September 2010 Babies

[julia_78]

quick update from Amsterdam, pretty jet-lagged & tired on this side of the pond!

hazel - and you know after the 5 ww there is more then more. i am starting to realize the baby making process is definitely one that will teach us patience (especially for us - the process lasts way more than 9 months!) hang in there it will go by fast! (or at least that's what all my mom-friends say...) i really love amsterdam too! it's such a great city, it feels like a big global village, the size is so manageable though it has the conviniences of paris or london. it's mostly work though we did squeeze in dinner in one of my favorite restaurants here (and no sushi this time!) but i had to head back to the hotel while my colleagues headed to an awsome belgian beer bar after dinner. it snowed last weekend so it's a bit messy to walk around, which i usually enjoy after a long day in the office.

gamegirl - don't worry about the frequency of your RE visits. the only reason i went back twice since the beta is b/c my progesterone lvl was too low and they wanted to monitor progress. otherwise i think the only apts would have been beta at 8 and 14 days, then u/s at 7 week. i tried to get in for an early u/s to see (and maybe count:) the sacs and they said there was no point, though i know a lot of REs do u/s way before the heartbeat u/s. i think they all have their m.o. and like sticking to it. my r/e also said ok for tylenol but none of the other meds. it's funny i had headaches too, i attributed to the caffeine withdrawal (i went cold turkey on my latte addiction) but maybe there is more to it than that...

brmommy2b - almost another u/s, yay! i can't wait to hear how it goes!!

have a good rest of the day!

[hjw]

julia_78 - tell me about it, I think I've realised too that the pregnancy is just going to be one wait after another! I'm so jealous of you being in Amsterdam, I spent the third year of my university degree in a town/city called Leiden (first stop on the train out of Schipol in the opposite direction to Amsterdam on the same line) and absolutely loved Holland. We spent quite a bit of time in Amsterdam wandering about (plus doing the student life bit as well). Enjoy it while you're there, hope the snow doesn't stop you doing all you want to. How long are you there for? It's nice to have someone in more or less the same time zone to me for a change! You mention Paris and London - do you get to London much for work? I'm only 30 miles away. Next time you're there, let me know!

BRMommy2B - GL for your u/s tomorrow, yay you get to see Hope and the heartbeat again!!!

Hazel

[julia_78]

last night was horrible. i started bleeding full flow around 10 pm - bright red, clots & all. it lasted for 40 minutes. i am a total mess. my RE never returned my pages. the marriott put me thru a dutch doctor who told me it could be nothing or it could be a miscarriage and there is nothing i or they can do to make it better at this point. he told me i could call this morning to try to get in for an u/s at the hospital here in amsterdam. hopefully they can get me in, will keep you all posted. i fly back home tomorrow so otherwise i guess i'll have to wait to see someone on sat.
this sucks.

[hjw]

Oh julia, I've just seen your post. My heart is breaking for you, what a terrible night you must have had on your own in a different country with that happening. If there is a positive side, at least it only lasted 40 minutes and isn't still happening. I'm praying that it's not a miscarriage and that you've already been for an u/s and it's all OK. Either way, is it going to be safe for you to fly tomorrow, or should you stay put for a few days? Make sure you check with your RE before you get on that flight home.

I'm going to be out over lunch today but will check again as soon as I get home to hopefully hear that you're all OK.

((((((((((HUGS))))))))))),
Hazel xxx

[BRMommy2B]

Julia: I just read your post as well. Praying hard that this is just pregnancy bleeding that makes us all nervous but isn't threatening the pregnancy. Let us know how you're doing.

AFM, our ultrasound went well this morning. We could actually see it before he even zoomed in, and there are little arm buds forming; it actually looks like the beginnings of a baby! We've still had spotting a couple of times per week, but the RE said with everything that he's seeing in our ultrasounds that it has to just be spotting because my blood vessels are engorged, because it's definitely not threatening the pregnancy. There was a doctor observing and when they got a good shot of the baby and took the measurements in the u/s, the other doc said, "Perfect!"

I think we're ready to tell our family and friends (immediate family already knows, but nobody else). Not quite ready for a Facebook announcement or anything, but all seems to be going very well. We couldn't be happier, but the spotting, I think it's aged me a year over the past few weeks!

[julia_78]

brmommy2b - you saw little baby arms! wow that's so exciting!! have fun sharing the happy news w/ family & friends! dh was not able to keep it a secret from the beginning, he had to announce to the world that "he finally got one past the goalie" so we have told many folks and it's such a fun time to share these news with those you love.

thanks hazel & brmommy2b for your throughts & prayers - well the rollercoaster continues... sorry to bring weekly drama to this thread... the concierge at the marriott was a star & got me scheduled as an emergency at the local dutch hospital for an ultrasound this morning, and we saw the embryo (the size of an M&M) and a heartbeat!!! i could not believe it! we are so relieved/ excited/ still in shock, etc. the dutch obgyn told me everything looked fine, though bleeding still put me at a higher miscarriage risk (she did not speculate as to what may have cause the bleeding). the ivf coordinator told me it's probably subchrionic hemorrhage (whatever that is) and it may do it again a couple times, and unless i have cramping, that it's ok. it was such a heavy flow, more than a normal period, it was the scariest thing i have ever been through. i was cleared for travel, i am just ready to go home to dh and chill.

on a funny note - going to a dutch hospital made me feel like i was in the "lost in translation" movie a dear dutch-speaking colleague of mine came with me to the hospital & did all the talking, and all i did was hand my referral from the doctor, smile & nod and say "prima" and "dank ya vell". my colleague & the hospital people would talk back & forth for 10 min, then i would ask "what did she say" and she would say "she just say sign here". it was such a weird experience. but so thankful she came with it made it so much easier.

thanks again for your words of encouragements, thoughts & prayers.

