Winter Cycle Friends 2009/2010 - Everyone Welcome!

[ashleyncsu77]

Hi ladies - so I had another case of the "eaten" post this morning. I'm not sure if the old version of the board was like this but if I type some and then am idle for a few minutes, when I try to submit I lose everything. I keep trying to remind myself to copy the post before I submit in case I lose it. But anyway.......

Katie - good luck with your scan tomorrow. I know you probably won't see a hb but hopefully they will be able to tell you that everything is progressing normally.

Hazel - so glad that you are at the point of being able to tell people. It's such a great feeling. And I really do hope your morning sickness gets better soon. I wouldn't say I have it full blown, but the nausea is pretty aggravating.

Merri - like everyone else I am with you on having a guard up. Though at 7.5 weeks I am slowly starting to believe it's real, there is a huge part of my that doesn't want to get attached. Even at the moment that we saw two heartbeats I didn't go crazy or anything. I think after the next couple of u/s things will sink in more - that and when my belly starts to grow.

Karen - I hope that your spotting has stopped. I know how scary that can be even if it isn't much.

Sonya - how are you feeling? I can't remember, is your first u/s scheduled yet? Was it your RE that waits some crazy amount of time?

AFM - I go to the OB tomorrow. It's supposed to be just an initial visit but I am going to do my best to get her to do an u/s. I figure that based on my history, the fact that I did IVF, AND I'm having twins may help my case. I'll be on tomorrow with an update.

Hope you all continue to have a great week!!!

Ashley

[DandMe]

Ashley; what a lovely post! I just can't seem to find the time to do personals all the time but I admire those who can keep up with it.

I am so thrilled for you having twins. I am really with the ladies who are in disbelief. I think it's a self preservation element to those of us who have had losses or long term IF. I think it's kind of funny that we feel every little symptom before our bfp and then afterwards we sit and search for them.

My ulrasound is scheduled for March 9th - when I'm almost 8 weeks. If I were at my clinic they'd have me in sooner but they want to make sure I'm far enough along that a heartbeat is easy to find. I am nervous and envious of the ladies who already have things in place... I know the birth rate skyrockets when you see that heartbeat!

Good luck with your next u/s!

[katie99]

hi everyone -

UGH I was MIA yesterday because we had cable/ internet problems all day long. I missed you all. I'm waiting to go to my u/s, they moved my appt to the afternoon because we were suppossed to have had bad weather this morning, but it looks like just rain now. Thank God, I hate to drive in the snow! So I've felt so nervous about the RE not seeing what he should - that I've been trying to force myself to not think about it - I'm trying but its not really working!
So, ok delay my appt (torture) for a few more hours other than stressing this u/s, nothing really much going on with me, my boobs are just a bit sore and that comes and goes, I still get the twinges now and then, and sometimes a heavy feeling in my lower abdomen - but thats it - I actually feel pretty good
Only us crazy ivf women would feel weird about feeling good, right? I'll post as soon as I get home from u/s - xoxo

Hazel Oh, I'm so happy for you! You survived the scarymester!!!! And now you have a bump? Guess you'll have to go maternity shopping soon? It must have been so grand to tell all of your friends and family - finally! Did they all off the deep end? Now if your m/s would only go away and stay away! Well, I've thought long & hard about this OB situation, and I've decided that I want this Dr. She is so warm caring and sharp as a tack! When we were still TTC on our own ( boy that seems like forever ago, before all the RE's and meds! ) my Gyn was almost in tears when she said I need an HSG and then when it came back both tubes blocked 100% - she hugged me & sent me to a specialist. As much as I would like to never see my exSIL ever again, I'll only be 1 day in the hospital (maybe it will be her day off?!!) but I will have HOW many Dr appts? So I'm going to take the chance of bumping into exSIL - UGH! But I know I'll be in good hands with this OB - The other option was to pick one off of the insurance website??!!! No way can I commit to an OB that I picked from a list and have never met! What if you do that and dont care for them? I didnt want to take that chance. Wait - I guess I'm ahead of myself again! lets see what happens today! - much love - xoxoxo

Karen Spotting is enough to make anyone nervous - go easy on yourself, walking is just fine for now. Other than that how are you feeling? When is your u/s? Is your DH over the top?

dogzrule Of course I remember you! I cycled with you in July/Aug - how are you doing? Wow, you are getting so close now!! Have you got a pink nursery ready and waiting?

