actual 1 year mark was the easy part. It was the weekend prior to the 1 year mark that damn near killed me! It was like a flashback that just wouldn't go away and lasted three days long...

Saturday, I mentally relived finding out that he was sick and all of the motions and emotions that followed. Sunday - well Sunday was Mother's Day. My son had surgery on Mother's Day last year, oh what a present. I relived that one. 11AM was margarita time in our household. And Monday, Monday was the worse. How I made it to work, I will never know. Monday last year, Joey died. Early in the morning. Gone.

Tuesday this year, DH and I went to the Wild Animal Park... something that Joey would have loved to have done. At least we would like to think so. (c;

That's it in a nutshell -- on to the next cycle!

9DPIUI, 8DPO

2009-04-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

SO, yesterday night was fun. DH and I went out to dinner and I got my juicy delicious hamburger! (c; Apparently though, extreme highs are followed by extreme lows. Before I knew what I was doing, I was in tears, and couldn't stop it. And all DH could do was laugh! Then a few minutes later, I was back on my rambling high.

Stayed up a little bit later, 9pm-ish. I could've passed out at 7pm after dinner, but I was determined to go to bed AFTER the sun went down! More twinges throughout the night. Got up to potty a few times, but I don't remember drinking that much water. Se la vie.

Woke up this morning - hello temperature spike! 98.42 the first go around, and I thought it might be wrong, so I tempted again, 98.51. Are you kidding me??? No wonder I'm so hot - DH said I kept kicking the blanket off of me last night. I was a little uncomfortable last night and had to sleep with a pillow under my tummy, but nothing else odd going on.

Thought I saw what I think looked like maybe a faint second line when I POAS this morning, but I'm still calling it a BFN until I get a clearer result. Otherwise, right now, if I didn't know I was almost at the end of my 2WW, I wouldn't think anything. Wouldn't think I was pregnant, wouldn't think AF was on her way, nothing. I would just think I was getting sick b/c my nose is a little stuffy and my temps are a little higher.

I HATE THIS! Can't it be over already?!?!? (c;

OH SHOOT!!!!! I think I missed this morning's dose of progesterone. GREAT. I knew I was too distracted and forgetting something. I'll have to check when I get home. Eck.

8DPIUI & Cramp Cured!

2009-04-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so not 100% cured, but my cramping has decreased significantly, and the same with my back pain. I took a Tylenol this morning, premptively, and may be taking another one, because as I started this blog, my tummy started to cramp up again. Oh joy! (Drank water, symptom gone again.) The secret to the decreased cramps? A little late night one-on-one time with my DH! It was like instant relief, and I highly recommend it. (c;

I went to bed at 6pm last night, and other than my rendeveaux, I didn't wake up until about 6AM this morning, laid there, off and on sleeping until 7am, when I took my temp. 97.38 this morning, woosh. Highest it has been this whole cycle.

And now I am bouncing off the walls. Didn't eat anything differently, nothing. I am just happy, with an underlying sensation to cry, lol. But, I am sooooo wired! Hopefully that doesn't mean that I crash later today early again, I'm tired of this going to sleep early crap. BUT if I turn out to be pregnant, I will be quite content with going to sleep early, that's for sure.

I just posted this on thread on the Soul Cysters site, if it gives you any idea what mood I'm in:

That's what we're all on here for right? Looking for
someone who can relate and keep our minds busy and our thoughts positive? If
not, then we just fall into the make-believe land known as the internet and
google searches (which I am guilty of, too)! It's going to sound crazy, but
after my son passed away, the only thing that helped me was reading a book by
someone who had also lost a child, coincidentally, in the same way. I suddenly
felt not-alone, and that helped me to get out of bed in the morning. If ANYONE'S
tests don't pop up with two lines this weekend, we just have to remember how
many people out there who tested at the same time, with the same high hopes,
with the same negative results. One at a time, and eventually, we can all do
this. Every time we go into the doctor, we become part of a statistic on what
worked and what didn't work. And those statistics lead to new discoveries, and
help other women conceive. We conceive because of all of the thousands of women
that were right here before us.Okay, sorry about the rant. lol. Maybe I needed a
pep talk and I just ranted to you what I wanted to hear? (c;

Woosh. Feel like I'm going to cry after re-reading it. Either this progesterone is getting the better of me, AF is getting ready to show her ugly head, or I'm pregnant. God, I hope it's the latter of the three.

On a side note, I really want another hamburger! A fresh made, round, huge and juicy hamburger with mayo and mustard and ketchup and pickles and cheese and salt and pepper. Yum. DH won't let me have another one, I've had 2 the past few days. Veggie burger maybe?

PS: Can't seem to stop sneezing today, do not know what is up with that. OH and my vision yesterday sucked, and today. I have to zoom my screen up to 125% to see it clearly. Crap, I tell you, crap.

7DPIUI - CD20

2009-04-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is all just ridiculous now. Some of these symptoms are carry over from yesterday afternoon/night, and some of them are from today. I hate the TWW!

Yesterday

Starving!

Knee pain

Gassy. Way gassy.

Cravings: Hamburgers & Smoothies - neither tasted good though, I mean, the hamburger was okay, but the smoothie was disgusting, I didn't even finish it. Tasted my DH's, his tasted sour to me. DH tasted both smoothies and thought they both were fine and very sweet. Humph.

Abdominal Pain - Bad cramps throughout day and worse by 8PM

Slept through the night after cramping subsided. Took 1 Tylenol Extended Release (650mg) before going to bed.

