293 and 567.7

My nurse just called and said my blood tests results are awesome!
My HCG yesterday was 293 and my progesterone was 567.7. WOWZERS!

The HCG is the hormone that needs to double every 2 days in order to indicate a good, strong pregnancy. It has more than doubled, so I'd say this one is going to stick around.

I asked the nurse if these numbers could indicate a multiples pregnancy and she said "No, it only tells us if it's a good pregnancy". The only way to know if we've got multiples is by the ultrasound.

My "spotting" (if you can even call it that) has been getting less and less and it's only light brown now. Each day, I notice less. I guess it's really more like slightly tinted brown CM. I am getting so excited and can't wait for these next 9 months.

When can I start wearing maternity clothes?? lol.. I was just barely getting into them when I was pg with Abby.

First gift!

We received our first baby gift yesterday and it was from my mom and my sister. It was the boppy that I had registered for a long time ago when I was pregnant with Abby!

I went over to my sister's house after a photo shoot. When I pulled into her driveway, this is what I saw on her front porch:


Oh, and here is yesterday's test.. there's no denying that line!

A little progression..

The following photo will show how my pregnancy tests have darkened over the past few days. I only have 4 tests left :)

The results are in..

I had my blood test this morning and they confirmed I am PREGNANT!!
My HCG is at 76 and my progesterone is at 22. HCG needs to be at least above 5 in order to be pregnant, so I am well above that.

My nurse said that my progesterone level kinda concerned her because it was 136 when I had my blood drawn on Friday. She thinks it could just be because I had taken my prometrium pill so close to when I had my blood drawn this morning that it hadn't been absorbed yet. I take my prometrium (which is a progesterone supplement) at 9 AM and 9 PM. On Friday, I had my blood drawn around 11:30 and today I had it at 9:30, so that's probably why there's a big difference.

Still, she wants me to continue taking 1 prometrium pill in the morning and up my dose to 2 pills at night and see how I do on that.

My next blood draw is on Thursday and I will get those results back the following day.

We also scheduled my first ultrasound and that will be on April 14 at 9:15 AM. 3 weeks from today.

I also discussed the spotting that I had on Saturday with her. She said it could be various things, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong with the pregnancy. She said that really high progesterone levels can cause spotting. My level at 136 on Friday is considered very high. She said while they don't like to say that spotting is "normal," it certainly is very common. She said it's nothing to be concerned about though, unless it turns into a red flow, accompanied by cramping, so I think we are in the clear there.

I found a nifty little HCG calculator online and plugged in my HCG level at 76 and it says I am on the "high" end. YAY!!

Shhhhhhhh....

Thanks for all the comments everyone :) We are of course THRILLED!

Now, I have kept this blog somewhat private and have only shared it with a few people. So, if you are one of those special people, please keep this news quiet as we are not quite ready to share with "everyone" yet. I'd like to get a good looking u/s before we tell more people.

I took another test this morning and they are still darkening nicely.

TESTS!!!

We finally got our long awaited BFP!! PRAISE THE LORD!!

I have been having just a small amount of spotting. Yesterday was the most and it was light pink. Today I have a little bit, but it's hardly any. I've read about implantation spotting and it's pretty common to have shortly after the embryo implants and should only last a couple days. I pray that's all it is.

I should be having a blood test tomorrow and they will continue to test it every 2 days to ensure that the HCG levels are rising adequately. Please continue your prayers for us :) Now I have a whole new experience to worry about.

Mac Daddy

Is he not going to be the hottest daddy ever??

Halftime

I know football season is over, but I've made it almost half-way through this 2WW. I hope this is my last 2WW (two-week-wait) for a long, long time.

I took another test today to make sure the trigger shot is out of my system and it is!!!

So, this means when I test "for-real" I can be sure my results are accurate.

Everyone keeps asking me if I have any symptoms and I have come to the conclusion that I really don't believe in symptoms. I mean, symptoms can go either way and some may just be things that I make up in my head. I am tired, but that is a side effect of the prometrium (progesterone) that I take. My boobs are sore, but that also is a side effect of the prometrium and the trigger shot. The real key for me is checking my CM, but that doesn't start drying up until around 8 DPO so we've got a couple days for that.

One thing I have noticed that's different this cycle is the trigger shot left my system alot quicker than it has in the past. And.. I am not nearly as bloated as I have been in cycles past too. But again, I don't believe in symptoms so I will just try not to over-analyze anymore.

We have Good Friday off from work.. I am so ready for this weekend!

I wish..

Oh boy, do I wish it were about 2 weeks from now:

I just had to do it..

IUI

IUI went well today, except we were seen very late again. I was scheduled for 9:15 but we weren't seen until 10:15. That's just ridiculous. Jared and I weren't very happy about that.. but it's done and over with now.