Ashley Yep, the new format IS hugrier! it is eating a lot of posts! GRRR! its soooo frustrating when that happens! So how are you feeling, Mama?
Have you been released to your OB? What week did they release you? I wonder if your RE kept you longer or shorter due to twins? I'll stay crossed that your m/s is managable - how is your appetite? you rest up please! love the ticker!

Sonya its hard to have waited this long and gone through soooo much to get here and not let your self relax. Will they move up your u/s if you tell them its stressing you to wait that long? Are they trying to drive you mad? You're suppossed to be keeping calm, but i think you'll finally exhale after you see the HB - it couldnt hurt to try..... all you need is the right nurse to answer and maybe she will bump your appt up! Good luck!

Merri There is nothing wrong with feeling extra cautious especially after having a rough time last year - sending you loads of PMA!

[katie99]

ARRRGGHHH!!!! and the weather channel is wrong again! the "dusting" of snow is at 3-4" and coming down heavy - so I just moved my u/s appt to tomorrow
Grumble grumble grumble...

[BabiesGalore]

Hi Katie. Just wanted to give a shout out to u and all the other ladies. So glad to see u on these boards. Not sure u remember me but i was with u on the july/aug thread i believe. Really glad that things are going well. Keep us posted on the u/s. Lots of hugs to u!!!!!!!!!

[hjw]

Karen - thank you! Yes, it was a relief to hear a low risk assessment for Downs Syndrome, I don't think I even realised I was that worried about it until we got the call and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

DandMe - thank you too! From what little I know, your numbers seem just fine and I'm sure they'll be where they need to be on Thursday. 'Normal' is great!! My clinic actually doesn't do betas anymore and just tells you to test at home with HPT's on day 18 after transfer and again after day 25, and if both of those are positive they schedule you for a 7-8 week scan. Although that gave me quite a long wait after ET before I could test, I think that not finding out my beta numbers was probably better for me - I'm the kind of person who just worries about things, so what I don't know can't hurt me!

Ashley - how annoying with the eaten post. This site did that to me a few times a while back and since then I obsessively copy my text as I go, particularly if I'm typing a long post. Or another trick is to type it as a Word document and then copy paste it in. Sorry to hear about the nausea, I really hated it. You've probably worked out for yourself what makes you feel better and what makes you feel worse, but the biggest thing for me was to make sure I ate something every hour or two. Although eating was the last thing I often felt like doing, the nausea was definitely worse when my stomach was empty and my blood sugar level low. Did you manage to persuade your OB to do an u/s today?

Katie - Noooooooooooo!! I wait all day on tenterhooks for you to post the result of your u/s and then it gets rearranged for tomorrow! Oh well, only another few hours for us all to wait, I suppose... Did you get any sleep last night or were you too excited? Sounds like you've made the right OB decision for you, particularly if you haven't got any recommendations from friends etc for another good one. Yes, it was great to tell people over the weekend, it was nice to hear how excited our friends and family are for us! It definitely makes it seem more real... Yep, there's a definite bump and most of my trousers which have a waistline at waist height (as opposed to a few pairs of more low slung jeans) simply won't do up any more! I went out and bought something called a bandeau from a mother and baby shop today. It is basically a stretchy tube which fits around your stomach and has holes & buttons in it where you can button your jeans or trousers to - it means that you can carry on wearing your normal clothes even if they no longer do up, because you button them onto the bandeau instead. I thought it might carry me through until I'm big enough to think about proper maternity clothes.

So...because naturally I just have to worry about SOMETHING, my m/s dramatically tailed off after 11wks4days and is barely there today, and my boobs have stopped being remotely tender. And that has me panicking that since we had the scan on Friday, something has gone wrong in there. The rational part of my brain tells me that I'm being silly, but because I expected the m/s to last beyond 12 weeks and then tail off more gradually, I can't help worrying. Unfortunately, short of getting another private scan done (which would be very expensive) there's not a lot I can do to ease my mind, so I just have to hope that everything is OK. I'm getting some aches and pains through my stomach (but then I've had those for a few weeks, I think it's just my uterus expanding and starting to move up) but no bleeding. Aaargh!

Hazel

[ashleyncsu77]

Hi ladies - well I went to the OB today for my initial visit. It was fairly uneventful but she did give me some good information about have twins. For one, she said that many women pregnant with twins stop working by 28 or 30 weeks. Now don't get me wrong, I would love that but I also want to work as long as I can to take advantage of my maternity leave after the babies are born. I work for a bank and can work from home so she said that would probably work out until I'm just to uncomfortable to even do that. The other thing she told me is that starting at 18 weeks we will have an u/s every 4 weeks. It's kind of nice to know that we will be tracked closely. Lastly she told me that becasue my DS was a big baby (8 lbs. 9 oz.), there is a good chance I could have a vaginal birth. Though it is an intimidating thought I think I would prefer that to a c-section.