Today

Woke up early, had to pee. Negative HPT (of course I knew it would be, I'm just a peestickaholic - love that term, so it on someone's post.)

Woke up on time, stuffy nose, had to pee. I had a stuffy nose from the time I got pregnant the last time until the day after I delivered.

Exhausted. Absolutely exhausted, even though I slept for about 10 hours.

Nausea - very light, mostly just a queazy feeling. Ate jello when I realized I hadn't put anything in my stomach yet. Jello tasted nasty. Pasta Salad instead, Still feel queazy.

Cramps. Bad cramps. Just like yesterday. I've had them since Sunday (CD18).

Face is warm and rosey.

Messiness gone, still on same meds though.

Will update more later I suppose. I'm sure there will be more. (c;

6DPIUI

2009-04-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been on the floor with my feet up once already this morning, the cramps come and go, but boy-oh-boy, when they decide to show their ugly faces, it is painful!

My temperature was up again today, after dipping slightly on Saturday morning. That was probably because I got up so early for the March of Dimes Walk. But, it was pretty low on Sunday morning, even though I woke up so late. I've read mixed reviews about charting and "implantation" dips. It's not full proof, but it's something that shows up on my chart. See this link for more information: http://infertility.about.com/od/tryingtoconceive101/qt/implantationdip.htm

Like I said, probably nothing. But, I charted the same "slight" drop when I was pregnant.

PS: Progesterone suppositories have all of a sudden become very messy! What is up with that?! Call into the doctor to ask about the cramps and the messiness, as well as to have him put in the order for the blood test so that I can do it over the weekend if I get a positive HPT.

5DPIUI (days past IUI)

2009-04-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

1AM this morning I woke up in excruciating pain, I wanted to cry. It hurt from all angles... my back ached, my stomach ached, I couldn't get comfortable. Finally, pillow between my legs, lying on my stomach and my side, and DH pressing firmly into my lower back did the trick. After about what seemed like forever, the pain subsided. I was wide awake, as you can imagine. I stayed in that position, playing on the internet on my phone trying to get sleepy again. Finally, I am ready to pass out, and I must've for a few minutes... but then at 3AM, I was wide awake, in unbelievable pain again.

Implantation??? Who knows. I had no spotting with the cramping... but then again, I didn't last time either. 7 days left until I know for sure, give or take a day. I soooo want it to be positive!

OH - and these progesterone suppositories I'm taking? Not too bad, making me extremely tired! Except for my 1am/3am wake ups, I went to bed at 6pm and did not get up until 9am! Insane, I haven't slept that long in forever. I would love to think it's an early pregnancy symptom, but I don't want to get my hopes up - so for now I'll blame it on the progesterone.

AND I almost forgot - the progesterone elevates your BBT... so much for knowing that I'm pregnant when my temperature stays high. I'm still charting it though, just so I have the record if I have to do a second round like this one. I can't even tell you how much it has helped having all of my charts from 2007! I pretty much can predict how my body is going to react to meds, when I've had cramping before, etc etc. Everyone should keep charts like that. My favorite one is on the JustforMommies website. Good stuff.

Tenaculum aka Torture Device

2009-04-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

I knew it was coming. The pain associated with a Tenaculum is not one you soon forget. The doc had to use one when we got pregnant the first time... and he likes to refer to it as a "torture device", which is never a good sign. He only had to use one because my cervix is "shy" and more or less faces the wrong direction. So the Tenaculum is like a little set of plyers, that grabs the end of the cervix and straightens it out so that the insemination needle can be inserted.

Fun. Not so much. BUT - if it gets me pregnant again, well worth it in the long run!

Doctor also prescribed me Progesterone suppositories this time - with a history of pre-term labor and fertility treatments, I guess it is the new standard. (Man do I wish it was "standard" when I was pregnant with the first one!) Anyway, starting on 4/22, one suppository at night, and then on 4/23 on it is two per day, each pill being 100mg of progesterone. The pamphlet that came with the medicine says that some of the known side effects are fatigue, cramping and mood swings! My poor DH - no reprieve at all. (c;

IUI, here we come!

2009-04-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! After upping the dose to 250miu of Follistim/day, we are finally ready for an IUI tomorrow! Brought the HCG to the appointment today just in case, and boy am I glad that I did! IUI at 9AM!

Here we go again!

2009-04-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

We have jumped back into the game, finally! After losing a child, it has taken us quite some time to decide to try and get pregnant again, but here we are, trying again. So, I've been scouring the web for updated information, and I get the most help from other individual's blogs, so I thought I would join that club and post a blog.

I was diagnosed with PCOS a few year's ago. We tried naturally for a little while, and when I realized something was right with me, we went to the doctor. Turns out I was right, something was wrong - I wasn't ovulating, at all. Clomid didn't do the trick, and I think I was up to a dose of 200mg/day before they stopped trying with the Clomid. A very high dose of Gonal-F finally did the trick, followed by a HCG trigger shot, still didn't get pregnant. The next round we added an IUI into the mix, and voi-lah - we were pregnant! Our son was born 15 weeks early. He was such a fighter and did so well, until he contracted NEC and subsequently passed away. All of this over Mother's Day weekend, my first Mother's Day.

DH and I have come a long way since then, and find that we are parents without any children - and it's high time we remedy that! Sure, we like being aunts and uncles and having friends with children - but the worst part about those kids is that they go home and call someone else Mommy and Daddy.

We started taking Follistim this cycle on April 9th. Wish us luck!