We had 30 million sperm, which is good. Now we've got about 2 weeks until we know the outcome!

Another update

Nurse just called and I get to do the trigger shot tonight! My estradiol level was 828, which she said is good. I am having a different lady do my shot this time since my normal lady is on vacation.

Remember my old horse Abu?? I sold him to a lady who lives in the next subdivision over from me. When I had Ted at the barn by my house and Abu was there too, her and I would go for rides together. She mentioned to me once that she was a nurse. When I realized I needed to find someone else to give my shot, I asked if she'd be willing.

When I talked on the phone with her, she mentioned that her daughter is also doing fertility treatments. It sounds like her daughter is doing the Clomid route right now.. anyways, she said she'd be more than happy to give me the shot so we are doing that at 9PM. YAY!

Follicle check

I have 5 follicles!!

Left ovary:
15mm (a little small)

Right ovary:
26mm (a little big)
20mm - perfect
19mm - perfect
18mm - perfect

So, we really have 3 follicles that are ideal, but the 15mm and 26mm are still possibilities. My lining is at 12 mm which is great! I had my blood drawn, so as long as those levels are good, I will do the trigger shot tonight. We scheduled the IUI for Wednesday at 9:15 AM.

I need all the prayers I can get :)

Trigger tonight??

My appointment is this morning at 10 AM. We'll see how many follicles I have and if I will be ready to do the trigger shot tonight. I will probably post another update around 11 CST so stay tuned!

Starting shots tonight!!

Ok, nurse just called. I GET TO START SHOTS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She said my blood levels came back great so I can go ahead and start. She said normally if someone's lining is still too thick, they usually have a high estrogen level, but mine were fine. So, I am going to do 150IU's of Follistim tonight and tomorrow, then from Wednesday-Sunday I will do 100IU's of Follistim, then I go in Monday morning for another ultrasound/blood draw at 10 AM and if everything looks good, we will do the trigger shot that night and have the IUI on Wednesday.

I pray this is it!!

CD 4 appt..

My lining is still thick at 7mm and they want it to be 5mm or less. They still went ahead and drew my blood and once those results come in, my nurse will give me a call and let me know the game plan. It will either be one of three options:

1. Start the shots tonight
2. Go on the pill for 3 weeks
3. Try another month on our own

I will update later this afternoon when I hear from my nurse.

I have no idea why my lining is still thick. I bled pretty heavily Friday and Saturday. Yesterday slowed down a bit, but it was still probably medium. Today I am still bleeding, so who knows what my deal is.

My Cycle List

First, I got my appointment scheduled for Monday at 9:30. The lady making my appointment told me that the ultrasound tech is completely packed on Monday morning, so I can just come in at 9:30 and she'll squeeze me in when she can. Great.

Anyways, I started keeping a detailed list of all of my cycles over a year ago so I had something to show the fertility specialist when we met him the first time. I keep track of when they start, when I O, when they end and any other details about the cycle that would be good to know. I keep it on a Word doc on my computer at work.. helps me keep everything straight..

The cycles in gray are my break cycles..

Hello, AF!!

AF is here, so today is day 1 of cycle #20. I imagine my appt. will be on Monday, but I need to call at 9 AM when the office opens and get my appt. scheduled. Hopefully I will be back on the meds by Monday night.

Follistim, here I come!!

Dooms Day

Today AF is due, but there is no sign of starting yet. I went ahead and took a test this morning, but it's negative. Today (12 DPO) was when I got a BFP with Abby, so I am fairly certain I am not pg.

I will update later if anything changes.

Yup, I O'd

YAY!! My CP has definately closed up, so I am saying my O date was Saturday February 16th (CD 22). I can test on or around March 1st, if AF hasn't come.

If I am pg, my due date will be on or around November 8, 2008.

If I am not pg, I will start the meds on day 3 of my new cycle.

This blog is kinda boring with no pictures now.. hopefully I can post pics of my BFP shortly!

Just an update

Well, I stopped taking the OPK's. I ran out of them before they ever got even remotely close to being positive and I didn't feel like buying any more. I had some fertile signs late last week and over the weekend, but nothing that made me think, "Yes.. this is my O day" but all of those fertile signs have now dissappeared and my cervix has closed up, which is a classic sign that I ovulated. It's not as closed up as it has been in the past, but it definately isn't fertile anymore.



So, I'm not really sure if I ovulated, or when I ovulated, but if I had to take a stab, I'd say it was probably on Saturday on CD 22. I'm going to see how these next few days play out, if I start having fertile signs again, but I think I am in the 2WW at this point. We had good timing, so I think this nice relaxing cycle was just the ticket. This is the first cycle where I am not really sure of an O date, and I just kinda ignored it for the most part.. Stay tuned and we'll see how it plays out.