After we talked a while, I just point blank asked if they could do an u/s today. She didn't hesitate and said yes. The u/s tech was available at that moment so she did a quick scan. The babies are still doing well - still two heartbeats which is really all I wanted to hear.

So next week I go in for another u/s (the one that my RE requested that I have). Then I'll have another at 12 weeks. I think this is starting to sink in more and I'm getting more excited. I'll be 8 weeks on Thursday so getting closer to the end of the first trimester slump.

Katie - oh my gosh! I just knew you had gone to get your u/s today - good luck tomorrow!!!!!

Hazel - don't worry about the m/s going away abrubtly - I'm sure it's normal so enjoy it!!! I can't wait until I don't have to eat like a glutton.

Talk to everyone soon!!!!

[karenthescorpio]

Katie- hey there. I couldn't follow your post clearly. Did you have your u/s and your RE wasn't happy with what he was seeing?

[Merri_Baby_Dust]

Hi ladies,

Ashley - Thanks for much for sharing on the OB visit. I've always wondered was those (alien things that they are to us) are like! Keep the reports coming!

Katie - AARRRGGH. Being in the middle of winter with transfers, monitoring, or u/s is no fun! Good luck tomorrow. Think of it as one more day for that little heart to become strongly visible!

AFM -- I totally caved and DH told me the 2nd beta number. 562. So it was 267 at 17dpo and 562 at 20dpo. That's a 67% rise which is well within the 60% threshold my clinic looks for. So I'm happy with that - I was freaking out because DH told me to schedule another blood test and I was like, huh? Don't I just go straight on to the u/s now? So I figured my 2nd beta had been terrible (like last time we were here). But turns out they want at least 800 or so before they schedule u/s. So I have another blood test tomorrow. Oh joy. Keep having to remind myself on the PMA.

By the way - one of you ladies told me to go look in the baby aisle at the store as way of getting excited -- so DH and I have a date tomorrow night to go crazy with feasting with our eyes at Target Baby section. Can't wait! I was looking at nursery pictures online earlier today and I felt v. maternal

[katie99]

Hi everyone -

Ummm... so its STILL snowing!!! Enough already! please! I'm so glad that I wasnt stuck driving all day in this mess.

Karen No I rescheduled my appt until tomorrow due to another snow storm How are you feeling? Eager for the 26th no doubt!

Hazel tee Heee you know me too well... Yep, I was up bright and early this morning raring to go - then I saw all the snow and turned chicken
Now I'm sort of clueless, but that bandeau thing sounds fantastic! I'll be looking into that all right. I wouldnt get worried, your HCG levels should "level off" after the first trimester. And enough of the nasea already for you - poor girl! you've had a rough go of it!

BabiesGalore Hi honey! how are you doing? Long time no see. I know you've checked up on me a few times. I finally made it! took me long enough huh? You are sooo close now! You must be so excited or nervous? or most likely both! Do you know what you're having? bet your nursery is all set and ready to go! How are you feeling? - xoxo

Ashley I'm with Merri - between Hazel and you we dont feel so in the dark about these appts and what to expect. I need to pick up lots of books on this subject, but refuse to until theres a HB - just in case! You must be so relieved to know that your OB will keep such a close watch over you - and yay for a bonus u/s today! That was good thinking! How are you feeling Mama?

Merri Yiippeee for 562! thats a great rise! I would have liked a 3rd beta myself - but it wasnt offered. I wonder if they'll do one tom? I know they have to take b/w for the P4 level anyway.... How sweet of DH to take you on a baby stuff date! I love it! Just dont bring money, just in case something is too cute to resist! Have fun!

Ok everyone do a NO MORE SNOW Dance please! Hugs and prayers to us all! -xoxoxo

[karenthescorpio]

Katie- Sending you positive energy for your u/s tomorrow. I know everything will be perfect! I'm excited and nervous for mine on Friday. Just another big milestone to pass! I'm feeling really good. No m/s at all, thank goodness. I'm declaring that I won't have it at all. My mother didn't, either. Relax tonight, lay back and visualize your little one getting all the blood and nurtients it needs. Everything is fine! xo Karen

[DandMe]

Ashley; how wonderful to really get some confirmation and direction on your twin pregnancy. It must be becoming real for you now.