[hjw]

julia_78 - I can't tell you how relieved I am to read your post, I have been so worried for you all day. I'm so, so, so happy that everything is OK and that you even got to see the heartbeat to help reassure you. (By the way - yippee, you saw a heartbeat!) It sounds as if you got some good care at the Dutch hospital, albeit that you had to rely on your colleague to translate (does that mean that your work people know now?). How scary though to think that the bleeding could happen again, I suppose you will just have to deal with it at the time if it does and at least it might not frighten you as much if the ivf co-ordinator has said it may well happen again. In the meantime, safe flight and give DH a big hug when you get home. And get lots of rest on your vacation!

BRMommy2B - wow, I'm so excited to hear about your u/s and that you even saw little arm buds (it makes me wonder what they might be able to see at my u/s next week when I will be 7wks2days). Hurray, Hope's becoming a proper little baby in there! Have fun telling people the news!

I have to say, not that I am jealous of how julia's u/s came about for a second, but I am so envious of you both that you've already got to see the heartbeat! Still another week to go for me, and it's going to be the longest week of my life I think! I think m/s might have started to kick in - I felt really sick yesterday once in the morning and once in the afternoon (but wasn't actually sick), then this morning it took me about 90 minutes to get showered and dressed because the smell of every one of my toiletries made my stomach turn, so I had to have a break after using each thing, like moisturiser, then deoderant etc! I'm going for acupuncture next Tuesday so I'm going to ask her to do points to reduce m/s if I still have it.

Gamergirl/CK - how's things?

Hazel

[Gamergirl_98]

julia_78- I can't even begin to imagine how scary that would have been here at home much less in a different country! I am glad everything seems to be turning out great though. It's a very surreal moment when you first see and hear your babies heart beating. (at least it was for me)

BRMommy2B- I am glad everything is coming along well with the little one.

Hazel- I also have a week to go before my first u/s! Well actually 5 1/2 days but who's counting? I gotta say that m/s is also kicking in pretty hard core for me also. With my first pregnancy I was sick for nine months straight! I couldn't even brush my teeth, drive by a restaurant, watch tv or kiss my sons father without throwing up. I am hoping with everything that's in me that this one isn't the same. So I will say good luck to all of you with your m/s.

CK

[julia_78]

Well more bad news I am afraid. I am pretty sure I miscarried this morning. I passed some very large amounts of blood clots and other entangled solids all at once and have been bleeding and cramping ever since. I called the re and he returned my page this time but can't see me til mon so I'll have to wait or try the ER. I am so stunned and can't stop crying. This is going to be a long flight home today.

[Gamergirl_98]

julia_78- I am so sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with you. I will hold out hope that it was just a crazy thing and not a miscarriage. Hugs to you.

CK

[hjw]

julia, I'm devastated to read your post. Like Gamergirl, I'm just praying that as before it hasn't affected the baby. I would definitely go to the ER rather than wait until Monday to see your RE. Are you sure it is safe to fly today if you are still bleeding, did you check with the doctor yesterday at the hospital or did your RE say when he returned your page? You're in my prayers, I'm hoping so much that everything is going to be OK.

H xxx

[BRMommy2B]

Oh Julia I so hope that didn't happen! You are in our prayers. Please take good care of yourself and let us know how you are.

[julia_78]

hi everyone - thanks so much for your thoughs & prayers. unfortunately it' the end of the road for us.
the 8 hour flight seemed like it lasted twice as long. dh picked me up from the airport last night & we went straight to the ER. we were admitted right away - my bloodwork was fine but my cervix was open which was not a good sign. the ER did not have a vaginal probe u/s machine so we had to be transferred to another hospital to confirm that i had miscarried. the ultrasound confirmed that we lost the baby - our obgyn met us at the other hospital, he is such a sweet man it was comforting to have him there. i did not require a d&c which was a relief. we were released at 2 am and by that time i had been up for 24 hours.
so far dh & i are doing ok, though i wonder whether this has fully hit us yet. we cancelled our trip but are talking about driving to the mountains for a couple days to get away from this all.
dh is already talking about trying again and we'll probably take a break from IVF for a couple of months -- the obgyn told us women get very fertile after a m/c so hopefully that will give us the boost we need to compensate for dh's slow swimmers...
i wish you all the best in your pregnancies and will be checking in on you over the next couple of months.
thanks for being such great support for me over the past week.
-julia

[Gamergirl_98]

Julia_78 - I am so sorry. I know it seems like a dark time but I have found that everything happens for a reason. I am sure that things will work out for you in the end. My thoughts are with you.

CK

[claud662]

I was just checking in on some of my November/December girls when I read the horrible news of Julia...I'm so sorry hon that you went through that in Amsterdam and my thoughts are with you and DH...

Good luck Hazel with your first u/s and I have fingers crossed