Merri; I totally understand how you feel about your beta. I googled the heck out of my dpo and number and although a LOT of successful women have my numbers, it seemed like TONS had numbers up in the 2500 and up mark! WTH? LOL But everything I read says that as long as it stays over 60% that I'm fine. I took my overall numbers and put them into the calculator and it was a lot more soothing for me to see that over all my doubling is higher than just the last set.

hjw; please tell me that I'll be able to relax after hitting T2! You aren't supposed to have that many symptoms beyond the first trimester. I was sick as a dog for my first two pregnancies for the first trimester, then the second trimester I was totally fine. i was super young at the time and never worried about ANYTHING - oh to be so blessedly ignorant again.

AFM: nothing to report. Symptoms coming and going, mostly sore boobs and tiredness. No nausea yet which is freaky to me! I hope I'm begging for relief in a couple weeks.

[hjw]

Ashley - so pleased you were able to get an u/s yesterday, I bet you can't hear those heartbeats often enough! Unfortunately, in the UK we get way fewer visits so we got to hear the heartbeat at our nuchal scan last Friday and that will be it now until 20 weeks. Going to have to be patient!!

Merri - haha, I wouldn't have been able to even try not to find out the beta number, so I'm not surprised you caved! Hurray for good rising numbers! Enjoy your baby aisle window shopping tonight!

Katie - I can't wait to hear how you got on at your u/s today, I've been refreshing the page all afternoon to see if you posted! Keeping everything crossed tightly that things looked just as they should. One or two????? p.s. if you're interested, this is the bandeau, I'm sure you can get something similar in the US - http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/detailfa ... e=TRE00009

Karen - only two more sleeps until your own u/s! I really hope you don't get m/s. My mother didn't get it either, so I didn't for a second expect that I would, but I've since read that bad m/s tends to be more common in IVF pregnancies because the drugs take so much out of your body and demand so much of your liver, that your body is just less able to cope with the extra hormones when you do get pregnant. But having said that, a friend of mind has just had IVF twins and didn't have m/s at all, so there's just no way to tell!

DandMe - don't worry, you will definitely relax once you get to the scan around 11-12 weeks and everything looks good. I've calmed down a bit since my last post, partly because the m/s has kicked back in in the evenings. I must be crazy, I was even half pleased to see it back because I was so panicked when it disappeared so quickly!

AFM, I've had a crazy day. First off, DH walked the dogs early this morning and had to bandage the girl dog's paw when he got home as she was bleeding (she races around like a lunatic on walks and cuts her pads all the time, so we're used to bandaging her up for a few hours while the cut knits together). I then had my first proper midwife appointment this morning, she took lots and lots of blood to test various things (German measles immunity, blood type, Hep B + C etc), lots of which I've done before with the IVF clinic but they have to be repeated now. She also took my blood pressure which was 100 over 70, much lower than my usual 128 over 80. She didn't seem to be at all worried about it being low, and I know from my own research that the '70' number is bang on normal for pregnancy (it reduces when you're pregnant to deal with the extra blood being pumped round our bodies), but I was a little surprised that the top number was 100 down from 128. But as I said, she didn't seem at all worried, so I guess I shouldn't be either. After I got home, I changed the bandage on our dog, and it became clear that she was still bleeding quite a lot and it wasn't going to heal on its own. Long story short, she has been at the vets all afternoon and had sliced one of her pads half off, the one higher up the leg near the dew claw (God knows how, she didn't react on the walk itself, but then she has always had a really high pain threshold!) and has had it stiched back on under anaesthetic. So I've been back and forward to the vets a few times, but thankfully she's now back home, complete with a lurid pink leg bandage - just as well it's not the boy dog this happened to as the colour would be a great affront to his male pride!!

H x

[katie99]

Hi everyone -

Quick flying post - I havent read all your new posts yet & dogs are dying to go out! We saw a sac and a dot!
my RE said that it was measuring really good at 12x? - I was too excited to pay attention. he says we'll see more next tues - he thinks there will be a heart beat then. I was lying there and I thought I saw 2 little white dots in the sac - so I said "I see 2 dots"?! he said "no, thats the glare from the light"
OK I can admit it now - I was absolutely hoping that both stuck. But I'm so excited that we have a "dot"!
personals after dogs & food! - xoxoxo

[DandMe]

Katie major congrats! Can you remind me again of your betas? I think they were close to mine and I need positive stories!! (((Hugs))) SO SO SO HAPPY!!

Oh, and you never know... there might still be two.. I've heard of that happening when you get a later scan.